Mid month goal check in

 🎂🧣🍎🧘🏼🎨🎼🍁💻🐶☔️🍗

MAKING PROGRESS

After 3 days of being sick I’m feeling like I will be able to attend granddaughter’s birthday party and enjoy family time with older son and DIL plus celebrate Hubby’s birthday this week. Have gotten a few things done. I can see that I forgot to focus on self care once again 🤔

CELEBRATE

* Waiting for her gift to arrive (fingers crossed) and still have some housework to be ready for guests - Enjoy celebrating our Granddaughter’s 8th birthday and the accompanying visit by our older son and DIL. 11/17 & 18

* He wants to go out to lunch by the water so we will - Celebrate Hubby’s 72nd birthday however he wants on 11/21

* Called my brother and SIL so far - Send cards or make calls for my cousin’s birthday and brother and SIL’s anniversary.

* Done: He had to head back early for business reasons but we saw him 3 times - Enjoy visits with my nephew who is in town for most of the month but lives in Taiwan.

* Planning to take a charcuterie board for appetizer - Thanksgiving with DIL’s family

LEARN & DO STUFF

* Completed first of 3 steps and got directions for other 2 - Sign up to change secondary health insurance to Kaiser for 2025 and beyond.

- Become comfortable with Google docs, sheets, drive and photos.

- Set up weekly exercise program and specific exercises targeted for my body.

- Farmer’s Market to get apples for eating and cooking.

* Signed up for it - Attend card making class 11/21 at rec center.

SELF CARE

- Practice a month of daily thankfulness.

- Buy cool weather clothing on my list.

- Art, music or nature outing.

- Find a colorful piece of art for bedroom - thrift store?

PREP FOR RAIN & COLD

* Done - Buy a better raincoat for the pup. His current one blows up in the wind and he gets wet as well as annoyed. This week I was able to buy myself rain pants so once he gets a better coat we are set.

* - Ready the house and yard.

* Done - wash patio furniture and store much of it in garage

X - touch up paint on metal patio furniture that stays outside (delaying until Spring)

* He didn’t show up for appointment so I am going to try to talk Hubby into doing it - hire a handyman to fix attic door so it closes tight and to hopefully replace the front door weatherstripping 

And so it goes - Thriving week 46

We really like the replacement plant we got for the front. It will get 4 feet plus high and wide and had lots of shades of green, gold and red in the foliage although it’s hard to see as some of the plant was in shade. Love it!

Fun dinner with our son cooking at his house. The grandgirls were full of energy and playful but we missed our DIL who was at a board meeting. I was treated to the first of 3 comic books written and illustrated by the 2nd grader plus the start of a new story. I like how writing is taught now.

We met up with the nephew who lives in Taiwan on Saturday for lunch and had a good catch up as well as trying an interesting Indian restaurant. He came over on Monday too to do his laundry and have dinner. Will see him again in a week at our granddaughter’s birthday party. This is part of the benefits of him getting a job in Taiwan with a company based in Berkeley. However we haven’t seen his family for over a decade. Our great-nieces are now 14 and 10.

I have volunteered for a couple birthday party prep tasks so have ironed 24 cotton canvas tote bags so the kids can paint on them plus will make an ice ring with strawberries and mint in it. We will also go over the morning of to help with some of the set up.

Dog’s new raincoat arrived and it is a keeper. Now to wait for a heavy rain test. He definitely won’t tolerate the hood but that is ok

The wildfire where I used to live is being brought under control. Buildings, mostly houses, burned and others were damaged but no loss of life.

And I started getting hoarse with a sore throat yesterday so had to cancel my Pilates session. I was the 4th person to become sick plus the instructor thinks she is coming down with it too. We didn’t get it from each other and I suspect that sweet toddler granddaughter with the runny nose and cough is my source. Her smiles and hugs and saying “Nana!” is so lovely it is worth it lol.

Wildfire out of control where I used to live

Yesterday afternoon I learned the out of control Mountain wildfire was moving through parts of the lovely city where we lived previously. Near the active fire at sunset were schools, the hospital, library and airport. 

Our friends are all safe although one has had to evacuate along with a very ill husband. Others have packed their cars as the high winds can cause new fire locations. At sunset no one had been killed but many homes and much brush land in the nearby hills had burned along with a much bigger area outside of city boundaries.

Firefighters work overnight but no updates on the location or size of the fire are issued.Waiting for sunrise to find out how much has been destroyed and where the fire has moved overnight.

I always feel sad about wildfire destruction but am very sad this morning as I know the areas that have burned or are threatened so well. 

Focus on positives despite election results - Thriving week 45

One of the centerpiece shrubs we had planted in the front died. Since a neighbor said she had tried twice to get that type of plant to grow in her yard we moved on to one we thought would work well. The day after Hubby planted it I noticed fungus on many leaves so he dug it up and took it back. He brought home another that we both like the best! 3rd time’s the charm lol.

