LAST NIGHT AND TODAY

I went to Orange County Mining Company at 5:30 for cocktails to celebrate with a gal that was leaving her escrow company for a new one.  I didn't know the group, but was invited by my friend that worked with her and wanted me to come.

There was only a small group of five, which was fine.  I gathered from the conversation that the company they all work for wasn't the easiest and everyone was hanging on by a thread.

Real Estate is picking up out here and the houses are slowly climbing back to their prices in 2007.  This makes for a lot of escrow work and the ones that are good at doing the paperwork,  are in demand. The one that was leaving had no trouble finding a job for more money, six figures is not unusual.

I had one drink only.  Driving down the winding hill to the base is a little tricky and I have always been surprised that someone hasn't gone off the edge.

After leaving the gal that invited me to join her at the Orange Elks.  We met up there had a snack and a drink and I headed home.

Today is a Memorial Service for the Mother of my friend.  Passages are always happening for all of us.

The AT&T man was here for hours trying to fix my computer which would not allow me to print anything out from my computer. It took hours, but he fixed it.  I swear these computers have a mind of their own.

No word from Bruno who I assume is in LV. I really do need a new boyfriend.

DINNER........

The dinner with my Grand Daughter was great.  She is such a nice, smart young lady.  She got her Vet Tech degree and is working with a premier Veterinarian in the North County area.  We try to meet at least once a month.She loves it and says there is room for advancement. I'm glad I have a good relationship with her.

She regaled me with the relative scenario that transpired at the shower she put on for her Mother's wedding and at the wedding.  As expected her Aunt and her Grandmother caused scenes and were out of control.  These people haven't changed for forty years that I know of and I don't think that will ever change.  It only reaffirms my position of staying away from them.  My Grand Daughter has drawn a line in the sand that they are not to cross.  We can't pick our relatives that is for sure.  I have a couple doozies on my side. God knows what they think of me.

I've been having trouble with my phone today  Finally got things straightened around after a day and a half of being phoneless.  Even the cell was acting up.  AT&T is fixing things in the area and everything was messed up.

Bruno called again yesterday and gave me an update on the tooth. He was allergic to the adhesive and his new dentist can't do anything until Monday.  Monday is the day he is suppose to close escrow in Lake Las Vega and that won't work.  He upped his travel to today and is hoping to close things out tomorrow, Friday. He needs to do a walk through and be sure that everything is there. The Penthouse came furnished with art and very nice things.  The people that own if are in Colorado so I don't think they will be entering the property and taking anything away. I haven't seen him for three weeks, although we have talked and emailed a lot. Weird relationship to say the least.

My friend that I went to the Polo Lounge with asked me to meet her tonight for a drink at the Orange County Mining Company.  I'm debating whether to go or not.  I have a memorial service tomorrow afternoon  and a BBQ Sunday.  I'll wait to see how I feel about it in an hour.

I haven't done one thing today and I need to get cracking.  Time goes so fast and the days fly by.

MEN ARE WHIMPS.......

You won't believe Bruno is still having tooth issues.  He acquired an infection in the tooth site and of course it was worse over the holiday weekend.  He ended up in the emergency room at 2:30 a.m. on Sunday morning for five hours. He said his face on one side had swollen and he was in pain.  Several antibiotic shots and pills later he was back home and back in bed.  Of course that negated our Sunday date.  What else is new. This tooth thing as been going on almost two weeks.

Since I had the day to myself I decided to go to breakfast at the Elks.  The Renovators were having a yard sale and I also needed to zip tie the vines and lights that we put up several months ago in the entry. The Santa Ana winds do a number on anything that is trying to stay attached.

I spent several hours there and then decided to go to Newport Beach. I do get more then a little tired of being by myself all the time. I shouldn't complain since I got exactly what I wanted.  I always wished to be by myself again and I got my wish.  Most of the time it is great, but others, not so much. So, from the Newport Elks on the Bay to the Balboa Bay Club to Maestro's Ocean Club and home.  I talked to a lot of couples and a couple of odd men, but was ready to go home.  Talk about boring.

