Five on Friday

We went out to eat twice this week - Greek for lunch on Monday and gourmet tacos for Thursday dinner. Such a nice change of pace. I'll see if the grandgirls want to go out for ice cream/frozen yogurt tomorrow or Sunday given whatever their social calendar is.

No heat dome here just the usual wide temperature swings for this time of year in the East Bay. Sorry for all of you suffering from the heat as I do know what it feels like from having lived in different parts of the country.

1. Books, books and more books. I've almost finished the 52 books challenge so I decided to start trying to fill and expand my reading by tracking what country, state, etc. books are set in. No deadlines on this but I suspect it will lead me to some interesting fiction and non-fiction.

2. I used Hoopla to stream the next episodes of a show I enjoyed recently through PBS Passport, but they have a limit of 4 checkouts a month which is really limiting. I ordered a DVD player to use with my laptop as the library has lots of DVDs including shows that aren't available on our streaming services. My son gave me a purchase recommendation and they aren't very expensive.

3. I had a good laugh at Pilates this week when my trainer said "You are quite strong". I responded that I wished I felt stronger and she said, "Well sturdy then". That made me think of the tall variety of pony I rode during lessons. A good laugh for both of us. I do know I am getting stronger despite my lack of consistency with a daily exercise schedule. I used to be so disciplined - sigh.

4. I am again watering plants and checking the house of the neighbors across the street. They are from Europe and left for a 3 week trip to visit family. I am thankful we moved into a neighborhood where people look out for each other.

5. I'm also thankful for our dog who is affectionate, funny and also generally well behaved now that he is an adult. He got groomed yesterday and was as usual extremely excited and happy to go there which makes me happy.