Pumps, cuts and curry

Ira decided that today was koi pond flushing day. He had watched David do it once and had taken notes. However, when I saw him running back and forth from the pump room to the pond it was clear that the process wasn't going smoothly. Later, he confessed that it was extremely stressful. There were a lot of steps, the valves were old and seemed on the verge of breaking, and the lives of the koi depended on his success. 

Of course Ira always adds pressure on himself to do a good job, so there´s that. Needless to say, Ira's day was not one of the better ones. 

Despite the stress, he completed the task without any issues or mishaps. However, he finished just in time for us to leave for our hair appointments. It should have taken 30 minutes, and we had given ourselves 40, but something was going on because traffic was terrible and we were barely moving. It was brutal, and my turn to be stressed! Shanda later told us that there was a fire near the freeway, which could have added to the traffic, but we'll never know for sure.

I texted Darrin to let him know we were going to be late. He was totally cool about it, using the time to catch up on his social media LOL. We shouldn´t have even been stressed because he chatted with us for a solid 10 minutes before getting started, so clearly he wasn't worried.

We love Darrin, I think I've mentioned before that Ira has professed Darrin gives him the best haircuts of his life. He's thorough, but not quick. It took over two hours for Ira's haircut and my cut and color. But, you never have to come up with any conversation --he's a talker! You can just sit there and occasionally look shocked and bewildered, LOL.

After our cuts were done, we texted Shanda to let her know we were headed her way. The plan was to meet for dinner at her neighborhood Thai restaurant. We loved that place and were happy to go again.

Shanda's favorite dish was the green curry with eggplant and chicken, so I had that. Lately she'd been choosing red curry with chicken and mixed veggies. Ira had Pad Thai and we shared some crispy lemongrass chicken wings--deelish! We had fun catching up and joking about Darrin. He does a great hair cut and color but the blow out is a little rough. She said she usually tells him, "Slow down, Turbo, those are still attached!' LOL. Shanda is so funny! 

After dinner, Shanda invited us back to her apartment to see her new 'babies'. She has really embraced plant care and there were several new additions since our last visit--it was like a genuine forest of houseplants! 

Knowing Shanda had an early flight in the morning and I had work, we said our goodbyes and called it a night. After a stressful day, I was glad it ended on a fun note for Ira. The view when we came home didn't hurt either.

A dopo!