Beach Fashions

Well, I see that none of you lot showed up at the beach! I looked for you - what happened?

The weather was spectacular with the sun shining and a little cool breeze blowing as we took a stroll along the pier. The pier at San Clemente is quite long and is used by many people as their morning exercise area so one gets to see lots of sun-drenched firmly toned bodies jogging along the pier in the latest exercise couture - as well as some folks who evidently dressed themselves in the dark and some rather vulgar fashion statements that ought to be against the law!

After the recommended daily dose of sea air, we stopped for a bit of brekkies at The Fisherman's - the only restaurant on the pier. The food is passable although a bit pricey but as you can see, Mr. Indi really enjoyed the Bailey's coffee which, of course, is part of every balanced breakfast.

Next, it was time for a poke about the street market that is set up on weekends on the main street in San Clemente. There were lots of stalls with lovely fresh fruit and veg and also a couple of stalls selling wonderful flowers. An old chap selling orchids for $5 was kind enough to let me take photos. The orchids were stunning and an unbelievable bargain at $5 - although I didn't buy any - I should have.

San Clemente is a very "elderly friendly" town and there are lots of strategically placed benches on the main street so that both me and him could have a little sit down in between our window shopping and real live actually spend money shopping. Mr. Indi got another Hawaiian shirt - cream with palm trees - and I got another handbag - which I really needed - honest!

We shall be going back to SC in a couple of weeks and I hope to see some of you there - and please - do dress appropriately.

FYI

Mr. Indi and I will be on the pier at San Clemente tomorrow morning between 10 and 11.
Be there or be square! I shall be wearing clothes!

Luncheon for Six

Our visitors arrived at about 11 a.m. and the first thing they noticed was our big tele - it would be difficult to miss. Everyone gave it their seal of approval.

I had decided on the Lone Star for lunch - it's not too far to drive and has a good and varied menu. D enjoyed her baked sweet potato so much that she slobbered it all down herself. R admitted to the group that her favorite drink is gin and gin - tonic just ruins it. J got tucked into the chicken fidgets (or was that fingers? Do chickens have fingers?) and, as the women gossiped, Mr. Indi and L sat quietly gnawing on red meat and occasionally grunting.

Our sister sisters will be back in our neck of the woods in early August and we hope that we can all meet up again for a bit of antiquing in Temecula - or tea and crumpets in Murietta.

R is, like me, an avid reader and I always try to find a book that I can pass along to her - although I'm not sure that she would enjoy all of my pre-owned tripe! However, I think she will like Alexander McCall Smith's The Right Attitude to Rain. I thought it was lovely.

Yesterday was Mr. Indi's - grab a handful of belly and stick myself with a sharp needle day. I'm not sure that the Procrit is helping the anemia Mr. Indi is still awfully pale but he has blood tests on Monday morning so we shall see.

I took the picture above at a beach near Cambria, California in 2006.

Some Updates.

I finally got my new Alien Registration card - the FBI must have liked that last set of fingerprints. I expect that it is because I scrubbed my dermal papillae so that my whorls would show up well. Anyway - I'm legal for 10 more years - if I should be so lucky!

The $129 No Snore Pillow turned out to be the $129 We Saw You Coming Pillow. Last night, his Lordship was sawing them off so loud that the rafters were shivering (or is that timbers?) I went in and beat him about the head and shoulders and he went quiet - and I don't charge $129

The prize winning dahlia is on the brink of bursting into full bloom and I have my camera at the ready.

I would like to thank Granny Williams for her comment.....however it would have been difficult for me to be born in Darfur because my Dad was a Coal Merchant in Brum - AND, I WAS born in a war zone! Lest we forget!

The photo is of the daffodils that I was given by the American Cancer Society in March when I was having radiation. I wanted to show my dear D and R - and J and L - Love you guys xx

Another Mission

This will not be a happy entry in my blog. I am fed up - cheesed off - and have been crying since I got up. I worked too hard in the garden yesterday and now my back and knees are in a shambles. I crawled out of bed like an 80 year old. The knuckles in my hands are as sore as boils and I can hardly pick up my cup of tea.

I am tired of the bottles of drugs that are cluttering the kitchen counter and the injectibles that are stuck in the cheese drawer. I'm tired of the notes stuck to the fridge that remind me and him of appointments for doctors - dentists - chemo - Aredia - blood tests - ad infinitum.

I wish there were just 2 free weeks where we could go away and rest and have fun - but that isn't going to happen any time soon.

But, I must go and find my happy face because we are going to lunch today with our sister sisters and J and L. Now - where did I put it?

