Thursday, January 31, 2019

Birthday At Work

I don't normally get out at work. I just eat at my desk.

On Thursday, I got invited to go out for my birthday, by two people I work with.

As is usual, when I get out, we go across the street to Simmzy's.

My boss was in Sonoma, thus she was not available, so it was just 3 of us.

That worked out real well, because we could all hear each other and we had a wonderful time catching up.

My lunch was great, as usual. I am not usually a salad fan, but their salads are fabulous.

God willing, that will be my last Birthday celebration at work.

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Happy Birthday From Red Lobster And Saugus Cafe

I got sung to multiple times this past weekend. On Friday the crew at Saugus Cafe serenaded me and gave me ice cream with chocolate sauce.

On Saturday, I got a similar serenade, from 3 of the waitresses at Red Lobster, along with the same basic ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Honestly, look at the 3 of them. Are they not total show biz. :-)

Just to round out the evening, I got Lobster Bisque and a small Lobster Roll.

My Husband got 12 Shrimp and a baked potato.

All in all, a good dinner at both Red Lobster and Saugus Cafe and not too expensive.

My idea of a good birthday weekend...oh, and lots of leftovers.

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

In A Relationship, Finally

Yes, it is Facebook Official.

Not my real son, but my Magic Son is now officially connected to his girl in Utah.

He has not told me much, but the photos they have been showing off seem to show love and happiness and isn't that the most important thing.

Right now he is shooting a movie in Ohio, so he is dealing with the COLD weather, as is my real Son.

I asked him if he is shooting interiors and he answered, "I wish". So sorry to hear that.

My best to the new couple as they begin to make this long distance relationship work.

Monday, January 28, 2019

Santa Barbara's Shore

My Water Post For Today.

We probably could have taken a trip out to Santa Barbara, but we didn't get the chance to.

So I dug through our photos from our 2011 trip and made sure you have never seen this view of the shore.

It is looking down shore, from the Santa Barbara pier.

If there were crafts hanging out at the shore, this would have been the spot for them, just inland from the water.

I thought it looked lovely.

Enjoy.

Sunday, January 27, 2019

The Wedding At Cana And My Wedding

Last Sunday, my Church read the Gospel regarding the Wedding at Cana. That brought me back to when my Husband and I got married the second time. We got to help choose what readings we wanted to hear read at the ceremony and I have never forgotten them.

There was this normal one which is from St. Paul, regarding women.

Committing to each other (Ephesians Chapter 5, verses 21-33)

"Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior. Just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be, in everything, to their husbands.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind—yes, so that she may be holy and without blemish. In the same way, husbands should love their wives as they do their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, because we are members of his body. ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church. Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect her husband."

Then there was THIS reading, in regard to Jesus and the Wedding at Cana. Being a Catholic, who was marrying a Jewish Man, I could so relate to this reading, because it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Jesus had a Jewish Mother.

"On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him."

To be complete in the readings from my wedding day, there is this reading:

Love, actually! The number 1 most popular reading for weddings is (1 Corinthians Chapter 13)

"Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things...

Faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love."

Saturday, January 26, 2019

Our Garage

The past few years we have gotten some white powder on the floor of our garage.

My Son noticed it first and saw that it had a crystalline shape to it.

My Husband and I would sweep it out of the garage, but as long as it would rain, the white powder would come back.

It was very much a winter problem and not really a big deal, so we were surprised to see in our local paper the name of the white powder.

It is called efflorescence.

Here is what Robert Lamoureux had to say.

"It is not indicative of a leak necessarily, it could just be humidity. If this occurs during the rains it’s a sign of humidity and is quite common during the winter."

My Husband and I were so relieved to hear this. We don't have to do anything...well, maybe wash it with some vinegar once in a while.

Friday, January 25, 2019

When I'm 64

It's my birthday!

Woot, another year has passed.

The main reason I am happy to reach this birthday, is that I should be able to sign up for Medicare at the end of the year.

Already I am receiving pamphlets trying to woo my business to them.

God willing, I have plans to exit out of work in mid December of this year.

We will see if I can make that happen.

Then it is travel time...at least for a bit.

Photo was taken on New Year's Eve.

Thursday, January 24, 2019

Orion In The Sky

On Sunday evening, we were watching the Full Wolf Moon have its eclipse.

While I was waiting, I looked toward the south and there was Orion.

He is so recognizable, because he has a belt and a knife on the belt, surrounded by 4 bright stars.

