My Favorite Store

 

Curry Power (above) and Jaggery (below)

On Monday, I had another dental appointment for a consultation to go over the rest of my treatment options.  Daughter took the afternoon off from work to accompany me.  Afterwards, we drove to the Sri Lankan store and restaurant which are located fairly close to the dental clinic.  The restaurant was closed (I hadn't realized that it was closed on Mondays), so my plans to get some lunch to go from there didn't work out.  Instead, we went to the Sri Lankan store only.  It has to be my favorite store!

Pappadam

I had a list of items I wanted to buy from this store, including red lentils, mung beans, chick peas/garbanzo beans, dark roasted curry powder, my favorite extra strength Ceylon tea, Lemon Puff cookies, ginger biscuits, and dried pandan leaves.  Red lentils at the grocery store sells for $4.79/lb. while red lentils at the Sri Lankan store sells for $1.49/lb. and comes in 2 lb. and 4 lb. packages.  I bought two of the 4 lb. packages.  

Crushed Red Chillies, Curry Powder, Spices

I bought two of the 500 grams packages of crushed red chillies shown in this picture for making chutney, but, I forgot to put black mustard seeds on my list and I would need that for chutney making (that will be my excuse for a return trip another time!)

Jars of Pickles and Bottles of Fruit Cordial

I bought several small bottle of fruit nectar and a large bottle of rose syrup to make faluda.

Jars of Various Sambols

I didn't buy any jars of sambol this time because I still had some I had bought earlier.

Vegetables in Brine
Winged Beans (above)
Young Jackfruit (below)

I didn't buy any of the vegetables in brine, although I considered buying a jar of breadfruit in brine.  Instead, I bought two containers of fried breadfruit chips which my daughter loves.

Mango and Pineapple Jam

I usually make my own jams, but, I did buy a jar of the pineapple jam as it is one of my favorites.  

The Sri Lankan store also carries a small selection of British specialties

British Goodies

This display is near the entrance to the store. 

A Closer Look 

 

But, if you don't find what you are looking for on those shelves, you might find them on other shelves inside the store:

Marmite

Vegemite and Horlicks

My mother used to love Marmite on bread and she enjoyed a mug of Horlicks at night.

Baked Beans

Of course, all the imported goods are pricey, but, some of us are happy to pay the price for nostalgia, aren't we? 

Frozen Meal - Sri Lankan Style

Since the Sri Lankan restaurant was closed, I bought two of these frozen meals for a late lunch for us.  Rather pricey at $9.99 each, but, a rice and curry take out at the restaurant would have cost more and one frozen meal was enough for two lunches for me.  The food was delicious and had an authentic taste (and was quite spicy!)  My daughter loved it and thought it tasted better than the food at the restaurant (then, again, she has always maintained that my rice and curries taste better than the restaurant's rice and curries).  We will definitely buy more of this frozen meal on our next visit.

Sesame and Jaggery Candy 

I bought two packets of these sesame and jaggery candy for dessert and snacks.  

I bought a lot of items from the store on this visit, including a treat for friend R which we dropped off at her place on our way home.  Many of the items I bought were groceries, but, quite a few items were treats.  I am afraid I spent most of my May grocery budget at the Sri Lankan store this time, although I don't usually consider the treats I buy at the Sri Lankan store as part of my grocery budget.  

At least I didn't buy this tea set, although I thought it was beautiful:

Tea Set

Yes, definitely my favorite store!  And shopping there is a joyful activity! 

Celebrating Mother's Day

 

At Descanso Gardens

On Friday, May 8, my daughter and I visited Descanso Gardens as an early Mother's Day activity.  The Gardens had sent an email stating that they were having a Mother's Day celebration over the weekend with snacks available for purchase at the Rose Garden pavilion, etc., but, we weren't interested in over-priced snacks and crowds.  On Friday, it was not crowded and we were able to enjoy wandering around the gardens.  Not too much wandering as I am not quite up to it, but, we spent about two hours walking around.  

We went to the Rose Garden, first: 

In the Rose Garden

I loved the rose arbors and these apricot colored roses:

Sorry, I didn't take a picture of the name of the rose

From the Rose Garden, we made our way to the Mulberry Pond, passing by this waterfall:

Waterfall

Along the way, we sat for a bit on various benches and just took in the peacefulness of the place and listened to the birds:

View from a Bench

And admired some of the plantings of other flowers:

Foxgloves

Violas

On our way out, we visited the model train area:

One of the Model Trains

Model Trains Passing Through the Landscaped Area

There was a new art installation in this area, named World Pollinators, with sculptures of several pollinators and plants.  I took some pictures of them, but, that will be another post, I think.

By this time, I was tired.  We went to the central courtyard area and I sat down at one of the tables they had set up there and daughter bought me an almond croissant and bought herself a piece of guava tea cake and a rose and vanilla latte.  We enjoyed our snacks in the car as we didn't want to remove our masks to eat.  

