Mid-Week on Wednesday

 

Clouds and Contrails

It was a lovely warm summer day on Wednesday.  We went up to 95F.  I woke up at 8:00 a.m. and tended to the chickens, letting them out of their inner coop into the the bigger enclosure and giving them their food crumbles.  They have been with us for just over four weeks (it was four weeks on Tuesday).  One of the garden cats, little Mochi, has taken to following me to the shed where I keep the chicken feed and waiting for me to go back to the house where I give the garden cats their morning kibble.

More Clouds and Contrails

M was here in the early afternoon to tend to the garden.  He uprooted the dead avocado tree, watered the garden, and gifted us with an onion he had grown in his garden.  

Even More Clouds and Contrails

Later in the afternoon, I put in an order for groceries to be delivered on Thursday morning.  The loaf of sandwich bread I ordered was in low supply, I was notified.  I did authorize a substitute for the bread; I hope I receive some bread.

In the early evening, I went to the pharmacy to pick up some medication refills that were ready.  I had another $4 off coupon and bought a bag of honey roasted peanuts that were on sale for $3.99 with my coupon.  

Just Clouds

fterwards, I went to the library to return a book and to borrow a book that I had placed a hold on and which had arrived.  On the way to the library, I stopped at a discount grocery store that had advertised pork chops for $1.99/lb. but, they were out of it!  I asked the person at the meat service counter and he led me to where the beef steaks were kept.  But, I didn't want beef steaks as I had already ordered a beef roast from the other grocery store.  I hadn't taken the weekly grocery flyer with me, so I couldn't point out what I was looking for.  I didn't look around or buy anything else from that particular store.  I might go back, later in the week, with the grocery ad to see if they had any pork chops.

More Clouds

I really liked the way the clouds looked with and without the contrails.  

On Wednesday, I was grateful for:

- The chickens laying eggs
- M's help with the garden
- The availability of medications and insurance
- Daughter doing the hard work of keeping the chicken coop clean and maintained
- Library services

Wednesday's joyful activities included watching the chickens while daughter put them in the coop for the night.  They have started climbing up on daughter's shoulders and Henny Penny even climbed up on her head, the day before!  

Plans for Thursday include receiving the groceries and maybe going to the discount grocery store to see if they have the pork chops on sale.

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

Avocado Tree

Avocado Tree - August 2026

The avocado tree I grew from a seed has finally given up!  It tried so hard to recover from last year's drought.

Back in 2017, it was just a seed from a store bought avocado, which.I put in a bottle of water to grow:

Avocado Seed in Water
June 2017

It grew indoors until it grew to be about two feet tall.  Gardener friend M and I potted it up, but, kept it indoors.  But then, it got too hot inside the house and the leaves dried up and fell off.  I cut the stem down almost all the way and it regrew.  We hardened it off and set it out in the garden.  Here's how it looked in March 2018:

Avocado Seedling Regrowth 
Msrch 2018

Later, we planted it in the ground and it grew well.  I read that avocado trees grown from seed might not set fruit at all, but, I didn't mind.  I was happy to have it as a regular tree in the garden.  Here's how it looked back in April 2024, when it was thriving:

Avocado Tree - April 2024

Then came summer and it was a hot summer.  By the end of August, the avocado tree was showing signs of heat distress:

In August 2024

But, the leaves were still mostly green.  Then, the September heatwaves began and here's how it looked towards the end of September:

September 2024

Gardener M wondered if it was dead, but, I thought it might revive.  We pruned it back a bit and by January 2025, it looked a a lot better, even if it was a bit lop sided due to all the pruning of dead branches:

In January 2025

It looked promising, didn't it?  I honestly thought it would survive.  But, summer 2025 was brutal and the poor avocado tree struggled.  I didn't take any pictures of the avocado tree during the summer because it looked so pathetic.

However, by October, it had recovered a little bit:

In October 2025

It might have been its last hurrah.  It didn't do well this summer and it is time to say goodbye and uproot it.  I might keep the trunk to use as a pole for a trellis or something.  A little reminder of the avocado tree I grew from a seed.  

M has asked if we'd like a "real" avocado tree for the garden, something grown in a plant nursery which is more likely to actually produce some fruit.  Daughter and I said yes, so, he will check the nurseries for us.  

