This Week

Humming Bird on the Pomegranate Tree

This week is going by quite quickly it seems.  We have had more high winds, more wildfires, and now, there is rain in the forecast and with it, the threat of mud slides and toxic debris flows in the burn areas.  However, we've had a couple of days with the daytime highs being in the mid to upper 70s (it was 75F on Wednesday and 78F on Thursday), which felt wonderful to me.  Of course, the peach tree responded by opening a few more flowers!  

I have been spending my days tending to things around the house, cleaning, cooking, and mending another pair of wool socks.  I went as far as getting out my knitting needles and my favorite sock knitting pattern, but, I haven't actually sat down to knit.  

Plans for Friday include taking Dancer for his vet appointment in the early afternoon and tending to the garden with M in the evening.

This week, I am grateful for:

- No new fires threatening my home
- I was able to postpone my jury service
- Working appliances
- Having electricity and gas
- M's help with the garden

Joyful activities have included watching music videos, phone calls and emails with friends, tending to the garden, spending time with my daughter.

How is your week coming along?

The Front Garden in January

 

The Front Garden in January 2025

This is the front garden in January.  It gets watered maybe once in 10 days or so and without any rain, even the weeds are not growing!  I am turning more and more towards succulents and drought-tolerant plants for the front garden.

We replanted a section of the planting bed that runs parallel to the driveway with succulents:

Succulents in the Planting Bed

They were given to me by M who got them from another client who didn't want them.  The rosemary plant beyond the succulents is doing well and the bees are enjoying its flowers.

There aren't a lot of flowers in the front garden, right now, but, the jade plants are doing their best to make the garden cheerful:

Jade Plant in Bloom

This jade plant gets more sun and has reddish leaves:

Flowering Jade Plant with Reddish Leaves

I love the clusters of the delicate star-shaped flowers:

Jade Plant Flowers

Not all the lantana plants are at their best, but, at least one of them is trying:

Lantana in Bloom

Nearby, one of the Euryops plants is flowering, too:

Euryops Plant in Bloom

The grey leaved plant (another gift from M), which is supposed to have blue flowers (it has not flowered yet), which someone said might be a type of sage, seems to be well adapted to the dry climate:

A Type of Sage?

In the meantime, the stumpery in the succulents border is settling into place very nicely, I think:

The Stumpery

The lack of rain (and my lack of watering) is affecting the newly planted parkway trees, too.  The Street Tree Maintenance people, who planted the parkway tree, removed one of the trees they planted (the flowering pear) and replace it with a second Australian Willow (Geijera parviflora) tree, and placed, not one, but, two watering bags!  They refill the bags every other week or so.

 

Two Water Bags are Better than One!

There is a chance of rain in the forecast for this weekend; if it does rain, then, maybe the garden will perk up a bit.  We shall see.

I hope you enjoyed your tour of the front garden.  We'll tour the back garden another day.  How is your garden coming along this January?

Sleepless Nights.

I couldn't fall asleep on Monday night.  I went to bed and stayed wide awake, trying to sleep, until finally, shortly after 8:00 a.m., I gave up trying to sleep and got up.  I had my morning cup of tea, made my daughter her cup of coffee, fed Dancer, brought in the emptied trash cans, called in Dancer's medication refill to the pharmacy, checked the mail (I've a Jury Duty Summons), watched some videos online, replied to blog comments, read and commented on a few other blogs, and did some thinking about things.  

In the afternoon, my daughter insisted that I tried to take a nap or, at the very least, lie down and rest.  After about an hour of lying awake, I eventually managed to nap for about an hour.  Once I was up, I warmed up the leftover hot dogs for a very late lunch, watched the evening news, cleaned the kitchen a little bit, ran the dishwasher, washed Dancer's dishes and cleaned his litter box, and prepared dinner.  I was going to make the devilled chicken, but, the chicken was still frozen solid!  Instead, I heated up a can of beef stew and cooked some fresh rice to go with it.  I don't generally buy canned beef stew, but, I bought a few at the very beginning of the pandemic to have on hand as part of my emergency supplies.  It is now time to use them up before they get too old.  I doctored up the beef stew with some garlic salt, chili powder, and frozen green peas.  I decided to serve it with rice, instead of mashed potatoes.  There's leftover beef stew and rice for at least another meal or two.

Friend R called after dinner and we had a short chat.  Then, I exchanged emails with a friend.

All the things I didn't do are glaring at me, but, it is already almost 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday, so all the undone tasks will have to wait.

On Tuesday, I was grateful for:

- An afternoon nap
- Being able to call in Dancer's medication refills
- Weekly trash collections
- The mail being delivered on a more or less regular basis
- Working appliances

Tuesday's joyful activity was watching some favorite videos online.

Plans for Wednesday include registering for jury duty, tending to the garden with M, and doing some laundry. 

How was your Tuesday?  What are your plans for Wednesday?  Do you sleep well at night?

