All Gifts done

Here we close to the end of 2016. The gifts are all ready and Ethel and I will be here alone as Alden's went up to Mammoth for Christmas and to do all the things in the snow. We are planning on having them coming to our house for dinner and exchange gifts. The dinner will be Red & Green jello salad, scalloped potatoes with ham, rolls, relish dish. Apple cider, wine for adults. A platter of cookies, fruit cake etc.Maybe we will play chicken track.
So this is our plan for New Years
Our friend Marianna and John treated us to a dinner at a park in Poway. This is a great place we would like to take Alan's to. John just had a knee replacement and he plays tennis at the Swim & Tennis club across the street, he would like to play tennis with Alan.

                                           Marianna Bea & Ethel at the Park in Poway

                                              The Angel gift I received from Tess

Soon Will Be Christmas

Yesterday Tom picked up Ethel and I to go to their house for a Birthday party for Gerrie. Had a great dinner and we played chicken track with them. They have a beautiful home in Scripps Ranch. At about 9:00 pm Tom brought us home. Last night was very cold down in the low 30"s as the grass was white this morning.
Today we went to Church then went to Denny's and had biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs and hash browns. This afternoon Mary came with cookies for Ethel's Birthday which is tomorrow, the 19th of December.
We had planned to have Alden's here today for dinner and exchange gifts but Alden and Josh came down with a sickness so maybe we will get together New Years day. Next week if Alden's get over their sickness they will be going up to Mammoth for Christmas Eve and Christmas day and a few days. We are scheduled for a few more Christmas celebrations.
It seems like this year went by so fast.

Christmas Concert

Yesterday we went to Church then we went to Denny's for breakfast. Letter on we put up some Christmas lights in the dinning room.
At about 3:00 pm we went to church for the 4:00 pm Christmas concert. We went early to get a parking place as they are still working on the solar system in the parking lot.
The Christmas concert was very good with the orchestra and the choir. We had a seat right in front of the orchestra. It was great to watch the orchestra.. And by the way we are so blessed to be able to go to this church as every so often they have concerts which we attend.
This morning we went to our ceramics and this afternoon we went to play hand and foot at the club.

Ellen's Birthday

Yesterday Ethel and I were invited for dinner to celebrate Ellen's 85th Birthday at a restaurant in Poway. They picked us up at our house at about 3:45pm, so we didn't have to drive which was great as I don't care to drive at night any more. The food was great. .

                                                    Ellen's family and sister Gerry.

                                                  There was nine of us in the group

Prime Time

Well today was Prime Time. The entertainment was "Project Harmony" done buy 4 ladies. This was very good as it reminded me of years ago when my two sisters and I would harmonize as a trio  We had such fun sometimes singing at church. It also reminded me of the "Andrew Sisters" years ago. I love that kind of music. Then there was the PRIME TIME menu which was Orange Glazed Chicken, with a delicious green salad, green beans, rice, rolls and of course desert which was ice cream with carmel and chocolate topping and a choice of cookies. The discussion around the tables was "food which was different. My selection was watermelon or cantaloupe with a sprinkle of salt. So I received another cookie for that. Well the cookies came home as I had eaten too much. Later on in the afternoon one of our friends, Pat came over with 4 avocados, home made vegetable soup and some other goodies. At 3:00 pm we went to the club for "hand & foot".
I must add that yesterday at 8:00 am we took the car to Toyota to have the breaks worked on. They brought us home and at 4:30 pm they picked us up to get the car. After we picked up the car we
stopped at Taco Bell for dinner and by the way we still have left overs from Taco Bell.

                                                          

Precious Lord

Yesterday at Church the orchestra played with all the instruments, such great music. One of my favorite songs was Precious Lord Take My Hand.  The choir sang also,  Dr. Mofid Wasef was the speaker, the topic was from Luke 5:1-11, about Jesus teachings and miracles. We are so blessed with all the activities at our church.
Today I went to the exercise room then I went to ceramics. We will be going to play hand and foot at
1:00 pm.

A Busy Day with Lovely

The day started out at about 8:45 am as I slept in this morning. Lovely made me some of her coffee. Ethel and I had our cold cereal for breakfast. Then Lovely and I went to the workout gym as Lovely wanted to help me with using the different machines in addition to using the treadmill. We came home at about 11:00 am. Lovely worked me on every machine so that I know how to use them. Even though I did a lot, my muscles were not sore or tired.

We came home and made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. During lunch, we talked about how to find cheaper flights. So, Lovely showed Ethel and I how to check for airfares on CheapOair.com. While we were on the web site, the subject came up to see the price of a senior round trip ticket to Taiwan. It occurred to me that I will need my passport if I was to take an oversea trip. Has my passport expired? So, I checked. Sure enough, my passport will expire on Aug. 25, 2017. If I wanted to travel next February and go to Taiwan with Alan, I didn't want to have any problem with my passport. I needed to renew my passport now!

