Monday, January 6, 2020

Daughter Leaves on Sunday

Freshly Picked Oranges 

This morning, I picked a dozen oranges from the tree for my daughter to take back with her, along with a few sprigs of curry leaves as she said she had almost come to the end of the curry leaves she took with her, earlier.

I also gave her most of the love cake we made and a package of frozen fish curry to take back.  I offered her chicken curry, as well, but, she declined, because she didn't have a lot of room in her suitcase, this time, as she had some new clothes to take back.

I dropped her off at the airport just before 1:00 p.m. and came home.   Daughter had a safe flight and a safe subway ride from the Oakland airport to Berkeley and a safe walk from the subway station to her apartment (she chose to walk rather than wait for the bus, as buses are on the Sunday schedule, which means they don't run as frequently).

I had planned to take it easy after I dropped her off, it being Sunday, but, I decided to go ahead and do a couple of loads of laundry.  Doing a load of laundry always makes me feel like I've been productive!  LOL.  I washed another quilt, a knitted blanket, and the sheets and towels daughter used.  I am so glad that my daughter talked me into getting the bigger (more expensive) washing machine as it doesn't have a central agitator and the larger capacity makes it easier to wash the quilts.

Later, after tea, I watched the evening news and spent a little time doing the jigsaw puzzle, at least, until a certain kitty came to "help" and started to bat the pieces off the table ("You don't need that piece, Mummy, or that; they are just the background pieces!")  LOL!  That was my signal to cover the puzzle and do something else!  I remade daughter's bed, put away the rest of the laundry, and went online to watch some videos and listen to music.

Daughter, meanwhile, had unpacked and put away her stuff, aired out her apartment (it had been closed up for two weeks), and gone to the dollar store to do her weekly grocery shopping!  I video chatted with her, later in the evening, and she sent me pictures of her planner drawings that capture the highlights of this week:


Drawings for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday

On Monday, she went to see the movie, Frozen 2; Tuesday was New Year's Eve; on Wednesday, she was excited to start using her new 2020 planner.


Drawings for Thursday through Sunday
On Thursday, we had dinner at our neighbors' house and ate kufta.  On Friday, we went to my cousin's party where we asked "Alexa" to play Sinhalese music and it played "Single Ladies", instead, much to our amusement and chagrin!  It was so funny!  On Saturday, she went to an escape room (and, I guess, didn't manage to escape in time!), went to watch the touring Broadway production of Frozen, and, was officially asked to be her best friend's maid of honor!  Then, on Sunday, she flew back to Berkeley (from the Burbank airport to the Oakland airport).  I love how she captures the highlight(s) of the day!

Today, I am grateful for:
- Daughter had a safe flight back
- Fresh oranges from the garden
- Friend R calling to check on me
- Neighbor T calling, too
- Being able to listen to the songs from my past

Today's joyful activity was spending the morning with daughter and video chatting with her in the evening.

Tomorrow, I am planning to go back to my regular weekly cleaning schedule that I haven't been doing for the past three weeks or so!

Monday's To Do List:
- Load of laundry
- Dust living room, dining area, family room
- Clean the fridge
- Take trash cans to the curb for Tuesday trash pick up
- Water the garden, front and back
- Walk for 30 minutes

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


20 comments:

  1. Does your daughter keep all her old planners? I admire her skill and commitment in producing this sort of daily entry.

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    1. I believe she has her planners from at least the last couple of years. Last year's planner had a different format and she didn't do the daily drawings. This year, she decided that she missed this format, with space in which to draw. :)

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  2. What a wonderful thing to be able to pick your own oranges. Unless we have a hothouse, we've no chance in this country. A few years ago in one of the Med countries, we saw lemons growing on trees along the street - I was fascinated!

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    1. It is a lovely thing to be able to pick your own oranges, and, with 3 lemon trees in my garden, I am able to pick my own lemons, too. :) I am thinking of planting another orange tree, this year.

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  3. Sounds like a perfect two weeks to me. So glad that you got to spend that time together.

    You have shown us your daughter's planner before and it is so creative. If I tried to draw my plans, I'd have no idea what I was trying to say when I came back to look at it. Drawing is not one of my talents.

