Today we celebrate the birth of our good friend Bob Zaitz who is becoming 80 years old and that is fortunate because it is also his IQ. We were supposed to pickup the decoraitons at his house at 10:00 am but they managed to get everything into his truck and another car so we got to stay home for a bit and work on the office.
We departed around noon for the lodge to help set up for the party to begin! We are dressed in our Highway 66 attire, so we will fit right in!!
Then I remembered what Bob always says: “Did you know muffins spelled backward is what you do when you take them out of the oven?”
I had a breakthrough this morning. Alexia kept jabbering at my and I could not turn her off so I asked her directly.
7:30 am, and we are out and about fighting our worst enemies, overgrowth and weeds! The corn was done for this year, but we found an additional nine ears, which we will snack on for the rest of the day and probably tomorrow.
After being on my hands and knees for two hours, I sat in the shade, and Mary cleaned up, filling another 90-gallon barrel to the top! So far this weekend, 240 gallons of vegetable materials have gone to the great compost pile in the sky!
While working away, Mary and I talk a lot about our lives, and we are still getting to know each other. I mentioned a girl from junior high school whom I remembered. I once dated her, but she broke up with me because I only have nine toes. Yes, she was lactose intolerant.
I trimmed the remaining grapes before sweeping up the droppings. I’ve decided to start telling everyone about the benefits of eating dried grapes. It’s all about raisin awareness.
We came inside at 11:00 am and got ready for the next adventure: delivering the table centerpieces to the Santa Ana Elks for tomorrow’s soiree. My jeans were so dirty, they came off before I went inside! A good shake, and most of the ingrained mud came off. The dirt clearly came through the jeans, and it took a good scrubbing to return me to my naturally beautiful condition.
At noon, we got the delivery call. Vicky was going light-speed on the freeway to the Elks Lodge, so we jumped into the Grey Ghost and chugged our way there with a back seat full of decorations! According to my calculations, Vicky made it from Los Alamitos to the lodge in 0.00009677419 seconds, or ninety-six million seven hundred seventy-four thousand one hundred ninety hundred-billionths of a second.
The Grey Ghost’s cargo was precious, so we stayed well under the speed of light. In fact, we were passed by a one-legged man pushing a wheelbarrow!
The van worked out fine!Looks great!
We had a lovely lunch with Vicky and Jim, swapping stories and laughing — especially when Vicky reminded us about the time she accidentally dropped her coin purse onto the grocery store conveyor belt at checkout.
This would’ve been harmless enough, except Vicky was a Highway Patrol Officer at the time, and her “coin purse” contained less spare change and more .357 cartridges.
The cashier took one look, calmly slid the bullets aside like they were coupons, and then apparently decided consciousness was optional.
We moved the amazing centerpieces from the van into the lodge and placed them in the ladies’ changing room adjacent to the ladies’ powder room for safekeeping.
Jim was quite proud of his work, and he even put a Texaco sticker on the small gas pumps!
The look is marvelous, and the messages on them are magnificent
It took all of us and a cart to get them into the room! We are a team!
Jim looks a little nervous being in the ladies’ room!
After lunch, we headed home with the car registering 94 degrees! One quick pass through the garden, and we came in for a “short” nap that lasted about two hours! In fact, it was so hot I left a glass of water outside, and it began to boil, so I decided to start investing in stocks: beef, vegetables, and chicken. One day, I hope to be a billionaire.
We took a “short” nap, just about two hours. My nap was supposed to be a beauty sleep, but one look in the mirror and I realized it hadn’t worked!
So at 7:00 pm, Mary whipped up a small pizza, and then we headed to the pool. It was almost dusk, and we wanted to see the planter lights go on! Just before going in, I tried our 100W outdoor floodlight to see if it would work for Vicky’s upcoming party. Success! Now I will ask my son Joe to help us install said device.
The water was strangely quiet.
We stay in the water for a good hour watching the moon before it is full; several more days are still required. Mary caught her bugs as I devoured a glass of vino and helped her bugs into her net.
The whole evening, I felt someone or something was watching us. I was sure it was my imagination!
Oh my!!
We went inside and watched “Playdate.” The two actors play complete opposites who meet for a park playdate with their young sons:
The Plot: What is supposed to be a simple afternoon of small talk spirals into chaotic, high-stakes minivan mayhem when ruthless mercenaries start chasing them.
Alan Ritchson plays Jeff, a massive, hyper-prepared stay-at-home dad with a mysterious and violent past.
Kevin James plays Brian, a recently unemployed, completely untactical accountant.
By 11:00 pm, after laughing for two hours, we crashed!
