TIME GOES BY..................2020, PASSING INTO THE SUNSET.........

There's much to be learned from being in a pandemic as we are in at present.  It's now been 10 month's and as each day passes, another lesson is learned.

I have found that, each time our Governor speaks about any type of closure in our state, a run on toilet paper takes place. For what reason, I just can't figure out. Toilet paper seems to have worked it's way into the life restrictions we have.  As a matter of fact, just recently a neighbor or ours a few houses away, put his house up for sale.  Don't know exactly what the problem was but they just were unable to even get a bid on it for 10 days. Perhaps potential buyers just thought the price a little steep and that the seller just wouldn't agree to a lower bid.  The realtor tried everything she could think of, to drive people to the house. Finally the day after the governor made an announcement closing in restaurant dinning and after the storm of the toilet paper isles, she decided to try one out of the super bowl playbook of home sales. She picked a dry night and (TP'd)  toilet papered the house with about 10 rolls of paper, thinking the potential buyers would think that the seller would be so disheartened that they would accept an under market bid.  Low and behold, the very next day, they received their first bid and it was for $2000 OVER the asking price, the potential buyers stipulated that the toilet paper was to be included in the sale and they could take immediate possession of the house in its present condition. (WHILE THE PAPER WAS STILL DRY) Chalk up another use for toilet paper.......................................

YEAR OF 2020

This year of 2020, has been overall, a heartbreaking year,  for the most part.  It started out as a normal year with Margot and I visiting our favorite city, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico for a glorious 2 weeks during spring break.  Returning home to a place just getting into the Coronavirus pandemic.  At first, it wasn't much more than a spread of the flu.  Margot wiped down the serving tray and the seats armrests on the plane which was not a startling thing, for she has that habit on every airline, with the exception of SAS, of course that's very understandable since she is a Swede. 

ANNUAL DOCTORS WELLNESS VISIT

I recently had my annual wellness examination. The fun part of the examination is when the nurse that brings you into the office ask you to draw a clock and give you a time to set on it for the past 4 years the time was 10 minutes past 11:00 the clock is simply a way of saying I can draw. The second question consists of naming 12 animals within one minute very easy thing to do I guess thirdly your ass to repeat five words that the nurse gives you at the beginning of the conversation the humorous part of this whole thing is that it's the same five words that it was last year and it's the same five words that Margot had two weeks before in her wellness exam. Naturally I aced all three of these questions and now it was time to see the doctor the doctor simply sits at the computer reads all of the blood tests that I've had from previous years compared to what they were this year and we'd sit there and discuss different options on how to do things the one big thing in the mind of the doctor was the amount of exercise that I was getting. He feels that the amount of exercise that I should be participating in per day is at least one hour of movement, I must admit that I don't get one hour of consecutive movement per day but I do live in a house with three floors and walking up and down two flights of stairs gives me the amount of exercise I feel is necessary. A very strongly suggested that I get at least one hour  per day on treadmill which I told him I would  definitely  do.

 

A FATHERS WISH;

A man spoke to each of his 3 sons when he sent them to college. "I feel it's my duty to provide you with the best possible education, and you do not owe me anything for that. However, I want you to appreciate it.  As a gesture of appreciation, please each put $1,000 into my coffin when I die. And so it happened. His sons became a doctor, a lawyer and a financial planner, each successful financially. When their father died and they saw him in the coffin they remembered his wish. First, the doctor stacked 10 crisp $ 100 bills onto the chest of the deceased.  Next the financial planner placed $1,000 there in 20 crisp $50 bills. Finally, it was the heartbroken lawyer's turn.  He slowly reached into his pocket and removed his checkbook, wrote a check for $3,000 , put it into his father's coffin and took the $2,000 cash.  The lawyer is now in Congress.  Probably in your district.

Now, in all honesty, when I first read this from a friend,  I laughed myself sick,  The second time I read it, I giggled and began to think and compare this story to any congressman I may know.   Thirdly, I began to name these congress people to myself. Guess what I found, taking into consideration, the present administration. ??????   

IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME,  AND WISHES  GO FROM THE RIZZO CLAN TO ALL MY FRIENDS, AROUND THE WORLD.

A "zoom"  photo

(Lisa, Vito, Margot and Tim,    Scott and Jessica,   Traci Cormick and Bryson.)

MERRY CHRISTMAS....................................................BONAPPETIT

A MUST WATCH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

https://youtu.be/lBHf9QqO-BE

See you Next week.