I wasn't going to bother with a photo but I changed my mind and found this peaceful shot. I took this pic at the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, Carmel, California in October, 2006.

Personal Grooming

Last evening, as I was standing at the kitchen sink peeling some potatoes for our dinner, Mr. Indi came in with a pair of manicure scissors in his hand and said, "Don't move!" My life flashed before my eyes and I could see the headlines of the local newspaper - Elderly Woman Stabbed to Death While Spud Bashing - "Don't move," he repeated "There is a stray hair sticking out of your nose and I want to cut it off for you." See what a nice chap he is?

We went to the pizza parlor for lunch - they make the best ham and pineapple pizza - and I played the trivia game but was only able to win one round because, once again, my knowledge of the music scene is pathetic. B52s? Never heard of 'em!

Mr. Indi managed to get an appointment with Dr. J. on Monday 30 June at 2 p.m. We will be asking the doc to explain his reasons for wanting to try the Cisplatin chemo which, even Regina says, is pretty lethal. Mr. Indi has decided that he won't do anymore chemo until he is over his cold and feeling better.

I didn't sleep well last night -I have caught Mr. Indi's cold - but I do remember that I had a dream - something to do with a very good looking chap - maybe it was Johnny Depp - I'm glad that hair in my nose is gone!

The picture above is of the mission at San Luis Obispo. It was taken in October 2006

Elvis Has Arrived!

For those of you have followed the story of the Elvis necklace, I am happy to report that I have received notification that Elvis has arrived in England at Stow on the Wold or Morton in Marsh or Ashton under Lyne or somewhere like that and is now being proudly paraded around the local pubs. I hope that Mr. R and Elvis have a wonderful life together.

The photo above is one that I took in Morro Bay in 2006. It has absolutely nothing to do with Elvis!

Pinkie - Chemo - Weather and other stuff

Mr. Indi saw me carting Pinkie's legs off to the rubbish bin the other day. He asked for one more opportunity to fix her before I resorted to the total amputation. Well, what's a flamingo lover to do? Two hours later, Pinkie was back in the flower bed standing up as straight as could be and looking quite well.

"How did you do it?" I asked. The answer may upset those of a sensitive nature! He drilled holes in her belly and shoved her legs up inside of herself! Ouch! She is now a couple of inches shorter than her sister but she should last a few more years.

Mr. Indi was scheduled for chemo today but as he has been under the weather with that nasty cold, we thought it best to check with the clinic first. JoAnn said that he should reschedule for next week because the cold would have dragged his red blood cell count down and as it was already low (9.1 at last count - normal is 12.0) it would be unwise to go ahead with the treatment. He is now on for next Wednesday but we are hoping for an appointment with Dr. J before then as we both have some questions about the Cisplatin chemo.

I think the hole in my neck is now closed up. Yea! I didn't hear it whistle or purr or gurgle yesterday - fingers crossed.

The weather is much better and I am happy for that. Our sister sisters are coming out from Arizona for a quick visit and they need a break from the Arizona heat. If all goes well I shall fire up the BBQ this weekend and make my "Auntie Pee's Perfect Every Time Ribs" I might even post the recipe on here!

The picture above is one I took one Sunday in Santa Monica. There is an old motel with several beautiful hibiscus growing on a trellis out front. This is one of them.

Arlington West

When we arrived at Santa Monica on Sunday, the last of the thousands of crosses where being placed in the sand. Every Sunday, a team of volunteers carefully marks out a grid and places the crosses in remembrance of the service men and women who have been killed in Iraq.

I'm not going to get political - if I did, my diatribe would take up several pages.

I'll just say that when I walked among the crosses and saw the photos of those lovely and heroic men and women, I couldn't help but think of that silly man in the White House and his silly smirking face. How glad I shall be to see the back of him.

Beep Beep!

Mr. Indi is required by his employer to wear a pager (beeper) 24/7. This is in addition to all the other electronic devices that are on or about his person. There is a laptop computer that has become a permanent fixture on my dining room table, too.

Anyway, last week, Mr. Indi noticed that he was not receiving any pages. He tested the gizmo and the battery was fine but when he tried to page himself, the signal didn't come through. On Friday, he spent several hours speaking with the techie types in his IT department, trying to resolve the problem. There was much discussion about the circumstances of people's birth and their parentage and at last the pager sprang to life and he once again began to receive pages about events that were of absolutely no consequence.

On Sunday morning, as we were getting ready to go to the beach for the day, Mr. Indi went to the loo. As he was pulling his pants up - guess what - the pager fell down the lavatory! It no longer works.

You can see Mr. Indi - pagerless - in the picture above. He's peering out of the window at Bubba Gump's Shrimp in Santa Monica.

