Five Things Friday #40 -

1. We spent Friday afternoon with our son at his house armed with vacuums, Clorox wipes and dust cloths. The new & refinished floors look amazing, but sanding wood floors in every room but the bathrooms leaves a lot of dust everywhere including on windows, walls and lights. We focused on the bedrooms and stair railing. We got the 3 bedrooms including closets done and the stair railing mostly done. Whew.

We were treated to a whole family dinner of bucatini and meatballs made by our son at our house. Saturday we had a "special time" with the 3 1/2 year old at our house so no one would have to watch out for her while the movers took everything back into their house. She was really good and fun.

They finished so late on a hot 97 degree day that they spent Saturday night with us as well. I was so tired Sunday that I totally vegged, but it was fun spending so much time with all of them.

2. We did not make it to the annual art show at the rec center because it was the same weekend we were busy helping our son's family. 

3. We had a 6 day heat advisory here starting Oct 1st. The 1st day was the worst as the "feels like" temp reached 97 which is quite unusual in the East Bay. 

We continue to be very glad we had a mini-split heat pump installed upstairs as it gives us AC up there and helps cool the main floor a bit. I got some use out of my summer dresses at least!

4. Apparently when I am very busy and/or it is quite hot I fall down spectacularly on my exercise goals. Such was this week until Wednesday when I managed a 2 mile walk before it got too hot. 

For 10/1-7 my daily outdoor walking average was 1 3/10ths miles instead of my target of 2 miles but better than my September average. I can't be bothered to carry my phone around inside to track that so I know I walked more.

5. I received notice via email on 10/3 that my mail in ballot had been posted to me and if I didn't get it within a week to contact the county Registrar's office. Received the ballot on 10/7. Lots decisions to make  before voting including on 14 Propositions some of which nullify others! I'll get it completed and walk it to the dropbox by Monday.

 AND

Our 6 month car insurance bill went up $169 sigh. However our earthquake insurance stayed the same price.

The best gas price near us is $6.38/gal. 

We continue to shop at Trader Joe's and The Grocery Outlet for the best values. We supplement with occasional forays to the farmer's market, our little corner market, CVS and Safeway plus twice a year Amazon subscription to get specific things not available at those two stores. If we were more than a family of 2 we would join Costco I'm sure. 

Five Things Friday #39 - Money stuff, family sleepover, Blogger challenges

Our landscaping is starting to fill in and provide some visual interest.

1. I finally gave up on hoping Blogger would fix the updating of my list of blogs I follow. I bookmarked them all separately and deleted that gadget. Now I've reinstalled it and removed some gadgets I was not using. That seems to have worked.

2. Are you stocking up more than usual with all the tariff and oil price craziness? I'm not sure what may be in short supply or increase greatly in price. I do think that anything that has shipping costs will increase in price a lot and the projections look like fresh produce has increased quite a bit along with some protein sources.

The Bay Area Seasonal Produce List says October is good for items that we like to eat: Apples, grapefruit, pears, arugula, avocados, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, tomatoes and winter squash. So shopping locally looks like a good idea. I went to the Farmer's Market on Sunday and got 5 small red potatoes, 2 new harvest Gala apples, 2 pears & a small bunch of red grapes for $8. I splurged on a chocolate chunk scone for $5 and it was a delicious treat.

3. We got our annual property tax bill and it went up $213.52 which is bit less than the increases the past two years. I'm waiting to see the car insurance 6 month bill because I was told the penalty for my accident should decrease every 6 months for the 3 years it is in effect. However, even before the accident there was an increase every 6 months and that was for the old car with no collision coverage. We'll see what the bottom line is soon. 

4. I sat on some potential purchases for a while and ended up ordering the plastic pulls missing from 3 of our cellular shades as that will help keep them in good shape, but did not buy additional discontinued pattern salad bowls from eBay. We found a replacement plant for the front yard and bought the 5 gal size at almost 1/3 of the price of the 10 gal. It is quite small, but if it is happy where we put it, it will grow!

Instead of buying more salad bowls I made an equivalent donation to our local public media station. while they had a matching donation offer. 

5. Our local son & family stayed at our house Wednesday - Friday nights as their floor replacement on the main floor and refinishing on the 2nd floor project took a bit longer than planned and they couldn't extend their Air B&B until they could move back in on Saturday. Going from 2 to 6 people in the house is a big difference but with 2 air beds we made it work. 

We had all agreed that they would be more comfortable at an Air B&B for the original 15 days rather than in our house since they work from home too, but 3 school days at our place is fun and the grandgirls have slept over before so nothing new for them. I've been calling it a long pajama party!

