ALWAYS CHANGES...

Things changed around with Bruno, as always.  The meeting was called late Wednesday afternoon to final his China and South Africa trip but didn't get finaled.  From two weeks in South Africa first, to two weeks in China after coming home, to six days in China first and then back and then South Africa.  I swear to God this man doesn't know if he is coming or going half the time. After all these meetings screwing up any time we might have together, I'm waiting for him to let me know after they conference call to China today, Sunday.  There is a fifteen hour difference and it is Monday, today. So my "special friend" as he calls us, which when I Googled it pissed me off, it is what it is.  If I want him in my life, which I do, I will just roll with it. No choice.  Our connection is really strong for whatever reason.  I swear we were together in a past life. We have been dating for three years this Bastille Day.

Thank heaven for my girlfriends. I met one of my good friends yesterday at the Home Consignment store.  I have been looking for a black leather chair, small, with an ottoman.  My white sofa is getting all the abuse and I got rid of my husbands ugly lift chair a long time ago. I actually found a Lane that was brand new for a good price. The chair is being delivered tomorrow.

I have a movie date scheduled after the chair delivery tomorrow with my girlfriend.  We will see Mud.  Tuesday night there is a speaker from Women's Sage at the Center Club at Segerstrom Center which includes dinner. It is about women after the age of sixty and seventy empowering themselves and how that is the best time of life since you have come into your own. Everyone gets a little side tracked and God knows I sure lost myself for a long time.

Although things haven't been easy in a lot of ways since my husband died. Both financially and trying to find my footing.  We didn't end up like we should have after almost forty years, but you can't predict what happens.  You can only go forward, as you can't change the past  My one girlfriend says there is nothing worse then a bitter women and the could have, would have, should have, does one no good. I agree.

My husband and I  did have some really nice times together.  He was a nice man, although weak, but then I probably wouldn't have put up with a strong man.  He had a way of getting even,  Mr. Passive Aggressive. He said so many times that he loved me more then he had loved anyone or thing in his life and he said it over and over. For me, actions speak louder then words so all the verbage in the world means nothing.  Enough of that.  Just was thinking this morning about things.

I'm doing good and again the best revenge is living well and I do that without a problem.  I have so many good friends and relatives all over the country that keep in touch and love me.  I'm very blessed.

Have a good week will post again when I have something of interest.

ROCK BAND....

After Bruno left on Sunday I received a call from a friend that asked me to go to a rock concert, of all places, at the nearby cemetery. I've never attended a concert and wouldn't pay a dime to do so, but she said this one was free.  I did go and finally found her.  I texted Bruno and his answer was "freaky," and I guess they won't have to worry about playing too loud.

Actually the band was great.  They played everything from Lady GaGa, Jim Morrison, Frank Sinatra and a few new and old songs thrown in the mix.  It was a very pretty setting with all the trees and grass even though it was a cemetery. People were dancing and had brought their chairs and food.  Kids were running around having a good time.  I stayed for about two and a half hours and headed home. It was kind of fun and beat sitting home. I did not visit any graves...

Monday was an errand day with a ton of things to do including shopping for Shred for the center pieces I want to do.  I also ran over to the Elks went into the attic and brought down sand that I wanted to use to anchor the bases.  We had used the sand for the Casino night in buckets. Also ironed, washed the floors etc. when I returned home.

Bruno was coming back on Tuesday around noon to see me and of course after he made arrangements it changed.  He will be in the I.E. (Inland Empire) and headed another direction.  He is coming down on Wednesday, tomorrow. I'm actually glad it worked out a day later.  I wanted to get my mani/pedi and finish cleaning the house .  I got all of that accompolished and then some.

Tonight I guess I will go to the Elks meeting.  I'm not as irritated as I was and I really do need to go to pick up a few other things. I truly want to ween myself away from the place.  There has to be more to do then that.  I'm looking.

It has been beastly hot and humid.  No global warming right?

ANOTHER WEEKEND...

I can't believe the week flew by so fast and another weekend is here and gone.

We had the MCB meeting on Monday and I presented the band's CD and his price.  As expected it was deemed to high priced.  I said I would go back to him to see if I couldn't get him to come down in price. I did and he did. After being told to book him, the powers that be, decided that they wanted a band that everyone was familiar with.  I was more then a little irritated.   After wasting my time and this guys time, they decided to go with another band.  This band is geared to about thirty older people that ballroom dance. I personally don't care who the use, but stop getting me involved in everything.

 This is suppose to be a MCB not a dance for the older people. If the decision was going to be made by others then why tell me to find  someone.  So, with all that being said, I resigned from the Committee.  I know it might sound like sour grapes, but I didn't want to do this again this year.  I promised to do the center pieces and will do that, but that is the end of it.  I already have everything I need to finish them and after that it is over and out.  Everyone calls me for answers to everything because they know I will get things done.  When I tried to foist the center pieces off on someone the answer was no.  Alrighty then!