It was one year ago today that we lost Irene, whom we called “Mom.” She was a great lady who will always be remembered!
Our dear friend
It’s 5:30 am, and we are dressed to kill, weeds that is! We hit the garden so hard that it took two 90-gallon barrels to hold everything. As we approached the planned work area, we spotted a couple of nice, almost ripe pumpkins, just in time for Halloween.
We worked until almost noon, yanking out old plants, giving the finished tomatoes their final farewell, and evicting a few weeds that had clearly overstayed their welcome.
Then I noticed a leak. Sure enough, one of the water spigots had snapped off—most likely because the attached hose decided to test its strength and won. Once it broke, water started pouring into the beds as we’d accidentally installed a garden fountain. I had to quickly improvise a drainage solution so our gardener could fix it before we accidentally turned the vegetable patch into a rice paddy.
Twenty years ago, this would have been a quick, no-brainer repair. But these days, age has gifted me with wisdom, patience, and the firm understanding that bending over for long periods while wrestling with plumbing is now an extreme sport.
The garden looks pretty good now, with only a few hours of work remaining in the corn/melon patch, where the bed is eight feet wide and requires hands-and-knees cultivation!
While I was working, Mary noticed the Sun was hitting my head (probably due to the reflection from my baling spot). She, like a dutiful wife, went into the house to get my gardening hat. When she returned, she had something else on her mind and forgot to give me the hat! After a while, she asked me where the hat was, and I didn’t know, so she began to search. After five minutes, she came to me and gave up. It was then that we noticed she had cleverly put MY hat on top of HER hat; she was wearing two, and I was wearing zero. We had a good laugh!
As the clock ticked toward 2:00 pm and the Sun’s rays were cooking everything, we went inside and began to clean up so we could go to a doctor’s appointment, then out tonight with Vicky and Jim for dinner, and then to the Cerritos Performing Arts Center.
The doctor’s appointment was to retest my carotid arteries to make sure they stayed unblocked, and indeed, they were clear as a bell. On our way to the office on the third floor, Mary stopped at the gift shop (they always have interesting things). Mary was not disappointed! Then it occurred to us that Halloween is right around the corner!
The doctors said I was good to go, and she’ll be in about six months! We headed home to change clothes before going to Cerritos. We drove the Grey Ghost (our van) to pick up ten centerpieces for Bob’s birthday party on Sunday. Jim made amazing centerpieces out of folded paper. Since Bob’s birthday theme is “Highway 66,” Jim reproduced the oldest gas station on Highway 66.
The Ambler’s Texaco Gas Station in Dwight, Illinois, is widely cited as the longest continually operating gas station on Route 66.
It opened in 1933 and operated as a gas station until 1999 — about 66 years of continuous service.
It is also known as the Ambler-Becker Texaco Station or Becker’s Marathon, and today it serves as a restored Route 66 landmark and visitor stop.
There are other very old Route 66 stations, but Soulsby Service Station is often cited as one of the oldest surviving gas stations on Route 66.
Open for business66 years!!!
Off to dinner!
After dinner, we transferred the centerpieces from Jim’s SUV to The Grey Ghost. Yes, we brought the van for his first freeway drive in a long time. Then it was off to the Cerritos Performing Arts Center, a mere 5 miles away!
The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts opened on January 9, 1993. As of 2026, it is 33 years old.
Here’s some trivia about The Miracles, the legendary Motown vocal group:
• Originally called The Matadors, they changed their name to The Miracles before signing with Motown. • Smokey Robinson was the lead singer — The group is often associated with Smokey Robinson, whose smooth tenor voice became their signature sound. • They were one of Motown’s first major acts — The Miracles helped put Motown Records on the map in the early 1960s.
Vicky always gets great seats,s plus we get to meet the group’s managers as they sit at the soundboard!
Here’s some trivia about The Spinners, the classic soul/R&B vocal group:
• They formed in Detroit — The group started in the 1950s in Ferndale, Michigan, near Detroit. • They were originally called The Domingoes — They later changed their name to The Spinners, reportedly inspired by car hubcaps. • They recorded for Motown first — Before their biggest success, The Spinners were signed to Motown Records, though they didn’t get as much attention there as some other Motown acts. • They became major stars in the 1970s — Hits like “I’ll Be Around,” “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love,” “One of a Kind Love Affair,” and “Mighty Love” made them one of the decade’s top vocal groups.
It was an excellent show, although during the 1970s I was so busy working that I do not remember their fame or their songs, but Mary was be-bopping along with everyone else.
Fun Fun Fun
With friends, it is even more fun!
Yolie, Paul, Mary – Lucy, Jim, and Vicky!
