Productive Weekend

Saturday was a productive day.  My energy levels were good, the weather was not too hot, although it got up to 104F in the afternoon, and I was able to get things done.  I renewed the car registration, made several phone calls, put gas to the car, did some shopping, went over my grocery budget (!), cooked, did the dishes, and cleaned the litter box.


Sunday was a less productive day.  My neighbor T called in the morning and we had our weekly phone chat.  Later, I attended the monthly prayer gathering and gave my cousin P a ride there and back.  It was an hour-long drive, each way; we left a little after noon and got back at 5:00 p.m.  My friend who hosted the prayer gathering had picked some pomegranates from her tree and gave me some:

Pomegranates

I am keeping them until daughter comes home, because she loves pomegranates.

I did a load of laundry after I came home.

Later in the evening, my neighbor S who lives across the street from me called; her daughter had made some Armenian rice pilaf with vegetables and chicken and was bringing me a plate:

Armenian Rice Pilaf

I had some of it for my dinner and it was very tasty. I had more of it, today (Monday) for lunch and there's more leftover for another couple of meals.


I had planned to cook the beef steaks I had bought on Saturday, but I still had the fish curry I had cooked earlier and now I have all this rice pilaf, as well.  So I added curry powder and spices to the beef steaks, repackaged it into three smaller packages and froze them.  All I'll have to do will be to thaw them, add the rest of the ingredients like onions and curry leaves, and cook them (they'll be cooked as a curry).

Today, Monday, I went for my oncologist appointment in the morning.  I asked for and received a copy of the mammogram results (the actual report), and had my port catheter flushed.  I had planned to go to the bank, afterwards, but I came home, had lunch, and then, didn't feel like going out, again, in the heat (109F today).  Instead, I wrote a blog post about my stuffed toy tiger, paid the telephone bill, watched some TV, wrote a couple of emails to friends, and relaxed.   Later in the evening, I put water to the back garden and took the trash cans to the curb.

That's when I noticed that I had a self-trimming eucalyptus tree:

Fallen Eucalyptus Branch

It wasn't a very big branch.  I managed to break off the smaller branches with the leaves and stuffed them into the yard waste bin, which will be collected, tomorrow.  The branch itself, I moved to the back; it needs to be cut down so that the pieces can fit into the yard waste bin.  I might ask my gardener friend to do that for me.  Or I might cut it with my handsaw.

Once upon a time, I tried to cut a fairly big dead tree in my back garden with my handsaw.  I was standing on a ladder and sawing away at a branch when one of the neighbors in a house behind me happened to see me.  He offered me his chainsaw and I had that tree down in a few hours.  The only part I couldn't cut was the very last bit of the trunk, which was about 2-feet in diameter.  The saw kept getting stuck!  I didn't know then, that the way to cut such a thick trunk was to cut down vertically along the middle and then cut horizontally to remove each half.  Another neighbor, to whom I offered the wood, cut down the last bit for me and showed me how it should be done.

My mother was fussing at me because I was determined to cut that tree that evening  and it made us late to go to a family gathering!  Well, it was she who was unhappy with having a dead tree in the backyard, saying it was unlucky!  I hadn't planned on cutting the whole tree in one go, though.  I thought I'd saw off one branch at a time over several days, but when my neighbor offered me the use of his chainsaw, then I didn't want to stop!          

My podiatrist's office called to remind me of my appointment scheduled for tomorrow afternoon and I confirmed that I will be there.

I should put away the laundry from yesterday, make up daughter's bed, and do another load of laundry (the sofa dust sheets).  But first, I should have dinner (cold cuts sandwiches and salad).  

To Do List for Tuesday:
- Office
- Bank
- Podiatrist appointment

Today, I am grateful for:
- A good visit with the oncologist
- A productive weekend
- Pomegranates from my friend's garden
- The branch that fell was small and did no damage
-  The slightly cooler evening.

How was your weekend?  What are your plans for the rest of the week?