QUIRKS (not to be confused with quarks)

     If you pay any attention at all, you no doubt have seen some pretty odd behavior habits of people around ya.   I think each of us no doubt has habits that we never even think about.
     I was out for my morning eggs, toast and coffee at my regular haunt here int good old Temecula, and got to watching the people around me, in particular was watching how they stirred their coffee (or Tea).  I soon enough learned not all people stir their coffee the same way.
     Basically their are those that stir their coffee clockwise, another bunch counter clockwise.  You would think that would be pretty much everyone, but wait----I found some who agitated their drinks with a back and forth motion, others doing figure eights with their spoons.   I even saw one young man slapping his coffee with a spoon not unlike a lil kid playing in a puddle of water, but then he had that dazed look in his eye and I was fairly certain he was coming off a binge of some kind and still not back to earth.
     Then not satisfied to just observe all the variations of coffee stirring, I got to noticing the types of people stirring in a particular manner----but thats a whole different blog for a later time.  lol

What goes around-----comes around

Don't get over-heated, but I have been thinking about getting back into blog posting---its been acouple years since I last blogged---finding it a bit scary.  However me thinks I can remember how to go about it.    
    what do you think?

Twas A Terrible Job---

Some number of hours ago I posted a bit about my current trial and tribulation, well this is the sequel-----I had to go to three different stores to acquire a box, of some equitable size to accommodate the gift.  Believe it or not I found what I needed at Fed Ex Kinko's.   Then of course I just HAD to have wrapping paper, and plain brown wouldn't cut it, so off to other stores, where I found wrappings that pleased my sensibilites , and a third store for a card to go with the gift.   Then of course I dashed home to DO the wrapping.

I most definitely miss the lil Princes talents in the sphere of gift wrapping-----this is the first year I have had to wrap gifts in over a decade, and unfortunately the end result definitely shows my lack of skill in that arena..  However I finally got the job done , and I don't know the name of the saint that invented scotch tape, but BLESS YOU, whoever you are.  It was a terrible job, but somebody had to do it!!  Just remember Alexi, years  from now when you look back and talk of this occasion------and you will----be kind.

Now all I have to do is decide what to wear-----hmmm, maybe I should do laundry now that I think about it? ((sigh, it just never stops does it?)

Trials and oh yeah tribulations too

I hate it when things are out of whack, off balanced, spinning out of control.-----can make a guy nauseous. So, whats bugging the old dude you might ask? Well as most of you all know, tomorrow is Alexi and Phil's engagement gala. (Gala, meaning a frantic gathering held in the afternoon, as compared to a Blast, which is of course a frantic gathering held in the evenings), but I digress-----my problem, which isn't really a problem so much as just a trial---hmmm, maybe its a tribulation, or some combination of those two things together, ----is I have acquired a nice little gift for the occasion, but the proprietorship from which I got the gift did not have a suitable box in which to put it----so I brought the bag home, and now its Friday and I have yet to find a suitable container in which to insert the gift, and whats really bugging me is once I DO find the right box------I will have to wrap it in some festive manner for the occasion, and oh yeah, guess a card would be a nice touch too. So will leave off blogging (I no longer have sufficient time to procrastinate resolving the above conflict)------and throw myself out into the world in search of appropriate solutions. TTFN (THATS TAA-TAA FOR NOW)

Guess Its Been Awhle huh?

