So this is what we do when we get company…

Sue didn’t sleep from 4 to 6. She blamed it on my snoring. I don’t recall any of it. I woke up at 7. Happy. As usual. It’s going to be (another) great day. Coffee brewing. Robert’s already sitting outside reading his ipad. Oh yeah.

Robert and Arlene after the walkRight after our breakfast the gardener guys showed up and started up their leaf-blowers. I GUESS WE’LL HAVE TO TALK A BIT LOUDER. We walked around the neighbourhood with our guests. Talked business. Okay, not really, but we had a brisk little walk, enough to warrant a shower when I got home. And then it was time for lunch. As per usual, when we have visitors we have a ‘make your own sandwich’ kind of lunch instead of the (preferred) usual complete ‘platter’. Oh well, Sue thinks it’s so much nicer than ‘the usual’.

Robert decided to take a little nap after lunch before our 2:30 golf tee time. I went to do a bit of computer work before getting ready for golf. When I next check up on the others, there are Robert and Arlene and Sue each on their yoga mat in the living room, doing stretches and exercises. Yikes! It’s time to go golfing. Warm outside; cloudy, but warm. It’s going to be perfect for golf. We drive down to Rancho Mirage. Arlene says I think we’ve golfed here before. Yeah, right. So have we, but that isn’t going to make this any easier.

The Dycks and Nikkels at Rancho Mirage Country ClubAt the clubhouse, the Dycks pay for our round of golf. Thank you very much. We head out to the driving range. My seven iron. About 1 out of 8 shots actually go anywhere near the 150 yard marker. Then we get into our carts and head off to hole number one. First drive — into the water. But Rudy, you usually hit such nice tee shots! Well, not today. But let’s not let that put too big a damper on our game. There’s always the next hole. The foursome ahead of us are really slow. Finally, at around hole number 12 we pass them. Wide open country ahead. We drive up to hole 13 tee blocks. Time for a photo. Let’s all be in it. Isn’t this a pretty hole?

We finish the 18th hole. Tired. Don’t really want to say this, but we’re ALL a little disappointed with our scores. We all lie that it’s more about THE FUN WE HAD than about the golf shots.

We take a little diversion on the way home and go to Sherman’s Bakery and the girls select some appropriate ‘no-fat low-calorie’ (but still sinfully delicious) desserts to go with our supper. Then home.

Bathroom breaks. Cold beers. Snacks. Sue and Robert start working in the kitchen. It’ll be a steak barbecue.

And as you might expect, supper was super. Steaks were great, potatoes, asparagus, salad — all great. After supper we retired to the living room and watched a bit of TV — first the last few minutes of the Chicago-L.A. hockey game, followed by a show about where to get the ‘best steaks’ in America. It was all we could do to hang on until we got our special desserts and then be allowed to high-tail it to bed. Some of us didn’t quite make it that long. But Sue FINALLY deemed it the right time for dessert and we quickly gobbled down our chocolate mess on a plate. Delicious. Then, as the time-keeper’s clock S-L-O-W-L-Y wound it’s way down to 11:00pm, we all headed off to bed. A good day.