On the way home, daughter treated me to some fried rice and drunken noodles from our favorite local Thai food place, for a very late lunch as part of our Mother's Day celebration.  We brought the food home to eat and had leftovers for dinner.  

It was after we came home that I got stung by the carpenter bee!

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- A lovely afternoon at the botanical gardens as an early Mother's Day celebration
- Daughter gifting me with a year's membership so we can take our time exploring the gardens
- Daughter treating me to lunch and an almond croissant
- A safe drive there and back
- NOT getting stung by bees when we were at the garden!  LOL!

Friday's joyful activity was the visit to the botanical garden with my daughter.

Peaches!

The First Peaches

I picked the first peaches from my tree today.  This is an early ripening variety of freestone peach, with the peaches ripening well before the heat of our summer burns them up.  But, this might be the earliest I've picked them as I am trying to get to them before the birds get to them!  This year's peaches are small in size, but, they are a blessing and I am grateful to have them.

According to a news article I read a couple of days ago, peach farmers in California are considering destroying about 3,000 acres planted with peaches, amounting to some 420,000 clingstone peach trees, because a certain well-known canned fruit company closed its canneries in California, in March of this year, and cancelled more than $550 million in long term contracts with the farmers.  The company had filed for bankruptcy last year, in July 2025, due in part to changing consumer habits as more people preferred fresh fruits and vegetable over canned and in part due to rising manufacturing costs.  

Fresh Peaches

I agree that there's nothing quite as good as freshly picked peaches, especially when they are from your own tree and still warm from the sun.  

According to the news article, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved $9 million dollars in aid to the peach growers to help them destroy the peach trees and transition from growing peaches to other fruits and/or nuts.  Which is something, I suppose. 

I am guilty of not buying a lot of canned fruits and vegetables for daily consumption, but, I do like to have canned items in the pantry for emergencies.  The thought that canned goods might become scarce due to manufacturers going out of business is a bit sobering.  We can no longer take it for granted that the stores will always have canned fruit available whenever we want to buy some.

We will definitely enjoy our fresh peaches in the coming days and weeks.  And I will try to can and preserve some of them to enjoy later.

Yum!

 Today, I am grateful for:

- Fresh peaches from the garden

I Got Stung!

Garden Chair

On Friday afternoon, my daughter and I visited the Descanso Botanical Garden.  We had a lovely time and on the way home, we picked up some Thai food for lunch.  But, I will write about that in another post;

On Friday evening, M was here to tend to the garden.  I went out to the garden to chat with him and sat down on this chair that he had just vacated.  And I felt a sharp pain on the left side of my behind and I wondered if a piece of the chair had broken off and pricked me.  I shifted in the chair and felt another sharp pain, and I wondered if I had sat on a rose thorn.  I wondered if M had pruned a rose and somehow, left a thorn on the chair and got up to see:

Do you see anything?

I cried out to my daughter who was seated on another chair that something bit me and she came to see:

Do you see it now?  Two tiny black legs?

She checked under the chair:

Bumblebee/Carpenter Bee?

M thought it was a bumblebee, but, it was black and we think it is a carpenter bee.  

Carpenter Bee

Fortunately, I am not allergic to bee stings (I've been stung by a bee once before, when I was a young girl and while my finger swelled where it was stung, nothing else happened).  Also, bumblebees and carpenter bees do not have barbed stings so, there was no sting embedded in me   Although the sting was painful, some antibacterial ointment and an icepack helped.  M says he gets stung at least once a month!  Poor M!

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- Not being allergic to bee stings!
- Daughter was with me to help apply the ointment and bring me an ice pack, etc.
- A lovely visit to the botanical garden 
- Daughter treating me to lunch and an almond croissant 
- A safe drive to the botanical gardens and back

I will definitely check the undersides of my garden chairs before I sit in them from now on!

Have you ever been stung by a bee or a bumblebee or a carpenter bee?

Mid-Week Update

 

The Stumpery in May

On Wednesday, we had a sunny day with a high of 70F (unlike the previous few days when it was cloudy and highs in the low 60s).  I took the opportunity to open the doors and windows to air out the house and I took a little walk around the garden.  In the afternoon, M arrived to tend to the garden; he watered both front and back and did some weeding and tidying.

I continued with my Room of the Month kitchen tidying and organizing.  The junk drawer looks much better, now.  I also cleaned the counter and checked the two upper cabinets above that counter, but, they were organized and there really isn't much to declutter at this time.  There are some duplicate small appliances up there from when we merged daughter's kitchen items with mine, but, we are keeping them for now. 

I made tuna salad sandwiches for brunch on Wednesday and a sort of curried fried rice for dinner, using leftover rice mixed with frozen corn, roasted peanuts, some of the keema curry, and a bit of ketchup.  It turned out really well.  I had grapes for a "good" dessert, jelly beans for a "naughty" dessert, and some tuna salad on saltine crackers for a late night snack. 

Bee on Aeonium Flower

On Thursday,  I ran more errands!  Two more prescription refills were ready for pick up at the pharmacy and the library had sent a notification that the last book I had requested had come in.  I also wanted to go to the bank, so, in the afternoon, I did my errands.