She Was A Pal!

In response to the numerous requests for the potato salad recipe (actually, there was only one request but I know that there are thousands of you out there who are too shy to ask!) I am posting the instructions for you - vague as they are:

For 6-8 people, you will need 8-10 medium white spuds - or 15-20 little red spuds. Peel the white ones - don't peel the red ones. Whatever kind of spuds you use - don't over cook them - boil them in lightly salted water until cooked but firm and drain them and leave them on the counter to cool. Once cool, put them in the fridge to get cold. Once cold, chop them into about 1/2 inch dice.

While that is going on you will need to chop about 3-4 stalks of celery into small dice. (And I mean SMALL) Next, chop about 6 green onions/spring onions into small rounds (you can also use a half of a red onion instead) Next, chop 8-10 sweet pickled gherkins into small dice.

While you are doing all of that - boil 6-8 eggs. Boil for 10 mins and then plunge into cold water so that they don't get ugly! When cold, peel and chop into eighths!

Now - Have a drink!

Here comes the tricky part....combine everything into a large bowl and stir gently with a large spoon. Now add the mayonnaise... a few tablespoons at a time until it is to your liking - I like mine very moist - some people don't. I also add a couple of teaspoons of American mustard or Grey Poupon to the mayo. Mix it all carefully and chill. It's best made the day before and chilled overnight.

I can't, however, take all the credit for this recipe. The basis for the potato salad comes from a recipe given to me many many moons ago by my good friend and neighbor,Phyllis, in Chicago.

Phyl used to put chopped black olives in her salad - I don't much care for them. She also used a lot more mustard then me. It's all a matter of taste.

I would think that by now, Phyl is drinking a big glass of Rhine wine in the sky - if not, she is very, very old!

Picture above is another white flower - a holyhock growing up against my neighbors ugly garage!

The Heat is ON!

Yesterday saw record breaking temperatures all over the area and my house was no exception. At 3 p.m. yesterday, it was 112F (44C) in my back garden......Oyvez! I am happy that I have some white flowers dotted around as they do give the appearance of coolness. The picture above is of one of the white oleanders.

Because it is so hot, I have resorted to making meals that involve little or no cooking. It's too hot to even BBQ! Yesterday I made "Auntie Pee's World Famous-People Would Die for This" potato salad. We had it with cold turkey, pickles, sliced avocado and peaches - followed by lashings of Neapolitan ice cream. See, being hot has its advantages!

A friend of mine who had read my blog, suggested that, rather than send Pinkie to the big flamingo scrap heap in the sky, I should just chuck her legs away and make her a sitting down flamingo. I think that this is a splendid idea and will mean that I should get another ten years of smiles from looking at her!

Mr. Indi is still sniffling and snuffling - spraying stuff up his nose - down his throat and heaven knows where else! I hope he gets over his cold soon.....we are running out of nose tissue!

My Favorite Bird!

Mr. Indi stayed home today. He was up in the night with a couple of snufflewumps and so needs to stay home, close to boxes of nose tissue and throat spray because, according to him, he is close to triple pneumonia so best be careful! I call it man flu!

About 10 years ago, when she was 6 years old, my lovely granddaughter gave me what I had always wanted for a birthday present - a pair of pink plastic flamingos for my garden. They have worn very well considering our scorching summer but just a couple of weeks ago, I was watering the flowers and noticed that Pinkie (Perkie's sister) was listing to one side on a very deformed hip joint. I asked Mr. Indi if he could fix her and of course - silly me - he said "yes" - he can fix anything.

I had quite forgotten about Miss Pinkie until a few days later when I walked into the garage and was horrified to see her almost upside down with her legs clasped in the vise. The pain - the pain!

Well, all of the torture was for naught because after vising and clamping and gluing and soldering, she was placed back in the flower bed but today I noticed that she has keeled over and is teetering at a 45 degree angle and is ready to nose dive into the Society Garlic plants. I shall be so sad to see her go........poor Pinkie.

The picture at the top is Perky - she is still going strong!

I Have Possums - Not Moths

Mr. Indi saw Dr. J yesterday afternoon and was pleased with the meeting. The latest test results show that his PSA is still dropping which is good news. Dr. J is going to try giving him a different chemo drug next week - Cisplatin. It is an earlier version of the Carboplatin that made him so ill so I'm not sure what the point of using this drug is. I have read that the side effects of Cisplatin are even worse than those of Carboplatin - Oh dear. He will be having his chemo next Wednesday when Dr. J will be on the premises if anything goes awry. I'm not looking forward to this!

