Five things Friday #29

Spotted on a dog walk.
Apparently there is a small population of Monarch butterflies that lives year round here. 

1. My big brother turned 80 on Sunday - how did we get so old!  I'm glad we are both still alive and healthy as are our spouses, children and grandchildren. I've had lots of childhood memories involving the two of us popping up as I think about this milestone. He is only person left who has known me all my life. We live on opposite sides of the country now so I rarely see him though we do talk on the phone once in a while.

2. While browsing the internet I came across a blogger saying they have "general malaise". Yes! My energy has got up and gone the last week so I have really lowered my expectations about what I get done. Hopefully this changes soon.

3. Whew - I finished cleaning one side of the garage aka laundry/storage room. Since it is the one with all the tools, yard stuff and stored fix-it materials it took some time. We use one of those long folding banquet tables as a workbench as it was given to us. I always assumed it was permanently stained but decided to scrub with Barkeeper's Friend and found it was mostly just ground in dirt! Since we also lend it out for birthday parties at our son's home that is a win. Although I can't clean the entire perimeter because we are storing things for our son while their house is renovated, I can do the laundry & water heater wall and half of another. Onward.

4. Did our monthly CVS and ACE Hardware shopping and saved $20 between an ACE coupon and CVS odd deals on their overpriced items (like buy 2 get one 50% off). I am determined to remember that ACE carries lots of home cleaning products and home goods instead of going to CVS, Safeway or Target for those. This time it was Barkeeper's Friend, a replacement filter for our Dustbuster and a roll of packing tape. Exciting huh.

5. Last week I wore a loose sleeveless dress one day and loose linen pants and tops other days along with sandals. This week started with sweaters or fleece, sweatpants or jeans, and wool socks. We currently have both a fan and a space heater aimed at where the dog sleeps on the couch so we can keep him comfortable regardless of the day's temperature. The joys of the wild summer weather variation where I live.

Five things Friday #28 -

1. Well that wasn't hard so why did I put it off for 3 years? We received the custom cellular shade for the upstairs bathroom and Hubby installed it. As suspected, it will help keep the upstairs cooler on hot days. Now all the windows have shades/blinds of some sort.

Next small projects are to try to get a sticky old wooden drawer in the dining room hutch to work better and to replace/add a few plants in the front yard.

2. Making progress on cleaning the garage aka laundry & storage room. The tool and yard supplies and storage & work bench areas are getting cleaned & organized better. A grocery sack of trash and some recyclables so far. No spiffing the space up - just cleaning, decluttering & organizing.

3. Maybe just maybe they are through updating all the main sewer lines in our neighborhood! They installed new manhole access at all the intersections nearby and fixed the street at those points. I think that is the final step. 

We still have 2 or 3 years to go until this area is scheduled for street repaving though. I’m sure this is all in a master project plan to sequence these things but am unsure if anything else is planned for the intervening years.

4. This week we were in charge of various things for 3 households that are on vacation - watering mostly.  Glad we can be of help in these small ways. How quiet the streets around us are is a good reminder that we can vacation any time of year and July is probably not the time lol.

5. We went out to lunch Wednesday to a brewery with outdoor seating and stumbled upon an outdoor watch party for the England vs Argentina World Cup semifinal. A well behaved crowd and there was plenty of seating in the shade a bit away. Got us following the game though.

Five things Friday #27 - A very quiet week

Oops, looks like I did #17 twice so now we are back on track…and it was a really quiet week but still fun was had and life went on.

1. We walked to the city’s World One 4th of July festival held in a city park in time to hear a jazz band perform. Lots of vendors, food trucks, organization & agency booths, rides for the kiddos and two women on very high stilts in costumes. The festival has been held for 27 years and seemed bigger than last year. plus very well attended and I found out they hire circus performers such as the stilt walkers as entertainment along with bands. Afterwards I walked to get a latte and cookie while Hubby headed home.

2. I watched Enola Holmes 3 and, as one character says during it, it was a “merry mess”. Light entertainment but not nearly as good as the first 2.