I have always enjoyed seeing him in the winter sky.

Suffolk Girl Scouts used to have a unit in Camp Edey named Orion.

I always wished I could be in that unit.

Orion, Orion, O-R-I-O-N.
Orion, Orion, O-R-I-O-N.

I have no other part of the lyrics in my head...but I remember that.

Love that night sky.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Rain Is Never Easy

This was day 6 of rain and obviously, people were no better at driving in it as they were in day 1.

It was raining pretty hard and all that, but seriously, they took out one of the yellow barriers and sent sand all over the roadway.

No idea what happened to the driver.

This is North Hollywood, by the way.

Glad it is over for a bit, til next time.

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Another Week And Cold In Michigan

We both had 3 day weekends, his is the last til May.

I just found out that GM does not give its employees President's Day.

Too bad for him.

Otherwise, nothing new on the GM front. He says they are very busy right now.

Piggy is showing you that it is cold there (as is much of the East).

Oh, note his CN Tower shirt. We bought him that, back in October.

It is the first time I saw him wearing it.

Always good to see him.

Monday, January 21, 2019

Another View Of Throgs Neck

My Water Post For Today.

Back to 2014 and the time that my Husband and I drove to Oswego, for my graduation.

We stopped to meet up with a friend and got some wonderful photos of The Throgs Neck Bridge.

I thought I would contrast it with last week's post of the Whitestone Bridge.

Beautiful area of New York and I am so glad I grew up there.

I hope you enjoy.

Sunday, January 20, 2019

L.A. Rams

The LA Rams are in the NFC Championship this weekend.

For a town that has not had football (or a championship) since the 90's, it is a pretty heady thing.

I have sort of eased back into football, at least in the way of rooting for them to win and via this bear that I got back at the 75% off sale 2 years ago. It lives on my couch in the living room.

Hopefully Rams Bear will send some luck their way.

Horns Up!

Saturday, January 19, 2019

Trimming Our Roses

It is mid January and as we always do, it is rose trimming time.

My Husband started the project during the week and he finished it on Sunday.

Before the rain hit, I might add.

So our roses are trimmed and ready to bloom again in the spring.

Of course, being we live in Southern California, our roses never stop blooming.

There comes a point though, where you want them to make new growth and so that is why we trim them.

I can't wait.

Friday, January 18, 2019

Street Bumps

We live near a school.

For some reason that I was not asked about, they decided to add bumps on the road that parallels our street.

Yes, it has the elementary school on it, but there are traffic calmers on it already, why add bumps?

What it has done to our area, is change the route to get in and out of our neighborhood and that is making my life a little more chaotic.

I can't use my normal cut through street to get to the main road, because they put the bump right at that intersection!

So I go down another block and turn right there.

I am afraid to ask how chaotic it gets when school is in session.

Things never seem to get better, just worse.

Thursday, January 17, 2019

No Bad News From Wixom

It was a short talk with our Son this weekend.

I did ask him about the potential layoffs in his area of the company and he said that he had heard nothing yet, but would not be surprised if something happened this week...or next week.

Keep him in your thoughts, though we do not think he will be let go.

Things have gotten back to normal in the 3 people house. He made a roast beef last week and that ended up being leftovers for lunch, most of the week.

The weather is still not terrible and he is actually surprised at that.

We mentioned that our Magic Son will be in Ohio soon and that the two of them should really try to get together.

He mentioned that one of the EcoCar people goes to Cleveland quite often. It is not that far away, so I am hopeful.

As usual, so good to see him.

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Sgt. Will Gardner

The photo is of Max Martini and his youngest son, Leo (isn't he just adorable?) Leo plays the part of Will Gardner's son. A stretch, to say the least. :-)

My Husband and I went to see Max Martini's movie, Sgt. Will Gardner, on Saturday.

We took in the 4PM showing of the movie and we found out that we were the only 2 people in the 22 seat theater, which saddened us.

This project has been on Max's agenda from way back and as a matter of fact, he set up a Kickstarter campaign that we contributed to. Unfortunately, the campaign does not get a penny, if you do not reach goal...and he did not.

He finally got funding from a few people and that made the movie possible.

He wanted to show the problems that our vets are dealing with, when they come back to America.

It means that the movie showed lots of things, in trying to be everything to everyone and I really think that hurt the movie.

In good things for me, I did not fall asleep and I made it through the movie.

I don't know if he will make any money on this movie, but if he does, three charities for veterans will benefit.