The weather is awful - record temperatures were recorded all over the place yesterday. It was 105C in the back garden when we got home from the doctors. I only spent a few minutes outside - just long enough to scatter some moth balls around the flower beds - trying to stop the possums from digging - grrrrr.

The photo above is one I took of the Mission San Buenaventura in Ventura, California in July 2006. We love to visit the missions.

Give Me The Money!

I made a bet with my friend, Marcus, that the Boston Celtics would beat the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA championship - and - I was right. It's not that I'm a Boston fan or anything like that - it's just that I think the Boston team is better, faster, stronger and deserved to win. So my mission, later today, is to find Marcus and get my 10 bucks. It's a cold beer day and $10 will buy a couple at the Wings place!

I had a check up with Dr. K this morning and he is pleased with my progress. The hole in my neck is only a tiny pin hole now and I no longer have to cover it when I talk although I can still hear a little air escaping if I sneeze. I no longer have to wear a dressing on my neck and with time the scar should start to fade. So, the good news is that I don't have to go back to the docs till August - the bad news is that I shall miss Sharon and her big hugs!

Mr. Indi has his doctor visit this afternoon. We shall find out what the next course of action is going to be. Carboplatin is out of the picture now but maybe they will continue with the Taxotere and I am certain that he will still be getting his monthly Aredia. This visit will be interesting.

The picture above is of the gardens at Tamworth Castle, Staffordshire, England. My 5X Great-Grandmother, Sarah Wragg, was from Tamworth - not the castle, I might add. I took the picture in 2002.

Elvis Lives!

Mr. Indi stayed home yesterday because he had an appointment to have more blood tests. It's no wonder he has anemia - they keep sucking it all out of him! We managed to get a few chores done even though someone has turned the heat up and it reached 102C by mid-afternoon.

One of the most important chores was to stop at the post office and mail the Elvis necklace to England.

A couple of weeks ago while I was browsing through some very nice antique (ehm...junk) shops in Temecula, I came across an Elvis medal on a pretty gold necklace. I happen to know a chap in England - who frequents one of my favourite genealogy sites- who is Elvis mad and, as they were almost giving the necklace away, I decided that I must get it for him. So - it is now winging its way- high up in the sky - in a BIG airplane - to its new home. Have a safe journey Elvis!

Mr. Indi's blood tests were without problems - he took the advice of one of his chemo nurses who had told him to drink a couple of glasses of water before going to the lab. The water pumps up one's veins and makes it easier for the lab tech to find them. It worked.

Yesterday was the day when gay couples could wed in California and it was on the news all day - Good luck to them, I say. If people love each other, they should be allowed to wed....as far as the arguments put forth by the opposition - they don't hold much water - my marriage is not threatened in the least.....now.....lets move on because there must be other things to report in the news!

Downtown Brown

Mr. Indi has been feel much better for the past couple of days and we are happy for that. On Saturday we had an early Father's Day dinner with son and daughter in law. It was very nice and M and D just loved the Elvis necklace that I was wearing - a story about the Elvis necklace will be coming soon!

For a Father's Day gift, Mr. Indi received a gift voucher for the new bookstore that has opened and so yesterday (Father's Day) we went off to see what we could find in the way of good books. Mr. Indi is looking for a copy of The Bounty Mutiny - a book of texts and documents relating to the famous mutiny - but we had no luck at the bookstore and will probably have to order the book on-line.

His lordship has been talking about getting one of those "stop snoring" pillows that are always being advertised on the radio and so our next stop was the shopping mall to check out these wondrous objects. The adverts on the radio proclaim that the pillow WILL stop snoring - however, when we read the literature in the shop, it said that the pillow MAY stop snoring - hmmmm! The pillow sells for $129 and so we had to give it a little thought but decided that if it means that I can once again sleep within 100yards of him, it would be worth it. So we now have the pillow and I am pleased to report that I didn't hear any snoring last night....but only future nights will tell.

After we had finished with our shopping we went to The Yard House for lunch. Boy, that place is just so expensive and the food is mediocre at best. But - Mr. Indi did enjoy a pint of the local brew - Downtown Brown. It looked nice and left good rings around glass (the sign of a good pint) but as usual was served too cold and got much better as it lost some of its chill.

The rest of the day was spent reading, resting, and watching the golf on the big tele - that Tiger is amazing!

I took the picture above at Cardiff-by-the-sea.

War and Peace!

What a terrible night I had! To begin with, I went to bed early to read my book and left Mr. Indi watching a dreadful film on the big tele. It was some ancient Peter O'Toole flick called Murphy's War and was awful beyond belief! I like to read with peace and quiet and the sound of shooting and banging and planes roaring about that were drifting up the hallway meant I couldn't concentrate and so kept reading the same sentence over and over! I finally gave up on my book and just lay in the bed and waited for the movie ending that finally came and put me ( and Peter O'Toole, I imagine) out of my misery.