January Meal Planning Week 3

This was my meal plan for last week:

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 was based on what I had on hand in the freezer and pantry and it was a very tentative plan.  In fact, it ended up being subject to much change, but, here's how it all worked out:

Monday:
Brunches: Last of the blueberry muffins
Dinner: Leftover salmon with boxed pasta mix
Snacks/Desserts: Apple slices, crackers, chocolate; leftover pasta (late night snack)

Tuesday:
Brunch: Scrambled eggs, bacon (instead of sausages), toast; orange juice
Dinner: Ham steak with vegetables (broccoli, sliced carrots, potatoes, corn on the cob) - went off the meal plan
Snacks/Desserts: Oranges from the garden, crackers, chocolates

Wednesday:
Brunch: Toast with butter and peach jam
Dinner: Pizza - went off the plan, again!
Snacks/Desserts: Apple slices, chocolates

Thursday:
Brunch: Leftover pizza
Dinner: Ground turkey keema curry (with onions, tomatoes, grated carrots, diced potatoes, diced broccoli stems, etc.) and rice
Snacks/desserts: Fresh oranges, chocolates, don't remember what else

Friday:
Brunch: Pizza and toast
Dinner: Leftover keema curry and rice (daughter); keema curry and leftover pancakes (me)
Snacks/desserts: Apple slices, probably chocolate (we are working our way through some Christmas goodies)

Saturday:
Brunch: Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice
Dinner: Leftover keema curry with freshly cooked rice and cucumber slices
Snacks/Dessert: Brownies

Sunday:
Brunch: Croissants sandwiched with keema curry; banana,
Dinner: Hot dogs and salad (lettuce, carrots, cucumber, bottled dressing)
Snacks/Dessert: Toasted bagel half each, with butter; sliced apples; fruit smoothie (frozen banana, frozen blueberries, orange juice, peanut butter)

So, I followed roughly about half the meal plan, but, that was OK.  

Moving on to this week, this is the meal plan:

Brunches: Croissants sandwiched with ham and lettuce and fresh oranges (Monday); bagels; hot dogs with salad; toast and peanut butter, uppuma, French toast, waffles with sausages.

Dinners: Leftover keema curry and rice with cucumber salad (Monday); "devilled" chicken with rice and sliced cucumber; beef stew with mashed potatoes, chicken curry with rice and sauteed curried cabbage, leftovers

Snacks/Desserts: Bananas, apples, oranges, home canned peaches; gata (Armenian pastries) from neighbor S (she brought some over on Monday evening); crackers, chocolates

Once again, this meal plan is subject to change.  

What are your plans for meals, this week?

January Grocery Shopping Part 3

I picked up my groceries this afternoon.  I needed more half & half for my daughter's coffee, more tuna for Dancer who is refusing to eat his canned cat food (we had a battle of wills and he went without eating for over a whole day and I caved in), some fruit, and facial tissues.  I bought all that and a bit more!  Here's the receipt, with the UPC codes removed and my explanations in blue:

Order Summary

Original Item Total$61.56

Item Coupons/Sales-$12.84

Fulfillment Fee+$0.00

Sales Tax (for facial tissues)+$0.38

Order Total$49.10

Total Savings: $19.79 ($12.84 coupons/sales + $6.95 pick up fee)

Item Details

21 Items

Chicken of the Sea Chunk Light Tuna In Water, 5 oz (cheaper per can with sale than store brand)$5.00

4 x $1.25 $1.79 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.54

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.54

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.54

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.54

Cucumber, 1 ct$0.89

1 x $0.89 $0.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.10

Fresh Banana - Single, 1 ea (5 bananas, actually)$0.92

1.33 lbs x $0.69 each (approx.)

Heinz Tomato Ketchup, 32 oz (one of the few items I am brand loyal to)$2.99

1 x $2.99 $6.49 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.50

Item Coupon/Sale: -$2.00

Kroger® Complete Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Mix, 32 oz$2.84

1 x $2.84 $3.29 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.45

Kroger® Grade AA Large Cage Free White Eggs, 12 ct$8.99

1 x $8.99 each

Kroger® Half & Half, 1 pt$2.69

1 x $2.69 each

Kroger® Plain Bagels, 6 ct / 18 oz (the store substituted name brand bagels at store brand price)$2.34

1 x $2.34 $2.79 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.45

Kroger® Russet Potatoes Big Deal in 10 lb Bag, 10 lb$4.99

1 x $4.99 each

Kroger® White Hot Dog Buns, 8 ct / 11 oz (the store substituted name brand buns for the same price)$1.79

1 x $1.79 each

Kroger® Whole Carrots Bag, 2 lb$1.99

1 x $1.99 each

Large Fuji Apple - Each, large/ 1 count (3 apples)$0.56

0.57 lbs x $0.98 $1.98 each (approx.)

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.57

Private Selection® Classic All-Butter Croissants, 4 ct$3.74

1 x $3.74 $4.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.25

StarKist Reduced Sodium Chunk Light Tuna in Water, 5 oz (cheaper per can with sale than store brand)$5.00

4 x $1.25 $1.59 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.34

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.34

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.34

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.34

Non Grocery Item:

Kroger® Easy Care Everyday Facial Tissues, 4 ct$3.99

1 x $3.99 $6.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$2.00

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.00
+ sales tax $0.38

My total spending came to: $49.10

Of which, $ 4.37 was for household supplies (facial tissues+ tax) and $5.00 was for Dancer's tuna (I'm keeping the rest of the tuna for myself, but, no doubt, will end up sharing it with him!)