Good Luck with this, Max.

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Deodorizer Trees

I am a passenger in a Van Pool and on the first day of the year, one of the passengers hung a new deodorizer down on the driver's seat.

Seriously, I am not offended by the odors of the other passengers, I have no idea what her problem is, but it kind of makes me sad, because our drivers have to put up with so much. Bad traffic, the time we leave in the morning and the time we head out in the evening. Trying to make 8 other people happy. It is a hard job.

I can't drive the van, but I would have hurt feelings, if her action was caused by me. (Hopefully is is not me). :-)

The kids go back to school this week, so I am sure life in the van will get worse, instead of better and I am sure a deodorizer is not going to fix that.

Monday, January 14, 2019

Whitestone Bridge

My Water Post For Today.

As Nancy Santos (the person who shot the video that I took this screen capture from) said, right place, right time.

She was so correct. What a stunning photo of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, one of the two bridges that connect Queens (Long Island) to the Bronx and the Upstate area.

I have never been on this bridge, for some reason, we Long Islanders prefer the Throgs Neck Bridge, but it is just as beautiful.

The water is, too.

I hope you enjoy.

Sunday, January 13, 2019

Dinner With My Magic Son

We haven't been together since the end of November and so my Magic Son owed me quite a bit of money...note that it was nice to see that money. :-)

We knew that he was going to be back at work by the end of January, so we wanted to get together.

When I heard that his sister had returned to Vietnam, I knew he might be free. I won that bet.

Dinner at the usual place and lots of catch up to do with him.

As I showed off on Monday, he and his family traveled to Big Sur and spent some time at Limekiln State Park.

He really loved being by the water and by the redwoods. A son after my own heart.

He also has plans to visit Las Vegas, SLC Utah and then spend a month in Cleveland, Ohio.

I hope the two "Sons" manage to meet up, while he is there. It's only 182 miles away.

Saturday, January 12, 2019

A Lime Scooter

A scooter turned up parked on the sidewalk in front of Disney Corporate, at the corner of Alameda and Buena Vista.

It is a Lime Scooter and it has been approved for use in our area of Burbank, I guess.

I did find THIS article about having them expand into the Valley.

I personally found this one offensive and then on Friday there were 2 parked on Alameda (the street I walk on) and I had to dodge them. I felt for the parents with strollers or the handicapped people trying to "walk" on the sidewalk. It was much harder.

You definitely feel that there is no care by the riders, to make sure the scooters are docked in a safe area.

I wonder if this is a growing problem. If it is, I am not pleased.

Friday, January 11, 2019

My Curly Tailed Cat

This was Makenna a week ago.

Seriously, look at her curly tail!

This is what she does, when it is absolutely right about time for her meal.

No fooling around, no sleeping on the ottoman, just staring at us, wanting her food.

She also meows about once a minute, just to make sure we are not ignoring her.

She always makes me so happy.

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Donald Fagen Turns 71 Today

Donald Fagen turns 71 years old today.

I always felt extremely lucky to land between in his birthday and his partner, Walter Becker's birthday in February.

That yin and yang thing is no more, with the loss of Walter Becker, a year ago September.

No matter what, Donald's life and Steely Dan's goes on and yes, I am a fan that is so happy to hear that.

I have no idea what plans he has for this year (minus a few dates in Europe in February), but if he is going out touring in America, chances are I will check it out.

Happy Birthday Donald...and many more.

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Pork Roast With Apple Mustard Glaze

We had a pork roast in our freezer.

I didn't know what to do with it, so I went looking for a recipe and I found THIS one from Sandra Lee and The Food Network.

Minus making the glaze, it was super easy and the only thing that tied me to the kitchen, was the basting every 15 minutes.

It was juicy, flavorful and went well with the sweet potatoes that I didn't make for the holidays (so they were taking up space in the fridge).

The roast was super cheap (the reason I bought it), the sweet potatoes were free, as were the green beans I did not make last week. The mustard was a gift we got and the only new expense was the apple juice.

It ended up being an inexpensive dinner with lots of leftovers.

You might want to try it sometime.

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Michigan Update Jan 6th

First week back at work for my Son and he said things were getting busy at work.

No idea what that means, but we did discuss the new tailgate on the GMC Sierra. I saw a video on it, via Twitter and it was the first time I had encountered a six function tailgate. If you want to see what I am talking about, you can check it out, HERE.

