End of Year Recap

Here are the highs and lows and in between of 2012

 

 

January: Marvin had surgery to drain the abscess on the 9th, then on the 13th he had abdominal surgery and a colostomy,  and was in ICU with a breathing and feeding tube for several days. Sandy and Lizzie were with me. I bought a maltipoo and named her Lulu.

 

 

February: Marvin was released from Kaiser on the 8th and transferred to Pacific Palms for rehab. On the 9th he went back to Kaiser ER and back to Pacific Palms on the 12th. Lizzie has been coming over on weekends and Sandy and Tristan flew down on the 17th. We celebrated our 47th wedding Anniversary at Pacific Palms with cupcakes.. Lizzie drove them to the airport the next day. Marvin was released the 24th. On the 28 trying to sit on his recliner Marvin fell down, had to ask John and a neighbor to help him up. The next day he ostomy nurse and the physical therapy nurse came to teach us some procedures.

 

 

March: On the 6th, Marvin fell on the bathroom, needed some help from the neighbors. On the 9th on a visit to Dr Shawel we found another abscess and was back to ER for surgery. Stay ed in Kaiser until the 18th when he was transferred to Pacific Palms. Sandy and Lizzie came over the 23rd, Sandy left the 25th . I had a mammogram on the 30th. Lizzie had diverticulitis attack the 31st.

 

 

April: Marvin was released from Pacific Palms on the 7th. Lizzie and I picked him up. Street paving. Sandy came down the 19th. We celebrated Marvin's 72 birthday at home, and also Mother's Day, we both got iPods :)  Sandy left the 24th.

 

May: Bought myself a new computer tower. Sandy came down the weekend of the 25th for Memorial Day weekend.

 

June: Marvin to ER on the 4th (don't remember why). On the 7th Sandy and family went to Belize, and Lizzie went ziplining. On the 26th Marvin went to the ER from the dialysis clinic with acute weakness, was discharged on the 28th.

 

 

July: Norbert went on vacation to Hungary and France. I had a hearing test and I am hard of hearing in both ears. House cleaner came on the 11th. Tristan came to stay with us for a few days on the 16th. Sandy came the 21st and they both left the 23rd. Lulu had obedience training this month but did not graduate. The London Olympics started the 27th

 

 

August: Went for a check up on the 1st. Called  911 on the 7th, firemen and paramedics came and took Marvin to the Whittier Hospital because he was confused and in pain, later that day he was transferred to Kaiser Irvine. He was released on the 8th, Jennifer and I picked him up. Sandy had knee surgery the 13th. I had a few procedures done at the dentist. I also went to the podiatrist Dr Chapra. Lizzie spend a week with Sandy in Utah.

 

 

September: Norbert got back on the 5th. Nothing much happening :)) Visits for Marvin to Optometry and Dermatology.

 

October: Back to the dentist to have a couple of crowns. Tree Trimmers came $350.

 

November: Quiet month. On the 24th Lizzie and I took Marvin to ER because of  being confused and weak.

 

December:  Went to Dr Shawel on the 3rd. On the 8th, Marvin woke up weak and "not right", and we went to ER.  They thought he had an infection and gave him antibiotics. He also had his fistula checked in Radiology since it was clotting. He was released from Kaiser on the 11th . On the 15th Lizzie and I had a pre birthday lunch at Black Angus. On the 17th I had my 69th birthday, Marvin and I went to Black Angus. I got Champagne and chocolates from Mia, yummy pastries from Utah. and a poetry book from Lizzie . We picked Lizzie in Fullerton on the 21st and next day the Thompson's came. The 23rd we all went to El Torito for a post birthday lunch. On the 24th the O'Dell's and Wann's and Jeff came to join us for a Christmas Eve dinner, prepared and fixed by my two girls and Jeff. :) Delicious.

Christmas day we opened gifts, and had a nice meal of canelones and fillet Mignon roast. It was a great holiday!!! 

 

Again I want to thanks Sandy and Lizzie for all the help and support throughout the year. It has been a very stressful year for me, and of course not a fun one for Marvin. He had to go through a lot. But thankfully, the year is ending in a bright note, and I sincerely hope that 2013 bring us health, wealth and happiness :)

 



Family Christmas

It was so great having both our daughters, Marty, Jeff and of course Tristan, spend Christmas with Marvin and I. It was specially great because Marvin was feeling good too!

This was the best gift. But of course we got other gifts too. It was fun opening presents and Sandy already wrote about it in her blog. My favorite presents were the yearly Calendar from Sandy and the framed poem from Lizzie. But I also liked the  bright red hummingbird feeder, and the beautiful glass balls, and everything else!

Marvin's brother and sisters and Lee and David also came for Christmas Eve, as well as a preggie Christina and Rick.

We all admired the beautiful flowers Mia sent. Here they are called Tiger lilies and Dutch Iris.

Sandy and Lizzie took care of Christmas Eve food, including cleaning :) They got a ton of stuff but everything was yummy. Jeff cooked an amazing roast pork. We had appetizers, main course and desserts. Too many to mention. We were sated!

It was fun opening the white elephants gifts, I still don't think I have the hang of it 100% but it came out all right and we all had something we liked and lots of fun doing it!

