Quiet on Thursday

 

Peach Tree in January

The peach tree was pruned late last year, after it lost all its leaves.  Then, this week, M noticed that it had three flowers on a few of the higher branches!

Early Peach Flowers

It's too soon for the peach tree to flower!  Hopefully, the rest of the flowers will wait until March to bloom.

The winds were down and hopefully, they'll stay down over the weekend to give firefighters more time to contain the wildfires.  Some areas have had their evacuation orders lifted. But, at least one house that had escaped the Pacific Palisades fire was damaged due to a landslide, so, that's another threat to watch out for, especially when it rains.  

I spent a quiet day, doing minimal amounts of work on Thursday.  In fact, I fell asleep in my chair mid morning, after I had had my morning tea and said my prayers!  I guess I was tired.

We had leftover pizza for lunch and I cooked rice and ground turkey keema curry for dinner.  I added onions, tomatoes, grated carrot, diced potatoes, diced broccoli stalks, as well as the usual spices and coconut milk to the keema curry.  I was going to cut some cucumber slices as well, but, my hands started to cramp and I decided not to slice cucumbers, as well.  There's leftover rice and keema curry for Friday's dinner, and I will be able to slice a cucumber, then.

On Thursday, I was grateful for:

- The winds have quietened down
- A sunny day

- Mid-morning naps!
- Working appliances
- Some areas have had their evacuation orders lifted

Thursday's joyful activity was watching some online videos.  

Plans for Friday include finally taking down the Christmas tree and tending to the garden with M.

How was your Thursday?  What are your plans for Friday?

Midweek on Wednesday

 

Succulents in the Backyard

The winds on Wednesday weren't as strong as had been forecast and they were quite calm in my area.  There are more winds in the forecast for next week, but, it sounds like the rest of this week and the weekend will be fairly calm.  Hopefully, it will give the firefighters more time to get the fires contained.

I woke up around 8:30 a.m. and did some digital files sorting.  I also darned another pair of my knitted socks; I think it's time to knit myself a new pair of socks as I am darning areas (the heels) that I had darned earlier!  

I ran the dishwasher, tended to the garden a bit with M, and did a few other things, but, took it easy for the most part.  Later in the evening, I chatted on the phone with friend R.

Brunch was a slice of toast with butter and some of my "no waste" peach jam.  Dinner was supposed to have been ground turkey keema, but, I just didn't feel like cooking and so, opted to order some pizza!  There's leftover pizza for another meal.  

On Wednesday, I was grateful for:

- The calmer winds
- Being safe so far
- M's help with the garden
- Working appliances
- Water for the garden

Wednesday's joyful activity was tending to the garden.

Plans for Thursday include getting some housecleaning done.

How was your Wednesday?  What are your plans for Thursday?

On Tuesday

 

Orange Tree

This year's oranges are very small and tangy, but, I picked two on Tuesday and daughter enjoyed them.

Tuesday was a good day.  The winds weren't quite as strong as were forecast and we didn't have any strong gusts of wind where I live.  I brought in the emptied trash and recycling bins, added a few more items to the car, started the car and let it run for a bit (don't want to have to evacuate and find that the car engine has run down!), watched a few online videos, had a long chat with aunt C, and read a book I borrowed from the online library.  

Brunch was scrambled eggs (with a little fresh chives from the garden), bacon, and toast.  Orange juice to go with it.  I had planned to have leftover pasta with ham for dinner, but, daughter and I finished the leftover pasta as a late night/early morning snack before we went to bed.  So, I deviated from the meal plan just a bit and had ham steak with vegetables (broccoli, sliced carrots, potatoes, corn on the cob cut into circles).  Fresh oranges for dessert along with some chocolates.

There's some ham and vegetables leftover for daughter's lunch, tomorrow.  Dinner will be turkey keema curry (I kept the ground turkey to thaw in the fridge).

On Tuesday, I am grateful for:

- The winds weren't as strong as forecast
- The firefighters are containing some of the fires
- The weekly trash collections are still taking place
- Fresh oranges from the tree
- We are still safe from the fires

Tuesday's joyful activity was reading a library book.

Plans for Wednesday include tending to the garden with M.

Monday: Still Hoping for the Best and Another Meal Plan (or Not)

Monday's weather forecast was mild, the winds were still quiet and it gave the firefighters another day to try and contain the fires.  However, the Santa Ana winds are supposed to pick up speed, again, with gusts up to 70mph expected over the next couple of days and everyone is worried about what might happen.  There were a few smaller fires that erupted today, but, they were quickly put out, according to the news.  