We provided dinner of a chicken, broccoli & noodle stir fry plus cut up fruit the first night. We delicious taco salad bowls for the second night and our son and DIL were in charge of that. Tonight will be bucatini & meatballs again courtesy of son's cooking. I'll add some raw veggies. It is nice to not have to come up with dinner for 2 for a couple of nights.

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Continuing with doing hard things and not procrastinating on the boring stuff!

In a flurry of housecleaning effort I cleaned the outside of the gas stove that came with the house. I found out after 3 1/2 years that the shiny enamel surface under each burner had not been worn off but had years of heat set grease that made the finish dull. After trying a variety of things, Bar Keepers Friend and persistent scrubbing will took it off!

The little plastic cellular blind pulls arrived and were installed on the 3 that were missing them. A tiny home project done. Another tiny project was resetting a nail protruding from the siding. I had to laugh when Hubby picked up a small rock and pushed it in!

I managed to walk 4 miles outside on Monday and 2.7 on Thursday plus doing house & yard work which was great. My goal for walking outside in October is to increase my daily average to 2+ miles.

Five Things Friday #38 - There's a new pup in town, curbside giving & family stuff

1. As you can see, our dog (with the spots) had a "Doodle" party on our front walk Saturday morning. A neighbor brought her new 5 mo old puppy over to meet our pooch and the little guy in the booties was walking by and joined in. They were all so good and greeted each other well.

2. I put the high chair we were given through Buy Nothing plus a bunch of smaller stuff that we no longer needed on the curb with a "free" sign. In a week it was all gone and I met a neighbor from down the street who was taking the high chair to have at the grandparent's house. Perfect.

Speaking of free things, my neighbor put out a bunch of dog clothes and other stuff. I picked up a fleece dog coat that I think I can alter to fit our pooch well. There are a few not rainy winter days when he has been quite cold on his walks.

3. We babysat the older grandgirl Friday night and unfortunately as the evening went on she became ill. She said most of her classmates have been sick so I guess it was her turn. Poor girl was doing much better by Sunday evening. I didn't catch it from her and now have my flu shot done.

4. I checked out a library Kindle book that I hope will update  and enhance my knowledge of how best to interact with and support the almost preteen grandgirl. There is so much more for young people to deal with now than even when my sons were that age plus I haven't raised a daughter. 

10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People : A Groundbreaking Approach to Leading the Next Generation-and Making your Own Life Easier by Yeager, David S

5. I was curious how our grocery spending (for food, toiletries & household products) was comparing to last year given inflation. We are spending an average of $100 more a month for 2 people and occasional guests. The cheapest regular gas here is $6.29 right now but we don't drive much. We can manage it but I know many are struggling with those and other increases.

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I'm back to being determined to "do hard things" and get little things done sooner. This week I 

- Cleaned the mini blind over the kitchen sink which involved climbing on the kitchen counter. Also washed the inside of the window and, since it is so hard to reach that we don't open it, Hubby removed the screen and we will wash the outside. I stored the screen in the garage. If I was replacing windows I would get a crank open one with a mini blind between the panes.

- Hubby taught me how to change the furnace filter. It is harder than it should be and I'm not sure I could do it but next year I will try. I would probably have to hire someone if it was my chore.

- Cooked ahead a bit. Two dozen pumpkin walnut muffins and a big pot of chili. 

- Mopped the front porch & Hubby repainted the wooden threshold and touched up the porch paint.

Five Things Friday #37 - It's the little things!

 

Such a sweet book. If you love dogs and want to smile, get it from the library.

1. I requested the book above from our library after reading about it somewhere. I was especially interested in how she drew the dogs, but it is also such a sweet book and a reissue of an old one. Makes me smile and go pet my dog. 

I have so many cute pictures of our dog and it is easy to edit them to black and white to help with my drawing. We'll see!

2. Our son and his family are having the floors in the 100+ year old house replaced (first floor) and refinished (2nd floor). They essentially had to move everything out including themselves and it will take 2 1/2 weeks before they can come back. We went over on Saturday and while Hubby helped dismantle furniture I was the lucky companion to the 3 1/2 year old. 

We did a puzzle of dinosaurs, read a couple of books and then played a silly game of pretending to have our fingers stuck together and the other one had to help get them apart. 

I'd forgotten how kids that age are so willing to go along with silly things that they know in fact are silly but still find entertaining. I rarely have time alone with her so it was a treat.

3. Despite my strong dislike for clothes shopping, I've decide not to keep anything that doesn't fit well or I don't like to wear for whatever reason. If I ever lose the 10 pounds I put on the first year after we moved here I'll just have to shop anyway.