Sunday last, I waggled myself an invite to dinner up at Pete & Judi's. I say I waggled the invite in that I called to check in and see how things were going, and during the course of the chit chat alluded to how I was doing nothing, and everything was pretty much same-o, same-o, and of course Judi being the big hearted soul she is suggested , if I were of a mind to, that I should come over for dinner, which I of course accepted. I of course was aware that "The Joyce" was in town visiting, and accepting the dinner invite allowed me the pleasure of visiting and saying howdy.
Dinner was More than adequate, and I put a small dent in my Nephew's beer supply, he still is able to act normal and smiles----the full impact of his daughter Alexi's wedding in July has yet to sink in.
After arriving and the first wave of up dating chit-chat, Pete and Judi took us over to their neighbors, who are naturalists, and big on animal rescue-----their forte is Raccoons, at the time of our visit they were housing no less than 40 odd of the little buggers, nursing them back to health and ultimately to be released back into the wilds. Ken has gone to much expense and labor and has built a small zoo like complex to house them, and he and his wife keep the place immaculate. His wife had previously worked at one of the large groceries, and now she visits them a couple days a week and they give here all the produce that can no longer be sold, but that is still good, and the little raccoons are fed quite well, melons, banana's, grapes, celery, hot dogs, and I sort of envied them as we watched them eating. I didn,t have my camera with me, but perhaps Judi can supply some pics of the raccoon house in the future.
Prior to making my exit for home later, I invited Joyce , Pete and Judi to dinner Wednesday night, at the local Indian Casino, Pachanga-----which should prove to be a fun evening. I am looking forward to it.
Next Saturday, Oct. 3rd, is Pete and Judi's engagement party for their Daughter Alexi and her husband to be Phil----a small intimate gathering of around 80 people. THAT should prove to be entertaining.
Guess that's all I have to blog on for now----"The Joyce", kinda lectured me how selfish I have been by not blogging so guess I will have to endeavor to amend my ways and input with more frequency.

OH DRATS!!----

Gosh Darn it----went to my local med clinic today to take a long scheduled blood test----what can I say I flunked my blood testing!! (note I said blood testing, not the actual blood test itself---so relax)  I got up early this am, rewarded myself with going out to Papa Paul's  for breakfast, and then since the clinic is just a short distance away, decided to drive over and get my blood tested (I get regular blood tests every six monthes, and this test was scheduled back in March), andway so I arrive at the clinic, enjoying the fantastic clear blue skies, and cool morning air, and noticed with glee, that there was no waiting line at the Lab---but the nice clerk at the check in desk stopped me cold when she casually asked if I had fasted prior to coming in----I had forgotten I was not suppose to eat 12-14 hours prior to having my blood tested.   I admitted I had just came from a restaurant having had breakfast-----(sigh), so we will try again tomorrow morning, and AFTERWARDS, will go have breakfast.

On a more brighter note, today, I set a new personal best playing freecell----completeing successfully a new all time record for me of winning 1,403 games in a row.  (not to shabby for an old dude !!)

Chores Done----

Got my chores done, or at least enough to not feel guilty about those that didn't get accomplished. Tish is coming to visit tomorrow, so did a bit of house keeping, laundry, dusting, and mostly just putting things away and neating up the old abode.

The Stock market continues to be my friend, (knock on wood), and I am expecting things to slowly improve as the rest of the year progresses.

Spent about four hours last night viewing some of the recorded shows from my DVD recorder, and have got it down to only 49 percent of memory used. I have maybe another 10-12 old TV show episodes to watch, and am adding one or two every night. I also have four netflix discs to watch (all of "The Forsyth saga")., and if all else fails to interest me at the moment, I have instant movie on demand compliments of my Verizon FIOS system. (and you wondered why I am not blogging more often (grin).

Tomorrow Tuesday, Tish and I are going down to the Casino, and have a couple hours of wild abandonment------and then come Saturday, I will be attending my Nephew Ed's big bash that he is giving in honor of his Son Aaron's visit down from Montreal, as well as a Birthday Party for one of his Grandchildren---this party has been in the planning for some number of monthes, and should be quite the fete.

Where Does, The Time Go--??

It seems like only a couple days ago since I last posted, but golly gee---!!? ----its been a month, and Judi is forewarding comments of concern about me.  I guess I owe everyone and apology, I sure didn't mean to give anyone cause for worry.  I'm just fine----really!!.

I have been busy getting to know my new Town better, or at least my way around and through it.  I must say the traffic engineer who laid out this little city knew what he was doing, lots of left turn lanes, and the stop lights are all sensored so that the light changes to accommodate the heaviest traffic at any given time, and that makes driving around town so much more pleasant.

Today I got up rather late, (9:00am), and went out to breakfast at Papa Pauls, as I am now in the habit of doing.  There I have my standard breakfast (two eggs over easy, hashbrowns and decaf coffee), and peruse my Investor Business Daily newspaper;  This being saturday, no need to hurry home and watch the stock market, so I used the time to explore Temecula a bit-----found the Green Arrow Nursery, and spent the better part of two hours browsing over various plants, shrubs and pottery, and finally selected a Hibiscus, and a decorate pot for my Patio (which is beginning to look like someone actually lives here and uses the patio).

