A week of mixed emotions...

I’ve added a picture of a Judgemental Map of the San Fernando Valley where we live. We are in the ‘Surburban as F**k’ area, right by the ‘Huge-ass Malls’ and the ‘Home to every celebrity ever’; in fact I drive past their gated community every week when I enter onto the 101freeway entrance….I mean, who would want to live right by the 101???

Well Weight Watchers isn’t going too well and there doesn’t appear to be too much actual weight watching on my part as I put on another 1/2 lb. I must try harder next week. In the meeting we talked about meals out and organising/planning what we eat, which then moved onto cruises and Chars friends who were coming for a visit the following week. She told us her story of them meeting on a cruise and them bonding over the terrible news of 9/11. She recalled how they were told about the news when on a day trip from the ship in Portugal and people were rushing up to them saying in Portuguese ‘American tragedy’. It was very moving and I think we can all remember where we were on that day.

The Animal Sanctuary session went much more smoothly this week on Tuesday and the official dog training session on Friday night.

On Tuesday I met Nia who was about 25 and so friendly and helpful. After just chatting to her about wanting to be better at dog walking, she helped me walk 3 dogs in the yard and outside. It was a mush better experience and certainly did a lot for my confidence. We first had Ellie wo was new in and quite a small Staffordshire terrier mix. She had been surrendered by her owner and seemed very timid and scared. She soon calmed and grew more confident which was lovely to see and was adopted by the time I came back in on Friday. I also had the chance to walk Bella who when out of her kennel looks distinctly more bulldog like. She is a real cutie and so affectionate. She loves cheese and will sit and stop when walking. She does pull a little, but thank goodness I brought gloves this time. The other dogs I walked this week were Missy, Zoe (who I had walked last week and was much improved with pulling this week) and another new dog called Mommas. Mommas was adorable and she was brilliant on the lead and so willing to please. I had donated a trolley to the shelter which Charla was really pleased with. I am starting to feel as if I am making a difference, but am keen not to become or appear to be over confident as I know that they like you to always defer to them and as Steph told me last week, she doesn’t like independent thought…..

It was lovely being back at choir this week and my practice at home had paid off. Before the practice I met Jeanne at Starbucks to discuss the final food menu for the hors d'oeuvres for the Casino night. There were lots of lovely ideas such as brownies shaped like dice, vodka jelly shots and caprese skewers.

At the practice itself everyone was very friendly and welcoming as I’d been away for 3 weeks. We sang all the songs ready for next Saturday’s performance and this time we had to also express/perform them, something I’m not used to doing. I was moved next to different people and away from other Lead singers as they feel I can hold my own now which is nice. 😁

Monica has a way of indicating that we need to stay on top of the note by raising her two fingers on both hands, unfortunately this looks like she flicking a V at us. Not sure it means the same thing here.

At pottery this week I was finishing my jewellery pieces and the house name plaques people had asked me to make and we discussed Cuba as Dahlia has gone there on holiday. Geoff told us that US citizens have had their right to go there removed under Trump.

Other news on MSNBC is that following the devastating back-to-back massacres that took place in America last weekend, many states are making efforts to tighten their gun control laws to prevent such tragedies from occurring again. However, one state is doing the opposite. Texas has decided to loosen its laws and want teachers to be trained to carry guns as well as priests. A priest was interviewed saying church is no place for guns!!! No shit!!!

By Saturday- Five people were killed and 21 injured in random shootings by a motorist in the area of Odessa, Texas. It truly is baffling, and also the longer I stay here and hear these news items, it makes me more nervous.

I went to get my blood tested again at Quest, ready for my Doctor Ott follow up appointment to see how my Pellet of Youth is doing, only to be told by the receptionist when I got into the packed waiting room, that they wouldn’t do it until I paid the $129, which is what the last test cost. Well actually, it cost $1700, but the insurance company paid the rest. I was flabbergasted and said that I had already paid $15. She called that a holding fee. I asked what the current charge would be and she said she didn’t know. By this stage I felt it was all a scam and couldn’t have felt more homesick! I exclaimed ‘how does anyone budget for this?’ To which she replied, ‘that’s the system’. This was all with the waiting room looking on and being somewhat humiliated and ticked off, I decided to delay the blood test until next week and told her I wanted to call my insurance company to check all this out. Quite honestly, it’s a shit system, even with really good insurance. I called Doctor Otts office who said that yes, that is the cost and some blood testing operations are more expensive …….Well you can guess what I thought!

On Sunday Marla took me out as Mark has been away all week in Germany and London again. We went to beautiful Oxnard to the Craft and Farmers market. The array of fruit and veg is breath-taking, with so many different types I’d never seen before, all presented beautifully with samples given out. I absolutely love the pink grapefruit and peaches here, they are wonderfully sweet. The weather on the coast is so much cooler than in the valley, as there is the sea breeze. It was also foggy and overcast, which is such a blessing when it’s pretty unbearable in the afternoons here presently. We also travelled up the coast to Ventura main street, which is a beautiful town, filled with old Art Deco architecture and vintage antique shops. These had wonderful American memorabilia ranging from vintage furniture, telephones, film memorabilia and dolls to vintage posters and all things antique Marvel. I could have bought so much. I also was inspired by a number of items for my pottery projects, especially those I might make for my grandchild… I am bursting with excitement!

I have the next week planned getting back into my aqua, starting a new larger pottery project based around nursery rhymes and getting the house ready for a visit from Jake again…..

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