I slept like a log, but woke up while it was still dark – even though I didn’t go to bed until almost 1:00am! What is UP with that? As soon as I regain consciousness, my wheels start turning and I can’t stop them. I end up dozing and having weird dreams for the rest of the time I’m in bed. I got up a little after 7:00am, went to the bathroom and called Eric, but his phone was turned off.
Then, I heard Rich get up and go into the bathroom, so I figured my day had started and I’d stay up and work on the computer, rather than getting back into bed! Soon, Rich came into the living room. He called Lenae and spoke to her, and then I spoke to her and the three of us were kind of having a conversation and I was filling them in on everything going on with me and Eric. They’re both very sympathetic and want everything to work out. They both love Eric a lot and feel so bad that he’s going through all this.
I called Eric back and got to speak to him for a few minutes and Rich said hello, too. Today Eric was going shopping with three of our nieces (Jessica – the bride-to-be, her sister, April, and their cousin, Stephanie). He was going to buy a futon and other stuff he’d need for the apartment. I think it is SO sweet that they were taking their uncle shopping. Most men are usually unenthusiastic and totally overwhelmed with shopping for the home, and need a woman’s touch, so it made me feel a LOT better to know they’d be helping him!
Then, we got ready to go to breakfast. Before we left, we were playing with Conrad and we freaked him out a little and the next thing we knew he was on top of the fridge in the kitchen! Then he flew over to my desk and I got him on his extra perch (the stick I use to train him to come “up”) and he was back in his cage, no worse for wear. I open his door all the time, but he’s usually not interested in flying. The only time he’ll fly is if something scares him and he just – goes!
Rich’s friend had mentioned a fancy place in La Jolla to go and have breakfast, and it sounded fine, but I really wanted to take him to SOUTH PARK to THE BIG KITCHEN. So, I asked Rich if he wanted to rub elbows with the elite in La Jolla, or go to a funky fun hippie joint where Whoopi Goldberg waitressed before she made it. He chose THE BIG KITCHEN!
We were lucky, because it was after 9:30am, but we didn’t have to wait for a table. Judy the Beauty was on Duty and she gave me a hug and thanked me for coming back. I guess she’s getting to know me and remembered I was there last weekend with Jimmy!
We sat in a booth in the room with the three-sided counter and Rich looked at the menu. I knew I was going to get the Breakfast Burrito, which has lots of great stuff in it, and Rich got a pancake, with bacon and eggs. He enjoyed every bite of that pancake. He couldn’t think of what it was, but said there was some ingredient that really made it taste fantastic – even without the butter or syrup. He also said that as big as it was, it was light as a feather.
I thoroughly enjoyed my burrito, but it’s so big I could just eat a little more than half. Rich really made a great impression on Judy, because she came over and sat in our booth with us and then gave us THE BIG KITCHEN fridge magnets. That’s a new one! Rich really enjoyed the whole experience – lots of visual stimulation (there’s SO much to look at in that place), the great music playing, the delicious food and the fun staff – especially Judy!
After breakfast we walked around the block and then I took him down the strip of stores I always go to – where Jimmy and I walked last week. We walked around for about a half hour and then got back in the car.
We came back to the apartment, Rich packed all his stuff, he put it his car and took me to the post office, so I could mail a package to Eric. I bought him a pajama set (it’s really a long-sleeve t-shirt with those nice flannel drawstring pants he really likes). When I came out of the post office, Rich had the top down. He had rented a convertible, because he knows that 360 days of the year it’s convertible weather in San Diego!
I told him I haven’t been in a convertible with the top down in about 25 years, but I was ready! We drove back to the apartment and I was loving it! He dropped me off and I went back up to the apartment and he was going sightseeing by himself.
I hung around the apartment for about a half hour, then Rosemary picked me up and we were off to JULIAN. It was a longer ride than I anticipated – about an hour – but Rosemary and I have so much to talk about and it was a gorgeous day, so we really enjoyed it.
When we got to Julian, it was packed with people. There was a beautiful white horse on the street with a woman and she was advertising pony rides for kids for $5 around the corner. We found out that Frankie the horse is 22 years old and his job now is just to stand around and be loved by all the passersby while advertising the kiddie rides. I gave him some love – I just adore horses – and he was SO sweet!
We were pretty parched, and there were lines to get into every single restaurant. Rosemary had a preference for a place called RONG BRANCH RESTAURANT (“Eat Right at the Rongbranch.”) We put our names in and were told to come back in 20 minutes, so we went across the street and stood on line to get a soda at an ice cream parlor. They hand out playing cards when you place your order, and then – when it’s ready – they yell out “Queen of Hearts?” or “two of diamonds” and hand you your order, or bring it to your table. We were taking our sodas to go (mine was chocolate and Rosemary’s was grape), so he handed them to us and we walked out the door.
The soda shop!
