Friday, May 29, 2026

Adding to the Stash

 

Yarn from Neighbor S's Mother L

Neighbor S called me the other evening and asked me if I wanted some yarn that her mother L didn't want anymore.  I can never say no to free yarn, so, of course, I said yes!  I guess her mother was clearing out her stash!  Daughter and I were happy to add the yarn to our stash!  S brought the yarn over on Wednesday night and I sorted through the yarn on Thursday.  There were some unfinished projects, as well, including a single knitted sleeve and what might have been the start of a crocheted blanket.  As far as I can tell, the yarn is all acrylic, so machine washable and dryable.  My first thought was we could make a blanket while daughter thought she could use them for her amigurumi and other craft projects.  I think I will be able to knit a couple of pairs of socks with some of the yarn.  It will be fun to plan how we'll use the yarn.

In addition to the yarn, there were some sewing supplies, as well.  Mostly elastics and cords of various lengths, and a piece of black fabric:

Sewing Supplies

I will be adding them to the stash, too!  

I messaged L to thank her for the gift of yarn and sewing supplies.  I am excited to get started on a knitting project!

I am grateful for:

- The gift of yarn and sewing supplies from L
- Neighbor S bringing me the yarn and other items

Thursday, May 28, 2026

MidWeek Catch-Up

 

Stumpery on Wednesday, May 27, 2026

I was happy to see the scaredy cat plant flowering among the stumps in the stumpery this morning. 

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend and are having a good start to this last week in May.  Time sure goes by quickly, doesn't it?  I didn't realize i hadn't posted after the grocery delivery post on Saturday!

Time for a quick catch up, I think. 

On Saturday, after the groceries were delivered and I put things away, I made a quick trip to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription my oncologist had called in and was ready for pick up.  I used my Extra Care bucks to pick up two boxes of granola bars that were on sale for $1.99 per box.

After I came home, I picked more peaches.  Later, my daughter joined me and we picked most of the rest of the peaches that were on the tree. We left about half a dozen peaches on the highest branches for the birds to enjoy.  Thank you, peach tree; you blessed us with an abundance of peaches, this year.  

Daughter peeled and sliced the majority of the peaches we picked and I froze three bags of peaches, with six cups of sliced peaches in each, for making jam, etc., later on.  Daughter also ordered more canning jars and new lids for jars that I will be reusing, so I have plenty of supplies for future batches of jam and chutney.  

Neighbor S had asked if the guests attending her husband's birthday party could park in my driveway and I had said yes.  Later on Saturday evening, she brought us dinner and dessert:

Saturday Dinner Compliments of Neighbor S

I gave her some freshly picked peaches in return; about half an hour later, she called me to ask, very apologetically, if it would be possible for her to have just one more peach!  Apparently, she shared the peaches with her guests and one guest didn't get any!  Of course, I gave her about eight more peaches, not just one, and she was very happy.  I also set aside another dozen or so peaches to give my friend R.

I made a compote with some of the peaches, after dinner, and baked a tray of chicken drumsticks to have over the week.

On Sunday, I did a little housework, dusting and vacuuming the living room and doing a load of laundry.  Friend R called to say that a package she had ordered had been delivered to my address and could I keep it for her.  I told her I could bring it to her in the evening, along with some peaches, but, she said she will come on Monday to collect it.  Later, neighbor S called to ask if she could borrow my recycling bin as she had more items than could fit into her bin, so I told her she could borrow it.  

We had leftovers from Saturday's dinner for brunch on Sunday and for Sunday dinner, I cooked hamburgers using one of the packages of frozen hamburger patties I had bought.  I cooked the whole package (8 patties) so we could have them for brunches during the week.


Purple Daylily


Monday was Memorial Day.  Friend R messaged me in the morning saying she was not able to come to pick up the package and she was expecting more packages to be delivered on Tuesday, so could she come on Tuesday, instead?  I said that daughter will be working, but, Tuesday would be fine.

We had a relaxed day on Monday.  I made waffles for brunch and we had that with bacon and peach compote.  I watered the garden, picked blueberries, and put away the laundry I had done on Sunday.  Later in the evening, daughter's friends V and A came over for a visit.  V spent the evening to play board games with daughter while A mostly came to drop off some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies she had baked!  Daughter shared the cookies with me and they were delicious.  