The next day it was just the 7 of us, and we opened our gifts around 9AM. Sandy explained it very well in her blog, so I won't repeat it. I wanted to add that our doggies Osi and Lulu got along really well. I think Lulu learned some nice behavior from Osi that is one of the coolest dogs ever. Tristan and Lulu also had fun together :)

After breakfast and lunch, Lizzie and Jeff drove back to San Diego. The rest of us, just hung around, and snacked all day. I drank a whole bottle of Cava because I could!  ;)

I put a whole bunch of pictures in Facebook, I hope you all will enjoy. Here's some pictures from our lunch in El Torito on Sunday.

 

 

 

Thanks everybody for a wonderful Christmas!!!

 

 

Christmas Spirit

Having my birthday and Christmas so close together is pretty fun, because I get double the presents! ;)

This year, Sandy  got some yummy Kouing Amman pastries from Salt Lake City (it's almost a tradition). They didn't last long!

 

My sister Mia sent me a great kit of Champagne Veuve Cliquot  and a box of Godiva chocolates! I am ssaving the champage for Christmas, buty the chocolates are...you guessed it! gone ;). The poinsettia is one of my Christmas decorations, it will be planted outside after the holidays.



 

 

Then  today I got another surprise, well surprises! Also from my sister, a gorgeous basket of goodies. I will share them with my family on Christmas day and wish Mia was there to share as well, she'll be in  spirit! :)  And a beautiful bouquet of flowerts. When I got them they were not open, it says it needs a couple of days to "wake up" from being in a box. I don't know what kind they are. They look a little like tulips. I'm sure Mia will let me know since she says they are typical of Sweden.



 

 

Now I cannot wait until we are all together. Lizzie will be coming tomorrow night and Sandy, Marty and Tristan will be here on Saturday. Monday evening Jeff, Marvin's brother and sisters and Rick and Christina will be coming too.

 

I wish everybody a very happy holidays!

 

 





69

Yep, that's how old I am today.

Next year will be one of those new decade type birthdays. I sometimes can't believe I am 69.

It was a nice day, a little rainy in the morning, it has been a wet December so far.
Marvin and I went to Black Angus Restaurant for a late lunch. It was very good and the best part is that Marvin was feeling good too!

We had an appetizer of garlic cheese bread, then a wedge salad with blue cheese and bacon dressing. We both had a rib eye steak, super tender and juicy, Marvin had au gratin potatoes and I had garlic mashed potatoes and onion rings. For dessert we shared a huge slice of chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and fudge.

 

 







After we got home, we didn't do much of anything, just watched TV and just take it easy.

It was very nice to hear the girls and Mia calling me and wishing me a Happy Birthday. My firends Jennifer and Lolin also called. And I got many many birthday wishes in Facebook. And a very nice message from Tristan wishing me a happy day! :)

iPhone

Yes ladies and gentlemen, I am finally the proud owner of an iPhone. I chose the same model Lizzie and Sandy have, than way they can help me put the apps on and learn how to do some things. And yes, it's white so it won't show up fingerprints as much.

It was an early birthday present, from me to myself!

On other news, after many years of middling to mediocre TV's, last night Norbert asked me to go to Costco and help him choose a new TV. He chose a 42" Vizio smart TV. This morning the cable guy went to his house and bundled the computer, TV and phone, so he was set up. At 3:00PM he called saying he was coming over to return the TV because it was not "bright" enough.

So off we went to Costco again and as a surprise, I got him a Costco card for a Christmas gift. He goes to Costco all the time, but always with friends with cards lol. This way he can go all by himself :)

Anyway this time he bought a 50" Samsung Smart TV.

Hopefully he will still like it in the morning.

Neighborhood weirdo

This morning around 7AM, somebody's car alarm started beeping, I think it was Nick's next door. Their dog Marshmallow started barking and howling. It lasted for quite a while, then Nick got up and turned it off.

Tonight I was walking Lulu and when I got back home, Nick was putting the Christmas lights around his house. Lulu of course went crazy and wanted to be petted and talked to. He took her leash and took her to visit with Marshmallow.

After that we talked for a while, and he asked me if I had heard his alarm this morning, I said yes. He said that there was a 25 year old man  that lives a couple of blocks down, and he was running naked  trying to open car doors. He said the police is aware of it because it had happened before, he said there was a police car in front of his house the other day asking questions.

So why they don't do anything? Well they have to catch him in fraganti!

The thing is, I had both my car and truck unlocked last night! I quickly went and locked them and you can be sure I will lock them all the time now!

NaBloPoMo

I won't have a recap of the month since I wrote every day :)
I will just write the list of books read and also some movies I've seen this month.

BOOKS

Beth Harbison - When in Doubt, Add Butter

Hester Browne - Little Lady, Big Apple

Faye Kellerman - Grievous Sin

Stacey Ballis - Off the Menu

Mary & Carol Higgins Clark - Deck the Halls

 

 

MOVIES

Your Sister's Sister (2011)

In the Good Old Summertime (1949)

On Moonlight Bay (1951)

Just Friends (2005)

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1970)

To Rome with Love (2012)

 

Here's to a great December! :)

Rainy day

Today it felt like Autumn. It rained softly all day, the leaves were falling from the tress, and a hint of chill was in the air.

I went shopping to my favorite store, Trader's Joe, and got me some panettone. I love to dunk pieces of it in my hot chocolate!

I was sorry to hear about Osi, I hope she will feel better and maybe take some medication that may help control her seizures. She is a very sweet dog.

