Once in awhile-now and again-this is us

here’s our little cutie patutie, or I should say cupie doll.

I love her little turban and her smile is so infectious

Below it looks like she’s telling a long story using her hands just like a kid does

Hannah and Javie are going to have so many wonderful experiences raising this beautiful child. The worries do come but the joy gets you though.

here’s Tracy just showing some teeth. Dig that 60’s hairdo🫣

Here’s Hannah just seeing the teeth coming in.

there’s that infectious baby smile again and look at all that hair. Tracy and Hannah weren’t that lucky.

since we aren’t traveling in the coach anymore I’m not sure what you might see here. I still take lots of pictures and like sharing them. This is my only social media outlet.
So hope it’s something of interest now and again or maybe just once in awhile so you’ll want to return. I’d love it if you did.

🩷jilly

Here is our beautiful Midas. This picture is from 2011. Look at those dazzling gold eyes, and that’s how he got his name. You can also see the white hair on his belly that you don’t see very often.

I know how much all of you love your pets and how much pleasure and joy they bring you, just like our Midas. We were thrilled when after 14 years of never wanting to be an inside cat, he decided to run in out of the rain and now it’s the heat. He still wants to go outside to roam his territory, roll in the sand, chomp on the catnip, and hunt for lizards. He will let us know with that unmistakable caterwaul when he wants back in. In the beginning he was following me around like a new puppy, constantly wanting to sit in my lap for attention and wasn’t happy until I sat down. But then he discovered our bed after starting to sleep with us. Now he hangs out there during the day a lot.

He still likes my lap though.

Then had to change the blanket to a scratch pad, those long claws kept snagging. I think he likes this better.

This was one of his favorite spots at first. ⬇️Of course, people who know cats, know they will love a spot for weeks or months and then just like that they won’t go near it. He abandoned this after a a few weeks. ⬇️ Do you think Lily would like it Ray? Martha?

These were given to us by a friend and he tried out both of them for awhile, but he never goes back now.

it gets uglier but I wont post those pictures, the poor lizard was pregnant😢

He keeps a watchful eye on his territory every day. ⬇️Sometimes with a low profile.

But one disadvantage of being an outside cat, those pesky mosquitoes are biting Midas’s nose. It started last year and the vet diagnosed it. Nothing we can do for him.

And that’s a glimpse into our beautiful Midas’s world.

stay tuned

I have pictures of our great granddaughter Melody

🩷jilly

P.S. now this is food porn Martha.

This should be my last entry for Las Vegas.🤔 We packed a lot in in those four days. We ate and drank too much but had lots of fun and laughs doing it, and we finally got in that bathtub.

Our last restaurant was on Saturday night at Guy Ferrari’s, famous for ‘diners, drive-in’s, and dives, ‘Flavortown’ at the Paris.

Jerry had a previous $10 cash ticket and it was burning a whole in his pocket so he put it a machine just to get rid of it on our last night. We never go to Vegas to gamble, it’s just another form of entertainment while we’re there but,

this is where I would love to say he won a huge, gigantic jackpot, but no he lost it all, the newer machines are so confusing and it’s hard to find an old one.

Walking back we decided to have a nightcap at the Mon ami Gabi patio bar, we didn’t eat there this trip because they no longer have the fish I like. We mentioned our celebration and the bartender gave us complimentary champagne. Tracy had to get up early so just sipped hers. I got a refill and probably drank Jerry’s.

It was still early when we got to the room so Jerry decided to watch a movie. He chose ‘Fast and Furious X’. Tracy wanted to see it too but I fell asleep. They enjoyed it until the abrupt ending. The next one will be out in 2025, a long time to wait for some answers, which they had plenty of questions. I woke up to say goodbye as Tracy was getting ready to catch a cab to the airport. Glad you joined us Tracy, love you lots.

