Andy Does Housework Series  (Click to see large photo)


I'm sewing my old exercise shirt.  This shirt had expanded over the years. I re-sewed the seams to reduce its size.


I had just washed Barbara's blouse and decided it needed to be ironed. I can't have her going out in public with a wrinkled shirt. People will think no one takes care of her!


I'm using a leaf blower on tree leaves that fell very late in the season.  When you have a Japanese gravel garden, using a rake does not get all the fallen leaves.


Me with my 20 pound, 12 year old cat, Panther.  I have two other house cats: Ivy, who is 11 years old, and Tanya, who is 1 year old.  There is a fourth cat, Melon, who opted to live outdoors and only comes in to eat.  I suspect Ivy drove him out. All of them wear a magnet on their collars. The magnet opens an electric cat door which lets them in and out of the house whenever they like. There is no litter box in the house.


I'm methodically working on a mural called "Black and White Dream."  She will painted on a retaining wall across the street.  She will hold a sign reminding people the speed limit is 15 mph.  This month, I got approval by the city of Los Angeles to install speed humps in front of my house to slow down the traffic.  I had to collect signatures on a petition.  It has taken many years to get to this point.


Mopping the floor is not the hard part. That's easy. The hard part is moving everything around and wringing out the mop.


I'm chopping broccoli and preparing it to be cooked in a casserole.  I'm the main cook in the house.  When Barbara's boyfriend comes to visit her then he cooks for us.


I always wash dishes after each meal.  It drives me crazy to see dirty dishes lying in the sink.  Many years ago, after I got married, I invited a friend to my house along with his wife for dinner.  When the meal was over, I began automatically washing the dishes.  My friend took me aside and violently shoved me against the wall.  I asked him why he was upset. He said, "You're going to give my wife bad ideas!!!"


And when I am not being a househusband, I actually have to trade stocks in my home office.  I love the view from my window.


Here, I'm reading the Financial Times at the dining table.  Since I invest my own money, I feel like I'm in a car with no steering wheel without this valuable newspaper.  My house has no curtains because I am surrounded by trees, hills, and beautiful scenery. No neighbors can look in.  Yet, I am in the middle of the city on a hill.


My front stairs.  I had been staining the rails and wanted to stain the steps, but the recent rains had interrupted the process. Now that the rain has stopped, I guess I better resume staining them.



Mood Charts


Mood Chart January 7 through 13th.


Mood Chart January 14 through 21


Mood Chart January 22 through 27th.


Entertainment

Judy Tenuta Comedy Show

Barbara and I went to the Saturday night Judy Tenuta Comedy Show in Studio City.  She calls herself "the love goddess."  She assumed the entire audience was gay — which it mostly was. I played along and had a good time. I had the best seat in the house, right at her feet. So, of course, she picked on me.  She asked me if I was a "bottom" and I loudly shouted out "Yeah!"

L.A. Convention Center Art Show

I went to the L.A. Convention Art Show with Barbara and Robin. We took the subway to get there instead of the car. We were able to just sit in a corner of the train and chat and laugh.


Barbara and Andy


Robin and Andy. Robin is a surgical nurse.  She's great to have on a hike if anyone is injured.

Barbara and Andy at the Golf Course

Barbara and Andy at the golf course.  Barbara has been playing or practicing golf almost every other day. I usually go with her and give her additional motivation and moral support.  When I met Barbara, she was in college and enrolled in Civil Air Patrol and taking karate.

Julie and Andy take a hike

Julie has been working two jobs, but managed to stop and take some time to take a hike with me.  (This is an old photo) She climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro last year. She was in the army as a sniper. Her favorite weapon is the M-16.

Anna & Andy Hike
Anna and Andy
Natalia, Andy, Lisa
On the final Saturday of the month, Anna, Lisa, Natalia, George, Lia, and others, went on a group hike straight up a 1,300 mountain face.  No ropes were necessary because there were natural steps we could navigate on all the way to the top. Anna takes kickboxing classes and is a very strong woman. I love being with her. She's adept at voice-over and I love her openness and candor. Great sense of humor. Lisa is novelist. George is a stone mason. Natalia is a model.  

Zumba Dance Exercise

I went to my third Zumba class this week in the morning. There were 45 women and I was the only male. The other guys in the gym were in the weight room (chuckle). I have to admit, nothing has ever helped me to lose weight like this exercise, nothing. In one hour, I am drenched in sweat as if I had been sprayed with a water hose. (Stock photo above.)