So, we downloaded the form to do a mail-in renewal. I also needed to get passport pictures. We found out that Walmart has a photo center which will do the pictures for $7.88. On the way to Walmart, we found a nice Panda Express and had dinner there. We got the picture taken and shopped while we waited. By the time we picked up all the items on our list, the pictures were done. Lovely drove us home as it was already dark by then. I really don't like to drive at night.

I worked the rest of the evening on getting everything to be mailed out tomorrow after Prime Time at church.

What a busy day this was!

Lovely Is Re-training Me

We came back from Rummy Que and I didn't win any games today. Lovely had arrived already and stock piled our coffee mixes!. She had been wanting Mexican food, so we will take her to a local restaurant that's right up the street for dinner tonight. We all like Mexican food. Lovely is going to drive my car to see what she thinks about the shimmering that starts when the breaks are applied. I called AAA about auto and home insurance today. And it sure is nice to have Lovely here even for just 48 hours. She will go to Prime Time on Thursday with Ethel and I. We also invited Gina to join us. We have so many things to catch up on. I realized that I have not posted for almost two months. No wonder Lovely says she has to re-train me in how to do this again.

The Walking Grand Piano

This is Sunday with Alan here we went to Church, the message was on Margin Schedule. Then while the lady was playing the Grand Piano the piano kept walking away from her until a man assisted her by holding the piano still, the problem was the wheels were not locked.
We had no hand and foot cards for Saturday as Ray was in the hospital with a heart problem.
Friday we were going to go to visit Toni Miller and when I called her they were at the V.A. hospital as Keith Miller had just passed away. We will try and check in on Toni this week sometime.

Busy Alan

This is another busy day.
Alan went to play tennis this morning.
For lunch we had sandwiches.
Alan proceeded to take apart the old kitchen sink faucet which was quit a task. Then he installed the new one and it sure looks nice and works well. Thanks plumber!!!

Next Alan installed a new cabin air filter in my car. O what a dirty air filter the old one was, never been replaced for 13 years.

Tomorrow Ethel and I have doctor's appointments. Then we have hand and foot cards and Alan will go to Alden's to watch Josh's football game.

We plan to go to Togi Miller's Friday to deliver another copy of "My Story".

Hot Weather

This morning we went to ceramics and I finished some coup spoons for Alan, Lovely, Isaiah and  Abigail. They are all named except Isaiah's name didn't show up so the one without a name is Isaiah's. This is the picture of the top and the bottom of the spoons.

This afternoon we went to play Hand & Foot there was eight of us.

Last Thursday Ethel had some skin cancers removed and Saturday morning I had to take her to urgent care at Scripps as she was bleeding from it. While the doctor was treating her he went to sit on the stool and he missed the stool and landed on the floor with his head in the corner and his feet up, so I jumped up and asked if he was OK or should I call for help, he said he was OK. So that shows a fall can happen so fast and in such a situation.  

I heard that Abby missed her plain trip back to Taiwan and I pray that she had no problem returning.

Update of L.A. trip

We had a great trip to L.A. It was so great to have Alan as our tour guide. First we went to "The Boat House" for our July Birthday dinners with Ethel and Abby.  Of course I sure missed having dad also. Then we went to R.B. to pick up our luggage and head for L.A. Well the traffic was real bad as usual. Then Alan made his way up to Madesto to attend a funeral. Annie took Ethel and I to  Farmers Market. We really enjoyed that and Ethel purchased a pink plumaria for my Birthday. We went to the Saturday night church service. Alan returned for us to attend the Samoan church servuce and to our surprise they had a big celebration for one year since Puna passed away. I delivered My Story to Kelly, Nunu, Rosa & Anson.

 Monday we went to visit with Betty and Larry and went out for dinner with them. Then we went to visit Naomi and Dino. I delivered My Story to Betty and Naomi.

Tuesday we toured Santa Monica the Church where Al & I met, we even went inside the church. Then we checked out where my mobile home was and the park the next block and where Douglas Aircraft was located and is now the Santa Monica Airport. This is where I worked on DC7 & DC8.

July already

My how the time flies . We went to the 8:30 am service and checked to see if the church bus could pick us up next Sunday as the top parking lot is getting ready for installation of solar. The bus driver will call 15 min. in advance and will pick us up at our address at about 8:00 am. This will save more parking spaces for other people.

Yesterday Elaine called and said Betty is getting very upset as they are trying a new way to do the insulin and she doesn't understand how to operate it. Betty also has other medical problems. I called Betty and she really wants to see me. She wants me to call a couple days before we come to see her as she will cancel any appointments she might have. I keep praying for her at this trying time in her life. We plan on going for dinner somewhere near where Betty lives
.
I just checked Lovely's Blog and Annie informed her that Alan and Abby arrived in U.S. safely.
I thank God for that.
When Alan comes we will make a schedule for all the activities.