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    1. Thank you, Live and Learn. Other than daughter catching my cold, it was a perfect couple of weeks, spent together. We did some "just us" activities, did things together with family and friends, and she got to spend time with some of her own friends, too.

      I love her ability to capture the highlights of the day. This is a girl who used to cry and say she couldn't draw, especially when asked to do so for school projects. Then, she discovered the Japanese manga style of drawing and she's been drawing ever since. :)

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  4. I am sure it feels suddenly silent there with your daughter gone, but whee ... more wedding event fun with her role in her friend's wedding- I hope it will involve many trips your way-
    This new year has started with a big list of things I really should do, but for now everything will just go on hold while we all concentrate on whatever Paige is going to need in the coming weeks- and of course supporting my sweet Whitney from a distance-
    Fondest regards as always-
    Barb

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    1. The house does feel a bit empty with her gone, Barb, but, I'll be seeing her again in 7 weeks or so (she's planning to come down for her birthday) and, no doubt, her friend's wedding will require an additional trip or two down for bridal showers and so forth. :)

      You have your priorities right, Barb. Being there for your daughters is the most important task for now. I hope Paige's meeting with the doctor, tomorrow, goes well and the treatment being outlined for her will go well. Encourage her to ask questions about the treatment, what to expect in terms of side effects, etc. Will someone be able to accompany her? It is usually good to have another person there, during these consultations. My daughter accompanied me when I met with the oncologist for the initial consultation and she asked him all kinds of questions on my behalf! I tend to be rather passive when it comes to these things - I usually accept whatever the doctors say and don't question things. Not so my daughter! She had read up everything she could online and had a list of questions she had for the doctors! LOL! I had a very good advocate in her! But, then, I did the same with my mother, so much so that her cardiologist asked me if I had any medical training, myself.

      Keeping you and your daughters in my prayers, Barb. (((HUGS)))

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  5. I’m glad you had a good visit with your daughter. This seems to be the year that people actually start using planners regularly. They’re fun

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    1. Thank you, Akasha. The two weeks flew by, but, we had a good visit. She has been using her planner, without fail, for several years, now; but, I have stopped using one since I retired! I just use my wall calendar and a small one I keep in my purse and that seems to work well for me.

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  6. I had a feeling your daughter would return home with some food goodies :) I'm pleased she had a safe journey home. X

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    1. Ha, ha, she almost always does take some food back, doesn't she? It's now a two-way thing as she, too, brings things home - this time, she brought me some fruit and bagged salad.

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  7. Hi Bless, Those oranges look so perfect. I love the drawings! The past couple of days have been productive. I am getting everything organized for the new year.

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    1. Thank you, Stephenie. There were a couple of oranges that split open, but, the rest of the crop seems to be fine. That's wonderful that you are getting things organized for the new year! That's what I want to be - organized, but, so far, I haven't done anything much to get myself organized!

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  8. How funny the music that "Alexa" came up with! I think you would have done better with google! I hope it won't be too long before your daughter's next visit, but at least you had a decent long time together.
    I did some puttering on Sunday afternoon, decided to use up some golden syrup and make a gingerbread using an English recipe. It turned out quite well. I also started to convert some long scarves into infinity scarves, much easier to wear. Today I did 3 loads of laundry and vaccumed upstairs and the stairs themselves. DH was out so it was easy to do this without disturbing him (or vice versa?) 😄 Then I visited a friend in the afternoon.

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    1. Poor Alexa got the equivalent of an earful about her choice of music! LOL! It was something new that my cousins had got for their mother, so, they were anxious to show it off to us. We found that, even with some American songs, we had to specify the song and singer's name, especially the old songs.

      You've had a very productive day! Golden syrup! Yum! It was such a treat when I was growing up - I still like it best on bread with butter!

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  9. I love your daughter's drawings. She is very artistic.

    Hehee Alexa's story made me laugh. :)

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    1. Thank you, Nil. Yes, it was very funny. Poor Alexa couldn't find half the songs we were requesting! :D

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  10. Your daughter is so creative with the costumes she creates for the events she attends and the way she keeps her planner - It's very alive and happy :)

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    1. Thank you, Debra. Yes, she does try to capture that day's outfit, when she does her drawings! She enjoys putting her outfits together. :)

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