As we sat down at half-time, Evelyn came to visit. She and her husband. Jay sat right behind us and has been our friend for many years!
On the way home, the phone rang — and it was Vicky, official commander of cake logistics.
“We have a new plan!” she announced.
So here it is: Vicky and Jim will pick up the cakes at Katella Deli and transport them safely to the Elks, presumably with a police escort and zero frosting casualties.
Once Vicky departs, I’ll call Bob, and the three of us will head to the Elks to drop off everything — and, of course, conduct the very important follow-up mission: lunch.
Cakes, friends, and a solid plan involving multiple vehicles. Life is good!
Mary and I could not be happier together. Our health is holding up, we have amazing friends, and our social calendar is so packed it looks like a 2-year-old got hold of a crayon and said, “Let me handle scheduling.” We laugh, we giggle, and we come up with the same thoughts every day! It’s amazing!!!
On top of that, the holiday season is upon us! We are already making plans!
I am still reeling from the phone call yesterday with my college roomie! That was sixty years ago, and he is doing just fine living in Encinitas.
In college, on fraternity row, we had a “Chariot Race.” All the fraternities built their chariots and were to run two blocks down 28th Street. Joe and I had another idea! We rented a REAL chariot from the Ben-Hur movie and trucked it down to the fraternity house. We are talking about a 500-pound vehicle! Our girlfriends decorated it up with flowers, and we entered. Being the “nerds,” everyone laughed at us! They shouted, amongst other things, “No way, José.” Weblissfully ignored their chanting and got this hulking beast to the starting line!
We had eight guys pulling this thing!
The race started; the other fraternities’ rigs were off like rocket ships. Our group started solving this beast, slowly, with Joe Tracy riding in the chariot, yelling directions. Once we got up to speed, nothing could stop us. Joe was wearing a wreath and a rather flimsy toga, which the ladies seemed to like for some reason. His sheets were flapping in the breeze.
The wooden steel-rimmed wheels made an amazing sound, something like a stagecoach coming down the blacktop-paved street!! While the other fraternity’s vehicles (they were made of old bicycles, red wagons, baby strollers, etc.) came apart at the seams, tipping over, losing wheels, crashing into the sidewalk, etc., our trusty behemoth rattled to the finish line, leaving a trail of broken dreams behind us! It took us 200′ to slow the thing down! The “jocks” (aka Sigma Chi) were destroyed by us “nerds”. Brains over brawn wins again!!
A bunch of us took the chariot over to 28th Street Market and got two kegs of beer to celebrate! The chariot became a beer wagon! Oh, the simplicities of life in college.
We had a lot of fun post-college, and I remember Joe coming to my new house to help me put up ham radio antennas and redesign the patio. My son Joe was named after Joe Tracy!
Oh my, what a day!!! We started with the gym, stopped by a garden supply store, dropped off several items at Goodwill, went to the dry cleaners, went to Girls’ Night Out, and then went home via CVS!
At The Elks, we did some serious weekend coordination and set up a plan for cake/table decorations for Saturday. Sunday is Bob’s 80th birthday! He is just a whippersnapper!
Heading out! More work to do for Sunday.
Will and Iris were not here today; Iris was out of sorts. We did have a visitor; Sydney joined us today! Sandee showed up just before we had to leave for the doctor’s appointment.
We departed the Elks around 1:30 pm to make it to the kidney doctor’s office for a report at 2:00 pm. The results were good, as the kidneys are functioning pretty well for an old fart! The outside temperature was 94 degrees with a slight breeze. We stopped by CVS on the way home and then headed to the office.
Back home again, Mary pushed pills for another 45 minutes. At CVS, I saw a coffee can, and it reminded me of when I was young and what we did with all those cans (back when plastic wasn’t popular).
We spent the afternoon in the office taking care of bills and other household duties. We did NOT need dinner as lunch was still doing a good job! At 7:50 pm, we headed to the pool and swam around like a pair of ducks for an hour before going back inside.
We watched a movie entitled “Orphan Train” — a 1979 TV movie— based on the real-life orphan train program, in which children believed to be orphaned or abandoned were sent by train from eastern cities to families in the Midwest and West. In this movie, their Union Army officer/father was believed dead, his children were sent away on an orphan train, and his search to find and reunite with them began.
We began another movie, but at 11:00 pm our eyes began to shut, so we scurried to bed!
No gym today, as we planned to take Dianne to the doctor for an eye checkup after her operation. We moved gym day to Thursday. Well, around 9:15, Dianne called and asked where we were. We had a puzzled look on our faces. Her appointment was at 10:00 am, NOT 11:00 am. Our first mistake in five years!
