First Weekend in April

"Two All Beef Patties, Special Sauce...On a Sesame Seed Bun"

Anyone else remembers the jingle?

The weekend, for me, started on Friday evening!


I had gone to the office on Friday and my supervisor brought me yet another bag of aeonium cuttings from her garden!  Now I have three bags of cuttings to plant and suddenly, I feel like singing "Baa, baa, black sheep" (Yes, sir, yes sir, three bags full!)  Bet I've got you wanting to sing it, too!  LOL!  I am planning to plant them in the parkway in front.  But I also want to take a couple of the cuttings and make a planter to take to the office.

I know I had said I'll put gas to the car on Friday morning (after not putting it on Thursday evening), but, I decided to live dangerously and drove to the office and back on only the last quarter tank of gas!  After work, I went to the pharmacy to pick up my medication refill and put gas to the car on the way back.  Gas was $2.75/gal. at this particular station, which is the one I go to on a regular basis as it seems to have the lowest prices in my neighborhood (it was $2.77, $2.99, and $3.19 at three other stations I passed on my way home).  It cost me $35.99 to fill the tank (I budget $50 a week for gas, currently; I used to budget $100 a week when I was driving my daughter to campus and back, a few years ago).

The gas station is located at one corner of a five point junction.  There is a Burger King across the street from it in one direction and a McDonald's across the street in another direction.  And, I thought about that craving I had for a Big Mac after I saw a picture of one in an ad that Nathalie had posted on her blog, last week.  So, after I put gas, I drove to the McDonald's and ... turned around and drove home again!  Yay, me!  I had intended to bake two of the battered fish fillets I had in the freezer for dinner and that's what I was going to have, with a salad.

I called my daughter to say I was home and we chatted a bit.  My gardener friend had mowed my back yard and was attending to my neighbor's yard, when I came home.  He handed me some zucchini and patty pan squash seeds and offered me some extra strawberry plants that he had!  I need to buy some potting soil so he can plant them in a planter for me.

It was 7:30 p.m. when the Big Mac attack took place!  Suddenly, the baked fish fillets didn't sound appetizing.  I called my daughter again and told her what I was about to do and she laughed indulgently.  Then, I put my shoes back on, got into the car, and drove all the way past the gas station to the McDonald's and bought a Big Mac!  But I resisted the fries!  Yay!  Small victory for me!   LOL.  There are 540 calories in a Big Mac and almost 300 of them from fat.  But the hamburger tasted OK to me, so that was good.

Roses from my Friend

Saturday morning, my gardener friend knocked on my door and handed me these roses from his garden!  Aren't they lovely?  

But Dancer was jealous that I was taking pictures of flowers, not of him, and tried to get my attention, standing on his hind legs to do so!  It's a bit blurry as he was trying to bat at the camera/cell phone:

"Take a Picture of Me, Mummy!"

I made milkrice for brunch since it was the first of the month (traditional to have milkrice on the first of the month) and a fish curry with canned mackerel.  Dinner was fried rice.  In between, I had grapes, applesauce, cheese and crackers, etc. for snacks.

There was a bit more family drama over the weekend, again related to giving rides to family.  Earlier in the week, when I went to give her the piece of cake, my cousin asked me for a ride to her uncle's birthday dinner on Saturday (yesterday).  I  informed her that I hadn't been invited.  Apparently, cousin was under the impression that I had been invited or will be invited.

On Friday evening, just as I was leaving the house to go for the Big Mac, my cousin called to ask if I was going to the party on Saturday and again, I told her no, because I have not been invited.  Cousin insisted that I had been invited and I assured her that I had not!  She then called her aunt.  Both aunt and her daughter called me on Friday night to invite me, apologizing and saying each had thought the other had invited me. 

Sometimes, I feel that I am invited to certain events solely in order to provide a ride to others.  I don't necessarily like it, but I try to see the positive aspects of it - I am blessed to be able to drive, it's a blessing to be provided with the opportunity to be of help to others, it's a meritorious deed, etc.  This time, however, I felt sore about things and wasn't prepared to be so altruistic.  I thanked them for the invitation, but said I wasn't able to attend.  I am sure they told my cousin, but she called me again on Saturday to ask if I was going, if I won't change my mind about not going.  I said no, I wasn't going and I won't change my mind about it.  But I felt bad saying it, as if I was being a petulant child.  I almost called her back to say I changed my mind, but I didn't.  I know I am being selfish, but I just feel my family is demanding a little too much of me at this stage of my recovery and I need to not be quite so available to them.  But I did rather blunder through it, didn't I?  No doubt, I could have handled it a bit better.  One of my friends pointed out that I should have just called my cousin once I had decided that I wasn't going and avoided the whole drama.  Maybe I am a drama queen, after all!

Today (Sunday), has been a quiet day after all the recent drama.  I slept in, spoke with daughter when she called to say good morning, spoke with my nextdoor neighbor when she called for our weekly Sunday morning chat, spoke with my daughter again, called a friend, and took it easy.  Brunch was leftover fried rice; dinner was leftover milkrice and fish curry.  Grapes, an apple, and a piece of cake for snacks/dessert.  In the evening, I video chatted with my daughter.  I also listened to songs on-line and watched some video clips throughout the day. 
   

"Afternoon Naps on the Sofa are the Best"

This weekend, I was grateful for:
- More plants from my supervisor's garden
- Roses from my friend's garden
- Fast food to satisfy a craving!
- The opportunity for some introspection
- The availability of songs and video clips on line

I have taken two days of vacation time off on Monday and Tuesday.  I haven't made a firm To Do list yet, but here's what I have to do on Monday:


- go to the pharmacy to pick up another refill that's ready
- grocery shop for the week
- empty the waste baskets/kitchen trash, etc.
- take the trash cans to the curb
- water the garden, front and back
- call to schedule a service for the car
- buy potting soil

How was your weekend?