Lulu spent most of the day outside or in the kennel. She is a little naughty. She is very sweet with Marvin and loves to sit with him and begs for kisses and likes to cuddle with him. Sometimes she's sweet with me too, but mostly she thinks I always want to play and goes halfway crazy running around the house making weird noises and trying to bite my toes!

One more day and I will have written every day, yay. Good job Sandy and Lizzie too. I hope you keep on writing if not every day at least one or twice a week. And you too Mia!!!

I hope you feel better Lizzie :)

A KFC Tale

There was an advertisement from KFC that said:

NEW, crisp 'em, and dunk 'em. 3 crispy chicken tenders, one side of your choice, a freshly made biscuit, a medium size drink, and two dunking sauces, for $5.00

 

It sounded good so I went and ordered 2 of them, one with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy, and one with a side of mac'n'cheese.

 

I was second in line to order and there were 6 people behind me in line.  I fixed the drinks, a diet Pepsi for me and a Sierra Mist for Marv, and waited.

 

And waited.

 

After seeing everybody that was in line get their meals, I asked about my order. The server said they had to fry some more chicken tenders, but he would give me a chicken leg instead.

 

I said: "HUH?"

 

I said I wanted the chicken tenders. He said OK, they are cooking.

 

So I waited some more.

 

Finally the meal made an appearance. I doubled checked to make sure everything I ordered was in it. What? potato wedges??? where are the mashed potatoes and gravy?

 

Oops sorry!

 

Hey where are the dunkin sauces???

 

Ah what do you want? buttermilk? honey mustard? buffalo chicken? BBQ?

 

GIVE ME ONE OF EACH!!!

 

OK, finally all ready to go.

 

Server: Thanks for waiting. Have a Merry Christmas!

 

Me: HUH?

Tree shopping

After taking Marvin to dialysis, I stopped at Fresh'n'Easy to get me a pastry for breakfast. Right at the entrance they had some evergreens just the size and shape I wanted for Christmas. I am not a very decisive person but I just went for it then and there :)

 

 

Still in my tree shopping mood, I went to Home Depot and bought a dwarf meyer lemon tree to replace the one we had to take off. Last week I had the gardeners  dig a hole and I put it there, on Friday the gardeners will plant it properly.

 

 

 

And lastly, my roses are blooming beautifully, here's my favorite, deep red and with a wonderful aroma (at least that's what they tell me)

 

 

 

 





Plans gone awry

I woke up around full of energy and wanting to do things. Since it was cyber Monday, I thought I would somewhat consolidate things from the Christmas lists I've been sent, and start ordering some stuff, since shopping, even online shopping is not one of my favorite things to do.

So I turn on my PC, and check my mail and Facebook, etc. and somehow,someway, I picked up a pesky virus!!! My AVG caught it but said it couldn't quarantine it, I would have to manually  try to  get rid of it. The virus is called "My Start by Incredibar" and what it does, it takes over the browsers and causes a whole bunch of problems, and it's a bitch to get rid of it.

After following instructions from several sources, I think I've finally got rid of it -I hope- but it took most of the morning and part of the afternoon. I took a break midday and went grocery shopping.

All in all, I didn't get much done. I didn't organize the lists, or ordered anything. Goodbye cyber Monday!!!

One month till Christmas

I can't think of anything to write. I think I am still a little shell shocked after our trip to ER yesterday, and I felt rather lethargic all day. I was going to get in the Jacuzzi, and for some unknown reason, it had turned itself off and the water was cold.

I went to get Marvin some KFC for lunch, and that's about it. Dinner was rather poor because I didn't feel like going shopping or cooking, so it was just some chicken for M and leftover fajitas for me, which got a little burned. After I made us a salad, M decided it was too cold for a salad and didn't want it, I had my salad with  the last of the blue cheese dressing, and when I went to throw the bottle away, I saw there was some mold growing in it, so no salad for me either :(

I checked to see if there were any special happenings in history on any November 25, and really there wasn't much! So I will just write the happening that I found most to my liking, since I loved that movie:

November 25, 1976: The Band and what seems like several dozen of the music industry's biggest stars perform at San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom for what is announced as the group's last performance. The show is filmed and will go on to be released as Martin Scorsese's acclaimed biopic The Last Waltz.

Black Saturday

Nothing to do with shopping. Just Marvin woke up this morning very disoriented and unfocused and weak, and would not get up to go to dialysis.

It was a good thing that Lizzie was here, because after giving him a few tsps of Lactulose, he started feeling a little better but we took him to Kaiser ER because I didn't want him to miss his dialysis.

I am not going to write about the wait, and the incompetence of some nurse in the ER, and yes they are overworked, and they have to take care of the more urgent patients, but still!

Anyway, he  had some tests and a(nother) Cat scan, and then they set him up for dialysis at the hospital. I took Lizzie home so she could drive back to San Diego, and at 8PM I will go back to Kaiser to hopefully bring Marvin home.

It's been a long day.

Black Friday

I really don't like shopping in the best of days and certainly I am not going to go fight the crowds regardless of the savings.
The only shopping I did for Black Friday was dog food for Lulu!

I woke up early to take her outside and to my surprise it had rained last night and it was very foggy and  chilly. When Marvin and Lizzie got up, the sun was starting to make an appearance and it ended up a really lovely sunny warm day (82 degrees).

