Kimball, etc., then I went to Ralph's to get salad fixings for Suzanne's dinner party. I just made an ordinary one, but added goat cheese and grapes for a little more pazazz.
Went over to Michelle's, my tax person, to sign the returns. I was surprised that I was getting more than three hundred less than last year. Why? Michelle pointed out that my income (from TIAA-CREF) fell by $10,000. And I didn't notice it? How could that possibly be? When I got home, I checked on-line and found that I had accidentally provided Michelle with only the TIAA info, not CREF (they're on tax form separately). I called her, but she had already filed electronically. Not a big deal, she told me to give her the return after the refund is put in my account and we'll filed an amended return.
Took my Dionne video to Wal-Mart to have it transferred to a DVD, but the machines you have to put your info in were all down. However, the clerk was nice enough to mention a place called Dexter's Cameras in town that does the same. Took it there and found the charge five bucks less, anyway.
Went next door to Suzanne's for her little dinner party and had a nice enough time. She served salmon--very good--and rice and I had brought salad, the other couple (I can't remember their last name) mini-bundt cakes. (Since I haven't had cake for a year--literally--I devoured one by myself. Heavenly.)
Fred and Loretta's home (rented) in the hills had been burned to cinders in The Fire and they moved to Ventura Del Sol after that. I had met Fred before, but Loretta was new to me. She's a pharmacy tech at St. John's where Suzanne works and for various reasons, I found her a little tedious. After dinner, they showed on Loretta's laptop, a video they had made about their place, I think with the help of a professional. They call it "A Firey Journey"--yes, misspelled that way. Fred pointed out that this was an error, at which Loretta insisted it was good, not bad, because it meant there was something was wrong. (I consider myself a saint for not sticking a fork in her eye.) Unfortunately, they had superimposed full sentences here and there, which were also rift with errors. Most glaring, they had no punctuation at all.
With that said, I'll add that the content was riveting. I had thought they lived in an apartment that burned, but it was a lovely, white adobe-type separate house, with flowering vines over the door and a beautiful garden, way up in the hills. I like living in Ventura Del Sol, but I can understand how much of a letdown it must be for them.
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