Post Anniversary Photos

Yesterday was our 30th Anniversary, just to mention it. The Wedding we celebrated with a Priest and a Rabbi. So basically, that ends our Anniversary Week.

I thought I would show you one of the projects that I worked on this past week.

I hung our Alaska Cruise up in the hall a year ago and then added the Hawaii Cruise with flags that hung in our room on the ship.

Recently, I decided to try to find photos from our cruise, that we took for that Second Wedding, back in 1990.

The third book I looked in, had the photos and I chose one of them for the hall.

So now we have photos of our 3 cruises that we took together. Note: my Husband did cruise to Alaska, years before I came on the scene. :-)

I have more projects going on right now, so there is more to come, later on.

Since going out was almost impossible, in 110 degree weather, Sunday, I made broiled shrimp and lobster tails, corn on the cob and spaghetti with shrimp and pesto. I also served sparkling rosé wine, that a friend from work gave me as a going away present.

I could have jazzed up the table more and served some of the ingredients in bowls and such, but this was good enough for us.

We have plenty of leftovers, so we will not starve this week.

Too bad the lobsters are not one of those leftovers.

The Daughters of Erietown

Connie Schultz is a Pultzer Prize winning Journalist, who I follow on Facebook and on Twitter.

I have been anticipating the release of her first fiction book, The Daughters of Erietown.

Erietown is a fictitious place, somewhat near Ashtabula, Ohio, which is where Connie was raised.

Being that Connie and I are just 2 or 3 years apart in age, she lived the story of what it was like growing up in the 60's in America. In many ways, it matches my life and so that is the story that takes place in her book.

It follows the parents, who ended up getting married at 17, due to them having a baby on the way.

Instead of the man going to college on a scholarship, he ends up doing the "right" thing, by marrying her. He gets a Union Electrical job, to support his new family. The pregnant wife also had plans to go to nursing school and lost that opportunity. So she stayed home and he worked. You follow the many lost dreams that happen along the way. Many situations that match my life and many others that don't.

Some of those other situations did not sit well with me and so I just want to state for the record that I had a hard time slogging through the middle of the story.

I made it to the end and was glad I did.

I am not sure I recommend this book, but it did give me a better understanding of some of what may parents went through. Much of it, I had never thought about before and for that, I am grateful.

Ventura Beach California In The Summer Of 2020

My Water Post For Today.

As I mentioned before, we visited the beach in Ventura, to get a feeling of what it was like there.

I was totally not impressed with how people were acting, in the midst of a resurgence of Corona-virus cases.

Especially since we passed several highway signs mentioning that face masks were required.

So we did not stay long, but we did feel the wind on our face and watched a few waves come ashore.

Glad I do not live there, because I would not feel safe, being around all those inconsiderate people.

In spite of that, I hope you enjoy.

Happy 40th Anniversary

Boy am I glad that my Hubby and I celebrated our 40th Anniversary back in February!

Who knew that we would not be able to have a big deal ceremony or party or just about anything, when the day actually came.

This year has been one of the more challenging ones, but hey, you make that vow, "For Better Or Worse".

Happy Anniversary, Baby. I still love you more.

Photo is of a tray we got for the original wedding, back in 1980. I recently found it in the cupboard and decided to put it out on our dining room table. It adds to the napkins that I have had out for the past year or so, that were on the tables for our wedding.

Andrea's Seafood In The Era Of Social Distancing

Our first major trip out of the immediate area of Santa Clarita.

We drove an hour west of town to the lovely area of Ventura, CA.

As I mentioned before, I had some peanut butter to pick up and so with that nagging me, we decided to make the trip over and check out the beach situation and then have a bit of lunch, before heading back.

We actually hit up two beaches, with our lunch in the middle.

We had wanted to return to Danny's Deli, but being we are not sure what is going on there, in the way of Social Distancing, we instead chose our go-to favorite, Andrea's Seafood.

We knew for a fact that they have outdoor seating, so we were pretty confident that we would be just fine in regard to them following the regulations and that was the case.

The front door had the six foot line up and then you exited through a second door.

There were tables in the back, as is usual and picnic tables in the front, all separated correctly, as you can see in the first photo.

My Husband chose the table furthest away from the door of the restaurant and we were quite comfortable, since no one got near us (except the birds) and they were easy to deal with.

I will profile the beach, on Monday.

Work Buddies, Together Again

Back in March, my work buddy picked up some peanut butter for me.

Being I was planning to go to Ventura to pick up some Archery equipment, we would quickly get the hand off done.

Then the lock down occurred...and the peanut butter sat and sat some more, in Ventura.

We still don't feel totally safe, but with precautions, we thought we could do a quick hand off.

We visited his home and spent about 15 minutes social distancing with masks.

It wasn't perfect, but it was wonderful to see him and his cat, Jethro.

CVS Health Medicare Benefit

One of the perks on my Medicare Advantage Plan is that I get $80 of free Over the Counter products through CVS Health:OTCHS benefits quarterly.

The plan just began this year, so it is brand new, but we have found it helpful.

We both take calcium supplements every day and that is the big money saver for us. I currently have 5 bottles here, waiting to be opened.

Since we both get $80 a quarter, that ends up being $160. and the products take about 10 days to arrive.

