Sunday morning, I woke up early. I was concerned about the "hat for China" issue. I decided to call PayPal and explain the dilemma about trying to get a refund from the Chinese company and the exorbitant cost of mailing the hat back. The PayPal representative was very helpful.
He spoke to a supervisor and they agreed to settle in my favor and refund me $50.00. I was only out the original postage charge of $5.00. I was elated!
Monday, I began to get Christmas decorations out of some storage boxes and decorate the house.
I decided not to go overboard. But I wanted some festivity.
Tuesday, I joined the Highland Meadows ladies for breakfast at Ana's Grand Canyon Cafe. It was nice that Linda Czech was there. She recently started chemo-therapy for cancer. She has lost weight, but looks good.
Then, Libby and I left at 10:00 am for pickleball. At the Rodeo barn, my silly-but-fun friend Chris greeted us all in a Santa outfit. She is a hoot! And, she is a good pickleball player!
The next day, I had a pedicure appointment. It was nice having my feet and toes cared for by Will at 66 Nails Spa.
Mark Burson was doing his bi-yearly trek (Oxford to Malibu) with his three Australian Shepherds. He originally said that he would arrive in the late afternoon. But, he got a late start and decided to drive over night. He also brought his daughter Kelly. They were both exhausted. Fortunately, their dogs enjoy being with my dogs.
So both Mark and Kelly went to their respective bedrooms and took naps. Tom prepared a crock-pot beef stew for dinner. Jon came over and joined us.
Barbara Coad and I have a trip planned next October in Australia. We are flying to Sydney and taking a ten day cruise to the Great Barrier Reef and back. Barbara called me Friday night. There was a promotion on the United Airlines website --- upgrading to Business Class with $600 and 30,000 points. Airfare to Sydney is not cheap, and it is a long flight. The special was expiring, and there were only two tickets left. So, we pulled the plug and bought the tickets.
Saturday, Tom dropped me, Libby, and Kelsey off at the dry Holden Lake in the national forest. The three of us walked back to our house. It is about 2 1/2 miles.
The last part of the walk was along Country Club Road, with a nice view of Mt. Humphreys.
That night, Tom and I had an early steak dinner at home, but went to the Best Western to hear Omar sing. We celebrated our 18 month anniversary --- Wow! One and one-half years :-)
Sunday morning, I took all three dogs out for a walk to Cataract Lake. Ramsey loves going there, but sometimes his back legs give out on the way home.
That evening, as we were preparing dinner, I noticed a beautiful sunset. The position of the sun this time of year is hidden by many trees. But, you can imagine!
Tom called Jon to make sure he caught the beauty from his home.
Monday morning, I left the house early to drive to Jiffy Lube in Flagstaff. I wanted to be the first customer --- and I was! On the way home, I stopped at Camping World and picked up my trailer fireplace/heater. It was under my extended warranty, so it was fixed for only the $50 deductible. That evening, Tom did a fun ritual of giving the dogs some treats. He certainly has their attention!
Tuesday, was the usual pickleball. The Highland Meadows ladies decided to have breakfast in Flagstaff. With my departure to Los Angeles later this week, I just didn't have the time.
Wednesday night, I made Steak Colorado --- with lobster. While we were at Costco recently, I splurged on some langostinos. It was a very nice meal, I must say!
On Thursday, I made arrangements to drop the trailer off at JJs Auto in Williams. When we had the two axels replaced in October, the trailer technician did not properly pack the brakes. So, James and his guys fixed that issue.
I also consulted with Barbara Coad about what to wear to Alan Buckelew's retirement and 70th birthday party on Saturday.
That night, Tom and I had dinner at Kick's on Route 66. While the food is good, there are very few people who seem to ever eat there.
Friday morning, I dropped the dogs off at Cinder Hills Kennel. That is going to be their home for 12 days and nights.
I then came home and finished packing for Los Angeles. Tom was kind enough to let me take his truck. My sixteen year old GMC Sierra truck is starting to become unreliable. I may have to begin a new car search. That afternoon, I only drove as far as Kingman. I stopped at the Safeway and bought some salad for dinner. I also topped off the fuel.
The ride from Kingman to the Jonathan Town Club was about 5 hours. I gain an hour, so I left Kingman around 9:00 a.m. I checked into the club which is always so beautifully decorated for Christmas.
