TUESDAY

 I was in and out of sleep all night and finally got up at 7:20. Dressed, stripped the bed, and took the sheets to the laundry room. Went to Bone Builders at 10:15 and after, switched sheets to the dryer. 

Went from there to lunch and sat with Kathie, LaVerne, and Paula.  Lunch was good--it was an enchilada with rice and veggies; I complimented Chef Michael after. 

Back upstairs and I made the bed. Do-Lannie had asked if she could do the cleaning in the morning instead of the afternoon as she usually does and sure, that was fine by me. As ever, she did a good job.

Went down to Dime Bingo at 1:30 and believe it or not, I won three games. After, Mindy asked Mary and me to stay so she could interview us. We did and the questions revolved around whether we were satisfied with our lives at The Orchard, what our daily routines looked like, and what could they do to make our lives here better. I'm happy here and actually enjoyed the interview. 

Had dinner with Kathie, LaVerne, and Paula--we're getting to be a regular quartet--and enjoyed it. Later, I showered and washed my hair, then settled down to watch--of all things--a bio of Libarace. 

Radnet radiology today at 4:30; I'm not  looking forward to it.

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One of the guys who lives here; can't remember his name, but he has a huge collection of tee shirts. 

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MONDAY

 Up at 6:30 after a good night's sleep. After dressing and my usual morning laptop routine (blog, Wordle, Connections, and Blossom), I took a short nap, then went down to balance class at 10:00.  Leader Jackie is away, so resident Elaine led the class. Had my meager breakfast (cottage cheese on thin-sliced bread), then futzed around with this and that.

Lunched with Kathie, LaVerne, and Bea. I saw Trudie and asked how she enjoyed Suzy and the Skin On Steel band on Sunday. She said she did, but would much rather hear music from an earlier time than the sixties and seventies. Hmm...I decided to call Suzy and suggest that. Did so, and Suzy was perfectly fine with that; she said they were rehearsing that night and she'd convey that info to the rest of the band members. After lunch, I did the exercise bike for fifteen miinutes--all two short a time, but better than nothing.

Had dinner with LaVerne, Keith, and Paula, whom I'm getting to like more and more. Instead of the entree, I got another bagel with lox (salmon) and took half home to eat during my hour of T.V. Texted Suzy witih more suggestions, including as Mary had mentioned, Creedence Clearwater and I swore that would be the last nagging from me---actually, I think she appreciated the input. 

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Oh, this was a long, long time ago. On the left are a twenty-one year old girl I don't even recognize; her soon-to-be husband, Pat Molloy, and Bobo Burke. I don't remember the people behind Bobo, but to the left of the man is the Molloy's next door neighbor. The three to her left are my future father-in-law, brother-in-law, and mother-in-law, then Jack Jenkins. Boca Raton, Florida, c. 1957. 

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SUNDAY AND A GREAT SHOW

 For some reason, I felt tired and nervous in the morning. Stayed up for a bit, got dressed, then took a short nap. Somewhat better when I got up, I wrote my short introduction to Suzy and the band, then fooled around on the laptop.

Had lunch with Kathie, Denise, and Paula and enjoyed it. After, I talked to Thea and fround that Mindy was coming in (she's off on Sundays), presumbably to greet and set up Suzy and the band. Good, that's a load off my mind. I was so worried the whole thing with Skin To Steel would attract only a small number of residents and/or they would be unresponsive....

...but happy day, I couldn't have been more wrong! The chairs were almost all filled and the audience was very "with it" singing and/or clapping along when appropriate. Here's the Skin to Steel band: 

From left, Eric, who is the son of Cheryl Lewis, my T.O.P.S. and pacifist friend; Suzy;  her husband, Steve, and the rhythm guy (or something), Bryan. 

They played, as scheduled for an hour and after, many of the audience came up to talk to them. The reception was great and Mindy was very enthusiastic about the group, so things couldn't be better. I gave Suzy the two sets of scripts--one for her and one for Bob. BTW, he was supposed to be here, but went to the wrong place (Open Mic in Ojai) and didn't show. Anyway, the gig turned out great.

Had dinner with Kathie, LaVerne, and Paula--it was a kind of strawberry salad and very good. Back in my apartment, I filled my med containers for the coming week and settled down to my favorite Block Champ. Slept well and didn't get up until 6:30. 

SATURDAY

 I got it done--the patio, that is, and it was a big job, but it looks good: 

I had to carry all the plants and other items in the living back to the patio/porch, wash them, arrange them, and water them and it took me more than an hour, but it was okay. After that, I took a load of wash to the laundry room, swept up, and so on. 

Had lunch with Trudie, Carl, Barb, Mary Ann, and Keith. The main entree was beef pot roast with Rosemary gravy and, since I'm the only Rosemary here, I got a lot of kidding about it. 

