January arrived and brought a few distractions.

The Italian damaged his leg on the ski slopes but HAPPY TO SAY HE IS FINE NOW!

THE CANE LASTED ALL OF ONE DAY!

The FIRES STILL RAGE IN Southern California and I know a few who had to EVACUATE!

It has been a VERY INTENSE week.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THE ITALIAN RETIRED on JANUARY 1, 2025.

He turned 65 on the SECOND of JANUARY!

WISH ME LUCK as we maneuver this NEW CHAPTER of LIFE!

He has MORE ENERGY than me and is NOT one to SIT!

Nor, does he have any interest in that game called GOLF!

We need to find OUR PACE and I have plenty of ideas to keep him busy!

Plus, he has his SKI PASS for the season!

Retirement Gift which couldn’t have been MORE SPOT ON!

CAMPARI is his DRINK of choice.

Come APRIL we have known each other for 40 years!Hard to BELIEVE that The Italian arrived in our offices straight from ITALY, so long ago.Most of you know this story but we worked for the woman who IMPORTED GUCCI leather goods to the United States and CANADA in the 1980’s.The offices were hidden in a new warehouse on the outskirts of the WHOLESALE PRODUCE INDUSTRY in Oakland, California.Most of the employees were young girls right out of college and the FASHION INSTITUTE in

Los Angeles.

He had his pick of women and kept asking me OUT!

I kept saying NO, because I had things to do!Like grocery shop or get a hair cut!He would ask me OUT for the same day and I was already BOOKED!I did FEEL BAD!His English was not as good as it is now and he knew NO ONE except the owners of the company.He ended up living in the basement of the house next-door to them which HE CONVERTED into a rather large apartment!He paid $300.00 a month rent; I do remember that and I paid $525.00 for a STUDIO APARTMENT!

His landlord was a WONDERFUL WOMAN NAMED JILL who had his enthusiasm for LIFE and a great SMILE.She is still in our LIFE and reads this BLOG!Hopefully we can get her to add more to the story in the COMMENTS!?

Her now husband was dating her and arrived in a GORILLA COSTUME one day when I was sitting outside!SCARED ME TO DEATH but to this day I get the biggest GRIN on my FACE just thinking about it!

So, THE ITALIAN and I started dating and his EX- GIRLFRIEND arrived from ITALY for a MONTH!That put a damper to the schedule that we were keeping.Also, we kept it all a secret from the WORKPLACE!Needless to say he found a way to keep seeing me and her!

I took both of them to San Francisco to a DISCO!

Anyone remember OASIS?

South of MARKET STREET.

I do recall that song Y.M.C.A. was a BIG HIT as well as The Long Island Ice Tea’s!

But WAIT!I should back up a bit.

ABOUT THE SEVENTH time he asked me out( all previous times I had said NO) MY MOTHER was arriving for a few days from Southern California.So, I told him I could not have dinner as my Mother was visiting.He invited MY MOTHER TOO to come to his apartment for dinner, which was OUR FIRST DATE!.We arrived and I about had a HEART ATTACK.Why?Because he had no furniture!My mother had to sit on the floor to eat dinner at a coffee table!He had NO CHAIRS and no kitchen table.She would have been 59 years old and had a bad back for years!(Back then people did not believe in chiropractors like they do now.)I was terrified I would never hear the end of it! Instead, as I’m putting the car in reverse she put her hand on my thigh and said,”WHAT’S WRONG WITH HIM?He is CUTE,CHARMING and he can COOK!”My reply was he is too short for me!She came back with “OH ELIZABETH GIVE UP THE HIGH HEELS!” SO, that is the story of how we met 40 years ago and I started to wear ONLY FLAT SHOES!

I ACTUALLY LISTENED TO MY MOTHER and In my case MY MOTHER DID KNOW BEST!

THE BEST WAS YET TO COME AS HE COULD DO AND FIX ANYTHING!

I recall her saying,”OH MY GOSH DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY YOU WILL SAVE!”

My Mother always had a HANDY-MAN around to do the ODDS and ENDS as my FATHER was not capable nor interested in fixing things.CHARLIE was his name and he had red rosey cheeks.Funny the things we remember.Charlie built her a cabinet for a collection of COOKBOOKS!He then bought a small house in SONOMA wine country and kept my horse my aunt gave to me.EL SENOR was his name.He was a 16 hands Quarter Horse.A BIG BOY for this aspiring BALLERINA!