We walked back across the street, sat in the waiting area with our sodas, and then got a great booth in the middle of the big restaurant. I ordered a veggie burger with a cup of pea soup and Rosemary got a buffalo burger with fries. We were really hungry, so it didn’t take us long to polish off the food. We decided to wait for dessert until later, to have a piece of apple pie, so we just paid the check and got back out there.
Eat Right at the Rong Branch!
We went in and out of all the shops on the strip. Most of them were just regular gift shops (tons of Betty Boop!!!), or book shops, and some craft shops, but it wasn’t antiques or collectibles, so it didn’t really thrill me. I was just happy to be with Rosemary and our conversations continued as we meandered in and out and up and down the blocks.
I knew my "Boop Friends" across the U.S. would enjoy seeing all of these pictures of Betty!
We got thirsty again after about an hour, and there was an outside vendor selling hot or cold fresh Julian apple cider, so we got to cold cups. Then, we walked around some more! Rosemary bought a little wind chime (just about 6 inches long) with a red apple on top, and I got some red earrings. I have been wanting red earrings for some time, because whenever I wear red I never have great earrings to match. These were pretty simple – just two red beads with some smaller red beads inbetween. Nothing too flashy, but a big enough dangle to make a statement!
We finally got back in the car a little before 6:00pm. We never did have a piece of apple pie – which Julian is SO famous for – and I do regret it, but I’m also happy, because I’m trying to lose weight!
We had a great ride home and I put in a BLONDIE’S GREATEST HITS CD and Rosemary and I sang all the way home. She has a beautiful voice. It was so funny, because she was telling me that she had an old boyfriend who would get annoyed at her for singing with the music. I told her I ALWAYS sing along – with a CD, or the radio, and that I enjoy hearing other people sing, so she could sing her heart out – which she did.
I also told her that Eric was so sweet, because I ALWAYS sing along with EVERY song I know the words to and he’s never – in 25 years (and believe me – crossing the country in the RV, we put a LOT of miles on the road) told me to stop singing, or gotten annoyed. In fact, sometimes I’ll say, “Do you want me to stop singing?” and he always says, “Of course not.” He really doesn’t mind, and I guess he kind of enjoys it! That’s my beautiful, sweet Eric.
Sometimes, I’d get Eric to sing, mostly because he’d enjoy showing me he knew every word to some song or other and he would be so cute. He really has a good voice and definitely can carry a tune!
I had such a pleasant day with Rosemary. I can see that she could become a really dear friend. She’s very kind, really brilliant (she graduated law school, but isn’t interested in becoming a lawyer – she uses her education in connection with her job in HR), and a lot of fun. She has a great sense of humor and a great laugh. She’s a great girl!
When I got home, the first thing I did was call Rich to see how his day went. I found out he drove to Coronado Island, hung out at the Del Coronado (where he stayed many years ago) and hung out on the beach for a while. He also drove around downtown and went to lunch in the Gaslamp Quarter. Then, he went back to the hotel to relax and work on his lectures for tomorrow, which start at 8:00am in the hotel where he’s staying. That’s convenient!
After I hung up with Rich, I did a REALLY stupid thing. I decided to take a nap, even though it was 7:30pm. I figured I’d wake up at 9:00pm, watch TV and do stuff around the apartment for a few hours, and then go back to sleep after SNL. Unfortunately, I woke up at 8:45pm and decided to sleep a little more. The next thing I knew it was 11:00pm!!!! I got up, washed up, and sat down at the computer to blog.
I know I’ll be up until all hours now, but at least I can sleep in tomorrow (if that’s possible), because I have absolutely no plans, other than to do some crafting.
Meanwhile, I forgot to mention yesterday that, after several years, the film PRIDE AND GLORY is finally being released. This is the cop movie starring Colin Farrell, Ed Norton and Jon Voight that was filmed on our block in Whitestone about 3 or 4 years ago. It was really one of the most exciting things to happen in Whitestone – especially on our block in the twenty-one years we lived there!
I have NO idea why it took so long for the film to come out, and I was really wondering if it ever would. I have a feeling it’s going to be a huge flop, because there must have been some kind of problem with it, but we’ll see.
Here are some pictures from the two weeks they were filming on our block. I never got to meet Colin or Ed, but I DID see Colin several times, which definitely made my heart skip a beat. He definitely does it for me!
This picture was taken from our bedroom window. The house was across the street and two down from ours -- with the brown roof.
Anyway, if you DO see this film (I’ll probably wait until it’s on Pay-Per-View), look for the light blue house across the street from the house where Colin Farrell and Lake Bell live. That’s the old Greenberg house – now the Weissman house!
Filming a scene at night outside the house -- Colin and Ed had a fight on the lawn!
All the snow you see was man-made. They had a snow machine and sprayed all the lawns, because the movie took place at Christmas time. Although it was February, it was unseasonably warm and the snow melted right away, so they brought in huge rolls of cotton and put that down instead!
The fake snow gets installed.
Here's our house with the fake cotton snow and Christmas lights -- which I can assure you the Greenberg house never had before -- or again!