Daughter had work today and I put away the laundry from Sunday and did another small load.  That's hanging up to dry in front of the heater and will be put away before I go to bed.

I cleaned out the fridge and took the trash cans to the curb for pick up on Tuesday morning.  I chatted on the phone with friend R and with aunt C.  

But, I didn't undecorate the tree, yet.

This was the meal plan I put together, last week:

January Week 1 Meal Plans:

Brunches/Lunches: Leftovers, sandwiches, uppuma (Indian style cream of wheat), cup noodles, scrambled eggs, sausages, and toast or pancakes

Dinners: 

- Sauteed chicken with vegetables (onions, tomato, broccoli, corn on the cob, carrots, potatoes)
- Rice & Curries: rice with leftover meatball curry, lentils with spinach, chutney
- Leftovers
- Ham steaks with mashed potatoes, vegetables, and salad
- Turkey and vegetable soup with toast and salad
- Leftover soup
- Pizza (on Saturday - daughter's friends will be over)

And here's how it turned out:

Sunday:
Brunch: Egg salad sandwiches
Dinner: Sauteed chicken thighs with vegetables

Monday:
Brunch: Egg salad sandwich (me)/sauteed chicken sandwich (daughter)
Dinner: leftover sauteed chicken with vegetables

Tuesday:
Brunch: Sauteed chicken and vegetables (daughter); pancakes with sausages and cranberry sauce (me)
Dinner: Cup of noodles soup (daughter); leftover pancakes (me)

Wednesday:
Brunch: ???I think we skipped brunch
Dinner: Sauteed ham steaks and vegetables

Thursday:
Brunch: Toast with calamondin marmalade
Dinner: Salad; rice and curries (meatball curry, lentils, shredded kale with grated coconut, tomato chutney)

Friday:
Brunch: No brunch
Tea: Blueberry muffins
Dinner: Salmon with onions, tomatoes, green peas, and rice

Saturday:
Brunch: Blueberry muffins
Dinner: Leftover salmon, vegetables, and rice (daughter), salmon sandwich (me)

Sunday:
Brunch: Pancakes
Dinner: Tamales (compliments of neighbor S's daughter N)

I didn't make the turkey and vegetable soup and we didn't have pizza because daughter's friends postponed the visit due to one of them being ill.

I am finding it hard to think of meal planning because everything seems so uncertain, right now.  But, we have to eat, and I don't want to pick up fast food, if I don't have to.  So:

January Week 2 Meal Plans (1/13 to 1/19)(tentative)

Brunches: Blueberry muffins, leftover pancakes, uppuma, scrambled eggs & toast with or without sausages, French toast, cereal and milk or yogurt, banana muffins (if I make some), salads

Dinners: Leftover salmon with boxed pasta mix (Monday), leftover pasta with ham and salad (Tuesday), ground turkey keema curry with rice and vegetables (Wednesday), Leftovers (Thursday), Fried Rice (Friday), Soup and toast or drop biscuits (Saturday), Hot dogs or leftovers (Sunday)

The meal plan above is based on what I have on hand in the freezer and pantry.  It is very tentative because I don't know if we might have to evacuate, in which case, all meal plans will be off! 

On Monday, I'm grateful for:

- Another good day, weatherwise
- Working appliances
- Heat and hot water on tap
- Phone chats and emails
- Well wishes from blog friends

Monday's joyful activity was checking on the garden.

Plans for Tuesday include, bringing in the trash cans, calling the tree trimmer to schedule my eucalyptus tree to be trimmed, tidying my bedroom a little bit.

I haven't been decluttering, as such, but, I have decluttered three owner's manuals for appliances that I no longer have and two torn clothing items that are beyond repair.  

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for Tuesday?

Sunday: Hoping for the Best

 

Homemade Tamales

Neighbor S's daughter N blessed us with some homemade tamales (chicken with green salsa and pork with red salsa) she and a friend had made and we had them for dinner.  She declined our offer of blueberry muffins saying they had too many pastries at their house.

Since both my daughter and I stayed up till past 7:00 a.m. on Saturday night (daughter couldn't fall asleep until after 8:00 a.m., she told me), we both slept till past noon on Sunday.  

Once awake, I did a load of laundry, checked the news to see if the fires were being contained, brought in boxes of kitty litter that had been delivered, and cleaned my bathroom.  I also washed out an old dishpan I had stored in the garage, to use as a temporary litter box for Dancer if we have to evacuate.  

I made pancakes for brunch; daughter ate hers with sausages and syrup, I ate mine with lentils and the last of the meatball curry.  Dinner, as stated above, was tamales.

I took a short nap on the sofa after brunch.  