I tossed and turned and had a couple of bad sinus spells so had to get back up and raid the medicine chest for some nose spray and a surgical mask. I look so romantic in bed!

I slept in fits until about midnight when I heard someone shouting outside - I listened and there it was again but this time I also heard laughter and so I assumed that there was a party or gathering going on in the neighborhood and the guests were leaving. Wrong! As I tried to get back to sleep the shouting and yelling was getting louder. I got up to investigate and found that the noise was all coming from the house at the back of ours.

I went into the back room and peeked through the blinds and could not believe my eyes - there was a naked man with a can of beer in his hand standing on the neighbors roof! Pity that the light was so poor as I couldn't tell what kind of beer it was - or any other details! There must have been 20 people in the back garden yelling at this chap to jump in the swimming pool! The racket continued until 2:30 a.m. when it abruptly ceased. I think someone finally called the police.

After a few more coughing fits - I dozed until 4:00 a.m. when I finally conceded defeat and got up and made a cup of tea. Not much in the way of "little slices of death" for me last night! (See Edgar Alan Poe!)

The lily above is in a pot on my patio.

Truer Words.....

In the grounds of the Mission Inn in Riverside is this bust of Booker Tiliaferro Washington - the son of a black slave - who became one of America's greatest educators. A quote of his is inscribed under the bust as follows:

I HAVE LEARNED THAT SUCCESS

IS TO BE MEASURED NOT SO MUCH

BY THE POSITION THAT ONE

HAS REACHED IN LIFE,

AS BY THE OBSTACLES WHICH

HE HAS OVERCOME WHILE

TRYING TO SUCCEED.

I like that thought and wanted to include it in my ramblings.

Mr. Indi came home from work yesterday at about noon. He was shattered and after a quick bite took a nice long nap. I didn't get anything done on the doll house but I did manage to fight with a few weeds in the garden. Later in the afternoon we had a bit of a melancholy conversation about places Mr. Indi would like to go before he becomes so sick that we can't go anywhere! All very glum! Anyway - we've decided that Santa Barbara is at the top of the list as it is only a 4 hour drive and is such a beautiful spot. It's a very wealthy community and I enjoy looking at other peoples money! So I am going to be making reservations for a trip in the next 2-3 weeks.

What to do with the car park?

Today, I am going to try and get my backside in gear and do some work on the latest doll house.

This house is actually a pub and the plans for it were taken from a doll house book by Brian Nickolls - I can't put my hand on the book at the moment but when I do I will note the title.

I wanted a pub that looked something like "The Albion" in Ware, Hertfordshire. My ancestor, Robert Page, owned the Albion in 1840. The pub still exists today and one of my goals is to visit the bar for a nice tall beer!

The doll house is all but finished - I am particularly proud of the Welsh slate roof -but now I need to do something with the outside. I suppose that I must make part of the front area into a car park but I also want to do a beer garden with a table and bench. I have a few supplies that I picked up from the model railway shop - trees - grass - tiny rocks - but I just don't know how to proceed. I will try and find some pub photos on the net and maybe get an inspiration!

Mr. Indi went to work today. He is feeling a bit better after taking a day off yesterday and working from home. We have given up on the Open golf championship idea. It looks as though the weather will be quite warm and I don't think either of us would be able to walk so far - and besides which - it will look great on the new big tele!

The photo is the outside of the pub. I will post a picture of the inside soon.

Thirsty Work.

Mr. Indi went to work yesterday - against my advice. He wanted to attend an important meeting - one of those "you'd better show up or you might get volunteered for something" meetings. He was back at home by about noon and did not look at all well. He is still very pale and has bone pain in his back.

We went to see our favorite waiter, Robert, for lunch - but the food at that place has really gone down the pan and I don't think we shall be seeing Rob very often. I had the spinach ravioli in Gorgonzola sauce but it was so salty I could barely eat it. It also made me so thirsty that I had to have two bottles of beer!

Mr. Indi slept most of the afternoon and I piddled about in the front garden. The marigolds are looking splendid and, for once, have not been decimated by the snails. As I was pulling a few weeds, the Fed-Ex lady drove up with Mr. Indi's shipment of Procrit ( for anemia) - Yes, he really does have to do it himself. This will be his 3rd weekly dose. He has chosen the "grab a handful of belly and jab it" method and says it's quite painless. I believe him!