Friday we celebrated a friend of mine's eighty eighth birthday at The Ritz.  There were the three of us and it was so much fun.  The place was packed with TGIF people and as always the food was great. The Ritz has an egg that is in the shell filled with a soft scrambled egg, salmon, chives and topped with caviar served with a shot of Russian Vodka.  Great appetizer.  After that it was a steak sandwich without the bread.  All in all a great day.

Saturday Bruno was back.  He arrived about three o'clock.  He has been working on deals in the Republic of China and South Africa and has several trips planned with his partners to see what's what. He has so much going on I don't know how he does it. It was a lot of fun being together Saturday night.  My special friend.  Large place with good food and entertainment all night.  Belly dancers, that were really good, and a great band and international singer.  Guess I'll have to learn Farsi. It was a super evening. They serve almost 500 people a night, which is amazing.  The owner came over to our table and brought Persian ice cream.  Mine had Rose water in it and Bruno's had Pomegranate with chocolate.\ bits.  It was very nice of the owner and we were trying to figure out why he did it.  We had no interaction with him at all

This morning I made baked French Toast, Bruno went down to Starbucks to get his NY Times and coffee, came back and we had breakfast together.  Sunday mornings are always nice together. He headed home and back to work.  He does work seven days a week and with International business Sunday is Monday.

So another week starts.....who knows what it will bring.

THE WEEKEND...

I sat home on Friday, Saturday and half a day Sunday.  By 2:30 in the afternoon after doing a little housework and ironing I decided to pull myself together and get dressed to go to Newport Beach to  the Elks. Everyone remembers me which sometimes is not such a good thing. Staying low key is not something I do well even if I do mind my own business most of the time.

I stayed and listened to the music for a while and decided that since everyone was one hundred and two I would go somewhere that I had not been for almost thirty years.  On Balboa Island there is a long time restaurant and bar called the Village Inn.

After actually finding a place to park, which is almost impossible during the summer months, I walked a block and entered the restaurant.  The place had a few people and there was a young couple at the bar that were just super friendly and great to talk to.  They worked at the Yacht Club by the Balboa Bridge and his family had owned different restaurants in Orange County.

They had ordered Calamari and wanted to share it with me.  I like Calamari, but it is fried and in keeping with trying not to eat fried foods I tried to decline to no avail.

While I was talking to them another gal came in and sat next to us.  She had just retired from Neiman Marcus and lived on the Island as did the young girl that was part of the couple.  Everyone is so friendly and we exchanged names, phone numbers and promised to keep in touch.

Sara, the young girls name lived with her Grandmother on the Island and wanted me to come down and hang out with them.  Since I normally do very little on the weekend it sounded like a plan.  I love the fact that I can make friends no matter where I go and they want to include me in their lives.  We'll see what happens.

The place had a band too and I left after a couple of the sets,  I hadn't seen anything on the menu that I wanted so I headed back towards Irvine and thought I'd stop at the Wild Fish for a drink and some bar food.

I sat next to a man that was eating a Thai shrimp dish and he offered me one. I declined  but did order the same thing.  We were talking and he was telling me he was retired from Best Buy as one of the original corporate people in Minneapolis.He was one year older then I.

He said he had a home on Spy Glass Hill, and a five bedroom home in Scottsdalte, AZ.  He was divorced and had lived in California for twelve years.  He also had started out living at the Balboa Bay Club.  He was a nice man and he did take a liking to me.  He ended up, when I went to the Ladies Room, paying for my food and drinks.  When I came back I tried to pay the bartender and he said it has been taken care of.  All I could think of was there was going to be a price to pay.  That turned out not to be true, kind of..

As with most men he would have liked more, but I declined his offer to go home with him to "cuddle"  Yeah "cuddle" right! He said, " wouldn't I like someone that could offer me more," as I told him about Bruno.  Food for thought for sure.

The other man who was on the other side of me picking up take out thought we had known each other forever.  I'm not shy and can be chatty when I have to be.  The really bad thing about meeting the Best Buy man was I have forgotten his name...typical.  I have the memory of a gnat.

I hadn't been in Wild Fish for almost two years and Best Buy man said it was the first time he had ventured there too. I probably will never see or hear from him again, but at least it was company and beat sitting at home with the cats.

Tonight, Monday, I'm headed out to pick up the Manager of the Elks Club.  She has several things on the list for the menu we need to approve at the meeting tonight for the Marine Corps Birthday Ball.  I have the CD of the new band but I think they will be too expensive. The first Ball we made approximately $2000. so we have a little money to work off of.  The Challenge Coins, as gifts, run over a thousand so a big hunk is taken out of last years profits for them.

Off to get ready to get out of the house.

TRYING TO STAY UNWRINKLED...

I'm lucky genetically but there can still be facial creases otherwise know as wrinkles on ones face.  I'm more critical of myself then other people and everyone keeps saying I look just fine.  I probably should get r id of the magnifying glass, but then I wouldn't be able to put on my eye makeup without it.

