Friday, March 25, 2022

Thursday's Activities

California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica)

The California poppies that self-seeded, last year, are starting to flower in the garden!  There are only a few flowers, right now, but, hopefully, there will be more, later.


Purple Martha Washington Geraniums 

In another part of the garden, the clump of geraniums in front of the garden shed are in flower, too.  I love their color.

Today, I picked another handful of peapods. 

Later, I did more cleaning in the garage.  I am going through some of the metal shelving units, wiping down each shelf and reorganizing what I am storing there.  I also tossed the giftwrap organizer my mother sewed for me, years ago:

Hanging Gift Wrap Organizer

It had one large pocket for rolls of gift wrap, and smaller pockets on the other side for storing ribbons, bows, folded pieces of gift wrap or small gift bags, etc.  It was old, faded, and starting to tear in one corner.  I tossed some of the rolls of gift wrap that I still had in it and the small child-sized broom that you can see sticking out from the pocket - my mother brought it from Sri Lanka for my daughter - a replica of the type of brooms we used there, with coconut fiber bristles.  Then, I wiped down that wall (so many cobwebs!) and washed that window.  

I pulled out one box containing some files that can be shredded and disposed of.  Since I don't have a shredder, it means I need to tear and/or cut the documents by hand.  I didn't want to take the time to do that, today, since I was still in the process of sorting things out.  Clearing out the boxes of files is something I will do, later.

In the evening, I decided to cook pasta with ground turkey sauce for dinner.  I cooked a 1 lb. packet of ground turkey with about half an onion, a few cloves of fresh garlic, a little celery, some diced bell pepper, a grated carrot, and 2.5 cups of grated zucchini that I had frozen.  All the extra vegetables bulked up the ground turkey:

Ground Turkey and Vegetables

I added about 3/4 of a can of tomato paste (leftover from cooking the frozen kufta) and a small container of homemade tomato sauce that I had frozen, earlier. If I didn't add the tomato paste and sauce, the turkey and vegetable mixture would have been good with rice or potatoes, I think.  Daughter and I had some of the ground turkey with pasta for our dinner and there are leftovers for tomorrow.  The 1 lb. of ground turkey cost $2.99 and I didn't even try to add the cost of the other ingredients, but, I consider this to be a relatively frugal meal.

After I had cooked dinner, but, before we ate, I called friend A to check on her.  Yesterday, friend A called me in the morning to tell me that her mother, who is visiting her, has had a stroke, sometime in the night or early morning (A's daughter found her grandmother unresponsive when she went to wake her up in the morning) and was in the ICU.  I called to check on her condition, again, yesterday evening, and spoke with A's daughter who had been with her grandmother all day; she updated me on her grandmother's condition - paralysis on the right side, not much voluntary movement on the left side, either, and unable to open her eyes or speak.  Today, when I called, A said her mother had taken a turn for the worse and the doctors have told the family to prepare themselves for the inevitable.  A is in shock and I tried to comfort her.  Her daughter C was with her grandmother, again, and apparently, she will sit with her grandmother until tomorrow morning when her younger sister and father will relieve her.  I offered to take her some dinner and daughter spoke with her, but, C declined the offer, saying she can't eat in the ICU room and she didn't want to step out of the room for even a few minutes.  Provided I don't have to report for jury duty in person, next week, I have promised to stay with A for a few hours in the afternoons, to keep her company while her husband and daughters go to work/attend to grandma, etc.

Later, I chatted with friend R, too.

Finally, I ordered some groceries to be picked up, tomorrow.  Earlier this week, grocery store workers in southern California began to vote on whether to authorize a strike or not.  The results of the vote will be announced on Sunday, I believe.  An authorization to  call a strike does not necessarily mean that there will be a strike, but, I thought it would be better to get the grocery shopping done sooner rather than later.    

Today, I am grateful for:

- Flowers in the garden
- Today's garden harvest
- The garage cleaning accomplishments
- Being able to order groceries online
- Digital coupons!

Today's joyful activity was checking on the flowers in the garden and picking peapods.

Plans for tomorrow include:

- Picking up the groceries
- Taking some items to friend R
- M tending to the garden
- Continuing with the garage cleaning

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

22 comments:

  1. I love california poppies so bright and self seed so come back year after year. We had a lovely big 'cuchion' of them and they looked do good our dog decided they'd make a good bed... and she flattened them!

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    1. Hi Chris, so sorry to hear that your dog flattened your California poppies! But, funny, too, at the same time! :D Hopefully, the plants will revive!

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  2. What a terrible shock for A's family. I do hope that it works out well with your jury service so that you can spend the time keeping A company instead.

    Well done on your progress in sorting out the garage. Do you find it easier to let go of things that are stored in there?

    The Californian poppy is beautiful. I have some geraniums that are the same colour!

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    1. Yes, it has been a big shock to them. Two of her brothers are trying to get a flight from Australia to come over to be with their mother (her third brother is already here).

      Thank you! Yes! I am finding it much easier to let go of the things in the garage. Some of them are things that were in the house which I had decided I didn't need to keep in the house, but, I had not been quite ready to get rid of them, completely. Others are things I decided to store in the garage because I had no room in the house (at one time, I used the garage as my crafting room/home office). I also think that the momentum is carrying me forward. Getting started is always the hardest step for me. Thank you, again, for encouraging me to start! :)

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  3. So sorry to hear about A's mother. It's a tough time for the family.

    You are doing great in your garage. How much more do you have to do? I don't think I've seen a geranium like that before. It's really pretty.

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    1. Yes, it really is a very tough time for the family.

      I still have some more to do in the garage, but, I've made some good progress. I still have one or two more storage areas to go through and declutter. After that, it will be a matter of going through boxes of files to see what I can shred. I know I tend to keep more than what is needed, but, that's me! I might make the garage my room of the month in April, too.