Isn't it marvelous that they can ship vials of drugs that MUST be refrigerated? The packaging is quite amazing with several small blocks of a frozen substance packed around the meds - all sealed in a polystyrene container. The marvels of modern shipping!

Picture above is some of said marigolds.

June Gloom

Yesterday seemed like a long long day - and unfortunately - I didn't get much done! We went to the pizza parlor for lunch and I had a very nice pizza with artichoke hearts and feta cheese. Must try that one again. Mr. Indi had his usual - pepperoni and olives - how boring.

Have been looking on the internet for tickets to the U.S. Open (golf) which is going to be played at Torrey Pines (San Diego way) It's only a little over an hour's drive from here and tickets are still available ($150 per) but I don't know if Mr. Indi is up to all that walking. I will have to give it some thought.

The hole in my neck is almost closed. There is now just a tiny opening and if I forget to put my finger on it it makes a whistling sound when I talk - kind of like a cat purring in my neck!

The weather is lovely - June gloom - when the fog comes in off the ocean and keeps us cool in the morning but gives way to sunshine in the afternoon. Perfect. The pic above was taken at Balboa. I don't have a clue what the flower is.

Apricot Jam.

Mr. Indi stayed home today. He went to work yesterday but didn't stay long and was back home by 10 a.m. and crashed in the bed! I worry that he is pushing himself too much instead of allowing his body to recover from the chemo and steroids.

We went to the Wings place for lunch and I had hoped we might run into Sean and Wendy (thanks for the note Sean!) but there was nobody about that we knew.....so we sat in the corner and I played the trivia game. The game was terrible....all about bands of the 90s and that is a music black hole in my life......anything newer than Duran Duran and I've never heard

of them!

I was out in the garden early this morning and had hoped for a little peace and quiet but the neighbors on either side have dogs who bark as soon as they sense that I am out there. One is a nasty snarling Pit Bull and the other a horrible yappy terrier. I like dogs but hate selfish dog owners. My garden was a very peaceful place before the dogs arrived to spoil it.

The apricots are ripe and there is enough to make several jars of apricot jam. So.....who is coming over to make the jam?

Our New Tele

For the benefit of family members ( especially sister and niece who I was yaking to yesterday) who haven't see the new tele - here it is! Isn't it lovely. The picture is much better than the photo shows and the nature programs are fabulous on the big screen.

No More Polly's

We went to breakfast at Polly's. We haven't been out for breakfast in a very long time but Mr. Indi has been on and on about his favorite breakfast - biscuits with sausage gravy - for months. And, as I don't happen to make that southern delicacy, it was a matter of choosing a breakfast joint that does. Polly's is a fairly new restaurant and we have been before for lunch. The food's not bad but the service has always been awful. Sunday was no exception.

We waited 25 minutes for our food as folks who were seated after us got theirs! When my Eggs Benedict finally arrived, the whole plateful of food was cold and the Hollandaise sauce covering the eggs had congealed into a wobbly quivering mass. I knew if I complained, it would be another 25 minutes waiting for my grub - so I picked at a few bits to stave off the starvation had had begun to set in!

Mr. Indi scarfed his biscuits and gravy, even though he said everything was just lukewarm - he's very easy to please. Eventually, the manager saw my untouched plate and asked what the problem was. I told him. He adjusted the bill. So, no more Polly's for us.

Mr. Indi spent much of the day resting as he is coming down from all of the steriods that accompany chemo. I worked in the garden and tidied up some of my geraniums. A laid back kind of day.

Dinner was much better than breakfast! - I made RB and YP and it was delicious. I scarfed the lot and had ice cream for desert. The photo above is my dinner!

Balboa

Mr. Indi didn't want to stay home so we went for a drive down to Balboa Island - Newport Beach. The weather was splendid - not a cloud in the sky and just a gentle breeze. The ocean was a lovely shade of blue. As usual, I took my camera and got a few decent shots.

First stop was under the pier. The pier at Balboa is much smaller that the other piers that I have snapped and in a way it's nicer because it lets more light in. Next we walked into town and as it was early there were very few people around. We wandered down by the boat dock and there I found a bridal party having pictures taken so I took a few myself! Pretty bride!

I like the picture of the lamp on the wall of the old Balboa Inn. Mr. Indi and I stayed there once - a few years ago - it's a lovely old place and just a short walk from the beach. Mr. Indi took a picture of an old lady eating ice cream with both hands!.....Wait a minute - that's ME!

We got home just in time to miss the Belmont Stakes race which turned out to be a right shower as the favorite - Big Brown - was pulled up going around the final turn. Sounds like the story of my life!

Mario's Again.