A surprise invite to meet up with Hubby’s brother, our nieces, their partners and other family for brunch in Sonoma turned into a lovely get together. They were all there to attend a wedding. 

A bonus was that the drive up was quite scenic and lovely especially as we drove by a tideland wildlife refuge. It was our first time there and we will be quite happy to go back as it is a charming town with lots of historic buildings.

A positive and hopeful BBC story - how-maasai-people-were-reunited-with-precious-maasai-heirlooms

And while our DIL is at a work event, we have dinner with our son and grandgirls tonight to look forward to.

Hopes & Goals for November

🎂🧣🍎🧘🏼🎨🎼🍁💻🐶☔️🍗

As usual this is probably too much but time will tell!

CELEBRATE

Enjoy celebrating our Granddaughter’s 8th birthday and the accompanying visit by our older son and DIL.

Celebrate Hubby’s 72nd birthday however he wants.

Send cards or make calls for my cousin’s birthday and brother and SIL’s anniversary.

Enjoy visits with my nephew who is in town for most of the month but lives in Taiwan.

Thanksgiving. 

LEARN & DO STUFF

Sign up to change secondary health insurance to Kaiser for 2025 and beyond.

Become comfortable with Google docs, sheets, drive and photos.

Set up weekly exercise program and specific exercises targeted for my body.

Farmer’s Market to get apples for eating and cooking.

Attend card making class at rec center.

SELF CARE

Practice a month of daily thankfulness.

Buy cool weather clothing on my list.

Art, music or nature outing.

Find a colorful piece of art for bedroom - thrift store?

PREP FOR RAIN & COLD

Buy a better raincoat for the pup. His current one blows up in the wind and he gets wet as well as annoyed. This week I was able to buy myself rain pants so once he gets a better coat we are set.

Ready the house and yard.

- wash patio furniture and store much of it in garage

- touch up paint on metal patio furniture that stays outside

- hire a handyman to fix attic door so it closes tight and to hopefully replace the front door weatherstripping 

What made me happy in October - Thriving week 44

The big thing that made me happy this month was my successful road trip to S California. Lots of laughs and a good catch up with my older son and DIL. They fed me really well too.  It was also fun to be out on my own during the day and chatting with strangers. The emotional visit with my closest friend in Camarillo, who was widowed since we moved, was really great. So glad I went.

I went to two art exhibits to feed my soul - A local artist’s guild show and a big special exhibit at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena.

While I was on my road trip Hubby changed up the pup’s routine a bit. Hubby isn’t an early riser like me so when they did get up he sent Coco into the backyard instead of walking him first thing. Works a treat for me too now! Don’t worry - that dog gets 4 long walks a day plus another time in the yard with his chew bone but that essential first brief trip out is now by himself while I make coffee.

Enjoyed a lunch date with my younger son and a couple of visits with the whole local family. Grandgirl hugs are the best! The toddler’s arms get me right around my knees so I do have to brace myself lol.

My nephew who lives in Taiwan got a great new job based there but the HQ is in Berkeley so he will be in town most of November for his onboarding and we will get to spend time together on weekends.

I’m not too much of a Material Girl, but getting new sheets in a lighter color really brightens up the bedroom and thus lifts my spirits. The two fleece vests bought from ThredUp are great for our transitional weather as mornings are quite cool but afternoons pretty warm.

I am also happy with the candle I bought on my trip and the many book ideas I got while wandering an amazing Pasadena bookstore. Plus lots of good coffee 😉

Hubby decided he could nail, patch and do touch up painting on areas of the house siding where the vibrations from the earthquake retrofit popped nails or paint. We have a l9t 9f the paint left by the previous owners.

Lastly, getting much better earthquake insurance coverage for the same cost feels great.

What brought you happiness during October?

It must be Fall - Thriving week 43

We have been doing more cooking that heats up the kitchen this past week (chicken enchilada casserole and beef stew for example), walking around outside the house to see what needs doing before the rains come, and more Fall typical stuff. Given how warm it still is, I would guess we are driven more by the calendar, changing light, and plants showing fall color than by the weather.

Growing up in central Illinois, Fall definitely was the time to prepare for the coming harsh Winter. It was also time to get the last of the big garden harvest, play in piles of leaves and since we were growing kids, get new cold weather clothes. 

My parents retired to New Hampshire so they then had shorter Falls and longer Winters but not the blizzards, snow drifts and ice storms that were definitely possible in Illinois. I will admit I don’t miss that type of Winter, but lots of rain and wind in cold but not bitter temperatures is it’s own kind of chilly especially when walking the dog early in the morning! 

I’m enjoying pumpkin treats and thinking of all the things that can be made with apples. I’ll have to see if there is an apple orchard around here or simply go to the fancy-schmancy farmer’s market to get some different varieties plus other Fall treats.

What brings a sense of Fall to you given where you live now or where you grew up?