Lots of texts and phone calls from Bruno keeping me apprised of his situation.  I wasn't in a great mood yesterday as I had a message when I awoke that a mother of a friend of mine had passed away. She had been in the hospital where I visited her.  She died at home and my friend was spending the night with her.  She found her on the bathroom floor in the wee hours of the morning. I was glad I got a chance to see her.  She was the sweetest women.

So, when I sent a text to Bruno and he replied and asked how I was, my answer was not great but okay.  He called to see what was wrong. He had his appointment set up for yesterday late afternoon.  He has to go to Las Vegas Sunday to walk a penthouse he purchased in Lake Las Vegas on Sunday and no I don't want to go.  Not that he would include me anyway.  There a multitude of reasons I put up with him and I'm not complaining.  We have a very odd relationship that has been going on for three years. He is suppose to call me today to see if he is up to driving to Orange County tomorrow.

Last night I did go to another meeting at the Elks.  Since I'm on several committees I need to show up.  I had dinner with several friends and attended another Tuesday night meeting. It is time to work on center pieces again. It's like Groundhog Day......each year it is same thing different year.

Tonight my grand daughter and I are meeting for dinner.  I haven't seen her for a while so it will be nice to play catch up.

More next time.

THE WEEK.............

I don't know what is going on, but I seem either to be running around like a crazy person or sitting looking at the walls.  I stayed home Friday and spent Saturday playing Char women.  Sunday I sat in a pile trying to recover from all the work I did Saturday.

Monday was a dermatologist appointment to get a growth zapped under my eye for the third time.  This time he cauterized the the thing and I hope that is that.  From there it was a few errands

I decided to get rid of my cable company as they were charging me a ton of money for little service.  I did go to the AT& T store to buy an I Phone 5.  They had a special on it  for a hundred dollars. While I was there they offered me U-Verse and a bundle for my computer and phone that I couldn't refuse.  It was half of what Cox charges.

The Tech from AT & T came out and for a while I thought he was moving in, it was hours.  The service for the t.v.is totally different but I'll learn the channel numbers eventually.  There must be over two hundred channels with all the Premiums included.

While the Tech was at the house Bruno called on my cell phone.  He always uses my land line, he announced, "did I know that my phone had been busy for the last hour."  I explained that things were getting changed over.  You would think he is the only person I talk to on my phone.

Tuesday night I decided I better go to a meeting, for a change, at the Elks.  They are so boring.  They don't start until eight o'clock and although you have dinner, drinks and socialize it is just plain awful. Returned home around 9:30.

Wednesday was an errand day.  The Veterinarian for special cat food, the Dentist for a cleaning that only lasted ten minutes, Bed Bath and Beyond for coffee, Lowes for flowers, Target for more cat food and litter, home and then back out again to return the equipment to Cox.  In between all of that I had low lights put in my hair and a haircut.

I knew that Bruno had another Dentist appointment at eight a.m. and I didn't hear from him all day or night, although I had sent him a text asking if everything went okay.  He answered this morning via text.  Then on his way to get his pills he called and then called back.  He is still having issues with an implant site.  I think the Dentist is a quack and I told him so. He said he had called a San Diego Dentist and in a week or so he was going there to have a second opinion.  If he would listen to me he would of had it over by now.  But NO!

Thursday night, tonight, there is a Leading Knights Gala, which is going to be a Casino night, meeting.  I'm on that committee too  We are meeting about decorations.  Then after that meeting is another one for the second Marine Corps Birthday Ball. I'm waiting to hear; from my grand daughter to see if she still wants to go to dinner tomorrow night.  Since Bruno is tying up loose ends and I'm probably seeing him on Sunday.  With him you never know, although he did say something that I told him he needed to do a long time ago and that is get more sleep.  Four hours a night isn't enough.

