Saturday

 

Green Bean Plants and Zucchini

It has been one week for today since I developed my sciatica pains!  I am feeling much better these past couple of days and haven't been feeling enough pain to take any Tylenol.  Nor am I taking the prescription strength painkiller; I've managed to go without it, although, it's good to know that I have it, if needed.  I am, however, continuing to take the prescription medications as required (I have to take them until they finish).  The dosage of one will be decreased gradually over the next several days until I come off of it; the other one I will continue to take until I see my doctor on the 25th.  I need to schedule a blood test before that, though.

Today, I walked around the house a few times (my daughter doesn't want me to go outside because there are some steps to get down from both front and back doors).  I was allowed to make my own cup of tea in the evening (she made the morning cup) and I drank it while seated in the living room instead of in my bed.  While seated in the living room, with a side table pulled in front of me, I was also allowed to chop up some tomatoes and onions to be frozen and I managed to sneak in washing my tea cup and a couple of other dishes before I got chased out of the kitchen and told to go and sit down!  LOL.  She is very over-protective of me, but, I can't blame her.  Poor thing got very stressed when she saw me in pain.  

In the early afternoon, my daughter went to the ethnic (Armenian) grocery store.  It was the first time she's been to a grocery store in person since last year March!  We decided that it would be safe enough for her to go because she is fully vaccinated.  However, although the CDC guidelines have been revised to state that fully vaccinated people don't need to wear a mask, she wore a mask, especially since there really isn't a way to tell if the other shoppers who might be without masks are doing so because they, too, have been fully vaccinated or because they don't want to wear a mask even if they are not vaccinated!  Better be safe than sorry!

I made the grocery list based on this week's ads and she added a few other items, as well, including one of her favorite herbal teas (a ginger tea).  She bought a tray of 20 jumbo eggs for $2.79, smoked paprika, a container of yogurt, a package of frozen puff pastry, and three big bags of fresh produce (bananas, cherries, blackberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, green beans, snow peas, snap peas, broccoli, red onions, lettuce, a bag of mixed spring greens, cucumber, tomatoes, a Kabocha squash, beets with leaves).  While I am very grateful that the regular supermarket offered curbside pick up of groceries, which was a life saver during the past year of the pandemic, I am also very happy that we can now make the occasional quick trip to the less expensive ethnic grocery store!

Lunch was a lovely salad with lots of lettuce, spring greens, cucumber, sliced apple, etc.

This evening, I asked daughter to take some photos of the garden to post and she took the pictures I'm posting here.  Only some of the green beans are coming up, but, the two zucchini seeds that were planted in the same bed seem to be doing well!

Peach Tree View 1

Peach Tree View 2

View 1 shows the tree as you approach it from the back of the house; View 2 shows the tree from the opposite side, looking towards the back of the house. The peach tree is full of ripening peaches!  Although this year's crop is not quite as heavy as last year's (we thinned the fruits quite severely), the tree is obviously leaning to one side as can be seen from View 1!  What's more, it's leaning in the same direction it leaned last year, before it fell over! Even though we had pruned it to have equal amounts of branches, all around!

This is the photo from last year, when it fell over:

Peach Tree Down (5/31/2020)

I will have to ask M to prop it up, again, on his next visit!  Last year, I started picking peaches in early June.  Going by that schedule, this year's peaches have another three weeks or so to ripen before being picked.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Continuing to feel better
- Phone calls from family and friends
- Daughter being able to go grocery shopping at the ethnic store
- Good grocery prices
- The garden continues to do well

Today's joyful activity was sitting up and chopping some vegetables!  Feeling a bit useful!  

No plans as such for tomorrow.  I will continue to take each day as it comes.  

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