4. Doing short bursts of put off cleaning and other life admin tasks and took a few things off the list. A couple of financial and tech things done, the patio and outdoor furniture cleaned, a couple of windows washed outside. I've also identified several things to buy to replace broken/worn out/missing items (cellular shade pulls, cereal bowls, sleep socks) and am going to make that happen. Small steps forward.

5. Sat outside on the patio for the first time this year and enjoyed a glass of wine and read while the dog laid on the rug and chewed on his bone. It was a lovely day instead of being too foggy, too cold or hot, too windy or too something. Very nice.

Five Things Friday #36 - 9/11 memorial, heatwave, eucalyptus grove removal, freezer use it up, slow holiday weekend

As the nation remembers the casualties and horror of 9/11 today let us hope it translates into the right kind of election day results and we stop governmental actions turning countries against ours.

However, we are babysitting the grandgirls this evening so making positive memories for the day too.

1. In an effort to reduce the high wildfire risk of current trees, our city got a grant to remove a very large grove of eucalyptus and other trees at an old quarry near our house - 190 trees total. Then they will mitigate the impact in a environmentally enhancing, fire mitigation, habitat creation way. 

Hubby has been walking to where he can see the trees come down and says it is a very coordinated methodical process and the trees are huge. I was curious when eucalyptus were brought to this area and it was in the late 1800s through early 1900s. They do have a lovely scent when the weather is warm and would help mitigate landslides/erosion but are highly flammable.

2. We have just had a 4 day "summer" so I have gotten a few more uses out of my summer clothes and decided to keep all but 3 of them despite them no longer being favorites. Who knows - we might go someplace with a hotter summer on vacation one of these years. The few have been weeded out really don't fit well anymore. I also finally let go of some necklaces as well that were heavy or not my style.

3. I have a goal of trying some new recipes for dinner main dishes. This week's was Mexican chicken and bean soup. Hubby liked, it but it was not a new favorite for me. Moving on.

4. The Frugal Girl is doing a freezer use it up challenge. We have a tiny freezer on top of our not big enough frig that came with the house. I took a look though and found we have an excess of pork chops and one piece of salmon. We will make a pork stir fry with rice and a lemon garlic salmon pasta dish as dinners. 

5. I skipped my Pilates session as I wasn't feeling well. The slant board I ordered arrived though so I am doing the prescribed exercises to stretch my calves and ankles. Fun - not.

Five Things Friday #35 - Just photos

Birthday bouquet - I got chocolate too just as I wanted

PHOTOS FROM THIS WEEK'S WALKS

Five Things Friday #34 - Goodbye August (almost), planning for fun and just life

My "August calendar dog" done on a 4 x 5.5 inch scrap paper

The actual calendar dog

1. Walking facts in my daily life: Library round trip is 2.1 mi or 5,000 steps; Park with dog round trip is 0.7 mi or 1,539 steps. I haven't yet measured walking to the corner store (sadly closing at the end of the year) or to the coffee shop. I do also want to pick a route that is just for enjoyment and not for a purpose other than walking without the dog.

2. I'm finally getting in the mood to enjoy planning for my birthday activities with family next week. Tuesday is a trip to SFMOMA which has been on my summer bucket list. Wednesday night is an all family dinner at our house. With my younger son's help we decided on take out for the main dish and will add fancy healthy sides and dessert. So many food requirements and preferences to account for plus not wanting to do much cooking!

3. I learned Monday that dogs get conjunctivitis, but it is usually allergy or irritation based and not infectious. It looks pretty much like the early stage of human conjunctivitis though. The vet office was able to get him quickly due to an appointment cancellation. He had a very thorough eye exam (eye ducts working, no scratches on cornea, pressure good, etc.). Result was eye drops for 7 days to deal with the inflammation and discharge and he has been very cooperative with getting them. He is feeling better given his renewed energy level and his eyes look almost normal. Still not playing though so i am waiting for that.

4. The "I never even imagined owning one" cobweb brush is back out. I cleaned the front porch, door, windows & siding including cobwebs. Now to work my way around the rest of the house. 

5. The "I never even imagined owning one" slant board (for improving ankle flexibility and stretching legs) has been ordered. I don't often shop at Walmart because of their politics but they had the one I chose with free delivery and returns.

Five things Friday #33 - Pictures and a busy week

 

My favorite coffee cup

Heavy fog or light rain overnight?

Tiny bouquet

I has been a very full and somewhat tiring week but the busy days have been balanced out by enough time to recover. No complaints.