So we continued working in the office, waiting for Dianne’s phone call, because she plans to stop by and yell at us. Really? No, Dianne joined us at a Lebanese/Mediterrean restaurant in Anaheim.
I, as the man, took charge! It was OK because I asked Mary and Dianne if it was OK! They allowed me 15 minutes with unfettered control.
Why did the hummus break up with the pita? Because it felt like it was being spread too thin.
He He He!!! What evil lurks in the heart of man???
We began with some hummus. It is healthy! Hummus typically has about 2–3 grams of protein per 2-tablespoon serving. Here’s some hummus trivia:
• “Hummus” means “chickpea” in Arabic. The full name is often hummus bi tahini, meaning chickpeas with tahini.
• Its exact origin is debated among several Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cultures, including Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian, Egyptian, Israeli, and Turkish food traditions.
• Classic hummus has only a few core ingredients: chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, and salt.
• Tahini is made from sesame seeds, and it gives hummus much of its creamy texture and nutty flavor.
• Chickpeas are ancient — they’ve been cultivated in the Middle East for thousands of years.
• Hummus is naturally vegan when made traditionally.
• It’s high in plant-based protein and fiber, thanks to the chickpeas.
• Warm hummus is common in some regions; it’s not always served cold.
• There have been “hummus wars” over who makes the largest plate of hummus. Lebanon and Israel have both competed for world records.
• The biggest hummus dish ever made weighed over 10,000 kg.
• Hummus can be ultra-smooth if the chickpeas are peeled or cooked with a little baking soda.
• Common toppings include olive oil, paprika, parsley, whole chickpeas, pine nuts, cumin, or minced meat.
• In many places, hummus is eaten as a meal, not just a dip.
• Chocolate hummus exists, though traditionalists may have strong opinions about it.
• May 13 is International Hummus Day.
Dianne almost flipped when the family platter arrived! We took half of it home with us!
Oh my!!
Mary and I dove into the feast like it was our last meal! I get all of her bell peppers and onions, which is good! No smooching tonight! Mediterranean cuisine spans three continents and is anchored by the classic “Mediterranean triad” of wheat, olives, and grapes. This regional style of eating emphasizes fresh produce, healthy fats, and shared meals.
Yummy!!!
We looked at all that food and nearly passed out. We ordered the family plate, which is one Filet Mignon Shish Kebab, one Salmon, one Juicy Chicken, one skewer of Beef Koobideh, one skewer of Chicken Koobideh, served with Basmati rice and salad. We attacked it with vigor but could only finish about half of the meal.
Food EverywhereWe tried!!
Then came dessert! Oh my! We had:
Roche, a vanilla hazelnut mousse with praline and soft caramel filling, covered with milk chocolate and roasted almonds
Exotic, which was Caribbean mousse (pineapple, coconut, passion fruit, banana, lemon) with Mango and passion fruit filling and pistachio sponge cake.
Valentino, which is Dark Chocolate mousse, raspberry insert, coconut sponge cake
Dianne almost passed out!!
We loved the desserts, some more than others!
The Calorie Monster at work!!
I explained to Mary that these are calorie-free!
One for you and two for me!!!
We returned home to the sound of our cleaning people, and while working in the office, Mary came across a phone number for Joseph Egan Tracy, my colleague/roommate, which Joe (our son) had given us. We had tried the number several times over the last month, but to no avail. I thought I would try it again, and voila, he answered. We jabbered for thirty minutes. I hadn’t seen or spoken to him for almost 50 years!
Needless to say, I was ecstatic about the call!! To this day, I remember Joe dressed up in a toga while we all pulled a full-sized Roman chariot down 28th Street at USC during Greek Week with Joe riding and whipping us mercilessly!
Quickly, I went to a group of OLD pictures, and I have displayed below a 50+-year-old picture of Joe and me at my La Mirada home, tearing out part of a patio cover and breaking up a concrete patio to make room for a room addition. The addition was almost 800 square feet and consisted of a family room and a bed room/office.
Dang, I looked pretty good back then!!! The little girl whose name I shall not mention is now 58 years old!!
As the cleaners departed, we continued cleaning our desks and got ready for a dip in the pool! Our stack of paper is being reduced inch by inch! No longer are we fearful of an earthquake burying us alive under reams of paper! We kept working in the office until 8:00 pm, when it was time for our daily swim!
Time to relax!
We were back inside the house at 10:00 pm and decided it was time to crash. We have a long day ahead tomorrow, starting with the gym, the Girls Night Out, and the kidney doctor.
Tuesday, and we’re already off to the races because: a) Mary has her painting class, and b) I had to wait for Home Depot to deliver a new refrigerator.