Not the best packaging, but hey, it is free. :-)

I also got 2 thermometers, Alcohol wipes (when in stock) and I am hoping to get a self check blood pressure monitor.

Appreciate the help, especially since we are mostly quarantining at home.

It's Cookie Time!

I have not baked cookies for several weeks and as I ate the last cookie on Saturday, I knew I could not delay baking much longer.

Being that the house gets hot around 2PM, I decided to bake 2 batches of cookies in the morning.

Chocolate Chip cookies for my Hubby and Mincemeat Cookies to get rid of one of the boxes of Mincemeat we got back in March of this year.

I had bought my first box of None Such Mincemeat back in January and made the cookies shortly after. Hubby and I enjoyed them and amazingly, 2 months later, they were still on the half price (or better) shelf. We decided it won't go bad and so we bought 2 more.

I bet the last box will be made for the Fall. LOL

The First Crop Has Been Harvested

I don't usually have salad for lunch, but in anticipation of my first crop of a tomato and a cucumber, I went for it last Friday.

Hubby and I shared the "bounty" and both liked what we got.

The one thing different, is the cucumber was a bit bitter.

It is better for making into pickles, but it was edible and mixed well with the salad.

Nothing else coming our way for weeks...minus the ongoing crop of cherry tomatoes.

Wishing I Was Traveling Up To Big Sur

My Water Post For Today.

Big Sur. There is nothing quite like it.

A friend took a 3 day weekend trip and traveled up to that area of the world, figuring that it was a fairly safe thing to do.

We decided not to do anything and stayed home.

Life during the Coronavirus.

This photo was taken in July of 2005, when we picked up our Son from JROTC camp at Fort Hunter Liggett.

He slept the entire trip and we just enjoyed it.

I hope you enjoy it, too.

Steely Dan At The Hollywood Bowl Way Back When In 2016

I went to this concert back in 2016 and yesterday, THIS Youtube link appeared.

I don't know how long it is going to stay up, but if you would like to hear what Steely Dan playing with an Orchestra sounds like, I highly recommend clicking the link.

To get the Set List, you can check out my original post HERE.

I was supposed to see them in June of this year...maybe 6/8/2021 will happen.

We shall see.

I went back and found a photo from the nose bleed section of the bowl, that long ago night. Hubby on the far left.

Happy 4th Of July (Full Buck Moon) 2020

Happy 4th Of July!

We get to celebrate this year with a Full Buck Moon and believe it or not, some sort of eclipse.

It is known as the Buck Moon eclipse and it is scheduled to happen the night of July 4th at 11PM EDT.

It is supposed to visible to most all of North America.

2020 just keeps bringing these surprises.

No matter what you do, please do it safely. Masks, distance and eat outdoors.

Let's all make it to 2021.

Hugh Downs Dies At 99

40 years ago next month, I started my career at KCET.

Back in those days we had a lobby with a TV that was turned to our channel (natch).

On my lunch hour, I would sit on the couch and crochet, while watching Hugh Downs host a Senior Citizen show called "Over Easy".

I was 25 and not exactly in the demographic being targeted, but it was better than nothing.

One day I received an All Staff Memo via the in house mail delivery. Typed and everything by the Office Manager's secretary.

Basically alerting all staff that sitting on the couch in the lobby was not allowed.

I am sure it was me who was targeted...but I digress.

Hearing that after 99 years, Hugh Downs had died, brought back that memory, from so long ago.

Wow, it amazes me that he still was living.

Godspeed to you, Hugh.

Now Starts The Second Half Of The Year

Here it is folks, we have survived half the year. This is day 184 (due to leap day remember that?) and we have 182 to go.

It's a miracle, in my humble opinion.

Let's take a deep breath and celebrate this.

California has had to close some more risky activities down in the past 2 days. The one I tried just once, indoor dining, is out. If you don't have an outdoor area with seating, you are back to take out only.

Bars and gone, except if you have outdoor seating AND food on your menu.

Gyms. Sorry folks, forget about it. As I said, I had checked out the pool and it wasn't ready to resume Aquafit yet, anyway.

I am sure there is more, but you get the idea. According to the "experts" we were bad people last month.

As I keep saying, we are trying to keep ourselves home, as much as possible and so we do little projects around the house, like working on our kitchen, in anticipation of the new cushion coming in the next few weeks.

The gardening continues and we hope for some decent crops within the next few weeks.

School is still up in the air, though I hope it ends up a no brainer for the Grad Studies Department and they approve me.

Looks like no trips anywhere, though if things calm down, maybe my Son can get out here on his December Vacation. We shall see.

So that is what the second half of the year is looking like, here at the angel house.

Fireworks On The 4th?

The Coronavirus cases are getting worse, so Governor Newsom forbade L.A. County to set off Fireworks this 4th of July.

The City of Santa Clarita was one of the only places that was going to allow fireworks, though there would be no parking at the mall, where they were going to be set off. Staying at home was suggested as the way to view them.

I immediately saw a problem with that. Out of the area people, especially from the City of L.A (where cases are MUCH worse then here), would probably try to see them. Where would they park? In our neighborhoods? Ack! Get away from us!

So now the up-shoot of the situation is that people are up in arms about the cancellation of the fireworks and local social media groups are screaming about it.

Sorry, not sorry here.

We will continue to quarantine here at home and keep the frightened cat company.