SUNDAY, MONDAY, AND TUESDAY

 FINALLY, my laptop is operational. I don't want to go into detail about what happened (which was my fault, no question) but my darling daughter, Ellen, fixed it. Anyway, here's a quick rundown  of the last three days:

SUNDAY: Lunch with Noreen and Gary at Danny's Deli, to which I took the city bus. Went to Target first and bought something, but I don't remember what. Also can't recall what I did the rest of the day.

MONDAY:  Susan picked me up and we went off to meet Vera and the rest of the former Soaring Spirits gang at The Greek, a restaurant overlooking the harbor. Had a great time both seeing Vera and celebrating her birthday, which had been the day before: 

She's forty-eight years and a day old!

From left, Frances, Gayle, Glenda, yours truly, Dinna, Vera, and Susan.

It was great seeing Vera, someone who's very close to my heart. It doesn't matter that she's considerably younger than my youngest child; we're soulmates.

TUESDAY:  Dear Ellen came at 11:30 and fixed this machine. Can't remember exactly what I had done to it, but I was all set to take it to Axion. Luckily, there was no need. We then went to BOA for  me to get dimes for dime Bingo, and topped the day off with Jasmine Thai for lunch. 

When I got home, I immediately went to the multi-purpose room for my Bingo fix. I actually won two games and now am swimming in dimes. El came after, bringing me the Miracle-Gro for tomatoes and graduation cards for Vivian and Violet. She fed the tomatoes and they're already bearing fruit--still small and green, but they'll be wonderful when ripe. 

Dinner with Kathie, Keith, and Pat. It was meat loaf and not bad. Slept reasonably well, but it's now 3:45 am and what am I doing up?  I just got up for the usual and felt like playing my match game  on the laptop. Hey, I have no plans for today, so I can nap later, so what's the prob with that? 

SATURDAY

An active day: I skipped breakfast, as is now my habit, but went downstairs at 11:00 to participate in "the brunch bunch." I had thought it meant a buffet of some kind, but actually, residents cooked or baked the food themselves  Activities director Mindy was supervising and she gave me the task of mixing, kneading, and rolling out the dough for "Dutch pancakes." They're a kind of crust in which strawberries and blueberries are placed, then are sprinkled with powered sugar and topped with whipped cream. While the dough rose, I went to lunch (with Kathie and LaVerne), then went back to sample the goody. It was delicious and Mindy insisted it was all to my credit because my handling of the dough was so good. Ha--I used to make pies and cakes without even thinking twice. 

Right after we finished off the treat, we sat down for dime Bingo. I won one, but still ran out of dimes and Mindy staked me to a dollar's worth. She said she would insititute quarter Bingo in June and I'm looking forward to that.   

Jusat as I was about to call Noreen, she called me. We chatted then make a date for lunch today at Danny's Deli.

Bingo was no sooner over than Trivia started and I stayed for that. There were the usual inane questions, but it was sort of fun. Went back to my place to get my lemon chunks for iced tea, then down to dinner with Kathie and Keith. As I told them, I'm going out for lunch the next three days: tomorrow, Sunday, at Danny's with Noreen; tomorrow, Monday, to The Greek to see dear Vera, back from Oregon; and Tuesday, lunch and other good things with Ellen.

I also completed some necessary chores: did a white wash, took trash to the place, and set up my medications for the week. 

FRIDAY

I gained 1.2 both at home and at T.O.P.S.; to 138.6 and 139.8 respectively. Okay, I'll work on that. The meeting was meandering as usual, ranging from Mormonism to Sharon's backgroumd. Speaking of whom, here she is in the latest outfit, pretty in lavender:

Home a bit before 10.00 and I quickly changed and went down to balance class; I was pleased to see Kathie there. Ate lunch with her, LaVerne, and Bee. We saw Keith sitting elsewhere, after he returned  from the outing to Ventura Botanical Gardens. 

I took a short nap before going to Australian Happy Hour at 3:30. A nice young duo sang sixties songs. Seems to me that the fifties would be even more enjoyable, but it was fun. Back up to my place to add to this entry, then at 5:30, I went down to attend the Sabbat dinner. 

It was enjoyable, actually. There were fifteen people there, not all Jewish, and Art did the grace-- or sabbath prayer, whatever--before we enjoyed the brisket, salmon, veggies, and so on, as well as red or white wine. Peter did a Catholic soliloqy, which seermed to me very inappropriate; he's one of those very conservative types and I asked if he had been in the seminary. No, in corporate law, which seems to be on a par.  Good dinner and conversation before I left at 7:00. Before I did, Mindy asked me to send her Suzy's contact info, which I did once I got home. I hope that means she's ready to engage Suzy to appear here. 

