Monday, June 17th, 2013

Monday, June 17th, 2013

Up two pounds this morning after all the food at the BBQ for father's day yesterday.  Hope to see the scales back at 125 lbs tomorrow...I'd been there for four days before yesterday.

Last Friday I had a Girls Day Out...four of us from the street left about 9:30 am in the morning and drove to Pasadena.  First we went to Sierra Madera and drove the streets to see the quaint and huge cottages and castles that butt up against the foothills.  Really beautiful.

Then into Pasadena where we first went to the Gamble House...yes Protect & Gamble Family...and purchased our tickets for the 11:40 am tour.  Then back in the car and over to the nearby Norton Simon Museum...which wasn't open yet so we headed a few more blocks into the old downtown of Pasadena.  Found a parking place (using Diane's handicap card really helped several times during our day) and walked to a darling Bakery.  Had coffee the french way with bowls and we each had our own little pot full of coffee.  The others had pastries and I enjoyed the lemon from a tarte.

Then we walked through Tiffney's Jewelry Store...yep the real thing...we all drooled over the beauties. 

Then back to the Gamble house for our hour long tour.  Beautiful Craftsman home built in 1910 for their summer home when the hot weather hit Cincinnati, Ohio.   It was 4,000 square feet.  Unbelievable wood details. 

We then we back to the Norton Simon Museum and spent an hour touring part of the museums before heading back into town about 5 pm for dinner.  First went to an English Tea Restaurant and then decided to eat at the Pub across the street.  So enjoyed our meal...I had a delicious Caesar Salad with the dressing on the side.  And a glass of white wine.  Then back to the Norton Simon Museum to finish our tour.

We finally arrived home about 8 pm....a wonderful day with the girls.

Yesterday, Father's Day, we enjoyed a BBQ with Wendy and Russ's families.  They brought the food and Josh and Ben did the BBQ.  Lots of fun.  Everyone fished but they mostly caught turtles.  Even Gunner had a good time!

Today we were on the road by 9 am headed for West Hollywood in Los Angeles to meet the people doing our Visa Application for Russia.  We haven't been there for a long time and got lost several times.  Sunset Blvd. is really looking seedy.  But it was fun to see the area again.  Finally found it and met the people.  Gave them our application information, the "Tourist Letter" sent from Tatiana our guide, passport photos, our passports and a check for $485.    That's $250 for each Visa and another $35. so that they will Fedex our passports back to us in two weeks.

Then we decided to drive to Big Bear to check on St. Joseph.  Several hours later we found that someone must have dug him up....several people knew he was there...but the sad thing is that it looks like the buyers have not visited the house since we closed escrow....grass needed cutting and there was still a tv (one of ours) sitting by the trash can.  But at least I know that he is out of the ground.

Then we drove over to Denis & Vivian's and they were home so we got to visit for a bit before heading back down the hill arriving home just after five.

I'm composing this on Blogspot on my new computer as I watch television in the living room.