      I've seen this particular geranium throughout my neighborhood. In fact, mine is from a cutting of a plant that popped up on my side of the garden wall from my neighbor's garden, several years ago! My mother was able to take the cutting and make it grow - all the cuttings I've taken from this plant have died! :D

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  4. I am very sorry for your friend A's mother. Hopefully her time now is peaceful. It is kind of you to keep A company if you can. Your flowers are lovely. The color of the poppy is so intense! Best, Celie

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    1. Thank you, Celie. Yes, barring a miracle, all we can hope for is a peaceful end. Thank you; I love seeing the flowers in the garden. :)

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  5. Your flowers are gorgeous, such stunning colours. So sorry to learn about your friend's mother,it will be a blessing to have all her loving family around her. That's awful the possibility of a strike by grocery workers, you did right to get your shopping done earlier than normal. The weather is glorious here, it's been like a summer's day.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen; the flowers really brighten up the garden.
      Yes, it's very sad about A's mother, but, she is receiving the best possible care, right now, and her family is around her.
      I'm hoping that there won't be a strike, although I can understand the reasons for wanting to strike.
      I'm glad you are having some lovely weather. It has been like a summer's day, here, too. :)

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  6. I don't think any colour can be reproduced to be more beautiful than in nature. The California poppy and the geraniums are gorgeous.
    I'm sorry to hear about A's mother, as if A needed to have that crisis as well as her own health concerns. I know it must affect you, too, being close to the family.
    I hope there isn't a strike, but at least you have prepared.
    I've had a visit with my friend and fetched groceries and now after lunch I have a bit of work to catch up with as we will be bottling syrup tomorrow.

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    1. The flowers are very colorful, aren't they? In addition, the dark pink roses are blooming, too!
      Yes, A's mother's stroke is the last thing her family needed! I knew A's aunt (my late friend Irene) before I knew her mother (Irene's oldest sister; I've met the other sister, too), but we've been close family friends for years.
      I, too, hope that there won't be a strike, but, if there is one, then, I am more or less prepared. Or, as prepared as one can be, I suppose.
      Sounds like a busy day, Bushlady, and another busy one, tomorrow, too! Yum! Enjoy some of that syrup on a pancake or two for me! :D

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  7. How hard for A's family. It is always such a shock when something like that happens. That turkey looks amazing. I love how you keep using up all the scraps.

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    1. Yes, it is a very difficult time for A's family. Especially as her mother came over to be with her because A is having some health issues of her own! I really feel sorry for A's daughters who are having to tend to both their mother and their grandmother.
      My daughter really, really liked the turkey! She used some of it as a filling for tortillas, for lunch, today! :D Oh, yes, I will use as many scraps as I can! The bell pepper I used was leftover from stuffed bell peppers that neighbor S gave me - I can't eat a lot of bell pepper at one time, so, I froze the leftover bell pepper and it came in useful for this dish! :D

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  8. Sorry to hear about your friend's mother. They will be in my thoughts.

    Such beautiful flowers! I love the colours.

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    1. Thank you, Sharon; appreciate the thoughts.

      The flowers are pretty, aren't they? I thought that you and a couple of other friends who are in the "frozen north" will appreciate seeing them. :)

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  9. So sorry to read about A's mum. They are in my thoughts.

    Your flowers are beautiful x

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    1. Thank you, Pensive; your thoughts are much appreciated.

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  10. Oh no - that is so sad about your friend A's mother. I will read on and see how things have gone with her. This must be so hard on A with her own health situation. (If I am recalling correctly, she is the one you made the crochet blanket for)

    Your poppies are so nice and bright. I am glad they have seeded well and hopefully they will spread. Yes, the geranium color is so nice! I like it too.

    Funny because I got rid of my wrapping holder too, not long after Christmas. I had one of those tall plastic ones and it took up so much room.
    I have "redesigned" my approach to Christmas wrapping items for next year.
    A subject for another time. lol

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    1. Yes, it is very sad about A's mother. You are right, A is who I made the prayer blanket for.
      The flowers brighten up the garden with their vibrant colors. :)

      I'll be interested to know about your redesigned approach to gift wrapping! These days, I am leaning more towards gift bags, but, I will use up the gift wrap I have on hand.

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  11. My new approach is I'm not keeping the items anymore from year to year.
    I'm not going to store them anymore.
    Gone are the days of shopping the after Christmas sales like I've always done. Don't get me wrong, I can see the logic of doing that for many people and it saved me money over the years. I'm just not going to do it anymore.

    Last year I donned my mask and had a little early morning outing - going to 4 different local stores & picking up Christmas candy and treats for the holidays, a box of cards, and an amaryllis bulb.
    I bought a coffee and pastry at a drive thru and ate it in my car and listened to NPR reviewing their best books of the year. I guess because of covid and not having done any real shopping for pleasure, I really enjoyed those few hours out.
    Plus it was so relaxed because I was out very early so there weren't many other people out. I wasn't buying gifts of any kind, just fun stuff. it was a very nice way to get in the holiday spirit.
    I donated my wrapping things at the end of last year.
    I'm going to buy just enough wrapping and a few new bags & bows for the current year ONLY when I have my little holiday morning out.

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    1. I rather like your new approach! I especially liked your holiday morning outing. I used to do almost all my holiday gift shopping during the after Christmas sales! But, more recently, I've realized that the pre-holiday sales are almost as good! Last year, a lot of my gifts were bought through online shopping. The rest are what I made. I think I will continue to make some gifts this year, too, but, I need to start a lot earlier so I can really enjoy the process without getting too stressed at the last minute! :)

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