While I was working in the garage, I had some time to think — always dangerous — and today my thoughts wandered to my sons and grandsons. And you know what? I’m really proud of those guys. They may not keep the refrigerator running, but they’ve turned out pretty cool anyway.
I am proud of my kids and grandkids; they are good boys!
Mary went off to school, and I worked in the garage, adding many items to the donation box and getting the old fridge ready to be moved out and replaced! The garage shop is looking pretty good, but I still have a ways to go!
When Mary returned, she gave me a rose! She has been wanting to paint a rose for months now, ever since Dianne got her Christmas presents, five roses for her new flower bed.
Mary has not named it yet!
Fun facts about the beautiful art of watercolor painting
Watercolor is one of the oldest painting methods, with roots in ancient cave paintings and Egyptian manuscript art.
Traditional watercolor paint is made from pigment mixed with a binder, usually gum arabic.
The white in watercolor paintings often comes from the paper itself, rather than white paint.
Watercolor became especially popular in Europe during the Renaissance for botanical and scientific illustrations.
Famous artists who used watercolor include J.M.W. Turner, Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, and Paul Cézanne.
Watercolor is known for being difficult to control because it relies heavily on water flow, paper absorbency, and timing.
The technique of painting wet paint onto wet paper is called “wet-on-wet.”
Painting onto dry paper is called “wet-on-dry,” and it usually creates sharper edges.
Watercolor paper is often made from cotton because it absorbs water well and resists warping.
Many watercolorists use masking fluid to preserve white areas before painting over them.
Transparent watercolor allows light to pass through layers of pigment and reflect off the paper, giving it a luminous effect.
Some historic watercolor pigments were made from unusual materials, including minerals, plants, and even insects.
Gouache is related to watercolor but is more opaque because it contains larger pigment particles or added white pigment.
Watercolor paints are available in pans, tubes, and liquid form.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, watercolor was often used by travelers to quickly record landscapes before photography became common.
I of course instantly framed it using my handy dandy ImageFramer software,
I need to teach Mary how to use the software; she would make MUCH better frames than I!
As she rolled in from her painting adventure, I was still out there putting things away and pretending I had everything under control. Naturally, she took one look at the situation, changed into work clothes, and came to assist me—because apparently “standing around looking confused” is not a recognized home-improvement strategy.
We be a team! A slightly sweaty, mildly disorganized, but highly effective team.
Later in the day, we celebrated our productivity with a gourmet feast: homemade cucumber salad, corn on the cob picked DIRECTLY from the garden—so fresh it was probably still gossiping with the stalk—and the old reliable classic: wieners and sauerkraut. Fine dining, backyard edition.
And the reduced-calorie meals must be working, because I have once again dropped below 196! That means I’m officially lighter, healthier, and still emotionally dependent on hot dogs.
While Mary got ready to go into the pool, I pranced around the yard with my camera ready to shoot the next Academy Award-winning still life.
Old Gray, Bambi, and Foxy told me they would stay still. Not for me, but to assure Mary’s wet paint would not be affected. I got them just in time before they all scampered off to their usual resting places.
Old Gray, Bambi, and Foxy love their new paint jobs!!
The new batch of apples is coming along well, and in a couple of months we will have fresh apples to pick!
Fun Trivia Facts About Apples
There are 7,500+ varieties of apples grown around the world.
Apples are part of the rose family, along with pears, peaches, cherries, and strawberries.
The science of apple growing is called pomology.
Apples float because they are about 25% air.
The crabapple is the only apple native to North America.
Apple trees can take 4–10 years to produce fruit, depending on the variety.
The world’s largest apple-producing country is China.
A medium apple has about 95 calories and is a good source of fiber.
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” first appeared in a similar form in 19th-century Wales.
Apples come in many colors, including red, green, yellow, pink, and even nearly black-purple varieties.
The seeds contain tiny amounts of amygdalin, which can release cyanide, but you’d have to chew and eat a large number of seeds for it to be dangerous.
The famous “forbidden fruit” in the Garden of Eden is often shown as an apple, but the Bible doesn’t actually name the fruit.
They are just babies now.
The whirlygigs are still spinning, and these old timers have turned four years old! Mary may have to get her paints out again and spruce him up a bit.
Turn turn turn
The Sun is setting, revealing pink clouds to the West of us! Venus will be visible in about 30 minutes.
It was still in the 80s at 8:00 pm!
High above Fred’s house, the pink clouds seem to be floating around, enjoying life!
Sunset was at 9:58 pm today!
As I swung the camera, the Moon seemed to grow larger!