The traffic is always bad on Fridays - lots of trucks on the road and also people in their motor homes making a mad dash for a getaway weekend. I dropped Mr. Indi off at the clinic at 9: am and as I made the left hand turn to get back on the freeway, the bloke in the car next to me made the sign of the cross on his chest and looked up to heaven! Oy! I ain't that bad of a driver!

The Aredia treatment went smoothly and I picked up his lordship at quarter to 11. I wanted to take him somewhere nice for lunch and as I was still drooling from the luscious chicken at Mario's Place 2 weeks ago, we went back there. Once again we were too early so went to the Mission Inn for a drink. I heard the bloke sitting at the end of the bar talking on his cell phone in a decidedly British accent and when he got off the horn, I couldn't resist asking him where he was from. Leicestershire - ahah! Not very far from my home town of Birmingham.

We had a good old natter with our newly found Brit. Seems that he is planning his retirement and will be moving to Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides. There, he is hoping to run a B and B. He said he really likes the cold weather - I certainly hope so!

Lunch was yummy and we got back home at 2 pm. Mr I crashed and I left him snoring his head off while I worked in the garden for a while. The prize dahlia is getting quite large.

The picture of the California Poppies was taken near the museum in Riverside.

I Knew It - I Just Knew It!

Thursday started out well. I drove down to see Peggy, my beautician, early in the morning for a lube job and oil change. I really needed a complete tune up but didn't have the time as I had to drive Mr. Indi to chemo at 9 a.m. Peggy and I had a good old yak about knitting and babies and other girl stuff. It's so nice now that I can talk!

I was back at the house at 8:45 - just in time to load up his lordship and take him to the clinic - about 7 miles away. As I dropped him off in the parking lot, I had this awful feeling of foreboding.

Back at the house by 9:20 and the next hour was spent with chores but the whole time I was just waiting for the phone to ring - I knew it would. It did and it was my friend from up the hill! We hadn't spoken for quite a while so spent an hour bending each other's ear - it was good to hear from her. I made a bit of lunch and once again waited for the phone to ring.

At 12:30 the phone rang. It was Regina. Mr. Indi had had a nasty reaction to the chemo and an ambulance was on the way to take him to the hospital. Arggggg..........I knew it.

I got to the hospital just as the ambulance pulled up. Mr. Indi was awake and alert and the ambulance man said he was doing much better. What a relief! Once in an examination room, they started an IV and gave him some Benadryl to help him go to sleep. After 4 hours, he was feeling much better and I was allowed to take him home.

It appears that the drug that caused the problem is Carboplatin and he will not be receiving it anymore. We talked to Gloria at the chemo clinic and Mr. Indi will have to go back today (Friday) to get his Aredia. That will take about an hour and a half and afterwards I will take him somewhere nice for lunch. I'm hoping for a restful weekend.

The agapanthus above is growing in my front garden.

English Grub.

I finally decided upon the off white ensemble with gold accents (jeans and a tee shirt with gold flip flops and an orange scarf!) and this must have been the right choice as the day went pretty well....as days go.

Dr. K was very pleased with my neck and feels that the hole will close by itself in the next couple of weeks - so - no stitches for now. I got my big hugs from Sharon (with an extra squeeze thrown in for Mr. Indi) and also had a nice gab with Sandy - such a sweet lady.

In the afternoon, I had to go to the local office of Homeland Security. I'm still trying to get my green card renewed but now the fingerprints that I gave a month ago are not acceptable so I was called back to go through the fingerprint process once more. I was expecting to have to wait in a queue again but was called in right away. The young lady who took my prints was just delightful. She lives in the same town as me and we chatted about a new eatery that has just opened. Must try it out.

Mr. Indi got a phone message from the chemo clinic to say that the doc needed to see him before chemo......Grrrrr........he called back but the staff had all left the building. This left us in a bit of a quandary as he's supposed to have chemo 9a.m. Thursday morning.....but not to worry....Dr. J. called the house while I was making dinner and after asking Mr. Indi a few questions he gave him the OK to go in for his chemo. Mr. Indi's blood count is still low so they will be keeping a close eye on him.

Did a bit of an English dinner - sausage, egg, chips, peas and fried tomatoes. Twas yummy.

The photo above is of the pagoda outside the public library in Riverside.

Sundial Clock

Mr Indi went for his blood tests and came home with a gauze taped to that fleshy area between the thumb and index finger. Huh! I wondered why but it seems that, once again, they had trouble finding a vein. The chemo has caused his veins to all but collapse and after the blood guy had rooted around in both arms he finally found the vein in Mr. Indi's hand. Ouch!