3. I'm trying to figure out why I have lots of energy for 2 or 3 days and then am quite low energy for a few days. Wondering if I'm not eating enough protein & too many carbs? Anyone else faced and solved this at an older age?

4. I'm not complaining, but while most of the country has been suffering under terrible heat, we have been running the furnace and feeling cold until mid-afternoon. Being so close to the SF Bay and Golden Gate means that it can be quite cool plus damp/foggy and windy this time of year. I am discouraged to find I am now an old woman whose joints ache under those conditions! The weather is slowly getting warmer.

5. We live on a half block long court with 8 houses. For the second week in a row half have been empty as families are on vacation and it has been very quiet as a result. 

I have mixed feelings about not having taken a vacation since we moved. We did go to a destination wedding and I went to visit friends once while Hubby has gone several times to visit a friend and to a funeral. I'm not seeing those as vacations though as we didn't go anywhere simply for enjoyment. 

We certainly could take one, but I can't seem to rally the planning, dog sitter arranging and travel energy. Looks like it will continue to be a summer of finding local things to do and not touristing or visiting family and friends who live further away.

Five things Friday #25 - Drawing from inspiration, DMV success, Planning Nana & Papa camp

1. The 2026 calendar I have is "Art Dogs" where each month has a dog painted in the style of a different artist. June was "Yaydog Kusama" inspired by Yahoo Kusama who really, really likes polka dots. I used watercolor markers on journal paper, did a quick drawing and don't have exact colors. I like the way it came out and think it captures the inspiration in it's own way.

2. It turned out that renewing my driver's license was super easy despite my at fault car accident and being over 75. The process in CA was simple: receive an email renewal reminder, complete an online renewal application, schedule an appointment and then walk to the DMV office down the street for a vision test, photo and payment. I was done 5 minutes after my appointment time. Easy peasy. I'll count it as a gift from the universe.

3. We are running "Nana & Papa" day camp the last week of July by request of the 9 year old grandgirl. She has swim team practice starting late afternoon 4 of the 5 days which leaves just one for a longer field trip. After talking with her, I think we are going to the Sonoma Botanical Garden to see large mosaic spirit guide sculptures which are presented in the garden setting and then lunch of course. That will be fun for me too.

It is about an hour drive from our house so the outing won't exceed the pup's approximately 5 hour proven tolerance for being home without a walk. I offered the Museum of Modern Art in SF plus lunch as another option, but we will do that on our own.

4. Yeah for PBS streaming of foreign shows: I just finished watching a season of the French detective show “Agathe Koltes”We get PBS Passport through being a member of our local station.

5. And little things that add up - 

Hubby used an ACE Hardware $5 off coupon we received in the mail to buy a small item. 

I walked to the DMV to renew my license (the irony!) saving gas and getting exercise. 

Inspired by other bloggers steady small improvement projects, I finally ordered a blind for the upstairs bathroom window as the top half is clear glass and it gets intense, hot sun in the summer. We really only use that bath as a 1/2 bath. It does have an old small shower which could be used if the main one was out of order. We are not motivated to remodel that bathroom!

I tried the "how long could it take" approach and made a list of little things I wanted to get done. I'd say it took half an hour to get all 5 done. This month I'm going to continue this practice to get those pesky or boring tasks done. I want to stop putting these type of things off as retirement is so open ended which makes it easy to procrastinate.

AND in the I didn’t know that category - San Francisco 4th of July fireworks are launched from the Golden Gate Bridge. Makes sense though.

Design Your Dream Summer

NPR recently had an article about how to design your dream summer which included access to a printable worksheet by Gretchen Rubin (4 ways to design a dreamy summer). I filled it out to get my summer bucket list ideas down.

I liked the "five-senses portrait" of summer exercise and went with my instant first thoughts for each blank. I can some are from childhood (lilacs scented air) while others are lifelong or triggered by what I see and here now.