Monday Brunch

Tuesday was an overcast, cool day with the highs in the mid 60s.  I brought in the emptied trash cans, checked on the front garden, and was greetedwith a hug by one of my young neighbors who lives with her parents and younger sister in a rental unit a couple of doors down (she's a very friendly, outgoing teenager) which totally made my day.  At noon, daughter took a lunch break from work and I accompanied her when she went to the post office to mail a package to one of her friends.  

I made a version of a Sri Lankan street food known as "kottu roti" for brunch.  The traditional kottu rotiis made with a type of leftover Sri Lankan flat bread or roti.  I used Armenian lavash bread that neighbor S had given instead of the more traditional roti and added onions, shredded cabbage, leftover chicken curry, etc. to make my kottu roti.  

I had been expecting friend R to come in the afternoon, but, she messaged me to say she will come on Wednesday, instead.  

Later in the afternoon/early evening, I made a batch of blueberry muffins, in part to have with our tea and in part so that the oven could warm up the house a bit.  

In the evening, daughter went to do her gymnastics and I went with her for the ride.  I stayed in the car and read while she was at the gym and after it got too dark to read, I spent a little time praying and people watching while I waited for my daughter.  After we came home, we had leftovers for dinner and cookies for dessert.

Bread Roll with Spinach, Mushrooms, & Cheese Filling


On Wednesday, it was mostly sunny, but, still on the cooler side, with a high of only 63F.  Friend R messaged that she will be arriving around 1:30 p.m. and when she came, she brought some bread rolls with a spinach,mushrooms, and cheese filling from a nearby bakery.  Daughter was working and in a meeting, so she didn't join us, but, R and I enjoyed the bread rolls as well as some of the blueberry muffins and the drop biscuits with chives that I had baked earlier and a cup of tea. 

Gardener friend M arrived, too, as Wednesdays are one of his regular days, and he brought me a six pack of corn seedlings to plant in the garden.  There were more than six seedlings, however, so he planted out all the seedlings and watered the garden.  He, too, enjoyed the chive drop biscuits and the blueberry muffins I served him.  I gave R a tour of the garden and picked her some curry leaves to take with her.  

Daughter enjoyed her bread roll after she finished work.   I cooked sauteed green beans in the evening and daughter had rice, dhal, and green beans for dinner, with chutney.  I had half a leftover hambutger and strawberries for dessert.

I didn't make a meal plan as such, this week, other than baked chicken drumsticks and hamburgers as the main entrees.  I will probably make some fried rice for brunch on Thursday, and there is a loaf of "bake at home"  garlic bread that neighbor S brought over on Saturday, so I might make some pasta for dinner on Thursday night to have with the garlic bread.  

This week, I am grateful for:
- This year's peach harvest
- Neighbor S bringing us dinner on Saturday
- Friend R's visit on Wednesday
- M's help with the garden
- Daughter's help with the peaches
- The sound of laughter as daughter and her friends visited 
- Sharing and exchanging gifts of food with friends and neighbors
- Blueberries from the garden
- Working appliances
- The availability of medications
- Being able to help out a neighbor with parking and lending her my recycling bin

I am a bit behind with my blog reading.  I plan to catch up, on Thursday.

How has your week been?  Hope everyone is keeping well.

Sunday, May 24, 2026

May Groceries - Part 2

May 23 Groceries

I received my grocery order on Saturday afternoon.  The store was apparently out of a few things I had ordered (salmon on sale and bottled water on sale) and I had specified no substitutions.  But, I received most of the items I wanted, including the basics and some extras, so it worked out well enough.

I bought bread, hamburger buns, milk, half & half, chicken, frozen burger patties, a bottle of salad dressing, a seedless watermelon, strawberries, and, not shown in the picture above, bottles of sparkling water.  I shopped the week's specials and used coupons to the extent possible.  The strawberries, for example, were on sale for $3.99 for a 2-lb. container.  In addition, I had a coupon for $0.80 off on the purchase of two 2-lb. containers, which brought the price per container down to $3.59.  As a result, I was able to buy two containers of strawberries for under what one container would have cost if I had paid full price (which was $7.99/2 lb. container).  