I went to the bank, first, as I wanted to access the ATM inside the bank and the lobby closed at 4:00 p.m.  I got there at 3:45 p.m. 

Then, I went to the pharmacy (located in the same outdoor mall).  My receipt showed that I had a $4 ExtraCare Bucks coupon and I bought the last two boxes of cereal that were on sale for $1.99 each!  I think I am well stocked up on cereal, now!  

From there, I went to the library to pick up my book and came home.

We had leftovers for brunch.  I realized that there was still some leftover milkrice in the fridge, so I had that with chicken curry and seeni sambol (from a jar; not homemade).  Daughter had a cold cuts sandwich with the last of the roast chicken cold cuts and a tuna salad sandwich with the last of the tuna salad.  I haven't decided on what to have for dinner - there's keema curry and chicken curry leftover; I just need to cook some fresh rice and make more cucumber salad.  Or, I could go off my meal plan and cook some of the frozen breaded shrimp in the air fryer to have for my dinner to have with a salad while daughter has rice and curries (she doesn't much care for the frozen shrimp, otherwise, I would happily cook some for her, too).  

This week, I am grateful for:

- Medications being available
- Library services
- Helpful customer service people
- M's help with the garden 
- Safe driving  

Joyful activities have included sewing, watching videos, spending time in the garden, and reading.

Plans for Friday might include a return visit to the Descanso botanical gardens as an early Mother's Day activity as daughter has a day off from work, as there are areas that we have not seen, yet.  Later, M will be here to tend to the garden; we are planning to plant some of the summer vegetables.  

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

Aeonium Flower Stalk Still Mostly in Bud

Errands on Tuesday

 

Miniature Roses

M brought me these miniature roses from his garden; each rose is less than half an inch across!  

Tuesday was another cloudy grey day.  Typical of what is called, "May Gray" by the weather forecasters.  

I spent a relaxed morning, but, in the afternoon, I ran some errands.  I went to the pharmacy first, to pick up one of my medication refills that was ready.  I received another $2 "Extra Care Bucks" coupon and I found one type of cereal that was on sale for $1.99 a box and bought it.  Most of the other cereals that I normally buy, which used to go on sale for $1.99 a box are now on sale for $2.99 a box, but, this particualr cereal was still priced at $1.99.

After that, I put gas to the car.  Gas has gone up to $6.09 at the lowest priced gas station in my neighborhood.  I put my usual $50 worth of gas as that's what I currently budget for gas.  

Then, I went to the library to pick up two books that I had put on hold.  There is one other book that is also on hold, which has not arrived, yet.  

After running my errands, I came home and made some tea. 

Later, I went with my daughter to the community college so she could attend the open gym to do her gymnastics.  Once again, I waited in the car and read while she did her gymnastics.  Daughter drove us there and back.

We had cold cuts sandwiches for brunch, on Tuesday.  For dinner, I cooked a fresh pot of rice and made a cucumber salad and we had leftover keema curry.  We had leftover lemon squares that daughter's friend A had made with lemons we had given her and brought over on Monday night.  We gave her more lemons in return.  

I also called friend R and chatted with her, after dinner.

On Tuesday, I was grateful for:

- The availability of medications
- Cereal on sale
- The availability of gas
- Daughter was able to do her gymnastics
- A safe drive to the gym and back

Tuesday's joyful activities included reading and watching videos online.

Plans for Wednesday include:

- Tending to the garden with M
- Doing some paperwork 
- Some housework

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

May Meal Plan Options: Week 1

Ground Beef Keema Curry

It's the first Monday of the month and time to post my meal plan options for the first full week in May.  I plan to cook most of the meals at home, but, daughter wants to pick up a meal from a restaurant of my choice to have at home (we are still not eating out at a restaurant) for Mother's Day. which is on Sunday. 

I made a keema curry on Monday, with a one pound package of ground beef, half an onion, some celery from the garden, two grated carrots, a handful of frozen snowpeas (from last year's garden) cut into small pieces, curry leaves, curry powder, and other spices.  Adding vegetables to the ground beef not only bulks up the meat, but, also helps my vegetable intake!  

Here are this week's meal plan options:   

Brunches:  Scrambled eggs, sausages, toast (Monday); cold cuts sandwiches; tuna salad sandwiches; pancakes or waffles with bacon and syrup; leftovers

Dinners:  Keema curry with rice (daughter) or leftover pancake (me)(Monday); Keema curry with rice and cucumber salad; Chicken curry with rice, broccoli, cucumber salad, and peach chutney; Fried rice; Mother's Day dinner (TBD); Leftovers.

Snacks/Desserts:  Cereal/granola bars, fresh fruit/fruit salad, yogurt, bread pudding, crackers with cheese or peanut butter, lemon bars from my daughter's friend; maybe a peach pie or cheesecake.

How about you?  Are you making a meal plan or meal plan options for this week?