I felt like breaking into song, but I was strongly encouraged not to!
As I departed the pool, Mary was reeling in the creepy-crawly so it would pick up some leaves on the bottom of the pool.
The water was nice and warm and felt wonderful after a hard day of piddling around.
After drying off, we headed to the office where Mary shelled a mess of dried green beans and added them to our collection of emergency beans. I played with the computer, cleaning up some oldies and goodies from days gone by.
We were up and moving early because today we had a scheduled beatdown — and yes, we actually paid for it. Truly a brilliant business model: “Please hurt me, here’s my credit card.”
We escaped the punishment right at 10:00 a.m. because we had an 11:00 a.m. funeral in Newport Beach to attend. Nothing says “balanced day” like paying to get beaten up in the morning and then rushing off to be solemn by lunch. Somehow, we made it with minutes to spare.
We went to the service and then to the hillside burial but skipped the post-service get-together.
Nothing like a view!
Pat was like an Aunt to Mary over the years.
We decided to go to Daria’s for lunch and see about getting set up for the upcoming pool party on the 6th.
Beauty and the Beast took the picture!
All was going well until we found out that Persian food and Lebanese food have some differences! Persian and Lebanese cuisines are both Middle Eastern, but they’re quite different in flavor, ingredients, and style.
1. Flavor profile
• Persian food is often more subtle, aromatic, and slightly sweet-sour. It uses saffron, dried limes, rosewater, pomegranate, barberries, herbs, and slow-cooked flavors.
• Lebanese food is brighter, fresher, and more lemony/garlicky. It uses lots of lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, parsley, mint, tahini, and sumac.
2. Rice vs. bread
• Persian meals often center around rice, especially fluffy saffron rice with crispy tahdig.
• Lebanese meals often center around flatbread/pita, used with dips, grilled meats, and mezze.
3. Appetizers and sharing
• Lebanese food is famous for mezze: hummus, baba ganoush, tabbouleh, fattoush, labneh, stuffed grape leaves, falafel.
• Persian food has appetizers too, but meals are usually more focused on rice, stews, and kebabs.
4. Stews
• Persian cuisine has many rich stews called khoresh, such as:
? Ghormeh sabzi: herb stew with beans and dried lime
? Fesenjan: walnut and pomegranate stew
? Gheimeh: split pea and tomato stew
• Lebanese cuisine has stews too, but they’re usually simpler and often served with rice or bread, like bean, okra, or yogurt-based stews.
5. Herbs
• Persian food uses herbs heavily in cooked dishes and as fresh herb platters.
• Lebanese food uses fresh herbs a lot in salads, dips, and garnishes, especially parsley and mint.
Quick summary: Persian food is more rice-based, saffron-scented, herb-rich, and often slow-cooked with sweet-sour flavors. Lebanese food is more bread-based, mezze-focused, lemony, garlicky, and fresh with lots of dips and salads.
We celebrate old cars at the Santa Ana Elks Lodge!
Yes, today is the day we go shopping for a car we can’t afford! A new Cadillac or a new Lexus? Perhaps a Mercedes? Nope, we are looking for a 1955 Packhard Caribbean!
1955 rag top! It’s on my bucket list!
The 1955 Packard Caribbean Convertible was one of Packard’s top luxury performance cars and is now a highly collectible American classic.
Overview: The 1955 Caribbean was Packard’s flagship convertible, aimed at buyers who wanted a stylish, powerful, limited-production luxury car. It competed with high-end Cadillacs, Lincolns, and Chrysler Imperials of the era.
Engine and performance: The 1955 Caribbean used Packard’s new V8 engine. For 1955, this was a strong performer, especially for a large luxury convertible:
We can sit together instead of today’s pesky bucket seats!
Styling: It was meant to look special and exclusive, not like a regular Packard convertible. The Caribbean had flashy 1950s styling, including:
• distinctive two-tone or three-tone paint schemes
• chrome side trim
• full leather interior
• power-operated convertible top
• wire wheels or wheel covers depending on equipment
• a very upscale dashboard and trim
Suspension: One of its most notable features was Packard’s Torsion-Level suspension, an advanced system for the time. It used long torsion bars and an electric leveling system to keep the car riding smoothly and sitting level.
Production: The 1955 Caribbean Convertible was rare, with only about 500 produced. That low production number makes it desirable today.
Collectibility: Today, a 1955 Packard Caribbean Convertible is considered one of the most important late Packards. Value depends heavily on originality, condition, color combination, and whether it has its correct engine and trim. Restored examples can bring strong prices at classic car auctions.