I'm wondering if I should venture to the mall on the city bus today and/or call Noreen to meet me for lunch at Danny's Deli. Hmm... 

THURSDAY

 Went to Bone Builders class at 10:30, then directly to lunch with Kathie and Keith. Did this and that afterwards, then went down to the multi-purpose room to check out the original, homemade soaps by Biancha's cousin. I bought two for gifts--one in a pretty crystal heart and the other in a ceramic container. They were only ten dollars each, which seemed reasonable. Also bought raffle tickets for a large basket of the fancy soaps. Later, I was pleased to learn I had won not the basket, but some smaller prizes. Great--they'll make good gifts. 

After, I went outside to sit at the clubhouse and make a few phone calls. As I always do, I wished so much I could call Muckie, but of course, I never can again. Took a nap after, then went to participate in trivia... 

...but "Sip and Paint" was still going on and the five participants were working on their shore scene. Oh, well, I just accepted a glass of white infandel and sat down with Leila to talk. Actually, she talked and I listened; she's one of the many, many "it's all about me and I want to tell you my life story" who live here. If they're not elaborating about their grandchildren, they're giving advice, unsolicited or not.  Oh, well, there are others with whom I enjoy being friends.

I ordered from Amazon coffee, paper towels, and several other things. They should get here today or tomorrow. Dinnner with Kathie, Bee, and Pat; Keith didn't show.  

T.O.P.S. today and we'll see how that goes.

WEDNESDAY

 Stripped the bed, took sheets to the laundry, and re-made with others. By the time I had them in the dryer, it was lunchtime, so I went down to eat with Kathie, Keith, and LaVerne. Went back and forth to the laundry room to retrieve the sheets, put in a load of clothes, and slice up some lemons.

At 2:00, I went down to dime Bingo/Happy Hour. I actually--finally--won two games, playing my usual four cards. Good, that means I have a new supply of dimes. Stayed for Trivia, then went up to get the second load of wash. 

Dinner with Kathie, Keith, and Pat; the latter blessed himself and said grace before the meal. I skipped the ham and beans stew in favor of a hot dog; didn't feel like eating that much. 

Signed up to attend the Sabbat dinner tomorrow. I may be the only non-Jewish person there, but I don't care. I'm interested in other cultures and some of the friends I've made here are Jewish.

Showered and washed my hair before watching my hour of T.V.

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Here's a picture of Vivian's graduation with both parents, which Paula put on Facebook. I was glad to see it because no matter what went before--divorce and bitter feelings, I'm afraid--they are still the father and mother of a lovely young woman: 

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TUESDAY

Skipped breakfast and at 10:00, had Rick take me in The Orchard van to CVS to pick up my medication. The Eliquis cost me $126.00. All my other meds are covered by insurance; don't know why this one isn't, but it was for a three-month supply, so a little more then five hundred a year, which is doable, 

I had intended to get a pedicure via Nails D'Elegance, but when I went in, they were short-handed and said I had to come back later. I decided to skip it and will look into having Elika do it here. Called to have Rick pick me back up, which he did.

My old pal, Doris, called and we had a good talk. I hadn't heard from her for some time, so it was fun.

Kathie callled to say she was going to Wal-Mart, then lunch with her daughter. I didn't see Keith in the dining room, so sat with Trudie, Carl, Carol, and Stan. Had the Asian salad, which was pretty good. 

Dime Bingo at 2:00 and wonder of wonders, I finally won a game. Unfortunately, there were only twelve people there, so I didn't get a big payoff, but so what--it was enough to keep me in the game. Also, we're doing dime Bingo again this afternoon, combined with Happy Hour--YAY! 

Activities Director Mindy mentioned she was planning a Columbia-themed day and I told her Ellen had been there a few months ago and did she want pictures? Yes, indeed, she did, and was delighted after I forwarded Ellen's to her. 

Ate with Kathie, Keith, and LaVerne; this time, Pat (a man) joined us. I had met him and seen him around and he seems a nice guy. 

Slept well and just changed the bed before sitting down to top off this entry.

MONDAY

Again skipped breakfast, which seems to be working for me--anyway, I get hungry for lunch and enjoy it more. Fooled around on the laptop, then went down to Jackie's balance class. She knew Bob and when I mentioned I had taken pictures of his 100th birthday party the other day, she asked me to send them to her, which I did. 

While downstairs, I requested the van for today, Tuesday, at 10:00. I want to go to Von's, CVS, and Nails L'Elegance, all in the same shopping center, across from where I used to live. Maybe I'll see if Vickie or Noreen might want to meet me for lunch there. 

I really just lazed around after the balance class until Susan picked me up at 5:15. We met Lendal and Glenna there and had an enjoyable time chatting. I had the cauliflower appetizer, as I was still full from lunch. Home at 7:45 and that was it for the day.