A confusing day

What a day as confusing as it is. I got up at 7:00 am and took a shower ready to go to Nurse Briana for a complete body check to check for any thing that might be the start of cancer. Several places on face, arms and hands were treated with frozen spray.

Ethel stayed home as Empire was to come and install ceramic tile on the entry patio. Well they came and informed her they couldn't do it on a open patio.
I called to cancel the order and they informed me that they could do it with a different kind of tile.
Now I am waiting to see what they have to offer.
This was already approved by the HOA.

Then today being our Rummy-Q day to play, we forgot all about it and it was to be FREE pizza.
Yesterday we were given the run around as we wanted to put a lockable mail box near our front door, First as far as the HOA is concerned it is OK. We showed the mailman and he said OK if approved by the post office. We went to the Post Office and they sent us to the mail carriers near the Fire Department. I had to write a letter telling why I need it and they will inform me if it can be done. I used my walker doing this so they canceled one step for me to go to another place. Now I am waiting to see if this will be approved.

Yes it was a confusing day.

First Blog for June 2016

I have to start doing Blogs again. Lovely was here last week and helped me with "My Life Story".
I am so grateful that she did this. Lovely returned to Taiwan and she is having my story printed in Taiwan and Alan and Abby will bring the printed copies when they come in July. I see that they are so busy after her return to Taiwan even though they still have time to get my story completed. I never would have been able to do this on my own. THANKS YOU GUYS.
The weather here has been great even the outside is 91 degrees outside and 73 degrees inside. This week end it is to get over 100 degrees outside. We don't have to use the A.C. yet and I hope we will not have to use it. Yesterday we went to our card group and there was ten of us, everyone in our group were present. Today Gerry called and cancelled cards for tomorrow as Ellen fell and is in the hospital. Cards are cancelled for Monday also because of the hot weather. Tuesday June 21 I am scheduled for my second Epidural shot for my back and leg pain.
This is Lovely at the RBCPC resale shop. Located on Poway Road. All proceeds are for the missions.

Mothers Day

It's been a month since I blogged. This morning we went to Church and came home for 1/2 hour then we went for lunch at "The Olive Garden" Was very good and had the left overs tonight. Last week we made a batch of chocolate chip cookies and they really turned out very good. We should NOT make cookies too often. Alan tried to SKYPE me before Church but I didn't get it so he tried again this afternoon and we had a good talk. This morning Alden called and updated me on their activities. This evening I received a "Happy Mothers Day" from Albert. It is so nice to hear from all the boys.
I have been working on "My Life Story" I hope to get it finished when Lovely or Alan can can help edit etc. It is quite a story.

Talk to Elaine and Betty

Today has been a slow day so I called Elaine Hecker and Betty Routt. Elaine moved to a assisted living apartment in Minneapolis. She is doing well but still having hearing problems. Betty had some falls and knee replacement and dealing with diabetes her husband has Alzheimer's.  Elaine told me that Betty's son is living with them not working and has his friend also living with them and they are gay. I would like to see Betty as she gets lonesome.
I went to the doctor and am scheduled for a MRI, then to Pain Management and probably treat with Epidural. This is to treat my sciatic pain.  

Day after Easter 2016

Easter Sunday we attended the 8:30 am service. It was a beautiful service, pastor Dr. Neal Nybo gave the message about the Easter story. The Sanctuary Orchestra and the Choir preformed great music.
The Church was packed which is usual for Easter.
After the service we went home for a little rest and about 11:30 am we went to "Out Back" for a 12:00 reservation. The food was great but way too much for us to eat so of course we had to ask for a container to go which we finished Sunday night. Of course we had Shrimp which we both like.
This morning we went to our ceramics class. There was a lady from China who has just moved into 7-Oaks and she wants to join the ceramics class to associate and learn the English language better. She speaks the Mandarin language.
At noon today we will be going over to Diane's for pot luck lunch. Going to be good.

St. Patrick's Day

We had a great day at Prime Time Fashion Show from the RBCPC Resale Shops. Oh what beautiful outfits. There were 24 tables with 6 per table, mostly ladies. We had 7 of our friends at our table

I was so thrilled when I spotted one of our friends which we have missed for about 1 & 1/2 years. Her name is Dorothy and she informed me that her husband Mac passed away and she has not gotten out much. She was so glad that I invited her to our table. Then there was other ladies from our ceramics group at our table.

Lois gave a great talk on St Patrick how he started a great mission in Ireland. Followed with prayer.

Then there was a Ham Buffet following.

Both Ethel and I purchased a jacket from the Resale Shop.

