Saturday 31st May We drove to Tom’s and had lunch with him and Brier. Her daughter, Janet and husband -another ‘Tom’- came over with sons Jamie and Stuart. Jamie sat on Grandpa’s lap to be fed while Stuart got right into the play-doh, searching out the colours that he needed. He made an impressive “burger”
Sunday 1st June Where did Sunday go? I must’ve done something! Ah! I remember. Sunday was a quiet day at Mike’s home with Sarah and Eleanor. Not that you can describe a day with Eleanor as ‘quiet’.
Monday 2nd June I had been reading “The Day the World Came to Town” by Jim DeFede so that I could go with Fran to her Book Club Meeting at the Cafe Rosa in (I think) Costa Mesa. As it happened, Fran could not go so I went on my own. Cyndy picked me up and we lunched with four others.Yes, we did discuss the book and yes, we veered off topic – as is the way of most Book Clubs! Defede’s book documents the events in Gander, Newfoundland beginning on 11th September 2001when thirty eight planes were diverted from USA and ordered to land there instead. The population suddenly increased from 10, 300 to 17,000. DeFede narrates an uplifting tale of how the townsfolk of Gander rallied to cope for the six days before the planes were eventually cleared for departure. Our conversation went from discussion of the book to remembering where we were on that fateful day to conversation about the recent devastating fires in California.
Tuesday 3rd June Fran was going to her hairdresser so I asked her to book me an appointment for a shampoo and blow-dry. The hairdresser, Dawn, rents a small room in a business park to use as her salon. We lunched at the In ‘n Out Burger in Long Beach – a place that prides itself on cooking its own beef burgers and chips as opposed to bringing in pre-prepared ingredients. That evening we had rain and thunder – such a rare occurrence.
Wednesday 4th June Today we went out for lunch at the Central Park cafe in Huntington Beach, followed by a walk around the park.
Thursday 5th June After lunch at home we pottered around the Craft Store, Michaels. I saved a lot of money. How? I did not buy anything!
Friday 6th June Michael drove us to Long Beach to visit the Aquarium. I could spend hours watching the seals as they glide serenely through the water or the penguins as they waddle across the rocks before diving into their pool. But my favourite was the tank of jelly-fish. Watching them as they floated slowly up and down was both mesmerising and relaxing.

Follow