Last Week

A Chicken in Every Pot?

Time for another quick weekly update!

On Monday, September 28, friend R stopped by in the evening to pick up some of her packages that had been delivered to my address.  We visited for a while and she had some of the japchae (Korean noodles) that my daughter had made and a cup of tea.  We spent some time in the garden watching the chickens and, although I offered to drive her home, she called a ride share to take her home.  Afterwards, daughter took the trash cans to the curb. Later in the evening, daughter and I spent some time singing together which was a lot of fun.  We need to do more of that!

On Tuesday, I watered the back garden, brought in the emptied trash cans, checked the new grocery ads, tidied the dining table, wiped down the shelves in the china cabinet and rearranged a few things in there to make room for the new dinnerware (eventually, they will go in the kitchen cabinets after we've had a chance to go through and clear out the old dishes).  In the evening, daughter assembled two more metal raised beds for me; we want to plant some cool weather vegetables in them, once it gets cool enough to do so!  We've been experiencing a mini heatwave this week.

On Wednesday, gardener friend M was here to tend to the garden.  He watered and tidied the garden and I asked him to buy me some bags of potting soil when he had the time to do so.  Wednesday was also an admin day with paying bills, etc.  I also did a bit of last minute decluttering to make sure I met my minimum September monthly goal of 30 items decluttered.

On Thursday, October 1, I celebrated the new month with milkrice for brunch and made seeni sambol to go with it.  I had gone to bed late the night before (I had been up till 5:00 a.m.) and slept in late and woken up with a bit of a back pain for which I took a Tylenol.  So, I took it easy all day and, in the evening, I spent some time in the garden with the chickens.

On Friday, after feeding the chickens, I got a few things crossed off my To Do List.  I wrapped the wedding gifts we had ordered for our friend's wedding, wrote out a card, ironed the outfits we were going to wear to the wedding on Saturday, etc.  I did take a short nap in the afternoon.  In the evening, M was here, again, to tend to the garden and we gave him four of our "home grown" eggs.  

Saturday was the wedding day of my late friend A's younger daughter A.  My daughter and I wore saris to the event.  There was a church service at 2:00 p.m. followed by a reception starting at 5:00 p.m.  The temperature on Saturday reached 100F.  The wedding ceremony was lovely and A made a beautiful bride.  We all felt the absence of her mother but her extended family made a real effort to be there for her, flying in from all over the world including Sri Lanka, Australia, the Middle East, England, and Canada plus several other states within the US.  

The Church service was over a little after 3:00 p.m. and we had a couple of hours before the reception started.  The Church was located a few blocks away from my cousin V's house, so when one of our mutual friends said she had called V and V had invited her over, I, too, called V and was invited to come over!  So, my daughter and I and our mutual friend R and her husband plus another couple that R had invited to join us all went over to cousin V's house!  Poor V had all of 5 minutes notice before we all descended on her! LOL.  But, V is an excellent hostess.  She had cool drinks and a tray of cheese and crackers, cookies, cashews, and grapes ready to serve us.  

At first, I thought that the couple that friend R had invited along were known to V and her husband, but, no, it was the first time they met them!  Then, I thought that this couple were known to R and her husband (since they had invited them along), but, apparently, they just met earlier at the Church!  But, they were Sri Lankans who were now residing in Canada and, obviously, known to the bride's family.  Before we left V's house to go to the reception, we had all been invited to stay with them anytime we visited Toronto, Canada!  LOL.  

The reception venue was very nice, adjacent to a golf course where we could see a flock of Canada geese enjoying the grounds next to a lake.  There was an outdoor reception area as well as the reception room where the tables were set for dinner and a dance floor.  Since daughter and I wore our masks, we took our food to the outdoor reception area where there were a few tables and chairs set up and ate there.  Dinner was salad, followed by both chicken and beef steak with vegetables, followed by an assortment of desserts set out on a table to the side.  

Daughter and I stayed until the cake was cut, but, we didn't wait until it was served.  We left early because it had been a long day for one thing and we were anxious about the chickens who were in their enclosure, but, not in their coop.  They were both sleeping on top of the chicken coop and daughter scooped them up and put them on their perches inside the coop and we locked them up for the night (the inner coop has been made predator-resistant while the enclosure is not (we've bought the hardware fabric to make it predator-resistant, but, we have not had the time to put up the hardware fabric).  

We were still up and discussing the wedding when daughter's friend P called around midnight (P knows that we don't go to sleep till well after midnight).  P's sister had celebrated her 40th birthday with a catered dinner for about 20 people and they had ordered too much food.  Would we like to have some pancit and adobo chicken?   We said we'd love to have some and P dropped off several containers of each, plus a big 2 liter bottle of ginger ale!  Daughter gave him six eggs in return, which P said his parents cooked for breakfast the following morning.