I fixed breakfast, and then a home nurse, Roger, came to check on Marvin as per my request. He's a nice man and was very sympathetic with me even when I had a minor meltdown :)

Marvin, Lizzie and I went out to lunch at El Maguey, It was OK, the chips and salsa are very good. I had fajitas and could only eat half of them, Marvin had soup and Lizzie shrimp enchiladas.

The rest of the day was just slow and easy, watching TV and reading until dinner time which was more or less a carbon copy of yesterday's.

I watched the Thanksgiving movie "Cars, Planes and Automobiles" last night, I am not sure which one to watch tonight. Maybe "Orange County" or "Comfort and Joy". we'll see.

Have a nice weekend everybody!

Giving Thanks

This holiday is purely American. We don't have Thanksgiving in Europe, is not that we are not thankful for family, friends, etc. we just do not have such a specific holiday.

Is not part of my Spanish culture, therefore is not a holiday that really speaks to me. For many years I celebrated with my in laws with the traditional turkey, yams, dressing, potatoes and pumpkin pie. Not really my favorite food.

Thanksgiving in my home has always been not very tradtional unless we spent it at somebody's house. When it was just us (Marvin, Sandy, Lizzie and I)  we sometimes did  the turkey and trimmings, but mostly we had whatever we felt like eating, which as a rule didn't include turkey.

Today it was just Marvin, Lizzie and I. We had appetizers first, and later our meal was filet mignon, homemade mashed potatoes, Marvin's great all i oli (garlic mayo) with warm baguette, and pecan pie. And of course, some Freixenet Cava. We  enjoyed the meal.

And we are thankful for our many blessings.



Thanksgiving Eve

Lizzie here, Sandy in Pocatello.
Baking and cooking.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!
I almost didn't make it to today's blog :)

Churros

Last night I was watching movies in my PC and was feeling a little hungry. So pretty late at night, I decided I wanted hot chocolate with whipped cream, and churros for dunking.

So I mixed flour and water, with sugar, boiled it and then added the flour. after a ball of dough was formed, I put it in my cookie maker with a star shape at the end, and fried the dough in hot oil. They were nice and hot and crunchy, but a little in the thin side, they looked like french fries, but they were tasty.

Then I made my hot chocolate and added some cornstarch because " me gustan las cosas claras y el chocolate espeso" :)  Then I whipped some heavy cream and sugar and covered the hot chocolate with it. Then I took it to my room, and finished watching the movie, while dunking the churros in the chocolate. YUM.

Today I took Lulu for a little walk to my favorite park. I wanted to take her picture but she did not collaborate, so here's another pretty park picture.

To my youngest daughter

 

I hope you had a great birthday !

 

Love you very much,

Mama



Sunday

Today was a nothing much happening day. To wit:

Fixed breakfast
Worked on my sorting/organizing stuff
Took a break and  sat in the computer playing games
Took some boxes out to the shed
Talked to Marvin about what to have for lunch, he ended up with chicken noodle soup and salad. I had pita bread and salami.
Watched some TV
Played with Lulu outside
Nap time for Marvin, I went to the Jacuzzi
Made a shopping list with Marvin for Thanksgiving week.
What's for dinner? Papa John's Pizza.
Watched The Amazing Race, and some of the American Music Awards.
Checked mail, I have  Christmas lists from Lizzie and Tristan, Sandy where is yours?
And that's about it!

I think I am going to bed now. Good night!!! :)

PS Feel free to skip this post, it's hard to find interesting things to write about every day!

Rainy day

It rained a lot last night and it's been cloudy and gray most of the day.

I didn't do much of anything, just a little shopping (bought another toy for Lulu which was destroyed in about 10 minutes flat. Why do I keep buying her things???)

Marvin came out of dialysis by 3:45PM and he was feeling rather worn out and tired, he had lunch at home then took a nap. I went to get a pastrami sandwich and mixed fries for dinner, and he was still feeling pretty weak.  After dinner he started feeling a little better.

Have nothing else to say so I will send another card that my  last year's room mother sent me on my retirement. She also gave me a nice bouquet of flowers and a beautiful retirement cake, and a large framed class picture :)

Mrs. Wann,.
Words cannot express the gratitude I hold for you! I could not have picked a more "perfect" teacher for my son!
Thank you very much for teaching my son how to be a good student and a good person.
We will all miss you. My son Daniel especially will miss seeing you on a day to day basis.

There should be more teachers like you!

With respect and love,
Miriam

She is a RN at UCLA Medical Center. She and her husband visited several kindergarten classes in the LLCSD before they "chose" me :) They both were very involved in school and she helped me out a lot in class.
Her daughter Olivia started kinder this year and is in Jennifer's class. Miriam says she wishes I had waited until next year to retire  ;)

One of my neighbors

After reading in FB about the SUV and the person's reaction to what happened, I thought about my neighbors reaction when I hit his friend's car.

I'll start by telling you about the guy that lives right across from my house. His name is Robert and he is a nice looking guy and super friendly too. When he moved in, he came over and introduced himself, and many times when I am outside he will cross the street and talk to me, last time he did that was to show me his super cute baby shih tzu. .

