Five things Friday #20 - Home edition

1. Continuing my commitment to my Spring yard clean up and maintenance of 15-30 minutes work 1-2 days a week. I spend longer, but it seems less onerous this way and I can see the progress.

2. Doing the same with infrequent cleaning tasks inside the house. This week we joined forces to clean the stove hood and hood filters. 

3. Our water district published a very helpful monthly irrigation settings guide for our county with details for each type of irrigation system. We will change ours to match the appropriate recommendations for our system.

4. We continue to have no new home improvement/repair projects planned for the near term as part of our reducing stress plan for a few months. There are still things that we need to have done but they will wait while we enjoy life more.

5. We tried a new recipe and a new way of cooking potatoes.

• Made a delicious veggie heavy chicken soup using half the recommended chicken in this recipe and adding oregano and Italian seasoning. Had everything on hand. Chicken Vegetable soup
• Hubby suggested cooking some small red potatoes in the microwave so I looked up how to do it. The AI recommendation came out great and this will probably replace boiling them.  Directions: Microwave small red potatoes by washing them, piercing each with a fork and placing them in a microwave safe dish with 1-3 tablespoons of water. Cover the dish and microwave on high for 5-8 minutes, stirring halfway through, until a fork slides in easily. 

To start your week with a smile - "Every dog is the best dog" contest

Here is Coco - my best dog & I tell him that all the time

Check out this charming story about an Oakland dog contest started during the pandemic which declares every dog is the best dog!

Dog contest

Be sure to watch their new theme song music video to bring a smile to you face.

5 things Friday #19 - Pajama party, Free pile & Voting

1. We had the grandgirls Friday for a movie night pajama party sleepover. It was date night for their parents and the event they chose ended very late. Easier on all of us. We were concerned that the 3 year old might not be happy once it got to bedtime but she was fine. Wednesday we went to their house to babysit for our DIL's work annual gala fundraiser that she is in charge of that ended earlier. I had to sleep in on Thursday though!

2. Yeah for people taking things if you put it out with a "Free" sign. Saturday was the Spring citywide yard sale so I put some stuff out for free to get rid of it. A young couple took the patio umbrella and stand (our yard is way too windy). A neighbor took toddler toys and board books. A few other things were taken too.

3. Studied the viable candidates and funding issues for all the CA primary ballot positions. Filled out my ballot and walked it to the drop box at city hall. Very glad CA mails a ballot to all registered voters along with info pamphlets and has many ways you can return your ballot over several weeks.

4. Plodding through all my preventive care appointments. This week that was lab tests (all results normal) & COVID booster.  Mammogram scheduled. Still need to schedule full body skin check appointment thanks to all those years of using sun tan lotion and getting sunburns back in the 1950s & 60s. 

5. And a lot of small things - 

• Library for 2 physical books and lots of ebooks
• With a snip here and a snip there we are taking care of Spring pruning in short work sessions
• A couple of quite hot for here days but we managed to keep the house tolerable with the upstairs mini-split and strategic closing of blinds.
• Since it was hot I wore my new Quince linen pants and was quite comfortable. Glad I bought them.

5 things Friday #18 - Sketching, Family time, Pants & top that fit

1. Did you celebrate Mother's Day? We had our younger son, DIl and grandgirls over for brunch which was fun. The pup was delighted of course. We kept it simple - sausage & red pepper frittata with fried eggs for the little girls, sourdough toast & mini croissants with jam, and fruit salad plus mimosas for the adults.

2. Our older son came Tuesday for a short visit. Again the pup was delighted as were we. We were able to have a full family dinner Thursday.

3. I finally tried on the clothes I ordered from Quince and JJill. I really liked and kept the navy and blue/white stripe European linen pants from Quince. I have several linen tops that will go well with them for warmer days.

I also kept the palm tree short sleeve tee from JJill too, but was disappointed that I couldn't even unbutton the denim crops I ordered. I would have had to cut the buttonhole open and then wouldn't have been able to return them. I will just mail them back as given the price of gas it is about the same cost as driving but less stress. I'd like a couple more short sleeve tees so I'll probably shop the local Marshalls and/or the thrift stores.

