THURSDAY

 Ye gads and little fishes--I worked my tail off yesterday! Before breakfast, I put in a large color wash, ate, then did a white wash. I followed that by retrieving my chopped onions, sweet peppers, and ground turkey from the freezer and preparing stir-fry--four portions, which should last me a while. Then I walked to CVS to try to get the vision eyedrops I hadn't on Wednesday. They didn't have them, so I may have to go to a different CVS or maybe send away. From there, I stopped at Von's for mandarins and the 15-calorie popsicles I like. Made lunch and took it and my book (I'm re-reading Sue Klebold's A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy) to the middle and enjoyed being there so much. Happily, the fierce wind had settled down and it was sunny and reasonably warm. 

Home, I tackled getting the patio back in shape. I had moved everything from there out front onto Suzanne's and my entrance. Took some things to the trash place, washed almost everything else, and rearranged a lot. It took me until 4:00 to do everything, but it looks pretty good now. Here it was on Wednesday before they started: 

                                      

Although the info from management said to clear everything from patios because things might get wet, I didn't see even a drop. However, I'm just as glad I did because now it looks a lot neater.

Ellen called to see if I were available today. For her? Always. She's taking Cessy to get her teeth done. "Braces?" I asked. No, just a cleaning--well, yeah, Cessy's a cat. She'll drop Cessy off at the cat doctor, then come pick me up at 9:30 and we'll go to the harbor for lunch and then a good walk along the waterfront. 

I outdid myself with the laundry detail: put in a third load after dinner. That included my big, fluffy bathrobe and a few other heavier items and by the time I was out of the shower, they were finished.    

WEDNESDAY

 I got up too early--5:30--and while I was having breakfast and getting dressed, I kept thinking I really didn't want to go to the BCNN meeting; I felt a little sleepy and really wasn't interested in hearing what the sheriff of Ventura County at to say. However, Julie was to pick me up at 9:00 and I didn't want to beg off, so I went...

...and I was glad I did. It was actually pretty interesting and Sheriff Fryhoff was a darn good talker--not to mention a good lookin' guy. He's about six three and has a real presence:  

After the meeting, a group of us went to Topper's for lunch. I hadn't realized there was one in Oxnard and this was close to the yacht club, where we meet. I had a small--but very yummy--pizza and a good hazy IPA, natch. Regina met us there--I'm not sure why she skipped the meeting--and she, Julie, and I had a great time. I was invited to go to lunch on Monday to celebrate Regina's birthday and was pleased to accept. I'll skip Soaring Spirits, but that's okay.

Home about 2:00 and I braved the wind, which is still blustering. to go to CVS to take advantage of my OTC benefit from SCAN, my insurance. I needed iron, D3 and B12, plus teeth stuff and a few other items. I couldn't find the iron and forgot to get the vision vitamins, but I'll walk over there again today.

My niece-in-law, Robyn (wife of Betty's son, Steve), who's a costumer in Hollywood, had put on Facebook a picture and mention of her button collection (formerly my Aunt Maggie's) and coincidentally, Suzanne asked me if I wanted a bag of buttons. I Messaged Robyn and yes, she'd be happy to add to her store, so I'll send them to her today. 

TUESDAY

Suzanne and I got to WinCo about 10:00 and I proceeded to stock up on lots of good things. For me, that included oatmeal, frozen blueberries, and a plethora of fresh veggies. Home, I spent an hour or so on the following: washing and trimming the Brussels sprouts; washing and chopping the broccoli; and washing and halving the mushrooms. I also washed and quartered the tomatoes, added chopped onions (which I had in the freezer), garlic, vinegar, olive oil, and seasoning, and popped it in the oven, along with the mushrooms. Guess I have a bonanza of veggies.

My chores were interrupted by a phone call from, of all people, Jimmy Downes, Betty's old boyfriend. Clearly, he's rapidly sinking into the depths of dementia. He told me several times that he had tried to call me before and I didn't answer, so "I thought you had croaked." He then asked where I was--"in Jersey, right?" I told him no, that I was in Ventura. He then asked where I was several other times. He then repeated--at least ten times during our conversation (if you can call it that)--that he thought I had kicked off, bought the farm, bit the dust, was pushing up daisies--well, you get the picture. Actually, I found him more appealing in this sad persona than I ever did his real self.  I told him I'd keep in touch and I will.

Incrediby, I have yet another laptop problem: I'm trying to type up the T.O.P.S. agenda and still, the heavy line across keeps coming up. I know it's because of something I hit accidently, but have no clue how to fix it. Guess I'll have to take it across to Asurion.

About 4:30, I thought I'd go to CVS to buy a variety of OTC items, since I get $150 every quarter via my supplemental insurance. I started out and didn't even get to the middle of the complex before I turned back; although it was sunny and fairly warm, the wind was so strong I thought it would be foolhardy to brave it. Had a vegan dinner: plant-based sausage, Brussel sprouts, and roasted mushrooms and carrots--it was yum.

Julie's picking me up at 9:00 for the BCNN meeting. I'm somewhat bored with the group, but lunch will follow after at Topper's, a restaurant I like a lot, so I'm going. 

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I came across this picture  of Mom, Betty, Sister Peturna, and me, circa 1941 and posted it on Facebook: 

I think I actually remember that occasion--clearly. Betty and I were not enamored of the grown-ups' conversation. 