So, since I have a wrinkle obsession, I booked a visit with my dermatologist to have an Ulthera treatment.  It is ultra sound, which by the way hurts like hell when applied, even with the pain pills.  It is about an hour and a half procedure with no down time afterward. You walk out with zero redness or affects.  The whole idea is to produce collagen in about three months to fill in your facial areas and it lasts for a long time. There is a slight difference right after the procedure.

I figure I could probably save a lot of money if I just got fat again and the wrinkles would fade away with the fat deposits. As the French say,  "save your face or save your body."  I'd like to do both.  So far I haven't been successful. Old age is old age.

It is a good thing I don't have a lot of money or the plastic surgeons and dermatologists would have it all.

On to other things.  I met my girlfriend to listen to a band that we were considering for the Marine Corps Birthday Ball in November. It was was a little futile since the band was booked that month and day.While we were sitting there with another friend this man came over to the table and sat next to me.

This man has been circling around for about a month.  He is elderly, but in pretty good shape. I was more then a little shocked when he told me his age. His wife had just passed away approximately a month ago and he said he was rattling around in his four bedroom house and needed to move on with his life.  Men don't wait for the body to get cold before they are looking for someone else.

Someone told me that he was worth a lot of money which he told me he was when he was pleading his case. He had been spending ten thousand a month to take care of his wife. I heard he had his own airplane parts company and had just sold his personal.airplane.  About time to my way of thinking since his age was ninety three.  He was a pilot in the war at the Chosin Reservoir.

 He wants to take me out, however, he also said he was like a fifty year old in bed......good Lord, I sure know how to attract them. Why is it that every man has only one thing in their mind.  Geez!

I'm almost tempted to go out to dinner with him.  I could be the second Anna Nicole Simpson and go for the gold. Of course one has to wake up in the morning and look at the fellow next to you.  I am not changing diapers again for anyone .I think I'll stay with Bruno, absent or not he does make me happy, at least most of the time.

So off to get ready for the rest of the week.















  

LAST WEEK GOT AWAY..........

I can't believe that the week flew by and for some reason I didn't have a lot of time to do anything on this Blog.

The usual things going on during the week.  My neighbor took me out for a long delayed birthday lunch.  She is going to be moving away and renting her home out.  I'll really miss her.  We don't see each other that often as she travels for business a lot.  She has her own Company and it keeps her really busy.  We had a great chat and actually spent three hours together.

I heard from one of my cousins from Ohio and another from New York.  It is nice to talk to them and find out what is going on in their life. The cousins, of which there are at least five or six that grew up together have always been close. Two of the group have passed away and aren't included in the five or six.

We had a Marine Corps Birthday Ball meeting last week.  We are really late on getting this together.  Finding a band is proving to be a challenge.  Everyone seems to be booked.

Bruno came down on Saturday.  He had a meeting in the North that didn't go well.  They were from the mid west and wanted to follow that States law. Since they were signing contracts in California they needed to follow California law.  Bruno said they hashed thing over forever and he finally had enough and walked away from the deal. He puts so much on his plate he is either exhausted or sick half the time.

We attended a Four Tops Review Saturday night and Bruno didn't feel well.  We left at Intermission.  I was okay with it since the event wasn't all that great.  It was a joint effort between the NAACP and the Elks and on the whole it went okay.  As with most things it can be hit or miss and we both felt it was a miss.

We came home and Bruno went to bed I watched a little t.v.  Sunday morning  we made "Toad in the Hole." and it really was good  Onions, leeks, bacon, sauteed spinach on toasted Brioche with  a fruit side.. We had breakfast on the back patio. It was a beautiful morning and my neighbor had great music on in the backyard which we really enjoyed. We sat under the table umbrella and relaxed  most of the morning.  He left around noon and will be back on the 20th from the South. My busy man.  At least he wants to come back to me which isn't easy when one lives in L.A. County and has to fight the traffic.

That's it for last week.  Meetings lunches, book club, and various other things going on this week

Until the next time.

BOOK.....

I slept in late this morning, still tired from the weekend.  I decided to stay home and work on getting my book ,that I wrote almost three years ago, ready to put into manuscript form. I have been putting this off and for some reason I got the bug to try and get it out to the Publishers,

I have a copyright in the works, the book has been edited by an editor in South Florida and now I just have to get on the stick to finish a cover letter and send it off.  I probably will get rejections, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

To tell you the truth, after belonging to this book club I joined there is some real junk that has been published and even though mine isn't literature I feel it as good as some of the written words out there.

I had an email from Bruno and I sent one back asking him a couple questions.  He zipped one back as to what he was doing and did I have anymore questions.  Of course I took that as him being "snarky" and I emailed back saying to my "snarky Bruno."  He had no clue what I was talking about.  Guess I interpreted it wrong, as only I can do.  He really didn't mean anything and I read something else into it. He always tell me he waits to read my emails usually in the morning as he says I can send some "flamers."  Only when I'm pissed at him.

This coming week is going to be a really busy one and today I've been sitting in front of the computer trying to get this book thing organized.  A lot of work and probably why I didn't get into it more, sooner.

The weather has been hot and muggy and the air conditioning has been going on all day, which is fine with me.

Nothing else to report.