In short, the 1955 Packard Caribbean Convertible was Packard’s glamorous, limited-production luxury convertible with big V8 power, advanced suspension, and dramatic 1950s styling.
We arrived around 11:00 am to the rousing music and full parking lot!
We drove to the Santa Ana Elks Lodge in our tiny old Lexus, which I insisted was “practically a classic” because the radio only played one station, it had white sidewall tires, it had no safety belts, and the glove box opened during left turns.
At the car show, shiny Chevys, Fords, and Cadillacs sparkled under the Sun.
Mary admired a cherry-red ’57 Chevy. “This baby has original chrome,” said an owner proudly. Paul nodded and replied, “My car has original tires, and the tires are only flat on one side!”
I admired the hot dog stand.
Then the lodge announcer called for contestants in the “Best Engine Roar” contest. Before anyone could stop me, I sprinted to our Lexus, turned the key, and it produced a sad cough, two squeaks, and a noise like a kazoo falling down stairs.
The crowd went silent. Then Mary clapped. “Very rare sound package!” she shouted.
Everyone burst out laughing, and the judges awarded us a special trophy: “Most Likely to Need a Ride Home.”
We admired the owner’s ingenuity! The radiator needed an overflow container, and what better to use?
The radiator water looked just like the real thing!!!
When I saw my new ride, I thought of giving up my Packard Caribbean for a few minutes. I went to the picture to Joe and Zack, telling them I just bought this red speedster, and the replies were hilarious, ranging from :It will fit my trailer” to “I get to drive it first!”
Decisions decisions!
These two items were made the same year! Which one is in better shape? Consider your answer before you say or think anything. How do I know? Check the license plate (on the car)! Mary’s license plate is well hidden!
Nice tan!
We continued our journey, and Mary stopped at George’s car, giving it the Vanna White move. We walked with George for a while before going inside.
It turns out George was the classic; the car was merely his transportation!
Inside, we went for the breakfast burrito, and it was pretty good. Said hello to the three ladies and struck up a conversation.
They were all ex-Rockwell people who worked together at Rockwell’s Newport Beach facility in the 1970s. Rockwell’s Newport Beach facility was primarily a semiconductor and microelectronics operation. They made silicon chips and integrated circuits, including components used in:
• modems and telecommunications equipment
• microprocessors and microcontrollers — including Rockwell versions of the 6502-family chips
• consumer electronics
• industrial and aerospace/defense electronics
That operation later became associated with Rockwell Semiconductor Systems and eventually Conexant.
They all knew Sue Miller as the director of software development for the GPS Manpack, an early military hand-carried GPS system. Sue Miller was my wife’s previous name! They spoke highly of her! That was 52 years ago!
Paula, Linda, and Laurie—ex-Rockwell employees.
We finished our burritos and said goodbye, departing the facility in our classic car! As we left our of the facility, the glove box popped open, launching napkins everywhere. “See?” I told Mary. The real classics had “Air conditioning.” Mary sighed. “Next year, we’re bringing a real classic car.”
Off to home we went! Next stop, the swimming pool.
We had our coffee, listened to the news, and planned the day! The day turned out to be a nada!
In other words, the day was going to be a little thing, a nothing, blank clean slate, dud, space, goose egg, mere nothing, minor matter, naught, nebbish, nil, nonentity, nothing at all, nothing in particular, nothingness, naught, scarcely anything, vacuum, void, zero, and zilch.
I didn’t even take a picture today except for the pre-dunk in the pool sky shots!
We worked around the house; Mary continued painting the outdoor figurines while I pounded the keys, attempting to make sense of my newly built JavaScript code!
We did, however, have a nice lunch and then later in the day jump into the hot water of our pool-sized sauna!
Venus and the Moon were vying for attention this evening.
All the pool lights were burning bright. The LED lights run all night long and are still bright at 5:00 am!
We got out of the pool and headed to the TV room to watch another episode of “Extinct”.
The series “Extinct” is a science-fiction drama about the last remnants of humanity being brought back to life 400 years after humans were wiped out.
The story follows a small group of people who are resurrected by mysterious alien beings called the Drones. They wake up in a future Earth where humanity is gone, and they have to figure out:
Why they were revived,
What happened to the human race,
whether the aliens helping them can be trusted,
And how to survive against another hostile alien force called the Skin Riders.
The show mixes post-apocalyptic survival, alien mystery, and human drama. It originally aired in 2017 and was created by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston.
We rose before the sun, heroic and slightly confused. We marched to the office, where we gulped the coffee with a dramatic wheeze. “Perfect,” Mary said, sipping bravery.
Paul opened the email inbox and discovered 147 emails, each apparently urgent since yesterday. We began replying, deleting, and pretending to understand spreadsheets.