On Sunday, we relaxed.  Daughter did laundry and packed her suitcase in preparation for her trip to Berkeley for a work-related conference.  She flew to Berkeley on Monday evening, after work and she will fly back on Wednesday evening, after the conference ends.   I'll be on "chicken duty" while daughter is away. 

Last week, I was grateful for:

- Being able to attend A's wedding
- Being able to visit cousin V in between events
- A safe drive to the wedding venue and back
- A visit from friend R
- M's help with the garden

The week's joyful activities have included attending A's wedding and singing with my daughter.

How was your week?  What are your plans for this week?

Starting October

 

Pomegranates

The pomegranates are ripening on the tree and we have been picking them, a few at a time and enjoying them.

October has started and I marked the occasion with milkrice and seeni sambol on the first of the month. 

The calendar says it is fall, but, we are experiencing a bit of late summer heatwave with the temperatures in the 90s and triple digits.  I'm not complaining as I love the warm weather.   

Mushrooms 

I found some mushrooms growing under a plant in the back yard and I picked them because I didn't want the chickens to eat them, in case they were poisonous.  

Unidentified Mushroom

I am not very good at identifying mushrooms and I'd rather be safe than sorry.  Henny Penny was already pecking at one of the other mushrooms and that's how I even noticed that they were growing in the yard.

More Mushrooms

In the meantime, the poor peach tree is very confused by the weather:

Peach Tree: Yellowing Leaves and New Blossom

Some of leaves on the peach tree are starting to turn yellow and drop, and, yet, at the same time, the tree is trying to flower!

Peach Blossom

No, peach tree, it's not spring, yet!  I hope there will be more flowers in the spring and we will get peaches next summer.  

I am starting off the month of October with emergency preparedness.  According to the news, the County is recommending all residents to have at least ten days worth of food and water stockpiled ahead of the El Nino storms that are expected this winter.  We are normally asked to have a three days supply of food and water in case of earthquakes, so, the ten days supply is something new.  I have been stocking my pantry and I have more than a minimum of ten days worth of food, but, I should get more bottled water.  The recommended amount of water is one gallon a day per person plus additional water for pets.  I currently have enough bottled water for five to six days for my daughter and myself and that might not be enough.

As we start the month of October, I am grateful for:

- Starting a new month
- The continuing warm weather
- Fruit from the garden
- Eggs from our chickens
- Being alive

Hope your October is off to a good start.

Monthly Goals: September Goals Review/October Goals

Neptune Rose

Now that the month of September is over and October has begun, I thought I'd review my September goals and maybe even make some goals for October.

September Garden Goals: 

-  Cutting down the dead curry leaf tree and thinning out the daughter plants - M didn't have time to cut down the curry leaf tree, but, he did thin out some of the daughter plants.

- Getting the eucalyptus tree trimmed (or, even, cut down and removed) - The. eucalyptus tree was cut down and removed!  I'm feeling good about getting that accomplished!

- Removing all the asparagus ferns growing in the backyard as they are toxic to the chickens and ours keep wanting to eat them - Accomplished, although some of them are trying to regrow from the remnants of underground runners!  

-.Planting winter vegetables - Started.  Daughter assembled two of the four raised bed planters we bought and I set them out in the garden.  We need to buy potting soil for them and fill them up, but, we are waiting for cooler weather in October to start planting.  The temperatures are in the 90s currently, with the forecast calling for triple digits over the weekend.  Not exactly the time to plant winter vegetables!

October Garden Goals will include cutting down the curry leaf tree and planting the winter vegetables.

September Health Goals: 

-  Medical and dental appointments.  I had a lab test during the first week in September and the majority of the results were normal.  It was followed by a doctor's appointment during the second week, a bone density scan the following week, and a dental appointment the week after that!  I don't know the results of the bone density scan yet, but, it is to see if there is any worsening of my osteopenia.  The dental visit was for a crown and additional work to prepare another tooth for a crown.  

October Health Goals will include two more dental visits.

September House Goals:

- Getting some plumbing work done to address leaky faucets and slow drains - The only progress was to get M's plumber's contact information.  

- Getting some repairs done - Again, the only progress was getting the contact information of a handyman, but, I didn't actually contact him.

