Miscellaneous 12-16-23

I suppose I should title this something like "Glimpses of my life"!   Just some random images  snapped in the last few weeks. 

We went to In-and-Out and drove through behind this silver Lotus.  License plate?  "HaHa  Nice". Even in this red area I rarely see a Lotus. A Rolls Royce is more common!!

When I pick up Julian (4th grade) on Wednesday I stay at his house until one of his parents comes home.   He is usually in his room playing on the computer or doing his homework.  But occasionally he will come in the living room to watch a movie  on the BIG TV.  This week he was watching something violent  with  lots of noise, flames, screaming, etc.  I was reading  a book on Kindle and can pretty much block out the TV. But I couldn't help taking some shots of his positions on the sofa.  I didn't notice his facial expressions until I saw the pictures.

No TV when I was growing up, but I would get in weird positions while reading.  One of  my favorites was on the bed on my stomach with the book on the floor.   Of course, under the covers with a flashlight was something ever dedicated reader learns early. 

This is KoKo's favorite sleeping position.  My head is to the left and he is between my thighs with Froggy held close. No matter how cold it is he never wants to be covered.  

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Miscellaneous 10-24-23

So nice to  have comments on this blog - you encourage me to try harder!    Thanks Gayle  in NZ and Carol in Placentia.   Tonight just a few  miscellaneous photos.  I have actually been doing  some  sewing!  Have  a  couple deadlines coming up and sewing recorder covers for a local grade school. We still walk twice a day,  morning and  evening,  and have  extended a bit going a block up and back  on the next road over..  We meet other dog walkers and  some  times a neighbor  working  outside or coming/going.  Always nice to talk to someone face to face.   

It took me days  to  figure  out what  these two pictures  are doing in my photo file.  I could not remember taking  a picture of anything violet.   

Finally, I knew: they are the inside of the pocket of my black dog-walking pants.  A photographic version of  the  cell phone "butt call".  

Julian's favorite ice cream, Cookie Monster. Blue ice cream with chocolate chip cookie pieces.  He never wants to try anything else. 

Am I not the cutest doggy that ever was?  October 2019

Dave, the mailman thinks so!  And gives me tummy rubs.

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Busy day 12-14-22

Yesterday I did 105 steps!  Those were almost all trips to the bathroom!  Don't know how many steps today, but I was out and about a lot.  Thoughtful friend Tina took KoKo for walks both morning and night.   However, the boys in the cul de sac needed rides to school, which isn't a lot of steps, just get in the car in the garage and drive them to school and drive back to park in the garage!  But then today was the Book Group Xmas lunch, where I parked in the spot closest to the restaurant door, gimped in, sat, ate, visited, and then gimped back to the car, picked up Julian and delivered him to his house, parked in my garage and sat for a nap!  Then to the PTherapist where I didn't have my phone to count my steps, but there weren't a lot.  Finally home to the garage again,  Don't I live an exciting life? 

It was nice to see the Book Group ladies, except Carol who stayed home to protect us from her cold.  Thank you, Carol.  We talked about our Christmas Day plans and caught up with all our lives.  I left before we discussed the book.  I didn't finish it, only read about halfway and struggled with every page.  It is on Kindle if I decide I need to finish it - NOT.  Instead I started "The World According to Garp" that I enjoyed so much in 1979 that my husband asked me to not read it in bed because I kept chuckling and keeping him awake!  So far I am not finding it funny at all, but I'm only about a 1/4th of the way in.  

We always exchange smallish gifts and this year was a good year.   I showed you the bags I gave containing a book gift card, a long skinny Lindt bar, and a FIRE EXTINQUISHER!  Seems like something everyone might not have and may never need, but good to have if one forgets a pan on the burner or sets a fire in the toaster oven.  These extinguishers are a one shot deal, so no need to remember to have them recharged periodically.  I have five that require that and have to mark my calendar to remember to do the recharge.  

So, now it is almost 10pm PST and I am very tired.  I think pain does that.  So, early to bed and tomorrow is maybe another 105 step day.