1. I'm trying to get myself to make a habit of enjoyable visual hobbies again so doing a bit of drawing and taking photos on walks. I took a closer look at the details for the drawing class I was going to take and found it was way too structured for my style and patience. I did find at the library a book on drawing that I think suits me and purchased one for myself. I like drawing over painting at this point in time because the materials are simple and small. In addition the activity can be short or long.

2. I'm thinking I want a large attractive "bulletin board" type thing to pin my art, family photos, and inspirational items where I can enjoy them, but not have them be on the frig for example. Now where to find such a thing?

3. Last Friday we had a very enjoyable long lunch with our son at a new to us restaurant - his treat. Time connecting one on one with busy adult children is very precious. 

4. We were given some lovely yellow cherry tomatoes by a neighbor. Whether it makes sense or not, we have been leery of lettuce due to the outbreaks in other states (need to get over that!) and Hubby prefers the red ones anyway. I browsed the internet and decided to roast the gift tomatoes and use them over pasta along with sauteed green pepper and chicken sausage which we had in the frig. It was quite good. 

5. Did very early morning grandchild care and then morning school run and pickup as our son had outpatient surgery and our DIL had to take  him to the hospital very early. The day before we got the 3 year olds car seat, codes for nursery school access and detailed instructions for breakfast, delivery of both girls to school, etc. Son is fine and recuperating.

The next day our other son and DIL arrived for a 2 night stay on their way to a vacation in Oregon. They will stay longer on their way back. Their arrival motivated quite a bit of deep cleaning chore completion too. We ate at home while they were visiting. Dinners: turkey burgers on buns with tomatoes & lettuce, corn on the cob and orange slice; chicken, pasta, zuchinni and tomatoes. 

The dog had a grooming appointment in the middle of all of this. Then we will wrap up the week by picking up our older granddaughter from school and keeping her until bedtime so our son and DIL can have their monthly date night (the 3 year old has Kid's Night Out at nursery school).

Five things Friday #32: One big thing - Top reads for 2026 52 Book Club Challenge

I can't seem to finish the final 2 prompts so I thought I'd post a summary of the 4 & 5 star rated reads out of 50. I was surprised that there were 18!

- Just On Damned Thing After Another: The Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor

- Plainsong by Kent Haruf

- The Harvey Girls by Juliette Fay

- The Salaryman's Wife by Sujata Massey

- A Killing on the Hill: A Thriller by Robert Dugoni

- Who Will Remember by C. S. Harris

- Fortune Furlough by Jana DeLeon

- A Symphony of Echoes by Jodi Taylor

- The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettleston by Jaclyn Moriarty

- A Ghastly Catastrophe by Deanna Raybourne

- The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell

- The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman

- Revenge, Served Royal by Celeste Connally

- The Unselected Journals of Emma Lion #1 by Beth Brower

- A Deadly Episode by Anthony Horowitz

- The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

- The Fifth Heart by Dan Simmons

- When the Wolves are Silent by C. S. Harris

 

Five things Friday #31 - What made me happy this week

 

Google says these are a Jersey Lily or Amaryllis Beladonna Lily.
I've always heard it called a Naked Lady which is definitely more memorable!

1. The lilies above have popped up in lots of places here and provide a pretty break to the dry summer landscape here. It makes me happy to see them as I drive and walk around.

2. This glass also makes me happy. We got a set of 6 as a wedding present 45 years ago and 3 survive. I added the flower rings to all our wine glasses back when I would host book club dinners in Atlanta.

3. I get joy out of watching my dog and young toddlers interact. We were walking by the playground in the nearby park when a little one toddled over to the fence pointing and saying “dog, dog”. We stopped and when his adult came over asked if Coco could gently greet the little boy. So a little finger was stuck through the fence and gently licked producing a delightful squealing laugh and we did it all over again to more laughter.

4. We went to the first ever block party Tuesday night scheduled then because that was National Night Out and the city supports closing off streets. We met some people we hadn’t yet and I had some great in depth conversations with people we already knew. The city sends teams of employees to talk to folks at each neighborhood gathering. We got a police officer, rec center director and public works director. They were all very customer focused which is a theme in this small city. The food was tygreat with lots of varie. We made a big pasta salad and 1/3 was left but it was a chilly evening so we will eat the leftovers.  Kudos to the long term residents (since 1988) who initiated it. It was a happy event.

5. My schedule for Pilates is erratic in the summer but Wednesday I had a session which made me happy. I really like my trainer, enjoy our talks and always feel better after the hour session. Now two weeks off because she has a conflict and then I do.