-  Continuing with the decluttering - My decluttering goal was at least 30 items decluttered.  I did declutter 30 items: 7 scarves, 2 blouses, 5 pairs of socks, 1 old bedsheet, 1 kitchen towel, 5 plastic food storage containers, 4 large cardboard boxes I was using to store some stuff, 2 bottles, 1 jar, 1 old toilet flap and chain we kept in case the replacement one was the wrong size (it wasn't), and 1 dead houseplant.  In addition, I  decluttered one additional bonus item, which was the eucalyptus tree! But, then, I added a 30-piece dinnerware set!  Oops!  

October House Goals will include getting the plumbing and repairs done and continuing to declutter with a goal of 31 items decluttered.  

Other September goals included:

- Getting the kittens trapped and fixed - We managed to trap and neuter two of the kittens.  The third kitten avoided getting trapped, so we will try again in October.

- Sewing my hexagon quilt - On-going

- Sewing myself a sari blouse - I didn't need to as I was able to find one that fitted me well enough with some minor alterations for the time being.  But, daughter sewed herself a new sari blouse, instead.

Did you make any goals for September?  If so, were you able to attain those goals?  Are you making any goals for October?

Monthly Photo Challenge: September - Measuring/Measurements

The theme for September's monthly photo challenge, hosted by Eileen at A Bracelet of Days was Measuring/Measurements.

Here are my selections:

One Cup of Water

One Cup of Pancake Mix

Butter Measurements

Measuring the Length of a Zipper

Measuring the Temperature

Music Measures 

Two Cups of Calamondin Juice

Thank you Eileen for hosting the monthly photo challenge.  It's always a pleasure to join in it.  

Last Week

 

Pomegranates from the Garden

Last week was the first week of Autumn, although our temperatures were in the 80s and 90s as usual for September.  

On Monday, I had another dental appointment to have a permanent crown put in and another tooth prepared for another crown.  Daughter bought us some Thai fried rice on the way home, although I had a meal replacement drink.  Later in the evening, daughter's friend A brought us more mooncakes she had made.  

On Tuesday, the tree trimmers were here and the eucalyptus tree in the front yard was cut down and removed.  I'm counting that as the biggest item decluttered this month!  LOL.  Later, I went to the pharmacy to pick up one of my medication refills and decided to put more gas to my car since I was down to half a tank and, with gas prices rising so rapidly (the cheapest gas is over $6 per gallon), it seemed better not to wait until the end of the month to put gas.  So, I used up my October gas budget of $50 in September!  

On Wednesday, M was here to tend to the garden and he was amazed to see the difference the removal of the eucalyptus tree made in the front yard.  I did a load of laundry and caught up on a few things that needed doing around the house.  I cooked an omelette curry for dinner.

Thursday was a quiet, restful day.  I went back to sleep after I fed the chickens in the morning and did some paperwork in the afternoon and caught up on a few blogs.  I watched over the chickens while daughter cleaned out the coop and enclosure in the evening and afterwards, I cooked a meatball curry for dinner.  

On Friday, daughter had a day off from work and she made japchae, a Korean glass noodles dish for brunch.  I did a bit of housework and dusted and vacuumed the living room and dining area,  In the afternoon, daughter's friend C came over with her puppy to visit with daughter and see the chickens.  Daughter gave her some eggs to take home with her.

I moved my bed and made room for M to take down the window air conditioner in my bedroom when he arrived later in the evening.  We store it in the garage over the winter and put it up only in the summer.  He asked me if I used it at all this summer and I said I did, a total of 5 times.  LOL.  I only switch it on when the temperature inside the house goes above 95F.  

Two of daughter's friends had invited her to attend a comedy show with them on Friday evening, but, daughter needed to trap the kittens to take them to be fixed on Saturday and one of the kittens was refusing to be trapped, so, she had to decline the invitation.  Two of the kittens, Mochi and Mimi entered the traps almost right away, but, the third kitten, Tora, proved to be too clever for that!  It held off for the longest time and then, it entered the trap, but, didn't go in far enough to trigger the trap door!  Instead, it stretched out a paw and drew the plate of wet food closer and ate the food!  We opened the sliding glass door to try and push Tora further inside the trap, but, it ran away as soon as we opened the door!  Daughter was so frustrated as it meant we'll have to make another appointment with the neutering clinic and try and trap Tora, again, while making sure that the other kittens don't get trapped!

On Saturday, we were up early, to take the two trapped kittens to the neutering clinic.  We left the house by 7:00 a.m. to be there by 7:30 a.m.  We waited until the kittens were checked in and then, came home.  I did a load of laundry after we came home and mended a tear in the sari that daughter is planning to wear to her friend's wedding in October.  The sari has a beaded border and some beads had come out, so I sewed on a few beads, too.  