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Those boys in the cul de sac 11-04-21

Since the pandemic started I haven't seem much of those two nice brothers who live across the street in the cul de sac.  They have been at home trying to learn on ZOOM and their father has been working from home all this time, so he is always there and can drive them wherever.  But yesterday he had to drive into his office in Los Angeles for the first time.  I had to ask if he remembered how to get there!  In the past he took the train from Fullerton and then a bus to his office place.  So, yesterday the boys needed a driver.  They go to different schools now - Immanuel is in middle school and Julian still goes to grade school.  I drove Immanuel to school after his dad had delivered Julian to his school.  Then in the afternoon I picked up Julian and we went out for ice cream.   Of course, he had Cookie Monster. However the blue color really turns me off so I had my favorite Razzmania - raspberries and chocolate chunks in a vanilla base.  We came back to my house, but I don't know how he could access my Internet, so we walked over to his house where he played computer games and I read stuff on my cell phone.  They have been renovating their house and have the loveliest pale cedar "siding" in the living/dining room and it is laid diagonally.  Looks so clean and "modern".  The work is not quite finished and the refrigerator is still in the middle of the room, but they are almost ready to get back to normal.  We have three houses in the neighborhood being remodeled and it is taking forever for all of them.  Delays in appliances, shortage of lumber and wall board, slow delivery of materials all around.  I don't know how they all manage with the disorganization.  I live in great disorder with piles of everything, but I don't have to put up with the dust and tools and noise and just always having others in my house.  However does Mr. John get any work done?   Mrs. John is a nurse and has worked through it all.  Anyway, I loved seeing the boys, they are so polite and well behaved.  And so TALL now.  Kids grow up very fast.  

Julian ate almost all of it and then went to the restroom and washed up!

Julian and Immanuel - 1st day of school Sep 2021

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A Birthday Day 09-01-21

Thank you all for your birthday wishes.  I was surprised by how many I had on Facebook.  The common saying "Getting old ain't easy." certainly applies, but kind words from friends all over certainly make it more pleasant.   And I did have a pleasant day.  It was quite cool this morning at 7am when we went for our walk, almost like autumn, but I keep telling myself that September is here and Septembers are usually very hot.  We'll see.  

Even before we went for our walk we took pictures of those nice boys in the cul de sac. Julian is in 2nd grade and Emmanuel is in 6th grade.  He has grown so tall over the summer, I think he must be five feet.  They both gave KoKo some loving and he was busy licking their legs.  He does like to lick people and I find it irritating most of the time.  I have not been effective in training him not to do it. 

Mid morning I went to PTherapy and felt slightly better afterward.  My Medicare coverage has run out, so I will take a break and try very hard to do the exercises every day.  And try to arrange another spinal injection.  Hope it will help. 

This gorgeous bouquet came from Carol and Dick.  The delivery driver was a little mixed up and first brought me a vase of pink roses for "your anniversary".  I said no, birthday.  Then I looked at the card and they were from Rudy, but I don't know any Rudys.  The driver took them back to the truck and returned to the shop.  Forty minutes or so later he was back with this huge vase and told me he thought they were prettier than the pink roses!  I agree.

Dick and Carol treated me to dinner at Ruth's Chris near Disneyland.  I think the last time I had a steak was two years ago when they treated me.  It is an elegant place and the service is very good. 

They do serve about the best Caesar salad I have ever eaten. 

Even though I don't drink I had a Champagne Cocktail, one of Carol's favorites.  It was very tasty and not enough to give me a headache. 

We all had the petite filet and shared sides of mushrooms, creamed spinach, and sweet potato casserole, all of which I recommend, but especially the sweet potato.  I may try to find the recipe for that.   

They serve a free dessert for birthdays - a small bread pudding which is just bread pudding.  That single candle and the chocolate writing make it festive.  But I think the chocolate writer might need to practice their penmnship.  Looks like Buterboyz!  

All together a lovely day.  Thanks to Carol and Dick and all my online friends.  

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