Meanwhile, I have this waiting in the wings:

New Avocado Seedling - August 2026

I put four store bought avocado seeds to root and only one actually rooted, but, it is growing well in its jar of water.  We'll pot it up once it has cooled down a bit to reduce transplant shock and see what happens.  M will probably roll his eyes at it, but, I do love trying to grow things from seeds and cuttings.  

Thank you avocado tree for the happiness you brought me (as well as the anxious worrying if you'll make it ot not) over the years.  

August Week 2 Meal Plan Options Review and Week 3 Options

 

Chinese Take Out on Friday

These were my meal plan options for August Week 2:

Brunches:  Protein Shake (Monday; me - after dental work getting a tooth ready for a crown); hamburger (Monday, daughter); Pancakes with sausages and blueberry compote (Tuesday); Tortillas with scrambled eggs and lunu miris (daughter); French toast; fried egg and cold cuts sandwiches; hamburgers; leftovers

Dinners: Scrambled eggs and ramen noodles soup (made with half a packet of ramen; Monday, me); Scrambled eggs and rice with chicken curry and peach chutney (Monday, daughter); Rice, chicken curry, cauliflower mallung, and moringa curry; Stringhoppers (me; daughter prefers rice) with kiri hodi (coconut milk curry) with or without eggs and/or chicken curry and seeni sambol; leftovers; Chinese take out (Friday treat); Rice, chicken curry, moringa curry, sauteed kale, peach chutney (impromptu dinner party on Thursday)

 

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, protein shakes, yogurt, flan, ice cream

Here's how that turned out:

Monday:
Brunch:  Protein shake (me; after dental work); home cooked hamburger (daughter)
Dinner:  Scrambled eggs and ramen noodles soup (made with half a packet of ramen; me); scrambled eggs, followed by rice, chicken curry, and peach chutney (daughter)
Snacks/Dessert: Ice cream

Tuesday Brunch

Tuesday:

Brunch: Pancakes with sausages and blueberry compote
Dinner:   Rice, cauliflower stir-fry (with turmeric, curry leaves, mustard seeds, Sri Lankan spice blend, and lemon juice), chicken curry
Snacks/Dessert: Yogurt (me); strawberries (daughter)

Tuesday Dinner

Wednesday:

Brunch:  Leftover pancakes with sausages and blueberry compote (me0; tortillas with scrambled egg and lunu miris (daughter)

Wednesday Brunch for Me

Dinner:   Rice and chicken curry with cucumber salad
Snacks/Dessert: Yogurt, strawberries

Thursday:

Brunch:  Protein shake (me); bread and chicken curry (daughter)
Dinner: Rice, chicken curry, moringa curry, sauteed kale (not quite kale mallung since I didn't add grated coconut), peach chutney (daughter's friend A and her fiance came over to have us taste test wedding cake samples and I decided to have an impromptu dinner party!) 
Snacks/Dessert: Wedding Cake Taste Testing - 5 varieties of cake/frosting combinations!

Friday:

Brunch: Rice and leftover smoked sausage stir fry (daughter)
Late Lunch: Chinese take out (my first meal of the day; eaten around 5:30 p.m., after my doctor's appointment and trip to the post office!)

Dinner:  Leftover Chinese take out
Snacks/Dessert:  Protein shake; yogurt, last of the strawberries

Saturday:

Brunch: Sri Lankan rolls - crepes filled with curried  and potatoes, breaded and deep fried

Dinner:  Stringhoppers with chicken curry

Snacks/Dessert: Yogurt

Sunday:

Brunch:  Garden salad, pasta salad, mini croissants filled with chicken salad, fresh fruit skewers, berries, cake (Bridal Shower Party):  

DinneRice, Leftover Chinese take out
Snacks/Dessert: Iced shortbread cookie from the bridal shower

And there you have it!  I didn't follow the meal plan to the letter, but, I mostly selected from the options I had listed with some changes.  

On to this week's meal plan options!  Here are the options for August Week 3:

Brunches:  Scrambled eggs and toast (Monday); French toast; fried egg and cold cuts sandwiches; hamburgers; Waffles or pancakes with bacon and blueberry compote; leftovers

Dinners: Stringhopperswith  chicken curry and garbanzo beans (chick peas) curry;  Rice with chicken curry, kale, moringa curry, and garbanzo beans curry;  Burritos (from the freezer); Tortillas and chicken curry; leftovers

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, protein shakes, yogurt, ice cream, cookies

Those are the planned options.  We might stick to these options or go off them, depending on how things work out.  I am planning to order some groceries mid-week (just waiting to see what this week's specials will be, before I order anything).  The meal plan options might change based on what I buy, too.