Back from SLO

On February 24th Ethel and I left the house at 10:00 am to drive down to Alden's then Alden took us to the Santa Fe Depot where we boarded the Amtrak which left at noon to go to San Luis Obispo. It was a great trip with many 2 or 3 minute stops. We arrived at San Luis Obispo at 8:15 pm. We were greeted by Moreene and Bob Allen and transported to their beautiful home. The bed was very welcomed as we were very tired. The next day we went down to the beach which was about 1 mile from their home. They were great hosts and drove us to so many places. We went to Morro Bay and had lunch there, we went to see the Monach butter flys at Pismo Beach. Saturday Feb. 27 we went to the pancake breakfast then we  were introduced to Mareene and Bob's daughter and family. They live on a large ranch with horses and dogs. Then we went to the wine country and had wine tasting and lunch. Toured a sculpture park then on our way home we stopped at Madonna Inn, what a beautiful place.

Sunday morning we were awakened up at 5:00 am to get ready to return home to San Diego as the train left SLO at 6:50 am. We had several delays to wait for other trains etc. We arrived at the Santa Fe Depot at 4:00 pm which was 45 min. behind schedule. Josh greeted us and helped with luggage while Alden drove around. Alden and Josh drove us up to our home and McKenna came later, then we went to Denny's for dinner and they went back home from Denny's and we went home as we were very tired by that time. Here are a few pictures of our travels.

Time with McKenna

Today was a great day with McKenna and Andrew. Ethel went to ceramics at about 8:45. I did not have much to work on so I did not go to ceramics today. At about 10:20 am McKenna and Andrew arrived so we played Dutch Shuffleboard for a while. Then we went to the club to check it out. At about 12:00 noon we went to Mama Cella's for lunch. We had a great green salad and all you can eat pizza. We went back to the Condo and McKenna and Andrew looked at many pictures. By the way I am trying to sort out pictures to scan  on the computer so I can make DVD's. Oh what a job that is.
These are pictures from many years ago which was taken before I had the computer. Well then we played Dutch Shuffleboard again. Then we had Ice Cream topped with chocolate chips, chocolate syrup and nuts. After McKenna and Andrew left I went to work on sorting more pictures.

Walk at the Mall

Today Alan went to play tennis and he picked up donuts so we picked out 2 maple bars and 1 lemon filled donuts and he took the rest to Alden's. At about 11:30 am we went to the Mall as I had a few things I wanted to purchase. We started at Penny's and they had nothing on my list. stopped at Target and I purchased some gloves for when I drive. Then Macy's was the next stop but nothing there on my list. Next was Sears and yes they had my cologne which I purchased. Well I checked for a rain jacket at all these places and Sear's was the only one that had rain jackets but at $59.00 that is a No No. Then we walked back to Penny's and out through the parking lot over to "On The Border" we had a very good lunch there including FLAN o so good. We came home and relaxed then Alan went to Alden's to go to a game and take the donuts down there. We took some pictures of our lunch but for some reason I can't put on the computer. So I will wait until Alan comes to see if he knows why. I didn't want to do it with the Flash Drive as I wanted to see if Alan can figure out why the chip doesn't work.

Rain today

After taking a shower I looked out the window to see the rain coming down. We went to Church and after Church we were going to go the the pancake house but there was a long line there so Alan drove down to IHOP and we had breakfast there. Our plan was to go to Alden's at about 4:00 pm for the evening so we wanted to get donuts to take to Alden's but what do you know all of the good kind of donuts were sold out so we ended up going to Marie Callenders for pies to take to Alden's.. Gina made Sloppy Joe's and green salad for dinner and of course we had pie and ice cream also. McKenna and Paige were very interested in having Alan to explain about traveling around the world. Then Alan was trying to see if we could get Skype on McKenna's lap top. So we all talked to Lovely and Abby on Skype. We had a great evening at Alden's and returned home at about 9:00 pm. There was not much rain on our way home.

Time to blog

Here it is already a week past into 2016 and this morning we went to the ceramics and there was a large group present. Barbara and Tess are interested in Rummy-Q so they will attend the class tomorrow at the club. Maxine had invited Barbara to come to the club Rummy-Q but Barbara feels like she will not be able to learn also Tess felt the same way. So I invited Barbara and Tess to come to our house and Ethel and I will teach them how to play. It seems so great for us to get together and do so many activities together. We have met so many great people here at 7-Oaks. As I keep thinking what I would be doing if I were still in Chula Vista with no special activities.
I have been reading the Decision and Franklin Graham is starting Campaigns in all the states and I pray our Country will turn to God as things have been getting so ungodly. Also I pray that I will be a testimony to my friends.

New Year 2016 blog

Year 2015 was a very good year for me as I seem to be progressing on my Siatic pain.
I haven't done a blog for almost a month but now with the Holidays over I will try to get with it. I hope when Alan comes he will be able to fix my computer so I will be able to put pictures on my blogs.