Poor old Mr. Indi then spent 3 hours on his laptop writing up the meeting minutes for an Engineering meeting that is scheduled today - and yes - he got up and went to work at 3:30a.m. this morning in order to beat the traffic.

As I write this I have to wonder about the people who stay home and collect disability payments when they are quite capable of working - or the people with a disabled placard on their car who park in the handicapped spot at the grocery store and then leap out of their car as fit as a flea and all but jog into the store. I don't wish them any ill will....I just wish they would grow a conscience.

Off to the quack again today......hmm...what shall I wear?

The picture above is of the sundial clock near the Mission Inn in Riverside.

Stitch 'Em Up Time!

I'm beginning to think that I shall have to have some stitches put into this hole in my neck as it is still leaking air. I try hard to remember to put my fingers over it but when the pollen gets up my snoz and I start a choking fit I lose all presence of mind! Oh well, what's a couple of stitches anyway!

Yesterday, I had a nice potter about in the garden while Mr. Indi was at work. I see that my tomato plants have leaf curl - hmmm - I wonder what causes that - they get it every year. The apricots are almost ready to fall and I shall have to pick a few before the birds get them. My prize dahlia is coming along nicely and the new white geraniums that I just planted are looking lovely. I read somewhere that one should plant white flowers in a hot climate in order to give the appearance of coolness and I think it works.

Mr. Indi is home today as he has to get more blood tests. If the results are acceptable, he will go in for chemo on Thursday. While he is home today, I think we shall go up to the model shop as he wants to get the paints to start on his Submarine Spitfire Mk. Vb. with - I might add - 7 Royal Air Force crew figures in 1/48 scale. Ahhhhh....keeps him off the street - don't it?

The photo above was taken yesterday on my back patio.

New Fangled Gadgets!

Sunday was a bit of a lay-about day. Mr. Indi is still trying to program one of the tele clickers so that we don't have to use 3 clickers in order to turn the thing on and get some sound through it! Grrrr........the marvels of modern technology, ain't it? I think he will need to get a PhD in advanced nuclear physics in order to figure it out. In the meantime, I watch the old tele in the back room!

I was so sorry to see the fire at Universal City. We have been several times and always had a great time at Universal and my family from England have always enjoyed it too. My thoughts are with the firemen who were injured.

Lunch was chish and fips at a British pub in Riverside - The Royal Falconer. The food was OK and the beer was great! As it was such a nice day - and, I just happened to have my camera with me - we went for a stroll down by the museums and, of course, ended up at the Mission Inn. Mr. Indi was getting a back ache so we stopped for a rest in the bar and I took the opportunity to look at some of the historic photos on the walls. I didn't realize that Amelia Earhart had been to the Mission Inn. (Learn something new every day!)

The first picture is of a beautiful statue outside the museum and the second picture is looking into the lobby of the Mission Inn from the Presidential bar.

Santa Monica - A Super Day Out

Yesterday, me and him went to Santa Monica for the day. It's about an hour and a half drive from here and I wouldn't attempt it on a Monday but on a Saturday - it's perfect! The weather was spectacular and although they had forcast beach fog, by the time we arrived, there was not a cloud in the sky.

After a nice walk to the end of the pier and back we stopped for lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp - AND let me tell you - the food is to die for. I had shrimp pan fried in butter, garlic and capers served over linguine and he had Cajun shrimp over jasmine rice with a mango and pineapple salsa. If you are ever in SM go to Bubba's.

After lunch we wandered down onto the beach and ended up under the pier - one of my most favorite places to take pictures! I also took a couple of shots of the huge rolling wheel that, when rolled across wet sand, makes a map of Los Angeles. The wheel is about 6 foot high - amazing.

Next we walked into town and stopped at Ye Olde Kings Head for a drink. It is a pseudo British pub and is quite nice. And at least they have some good beers on tap. I had a pint of Boddies and it was wonderful. Then it was on to the 3rd. St. Promenade - a wonderful shopping area where they have closed the street to all but pedestrian traffic - we wandered the shops and watched the street artists including a wonderful young man who sang like Frank! The tumbling act was very good too. I purchased a fabulous shocking pink handbag which I needed badly because I'm down to 12 handbags.

On our way back to the beach we stopped at a wonderful Mexican restaurant and had the best margaritas that we have had in years. Mr. Indi says that we need to rent a hotel room for our next visit so that we can sit and drink those margaritas all day!

Once back at the pier, we visited the beautiful carousel and read all the interesting information that is posted about the restoration project. The people on the horses looked like they were having a grand time.

The journey home was a traffic nightmare that comes under the heading The Joys of Southern California and is best left unsaid!