Later, I attended "Brazilian Bingo," but why it was called that is beyond me; it was just quarter-a-card Bingo and I won two games. Talked to Mindy about Suzy and the band coming today and Suzy called me to say they'd be here about 1:30 to set up and so on, although they don't go on until 3:00. . I still haven't worked up my intro, but I'll do that today. 

Had dinner with Kathie and LaVerne and it was good, although what they called a sausage and pepper sub was simply shredded sausage on a roll--no relationship to a sub. 

After dinner, I delved into my scripts and selected four commedies and two dramas to give Suzy and Bob to read. I had only one copy of Fatal Family Reunion, which is a comedy and we did as dinner theatre in Jersey, so I'll give that to Bob.  These scripts are ten to almost twenty years old and I can no longer find them on Word, so just have hard copies. 

I called Ellen just to say hello. She and Greg were driving back from Carpiteria, where they walked on the kind of boardwalk on the sand. I've been there, too, and it's a nice place. 

Today's the day Suzy and the Skin to Steel band come in and I still haven't worked up my intro, but will shortly. 

FRIDAY

 Not bad news re weight: I was 141.8 at home for a loss of 0.2 and to 142.8 at T.O.P.S. for a loss of 1.2  I'm not sure why the discrepency, but I'll take it. Of course, I still have plenty of work to do, but it's hearteing to be down a bit. 

Home a bit after ten and made a sketchy breakfast, then took a half hour nap. Before going down to lunch, I took a wash load to the laundry room, but no luck--both washers were taken. Went to the laundry in the other second floor wing and used that. Lunched with Kathie, LaVerne, and Paula, then went back to pop the clothes in the dryer. Found Mindy to tell her about the wrong time on the poster and she immediately corrected it. 

I went to the Carol Sing-a-Long at 2:00, but found many of her paino choices heavily militaristic and the rest banal. However, I stayed until it was time to go up to the salon at 3:30, , meet Elika, and get my manicure. It looks good and I always enjoy talking to Elika, who husband just got back from two months in Alaska getting salmon--he'e a fisherman by trade. 

Saw Mindy and when I told her she hadn't added the time on the poster, she immediately added it and  re-hung the posters. Unfortunately, this time she had the wrong time on them--she had put 2:00 instead of 3:00. When I told her, she changed it again and re-posted. 

Enjoyed dinner with Keith, Denise, and Paula. After, I straightend up a few things, then relaxed with my Block Champ game. My patio/porch seems to be finished, so I'll spend time today getting the plants and things back in place. 

THURSDAY

 I went to Bone Builders at 10:15 and more or less enjoyed the session. Lunch after, which I ate wth Trudie, Carl, and Barbara. Caught up with Mindy and discoverd that Suzy and her band, "Skin to Steel" will perform  on Sunday at 3:00 in the multi-purpose room. 

After lunch, I didn't do much but take a nap. I felt a little draggy and am not optimitic about my weight, but Mary Ann will pick me up at 8:15 this morning for T.O.P.S. 

I perked up a bit after dinner with Kathie, LaVerne, Paula, and Denise; we had congenial talk and fun sharing. After, I took a picture of the sheet Mindy had done--it's really good, but... 

...she overlooked listing the time. I went downstairs to tell her and she immediately corrected it and will put the new one out.

WEDNESDAY

The Uber guy, courtesy of my health insurane, SCAN, picked me up at 7:20 and took me to Quest for my blood test. As often happens, I was very early for my 8:00 appointment, but that was no big deal. Had the test, called to be taken home and shortly, was. I like most of the drivers as I did this one and enjoyed our conversations there and back.

Home, I made myself a quick breakfast of cottage cheese on bread, then took a load of whites to the laundry room. While they were washing, I took a quick nap until I had to go back to shift to the dryer, then later, of course, to retreive them, fold, and put away

El called to say she'll be a little later than 11:30, but that was okay, I just played games on the laptop until she got here at noon. Off we went to Wood Ranch for lunch--we both had their lucious BBQ salad--then to Wal-Mart for lemons and cashews for me, a variety of other items for El.

Got home a bit after three, put my things away, then was startled when a man suddendly jumped onto my second floor balcony: 

                                             

Of course, it was one of the guys re-doing the flooring out there. I then opened the door and thanked him for it; he was very appreciative. 

At dinner, Kathie and I went to our usual table and found resident Paula sitting there along with Ruth. We sat there (Keith came later, but went back upstairs without sitting down) with them and I got to know Paula, whom I hadn't met before. I liked her--she had a lot of interesting things to say. Unfortunately, she had had a stroke three months ago and it affected her vision, mobility, and the use of her left arm. All I had known about her before was that she's a Jehovah Witness and doesn't celebrate  or approve of marking birthdays or holidays with celebraions.

Ellen called to say I need another session at Rolling Oaks Radiology, but I'm not clear on what exactly it's for--I think as a follow-up to one of the proceedures I had before. Will ask her.

Now I have to write an intro to Suzy's trio for Sunday. Shouldn't be too diffucult.