Five things Friday #30 - Nana & Papa camp and friendly neighbors

1. Isn't this inlaid wooden trivet gorgeous? The neighbors who had asked us to water their plants while they vacationed overseas bought it at a craft fair in a historic medieval mining town in Slovakia. I love it.

2. Last Friday we did the last of vacation watering at our son's house and put a few groceries in their frig to get them through the first day home.

3. I enjoy many of the foreign shows listed in the Walter Presents category of our PBS station online streaming. I just finished an unusual one produced in Estonia with English captioning - The Noble Detective. Moody and a lot slower than what is typically produced but interesting.

4. Today is the last day of Nana & Papa camp. We have had a great time with our 9 year old granddaughter and it feels like a staycation for us. Activities in addition to hanging out included coloring, origami, watching funny cat videos, crafts, baking and more including ...

- Seeing Minions & Monsters at the local historic movie theater and having lunch there while we watched; the food was quite mediocre but we laughed a lot at the movie

- One day when she cooked us dinner with us serving as her assistants! A favorite recipe from her Barbie cookbook

- A visit to the nearest reuse center to browse and buy a few things; I got drawing pencils, post its, gift bags and tissue paper; she got a pencil compass drawing tool, tiny "jeweled" pin, a sticker for her little sister and a couple of other things.

- A trip to the Ferry Building in San Francisco although we took BART not a ferry this year; had lunch and ice cream, sat and watched the bay and boats, browsed the shops and had a good, silly time

- And today we will visit a local art center to see the current exhibits plus the amazing float that was built in our neighbor's yard and used as part of a demonstration against misuse of historic native lands plus a stop at her library to get her prize for summer reading program completion

The most fun for me this week was watching while she had Papa blow bubbles which she popped with a small squirt gun. 

I have to admit that one high energy 9 year old girl wore both of us out each day although she is a pleasure to be with! The pup has been a combo of deliriously happy and nap deprived as he gets way more play and fun time than usual.

5. Some neighbors have organized our block for a National Night Out gathering next week. I'll let you know how it goes as we are a neighborhood ranging from a 1 year old to about 80 years old. Should be fun.

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.

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.

Five things Friday #22 - Busy week & fun ahead!

 

This cactus went all out for one flower!

I'm really enjoying looking closely at flowers that I pass on my walks.

I thought this one was really pretty and such a delicate contrast to the plant.

1. We walked to the closest donut shop last Friday and got our treats to celebrate National Donut Day. It was a really nice walk. Sunday we again walked on another beautiful day to check out the city’s Maker’s Fair. It. Was small with lots of activities for kids, live music,  a couple of food trucks and a nice variety of vendors.

2. I received an email saying it was time to renew my driver’s license. The process is streamlined. Fill out the renewal application online and make an appointment at the DMV to have an eye exam, get a photo taken and pay $46. I can easily walk to the DMV so just have to figure out if they need my car there too for any reason. 

3. We were given some freshly picked cherries and weren’t eating them quickly enough. I made cherry muffins this morning which used up most of them. If I made these muffins again I would use less sugar, a few more cherries and a bit more liquid. They are definitely edible though!

4. I was able to finish cleaning the patio. Now I just need to wash the outdoor furniture, get out the patio rug and set things up.

5. Next week has a full calendar. I was invited to join a neighbor in using free tickets to the Berkeley Rep to see a production. Our older son and DIL will be visiting us for 3 nights. Add in Dr. appointment, dog grooming and my haircut. We are also picking up a grandgirl from summer camp and delivering her to swim team practice one day. I want to come up with an activity to do with our visitor's too.

Five things Friday #21 -

1. Lots of flowers to see on my walks right now. This is a favorite display on the way to the library.

2. We went to our granddaughter's elementary school talent show last Friday at her invitation. She and her friends did a great job with their skit. There were lots of performances: knock, knock jokes - dancing and tumbling - other skits - a boy on a pogo stick to music - and more. It was actually lots of fun and had many minutes of intended laughter.

3. I am making myself watch YouTube videos about our new car's features including CarPlay. I had saved them once we found the manual to be unintelligible. Taking notes. I will finally get this done!  I might even learn something.

4. I sat down and did a pile of mending that had been put off way too long. I need to ask myself "How long will this really take?" when I am procrastinating. I also wiped down the stair railing and some doorways (handprints and dog nose prints), filed a stack of papers, etc. I mean, none of these tasks took more than 15 minutes and most took less that that.

5. I did our month end financial record keeping. I have $21.52 left in my "budget" for my clothing purchases. I don't really need anything although I can increase my budget without a problem. For now I'm going to sit tight and see if there are any gaps to fill later this year as I have little desire to manage more clothing. I'm a Less is More person in terms of clothes.

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.