Then, it was time to pick up the kittens.  Around 1:00 p.m., we got a text saying they were ready and we collected them and brought them home.  They had to be kept in the traps until later in the evening, we were told, and given half a can of wet food mixed with water.  Daughter did that while I took a nap!

Later in the evening, I ordered groceries and daughter baked a pan of brownies.

On Sunday, the groceries were delivered in the morning.   I cleaned the kitchen a little bit (scrubbed the sink and dish drainer, wiped down the stove top and counters, swept and mopped the floor) and cleaned my bathroom, too.

Later in the morning, daughter's friend C stopped by to drop off some dinnerware!  Apparently, she ordered a new set of dinnerware and two of the bowls were broken when she received the set.  She had notified the store and requested two replacement bowls.  Except, the store, instead of replacing only the two broken items, had sent her a whole new set and told her to keep the previous set, as well.  C didn't want the incomplete set and had offered it to daughter; she was going to donate it if daughter didn't want it.  Daughter asked me if I'd like to have a new (incomplete) set of dinnerware and I said yes!  I know, I'm supposed to be decluttering, not getting new items, but, I couldn't resist!  I have mismatched plates for everyday use and we decided that we will replace them with the new dinnerware.  

So, C stopped by in the afternoon and brought us the incomplete set of dinnerware, still in the box.  6 plates, 6 salad plates, 6 small "fruit" bowls and 4 larger "cereal" bowls (since 2 had broken); white with fluted edges, dishwasher and microwave safe.  They can be used for everyday and any occasion, too.  I sincerely hope that C bought them on sale because I checked the regular price on the store website and they weren't inexpensive.  Daughter took them out of the packaging and I washed them in the dishwasher. 

The Set of New Dishes

Friend R had said she will stop by on Sunday afternoon to pick up some packages that had been delivered to my address, but, then, she texted to say she will come on Monday evening, instead.  So, daughter and I had a relaxed Sunday evening and she finished sewing her sari blouse.  

This past week, I was grateful for:

- Access to dental care (even if it costs an arm and a leg!)

- The availability of my prescriptions (I've been hearing that some pharmacies are having supply issues)

- The availability of gas (even at a price)

- Tree trimmers who did an excellent job of removing the eucalyptus tree
- M's help with the garden and tasks around the house such as taking down the window a/c unit
- Daughter's friend A bringing us more mooncakes she had made
- Daughter's friend C giving us the new dinnerware set
- Free cat neutering clinics and the groups who run them

- Produce from the garden
- Sunny, warm days

This week's joyful activities have included spending time in the garden with these characters:

Niwatori and Henny Penny on their Favorite Perch
(Daughter's Back)

All in all, it was a good week for me.  How was your week?

September Meal Plan Options - Week 4 Review

Tuesday Brunch: French Toast and Bacon

Having bought all those groceries, what have we been eating?  These were my meal plan options for September Week 4 (9/21 - 9/27):

Brunches:  Raisin buns, cup noodles soup, meal replacement drinks (dental work on Monday), Thai fried rice, congee, leftovers

Dinners:  Thai fried rice, cup noodles soup, rice and curries (the curries will vary from day to day, but, chosen from the following options - omelette curry; meatball curry; chicken curry;  sauteed kale, sauteed cabbage, spicy sauteed potatoes, fried eggplant curry, moringa curry, stir fried broccoli, maybe dhal), leftovers. 

Snacks/Desserts: Fresh fruit, mooncakes, yogurt, ice cream, cookies

Here's how that turned out:

Monday: (Dental appointment) 
Brunch: Meal replacement drink (me); Thai fried rice picked up on the way home from the dental appointment (daughter)
Dinner:  Cup noodles soup (me); Thai fried rice (daughter)

Snacks/Dessert: Yogurt (me); mooncakes, banana

Tuesday:  (Tree removal)

Brunch: French toast and bacon (leftovers)
Dinner:  Thai fried rice (leftovers)

Snacks/Dessert: Strawberries, ice cream, cookies

Wednesday Dinner: Rice, Omelette Curry,
Sauteed Kale

Wednesday:  

Brunch:  Raisin bun (me); Thai fried rice (daughter)
Dinner:  Rice, omelette curry, sauteed kale

Snacks/Dessert: Cantaloupe, banana, iced coffee (me), peanut butter

Thursday Dinner:  Rice, Meatball Curry, Sauteed 
Kale, Beetroot Slices

Thursday:  
Brunch: Cantaloupe
Dinner:  Rice, meatball curry, sauteed kale, beetroot slices