4. It's been 6 or 7 years since I did any swimming for exercise. This city has a very nice, just renovated lap pool at the rec center. I'm trying to decide if and how to approach getting enough aerobic stamina for more than one lap!

5. Gave a neighbor a tour of our landscaping as they are redoing their backyard. Hopefully it helped with plant decisions.

5 things Friday #17 - Mostly boring!

1. Did anyone else watch the Kentucky Derby? What a come from behind surge and victory. We haven't been to races at Churchill Downs but have gone to Santa Anita and Del Mar tracks at various times over the years and even the smaller Golden Gate Fields track here before it closed. I love the looks and pretty much everything about horses. In fact I took riding lessons for a while when we lived in Atlanta even though I had to drive an hour to get to where they were. It was so much fun. BTW, the Golden Gate Fields property is being turned into a waterfront public park which is going to be amazing.

2. We are hosting Mother's Day brunch. Hubby is making a frittata with sausage and vegs. We are adding croissants and fruit salad plus mimosas. The grandgirls can have their eggs and sausage cooked separately as one really doesn't like them mixed together.

3. Had my annual physical and one appointment to adjust glasses. Made another one as the glasses still bother me. Also lab, COVID vaccine and mammogram appointments. Sigh. So many trips as I haven't figured out how to stack appointments with appropriate timing at Kaiser. I'll see if I can squeeze the lab in today as a walk in after the glasses appointment but they usually have a long wait.

4. The pup continues to entertain us. His new game is to put his smallest soft toy on his mat that is in the living room. Then he pulls the mat around and flips it so the toy is covered. The effort to "rescue" the toy is next. At least he is entertaining himself too.

5. Same routines & questions - How do 2 people generate so much laundry? Why does the kitchen get dirty so quickly? Why do we both dislike cleaning so much? 

Quick sketches and color palettes for fun reintro to art

Having fun doing quick sketches and color palettes taking everday objects as subjects and using the markers I have. The grandgirls have gone through lots of markers so colors are not matches.

A watercolor bought decades ago and our only houseplant on the dining room built in hutch

A trivet we have

5 Things Friday #17

When I was a kid we made woven paper heart baskets, fill them with violets from the yard and hang on neighbors doors thinking they wouldn't know who did it LOL. Today I wish you a happy celebration of Spring and many baskets of happiness.

Another ordinary week with small ups and downs. That is not a bad thing, but one of the up and down sequences was especially annoying.

I have made all possible changes to lower our car insurance bill including slogging through the 8 hour AARP Safe Driving Course (I did learn some things but really you don't have to repeat everything 3 times!), but then hit a curb driving through a construction detour and got a flat tire. AAA roadside service worked really well, but we have to buy a new tire for a car we've 2 months. One step forward and one or more back. Walking that afternoon I found a penny not that that helps much lol. 

Feeling one step forward, one or more back.

1. I kicked off the weekend by getting Hubby to walk my assigned route with me to distribute campaign literature for a Yes vote on funding for a new library. Go us!

2. We offered to host a Mother's Day brunch at our house for our son and DIL and are waiting to see if that works for all involved. 

We took our son and DIL out for lunch on Thursday for a belated birthday celebration (he's 43 - going by fast) plus early anniversary gift for them and sat outside as it was a beautiful sunny Spring day. 

3. I finally got back to weekly Pilates after 6 weeks off. My trainer is back from vacation and we both are finally over being ill. Now to stick to a daily exercise routine at home. My self discipline needs a boost.

4.  I found some more things to put out in a "Free" pile on the day of the citywide May 16th Spring yard sale. Decluttering never ends and getting rid of stuff after you declutter is hard.

5. I ordered some lightweight clothes from Quince & Jill - several types & sizes of lightweight crop pants & crop jeans plus a top. Free returns on all as I'm trying to have just one order. We'll see if anything fits and suits me. Fingers crossed.