Last Monday, was invited over to my Niece Melanie's for a steak Barbeque, and totally enoyed sitting on THEIR patio with the magnificent view of the San Bernardino Mountains and looking over the City below.  The Steak was most excellent and I finally headed home reluctant to leave , having become so relaxed and comfortable .

My other niece, Tish, mentioned she was thinking of dropping my here this coming week, which will be fun, will give me an excuse to check out another new eating establishment, called, "The Macaroni Grill", or maybe, "PF Changs", (no, saving that one to visit with Pete &Judi)---so mayhe instead will give "The Iron Wok" a try----or maybe that Nowegian restaurat-----hmmm ----decisions, decisions.

I am in the market to buy an IPod, but know nothing about them.  I understand they come in various levels of complexities, and its my understanding one should buy them from an Apple Store.  I have been told there is an Apple Store Outlet down in Escondido,  (about 35 minutes down the big concrete hwy from here).

My lucky streak continues at my local casion (Pachanga), I seem to win there more than I lose. and it beats watching rerums on Televison.  The biggest problem with the casion is, they keep the airconditioning so low, a guy could catch a real chill, and I feel stupid wearing sweatshirts when its 90 degrees plus outside, but hey, a guy has to be comfortable when gambling right?

Tomorrow, Sunday, I plan on having a late breakfast at Papa Paul's, and then heading down to the Town Library to check in my books that I have read, and get me some new ones to peruse.  I may also go back to the Green Arrow Nursery, and see what else I can glom onto for my Patio Ambiance. (I don't think the Mgmt will allow me to put in Tiki Torches)

Sunday Again (two weeks later)

Once again its Sunday, (seems sundays pop up on a regular basis----who knew?).  Today finds me spending time with my niece Tish in Irvine, Ca..  Today we went to lunch, and had a most delightful Chinese repast.  I opted to go with beef and vegaetables, and I believe Tish had the Schezan Beef.  Both dishes of course come with the obligatory rice, hot tea, and afterwards the dreaded fortune cookies.

After Lunch, Tish suggested we visit the Presidential Library for Richard Nixon, which is located only a few miles away, so off we went.  I found the LIbrary quite interesting, as it was a period of time when I was "into" politics, and the world scene.  Also next to the Library complex, actually a part of the complex, was Nixon's boyhood hoom, and we of course had to see that, but bye then we were getting tired, and would have had to wait some length of time til the next tour of the house was to be run, so we opted to call it a day, and came back here to Tish's place.  As I write this quick little post, SHE, (being the good lil niece that she is), is slaving out in the kitchen making me up a big batch of her excellent Tuna Salad to take home to Temecula, along with the loaf of bananna bread, and a container of grapeseed oil, which is suppose to be good for lowereing one;s chlorestorol.

During the last couple weeks, since I last posted, my Nephew Pete and I took a run up to Vegas, which I have not visted since 1996, ----the place sure has changed, but the games are the same-----I only lost about 400 bucks, but had a great time. (Pete won enough to break even after taking us out to a really fantastic great steak dinner, paid for the gas, and lunch on the drive back)  We more or less agreed we would have to do it again in about 3-4 monthes.   Driving up I learned it might be best for me to invest in an IPOD, as my new car had an IPOD jack in the sound system, and of course with an IPOD, one can collect thousands of songs.

Also during the last couple weeks, I have  become a Cosco Member, in that their store in Temecula is abour a block from my apartment complex, and they sell gas abourt as cheap there as anywhere in the general local, and offer good deals on fresh meats, as well as clothes and electronics-----hmmm bet I should shop there for that IPOD.

Okay thats it for now good people----I'm typing this on Tish's computer, and I believe she wants to do something on the Puter, so am signing off------see ya all around the blogosphere ------(lol)

Okay its Sunday----now what?

