MONDAY

Breakfast with Keith and after, I finally, at long last, started listing the income tax stuff. I got some done before I was picked up by Susan for lunch. We went to the Stone Fire Grille and were joined by Renee, Glenda, -----------, and a newcomer named Pat. We had our usual congenial chatfest and I was able to show the pickleball players, Renee and Glenda, the video of my grandson showing pickleball moves.

Got home about 2:30 and continueed my IRS chores. Called accountant Michelle to say I'll try to get her the info this week. Soon, it was 4:45 and time to go down to dinner. Ate with Kathie and Keith and as usual, we had some good conversation. 

Darn, I again had a difficult time sleeping. As usual, I fell asleep immediately, but awoke at midnight, then at 3:00; it's now not quite 5:00. Ellen's coming at 9:00 to pick up the godawful heart monitor and I leave for the P.T. session at 1:50--I'll try to nap before that.

I have the Zoom meeting for the play group at 6:00 pm--hope I can get into it okay.  

SUNDAY

Breakfast with Keith and this time, Kathie got up early enough to join us. I was picked up by the Uber driver at 10:15 and we went off to Ojai. Greg was already there and we sat and talked for a bit, then went to the Meadow Preserve for a walk. It was a lovely day--very warm at 82, but not humid--and we enjoyed it immensely:

Back at El's, I took a nap while he and Ellen prepared dinner. Greg made a marvelous entree--a fresh, ocean-caught (he won't buy farm raised) salmon poached in a wonderful, herb-infused liquid; Ellen added roasted root vegetables, also very good. We ate about 4:00, then played--what else?--gin rummy. The Access Van was late, and I didn't get home until after 7:00, but that was okay.  

Got an invitation from Susan to go to Soaring Spririts lunch today, which I was pleased to accept and she'll pick me up at 11:10. Happily, I slept well--just got up at 6:15, late for  me.

SATURDAY

Breakfast with Keith, but before that, I found two eggs in the multi-purpose room. They were plastic, of course, and inside were wrapped chocolate candies. I laughed when Keith showed me he had also found two, these in the library. 

I just had prunes and raisin bran, then went upstairs and took a twenty-minute nap. I then made my way up to the third and top floor, where the salon is located. I always enjoy talking to Elika and she's an artiste when it comes to nails. She mentioned that she "serviced" men, too, and seemed genuinely surprised when I told her that term was originally used by ladies of the night to refer to...well, you know. We both laughed about that. Elika did a great job on my nails and she recommended a supplement called Biotin to strength them; I'm going to look into it. 

Lunch with Keith and Kathie and, again, it was really good--angel hair pasta and vegetables, along with a  chicken thigh.  After, I set up my medications and supplements for the week, then went to Dime Bingo (I'm obsessed!). I won the first game, but no others. 

Got a nice postcard from Ellen which she had mailed on February 25 from her cruise. It's a picture of the original Panama Canal; she wrote that her ship went through a newer, expanded set of locks. 

As for going to Ellen's for Easter, I called the Access Van and found there were no more vans available to get there, but I was able to book one to go home. Texted El and she got an Uber to pick me up--of course, that's about ten times as much money and I don't even like Ubers as much, but oh, well. 

Dinner with Keith--Kathie didn't show. We had some good talk, though, about our childhoods, later experiences, and so on. It was nice to know Keith has been to Singapore where Mike lives, as well as Japan where I have family, too. 

Took a shower, watched my daily ninety minutes of television, then turned in. Disappointingly, I didn't sleep well; woke up at midnight and had a problem getting back. Now it's not quite 5:00 and I've already washed and brushed. Okay, I'm not getting picked up until 11:30, so I'll nap after breakfast.

FRIDAY

Disaster at the scales: At home, I was up 1.8 and at T.O.P.S. up 1.1 for (sob!) weights of 140.2 and 141, respectively. Both are, of course, 'way over my desired range of 125 to 130. Okay, now I'm bound and determined to get back on the straight and narrow and LOSE NEXT TIME!!

Home at 10:00 and I immediately put a load of wash in the cart, took it to the laundry room, and set it to wash. I then ate the other half of the avocado Kathie had given me--so yum. Went down to lunch and ate with Kathie and Keith. We asked Keith why he sat with C. and M. yesterday and he said he just liked to move around a bit. I can understand that, so I deleted my comment on him on Thursday's entry. He's really a good guy and not either arrogant or nutty as some of the other guys seem to be.

Ellen came at 1:00 and shortly after, we spoke to Natalie, the P.A. at Primary Medical, going over my meds and supplements and so on. I had overlooked the turmeric I'm supposed to be takin and will add that. Also, Natalie asked if I thought the Zoloft was helping, but I told her no, so I was told to take two.  However, when Ellen checked my nighttime meds container, she saw I hadn't put a Zoloff in for Friday or Saturday, so had I been taking them or not? We decided I'd continue with one tonight and tomorrow and see if they have any effect. If not, I'll increase them then.

El also brought me the groceries I had requested, then worked on my mouse, which had died, and other problems on this laptop. I had changed the battery in the mouse, but she thought they were too old when bought (there was no expiration date), so we went to Circle K and bought new. I put them in when I got home and happy day, the mouse is now working fine. I was also invited for Easter lunch at Villa Ellen and that will be fun. 

Son Mike Facetimed me and we had a good chat. Got an Easter card from him (electronic) and a U.S. Mail card from Ellen. I sent to grandchildren electronic cards.  

Manicurist Elika called me back and I'll get these damn nails done upstairs at the salon at 10:00 today. 

Dinner with Kathie and Keith. Because Kathie's daughter, Stacy, does for her so much as Ellen does for me, I told Kathie about the IHSS (In Home Support Services). She was very pleased and she'll tell Stacy. 