Snacks/Dessert: Cookie, banana, cantaloupe (daughter), calamondin-ade

Japchae: Korean Noodles dish
(Before the sauce was added)

Friday: 

Brunch: Japchae: Korean Glass Noodles Dish -  Daughter cooked a vegetarian version of Japchae, a Korean Noodles dish, with two types of mushrooms (enoki and white crab mushrooms), kale from the garden, carrots, a sweet pepper, and glass noodles called dangmyon (made from sweet potatoes), in a sauce made of sesame oil and soy sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Dinner:  Breakfast for dinner - French toast and bacon (pictured at the top of the post)

Snacks/Dessert: Chocolate chip cookie, strawberries, pomegranate

Friday Brunch: Japchae
(After the sauce was added)

Saturday:  

Brunch: French toast (me); japchae (daughter)
Dinner:  Tortillas coated with beaten eggs on one side (imitation godamba roti)  and meat ball curry

Snacks/Dessert: Calamondin-ade; strawberries; brownies  (daughter baked a pan of brownies)

Tortilla "godamba roti" and Meatball Curry

Sunday:  

Brunch: Scrambled eggs and fried diced potatoes

Dinner:  Fried rice - leftovers made into fried rice 

Snacks/Dessert: Pomegranate, Brownies a la mode!  

Brownies

Moving on to this week (9/28 - 10/4) - I'm calling it September Week 5. 

Here are my meal plan options:

Brunches:  Scrambled eggs and toast or fried potatoes, egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches, pancakes, milkrice with seeni sambol and/or chicken curry (Thursday 10/1),  leftovers

Dinners:  Rice and chicken curry with vegetables (will vary depending on what I feel like cooking: sauteed cabbage, spicy sauteed potatoes, fried eggplant curry, moringa curry, stir fried broccoli, kale ); Japchae; Pork chops with mashed potatoes, celery, broccoli, and carrots; Tortillas with chicken curry; leftovers

Snacks/Desserts: Fresh fruit (tangerines, pomegranate, passionfruit, apples), mooncakes, yogurt, ice cream, brownies, assorted chips and crackers

As always, I am grateful for the blessing of having plenty of food to eat, variety, and choices.  

How about you?  Did you make a meal plan for last week?  If so, did you follow the plan?  Are you making a meal plan for this week?

September Groceries - Part 4

September 27th Groceries: 

I ordered groceries on Saturday evening and received the delivery on Sunday morning.   I bought half & half, more cans of tuna, packets of coffee, boxed pasta mixes, sparkling water, and a bag of snacks.  The tuna and the coffee were at an even better sale price (with digital coupons) than when I stocked up, earlier!  I was very pleasantly surprised.  

Here's the receipt:

Order Summary

Original Item Total$77.65

Item Coupons/Sales-$23.13

Order Coupons-$2.00

Fulfillment Fee+$0.00

Other Fees+$0.20

Sales Tax+$1.31

Order Total$54.03

---

Item Details

16 Items

CA Redem Val$0.60

1 x $0.60 each

Harvest Snaps Mango Chile Lime Red Lentil Snack Crisps, 3 oz$2.00

1 x $2.00 $2.79 each

Kroger® Half and Half Half Gallon, 1/2 gal$5.49

1 x $5.49 each

Pasta Roni Fettuccine Alfredo Pasta Side, 4.7 oz$4.95

5 x $0.99 $1.89 each

Sparkling Ice® Summer LTO Lemonade Variety Pack (Pack of 12), 12 ct / 17 fl oz$13.99

1 x $13.99 each

Starbucks® Espresso Roast Dark Roast Whole Bean Coffee, 12 oz$23.97

3 x $7.99 $12.99 each (approx.)

StarKist® Chunk Light Tuna in Water Can, 5 oz$3.52

4 x $0.88 $1.59 each

Order Coupons

-$2.00

Store Coupon-$2.00

---

Other Fees

$0.20

Bag Fee$0.20

2 x $0.10 each

I spent a total of:  $54.03

After my grocery shopping on September 18, I had a balance remaining of $57.99 in my September grocery budget of $250.  

September grocery budget = $250

Total spent on groceries in September = $56.50 + $42.66 + $92.85 + $54.03 = $246.04

Balance remaining in the September grocery budget = $250 - $246.04 = $3.96

I am pleased with my grocery spending in September.  October's grocery budget will be $250, again.

As always, I am grateful for:

- The availability of groceries
- Sales and offers
- Being able to order online and have groceries delivered
- Daughter paying for the grocery delivery membership
- Being able to stock up the pantry

How did you do with your grocery spending in September?