Amount spent on groceries (food for humans) = $49.10 - $4.37 - $5 = $39.73

My January grocery budget is $200 for two adults.

Spent to date: $84.61 (Jan. 3) + $50.06 (Jan. 10) + $39.73 (Jan. 19) = $174.40

Balance left in January Grocery Budget = $25.60

There are still 12 more days left in the month and I will need to do at least one more grocery shopping before the end of the month, if only for the half & half.  If I want to do a pick up, then, I will have to "borrow" $10 from the February budget to have the minimum amount to qualify for a free pick up.  Maybe I will shop in person and keep to my budget.  We shall see.

I am grateful for:

- Being able to order groceries online
- The store continuing to offer free pick up
- Having groceries available
- The store charging me the store price when they substitute with higher priced items
- A safe drive to the store and back

How are you doing with your grocery budget so far in January?  Will you be able to keep to your budget this month?

Quiet Saturday

Saturday was a restful, quiet day.  I didn't feel like doing anything much, so I didn't!  I did water the indoor plants and I ordered some groceries to be picked up on Sunday.  

The winds have stayed nice and calm and there is progress being made with all the fires.  All the smaller ones have been contained and the two bigger ones are partially contained.  I am hoping that they will be fully contained by the times the winds are supposed to pick up, next week.

For brunch, I cooked scrambled eggs and bacon, and made some toast; we had orange juice to go with it.  With eggs at $8.99 a dozen (there's a limit of two containers per person, now) and bacon selling for between $5.99 and $9.99 (depending on the brand) for a 12 oz. package, what used to be a simple breakfast of bacon and eggs has become a luxury, hasn't it? 

Dinner was leftover turkey keema curry with freshly cooked rice and cucumber slices.  We had leftover brownies (from the almsgiving) for dessert; warmed up for a few seconds in the microwave, they were delicious.  

On Saturday, I was grateful for:

- The winds were calm
- The fires are being contained
- A relaxed day
- Being able to order groceries online
- Working appliances

Saturday's joyful activities included watching videos online.

Plans for Sunday include picking up the groceries and maybe doing some baking for the week ahead.

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

On an Otherwise Ordinary Friday..

 

Christmas Tree 2024

The Christmas tree was finally taken down and stored in the garage for another year.  The bins with the decorations have also been put away.  Now, that corner of the family room looks quite bare!

In addition to removing the tree, I also decluttered several cardboard boxes I had been holding onto that were in the family room.  They are boxes that some Christmas gifts and supplies had arrived in.  I keep thinking that empty boxes will be useful, but, I think I have plenty of empty boxes for now.  These ones were recycled.  

M arrived in the evening and he replaced the bulb in the front porch, took the Christmas tree and bins to the garage, and pruned the calamondin tree and one of the big curry leaf trees, cutting them down in height to promote new growth that will be easier to reach.

Later in the evening, around 10:30 p.m., I was reading some blogs and daughter was playing a video game, when I thought I heard a knock at the front door.  "Did you hear a knock at the door?", I asked my daughter and she said no because she had her ear buds in while playing her game.  But, then, she sat up and noticed the glow of spinning red lights of an ambulance outside our house.  I opened the door and two paramedics stood there asking if I had called 911 (emergency)  I said no and they asked if anyone else was in the house with me and if they could have called 911.  I told them that my daughter was with me, but, she didn't call 911 either (and by that time, my daughter came into the living room asking what was wrong). Apparently, someone had called 911, but who?  I asked them if the house address was the same as mine and they said yes, but, I forgot to ask if the road name was the same.  

I don't know if a neighbor had called 911, but, there was no one in their front yards on the lookout for an ambulance.  I apologized to the paramedics and they left immediately.  I don't know if they had the address wrong (if so, I hope the person who had an emergency got help in time).  I sincerely hope it wasn't a prank call!  The poor paramedics probably have enough on their hands to cope with; they don't need to go on unnecessary emergency calls!  I felt rather perturbed that someone sent an ambulance to my house when it wasn't needed!

So, that was a bit of excitement on an otherwise ordinary day!  But, it was excitement that neither my daughter nor I needed or wanted!  

In the meantime, neighbor S's daughter N had seen the lights of the ambulance and had texted daughter to find out if everything was OK, and we were able to assure her that everything was fine.

For brunch, we shared the last two slices of pizza and had a piece of toast, each, as well.  For dinner, daughter had the leftover turkey keema curry with rice; I had the keema curry with leftover pancakes.

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- Paramedics answering calls for help, even if we don't know who called them to my house
- M's help with the garden, changing light bulbs, and putting away the Christmas tree and bins
- Working appliances
- Leftovers
- The firefighters are making progress on the wildfires.

Friday's joyful activity was finally taking down and putting away the Christmas tree and decorations.

Plans for Saturday might include picking up a few groceries.

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