Vito

THE PAST IS BECOMING..................THE FUTURE!!!!

Blogging is something that I do to occupy my time and also to allow people to see what's happening in my life. I know that the posts have a long time in between them and I really have no excuse for that. 

We're now 8+ months into this new life of living with a pandemic and I must say, each day brings something new into life, although nothing that I am particularly interested in. Besides the usual things we all hear on TV and read about in our daily newspapers, I have discovered that:

1- It is possible to go a whole week wearing the same undergarments, whether or not you have taken a shower.............

2. It is possible to wear the same outer garments for a whole month regardless of how many times you have walked out of the house to   "just look around".

3. and it is possible to go to the local grocery store having completed #1 and 2 as noted above since you have to stay at least 6' away from others. 

In the past I would have never known any of these facts, simply because I would never think of them.  Now, I have all the time in the world to experiment with these new ideas.

Technically, covid 19 has brought the world closer to me. I spend more time on the phone then usual. I have renewed friendships AROUND the world that I have missed since retirement in 1994. I have found it so easy to once again speak with old, and I do mean old,  high school classmates.......but in talking with them it brings back memories of how beautiful a person each and everyone of them were then and how they have remained that way..................... I have been able to reach across the globe to friends from Scandinavian Airlines, where I spent 40 years of my life,  and reminisce about days gone by, even to the extent of seeing them eye to eye with new technics of skype, zoom and facetime .  In some ways, What a wonderful life,................in other ways, so disturbing.

COVID PANDEMIC;

This Covid pandemic has, in many ways, brought back memories of the past. Nothing else to do, really,  then to try and keep yourself busy doing things that you enjoy................and...............always keep a pure sense of humor even if it means laughing at stupid things. For myself, I have started to download about 4000 photo prints into my computer to put them on thumb drive sticks. I have been able to eliminate about 200 so far that just don't meet expectations of being............an ideal photo. Takes up a lot of time and certainly brings back a ton of memories. Just can't think of reasons, why, I would have taken "that" particular picture in the first place....I'm now in the process of trying to edit some of them, just to be able to bring some life into them, that along is hysterical. 

I have also found, that my phone bill is quite high, simply for the reason that I have the urge to talk to some very old................or to be politically correct ...............equally old friends from around the world. If for no reason, to find out if they are still alive, or mentally capable of being able to remember, things of the past.. Those are the happiest of moments for me for it has opened up a life, that  has been temporally forgotten. We can sit on the phone for hours, just thinking back at "better times." There are many times, Margot, will find me talking to friends at far away as Australia, just to say Hello. It even gives me the opportunity to regain what little Swedish I know, even though I have that same opportunity to speak it 24/7 with Margot.............but she tends to correct me like my high school teachers use to do..............and I did not really appreciate being corrected so much by them. It seems they simply had it out for me............personally.  

WHAT WILL THE NEW YEAR BRING

Hopefully, we will be able to once again do some of the things that we are so used to doing. I do suspect that wearing a mask might be around for some time,  who really knows. One main thing I have learned from all of this though, is to simply accept what must be done to protect yourself. Continue to wash your hands...................very often, and wear your mask when appropriate and keep some distance, which is very hard for me, being Italian................I'm a hugger.........at heart.

I found this little  you tube presentation and thought you might like to see what happens when different parts of your body want to be something else.  You may have to copy and paste it into your browser.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/LR2qZ0A8vic?rel=0

Stay safe my friends.

