THURSDAY

Went over to Quest in Von's for my 7:20 blood test appointment. I was early, but happily, the nurse (nurse?) took me early. I was surprised to see that her name tag said "Elva." Elva Gruhler* and I went all through St. James together and she's the only one I ever knew with that lovely name. If interested, see below for more on Elva.

I picked up some cottage cheese and stuff while was at Von's, pleased that at that hour, it was so quiet. Home, had breakfast, then packed up a large envelope that came for my (ex) daughter-in-law, Paula, and walked to the P.O. to mail it to Singapore. Now, did I want to send it the quickest way, which would cost $92 or have get there in six to ten days for $7.11? Guess. I ran into Vickie on the way and she told me how many of the other residents here were so upset over the trees being trimmed or removed. Some cried, they felt so sorry for the trees and if that doesn't point of the idiocy that seems to abound, I don't know what does. 

After the P.O., I fooled around with this and that until I was ready to take the bus to keep my 2:00 appointment at BOA. Rode there, met with a very pleasant and competent young woman named Janessa, and we sat for a full hour trying to figure things out with Cricket Wireless. I just can't bear to go into the details, but the problem isn't resolved yet; I have to get some more info on my end. Bused home and packed my lunch. 

After, I walked over to the office to give Kim my rent check (one of these days the residents' portal will be up and I'll do it electronically), then had my lunch in the middle--at 3:45. But so what, I can eat anytime I want, so I sat in the lovely sunshine and read my book (still on the Ted Kennedy bio). Lorraine called while I was there and we chatted for a bit.

Home after and I just played some computer games. 

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Blog entry of April 7, 2020: I thought I'd call my old friend, Elva Gruhler (that was her maiden name), with whom I graduated from St. James an incredible seventy years ago, but the phone was no longer "in service." Looked her up and, damn, Elva died three months ago. I'm not sure why that hit me so hard, but it did. We had a history--Dr, Gruhler and his family lived on Rosborough Avenue, as we did, and I went all through grammar school with Elva. They moved away, we lost touch until about ten years ago, when we reconnected. I visited Elva at her Lambertville Gallery of Fine Art, bringing Jeanne Dollard once and Peggy Hartman another time.

I don't know why I feel so bereft; the last time I talked to Elva was shortly after I moved here. She had called just to say hello, not realizing I was in California. I wish I had called her a few months ago. Elva's entire birth family pre-deceased her and her brother and sister were quite young. It's another part of my childhood gone forever and I remember some history with Elva that now, nobody else in the world remembers. It isn't even important or very significant, so why does it still clutter up my mind? That's a rhetorical question--I know why.

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TUESDAY EVENING AND WEDNESDAY

Via the Access Van, I got to Ojai and Ellen's at 5:00 pm Tuesday. We hung out for a bit, then met Greg at Sea Fresh. We had dinner--I tried Idaho trout, which was good--and, of course, chatted away. Back at El's, we warred over gin rummy (I lost abysmally!), and greatly enjoyed it. Greg said goodnight and I went to bed a bit after 9:00. I always sleep well at Ellen's--the guest room is comfortable, the bed is a king, and I have my own bathroom. In addition, I always feel safe and protected there.

Up at 6:30, had coffee and toast, then El arose and we drove the the parks and recreation center. There was Stella, a man named Manny, and a husband and wife team, Shelley and Mark. As it turned out , Shelley was with the parks and rec center and Mark simply volunteered to go along. With Stella and me, that was the whole group (we went in a van, not a bus).

And oh, boy, did we have a ball! Shelley and Mark are terrifically light-hearted, full of fun and intelligent besides. Manny was quiet at first, but opened up later, and Stella, whom I've known for several years, enjoyed it, too, although she has, as they say, a number of "issues."