I more or less promised a post would be made today, and this is my attempt at meeting my promise----ain't got a clue as I write this sentence what I am going to post-----working without a net here.. (lol)

I don't have any immediate plans for today, or Monday or Tues, or Wednesday, so will be going with the flow of whatever comes along.  On Thursday my nephew Pete and I will be driving up to Vegas, and taking a shot or two at blackjack.  I am rather looking forward to the trip, I havn't been to Vegas since 1996, and I am looking forward to seeing all the many changes to the city ----about 10 new hotels.  However, knowing how I love playing blackjack, most likely will find a hot table, and next thing I know it will be time to head back home, no time for silly sight seeing-----but then the worst case scenario would be not finding a hot table, and nothing else to do but go sight seeing----hell sounds like a win-win situation to me either way.

I have been slowly adapting my apartment to MY liking.  Hung up some of my wall art, but what I havn't put up just doesn't "fit" the decor here, so am keeping one eye open for the right paintings and pictures that will work here . (your not alone in this problem Patty--- LOL).

As I write this , have been trying to decide if I want to go out for breakfast or stay in for breakfast---I know if I go out it will cost me money.  Seems I can't just go out and get breakfast and come home, no, I will no doubt talk myself into doing some shopping-----and next thing I know will have spent monies on gawd only knows what ------not that there is anything wrong with that------seems I can always use "stuff".

Actually today, most likely this afternoon, will do my stock market research, and be ready for the market when it opens Monday morning------who needs Vegas (lol).  I will also finish my current novel that I am reading , and oh yeah might as well do some laundry---and then come evening will have to decide if I am watching a netflix movie, or something I recorded off the DVR  (its programed to record a number of tv series, such as "Supernatural", "Mission Impossible" and "Murder She Wrote", and if none of that appeals, perhaps take in one of the old movies off of one of the cable channels----oh, oh, just remembered, the Library is open on Sundays here----good time to go get acouple new novels to read.   Gee, glad we had this little talk, it helped me more or less plan my day-------laters good people.

"---Back by popular demand" (yeah righttttt!)

Hi all, guess I have been remiss in not posting of late.  Several of you were thoughtful enough as to inquire as to my welfare, ---another few were actually angry that I hadn't posted  for a time (I assume they were suffering from withdrawal symptoms).  In anycase here I am again putting words up , without a thought as to where they should stop.
    
I have no excuse to offer for my lack of posting, just got caught up in a different swirl of things, and time escaped me------.

Its now going on 2am, and the old dude here is thinking he should be in bed, and there is no one here to talk me out of it, so------goodnight all----will endeavor to post something a mite more coherent tomorrow.

ARRIBA, ARRIBA!! LUNCH AT FIDEL'S NORTE

Sunday----up early, breakast at Mimi's, the a quick run through the Winco Grocery establishment to gather up a few of the basic necessities, beer pretzels, ketchen trash bags.  Home, decide what would be appropriate to wear to  lunch donw by the sea sside, (Tan cargo pants with dark brown trim on the pocket flaps, black Tea Shirt, with the word "Honda" over the heart area, and a nice multi colored grahpic design on the back, and of course ones new dark sunglasses., what socks and all white tennies..  Then Blue and I make the run down the big concrete hwy to Carlsbad (just north of San Diego on the Ocean).  Being the first to arrive, reserved space for 6-8 others, on the Patio, and ordered myself a Margarita, (blended not on the rocks), and waited for the others to arrive, which they did over the next 30 minutes., turns out some couldn't make it, so it ended up being a party of  five, -----another margarita, then lunch, ( tostadas,  enchiiladas, ),

It was fun sitting around in the ocean air, with bright conversation, good food, and definitely enjoyed the Margaritas-------Returned to the Hacienda by three , and opted to take a quick nap----and recharge, as I am off to Pete and Judi's in the early evening , and going to enjoy watching the sun set from the top of Shogo Mtn, and the group of us sitting around the fire pit-----hmmm wonder  if I can remember any good ghost stories?? LOL--------depending what time the party breaks up at Pete's may stop at the casino and take a run at a certain quarter machine -----but then mayne not-------time will tell.

Moving right along-----

Like they say, time passes quickly if your having fun----my last post was Wednesday, now its Saturday, ----where does the time go? Now lets see what did I do Thursday and Friday, hmmm?? OOH, on Thursday had the Technician in to hook up my blue ray player to my Fios system, and to swap out the original Fios set-top box, with a DVR, so now my system covers most everything, phone, fast internet, cable, as well as Blu-ray disc playing, and Digital video recording and playback-------still pondering whether to add surround sound---kinda like the technician told me, "---don't care how much wiring ya put in , its not gonna float in the air."