Vito 

TIME ON MY HANDS

As one gets older, more down time seems to accumulate faster.  This Covid19 is just making it accumulate at an even faster rate. Gets me to thinking just how long, my marriage or any marriage can last if, say, you live in an apartment or a house with anything less than 1500 sq feet, which by the way, is the size of an average 3 bedroom  house. Margot and I am quite lucky in this case we have a house that's just about the 3800 sq' area. I can always lose myself and go down to my approximate 1400 square foot man cave.  There are many things I'm learning about myself, during this covid 19 period.  There are two things that's needed each and every day. One is you should laugh at least three times a day but I mean belly-laughs not just a little haha.  Belly  laughs very important, the second thing is to have a really good bathroom break.  Having these two things will keep your spirits up and your stomach cramps down. Another thing people need is conversation,  not with yourself but with other people keep in touch with old friends make new friends for conversation is very very important, one must keep that brain active find a hobby do something other than just watching TV.  The one scary thing is that spending so much  with each other expands the ability of being able to complete each other's sentences to now being able to anticipate and complete each other's thoughts. That alone is mind boggling. Several  other things that I have discovered from being  housed for so long is ........   casual Friday, has become casual Sunday thru Saturday. That it is now accepted to begin the first four hours of your day, in slippers and pajamas , here again it tends to be a little scary as I don't wear slippers or pajamas, so my day begins barefooted and in boxer shorts..............of course they are designer boxers, with an extra label with my name on it.  An old thing, I picked up from my military days. Another thing I have noticed is that taking a shower every five days, is no different from taking a shower every third day or every day.  I just don't do anything to get dirty that water is needled to  wash  away. I also found that I am able to cut down on changes of clothing. Since we don't see anyone, or go anywhere, I can actually wear the same T-shirt and shorts every day, of every week of every month. IF for any reason, they have to be  washed or freshened up a little, that can be done within the four hour time in any morning that I am bare footed and in my boxers. If I do lay out on the deck, in total sunshine and begin to perspire, since we have dense trees blocking views of neighbor houses, I can simply take of my clothes  and place them in the shade.Keeps them fresh.

So, my friends, as you can see, Covid19 has brought about many changes to our lives, some good many bad, but necessary.  Life will go on, and you just have to make a few adjustments here and there. Margot and I seem to be constantly able to talk about places we've been, people we know and when we want our quiet time, she will disappear to her upstairs office and surf the web, look at her wardrobe and wonder if she will ever again be able to wear that new outfit. She has even taken up the art of ......watching people of the neighborhood doing their thing. I find refuge in my man cave and reminisce about the good old days and do a little writing.  If we need company, we have each other, to discuss what we will have for lunch...................or dinner. That is usually done over a cup of coffee, with a muffin or biscotti....................which is beginning to show, guess I need some exercise, so for now I will walk up and down the three flights of stairs in our house about ten times.

WELCOME TO MY 4TH OF JULY

My daughter and her husband, decided to have a 4th of July BBQ.  We were wondering just how they intended to pull this off , especially with the active Covid 19 and all the precautions that needed to happen. First of all, I must describe  her house. The house is large enough, so that just in case of inclimate weather, we could observe the social distancing rule. Her backyard is very well designed to accommodate the social distancing rule. We were very lucky, that this holiday weekend, was the 1st weekend in the past 7 with no rain in the forecast. She kept the invitations limited  and it only included intermediate family.( Margot and I, Lisa and Tim and Scott and Jessica )  Our grandsons (Scott's twin boys 24yrs old) both had other plans so were not able to attend, which left just 6 people.  Margot and I were the first to arrive.  We had our required masks on when we arrived at the front door.  Lisa, being a recent certified medical assistant graduate, met us at the door with her mask on,  took our temperatures and  had hand sterilizer available.  She then showed us how they set up the living area furniture for social distancing, just on case of any rain. She also, gave us instructions in the use of the bathroom, where she had sterilizing wipes for wiping down the flush knob, water knobs and door handle, and toilet seat  after using and supplied a lined trash bucket for the disposal of the wipes. In the kitchen she had the appetizers laid out, along with paper plates and plastic utensils. Only the wine was served in a glass, all other drinks in paper cups,  beer from the bottle or can. All the salads, had plastic serving spoons and throw-away plastic gloves were supplied for the handling of cracker, olives, pickles, slices of cheese etc.  Tim was the designated cook on the BBQ, which consisted of chicken breast and hamburgers, with cheddar cheese.  Each person collected their individual preference and their paper plates were loaded up by themselves, keeping the social distancing in mind.   Sitting and eating took place outside where they had either individual tables and lounge chairs or you could sit at a large garden table covered with a throw-away paper cloth. Masks were not required to be worn, outside or if you kept the 6' distance. For the next 6 hours, we sat, ate, drank, talked and laughed just like old times but with the "new habits" set in our minds. Elbow bumping was in place for exiting the party.  A great time was had by all.  It just proved that even with this pandemic, you could appreciate one in other and remain with some kind of safety in mind, even to the point of sanitizing our hands and wearing our masks when leaving.   

Thanks  Lisa and Tim.    

That's it for now, stay safe, wash your hands, wear your mask and keep busy.  Work that mind !!!!!  