This is a google photo and only one of the many projections they will use, you can find out all about it there, It has a pretty interesting back story

and we made it in that bathtub but then had a hard time getting out

stay tuned for Midas

💗jilly

This was a very special trip to Las Vegas, and more than likely our last. We were celebrating my, Jerry’s, and Tracy’s birthdays 🎉 We’ve seen and done everything and then some to our heart’s content in Vegas. We never won big but we lived big. We stayed in nice hotels. We saw celebrities performances, comedians, Cirque da Soleil shows, exhibits, museums, visited friends and relatives, and even fed dolphins. So we are going to call it quits. Cold turkey. It’s not quite the same as driving the coach to get there anyway.

The Belliago is right across the street from Planet Hollywood. It was still about a five minute walk. It was 108 but bearable. The conservatory was as beautiful as ever. We have seen every seasons display many times, and this summer it was beautiful. I never go to Vegas and not see the display of the themed flowers. You get lost in the beauty and imagination it takes to create these works of art. I will miss that activity, but they show up on the internet, so I can see them that way, I guess.

The pansies are one of my favorite flowers

This is interesting but I’m not sure who it is supposed to be, I didn’t read the sign.

We sat for awhile in the lobby bar and listened to the piano and people watched for awhile, then headed out to the fountains.

I can’t post a video here, but I have one if anyone wants to see it. And as luck would have it, the song playing was Cher’s ‘Do you Believe’ and I was standing right by the speaker. A fitting send off for me.🥰

FANTASTIC!!!

We had one more dinner out that night, it was a pretty cool place but the food sounded and looked better than it tasted. More on that in the final chapter. I’ve already put too many pictures in here, so one more post to go

p.s.- I hope you see these pictures look okay to you, they look elongated on my preview

stay tuned 🩷jilly

I’ve posted a lot of our trips to Las Vegas on this blog, but we started going to Vegas long before I started it. Our first trip was with Jerry’s parents when I turned 21. I guess we liked it enough to keep going back. And we did.

Then when Jerry started working for PBI we did the California Grocers Association trade shows every year for probably 20 of those 25 years he worked there. Most of those were in Las Vegas but we did several other cities too. The employees spouses weren’t allowed to go, but after one time Jerry said he wouldn’t do them anymore without me. As warehouse supervisor he was responsible for loading a big truck with all the market equipment from his warehouse. Drive it to Las Vegas. Make sure our booth had its carpet and electricity before unloading it. He put everything in its place from the diagram he made, then plugged it in to make sure they worked. Then five days later, load the truck up again, and drive it home and unload it again, then put it back in the warehouse. Whew! They agreed to let me go along.
It turned out good for them because I was doing all the prep work the salespeople would have had to come a day early to do. They saved the money for up to five rooms for one night. We had a generous allowance, even taking in shows in the budget. And we saw some great ones. We ate at the best restaurants, we did share and I didn’t drink cocktails back then so that saved them money right there. It was hard work-but good times. Also I came home with bags of samples because I got to walk the show. And they were at big convention centers. Plus we got to see Ted when the show was in Reno. Remember all the food we would give you at the shows end from the booth Ted? The company distributed everything a supermarket needs to operate; ovens, slicers, wrappers, refrigerators, shelving, etc. They used real food to demonstrate and they didn’t want to bring the leftovers home. Celia got to go when it was in Long Beach too.

I kind of got carried away there. Anyway this was a good trip. Tracy flew in from North Dakota and met us at Planet Hollywood where we were staying. I had a Birds Eye view of the Belliago fountains from our window

We had concert tickets to see Kelly Clarkson after dinner.

and she didn’t disappoint, she belted out her oldest, her newest, and everything in between. It looked like it was a sold out crowd. She has a huge variety or fans.