I texted Barbara. She is going to pick me up at the clu,b and we are going to see Diane Chierichetti's and Paul Basile's home in Manhattan Beach. Barbara is staying there for the night, as she is heading to the airport in the morning. She will be spending Christmas and New Year's with her sister in Austin. It was fun visiting with Diane. Paul was still at his law firm office in West LA.
Barbara and I headed to the Hornblower dock in the marina at about 6:00 p.m. Our yacht, the Entertainer, was ready for the group to board.
It was fun seeing Alan and his new bride, Lisa!
Happy 70th birthday and happy retirement, Alan! I took Uber back to the Jonathan Club after the event. This was my first solo adventure with Uber. It was a piece of cake!
Sunday morning, I had reserved two spots at the Jonathan Beach Club event, "Heal the Bay with Santa." I invited some family members and friends to join me, but they were too busy readying for Christmas. So, I went by myself. Within a few minutes, I noticed someone I knew --- Nora Straight Bohn! What a surprise! I had not seen her in four or five years.
Nora's husband, Paul, has applied for membership at the club. They were there to pick up trash on the beach too. We sat together for the provided lunch. Fun!
That night, I went to Pasadena to have dinner with high school friends, Sara Edwards and Lucy Daggett. We were joined by their two significant others --- Christopher Stoy and Joe Friedman.
We dined at Sara's condominium on California Boulevard. Sara prepared some delicious chili and a tossed green salad.
On Monday, Christmas Eve, I began the day by walking to a new state park that Lucy mentioned over dinner. It is east of Chinatown. It is called the Los Angeles State Historic Park. Nice view of the skyline!
In the afternoon, I had a lunch date with Linda Parker Horowitz, a former work associate from my Union Bank and Sanwa Bank days. Linda is a marketing guru and helped me create the program pamphlet for Richard's Celebration of Life event in October, 2016. It was long overdue, but I picked up the lunch tab. We dined at Paul Martin's American Grill on Lake Avenue in Pasadena. Yummy!
Linda is finishing up on a long, difficult divorce. She has started dating on eharmony. I tried to give her some support and encouragement. The best is yet to come for her! I told Linda that I am in the beginning process of finding a new car that can tow my trailer. Her oldest son, Mitchell, is a salesperson at a Dodge dealership in Van Nuys. I made plans to stop by there on Wednesday and test drive a Dodge Durango SUV and a Dodge truck. I went back to the Jonathan Club and had a relaxing Christmas Eve.
My brother, Peter, and his wife, Terry, are hosting the Shelton Family Christmas this year. Terry had earlier invited me to come over to their home Christmas morning. So, I arrived around 10:00 am. I joined them for brunch and watched them open gifts. I even got a couple of presents to open, too!
Terry and I took a walk in the neighborhood for about an hour. The Shelton clan began arriving at 3:00 p.m. It is always nice to take the standard photo of all six Shelton siblings!
This photo has inspired me to go on a diet in the new year. I couldn't suck in my stomach! Over the past six or seven months, I have put on about eight pounds :-(
Wednesday, December 26, I decided to do another walk in the downtown Los Angeles area. This time, I walked west. The first stop was MacArthur Park.
It was a very nice day in Southern California. I continued my walk to a place I had never been --- Vista Hermosa Natural Park. It was a nice park west of Bunker Hill.
In the afternoon, I dressed for dinner in Tarzana with two former Union Bank colleagues, Shelley Gibson and Paula Browne. On the way to Tarzana, I stopped at the Van Nuys Dodge car dealership where Linda Parker's son works. He was busy with a client --- as I arrived earlier than expected.
Mitchell was kind enough to introduce me to his associate, Kelli. I test drove a 2019 Durango and a 2019 1500 Truck. Things have changed since I last bought a new vehicle. The sales staff are not as directly knowledgeable about the vehicles. They rely heavily on their computers. I am still not sure either of these vehicles have the towing capacity of 8,000 pounds or greater.
So, I will follow-up on this search when I am back in Northern Arizona.
Shelley, Paula, and I met at a Mexican Restaurant, Sol Y Luna. It was very busy, so we had to wait about 40 minutes for a table. It was great seeing both of them. Paula recently remarried and is moving to Oxnard from Las Vegas.
We splurged on some guacamole made at our table.
Paula and Shelley had beers with their dinner. I had one glass of white wine. After dinner, my return to downtown Los Angeles was uneventful.