THE NEW WAY OF SHOPPING CORONAVIRUS WAY

I have made a discovery today in shopping habits during the Covid19 period.  Every since arriving back from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in March, we decided that since there were so many people that found it unnecessary to wear a mask or apply social distancing, that we would simply order groceries online and then just drive up to pick them up.  Today, Margot and I decided that since it is now has been mandated that people MUST be masked inside, and outside of stores if they are unable to keep the social distancing requirement, that we would finally go into the store for groceries.  We discovered IT'S A WHOLE NEW WORLD...................  we were amazed at the items that have been on sale but never could see them online. i.e.

Entermann's and Franz  8 to a box DONUTS    buy one get one FREE

eggs   18 to a carton    buy one get one FREE

ice cream      buy one get one FREE

bag of chocolate chip cookies      buy one get one FREE

bread. English muffins, bagels, French bread        buy one get one FREE.

How long have they been giving FREE food away?????  I told Margot that , it was common sense to buy those items ..........since you get another FREE.  Would cut down on the shopping.

Now, we took advantage of all this along with other stuff we needed and after paying $150 for groceries, that we estimated to be worth $275, off we went.  On the way home we were discussing the great deals we made, we bagan to think about two other things.

1. how were we going to fit two gallons of ice cream, 6 boxes of donuts, 3 bags of chocolate chip cookies, and the 4 extra bread, which included the muffins and bagels into the freezer along with the other things already there and the additional few things we just bought.

Only solution we could come to was  EAT THE HELL OUT OF THE ICE CREAM, DONUTS AND COOKIES, put the rest into the freezer......................THEN GO BACK IN TWO DAYS AND GET SOME MORE OF THAT BUY ONE GET ONE FREE STUFF. after we are able to eat down some of the other...............normal frozen foods.   I sure do like that word FREE.  Another problem we might face in a week of so is..................weight control..................but what the hell just think of all the stuff WE GOT FREE !!!!!!!!! Worst part is, we simply don't know how long we have been missing out on this FREE STUFF,  how long will it take us to make it all even again.

Last nights dinner

2 English muffins with egg, bacon and cheddar cheese

slice of artisan bread with egg salad on top

3 chocolate and one glazed donut

a BIG bowl of strawberry ice cream

BBBUUUURRRRRRP   

SCUZZA ME.!!!!!!!

Might be able to get in on another   buy one get one FREE DAY.

VIRTUAL 1955 REUNION

Must make one more pass at the reunion held last week on ZOOM. I am truly looking forward to the August meeting with everyone on ZOOM.  It was amazing to see all of you, The ladies looked absolutely stunning and seems like they did not age one day ,  some of the guys ................really aged except for a few of us ...................right Richard??    Like Edie has written, I am trying to make notes to tell you a little about my family..................one  difference, You can all go to my blog and learn about what I have been up to.   Try it....................    www.whatzshakin-vito.blogspot.com I hope you sign up with it.

 

HERE'S A LITTLE ENTERTAINMENT FOR YOU

a magical ride thru Venice.

https://youtu.be/p073JLHOKlY

I'm working on a couple of more litle videos and hopefully they will be done soon.  I also may think about live video on Face Book .

 

I hope you have enjoyed this trip and that you will return to the blog.

SURE DO NEED A HAIRCUT !!!!!!!

COVID 19

I sure could use a haircut.  Haven't had one since January, this year.  At that time, I got one since we were leaving for Mexico and thought it would be nice to try and look my best.  We got back just before the closure of EVERYTHING, but I put off getting one right away, thinking that I would go manana.   Well, finally on June 12, our governor declared that barber shops could open on June 13th but only to 25% capacity.  I was there on the 13th 15 minutes to opening wearing my mask only to be told that I was number 8 in line and I could wait in the parking lot for an hour or go about my business and they would call to let me know when they would be ready.  They only had two barbers they were permitted to use and after each haircut had to completely sanitize the area, which happened to take an additional 10 minutes. Got into the chair only after sanitizing my hands, adjusting my mask etc, etc, etc. Had them cut it a little shorter then usual...............just in case.  Must have lost at least 10 lbs.

