A Thursday Adventure

September 25, 2025October 6, 2025 ~ GrayMareWrites ~ 2 Comments

After several weeks at home hiding from the heat, we ventured out! I’ve got a list of things I want to do this fall when it gets cooler. The forecast for the next week or so gives me hope that autumn is here, but I’m not trusting it completely ~ LOL! Can’t wait for the serious cool weather to get here. I’m ready for long sleeves, hot chocolate, and thick blankets! Believe it or not, it really does get chilly in Southern California 😊

Today we went to the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana to see the Terra Cotta Warriors exhibit. To be honest, I thought it was anemic… We had gone to the original exhibition in 2008 with over 20 figures, ranging over several rooms in the open behind ropes, if I remember correctly. It was fabulous! The current exhibit only features five full size warriors behind glass, plus a horse and partial figure. Two chariots with horses and drivers, the centerpiece of the warriors on display, are replicas, although very impressive nonetheless. But most of this exhibition consists of bronze and jade ornaments and weapons, some pottery and sculptures, plus quite a bit of history regarding the location, peoples, architecture, and creation of the warriors themselves. If you’ve never seen the Terra Cotta Warriors up close, and you have the opportunity to catch them before they leave the Bowers (October 19 or if you’re in the Houston area, it moves to their Museum of Natural Science on November 14), you should go. The story of the clay army and the unique details of each warrior is worth a few hours of your time.

Ready for a couple of pictures?!

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Thursday Thoughts ~ August 28, 2025

August 28, 2025September 25, 2025 ~ GrayMareWrites ~ 1 Comment

Happy Last Friday in August Eve!

Can you believe summer as I knew it as a child of the 60’s is almost over? Nowadays, school starts in mid-August in a lot of places, including SoCal, where I live. What kind of summer vacation is that?? To be fair, they don’t generally have “snow days” or the desert equivalent here, so they get out earlier in June. But going to school while it’s still August?? Ugh…

The weather’s hot and we’re mostly hiding indoors, trying to keep the cats cool. But we did venture to Knott’s, where we had lunch after The Husband’s nearby Tuesday morning class. Took a few pics in the Mine Ride:

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Thursday Thoughts ~ August 21, 2025

August 21, 2025August 28, 2025 ~ GrayMareWrites ~ 1 Comment

Welcome to When Is Summer Finally Over Eve?!

I dream of living near San Diego, maybe Oceanside or Carlsbad, where the temperature rarely goes above 80 degrees. Right now, where I am in SoCal, it’s 95 degrees Fahrenheit. Is there a patron saint of moving?? LOL! I have to say, though, painting the house light blue has made these hot days a little more bearable than the dark green 😊

I’d been concerned about our diabetic kitty, Patchwork. A month ago, her numbers were very high, and the doctor suggested adding another ¼ unit of Vetsulin, the feline equivalent of insulin, to her current dosage. Last week, we had her tested again. Monday night, we got a call letting us know her numbers were way down and within acceptable range. Whew! I had told the doctor that sometimes Patchwork gets what we call Growly (scratchy, grouchy, growls) and refuses the shot, which she had done the night before that first test. Not sure how much that affected the numbers, but I’m just happy to know she’s doing okay.

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Thursday Thoughts ~ August 14, 2025

August 14, 2025August 21, 2025 ~ GrayMareWrites ~ 1 Comment

Happy Friday Eve! This used to have significance when I worked, but now it’s just a way to keep up with what day it is… LOL.

Summer is probably our least favorite season. The heat, kids out of school, and tourists crowding SoCal. And the heat… In all honesty, it’s been a fairly mild summer so far, heat-wise, but it’s still uncomfortably warm and saps our energy a bit. We’ve been boringly lazy, except for a quick trip to Knott’s after a class The Husband is taking right around the corner on Tuesday mornings. Knott’s Berry Farm, the amusement park The Husband just retired from earlier this year, is about a half hour from home, so when we’re nearby we take advantage of our lifetime passes. It gives us a chance to chat with old friends and get some steps in for the day.

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Thursday Thoughts ~ August 7, 2025

August 7, 2025August 14, 2025 ~ GrayMareWrites ~ 1 Comment

Happy Sugar Diamonte’s Birthday Eve!

Sugar Diamonte is the main character in my cozy mystery series. Her birth date is 8/8/88, the same day I started the best job I ever had, at The Pennysaver, a weekly print advertising mailer in Southern California. I worked there for 27 years with the finest group of accounting folks that became family, many of them employed there as long or longer than me. It’s my little homage to them and our time together, giving Sugar a birth date so close to my heart.

Sugar looks like Sandra Bullock in While You Were Sleeping and a pivotal scene in the book unfolds at a movie theatre after she and her neighbor, Maybelle, see The Lost City.

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Thursday Thoughts ~ July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025August 7, 2025 ~ GrayMareWrites ~ 3 Comments

Happy August Eve! Can you believe July is just about over? Knock wood, the summer temps have been mild so far, but it looks like heat is on the way according to my phones’ weather app. But Mother Nature doesn’t watch the Weather Channel, so, really, anything can happen! Who could have predicted an 8.8 Russian quake that resulted in volcanic activity and a tsunami??

