Thursday

Walked over to my 7:20 Quest appointment at Von's and was pierced, bandaged, and home before 8:00. Put in a color wash and by the time I finished breakfast, it was done. Folded and put away, then took off for town and SPAN--or SCAN, I can't remember which--the shop that has food bargains on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The farmer and his helpers were late getting there, so I had to stroll around and come back later. When I did, I got bean salad (yum), tomatoes, beautiful little melons, organic eggs, and a few other things.

When I got to the bus stop, I found LaVonne there 9we two busers often run into each other). She had gone for lunch at the Senior Center, which is nearby. One of these days, I'll go, too--I did, several times, before COVID. We had a good, companionable chat on the way home.  By the time I had lunch, it was almost 3:00; ate the bean salad and it was good.

Vickie called and said her eye appointment had been postponed, so she was free today after all. Did I want to ask Diane if we could switch back? I did, but she said she had papers all over the floor, so would prefer to keep Wednesday, which we will.  

I actually lay down for a nap after, but didn't sleep. Got up, went out to get the mail--nuthin' much--and had one of my sketchy dinners: a large yam. Finished my day with my daily hour-long treat of Better Call Saul, and slept well. 

Wednesday

Sort of a down day: I spent most of the morning reading, copying, and checking out the info from BOA re my rent and utilities payment.  Assembled the evidence, scanned it, and emailed it to the office. Also rearranged the freezer and labeled a lot of containers--makes it a lot easier to select.

I got an email back from Diane saying it was fine for Vickie and I to come over next Wednesday. Later, though, Vickie called to ask if maybe we could do it Friday, instead. I forgot it was Wednesday and asked Diane if we could come "tomorrow." She wrote back that she would rather Wednesday, at which point I wrote back to say I had meant Friday, not tom--. Oh, never mind. Turned out Friday's okay with her and we'll go tomorrow (the real tomorrow!).

I set out to walk to Smart 'n' Final after lunch, but--I assume because of the sleep problem--felt tired and turned back after a short distance. Tried to nap, but got restless, so I just got up and played my favorite Jewel Match Royale. 

Perked up a bit late in the afternoon after I walked over to Von's for a few things. I need human contact and, aside from emails and texts, I didn't have any until then. 

The Insomniac's Note

I've been having trouble sleeping lately, darn it. The night before last, the insomnia followed my usual pattern: I go to bed about 9:30, read for a half hour, then fall sleep with no problem. However, I then wake up between 2:00 and 3:00 for the usual, but after, can't get back to sleep. Think I'll try changing my routine a bit. My ideal get-up time is 5:30, but I have my phone/alarm set for 6:30; hardly ever do I sleep late enough to use it. But happy day--I slept well and just got up at 6:00--what a relief.

Tuesday At Ellen's

Yesterday was another of the recent fun ones: at Ellen's in Ojai. I took the bus that got  me to Ojai a few minutes after noon and Ellen picked me up. The heat was phenomenal; I think the lowest was 89 and from there it went up to the nineties and stayed there. However, she has central air, of course, so no prob.

When we walked into the gated side yard, Greg was just finishing the salmon on the outside grill. He accompanied that with roasted zucchini spears--both dishes, seasoned with his own combinations of spices and a light touch of oil.  Here's Greg with one of the plates:

The picture really doesn't due either Greg or the meal justice: It was superb. The salmon was wonderfully tender and, of course, perfectly seasoned with just the right amount of--I think--oregano, basil, rosemary (😄), and other herbs and spices. Greg never overdoes the seasoning; we talked about some dishes that are just too overloaded. Seasoning is supposed to be subtle and to enhance the food, not to stand alone on the taste buds. Anyway, it was scrumptious.

After we ate, Greg went to Java Joe's for coffee and to read, asking us to meet him there at 3:00, after  El and I went to Rain's Department Store and browsed. I impulsively bought a "decorating bulb" for cake icing. I'm thinking of having a little dinner party--possibly with Suzanne, El, and Greg--and will use it then. We then went back to El's and she went through the many grooming items she has and we filled two large bags with some she gave me. 