1955 CLASS REUNION

Some time ago, a group of the old Woodmere High School Blue Jackets, got to talking about a 65th class reunion. One offered to set up a virtual call on Webex where we all would tune in and be given 3 minutes of time to tell, what we have been doing over those 65 years, WOW !!  TALK about condensing. Well, much to my surprise it all worked out great. About 20 of us met on ZOOM and it was moderated by our Class valedictorian Richard Rubenstein. A man still working as a professor and a person I could see as a President of the USA, "if he were a little younger."  I listened intensely as each person spoke of their achievements over a period of 65 years. After, close to 2 hours, I came down stairs and went over as much as I could remember about each and every person with Margot. She was amazed at how much I could remember, but it brought back so many fond memories of high school. I must admit, that I personally was not one of the top students during this period of time, I guess I can place myself in the bottom half of the top half of the class, somewhere like a C+ or a B- area, more interested in being liked by my peers then competing intellectually with them. That part came many years later in my life, when I joined SAS and wanted to know more about cultures of people around the world and was able to travel, learn on the go, and sometimes had very serious conversations which gave me a well rounded view of many topics but also taught me how to investigate a subject, something I found I was not able to do in high school. Anyway, seeing these old classmates and  friends was certainly exciting and I look forward to many more of these ZOOM experiences.

It also reminded me of a reunion I attended, some years ago. Margot was unable to go with me but encouraged me to go. I stayed at a friends, to both of us, house who recently had lost her husband. I asked Dahlys to go with me to the reunion. I remember that at the seating, It just so happened that the table we ended up at, sat.................my old gang.  Ellen, Edie, Brud, Doug and their spouses.   I remember introducing Dahlys to everyone............and someone mentioned " I thought your wife's name was Margot.  My only reply was,   It is but Dahlys is my east coast wife and I have a European wife and Margot is my everyday wife"   A surprised looked suddenly appeared on every woman's face....a look of accomplishment  on every mans face.......but they all knew that was just the way, I was.

WHAT'S NEXT IN LIFE

Looking back to the beginning of the year, I would have never guessed what living at this moment would mean.  Wear a mask???  why??  I'm not going to rob a bank.........but, I am now wearing a mask.

I even carry a bottle of  alcohol in the car for extra sanitizing. When I go for gas and give the attendant

my credit card  when he hands it back to me, I rub it clean with the alcohol.  What does this all mean.

.I've washed my hands so much that the skin is wearing off and old crip sheets written on the palm of

my hands are beginning to become legible. I just learned  today that   ALL must wear a mask if unable to keep the 6' social distancing.  I find it very difficult to believe that times will return back

to what some may call "the norm".   My heritage tells me that when I meet someone I know ANYWHERE that a hug is the way of greeting..  Men, women and children. We have amore in our hearts for all people.. I remember, that when we were first married Margot and I would go to a party, I would go around  the room and give each woman a hug, each man a little hug but a strong pat on the back. When we left the party the same.  Margot swore for some time that I was running for a political office . To this day,  55 years later, it still remains.....................mask or no mask. Margot is quite use to it now. Over the many years of travelling, especially to the far east, many more people were seen wearing "the mask". Found out it mainly is a way of climate control.  Now, here we are for possible virus control.  Makes sense in a way, but knowing how Americans hate being told to do something, they don't want to do is very difficult. I expect you will still see the macho people defy wearing the mask since they feel that it infringes on their rights. What they don't respect are my rights, not to be infected by their possible germs.  Such is life.

Anyway, life will go on, change will occur...............good or bad.  Just enjoy what time is left, wash your hands.   

My urologist’s office called the other day and explained that my scheduled appointment would now be done over the phone due to the Coronavirus.  One hour before the scheduled teleconference, I was instructed (via email) to administer my own urine test. 

 

Directions:

Simply go outside and pee on the front lawn.

If ants gather: DIABETES.

If you pee on your feet: PROSTATE.

If it smells like a barbecue: CHOLESTEROL.

If you don’t enjoy holding your penis in your hand: LOW TESTOSTERONE.

If your wrist hurts when you shake it: OSTEOARTHRITIS.

If you return to your house without zipping your fly: ALZHEIMERS.

Have fun friends 

AND THE CORONAVIRUS GOES ON................AND ON

For some of you followers, you may not be able to hear what I'm saying because of the muffling of my speech, but stick with it. It will get clearer.

Now, that the closets have been cleaned, and Margot has discovered three new outfits, and my man cave has more or lest been de-cluttered (except for one portion, which includes two bedrooms and a junk room) I will now turn to the outside where the sun shines brightly over my deck and my 1/8 acre of ground cover and grass. It's time to wash down the deck, get out the umbrella, clean all the pots and get them ready for Mrs green thumbs invasion to spatter color around.