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My grandson, Joel Phillips

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THURSDAY

Breakfast with Keith and a newcomer sat down with us. Her name is Laverne and she had moved in only last Friday. Nice person and with an interesting background. Not sure how old she is, but certainly  over 80, if not my age. 

Went to Bone Builders at 10:30, then lunch after with Kathie and Keith. Kathie gave me a copy of the following which her daughter had sent her--I think it's hysterical and so totally true:

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If in a toxic relationship, remember this:

A man was running down a mountain to escape a fire and he came upon a snake. The snake tried to keep up with him, but couldn't.  He begged the man to pick him up and carry him down to avoid the inevitable. The man, afraid of being bitten, refused, but after much pleading, he relented, picked up the snake, and continued down. When they got to the bottom, the man let the snake go—and was immediately bitten! The man was shocked and said, “I carried you as you asked and made sure you made it down safely and you still bit me?”

The snake replied, “YEAH, I'M A SNAKE!”

Moral of the story: Once matured, people don't change in any significant way. 

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Dinner with Kathie. We were both surprised to see Keith was sitting with Cheryl and Mary. What's up with that? I won't be here for breakfast--going to T.O.P.S--anyway, and we'll see what happens at lunch.

Back in my apartment at 6:30 and started looking over my Dionne Quintuplet material. I'm thinking about reviving my presentation on them--we'll see if I can adequately pull things together. s rug down a mountain to escape a fire and he came upon a snake. The snake tried to keep up with him, but couldn't.

WEDNESDAY

Katherine picked me up at 9:00 and we went to the BCNN meeting. The program was by a Marine biologist who elaborated on the sea creatures that inhabit the Channel Islands water off the coast. She showed whales, porpoises, dolphins, and so on, and how they lived and what they did and I know it was supposed to be fascinating, but frankly, it bored the hell out of  me:

There were sign-up sheets on the tables for the potluck lunch in September and I listed something easy to do that I can just make up. I couldn't resist circling the typo: 

Got back to The Orchard at 11:45, changed into my new tee-shirt, and  went down to the dining room.  I didn't see either Keith or Kathie, so sat with Trish, Ralph, and Jerry. The latter two are grumpy old men, but Trish and I had a good conversation. When I left, I saw Keith had obviously come in late and was sitting with Cheryl and Mary. Hmm...I should have just sat at our regular place. 

At 3:00, I went to the multi-purpose room and saw another fabulous one-woman show by Tatjana: 

Resident Leslie managed to get in on the dancing, too.

Dinner with Kathie and Keith, during which Kathie told us some interesting facts about her childhood: Her mother, a native of Denmark, had taken her back there when she was ten and they subsequently toured Europe, actually staying in campgrounds for ten months. I told her she should record her memories of this for her descendants.

The avocado Kathie had given me was finally ripe, and I cut into it, sprinkled it with fresh lemon, and ate some of it as I watched my hour of T.V. last night, which was superb--the avocado, that is. The show was pretty good, too, a series about historical mysteries. They covered the D.B. Cooper thing the other day and last night, the Titanic.  

I called Elika, the manicurist, but haven't heard back from her. I was hoping she could do me today; if not, I may try the other one, Cecilia.  

TUESDAY--ANOTHER BUSY ONE

 After breakfast (with Keith, of course), I prepared for my cardiology visit. Ellen  came at 9:15, bearing a pretty lily plant for me as an Easter gift. She first looked at my misbehaving printer, then we left. Got to Oxnard in twenty or so and went to the second  floor to ask whether the heart monitor was working correctly.  It was examined and were told it was, so I'm relieved about that. 

After, we went to the first floor for the echogram. We didn't have to wait long and after I took off what needed to be taken off, I lay down and had my ticker tickled or whatever they do. It was a little disconcerting to see my heart on the television-like screen, but it wasn't uncomfortable. That over, we left.

Back at my place, it was almost time for lunch. Ellen decided not eat with us and I went down while she continued working on the printer. However, she couldn't get it to work, so I'll call somebody to come in. Ate with Kathie and Keith. El came down to say goodbye; she'll be back (or I'll go there) on Friday, as we have a tele-appointment with Primary Medical.

I got this Easter card from Tokyo and I suspect Mr. K., my darling grandson, made it--it's not quite as polished as the kind his artist mother makes, but I still love it: 

Went downstairs for the mail at 3:00 and discovered that a Bingo game was about to start. Crazy me, I like to play this, so I got four cards, sat down, and proceeded to win five different games. The prize for each win is a funny money bill, which can be used in the "store" they have every two weeks. This is just a broom closet in which items from the dollar stores are kept; you can use your funny money to buy things like hangers, snacks, napkins and so on. 

Suzy texted me asking if she and Bob could come at 5:30 instead of 6:00 for our play-planning meeting. Sure, and I met them at the entrance. Later, Carlita and Nelson came and Suzy got Sheila and Steve on ZOOM. The six of us discussed, planned, and elaborated on our ideas about shows with senior performers. The first one will dedicated to Suzy's dear friend, Carol G., who died recently; she had been very active in the Santa Paula theatre.  We'll be meeting again to flesh out more information.

When I got home, I found at my door the container I had bought to dinner, which contained the meal I had missed. I thought Kathie had left it there, but when I called to thank her, she said Keith had--I'll thank him when I see him at breakfast this morning. 

BCNN meeting this morning--Katherine (not the same as Kathie) is picking me up at 9:00. Then on Friday, I'll first go to T.O.P.S., then over at Ellen's for the ZOOM meeting with Primary Medical. Hey, I'm looking forward to an off day tomorrow!