I really don't know what he does for a living, or who lives in the house with him. There's a lot of coming and goings, he seems to have a few girl friends, and sometimes his little nephews play baseball in the front yard. But the most surprising thing, is the amount of cars that are parked in the driveway and the street. At any given day, there's 4-5 cars, most of them are Lexus, a couple of Mercedes, a nice Mercedes convertible, and a Maserati.

About 3 weeks ago, I was backing  out of my driveway, trying to avoid Dewey's car that he had parked very close to the driveway, and accidentally hit one of his cars parked in the street. It left a big dent in the front driver's side.

I knocked in his door and he came out and he said, oh no big deal! went inside and brought out a plunger and tried to "suck" the dent out, but it didn't work. Then he said, the car was from his girl friend and went inside to get her. She came out and looked at it and said oh! I told them that it was my fault and to have it fixed and let me know how much it cost. He said not to worry, he would take it to his car man and have it fixed, and would let me know what the damage was.

Well, I am still waiting. I see the car has been fixed, but he never came and talk to me about it, neither did the girl. I think I may just go over and find out. But  the point I was trying to make, is that people react different way, and I am glad he didn't yell at me or grabbed me and said look what you've done!

I am also glad I did not hit his Maserati!!!!

The Puppetry of the Penis

I couldn't think of anything to write, so I decided to share this with you.

I am a member of several yahoo groups. In one of them, a member sent a link for a download of a show with that title. A few days later, the same member apologized for sending it, saying she was sending it as a joke to her sister, and by mistake it went to all the group.

Well  I was  somewhat curious, so I d/l it and watched part of it, and really it is weird!!! It is a performance show of 2 Australian guys, that do origami with their penises.

The show has been performed live in many countries including the US and Europe, and has been very successful. It is subtitled the Ancient Art of Genital Origami. The two performers are totally naked but for socks and shoes. One wears a knitted cap on his head sometimes. Wikipedia has some information on the show.

These are some of the tricks they do with their "private parts". I will be nice and not put any photos to accompany the text :)

• Wind Up
• Atomic Mushroom
• Wristwatch
• Snail
• Three-Wood
• Parachute
• Eiffel-Tower
• Hamburger
• Hot dog
• Pelican
• Windsurfer etc. etc.

 

That's all folks!

 

Creek Park

 

I've lived in La Mirada for many years, and there are still some areas I have not seen. La Mirada is not a big city and yet there are places left for me  to discover.

 

I enjoy living in La Mirada, it's a quiet, clean city, with lots of trees and parks,

I have gone many times to the La Mirada Regional Park. I have taken Lulu (and Nena) out for walks by the lake.

 

This is a favorite picture of Marvin and Tristan at the park (2003)

 

When my father came to visit us, he loved the park, and he asked me a few times to drive him there and pick him up an hour later. He enjoyed sitting by the lake, he said it was beautiful and peaceful.

 

Today I drove to Creek Park, I knew where it was but I had never gone to walk around. A friend of mine had some pictures taken there, and I thought it was lovely, that's what made me want to go see it.





 

I think I will take Lulu for a walk at Creek Park tomorrow :)





 

martes 13

Today is Tuesday the 13th. In Spain, it's supposed to be an unlucky day, much as Friday the 13th is in the US.

Spaniards in general are rather superstitious, especially in Andalucia, in the southern part of Spain. My maternal greatgrandmother was from Gibraltar, which is the southernmost part of the Iberian Peninsula, it's also a British territory as per the Treaty of Utrecht.

Catalans are described as subtle, serious, hard working people characterized by the term "seny" meaning common sense, or a pragmatic attitude toward life.
Andalusians, are  witty, idealistic, and artistic.

I know this is stereotyping both Catalans and Andalusians, but I just wanted to make a point, that I have both sides in me. So as a catalan, I laugh at superstition, but my southern side  sort of believes in it.

And the whole point of this little post, is that even though it was Tuesday the 13th, it was still a lovely day :)



A picture is worth a 1000 words

Best Friends

 

 

 



Very special notes

I am going to make a scrapbook of my retirement from teaching. I have been going through boxes and been putting away things I want to display in my scrapbook. I read some of the notes that parents, and children wrote me. So sweet.
Here's a sample, will put more later :)

This is from Maria. I had her 2 daughters in my class, Miranda and Salome. On my retirement day, she gave me $100.00 gift certificate and a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, she wrote this in her card:



Mrs. Wann,
Words cannot describe my gratitude for your dedication towards all the kids whose lives you've touched in your 26 years as an educator.
I know I've said this to you before and I will say it again. I will forever be grateful to you for paving the path for my daughter's bright future! It has been an honor to know you and it's a shame to see you go. Though saddened by your departure, I wish you your best years to come. Take good care and know you will be missed.
With love and admiration,
Maria


This is from her daughter Miranda:
Thank you Mrs Wann for being so patient, even with crazy little kinders. I wish you good luck. This school will miss you dearly and so will I!
Miranda (9 years old)

And from Salome:
Thank you Mrs Wann for teaching me how to write my name. I wish you would stay at Jersey forever. I remember when we were good you would give us gummy bears. Happy retirement.
Salome (7 years old)

 

It warms my heart :)

Just another day

Today was just another day, meaning nothing out of the ordinary happened. A quiet, yet nice day.

After taking Marvin to dialysis, I came home and started sorting boxes, I am really in a cleaning mood lately, it may not seem like it but I have got rid of a lot of stuff, some to give away to Goodwill, some to dump and some to recycle -meaning having a new life in my closet.