Here's the receipt:

Order Summary

Original Item Total$102.07
Item Coupons/Sales-$38.89
Fulfillment Fee+$0.00
Other Fees+$0.40
Sales Tax+$1.45
Order Total$65.03

Item Details

43 Items

CA Redem Val$0.80
16 x $0.05 each
Fresh Strawberries - 2 LB Clamshell, 2 lb$7.18
2 x $3.59 $7.99 each
Item Coupon/Sale: -$4.00
Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.80
Item Coupon/Sale: -$4.00
Kraft Classic Catalina French Salad Dressing, 16 fo$1.79
1 x $1.79 $4.99 each
Item Coupon/Sale: -$2.00
Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.20
Kroger® 100% Pure Beef Quarter Pound Burgers, 8 ct / 32 oz$15.98
2 x $7.99 $12.49 each
Item Coupon/Sale: -$2.50
Item Coupon/Sale: -$2.00
Item Coupon/Sale: -$2.50
Item Coupon/Sale: -$2.00
Kroger® Fresh Uncooked Chicken Drumsticks, 4.5 lb$5.00
1 x $5.00 each
Kroger® Half and Half Half Gallon, 1/2 gal$5.79
1 x $5.79 each
Kroger® Whole Vitamin D Milk 32 fl. oz. Bottle, 1 qt$2.59
1 x $2.59 each
Seedless Whole Watermelon, 1 ct$5.99
1 x $5.99 $7.99 each
Item Coupon/Sale: -$2.00
Sparkling Ice® Pink Grapefruit Flavored Sparkling Bottled Water, 17 fl oz$0.88
1 x $0.88 $1.66 each
Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.78
Sparkling Ice® Pink Grapefruit Flavored Sparkling Bottled Water, 17 fl oz$13.20
15 x $0.88 $1.67 each
Western Hearth® 7 Multigrain Bread, 24 oz$1.99
1 x $1.99 $3.29 each
Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.30
Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.00
Western Hearth® Brioche Sandwich Buns, 8 ct / 24 oz$1.99
1 x $1.99 $3.99 each
Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.00
Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.00

Other Fees

$0.40

Bag Fee$0.40
4 x $0.10 each


My total came to $65.03

I had $81.72 left in my May grocery budget after my previous grocery purchases on May 18

Balance left in the May grocery budget = $81.72 - $65.03 = $16.69

There is another week left in the month, but, I don't anticipate ordering more groceries next week.  So, the $16.69 will be carried forward to June.  

As always, I am grateful for:

- The availability of groceries
- Being able to order groceries on-line and have them delivered
- The occasional deals to offset the increasingly higher prices
- Being able to stock up on a couple of items
- The occasional splurges

How are you coming along with your grocery shopping this month?  Are you finding some good deals?


Saturday, May 23, 2026

On Friday

 

Chive Drop Biscuits

On Friday, I had a doctor's appointment.  One hour to go to the clinic, one hour at the clinic, and a little over one hour to drive back due to traffic.  I was tired by the time I came home.

In the morning, before I left for my doctor's appointment, my daughter's friend V came over to pick up some peaches and lemons, too.  

Also in the morning, my neighbor S called.  They are celebrating her husband's birthday on Saturday and expecting family and friends; could they use my drive way to park their cars?  I said yes.  

In the evening, I watered the back yard and picked some chives.  I cut up the chives and made a batch of chive drop biscuits.

My brunch had been bread with dhal.  For dinner, I went off the meal plan and we had "breakfast for dinner" - scrambled eggs, sausages, and chive biscuits:

Breakfast for Dinner

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- A safe drive to the clinic and back
- Access to medical care
- Health insurance
- Being able to share garden fruits with friends
- Working appliances

Friday's joyful activities included spending time in the garden.

Plans for Saturday include accepting a delivery of groceries, going to the pharmacy to pick up my medications, and doing some housework. 

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

Friday, May 22, 2026

Thursday Mocktails and Canning

 

Peach Mocktails


On Thursday, we had a lovely, warm day with the daytime high being 82F.  The air quality was stil poor due to the area wild fires, but, it wasn't as bad as it was a couple of days ago when we could smell the smoke in the air and I needed to take my asthma inhaler and run the air purifiers.  