Friday, was one of those laid back days, never even left the apartment, spent some time reviewing the market doing some buying and selling, answered my email, watched a couple late night shows I had recorded off the TV, read most of my latest book, "The Last Precinct", by Patricia Cornwell., and then in the evening dove into watching a couple Blu-ray movies back to back, "Mama Mia", and "The Rookie".

Now today, am I mite busier. Was out of the apartment and having breakfast at Papa Paul's at 8am, the stopped and got my Monthly hair cut , and then came back here the apartment, to catch up on my blog reading and attempting here to do a posting. Later today need to go out and get ole blue washed and filled up, buy some groceries and potables for the coming week, and get back in time to clean up for the Wine tasting Party being held at 3Pm here at the Solana Ridge Complex Clubhouse.------after THAT, my social calendar is open to whatever comes to mind----maybe the casino?? ---I'm feeling lucky!! (LOL)

I Cleaned To Well

Saturday had been something of a nightmare of my own creation (a fancy word for "Stupidity"), but Sunday had turned out to be both productive as well as relaxing---I slept much better Sunday night.

Then Monday arrived, and as I munched on home made muffins (compliments of my Niece Tish), and a big mug of coffee, watched my stocks as the Market went up, and by the time the market had closed I had made a couple bucks. Awhile later Judi called me on my land line, and we chit-chatted for a bit, and I then went out on the Patio kicked off my sandals and begin reading "The Third Option", an adventure/mystery novel by Vince Flynn, and soaking up the late afternoon sun, (good book, cold beer----life was good)

After about an hour or so, decided, I would scoot out for an early dinner at one of the local eateries, so changed from my shorts to long pants and sneakers, and began the search for the cell phone (Don't Leave Home Without it), wasn't on the kitchen counter, with my car keys, wasn't in the bedroom where I usually put my wallet and loose change, wasn't in the Media room ------well finally decided I must have left it in the car from my Sunday outing the day before---but no it wasn't there----but then the light came on---it had to be in the pocket of my cargo pants that I had worn earlier on Sunday----and as I made my way to the bedroom and the laundry hamper the GONG went off in my head--------I'D WASHED ALL THE LAUNDRY!!

-------With a cold stomach I slowly lifted the top of the washer lid and looked in----(have ya ever seen a drowned Cell Phone----??) and there it was laying at the bottom of the washer, deader than a nail------(sigh). Damn, the poor thing was only 3 1/2 months old----and I killed it----what can I say---"Stupid Strikes Again!! I put a note in my planner for tomorrow (Get new cell phone ) That's the easy part, the hard part is calling up all my relatives and explaining why I need them to give me their cell phone numbers again----the humiliation of it all. (sigh)

A Sunday In Temecula

I awaken Sunday, to find clear blue skies, and after my morning stint in the shower, threw on my clean levis, a fresh t-shirt (I wear a clean shirt everyday regardless, thats the way I roll), and decided to go out for breakfast to "Papa Pauls", a small out of the way coffee/pizzaria, where I dined on an order of toast, two eggs scrambled and coffee-----and yes good people I made damn sure I had my cell phone with me).

Finishing my breakfast, I then remembered I needed to purchase an HDMI cable to connect up my blue ray disc player to my digital TV, so when the electronic guru arrived next thursday to integrate my DVR with my verizon FIOS system, I would have the right cables to use. So up the road Blue and I trotted, got the cable, and then decided to stop in and browse Pier One, to see if they had any neat stuff I might be able to use in fleshing out my decor here at the apartment, an hour and something later decided they didn't----then I moved on to Lowes Hardware/buiilding supplies and dallied in their plant dept, and picked up a few pots, a couple stands and a couple plants to go on my patio. At this point I decided I had totally smashed this weeks budget, and pulled my horns iun and came home.