I am not a hoarder by any means, especially not a hoarder like in the TV show, but I tend to sometimes keep a lot of stuff for no apparent reason other than because I can.

Example number 1 - pencils, pens etc. I have oodles of them, and yet I cannot find one when I need it. I have a whole plastic box full of them, plus assorted containers  around the house. I went through the tedious job of trying the pens and dumping the ones that don't work anymore. The ink dries! I was left with a lot more pen and pencils than I need and yet I can't seem to want to throw perfectly good pens and pencils away.

Example number 2 - Clothes and shoes. I still have one or two things I brought with me from Spain when I came to the States over 40 years ago (can they be considered vintage)? However a few weeks ago I got rid of 14 pairs of shoes, many of them still new, and a couple sackful of clothes. But still I have much left that needs to be sorted, again!

Example number 3 - Miscellaneous. That's the pile where everything goes that I don't know what to do with them and don't belong in any category (bad grammar I know). Mainly things of sentimental value, only to me :)

It's almost a never ending task.

El Maguey

Today was a very nice windy sunny cool day. The sky looked beautiful with fluffy white clouds over the mountains. It weas a crisp Fall day.

Marvin was feeling pretty good and said he'd like to go out for lunch, so we did.

We went to El Maguey. It's a little Mexican Restaurant right by the Stater Bros shopping area. A couple of weeks ago, Lizzie and I went there for lunch and enjoyed it.

I had chicken tortilla soup, with a very savory spicy broth, and two soft tacos, one carnitas and one steak. They make their own tortillas and they are very good.
Marvin had a chicken tamale and a beef enchilada with rice and beans. He enjoyed them :)

Other than that, we didn't do much at all, just watch TV and hang around. I finished watching a Doris Day movie and played with Lulu. For dinner we had BLT's and home fries.

Here's a picture of El Maguey (not the restaurant, but the plant the restaurant is named after).

 



Maguey is also known as agave.

Old Friends

The phone rang. I saw the call came from my friend Lolin, but when I answered, it was not her voice. It was some woman asking me if I remembered her.

Since the call came from Lolin, my first guess was...Pepita?  that is the name of her sister that also lives in the US.

It was Pepita, not her sister, but a common friend of us from Barcelona. She lived in our same neighborhood, and we went to school together. It was a little shocking to realize we had not seen or talked to each other for 50 years!

The curious thing is, she is my "twin". We were born on the same day, month and year. And we are both named Josefa (or Pepita) which is the same name.

Another funny thing is she was married to Lolin's father, for a few months! Long story...

She is in Virgina visiting Lolin for a while, after all she is  her stepmother lol

Here's a picture when we were in school (I was about 11 years old, Pepita is next to me with the long braid, Lolin is not in the picture). Notice that all the kids were told to put their arms behind their backs to have the school picture taken. Who are the two girls that didn't listen? yep, the Perello sisters  :)



Sunset

 

I have been wanting to go to the beach to watch the sunset.

 

Today, I met Norbert at his house and we went to Ruby's for an early dinner. Yummy!.

 

It was pretty windy and after the sunset it got a bit chilly.

 

But the sunset over Catalina Island was gorgeous!

 

 

 



no post today

Annoyed

Well, no matter who is elected tomorrow, half the country will be unhappy.

There is no clear choice.
I am annoyed about all the negativity coming from both sides.
I am annoyed at people that vote but are not informed.
I am annoyed at people that are informed and don't vote.

And finally, I am annoyed at Lulu. She was the perfect pup yesterday. Played nicely with Lizzie and Norbert, did her business outside very nicely and even  went into her kennel at night all by herself.

But tonight. After spending a long time with her outside, all she did was chase crickets. But of course the minute she came in she just had to go!

Today was a hot day, and it got dark really early. Annoying :)

The Handyman

Today Sunday, the three of us had a nice breakfast, waffles and bacon. Is a nice way to start the day.

Lizzie stayed around until noon, and then went back to San Diego. It's always so nice to have her here :)

Around 2PM, Norbert, the handyman, came by to do a few odds and ends around the house, and to have dinner with us.

He's been very helpful doing a few things that neither Marvin nor I can (or want) to do. Today he changed the furnace filter, then we went to get a new one to Home Depot. Next he fixed the hose carrier so it doesn't move around when we pull the hose out. Then he cut the carpet that had been in the garage for a while in smaller pieces so it could fit in the trashcan, and lastly he hung a mirror in the "guest" room.

Of course Lulu was totally excited having two "new" people around to play with, she jumps up very high and gets really hyper, she's funny! BTW while Norbert was outside she took a dump without coaxing. I know it sounds funny, but her toilet needs are a source of amusement and frustration to me.

For dinner we had grilled bratwurst with peppers and onions on a bun. French green beans sauteed with garlic and olive oil, and asparagus with olive oil dressing and a touch of lemon. I also made a potato salad, but alas no dessert!

I also agree with Sandy about the change of time. Confusing!~

Haircut

Not for me, for Lulu. Her face was very fuzzy and her hair was starting to be curl free, so off she went to get all dolled up.
Here she is sitting in her favorite spot.