Then Grace, the cat, arrived for quality control. She sat on Paul’s keyboard, sent “mmmmmmmm” to Bob Z, and approved three bills with her tail.
Mary offered her a treat, and with great aplomb, Grace gobbled it down!
Mary laughed so hard she snorted coffee. I declared Grace promoted to Chief Meowperations Officer.
We finished our coffee, then got dressed and headed to the doctor’s office, where I had ultrasounds of both the left and right carotid arteries. Right to make sure the operation is still good and the left to see more about the inner carotid blockage. We will know more next week when we return for the reading!
When we got home, Joe was already on his way over to relocate our flagpole from outside the wall—where it had been living its best life in the bushes and mud—to inside the wall on the concrete patio. Brilliant idea!
Now I can raise and lower the flags without wrestling shrubbery, sinking into the garden, or looking like I lost a fight with Mother Nature. Progress!
So the work commenced with Charlie providing assistance. I moved the patio chair into the shade and supervised!
We (Joe) drilled through about four inches of concrete.
While Joe worked, I sang to him from the musical Show Boat. With the drill running, I sang at the top of my lungs, “Tote that barge, lift that bale, drill me a hole, or land in jail!” I am sure Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II were rolling over in their graves.
Hearing protection was required, not because of the sound, but because of the choice of words about the hardness of the concrete AND my singing.
All was going smoothly until we tried to put the plastic sleeve on the flagpole and discovered it was 1.5 inches too small. Apparently, our flagpole sleeve has been hitting the gym. Dang!
Joe called the flagpole people and arranged for a properly sized sleeve to be sent ASAP. Until then, the pole will be resting dramatically on the front patio, contemplating its future.
Joe and Charlie went home disgusted, Mary continued her nap, and I cleaned the workbench and worked on the Daily Diary!! BTW, we did get several calls from neighbors asking me to stop singing!
Later, I was in the garage and attempted to rename the Amazon device called Flagpole. To my amazement, I discovered the electronic plug was malfunctioning, and the flagpole light had been stuck on for a long time. I ordered replacement parts that will be installed in the system tomorrow. Now I can have the flagpole light come on at sunset and off at sunrise.
Four for $25! The prices have dropped!!
At 5:30 pm, we were ready for dinner and headed to Vitorio’s in Huntington Beach. Tonight, Ken (the regular piano player) planned to have a trio, and he did, but to our surprise, we knew the drummer and bass player! We have danced to their music for years and years!
The girls were tickled! What could be better than live music from old friends and a menu filled with delectable Italian dishes!
Good friends are wonderful to have!
We had three singers this evening, and they all had great voices. We attempted to get our singer, Jim, up, but he decided not to make them look bad!
Kenon on the piano, Frank on bass, and Shelly on drums!
Vicky got a load of pictures, and she even captured Mary and me when we got up to dance!!
Vicky loves her new iPhone, and she’s now teaching us tricks she uses!
The music was so good we had no choice but to dance. The room was packed, though, so we switched to our signature “minimum-movement” style—tiny steps, polite elbows, and the occasional strategic shuffle toward the wall for safety.
Just as we were perfecting our crowd-avoidance choreography, the server appeared… because apparently even our two-inch dance moves still qualified as being in the way.
We kinda put on a show, but the band enjoyed our moves!
While Mary returned to the table, I asked Sandee to dance, and we did so with the entire table (the other ten people) looking on!
I am about to tell a story, but then I remembered it is mixed company, so I stopped before I got started.
Mary and I have fun, and at our age, that is quite alright.
At the end of dinner came dessert time, which we both specialize in. Mary went for the spumoni ice cream while I trounced on a cannoli, turning the beautiful cannoli into a twisted mess of unrecognizable ingredients. Italian cannoli are a traditional Sicilian dessert.
Cannoli is made of:
A crispy fried pastry shell, usually tube-shaped
A sweet creamy filling, typically ricotta cheese
Often flavored with vanilla, citrus zest, chocolate chips, pistachios, or candied fruit
Sometimes dusted with powdered sugar
“Cannoli” is plural; one is technically called a cannolo in Italian. (Daily Diary Italian lessons come free with the reading).
Watch Mary make the contents disappear! Poof! Once it is served, it lasts about 34 milliseconds!
The smile tells all!
Vicky and Jim made the evening even more delightful. Jim had the best seat in the house, sitting at the end of the table, looking directly at the band!
Having fun!
We departed for home after telling the owner how great the trio was. We hope they do this again! The freeway was wide open, and we made it home in about 20 minutes! It was time to hit the sack, so we did!