So far the above is the week.  I do have a Saturday BBQ to do to, but I haven't decided if I want to do that since it is in Orange and I don't want to drink and drive with the holiday weekend being a big police presence.

Happy Memorial Day all!

THE WEEK GOT AWAY.......

It's been a week since I have written any thing.  I'll start with Mothers Day.  It was very lovely and very elegant.  My friend had a porch party as we five waited for the Limo to arrive. Mumm's champagne and snacks.  The driver showed up and we all got into the Limo with the left over snacks and of course the champagne.

When we arrived we were led back to the main dining room behind the Polo Lounge.  We had another glass of champagne and since this group are real estate people and mortgage gals the partying began.

The brunch was off the menu and everyone had something wonderful, we had wine, as you can only drink so much champagne.  The Mater De and the staff came over and paid a lot of attention to our table.

I did find a matching hat to go along with the dress I wore and I had a lot of compliments on my outfit from everyone. Staff and customers alike.

After brunch we decided since we had a Limo we would go to the bar and have another drink or two.  We did and I talked to some men from New Zealand that had a stud farm.  When I asked how many horses, they said, "five hundred."  That is a lot of horse flesh.  They had been to the Kentucky Derby then NYC, then to Las Vegas and were winding up in Beverly HIlls.  Heavy accents, heavy bodies, but interesting.

We piled into the Limo after we finished our rounds and headed back "behind the Orange Curtain," For me it was like going back home again being a the Polo Lounge.  I used to go there a lot when I worked in Beverly Hills and the host knew the man that use to seat people for forty years, that I knew.  I do miss not being in L.A. County. It is so different the OC.

Monday was a doctor's appointment, then Bruno surprised me by coming back from Texas a day early.  He came straight from the airport to see me.  Tuesday was packing boxes for the troops in Afghanistan, Wednesday, a book club meeting, Thursday and Friday I worked as a hostess at the Marriott in Anaheim.  The Elks State Convention was being held there for several thousand people and the Hospitality Suite for CHEA was my designated place to be. Chea stands for California Hawaii Elks Association.

Thursday Bruno and I were suppose to go out but he broke a tooth and cap and had a dental appointment to get it fixed that ended up being much more and painful.  So Thursday was cancelled.  He was leaving for Arizona for the weekend to go to a gun show with his son and will be back next this coming Monday morning.

The weekend I was home cleaning and playing catch up.

Life is the same but different, if that makes sense.

BACK TO THE SAME OLD..........

The Mother's Day brunch has gotten even better.  Not only are we going to the Beverly Hills Hotel, but now the husband doesn't want to go and another gal has been invited.  Since we won't have a designated driver, my friend has hired a limo to take us so we can indulge without worrying about being stopped by law enforcement. What to wear, what to wear??

Bruno is doing his same old.  We were suppose to go to a movie tomorrow night, but he has a late appointment, he said he tried to change it but hadn't heard from his client. He is leaving town on Friday and won't be back until the following Tuesday.  I swear when you like a workaholic you do put up with a lot of  crap.  I can't fault him, he has so many irons in the fire I don't know how he keeps up with it all.

He just purchased over three million dollars worth of property last week, in two days, and a month or so ago bought a company.  When you are flying that high and fast you have to keep up or it can all come crashing down. I sound like I'm making excuses, and maybe I am, but when we are together it is so worth it. He said we would be together next week, so I will be free until then.

I told Bruno a long time ago that anyone that wanted to be with him had to have her own life and boy was I right. I really have no clue as to how much he is worth but with the tidbits dropped in conversation and from his up bringing I think he is very well to do.  It doesn't matter, as I liked him before I knew anything about him. We can both drive each other crazy but we have decided to try and stay on an even keel.  I told him I would, unless he pissed me off.....Ha!