Met Greg and sat outside, although it was mighty hot. I had the counter person make me up a mocha/hazelnut concoction to my specifications and boy, did that taste good, albeit I was inhaling six million calories. We sat and chatted over our various coffees until it was time to go back to El's and wait for the Access Van. It got there, as promised at 4:45, I kissed my dear girl goodbye, and was ferried back to Ventura.   

What a neat day after a series of good ones and now I'm going to buckle down and address my various financial, business, clutter-clearing and other concerns. 

Monday

 Another full--and fun--day. Suzanne and I met outside our adjacent doors and took off for the Reagan Library at 9:00. Got there in less than an hour and had to wait a bit until it opened at 10:00. That was no problem, though, as we sat on comfortable benches among the lovely foliage and the spectacular views across the Simi Valley.

The exhibit--on World War II--was what I expected in some ways: Lots of worshipful praise for our heroes who sacrificed their lives for our freedoms and were, in every single human facet, far superior to those ugly monkeys, the Japanese, and even the Aryans, although they, at least, are white. Okay, it didn't actually say that, but the awed and adoring for "our boys" heavily implied it. 

However, there were plenty of interesting parts. Here's a fascinating one:

Incredibly, this kid was TWELVE years old when he enlisted in the navy. Later, he went into the marines. He married when he was fourteen and had his first child at fifteen. I hope his weird story can be read, if enlarged.

Another interesting story was "Maidenform And The Birds," which chronicles the story of carrier pigeons during the war. It seems a bra-type contraption was invented for paratroopers to hold the birds against them, then release them as they fell.

Anyway, it was okay, but I thought there were three notable omissions: 1. the very active peace movement and organizations of the time; 2, the chaplains of at least three three major religions; and 3. the home front, including the scarcity of gas and metal, plus rationing of food. 

We had lunch before we left and some good conversation, about the war, wars in general, and less charged topics. Home about 2:15, which suited me fine. I changed from jeans into shorter pants and bused to town. Called Ellen and I'll take a bus to Ojai today and the Access Van home. She told me it'll be over 90 there today, so to call her when I get to Von's and she'll pick me up and drive us the mile to her place. Just strolled around and enjoyed it.  

Home by five and was waiting for Paula to pick me up for rehearsal at 6:45. (Add got info from boa)

A Day Among The Plebians

What a fun day! I showered, dressed, then walked over to Vickie's at 11:15 (brought her some corn bread), and off we went to Bennie's birthday party. We walked into the Hill Street Cafe and the first person I saw was James, Bennie's brother and guardian. I had been in touch with him via email regarding SO-FI's various transgressions, but had never met him in person. Here he is with Bennie:

And a few more party pictures:

Anyway, Vickie and I had a lot of fun:

James told party-goers to order whatever they wanted on the menu, but please only one drink. Since Vickie isn't drinking alcohol until next week,* she suggested that after my orange blossom (see pic), I could have the Chardonnay she'd order with my meal. Hey, don't have to ask me twice and that's what we did. I like the eggs Benedict I've had several times there and that's what I ordered. We had a great time meeting and chatting with others, many of whom had worked with Bennie at the county; he was with them for forty years.

After the felicitations, the cake (oh, yum!) and the goodbyes, Vickie asked if I might want to go to O'Leary's, a nearby bar, and play pool. Yes, I'm serious. Vick had been a champion (ranked seven in some kind of system in which top is ten) years ago, which I knew about. Did I want to play? Don't be funny. But did I want to watch her play? Sure! We walked into O'Leary's and I thought I was back bar-hopping as a teenager in A.C.**

It was such fun! I ordered (another) Chardonnay and Vickie had a no-booze beer. She played several games of pool with two guys who had been playing each other. (The idea is for the winner to continue to play; loser is eliminated.) Vickie won a game or two and also got compliments from on-lookers for several shots. It occurred to me that sometimes I get bored with "polite society" and those who favor it. I get tired of staid, settled, affluent people who had high-level careers and go to church and wouldn't dream of saying the F word or sitting in a bar watching ordinary people--maybe even Republicans or fundamentalists or those who work with their hands!--play pool. I loved it.  