MONDAY

I'm beginning to think the electronic world has it in for me. I spent a nightmarish hour on the phone with Cricket, my phone carrier, and Bank of America, to straighten out my automatic payment problem.  I and won't go into the details, but I hope--hope, hope, HOPE!--it's settled. And then there was this:

Leader Lennie asked me to come up with different "Thought for the Day" and "Quotes" on our agenda. No prob at all, but I tried re-typing and I keep getting heavy underlining that goes on automatically. I must have pressed something to make it happen, but I don't know how to change it. 

I did, at least, get a few things done that had been hanging fire.* That includes cleaning out at least one of the undersink cabinets in the bathroom; I have one more go, plus the medicine cabinet.  I also washed, trimmed, and chopped the sweet peppers I had bought the other day. Stowed them in the freezer and, since I already have the onions and ground turkey, I now have the basics for stir-fry.

Went over to Von's for the wrinkled mandarins I like so much. I actually prefer them to Sumo oranges, as they're smaller and, I think, sweeter. I got only three, but will pick up more citrus when I go to WinCo with Suzanne today.

Note: It takes a shade under seven minutes for my coffee to brew once I turned it on. Why did I bother to time it? Because I take a certain medication once a week and can't eat or drink anything for a half-hour after. I need--need, need, NEED!--my coffee as soon as I brush my teeth, so now I can set my phone for 23 minutes, instead of 30, and I'll know when to start the coffee. Sound idiotic? Yeah, it does, even to me.

Note 2: I transferred $1000 from checking to savings--no sense in having it sit there. Maybe I should add it to Vanguard--will ask my financial advisor (son Mike).

*I wondered where that expression came from and here's the answer: 

hang fire

 delay or be delayed in taking action or progressing.

In the late 18th century, hang fire was used to refer to the action of a firearm that was slow in communicating the fire through the vent to the charge and so did not go off immediately.

See also: fire, hang

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

SUNDAY

Ellen got here at noon and after sitting to chat for a bit, we got my donations into her car and my throw-aways to the trash area. We decided on Wood Ranch for lunch and it was good. El got a big salad and I a veggie burger, plus of course, a local IPA. After, we drove to Goodwill to drop off the donations, then went next door to Grocery Outlet. They have some of the best frozen fish around, plus a good array of fresh and frozen veggies, of which I got quite a few. El also picked me up some new batteries, as I had been bemoaning the problem with the T.V. remote. 

While at the supermarket, I ran into Anthony Contreras, a great guy with whom I've been on stage with Fractured Actors several times. We greeted each other with hugs and Anthony told me he'll be appearing at the Santa Paula Theatre in "The Cottage"; there he is on the lower left: 

And there's my buddy, Alphonse, just under him! It's running for a month and I'm looking forward to it.

Suzanne called and asked if I wanted to go to WinCo on Tuesday after her doctor's appointment. Sure thing, I can always stock up, so I accepted her nice offer. 

Rain predicted for today. That means I'll have to stay in and maybe get some things done I should have been doing before--darn! 😜

SATURDAY

Nothing very exciting going on aside from Ellen's house.  I walked to the P.O. to send some annual reports to my ex-DIL, but when I found postage would be $32.00, I took them home and Messaged Paula and she said not to send. Vacumned the carpet, dusted, and otherwise straightened up a little. Made lunch and took it to the middle to eat in the sunshine. Did a bleach wash. Chopped four large onion and stowed them in the freezer to make a stir-fry later. 

As for Ellen's house--I was blown away by the pictures, some of which I'm adding below. (I texted her that I want the photographer to take MY pic.) Open house is today and she'll come over while the realtor shows it. Hope it sells for full price.

I left out the two bathrooms and a few other pics, but I think the place looks great. 

FRIDAY

 T.O.P.S. was interesting, but not because of my weight. I gained 1.2 at home and 1.1, so weighed 127 and 127.7, respectively, so I'm right in the middle of my comfort zone, which is perfectly fine by me. The interesting--in an unsettling way--part was that Maria burst into the room about ten minutes after we started. Maria had been coming until about a year ago, but had stopped. She had cared for her brother at home and it was a difficult job, as he had something she mentioned that was related to schzophrenia, plus other mental problems. Because our meetings have evolved into something similar to group therapy, Maria clearly felt it was perfectly okay to go into a long harangue about her brother and her own mental health. It seems the brother is now in a facility, but they're going to make him leave because of his behavior and Maria is trying to work on her own self-esteem, which is absymal--and so on and on. I asked if she had tried to get help from the Agency on Aging, the Public Guardian, or other county commission and she responded with saying she had to fill out a long questionnaire--or something. Anyway, on the way home, Chyerl and I agreed that she was an adequate sub for Sharon and her endless unrelated talk.

Had a quick breakfast, then changed to meet Noreen at Danny's Deli. We both had the eggplant marinare, which I thought was what I had ordered when I was there last, but it wasn't. It was good, though, and of course, so was the IPA. Noreen, one of the many Trump-haters I know, went into great detail about how evil he is. What's interesting is that she often quotes the Bible to support her belief that he's practically the devil incarnate. Yet aren't many of his supporters fundamentalists who seem to believe he's almost at the right hand of God? Odd.

I bused home after and didn't get in until almost 4:00. I thought I'd watch T.V. for a change, but something's wrong with the remote and even though, I replaced the batteries, it still doesn't work. Using the controls on the set itself, I can get only some kind of police show. Guess I'll have to call somebody to come fix it. This electronic world is driving me crazy! 

And here's another annoyance: Somehow, my SpellCheck stopped working and I don't know how to get it on again.