Solvang is a kind of Danish town, a well-known tourist attraction in these parts, with lots of windmills, Danish museums and stores, and restaurants.  There are also missions, established by the Spaniards: 

Below: part of the mission there:

Below, my companions from left: Mark, Shelley, Stella, Manny:

And here I am with three of them:

Below is the rustic cemetery at the mission: 

We ate outside at a good restaurant and I was amazed that petite Stella ordered two brunches:

She didn't eat it all, and I had some of her pancakes after my Danish sausage and Havarti cheese.

After, we went to the bookstore and Hans Christian Andersen museum:

Unfortunately, the museum was closed, but overall, we did plenty of sight-seeing.

Noreen called me while I was in Solvang and I said I'd call her later. We left about three and got back to Ojai, as scheduled, at 4:30. El picked me up and, as she needed paper products and so did I, we went to Wal-Mart before she dropped me at home about 6:00.

 

I called Noreen, who had wanted to tell me about an incident at her T.O.P.S. meeting yesterday. I'm still a little puzzled, as she said a woman there had told her she was "counseled" on weight loss by an AI entity--seems odd.  Sharon also called to say she had heard about Lora's son and would bring a sympathy card to the meeting tomorrow. 

It's now 6:30 am and at 7:00, I'll walk over to Quest in Von's to get a blood test.  

TUESDAY

 Well, it's no 2:03 on Tuesday and I'm just hanging out until the Access Van comes between 3:38 and 4:33. Earlier, I finished cleaning the bathroom sink, did a color wash, packed my carrier for overnight, ran the dishwasher, had lunch, showered and washed my hair and now it's 2:06 pm on Tuesday and I'm going to be merciful and end this.  SEE YA!

NOTE to readers (if there are any--HA!)

This blog will be suspended for a day, as I'm spending the night at Ellen's and, since I won't be there until 5:00, it's just too much of a hassle to take my laptop and gear. I'll be going to Solvang tomorrow (Wednesday); not sure what I'll do there, but will report those breath-taking activities on Thursday. Adios! 

MONDAY, CHORES, AND SETH

I surprised myself by getting some long put-off chores done. They included scrubbing the tub, washing the bathmat and bath rugs, dry- and wet-mopping the hard floors, sweeping the patio, and cleaning counter tops. Gee, it's funny--that took me only a minute or two to record, but practically consumed the whole damn day! 

Suzanne is back from Phoenix and we chatted a bit. She, Vickie, and I are going out to dinner on Friday and I hope this will be the long-delayed time I treat them for picking me up after my trip to Jersey. 

I'll be staying over at Ellen's tonight, as my bus trip to Solvang with Stella leaves at 8:30 tomorrow. Decided to take the Access Van to El's, then she, Greg, and I will go to Sea Fresh for dinner; I'm  looking forward to that, of course, After, Greg will probably stay and play gin rummy with us.

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A few minutes ago (I'm writing this on Monday evening), I was stunned to read on my friend, Lora's, Facebook page that her adult son, Seth, has died. I don't want to put the circumstances here, but he had had many difficulties in the past few years and the hope was that they were over. Clearly, they weren't. I immediately called her and we talked. She's still in Arizona and plans for what comes next, memorial service or whatever, haven't been made yet. I'm sick with sorrow for her.  

SUNDAY WITH NOREEN

Bused to the mall, exchanged a bra, then walked the block or so to Danny's Deli. I was early and it was crowded, as it's near Assumption Church and the twelve o'clock mass attendees go there after. I was early, anyway, so I put my name in and sat outside on the bench. Interestingly, right as Noreen arrived, a woman asked if she could take my picture. "To what purpose?" I asked, and she said she was an artist and wanted to paint my portrait. Well, okay, then, and I let her take it, then gave her my card and asked her to let me know when it was finished.

Noreen and I went in and settled down for lunch and deep-down talk. As I mentioned to her, she's one of the few people I don't feel I have to pretend with. Also, she's older than I am--she'll be ninety in June--and it's nice not to be the oldest once in awhile. I decided to try pastrami with au jus, kind of an odd setup, but it was pretty good; of course, the hazy IPA with it was yum. 

