Saturday 24th May Today was Michael’s birthday celebration. It was great to see Fran’s daughter Melissa, Howard and their daughters Lyla and Laycee. Last time I saw Laycee she was just a baby – not even walking. Sarah brought her daughter, Eleanor, over. One year old and a sharp as a tack! She scans the room on entering, checking for that phone or that tea cup you just left on a coffee table. Are you paying attention? No! You’re chatting and guess who has just purloined your phone!
Sunday 25th May Catching up That’s the great thing about staying with family, you can spend a day doing nothing. It isn’t actually nothing but rather it is ‘downtime’ – the opportunity to draw breath, relax and allow yourself to catch up emotionally and physically.
Monday 26th May Slow start today, practising Tai Chi on the patio watched by two turtles. Michael’s turtles enjoy basking in the Sun but slide straight back into the water if anyone other than Michael goes near. They trust him and him alone. Once they allowed him to approach with his baby granddaughter on his shoulders but the minute he put her down they disappeared.Today two of them poked their noses out of the water to check me out. I even managed to catch one on my phone camera!
Tuesday 27th May Picnic followed by guided tour of the Point Fermin Lighthouse at San Pedro As we drove through the area we passed masses of containers lined up along the railway line with derricks beside the docks in the distance. I always think of lighthouses as tall towers, but this one was more like a house with the light fixed on the roof. It was built in 1874 from Californian redwoods. The Lighthouse grounds are teeming with squirrels which are scampering everywhere, clearly expecting to be fed.
Wednesday 28th Went to Ryan’s and Danielle’s home with Fran while she baby-sat her newest granddaughter. I fancied a cuppa but just could not find the tea in their kitchen. I searched in the obvious place- the counter next to the kettle, the cupboard directly above but it does seem too intrusive to keep opening every cupboard. Fran could reach a higher cupboard right above the microwave. Bingo! tea! BUT it was leaf tea. Now where is the teapot? I gave up and drank water instead.
Thursday 29th May Lunch at Sherman Gardens. Such colourful pretty planting which benefits from the care and dedication a team of gardeners and volunteers. The Cafe proudly advertised its speciality which they called ‘biscuit’ but to me was more like an oversized scone. I took half of mine home. Then I picked ‘rack of lamb’ which was the day’s special. Ann and Mike chose the quiche which was very rich with masses of melted cheese and they both only managed to eat half. I popped into the Sherman Library which is a historical research library specialising in the history of the Pacific Southwest. The collections document the development of the region through books, archival collections, photographs, maps, and newspapers.
Friday 30th May Day with Ann who drove us down to Newport beach to pass 907 Chestnut Place where our Parents lived when I first visited the States over 50 years ago. The house has changed little while most of its neighbours have extended their homes. We ended up at Balboa ferry. A group of teenage cyclists escorted by two police vehicles was waiting to board ferry, so we parked up and watched. Then went to The Spectrum for a late lunch. Did not need a full supper – just ate the remaining half of the ‘biscuit’ from Sherman with a banana. After sitting knitting with Ann, returned to Mike’s and Fran’s. Watched ‘MurderSheWrote’ after they had an early night but got lost between constant adverts and (possibly?) a little doze. Suffice to say I had inadvertently jumped from story one to story two without noticing. So I gave up and went to bed myself.

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