As always, I am grateful for being able to make meal plan options and being able to go off plan as the mood strikes me.  It's truly a blessing to be able to do so.B

How about you?  Are you making any meal plans this week?  

August Week 2 Review

Bridal Shower Card

The second week of August has been a rather busy one for me.  

When I posted my August Week 1 review, I mentioned that I was posting it on Sunday afternoon and my plan for the rest of the day included accompanying my daughter when she went to her gymnastics session.  I did accompany her and it was a very good thing that I did because, apparently, she landed awkwardly on her final flip, rolling her right foot under her and hurting her small toe.  It's the same foot that she sprained, earlier.  As a result, she was unable to drive her car home so, since I had accompanied her, I drove us home.   She thinks she might have sprained her toe. That was Sunday, August 9.

On Monday, August 10, I had a dental appointment to fix a broken tooth and get it ready for a crown.  I was fitted with a temporary crown and was given an appointment for the end of the month, to return for the permanent crown and more work on the adjoining tooth.   My daughter went with me for moral support more than anything else.  The dental procedure took a little over two hours and I was told that the next appointment would also take about as long.  

It was my aunt C's birthday on Monday.  I sent her a message through her daughter, my cousin N, as Aunt C is no longer able to speak on the phone or do anything much due to her advanced stage of Alzheimer's.  

Daughter made a card to send to Aunt C:

Birthday Card

It opens up to reveal...

A Bouquet of Flowers

On Tuesday, August 11, I rested and recovered from my dental work.  My daughter was kind enough to water the garden for me, but, afterwards, she needed to ice her foot.  

On Wednesday, August 12, I continued to recover from the dental work and tried to figure out what I wanted to do about a border from my hexagon quilt.  Thank you to everyone who commented on it and offered suggestions.  

On Thursday, August 13, I had a follow-up appointment with the dermatologist.  My skin irritations have cleared up and we decided that I don't need any further follow-up visits.  Earlier in the day, I spent about 30 minutes tidying up in the garden.  Then, I picked some kale and cooked it, stir-frying it with spices.

Around 5:30 p.m., my daughter received a phone call from her friend A (my late friend A's younger daughter) who is engaged to get married in approximately six weeks.  A wanted to know if we would like to taste test wedding cake samples to help her choose the cake.  Of course we said we'd love to help!  She said she'd bring the samples and come around 7:45 p.m.  About 10 minutes before she arrived, she asked if it would be okay if her fiance came over, too, and we said yes.  My daughter quickly tidied the house a bit and, although not a word was said about dinner, I cooked a pot of rice and warmed up some curries.  I was very happy that I had packages of chicken curry and moringa curry in the freezer and that I had picked and cooked the kale earlier in the day!  We had rice, chicken curry, sauteed kale, moringa curry, and peach chutney for dinner, and samples of five different types of cakes (there were two mini cupcakes of each different flavor) to taste test for dessert!  All the cakes tasted good to me, but, we all agreed that one particular cake (lemon and raspberry) was better than the others.

Later in the evening, daughter managed to stub the same toe she hurt during gymnastics, so she was back to square one where that toe was concerned!  

On Friday, August 14, I had an appointment with the oncology nurse practitioner.  My appointment was at 1:00 p.m., but, I left the house 10 minutes before 12 noon to allow time for traffic congestions on the freeway.  I arrived at the clinic by 12:45 p.m.  I was called in and weighed, my pressure checked, etc. around 1:30 p.m.  Then, I had to wait until an examination room was available, which didn't happen until 3:00 p.m.!  Then, there was another 15 minutes or so until the nurse practitioner actually came in to exam me (with a trainee accompanying her; with my consent, I was examined twice!)  It was 3:30 p.m. by the time I left the clinic and 4:30 p.m. when I got home!  

I hadn't eaten all day (although I had a granola bar with me), so, as soon as I got home, I had half a bottle of a protein drink and then, I drove my daughter to the post office so she could mail a work-related package.  

On our way back from the post office, daughter suggested stopping by our favorite Chinese restaurant; I reminded her that we had food at home, but, she said she wanted to treat me, so, we picked up some Chinese food for a late lunch/dinner.  

Later in the evening, gardener friend M returned from his week of vacation and tended to the garden.  He brought us a pomegranate from his garden, which was very nice of him.