We put a few dollars in the machines and went on up to our room. We were pooped. No bathtub tonight.

the next day we were going to walk across the street to see the flowers in the conservatory at the Belliago, and don’t worry Ray, to take pictures of the fountains.

so stay tuned

🩷jilly

Hope you all had as they say, a safe and sane 4th🇺🇸

with all the ‘new kids on the block’, haha, the parents got together and planned a block party which was a smashing success. Kelsey, middle, was co-organizer with Dani, our next door neighbor. Ashley, on the left, came dressed for the occasion

There was a nice breeze, so ping pong was occasionally played by the adults

There was so much food to enjoy, including all the picnic favorites, I was too busy eating all that delicious food to take pictures.

we put a table in our driveway where the older generation sat. It was so much fun, again I didn’t take pictures except this one, the Mudges brought plums and joined our table. Midas wants out every day about the time they walk by; and still waits for their snacks.

This is my inside the house view of him waiting for those snacks on the porch.

Oh, I did take this one too. Jerry found this in the chip bag

Hope they do it again next year. But of course there are lots of other holidays to celebrate.

Right?

Hope you stay tuned for a trip to the main library in Los Angeles and the Broad museum.
It’s interesting, I promise

💗jilly

Hannah, Javier, Melody, and their two dogs made it here on the 12th. Since nobody could accommodate all of them, we helped with getting an air bnb. We went to meet with them the next day. Melody was asleep, so we visited and met the dogs. Emily and Amy had came in the night before and slept over, so it was fun to have us all together. Javier went and got us all a ‘grand slam’ breakfast. We ate and visited as we waited for Melody to wake up. When she did we all got to hold her. Our very first ‘great’ granddaughter.

My favorite picture of that day⬇️

We got to spend more time with her at our house a few days later. She is just so adorable. Hannah says she is a very good girl, and we witnessed it, so I can vouch for that.

I had a great visit with her. I got her to laugh that delightful baby laugh.

Something else was going on that day, we were passing down the coach to Hannah and Javier. They were the only ones who wanted the coach, so we decided to let them have it, as they are starting their family. Hannah grew up with the coach and we had lots of good times with her in it. Jerry has taken excellent care of it and kept it good shape. It’s 30 years old but has had all major things replaced. He even had new tires put on for their trip home.

It’s bittersweet giving it away 🥲 But it was getting hard for Jerry to do all the necessary things to keep it in that good of shape. Javier is young and strong and able bodied to do those things. We have had so many wonderful and grand adventures, in all 50 states. And we have all those great memories. We hope they have the same experience.

If it’s ok with Hannah, I’ll share some of the pictures she sends me of their trips.

so stay tuned

🩷jilly

Amy applied to UC Santa Barbara, her first choice, and UC Santa Cruz second. She’s a beach girl. Santa Cruz accepted her first and it looked like she wasn’t going to get Santa Barbara. So for the last month that was her plan. But she just got good news, she’s been accepted to UC Santa Barbara. We’re all overjoyed she’ll be in the school she really wanted and closer to home. A two or three hour drive as opposed to a seven or eight hour drive.

🎉“YAY AMY”🎉

Now about the horse race. The trainer of ‘Arcangelo’ was the first woman trainer ever to win the Belmont. Exciting for her but not for us. Both our horses tried really hard to win but only Forte made money, but not enough winnings to cover the bets. It was very exciting to watch -to the very end. Classic entertainment. Maybe next year we’ll have better luck. Didn’t we say that last year?

And my latest puzzle. It’s too late for us, but maybe you’ll have a house like this someday Amy. It would be nice, except for all the sand that would be tracked in.

It was hard to see all the details in the puzzle above, so I included this. It was a joy to put together.

and here is my next one, it’s going to be a challenge for sure, but there are only 550 pieces

This is for you Sandy. One last picture of our beautiful ‘Queen Elizabeth’ rose. I wish you could smell it.

Thanks again for following

stay tuned

💗jilly

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned my mothers whole name. Her maiden name was Florene Isabel Anderson, and then changed to Cook after marriage. I just had a wonderful Mother’s Day with my kids and I think back at all the Mother’s Day I tried to make wonderful for her. It didn’t take much to do that, so it was easy. A home cooked meal, especially if it was one of Jerry’s b-b-q entrees with my homemade bread and my homemade desert, and she was happy.