He said that it had been around for about a year, but maybe on his radar, but definitely not on mine.

Otherwise, no snow there, still. Been a weird winter all around, since I know for a fact that Oswego has no snow right now.

His housemates are getting back into routine, though one of them was sick on Friday. It's that time of the year.

Otherwise, all is going well.

Monday, January 7, 2019

Limekiln State Park (Big Sur)

My Water Post For Today.

My Magic Son and his family spent several days up on the Big Sur area, by Limekiln State Park.

No idea who took the photo, but the water by Big Sur is always outstanding and so worth a look.

Enjoy that which you can only see (quite this way) in California

(Note: I am not putting down the beauty of Oregon or Washington at all).

Sunday, January 6, 2019

Three Kings Day Has Finally Arrived!

The big day has come. The Three Kings have finally arrived, to visit the baby Jesus.

My Church had them so far away, when I took this photo, that I could not get them both in the same frame.

On my end, I hope I will remember to take out the other part of our 3 Kings Bread. If you remember, it is currently in the freezer.

This brings to an end, the 2018 Holiday Season.

On with 2019. May it be a good year for all.

Saturday, January 5, 2019

We Got A New Faucet For Our Sink

I have been cooking in my kitchen for the past 2 weeks and the thing that was making it much more difficult, was the fact that our faucet was moving around.

It was bad enough that the top of it had broken off, so it was ugly, but now it was almost impossible to use and I kept thinking it was going to break apart and start squirting water.

Not the most pleasant way to end a year and start a new year.

On one of the days off, I dragged my Husband to Lowe's and we chose a faucet that we liked and was not overly expensive.

It would have cost of $129 to have a professional install it, since my Husband is no longer capable of fixing things like this.

Thankfully, our Aquafit Teacher's Husband does handy work jobs and he did it for a very reasonable price.

So we have a working faucet, once again.

I especially like the fact that I can fill and clean my large pots now. It was always a challenge doing that, with our old one.

Happy New Year and Happy Newer Sink.

Friday, January 4, 2019

My Martha Stewart "Coming Home" Poncho

Back in 2005, Martha Stewart got out of jail and someone knit her a lovely grey poncho, to go home in.

As were many other people, I was instantly in love with it and actually went to the effort to make it.

The thing is, I rarely have a situation that gives me a chance to wear it, so it just sits in my closet.

The other day, at Church, I saw a person wearing a poncho and I decided that I would go to the effort of finding mine.

It was right where I had hung it 13 years ago and it is in fine condition...so I wore it to Costco.

Now that we are going on a cruise, maybe I will bring it along for the ride.

We shall see.

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Goodbye Old Christmas Tree...Sob

It lived with us for something like 30 years.

My Child adored it and so did my cats.

Unfortunately, it came to the point in our lives that it was shedding all over the place, the branches were slowly breaking and trying to keep it going, when it weighed so much and we both had a very difficult time getting it down from the upper garage, was all just too much.

We did buy the new one, which I showed off, HERE, but this was the final moments that we had the old tree.

It was gone by the time I got home on Wednesday evening.

Thank you for everything you brought this family over the years. We cherished you and loved you and we will never forget you.

Life goes on.

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

You Call This New Year's Eve?

So there we are, watching the New Year come to New York City.

Wondering how people can possibly stand out in the rain for hours on end, without bathrooms!

The big moment arrives and they are counting those last seconds down to the new year.

When the clock strikes 12, all you can see is smoke?

Really?

I couldn't believe it.

Talk about a major fail.

A new dawn, a new day and here's what went on at the end of the Rose Parade, this year.

Figures that the only float I wanted to see, would have a fire, break down, the tow truck break down and then have the show end. You could tell on the repeat air that they had to take it into editing, for post production, because KTLA runs the show all day long.

A pretty sad start to the New Year, all around, or as my Husband says...Live Television.

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Happy New Year And A Post On Braids

Happy New Year! May 2019 treat you well.

I have seen many people, both old and young, adding a braid to their hair.

I spent the majority of my 40's wearing a braid on either side of my long hair.

The last time I did this was 11 years ago, when I met our friend's first Grandchild.

You can see it in the photo.

Single braids kind of went out of style, but seems to be coming back.

As an example, here is our friend's youngest Grandchild, sporting a wonderful braid.

It brought back many memories to me.

Too bad the way my hairdresser cuts my hair now days, does not work well with a braid.

My hair is layered and much thinner than it used to be.

Oh well...