On Saturday, August 15, friend R came over in the afternoon to pick up some packages that had arrived for her.  She brought us some stringhoppers and snacks and had tea with us.  We gave her some eggs and curry leaves to take back with her.

Also on Saturday, I made the card shown above.

On Sunday, August 16, we attended A's bridal shower.  It was at 11:00 a.m. and went on till just after 2:30 p.m.  After we got home, I took a long nap as I was tired.  

August Decluttering - Week 2:  In the second week of August, I decluttered 3 glass bottles/jars and 2 plastic containers that I had been reusing to store items in the kitchen, 2 blouses (daughter took one of them), 2 stems of silk flowers, and some dried up glue sticks and other crafts supplies (counting those as 1 item), for a total of 10 items, which brings my monthly total up to 36 items..  

In the first week of August, I was grateful for:

- Access to dental care
- Access to medical care
- Having medical insurance
- My daughter treating us to Chinese food
- M's help with the garden
- Garden fresh eggs (the chickens are making sure we are not lacking for eggs!)

The week ahead is a slower one.  I have no medical appointments, although I need to schedule a bone density test.  We have one visit scheduled for Monday evening to visit one of daughter's friends, but, other than that, it should be a relaxed week and I should be able to catch up on my blog reading.

How was your week?  What are your plans for August Week 3?

Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt Top

 

Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt Top

This is the quilt top that I have been sewing for several years, now. 

I first posted about it over 11 years ago, here.

Then, an update the following year.

Plus, this post about a certain kitty "helping" me with the quilt - he was such a helpful kitty and we miss him so much!

I have finally finished sewing all the flowers, with three left over!  I might use those leftover flowers to make cushions or, perhaps, on the back of the quilt.

Now I am wondering how to do the border.  The pattern leaves scalloped edges, especially on the two long sides.

Top/Bottom Edges of Quilt Top

One of the Side Edges

Originally, I had planned to put half flowers in the bigger spaces to make it a straighter edge.  Then, I thought I'll add a second row of solid green hexagons all around and consider that as the border and leave it scalloped.  It would still be difficult to bind.  But, I might need fewer hexagons to sew together.  So, I started to cut out more green hexagons.  I cut out 35 yesterday; I am going to need around 120 hexagons, give or take a few!  At this rate, I will take at least the rest of the year to piece the top!

I also considered the option of sewing rectangles in different hues/shades of red and brown fabric to make "bricks" to edge the quilt, like a brick path around the flower garden.  I do have a long enough piece of a solid red fabric to make a border, but, I don't have enough different hues/shades of red or brown fabric in the stash.  There are fabrics with brick patterns for sale, but, that's cheating and they are not exactly inexpensive!  I will not pay full price for any fabric I buy for a quilt.  

I did consider a quicker alternative, where I'd sew the top down to a wide piece of fabric to make a straight edge and border, and tried out the idea with three different pieces of fabric from my stash:

Red and White Stripes

I like this, I think it brightens the quilt top, but my daughter thinks it looks Christmas-y.

Bright Green

My daughter likes this, but it is too much of green for me.  I could, however, see it as a narrow border or binding for the quilt.  

Lilac with Yellow-Centered White Flowers 

Daughter said the green and purple/lilac combination is very me!  LOL.  She also pointed out how the yellow centers of the flowers on the fabric match the yellow centers of the flowers of the quilt top.

I also looked at leaf patterned fabric, but, again, I am balking at paying full price, especially when I have all the fabric I bought when the fabric store was going out of business, at the end of 2024 and spring 2025.

Fabric Bought in December 2024

Fabric Bought in March 2025
(Spot the red & white striped and the bright green fabric!)

Which option would you choose for the border?  Another row of green hexagons and leave it scalloped?  Half flowers to fill in the scallops to make a straight edge and bind?  Sew down the top to a wide piece of fabric from the stash to end with a stright edge?  Splurge a bit and buy newleaf patterned or brick patterned fabric? 