She was the best mom she knew how to be. She had to work hard, and she did just that at the Star Kist plant on terminal island. Working on the lines, she would bring home big portions of cooked tuna, and I loved that form of tuna. I have a memory of when I was probably only six, of cleaning her fingernails at night when she got home. 🙂 After years of that she was promoted to quality control, and then we would get the cans of unlabeled tuna, always in oil, no water packed back then. Her hard work helped provide what my father couldn’t, special things that her four children needed. I didn’t have a totally happy childhood but I knew I was loved. And she knew I loved her. I still miss her💗Happy Mother’s Day mom.

The thing I was getting to was she loved horses, maybe that’s where I get the love I have for them. And she loved betting on them. Back in the day there was no way for her to do that except when the Kentucky Derby rolled around. I don’t remember exactly how she did that, it was some type of thing that was maybe a charity or a group that made the bet. It was probably – maybe – not sure – legal. I don’t know if she ever won. But she sure loved when she could bet that one time a year on the derby. Then, when my brothers career landed him in Reno, I’m not sure but he may have become her bookie. Spill the beans Ted.

Ted also learned to love the horses. Living in Reno he can now make bets for us – legally – when the triple crown of horse races starts in May. Jerry had some luck in the Kentucky Derby. But it didn’t cover the bets.

Keep in mind these pictures are from the tv

the horses make a big production of walking to the gate….

my horse was tapit trice #7, the only grey horse

The horses see this from the gate and still want to run🤔

The derby is one of the largest sports event.

This was an interesting fact of this race⬆️

A long shot won the race, Mage. I’m not including the stats because if you didn’t bet you wouldn’t be interested.

We also didn’t do so well in the Preakness with Blazing sevens, my horse, (I’ll be 77 this year) and Jerry’s horse National Treasure who beat my horse by a nose, but his bet was to place. Betting gets complicated, and you don’t win much with small wagers.

And tomorrow is the Belmont Stakes. We have two horses, National Treasure and Forte to win-place on each one. Think good thoughts everybody. Oh wait, that may be against your morals? We have a lot of fun doing this with my brother. You may remember blogs of us in Reno at the sports book lounge. Lots of fun. He’s retired, has a good state retirement, don’t we all spend our money in the way we want to?

on another note I got this message from one drive today

have to shout out to Amy for graduating with grades to get accepted to UC Santa Cruz. Good job Amy😘

Our great granddaughter and family will be here next week. Can’t wait to hold and love her. Of course we will be thrilled to see Hannah and Javier too. They’ll be here a week so lots of visiting is in store. Isn’t she adorable.🥰

Stay tuned for lots and lots of pictures

thanks for following

good night💗jilly

We didn’t know much about foreign lands, so they never beckoned us. Our dear friend and neighbor, Lorita, was beckoned and did travel to just about every country in the world. She took the most incredible slides with her Leica camera. and we got to see all of them at slide shows in her living room. So in a way we have seen foreign lands with great photos, interesting, informative, and personable narratives, all in the comforts of her home, eating popcorn.

Frank and Linda now keep us captivated with their iPhone pictures and tales of their interesting travels abroad when they return home. In return for cat sitting we see the world again.

Kara had been encouraging me to write an autobiography of our travels someday. She loved to write, and boy did she write, as I found out cleaning out her house. I have written down some stuff for myself, and decided to share part of it on the blog. The short and condensed version.

There were two places I wanted to see, for sure, when we started our travels. The Statue of Liberty and Mt. Rushmore. Well, I got to see them not only once, but four times. And each time was as special as the first.
I got an inexpensive Kodak digital camera for our first travels. And moved up in price as we traveled more.

A shout out to Martha and Ray, enjoy your trip to Virginia to see Karl and Sandy and their new home tomorrow. Enjoy Washington DC and all the history there. And enjoy that gift of first class plane tickets.WOW! Have fun and send pictures.

Lots more later,

stay tuned,

💗jilly