Then I filled out the "My summer bucket list" of activities I want to do or have been meaning to cross off my list. Again I brainstormed and didn't look at my To Do Lists. I wrote them down as they popped into my mind so it is a hodgepodge list with a mix of fun ideas plus To Do items that are obviously weighing on my mind. Aspirational for sure but many are readily doable.

* Photograph of draw flowers & butterflies

* Buy watermelons and cantaloupes

* Watch Enola Holmes 3

* Go to MOMA in San Francisco

* Jazz night at bookstore in Berkeley

* Find a trust lawyer and get started

* Walk to the city's World One 4th of July Festival (jazz after lunch)

* Shop for card table sized table & chairs for upstairs

* Shop for a shade for upstairs bath window

* July 31 days of stretching

* Draw first 6 dog pictures from calendar

* Get better at jumping (bone density & strength exercise)

* Go to Sonoma Botanical Garden for mosaic art exhibit plus lunch in Sonoma

* Go to the Ashby Village orientation (aging well resource & community) 

* Ask about book clubs at bookstore

What's on your list for summer?

Five things Friday #24 - A quiet but good week

1. I was very pleased with my Kaiser family practice Dr. when I went for my first full body skin check there. In the end she identified 4 areas of concern including one I hadn't noticed. They take closeup photos with a special camera & send them to Dermatology. I got a phone call to make an appointment with Dermatology for treatment.

2. After scrubbing our patio with a deck brush we already had from a previous house, I decided it sure would be a lot easier if I replaced its very worn brush. I was able to buy just the brush so didn't have to replace & discard the adjustable metal handle.

3. We had bought quite a bit more food than usual for the out of town family visit and were able to not waste any of it. Breakfast and lunches were make your own with attention to using things up if possible. Our son and DIL also brought perishables from their home as they drove and will be gone for 2 weeks what with pet sitting after visiting us. The frig was very full when they arrived and pretty depleted when they left which was perfect.

4. This week our local family are off on vacation or pet sitting so Father's Day was a trip to the farmer's market for pastries and live music. However, on Wednesday the pet sitting couple brought the dog they are caring for (other DIL's brother's family dog) to our house to visit and for the pups to play. It went well and was a nice follow up visit before they head home.

5. Dinners at home

    Saturday - ham & cheese omelet, green salad, toast

    Sunday - homemade minestrone, sliced fresh peaches (from the farmer's market)

    Monday - pork chop, broccoli, pasta

    Tuesday - leftover minestrone, green salad, garlic bread

    Wednesday - turkey burgers on buns with lettuce & tomato

    Thursday - spaghetti with sausage, green pepper & mushrooms; green salad

    Tonight -  leftover turkey burgers on buns with lettuce and tomatoes 

Five things Friday #23 - Family all week

We are tired but happy after having a family heavy week.

1. Picked up our granddaughter from day camp and delivered her to swim team. The drive to the camp location on the fringe of UC Berkeley campus was easier since school is out but still stressful for Hubby. A big smile awaited us though - worth it.

2. Our older son & DIL arrived Tuesday afternoon. All the housework and food prep we did was a workout but then we won't have to do it for a while. The local family arrived about 5 and everyone had a good time. It was a good idea to have a make your own chef salad bar set up. Chicken strips, hard cooked egg slices and/or cheese for protein with lots veggies and lettuce/arugula mix. Garlic bread on the side and Trader Joe's chocolate biscotti for dessert. It went well, we weren't having to cook while everyone visited and the final clean up was easy. 

3. My favorite moment of the evening was the 3 year old's question: "Papa, why do you and Daddy have hair on your faces and the rest of us don't?" She is an observant and thoughtful little one.

4. The pup got so worn out and discombobulated from the party that he kept getting up and down all night despite my efforts to get him to sleep. 

5. The rest of the week went well with a bit more family time, I got to go to the theater with a neighbor who was given free tickets, and Friday noon we will be back to just us as the visitors head to their pet sitting job nearby and the local crew goes off on vacation.