CORONAVIRUS

Now, that we are starting to get used to a new way of life, I find it interesting to see, how my bank account has increased. Giving up the 2 lunches out per week, and the visiting of malls has a certain benefit. Technology is beginning to take hold or our life. We are now becoming use to paying our bills via other means beside having to use stamps and standing on lines at the post office. We never have to see the gardener, since we now pay him using Zelle. We can talk with our family via online video apps we have both installed on our our computers and phones, either face time or skype or Duo. We grocery shop online and use pick-up service and that works out just fine. The freezer is full to the point that we HAVE TO EAT something in order to find space in it, we have noticed that, the refrigerator door gets opened at least twice an
hour or whenever we find the need to pass the kitchen, on way to another room. Margot has now discovered, that not only did the kitchen come with the house, but it also can be our restaurant visit for lunch or even dinners. This bringing us even closer then ever before. We now treat those visits to our built in restaurant, as date nights. Role playing has become something common, out of necessity. We take turns, as chef, and the other as customer. Needless to say, when I play chef we are visiting a 5 star restaurant, when Margot plays, it's our visit to a coffee shop.............but a VERY good one. We do have specialties we base these expectations on.   Mine us:  "Vito la Mexico"  consist of
1 package of Uncle Ben's rice with vegetables
1 can Chili with brown beans
1 polish sausage cut up and cooked in a frying pan with chopped onions
mix the chili with brown beans with the rice and sausage and place it gently over a piece of toasted Franz's whole nine-grain bread, and enjoy.
Margots specialty is
a sandwich made of Franz's whole nine-grain toasted bread, an egg over eand asy slices of Costco microwave bacon and a slice of cheddar cheese.  This is topped with two pickle slices and a dab of dijon mustard. For those healthy nuts, you can put a bit of shredded lettuce on the top. We are constantly increasing our menu selection.

WHERE'S MY MONEY

I find it totally frustrating  about how many people need this small amount of money to be able to live for another month. On the other hand, it is totally amusing how our wonderust  president has the cookoo's nest of a brain. Just heard, he wants the IRS to print his name in the signature box of each check. Apparently he just doesn't know that that protocall is to be the signature of the Secretary of the Treasury. I guess he wants that so that when he files next years tax returns he will list this as a deduction for support of his masses.  What a yo-yo!!!!! He has settled for his name to be noted in the MEMO box,  now I'm sure he will find someway to declare this right.  The site that this IRS apparently put in to be able to check when you will receive you check is totally useless, It keeps coming back with ERR NOTICE. Can't seem  to match up my social security number with my name or address, BUT, they sure can locate me when they want money.  I'm sure trump has something to do with this.  .

TIMES WILL CHANGE .........BUT WE WILL ADJUST

For many................mostly Trump followers, this is a hoax, a Democrat hoax, at best. For the majority, this is real, a time to learn and adjust everyday behavior.  Some things feel silly those are the things one might find unnecessary but if you really think about it, it makes sense. When you have a simple cold, you stay away from people, you cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, you wash you hands more often then usual and you try to isolate yourself for the 7 days, a cold usually lasts.  That's exactly what we are being asked to presently do.  Some , are not aware that they have a cold, or think of it just as a temporary discomfort, those are the people that still go to work, still cough and sneeze without covering their mouth and spread the cold to others or simply don't care.

The funny part of all of this is that Margot and I have recently discovered a brand new restaurant............right under our roof.  Chez Vito has made some great "make up menus" using everything we had in our refrigerator . We get dressed up and off we go.............................into our kitchen, sit at a window with a view, and our waiter, (me)opens the wine, makes the presentation and the recommendation of the evening,  while our food is being prepared, we gaze lovingly at each other and say the things we said some 55 years ago. Finally, our food arrives and Manual is assisted by Francisca in plating the food.  Last night we chose the steak ala Mexico with assorted green broccoli. It was a tube steak gentlly placed on a sourdough piece of bread and covered with a Mexican style chili with ground beef  (chili dog)   MAGNIFICENT !!!!!!! The wine was a matured vintage from Vito's Vino brought in from Vito's own wine chalet. (dining room), where it was fermenting on the oak wine rack. I later escorted my date (Margot) back to her place.  Such an evening.

Both of us having airline jobs, started to give each one of our rooms in our  house 3 letter airline codes. i.e. Bedroom BED, bathroom BAT, dining room DIN, you get the idea,

DAHM     what one thinks of when you have nothing to think about.It's all good my friends, just make the best of it.................play games, do puzzles and a lot of dreaming..............about days gone by.  Wash your hands     .........and  I'll see you soon  Don't forget to wear you mask if you go  out.

,.