Lizzie came over last night and today she took Marvin to dialysis and then she and I went to lunch to a new place she found online. It's called Franco Trattoria, in uptown Whittier . The owner is Italian and his wife is Whittier born but second generation italian. It was good, the bruschetta was very tasty. I had an all italian cold cuts panini, very tasty, Lizzie had some fettucini with sausage and broccoli.

 

For dinner, I made macarrones, like my mother used to make, only mine are not as good. But it was OK.

 

Here's hoping you allk have a good weekend :)

Back to the beach

Yesterday after taking Marvin to dialysis, I drove to Long Beach to meet Norbert for lunch.

We met at Acapulco which is a Restaurant we go to often because is easy to go from Bellflower, and once in a while I like to go back to the beach. It had been a while since I was in Long Beach.

We had a nice lunch,  I had a Margarita and we had all you can eat combos (special on Thursdays). I had a chile relleno, 2 taquitos with guacamole, a 2 tacos one soft and one hard, with rice and beans. He had a chile relleno, 2 tamales, 1 taco and 2 enchiladas. I couldn't finish my plate, I was totally stuffed, but he had another taco and another chile relleno. On top of that we had 3 baskets of chips and (6) salsas.

He talked and talked about his trips to Hungary and Croatia and France. And his trip to Lake Powell where he relaxed and fished. He gave me some trout and bass he had caught for Marvin. he will have them for dinner tonight.

After lunch we went for a drive to Long Beach and took a couple of pictures. One of them is in FB in my profile, here's another one

It was a nice day.





 



November

I'm also going to try to write a little every day this month. I missed the first day by 15 minutes but I hope it will still count.

I will just send the list of books I read in October. Sandy I think you might like the last book in the list. Is about food, cooking gaining and losing weight, etc. Plus recipes and a nice story. I actually enjoyed all the books I read this month. You may notice one of my favorites, Katie Fforde :)

Elizabeth Young – A girl’s best friend

Elizabeth Buchan - Everything She Thought She Wanted

Wendy Max - Magnolia Wednesdays

Katie Fforde - Wild Designs

Carol Higgins Clark - Gypped

Elizabeth Young - Asking for Trouble

Candace Bushnell - Summer and the City

Stacey Ballis - Good Enough to Eat

 

 

Halloween is coming!

It's almost the end of October, and it's going out with a big wallop in the East Coast. Hurricane Sandy is called the perfect storm. With a name like Sandy how could it not be perfect? :)

October has been a pretty good month, the weather has been great in the 70's mainly. Sandy's knee surgery went well, Marvin has been feeling pretty good most of the time, I had my 2 crowns (grr dentists!) and Lizzie had a nice vacation.

We had the tree trimmers come and work on the 2 trees on the back, unfortunately they had to destroy the squirrel's nest. Oh well!

We have had Dewey and Mary come to visit with the lil poodle Petey. It is funny how she treats him like a baby, she even takes him for a walk while holding him up in her arms. He's a bad tempered puppy, growling and trying to bite anybody coming close to him, especially Lulu, that really only wants to play.

growling

 

Finally Lulu got tired and ran after him, it was funny!

here they are friends playing together :)

 

Have a Happy Halloween

 



 





The Cotswolds

There is a place in the world that I would dearly like to see. The Cotswolds in England.

I have reading books by an English author called Katie Fforde. Her books are fun and easy to read, girl's lit basically, but I like that her characters are everyday women. The stories are nice and everything always ends the way you'd like them to end.

The author lives in The Cotswolds, and  her books take place in that area of England, and the way she depicts them I got interested in seeing pictures and learning about the history. It is located in the lower part of the Southwest of England, and it is beautiful.

If you want to learn more about it, here's a link :)
http://www.cotswolds.info/



Squirrels and a pub story

We've been having a constant visitor in our garden, a squirrel. I have taken several pictures of him climbing on the bird feeder, it seems like he jumps from the garage roof.



 I decided to move the feeder and put it over by the fountain.
Today we were very entertained with the squirrel antics, trying to find out how he could get to the new feeder place. He climbed on the house roof, moved over to the pergola, tried to jump to the feeder, almost fell on the fountain, etc. He was not able to get to it but it was very amusing to watch.
I felt  for him for trying so hard, and I put some food in the small bird fountain. Soo he found it and ate happily. Then another squirrel came in, and so it went. Lulu was really aggravated watching all the wildlife roaming around her garden!

Afterwards Lizzie, Marvin and I went out to eat at Maggie's Pub.

(don't know why the double picture)

Marvin was feeling  good and we were looking forward to a nice fish dinner. After we were seated, I realized that my chair was all wet and my pants  got soaked. It had been raining and the waitress said the roof might have leaked. She

offered to change us to a different table but I just changed my seat and was a little uncomfortable. But the fish was very good.

When we got he bill, I went to the hostess and explained the problem with the water, and we got a discount on our meal. She was very nice about it, and then she asked me if I was a teacher, I said yes. She asked if I worked at Jersey, I said yes, and then she said you were my Kindergarten teacher! then her sister who is a waitress there came over and she said hi Mrs. Wann :)

 

All in all it was a pleasant day.

 

Spring cleaning in the Fall

Now that the weather has cooled down a little bit, I have got a burst of energy and started cleaning out the garage, organizing and getting rid of lots of stuff. Some things I hate to get rid of, but I cannot use them or need them anymore, so off they go to Goodwill.