I had a lovely birthday last Friday. We started at The Hilbert Museum in Orange (CA). The last time we’d been there, it was housed on the campus of Chapman University. It’s since moved across the street to two connected buildings of their own and it is a beautiful space, wide open in some areas and intimate in others. And it’s free, with advance reservations. Here are some of the highlights.

This painting brought to mind The Grapes of Wrath. Turned out the artist, Emil Kosa, worked for the 20th Century Fox studios in the 30’s, when The Grapes of Wrath was filmed.

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Thursday Thoughts ~ July 24, 2025

July 24, 2025July 31, 2025 ~ GrayMareWrites ~ 1 Comment

Happy Mare’s Birthday Eve!

Yes, tomorrow is my 69^th birthday. A museum and Italian food are planned. I’ll tell you all about it next week 😊

I decided it was time to get our hearing tested. *sigh* Yet another saga! The local senior center had free hearing tests on their July schedule for Thursday, the 17^th. I called in the morning to confirm, yes, walk-ins welcome, 11:00 to 11:30. We got to the center early, which was a good thing since we couldn’t find a parking space. No worries ~ we drove across the street, parked at the library, and walked back to the center. We were directed to a boardroom, where a lovely, older Hispanic lady told us she’d been waiting since ten (it was 10:40), so we sat at the conference table across from her. She was on a Facetime with a very talkative lady. It was entertaining to hear her put in an occasional, “Si, bueno,” the only words she could get in edgewise 😊 At eleven, I went to the reception desk and was told they’d been calling and texting the hearing test folks, with no response. So, we left, along with the Si, bueno lady, disgruntled but not really bothered. These things happen. But I do hate wasting time… Ok, maybe a little bothered.

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Thursday Thoughts ~ July 17, 2025

July 17, 2025July 24, 2025 ~ GrayMareWrites ~ 2 Comments

Happy Friday Eve!

The VW bus saga ended on a high note last Thursday (In case you missed it, here’s the beginning of the saga). The tow truck driver, Miguel, called to ask if he could come an hour early ~ a definite YES! He turned out to be a really nice guy, who gave us the reaction we hoped for when he realized the bus had an automatic transmission ~ he was excited to see it and understood exactly how special it was. He handled the entire operation himself, backing the bus down our driveway, and using a winch to get it onto the flatbed. We watched it drive down our street to its new adventure at the auction and hopefully, a buyer who will appreciate it as much as we did.

We dream of it being fixed up and cruisin’ around town! It was hard to see it go but it was time. If you missed The Husband’s guest post last week ~ his ode to his VW ~ here it is.

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Thursday Thoughts ~ July 10, 2025

July 10, 2025July 13, 2025 ~ GrayMareWrites ~ 5 Comments

Thursdays come fast and furious!

It’s been a busy, yet frustrating week. We had an appointment to have The Husband’s VW bus picked up for donation on Sunday. Understand, this is a very emotional situation ~ he’s had this vehicle for 31 years and it’s hard for him to see it go. So, we’d been gearing up for Sunday, nervous and stressed. We sat for hours, waiting for the towing company, who we couldn’t contact on a Sunday… Actually, couldn’t contact at all… they never showed. Since then, we’ve been calling the auction house that claimed the bus and they’ve been as frustrated as us. Now we have an appointment for pick up (hopefully not the same towing company as the first appointment…) for later today. I’ll tell you how that turns out next week. Think good thoughts for us!!

Lots of pictures this week!

First, on Fourth of July morning, we visited the Fullerton Train Museum. It’s been one of those things, when you hear about something interesting in your local area but just never get around to visiting. I happened to see on Facebook that the museum would be open special hours on the Fourth, and since we had no plans, why not? It was about time, really!

This is right next to the train station in Fullerton.

First Class lounge

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Thursday Thoughts ~ July 3, 2025

July 3, 2025July 10, 2025 ~ GrayMareWrites ~ 1 Comment

Happy Second Half of 2025! Can you believe it’s already July!!??

My doctor had been threatening to put me on a statin for my bad cholesterol. She gave me a few months to bring it down and it did come down a little, but in the greater scheme of things, it’s still high. So, now I’m on a statin, like all those people you see on the Old Folks TV ads… When she first mentioned statins, I balked. Usually, I’m happy that I live in an age where there are so many little medical miracles helping us to age well. The Husband has been on one for years. I guess I was so impressed with myself only being on one prescription medication at this age (thyroid issues ~ 30 years), that I was a little disappointed to break my record. My BFF pointed out that it’s really no big deal and I believe her. Thanks, Zan!! I haven’t had any side effects, so that’s good. Retest in two months to see how it’s working. Fingers crossed!

During errands yesterday, we happened on a little car show in Placentia.

You may not be able to see the grill on this car well, but The Husband is pointing to a cartoon of the character Rat Fink, which was created at Knott’s Berry Farm as sort of a sarcastic version of The Mouse, down the street at Disneyland. LOL!

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