Spent acouple hours reviewing my stock portfolio, doing some research on companies I might invest in, and then decided to clean the apartment, you know the old take out the trash, do some dusting, yadda, yadda yadda----kinda got carried away, scoured the bathes, and moved into doing laundry. All in all was a rather laid back but productive day. A good day to have after the nightmare I managed to create the day before.(life is good once more)

Saturday Part II---"After The Panic"

When I finally finished calling everyone and assuring them I was okay, and after I deleted all the missed calls and voice mails from my cell phone (and put it on recharge)-----it occurred to me I had yet to pick up my mail for the day, so went across the street to the clubhouse and got my mail out of the box, and returned to the apartment, opened a cold beer and read my mail-----bills, flyers and one personal card ------a home made thank you card from Joyce Holland, Judi's Mother-----kinda ended my day on a really nice note------heres the great card she made and sent to me, thanking me for a small gift I had given her, while she was out here for Judi's big birthday bash.

The "0" in Hello, is a real button, and on the inside there was a nice little note, mounted on yet another slightly larger insert than the note, giving it a nice border-------just want you to know Joyce, it made my day getting it----and I hope ya don't mind my sharing it with the immediate world.    Thanks a heap (lol)

THE SATURDAY PANIC

Saturday last, I and Blue galloped up the big conrete road to attend the Political tax protest being held at Tom's farm just south of Corona, Ca. (about 20 miles North of Temecula). The game plan was to meet others from the family also attending, but coming from Irvine, and Corona, and once there we would find each other using our cell phones----that was the plan. I alerted them I would be arrivng there at 3pm, an hour before the big rally was to start. Here's a pic of the crowd that had already assembled when I arrived at 3pm.

It was about then I discovered to my chagrin, that I had left my cell phone at home, In that I had arrived a good 30 minutes before any of the others said they would be there I did the next best thing.  I posted myself near the main entrance to the Protest arena, and scanned the hordes of people coming in, looking for my people-----long story short never saw them, found out later they had come in via a side entrance and wormed their way down in front of the crowd ------some two hours later, a bit faint from the heat, (it was about 100 F, and mad at myself for forgetting my phone, decided to go home and sulk----stopping on the way to pick up a 12 pack of cold beer, arrived home by 6pm-----Picked up the Cell phone on the counter where I had left it and discovered I had about a zillion calls.-------and  listening to all my voice mails, quickly determined that----my entire family was in a full scale panic------UNCLE GARY WAS MISSING!!!  Calls were made to the Highway patrol, hospitals , Tish , my niece even drove all the way down from Corona to see if maybe I had had a stroke and was laying helpless on the floor of my apartment, but then arriving here, saw my car was gone, and nobody was answering the door.------long story short---(I know to late), I called everyone assured them I was just fine, had merely forgot my cell p;hone-----and apologized to one and all for causing them so much worry.-------and once I worked through my own anger for having casued such a mess, I finally had to admit ----kinda nice knowing my people care enough to get that concerned on my behalf-----my family------GOTTA LOVE EM!!

NOW THIS is FUNNY---

just read one hilarious posting, and wanted to share it with you, ---the man has one serious sense of humor. http://nikkicrumpet.blogspot.com/2009/05/i-wish-wedursday.html

Doing It With Flair!!

Life here in Temecula is just PHEEnomenal, and I am still in the midst of getting settled in, and mingling with the natives. Decided it was not enough to adopt Temeculan dress codes (and yes Judi, took your advice, now have two (count em) pairs of shorts to select from), decided to complete the transition and add sun glasses. (the sun does shine bright here in Temecula), and so here's a pic of me in my new optics's----"JOE COOL" (check out the new t-shirt )

-----Tuesday On The Patio

Nothing monumental or earth-shattering to report, we, here in Temec, (that's short for Temecula), are enjoying yet another beautiful day, blue skies, white puffy clouds, a balmy breeze, and just great for sitting on one's Patio----reading a book, or just blissfully taking in the scenery.

SCENERY?? did I just mention scenery?---of course I did, because that's the reason for this posting. Here below you have a couple of pics taken just a short few minutes ago, which I thought perhaps you might enjoy----

I mean like ----HELLO, I enjoyed (lol)----They are views taken from my patio, one is looking off towards the mountains, with the Jacaranda bursting into its lacy green leaves, and the other is of the Magnolia tree just off my patio, with an early bloom.

I guess maybe I am seeing it for the first time today, in that earlier today I returned to the eye clinic and picked up my new eye glasses, including a pair of prescription sun glasses. Anyway----life is good here in Temec.