Daughter had a busy day of meetings and I did a few things around the house including emptying the dishwasher and dish drainer and putting away some laundry.  

In the evening, after daughter finished work and we had our tea, we picked more peaches and blueberries.  The blueberries were washed and put in the fridge to have over the week.  Some of the peaches were put aside for one of daughter's friends to come and pick them up, on Friday.  The rest of the peaches were peeled, sliced, and canned:

Canned Peaches

My daughter helped with the blanching, peeling, and slicing of the peaches, making the sugar syrup, sterilizing the canning jars, filling them, and canning them in a water bath.  We made six jars of canned peaches (although only four are shown in the photo above).  Six pint sized jars are not a lot, but, it's six jars more than what I had before I started!  

There was a small amount of sliced peaches leftover (not enough for another jar) and some sugar syrup.  I blended the leftover peaches, added the remaining sugar syrup and lemon juice and poured the resulting peach lemonade into glasses.  We called them peach mocktails and enjoyed them after dinner (rice, chicken curry, green beans, dhal, and peach chutney).  I had some yogurt for dessert.

On Thursday, I was grateful for:

- Fruit from the garden
- Daughter helping me with picking the fruit and canning the peaches
- Being able to share some of the garden bounty with friends
- Being able to preserve some of the fruit to enjoy later
- Peach lemonade mocktails

Thursday's joyful activities included picking fruit and canning with my daughter.

On Friday, I have a doctor's appointment in the afternoon.  M had requested Friday off to celebrate the long weekend, so daughter and I will have to water the garden in the evening.  

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

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Reading and a Book Review

 

The Latest Book Read

I am hopelessly behind with my reading, this year.  I just haven't been in the mood to read, although I looked through a few magazines I'd borrowed from the library.  However, I checked this book out from the library earlier this year.  It took me a while to read it and I renewed it the maximum number of times I could renew it, but, I found it very interesting.

Here is the synopsis from the back of the book:

Description of the Book and the Author

The author traces the family history of his mother, her sister, their parents, and grandparents in Germany and describes how the family relocated to Holland seeking safety during World War 2 and how they hid with the help of their Dutch friends for the duration of the Nazi occupation of Holland. The author provided a detailed history of the war as it pertained to Holland which I found very interesting.  

This Frank family was not related to the other, more well-known Frank family who were also in hiding in Holland at the time, but, they had a lot in common in addition to the same last name.  Both families were German Jews who moved to Holland thinking they'd be safe there, both families had two daughters, both families lived in the same neighborhood in Holland at first although they didn't know each other, both families went into hiding with the help of their Dutch friends.  But, they hid in different cities and they experienced different outcomes.

I found this book to be very interesting.  

I returned the book to the library on Monday. 

Have you read this book?  If so, did you find it interesting?  If you haven't read it, is it the type of book you might be interested in reading?

A Jam Session on Tuesday

 

Jars of Peach Jam

Tuesday evening, after daughter finished her work day, we had a jam session!  Yes, we made a batch of peach jam for  gifting this holiday season.  I like the 4 oz. jars when making jam to give as gifts as I plan to make about three varieties of jams from homegrown fruit and a set of three small jars filled with three varieties of jam makes a nice gift, I think.  Daughter helped with the jam making and I'm pretty sure that she will be taking over the jam making in the future.

In addition to making jam, I did a load of laundry, made some phone calls to schedule a medical appointment and to have our damaged yard waste bin (the lid has broken off) picked up and a replacement yard waste bin delivered, next week, and cooked a dhal curry.

I had toast with peanut butter and pineapple jam for brunch on Tuesday and daughter finished the fried rice I made on Sunday.  Dinner was rice, chicken curry, green beans, the last of the okra, dhal, and peach chutney (a previous year's batch).  

We were both tired after making the jam and washing up and cleaning the kitchen, afterwards.  But, we are happy to have all the jars of jam cooling on the dining table and listening to the pings as the jars sealed.  

On Tuesday, I was grateful for:

- Several jars of peach jam
- Daughter's help with making the jam
- Getting several tasks crossed off my to do list
- Getting started on making my holiday gifts
- Working appliances

Tuesday's joyful activities included jam making with my daughter.

Plans for Wednesday include going for a lab test, M tending to the garden, and processing more peaches!

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