Norbert came over Saturday and cleaned the Jacuzzi, and helped me move some heavy boxes, he also swept the garage and organized some wood stuff. We went to have lunch at El Torito, it was very good. He got back from 2 weeks in Lake Powell and now is off for 2 more weeks on a trip with his sister. He said it's going to be an all Nevada trip.

When I work in the garage, Marvin comes out sometimes and  l moves the sprinklers around and also helps tearing off  emptycardboard boxes so we can get rid of them more easily. Of course Lulu is out there as well getting in trouble.

Another thing I'm doing this month, is I try to do a little more cooking, different stuff. Marvin has been planning the menu for a week, and I go buy groceries and cook. Maybe you have seen the pictures I am posting in Facebook.

I have been playing games in the computer, my favorites, besides the ones I play with the girls, are the match games and hidden objects games. I have also been watching a lot of "older" movies. Yesterday I watched "A Little Romance" now I am getting ready to watch "Roman Holidays".

And so it goes...  :)

September recap

October already! Is it just me or do the days seem to fly by? And to think I was worried that in my retirement the days would drag on and on and on...

Here's Marvin with a black eye after skin surgery, it looks a lot better now :)

September has been a good month, just a little too hot for my taste. I was hoping October would be a little cooler but today is hot again. It almost makes me wish for Swedish weather (not really lol).

Here are the books I read in September:
Wendy Max - 10 Beach Road
Jennifer Paddock - A Secret Word
Liza Palmer - Conversations with the fat girl
Faye Kellerman - Hangman
Wendy Wax - The Accidental Bestseller
Katie Fforde - Paradise Fields
Kristin Hannah - true colors

Lizzie at El Cholo

Endeavour

This is how it looked flying over La Mirada about noon today.

 

This is not my picture, if I post my picture all you will see is the trail the plane left, because when I heard the  engine noise, and it was loud, I started to run to the front door, but first I went to get my camera, and then my sunglasses (it was very bright outside) then had to tell Lulu no she cannot come outside. By the time I finally went out all that was left was the smoke trail :(

 

Prior to that, I had taken Marvin to the dermatologist to have some skin cancer removed. I had read that the shuttle was going to fly right over where the hospital is (part of the shuttle was built in Downey and it was going to fly over it) So I went to the top floor of the hospital that has a nice view of the Space Center and Los Angeles and waited. Someone saw me looking and told me it was going to fly by in about an hour. So I went home hoping to see it from  there. By the way, when Marvin was having his procedure, the shuttle flew by and all the nurses ran to watch it, Marvin only had a glimpse of one of the jets that flew along the 747.

 

Everybody that saw it said it was an awesome sight!

Totally random post

Today I went to the dentist again. Had to get a permanent crown, plus he worked on another crown and other assorted painful procedures. Dentists are not my favorite people, although my dentist Dr. Cho is young and very knowledgeable and very kind. Right now my left cheek is all bruised, also my tongue and lips. I cannot open my mouth too far and they had to put something to make it open wider grrrrrrr.

Marvin is doing pretty good lately, he goes out in the garden and moves the hoses around and waters the lawn and sits with Lulu. We had an automatic garage door opener, because it was hard for us to lift the door manually, so much easier now :)   We also had a new garbage disposal installed, the old one had rusted and I found myself moping water in the kitchen one morning!

My tomatoes are done for the year, it was a pretty small crop. The tomatoes never sized, they were cherry tomato size. I think it may have been because the weather has been so hot. The peppers  are doing better.



Marvin went to the optometrist to get some glasses made, one for close and one for far. The insurance covered frames and lenses. Now, we both have exactly the same insurance, matter of fact, it is my insurance from the school which now is deducted from my retirement. However,  this same insurance, will not pay for my glasses! Go figure.

Talking about insurance, I read Mia's comments on going to the ER etc. That is what you get when you get socialized medicine. Just saying.

I have been trying to get rid of stuff, the other day I decided to sort my shoes. I got rid of 14 pairs some of them I had hardly worn at all, so they'll go to Goodwill. I am about to do the same with clothes, I have way too many things I haven't worn for years, time to get rid of them.

Norbert got back from his extended trip  to Hungary, Croatia, and France. He said he had a good time visiting with his brothers and siter, and meeting old friends. He went to see the town were he was born, and he said it is a dead town now, everybody left, his father's vineyards are now sunflower fields. But all in all he enjoyed the trip, especially Lourdes.





By the Danube River.

 

So that's about all for tonight. I am about to watch a movie, then take a Motrin and go to sleep.

Have a great week everybody!

La Diada

Passeig de Gracia - Gran Via

Today was Catalunya National Day, in catalan is called La diada.

Catalans are sick and tired of being told what to do by the Spanish government. they want independence (they have been wanting independence for a long long time), my father was all for it, he even went to secret meetings with other catalanists -during Franco's regime-. they could have been jailed had they been found.

Today, a lot of catalans, carrying catalan and catalan independence flags, gathered in Barcelona for a big demonstration. They came by bus and train from all over Catalunya, one and a half million strong! They sang Els Segadors, which is the catalan hymn, and marched peacefully and joyfully from the mountains to the sea. It was an amazing sight!   My cousin Fernando wrote me that he will be walking in the demonstration.
I followed a lot of it thru the Catalan TV online, they offered a live feed for catalans living abroad.

VISCA CATALUNYA!