According to the latest news, some of the fires are fully contained, the others are partially contained.  The winds have been fairly quiet, allowing firefighters to try and gain control over the fires.  However, winds are supposed to pick up over the next few days, again, and we are hoping that the winds will not cause the fires to blaze up again.  Daughter and I are also hoping that we will not have to evacuate.  

On Sunday, I was grateful for:

- A relatively quiet day without strong gusts of wind
- Neighbor N bringing us homemade tamales for dinner
- Working appliances
- Having a car to pack in readiness for evacuating
- The fires are being contained at least a little bit

Sunday's joyful activity was enjoying the dinner that neighbor N provided.

Plans for tomorrow include:

- Making a meal plan/cooking 
- Putting away the laundry from Sunday
- Undecorating the tree (still haven't done that!)
- Cleaning out the fridge
- Taking the trash cans to the curb
- Watering the indoor plants

How was your Sunday?  What are your plans for Monday?

Saturday

 

Pine Tree and Hawk

Perched on a branch in my neighbor's pine tree, is a little brown hawk, so well camouflaged that it is hidden in plain sight.  The only reason why I know it is there is because I heard a commotion in the garden with Chicken Little squawking indignantly and I saw a big brown bird swooping down and then, flying off into the pine tree in the garden behind me.  I took this picture from the back steps, and then, tried to get closer to take another picture, but, the hawk flew off when it saw me approaching.  It is perched on a branch just below the highest wire.  Chicken Little escaped the hawk and flew over the wall into her own garden, where she continued to squawk and protest for several minutes.

On Saturday, the stress of the past few days caught up with me.  I woke up with a slight sinus headache (due, no doubt, to the poor air quality) and feeling tired, achy, and slightly nauseated.  Eventually, I resorted to taking a Tylenol for the aches and pains and drank some lemon-lime soda to help with the nausea. I watched the news to get the latest on the fires, packed a few more things in the car, and took a long nap on the sofa.  The nap really helped and I woke up feeling much better.

Brunch had been two of the blueberry muffins.  I wasn't feeling very hungry for dinner, so I had a sandwich with some of the sauteed salmon as the filling.  Daughter had leftover rice, salmon, green peas, and tomato chutney for dinner.  Afterwards, we shared an apple.  

On Saturday, I was grateful for:

- Another day of not needing to evacuate
- The fires are starting to be contained
- Both daughter and I are starting to feel a bit less stressed about the situation
- Having electricity, water, and gas and working appliances
- Caring friends (including blog friends) who are checking in on me 

Saturday's joyful activity was taking a nap!  

Plans for Sunday include more anxious watching of the news and maybe a load of laundry.  

How was your Saturday?  What are your plans for Sunday?

Friday Update

Blueberry Walnut Muffins

Friday was another day of anxious watching of news updates and preparing to evacuate if needed.  While we did that, I baked a batch of muffins with frozen homegrown blueberries and some walnuts and we had that as a teatime snack - we had both forgotten to eat brunch!

Daughter had a full day of work with online meetings, etc.

I picked up another order of groceries in the afternoon.  I needed milk, half and half, bread, and I bought a cucumber and some salmon fillet on sale with a coupon, as well.  In addition, I bought a few shelf-stable items to keep in the car in case we had to evacuate - bottled water, crackers and some granola, more tuna for Dancer and a spare can opener.  My shopping total came to $58 and some cents.  Approximately $8 of that was for the can opener.  I also received a free 54 fl. oz. bottle of orange juice with my preferred customer coupon.

Later in the evening, M and I tended to the garden.  He watered both front and back and pruned another section of the calamondin tree.  

I packed a few more things to take with us if we needed to evacuate - a couple of warm sweaters and jackets, a quilt, some paper plates and napkins, two cups for us and a bowl for Dancer.  Hopefully, we won't need to evacuate, but, the winds are supposed to pick up again, over the weekend.

Then, I washed several dishes and cooked the salmon for dinner.  While cooking, both hands cramped, and daughter had to help turn the salmon over in the frying pan while balancing on her crutches.

It is almost 5:30 a.m. on Saturday as I post this - neither daughter nor I have gone to bed, yet.  I think we'll go to sleep now and hope that we can sleep in a bit.  

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- We are still safe and at home
- The grocery store was open and I was able to pick up all the items I ordered
- Time to pack the car with essentials 
- M's help with the garden
- Family and friends, including blog friends, checking on us

Friday's joyful activities have included baking muffins and tending to the garden.

Hope you all had a good day on Friday and have a good weekend ahead of you.  Stay safe wherever you may be!  Any special plans for Saturday?