I went to a meeting last night at the Elks.  There is a man, that I think I mentioned before, that is my age that would really like to go out with me.  He is rather a ne'er do well and I have no interest.  Thank heaven my friend, that I work on the veterans committee with, was there and I sat with him and his brother in law for dinner.  I don't want to give the other guy any idea that I might be interested. He tried to buy me a drink but I had my money out and declined.

I stayed for the meeting at the Elks and then came straight home.  I must have been tired since I slept from 9:30 p.m. until 8:30 a.m..Today was a down day and I worked on files in the garage.  I may never get through all the paperwork around this house.

Tomorrow is another day.

THE HABOOB IS OVER..........

Bruno and I went out to dinner.  He came down around one p.m. and we watched the Kentucky Derby  Our reservations, at the restaurant, were for eight o'clock, we made them that late due to the fact the DJ, or so we thought, started at ten.  We sat  at the table for a while and drank two drinks and chatted with the couple next to us.  Bruno especially loves to orate if given a chance, he and the man had lots to talk about regarding business and Bruno's travels.

We finally ordered dinner.  I had not been in the restaurant for at least fifteen years and my memory of it was it was pretty good.  Well, fifteen years later it was terrible.  Not only was it very expensive, they wanted fifty six dollars for a lobster tail, which isn't bad if the place serves decent food, but the food was very sad.  The twice baked potato was dry and no flavor, the steak was salted to death, the cheese bread was oily, and the asparagus that Bruno ordered was slathered in some type of oil and garlic that tasted like diesel fuel.  He ended up sending it back for plain grilled asparagus.  I guess it goes along with the old adage you can't go home again. Not to mention his first drink came out wrong. Bruno usually pays cash for things and two hundred barely covered it. We could have gone to Ruth's Chris for less.

When the entertainment came in it wasn't a DJ but some alternative guitarist that played the same chords over and over and sang his own compositions.  The room itself is small and the speakers were at least six feet high. Deafening!  The other thing was the crowd changed from a forties to sixties crowd to an onslaught of very young groupies dressed in grunge that had been kept waiting outside behind a velvet rope.

We stayed for about ten minutes after the music, if you can call it that, started and decided to leave.  So did the couple next to us.  We decided to meet up with them at Pierce Street Annex, which has a DJ and a dance floor.  That place too had a lot of younger people but at least you could dance to the music. The other couple joined us and the evening wasn't a total loss.We got home by twelve thirty and even though the places were not good, we did have a good time, as always.

The next day I made a breakfast of smoked salmon, caviar, lox's, bagels, cream cheese, onions, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries,  juice, and  coffee. After breakfast, around eleven, Bruno left to go on a quest for ammo for his sons birthday, his sons gift request, birthday cards and then he was headed home.  I went back to bed and slept most of the day.

Monday, today, I headed for South County to the zapper doctor and then home.  It is raining and not nice out.  One day it is ninety and the next sixty. The rain is a good thing for the firemen in the Valley where those horrible fires are raging.

Bruno is coming back on Thursday and we are going to a movie, probably A Big Wedding, then out to dinner.  He has an appointment at six thirty a.m. the next morning so it will be an early night and he will head back to Los Angeles after dinner.Our Haboob has settled down and we are starting off again a fresh....at least I hope. We will see.

Signing off.

SPOKE TO SOON....

What did I say about Mikee, my cat, being a good boy.  He was fine until I put him on the carpet in the bedroom.  For some reason Camille and he got into a huge fight and I mean huge.  There was hissing and growling and fur flying.  Mikee ran into the office with Camille in chase.  Mikee hid under my desk and Camille was hissing her head off and he was growling.  I have no idea what happened as they have never done this before.  I picked Mikee up and held him and he was in a ball on my lab.  He didn't want down.

I finally took him to my bedroom and put him on his blanket on the bed.  He didn't move a muscle. He stayed there and later that day I decided that things were resolved and I could comb him.  No, that wasn't to be.  He allowed it for about two minutes and then went into full attack mode.  Biting and scratching my left arm.  I look like I've been through a rose bush. Today he is still not back to normal.  I'm hoping his mind set goes away.