Noreen decided on dinner, so ordered salmon with salad and veggies, plus a glass of chardonnay. We do separate checks, of course and and our  combined tab must have come to at least sixty bucks, if not more. After a leisurely meal, we each gave the server a credit card. She went away with them, but to our amazement, she came back in a few minutes to say someone had paid them for us! This happened to me once before at a supermarket, when the person ahead of me paid. I wasn't able to find him or her to protest and yesterday, we also had no idea who it had been, as they seem to have already left. I know this is the "pay it forward" thing--a kind of fad that makes people feel good about themselves, I guess; then the beneficiaries are supposed to do the same. 

That is not going to happen with me and to be honest, the whole thing makes me uneasy. I'm perfectly comfortable financially and I'd much rather have benefactors give the amount for my lunch to one of the three homeless people I passed on my way to meet Noreen. Also, I know that Noreen, while not wealthy, is also in the "comfortable" category, so-o-o... I know the people who do this mean well, but it makes no sense to me. Yes, they may very well donate to charitable causes, but why pick random people who, since they're eating in a restaurant, must not be destitute? I support several charities and will continue, but I'm not going to be picking up any strangers' checks. 

SATURDAY WITH TWO FADING JIMS

I was pleased when Jimmy D. called me about 10 am (presumably, his helper got him the connection). To an extent, he was the same old Blowhard Jim; he boasted that he was in excellent health. He meant physically, clearly, because his mental capacity has deteriorated, which I'm not sure he realizes. When I mentioned our trip to see Betty at Villa Alamar two years ago, he had no recollection of it at all, but here's proof he was there:

In fact, I'm not sure he remembered Betty--or me, for that matter. He didn't call me "Arty," Betty's and his nickname for me in the olden days, and while he seemed engaged, he asked no questions. Anyway, we spoke for just five minutes or so, and I said to keep in touch and I'll do the same. After, I texted his daughter to tell her of the call and to thank her again. She responded that Jim also has what she called "a home phone" (a landline, that is) and he might answer that if I called. She gave me the number and I'll use it in a few weeks to touch base with Jim again. 

As for the other Jim: The Access Van picked me up and I got to his residence before noon. I gave Celeste the girl scout cookies I had bought, thinking her charges would enjoy them. Jim had already ad lunch and was in bed when I came in, although he assured me he wasn't about to nap; said he "wasn't allowed" to walk, although I doubt if that's so. However, he was in pretty good shape mentally; we had a conversation that was intelligible, ranging over his experiences, present-day and as a child, when he went to New York with his mother. He said his friend, Roy, had been to see him and also his friend, George. I asked Jim about his weight and was happy to hear he had gained some. At one point, Victor, the proprietor, came in and gave me a cold bottle of Lipton iced tea--so nice of him. 

So I stayed about forty minutes, but by then, I was hungry, plus there wasn't too much else to talk about, so I said goodbye, assuring Jim I'd come back. I knew the Access Van wouldn't be back to pick up for at least 45 minutes, so I asked Victor if I could eat my lunch. Sure, and he showed me to the atrium, a very nice area with a table and chairs. I ate my sandwich and drank my IPA (I took the iced tea home) and greatly enjoyed it. After that, I waited out front where there's a covered veranda and a comfortable bench. Talked to the helper, Marvin, who was watering the lawn. He's from the Philippines--speaks accented, but good English.  The more I see of Granny's Care Center, the more I like it (aside from the odious name). 

Got home after 2:00 and called Lorraine to meet me so I could give her the lemon she had asked me for. Did so, then went over to Von's for plant milk and peas. Later, Mike called/facetimed me; he got back from Vietnam late Thursday. He said my great-nephew, Cameron, was over for dinner the other night and he and Violet got along fine. Cameron is now visiting a friend in Thailand. (Hmm...when I was twenty, I was lucky to get to Malvern, Pa.) 

Lunch with Noreen today and I'm looking forward to that.