*Vickie wants to end her abstinence then because that marks a full year during which she didn't drink. We agreed she's compulsive, like me. 

** This is such a long post, I'll put this reminiscent part on the take-it-or-leave-it basis below. I have no idea why the type is larger!

Did we actually do that? Yes. We couldn't have been more than sixteen or seventeen, since we were in high school, but Mary Martin, Janie Moylan, Joanne Eisele, Jeanne Dollard, Betty and I, and lots of others would tell our parents we were sleeping over somebody's house, then visit the bars and nightclubs. It's incredible that we were even admitted, let alone served booze, but we were. Once, Mary, Joanne, Teddy Mooney, and I went to New York on the train and stayed in a hotel overnight. That was because the legal drinking age there was 18; by this time, we had graduated, so I guess we were that age then. We stayed at a hotel in Manhattan, then went by bus to Greenwich Village to a bar. I clearly remember ordering and drinking a whiskey sour; what else we had I don't know.  

Saturday

It turned out to be a good day. Got up at 5:00 and following my regular routine, had my coffee and did laptop stuff, then got dressed. Before breakfast, I made the corn bread and put it in the oven. After I ate, I cooked up the pudding, whipped the cream, and set the table.

 Diane got here about a half hour early, which was good, as we had a chance to sit and chat for a bit over a glass of wine. Jim arrived at his usual 12:30 and joined us with a glass of red while I heated up the meal. I decided to go with the garlic chicken, after all, and it went over big, along with the sides. Certainly, so did the chocolate pudding and whipped cream.

We relaxed on the couch--I always think that's more comfortable after a meal than sitting at a messy table. Since we were having such lively conversation--well, Diane and I were--I didn't introduce the scripts and that was just as well. Every once in a while, Jim would say something, but as Diane remarked later, it was hard to get him to actually converse--that is, engage orally back and forth with other people. He left about 3:00 and the Access Van came for Diane at 3:30, which worked out well. I walked her to the front and off she went with thanks.

Cleaned up the kitchen, then went over to Von's. Since I'm a "member," every once in a while, they give me something free. This was a package of chicken sausage which I put it away when I got home. Went over to Suzanne's with some corn bread and the remaining pudding and whipped cream. We sat and enjoyed some neighborhood gossip for a bit. I'll bring some corn bread to Vickie today before we go to Bennie's party. 

   

Friday

For the first time in living memory (ha!), I skipped T.O.P.S. and so what!

I decided to make applesauce to add to lunch for Diane and Jim today. Since I always have citrus with my oatmeal at breakfast and I had only one orange, I ran over to Von's before breakfast for another. But oh, happy day, they finally got pixie tangerines in! I bought two pounds and went happily home; cut up the orange to add to the applesauce and enjoyed a tangerine with breakfast.

I was sorry to get a text from Diane about 9:00, saying that her legs (neuropathy) were worse and she wasn't sure she could come today; she had a doctor's appointment at 2:30. Happily, though, when she called after she went, they seemed better. She's coming on the Access Van, rather than the bus, and I'm glad about that. I told her to call me when the van gets to the front entrance and I'll meet her out there.

Dust mopped, then Bona-mopped the hard floors, washed the bathroom rugs, dusted the wood stuff, and otherwise cleaned up. I decided to serve sandwiches instead of the garlic chicken--I think the weather is too warm for a hot meal.  Besides the applesauce, I'll also serve crystal pickles, which I got out of the freezer, and chocolate pudding with whipped cream for dessert. Of course, I have red and white wine for them and beer for me.

After lunch, I bused to a shop near the transit center. Didn't buy anything there, but went to BevMo for the small-bottle quartet of Chardonnay. I've been having one in the evening while I watch the hour of my current favorite show, Better Call Saul, thereby violating my don't-drink-alone rule, so shoot me.  

I dug out a few of my scripts, in case Diane would like to "read," as Jim and I have been doing. I won't push it, but sometimes conversation lags and maybe this will perk things up.