Last night I did meet my younger girl friend and her mother.  We had a couple of drinks and something to eat.  In the conversation her Mother invited me to go with them on Mother's Day to the Beverly Hills Hotel for brunch.  I was a little hesitant as it was her Mother's Day and I didn't want to horn in.  She and my friend insisted that I come with them, so I guess I will be spending my un- Mother's Day in Beverly Hills.  As it is my old stomping ground I'm looking forward to going there.  Might have to re visit the Polo Lounge. The last time I was there I went to a Remy Martin tasting.

Bruno called his morning to tell me he would be here tomorrow, late morning.  Maybe I can make him slow down.  The Kentucky Derby is running, so getting him to sit still for a moment might be in the cards. I can't, personally, run all day and night too.

My long time friend, who is at her house in England right now, had the chance to go to a Wolf Sanctuary.  She sent me pictures of giving a wolf a kiss and rubbing its belly.  What a wonderful experience. She is asking me to come over to England so she can take me there. I emailed her I'd love to if I wasn't so poor right now.  Way to many expenses to save for a trip.

So the weekend is here and at least I'll be busy Saturday and part of Sunday.


  

THIS AND THAT....

This is in line with never knowing when or what Bruno is going to do.  He sent me a text yesterday morning asking if I was going to be home.  He had an appointment at Foothill Ranch and would be in the area.  He said he would stop by to fix the plug in the hall afterwards if that was okay.  Of course it was okay.!Getting things done around here that doesn't cost an arm and a leg is great.

He showed up around ten a.m. and changed out the plug for a new one.  He had to be in Los Angeles for a meeting at 2:00 p.m.but he stayed with me until 12:30.  He does have a really cute personality, if a little profane sometimes,  and he was telling me a joke about a man having a pull ring in his head, that when a wife yanked on it, it would say, "my fault."  Of course this was referring to the "dust up" we had several weeks ago. He isn't one to let things go.

After our little to do, he rearranged his schedule to go back to Alabama and was in a proper foul mood.  His poor crew paid for our argument.  He was a week early seeing them, they weren't ready, was short and snapped at them and everyone was staying clear of him, including the waitress at the little diner he usually goes to for breakfast.

Saturday he is coming down early afternoon, although our reservations at La Cave are for 8:00 p.m.
I am hoping things go smoothly and on my end I'll try to be on my best behavior, although that goes  a little against my grain.  As long as he doesn't dump another bombshell on me, we will be fine. I swear he is my nemesis.  We have the strangest relationship, if you could call it that. He definitely  is unique.

Last night I picked up my ex-neighbor and we went to dinner.  I wasn't ten minutes away from the house when my next door neighbors, girl Friday, called me and wanted to know if I was home.  My neighbor who has been gone for over a month had returned and forgotten her keys.  We have keys to each other houses.  It would have save the girl Friday a trip but it didn't work that way.

My ex neighbor and I had a great conversation at dinner, as always, I saw her years ago, through her divorce and trying to land the man she finally married for the last thirty years.  There were lots of tears and wine and we have a good understanding of each other.  I'm very lucky to have a lot of incredibly, strong women in my life.

Tonight I'm meeting my forty eight year old girl friend and her Mother, who is my age, for drinks and hor d houvres.  She has been a fun friend and her Mother had me to she and her husband's house for dinner one evening. People seem to want to gather me up into their world.....fine with me. I have a ton of long time friends of thirty to forty years and adding new ones along the way is great.

Vet man has been texting me and he loves hearing about Bruno and my relationship.  I think he likes living vicariously.  He can be pretty funny too.

Other then running up to CVS and doing a few chores, my big thing was giving my cat a bath and cutting his nails.  He really is a good boy and allows me to do what I need to do.  White cats just get dirty.

Off to get ready for this evening.