This little guy was brought into my kitchen by my WILD TEENAGER CAT CALLED TIGRE!He was playing with him under the oven when I noticed BETTY the dog attentively looking that way.So, down I go on all fours even further when I had to lay down and grab the BABY BIRD.I got him on the third attempt but getting up off my back with BABY BIRD was not so easy ( come on ABS)!I realized TIGRE had found him on the ground on our second terrace in the backyard as we had just been outside looking at the NEW CHICKENS from A FAR!I did not want to put him back for fear of another KIDNAPPING by TIGRE.

So, into the old chicken coop I went as I have a bird cage in there as well…………

The BABY BIRD needed to sleep from what I could tell.By the way we now have chickens again which I can not visit or pick up!Due to that LUNG sickness I have called LADY WINDERMERE or Mycobacterium Avian Complex better known as MAC.They are beautiful and fully grown. More on the NEW CHICKS another day!

My BLOGGING BUDDY(1010 PARK PLACE) Brenda Coffee has a BOOK coming out in MAY 2025.Her story sounds fascinating as I have heard some of it first hand when she flew out here a few years ago to have lunch with me.I had asked if any of my INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS wanted to meet me and come to my home for lunch!

BRENDA came all the way from TEXAS!

She has now spent the good part of three years writing this book and finding a publisher.

If her book is anything like her BLOG it will be STELLAR.

Brenda is a Beautiful writer and was a journalist in her early days.Brenda was the first journalist to drive and fire the M-1 tank.She also coined the term VAPE and VAPING!She has been married twice.Her first husband invented the personal computer, the microprocessor and the first smokeless cigarette!She had a very difficult childhood as I recall.A mother who was not compassionate nor loving.

BRENDA IS A SURVIVOR and has had a VERY INTERESTING LIFE!

Even though I haven’t READ HER BOOK I have heard some of the stories and they had me sitting on the edge of my seat!

To follow her blog please click here

“Brenda Coffee’s book is climbing the charts and it’s not even out yet. Available for PRE-ORDER on Amazon, MAYA BLUE, A Memoir of Survival, was a fairy tale until it wasn’t. Until her husband, the founder of two high-profile, groundbreaking public companies, began making real cocaine in their basement. Until the Big Six tobacco companies threatened their lives for creating the first smokeless cigarette—Brenda coined the terms vape and vaping—and the brutal Guatemalan military commandos forced her into the jungle at gunpoint. MAYA BLUE A Memoir of Survival is Working Girl meets Taken, and in the end, she was the last one standing. I hope you’ll all support our friend Brenda by PRE-ORDERING her book on Amazon.”

THE LINK FOR BRENDA’s BOOK TO PRE-ORDER is BELOW.

She has already received the prestigious KIRKUS STAR and only 10% of books of “exceptional merit” receive this coveted review, plus it has been nominated for the 2025 KIRKUS PRIZE.One of the richest literary awards in the United States.

(link for MAYA BLUE is https://amzn.to/3YYV7Mz)

May I suggest those of us who read it let’s REVIEW IT on MY BLOG come MAY or June after we have had a chance to read it.Any thoughts and comments and any questions you may have for BRENDA to respond too!As this is a VERY TRUE STORY.I already want to know how she arrived at the name of the book! MAYA BLUE!

MAYBE IT WAS A SECRET CODE NAME?!

TIGRE the wild teenager who we have now named the PEACE AMBASSADOR of our street!

Everyone on our cul-de-sac knows him and adores him as he enters houses and even climbs into a crib with a one year old named MAYA!He is VERY SOCIAL and loves company and enjoys the attention.He has only broken FOUR OBJECTS so far in my house as he likes to get in HIGH places!

Two breaks were FIXABLE!

HE IS MY SUPER JOY at the moment!

Let’s HOPE this year brings ALL OF US GOODNESS and LAUGHS.

I read this morning if your husband kisses you on the way out the door he will live FOUR MORE YEARS than if NO kisses are GIVEN!

MORE KISSES ALL AROUND FOR EVERYONE!

XXX

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I ANSWER EACH COMMENT.

I PROMISE!