Productive Thursday

Osteospermum: some with yellow centers and others with purple centers

Today has been another productive day!  In the morning, neighbor S (my piano teacher) called to confirm today's lesson time (we are still trying to find the best fit, but, I think we have found a good time, now).  Then, I spent about 30 minutes practicing the piano.  After that, I cut up the chicken breasts into small pieces, added the curry powder and spices to coat the pieces, and kept it covered in the fridge to marinate.  I also chopped up two large onions and kept that aside.

Once that was done, I took my shower (I didn't want to shower first and then cut chicken and onions), got dressed, wrote out checks for two bill payments (yes, I still prefer to write checks!), took the kitchen trash out, and brought in the mail while I waited until it was time to go for my piano lesson.

Today's lesson went well!  I received two stickers!  I was told I did well with last week's new pieces, but, now, she wants me to memorize them!  Ha, ha!  What a joke!  I don't even have my cell phone number memorized!  Then, she had me play several new pieces and I am supposed to memorize all but one of them, too!  Oh, my!  My memory is such that, one year, I even forgot my own daughter's birthday!  What mother forgets her only child's birthday?  I think I hear my brain cells laughing at the idea of memorizing piano pieces! 

Afterwards, I came home and had lunch.  Then, I ran some errands. 

First, I went to the post office to mail my bill payments.  Dropped them off in the collection box on the counter.  Then, I went to the bank (the post office is on my way to the bank).

Once my bank transaction was done, I went to the Armenian grocery store, located next to the bank, and bought the majority of the rest of the items I needed for the prayer gathering dinner and a few items for my own use.  I bought:

Apples (@$.49/lb)  = $1.36
1 papaya (@$.89/lb) = $1.84
2 avocados (@$.79) = $1.58
Tomatoes (regular; @$1.09/lb) = $2.96 (for the salad)
Tomatoes (Roma; @ $.79/lb) = $1.19 (for the chicken curry)
1 green bell pepper (@$.39/lb) = $.15
1 red bell pepper (@$1.29/lb) = $.25
1 yellow bell pepper (@$1.29/lb) = $.39
1 lb. bag carrots = $.50
1 cucumber = $.59
Green beans (@$1.19/lb) = $2.65
Red lentils (@$1.29/lb) = $2.28
Garbanzo (chick peas; @$.99/lb)  = $2.09
5 cans condensed milk (@$1.69) = $8.45
Total spent = $26.41

Then, I went to the pharmacy to find out about my inhaler.  I called in a refill last Friday, although I had come to the end of the refills.  Usually, that is not a problem because the pharmacy contacts the doctor's office for a new authorization.  I have now come to the end of my inhaler and have been trying to eke it out, taking one puff instead of the prescribed two and just once a day instead of twice a day.  As a result, I run out of breath, especially when I am counting out loud when I practice my piano pieces!  When I called the pharmacy to find out the status of the refill, I was told they were waiting for the doctor's office to authorize a refill.  Today, when I went in person and asked them, I found out that they had sent the refill request to my former primary care doctor, who has not been my doctor since June of last year!  This is after I gave them my new primary care doctor's information, not once, but twice!  So, now, they have sent a request to the current doctor and, hopefully, she will take care of it, tomorrow.  Maybe I will call the doctor's office and tell them that the pharmacy is supposed to contact them.  In the meantime, I do have my rescue inhaler, if needed, and I need to remember to put on a dust mask when I vacuum the house, tomorrow! 

After the pharmacy visit, I went to the dollar store, next door.  I bought two packs of paper plates (10 plates per pack), a pack of plastic spoons, a long handled dust pan to replace the one that cracked, a small plastic watering can to replace the one that started leaking, some grapes (@$1.99/lb), a bottle of lemon-lime soda.  My total came to $14.04. 

That was my last errand for the day.  I came home, put away the groceries (sorry, I didn't take any pictures), had a cup of tea, watched the evening news, made a couple of phone calls, finished tidying and dusting the family room, did a little more paperwork and filing, cooked the chicken curry, put garbanzo beans (chick peas) to soak, and made myself some dinner:

Dinner: Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing, Sauteed Chicken Breast Strips, and Half a Baked Potato

 
Today, I am grateful for:
- More stickers at my piano lesson!
- Exercise for my brain (memorizing my pieces!)
- What I was able to accomplish
- Warm wool sweaters that I knitted
- Video chatting with my daughter

Today's joyful activity was playing the piano well enough to get stickers!  LOL.

Thursday's To Do List:
- Practice the piano/Piano lesson - DONE
- Pay bills/Post office - DONE
- Bank - DONE
- Groceries - DONE
- Pharmacy - DONE
- Dollar store - DONE
- Finish tidying and dusting the family room - DONE
- Cook the chicken curry! - DONE
- Clean the rest of the kitchen

I ran out of energy to clean the rest of the kitchen, today.

Friday's To Do List:
- Call the doctor's office re. inhaler refill
- Cook: garbanzo beans, dhal, green beans
- Clean the bathrooms
- Vacuum
- Clean the rest of the kitchen (after the cooking is done)
- Practice the piano

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