August Week 1 Meal Plan Options Review and Week 2 Options

Smoked Sausage Stir Fry with Kale and Chives

These were my meal plan options for August Week 1:

Brunches:  Milkrice with seeni sambol and/or chicken curry (Monday)✔️; Cold cuts sandwiches✔️; Tortillas with eggs and lunu miris;  Pancakes with blueberry compote and/or syrup; Leftover Chinese food✔️Peanut butter toast

Dinners: Hamburgers (for lunch)✔️ with cucumber salad; MilkRice and chicken curry with moringa leaves curry and dhal (daughter)✔️; Fried rice ✔️or frozen burritos✔️; Leftovers✔️Rice and chicken curry (daughter); bread and chicken curry (me)

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit✔️, protein shakes✔️, garlic bread✔️, lava cake✔️, ice cream✔️French bread with dhal (me), Japanese snacks, dates, aloo puri

Here's how it turned out:

Monday:
Brunch:  Milkrice, chicken curry, seeni sambol (me); protein shake (daughter)
Dinner:  Fried rice and one leftover sausage (me); Leftover Chinese food (daughter) 
Snacks/Dessert: Protein shake; apple slices

Tuesday:

Brunch:  Milkrice with seeni sambol and jaggery (me); protein shake (daughter)
Dinner:  Fried rice (me); milkrice with dhal and sauteed moringa leaves (daughter)  
Snacks/Dessert: French bread with dhal, some Japanese snacks, dates

Wednesday:

Brunch:  Fried rice

Dinner:   Bread and chicken curry (me); rice and chicken curry (daughter)
Snacks/Dessert: Aloo puri, apple slices with peanut butter, dates

Thursday:

Brunch:  Peanut butter toast (me); protein shake (daughter)
Dinner: Rice with smoked sausage/kale/chives stir fry
Snacks/Dessert: Japanese snacks, honey garlic bread sticks, apple slices with peanut butter

Friday Dinner: Rice, Smoked Sausage Stir-fry, 
Dhal Curry

Friday:

Brunch:  Banana, French bread with chicken curry gravy and dhal
Dinner:  Rice, smoked sausage stir fry, dhal curry
Snacks/Dessert:  Banana, strawberries, yogurt, flan

Saturday Brunch: Fried egg and cold cuts sandwich

Saturday:
Brunch: Fried egg and sauteed cold cuts sandwiches
Dinner:  Frozen burrito (daughter and I shared one) 
Snacks/Dessert: Banana, strawberries, yogurt, flan, Japanese snacks

Sunday Breakfast: Banana and Peanut Butter

Sunday:
Breakfast:  Sliced banana and peanut butter (me); daughter had bananas without peanut butter

Lunch: Half a hamburger (daughter had the other half)
Dinner:   Rice, chicken curry, cucumber salad, peach chutney
Snacks/Dessert: Strawberries, yogurt, flan, honey garlic bread sticks

Well, that turned out about the way I expected it to!  We somewhat followed the meal plan options I had listed while adding and subtracting  as we went.  Which is fine, actually.  It was a hot week with temperatures going up to triple digits on some days.  I didn't feel like cooking on some days and I didn't feel like eating what I had listed on other days.  Daughter had her own meal preferences and we ate different things on some days and I didn't always keep track of what she ate (I had a hard enough time keeping track of my own meals!) But, it worked out well enough for us.

Moving on to this week...here are my meal plan options for August Week 2:

Brunches:  Protein Shake (Monday; me - after dental work getting a tooth ready for a crown); hamburger (Monday, daughter); Pancakes with sausages and blueberry compote (Tuesday); Tortillas with scrambled eggs and lunu miris; French toast; fried egg and cold cuts sandwiches; hamburgers; leftovers

Dinners: Scrambled eggs and ramen noodles soup (made with half a packet of ramen; Monday, me); Scrambled eggs and rice with chicken curry and peach chutney (Monday, daughter); Rice, chicken curry, cauliflower mallung, and moringa curry; Stringhoppers (me; daughter prefers rice) with kiri hodi (coconut milk curry) with or without eggs and/or chicken curry and seeni sambol; leftovers

 

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit, protein shakes, yogurt, flan, ice cream

That's the plan.  We might or might not stick to it!

As always, I am grateful for the blessings of:

- Enough food to eat
- Plenty of variety
- A well stocked pantry and freezer
- Garden produce
- Fresh eggs from the chickens (who've been with us for 3 weeks for today!)

What about you?  Are you doing any meal planning this week?

Ten on the 10th - August

I'm joining blog friend Joy to take and post ten photos on the 10th of the month.  My photos were all taken in and around my garden:

Rose - a bit crispy around the edges

Plumbago

Pomegranate

Calamondin

Niwatori

Henny Penny

Backyard Chickens

Garden Cats: Fluffy (Mama) & Mochi (Kitty)

Mochi

Fluffy

Thank you Joy for organizing the ten on the 10th photo challenge.