Saturday, January 28, 2023

The End of the Week

Aloe Flower Buds

The aloe flower stalks in the front garden are starting to separate into individual buds.  None of the buds have opened up, yet.

Yesterday (Friday) was another lovely sunny day with a daytime high of 68F.  I walked in the garden for a bit, tidied up a few things that the wind had blown over (including the now emptied water buckets and Mama Cat's box!), took some recycling to the big recycling bin that is kept outside, started the car and let it run for a bit while I did stuff in the garden and set up sticks for the snow peas to climb up.  I tried to make a teepee with three of the sticks (need to cut a piece of fabric to make a better tie than the circlet of long grasses I wound around it!)  M commented on it, when he was here, later in the evening, to tend to the garden.  He thought it was cute!  LOL. 

Teepee for the Snow Peas

H bought me two big bags of acidic potting soil for the blueberry bushes (he tells me what is needed for the garden and I ask him to buy whatever is needed at his convenience when he is out and about and then, I reimburse him; it works out well for me because he knows exactly what to buy and I don't have to go out shopping).  He repotted the three blueberry plants and set the pots up on pavers to get them off the cemented area; he thought it would be better for drainage, etc.

Repotted Blueberry Bushes on the Paver Platform

We took the pavers I already had elsewhere in the garden - I no longer have a path leading to nowhere in particular at the back, just a ghostly imprint of what used to be!

The Ghost of a Path

He also placed another bag of mulch on top of the patio roof panels to hold them down the next time the winds pick up.  We are supposed to get more rain on Sunday and Monday, so I set the rain water collection buckets in place!

M tried the yogurt muffins I had baked and liked them.  He gets to try the random baked goods I make!  He's a good sport about it.  

Daughter and I had muffins for breakfast, leftover Thai food (from Thursday) for lunch, and freshly cooked rice, sauteed curried green beans, and leftover chicken curry for dinner.  I froze some of the green beans for my daughter to take back with her and then, I baked another batch of the yogurt muffins, too, for her to take with her.  

Today, Saturday, another sunny, bright day, but, with a daytime high of only 60F with rain in the forecast for tomorrow. Daughter and I were up fairly early and she did her last minute packing, including the frozen food items she was taking back with her.  Then, I drove her to the airport, dropped her off, and came home.  Her flight left at 11:45 a.m. and she said she had a safe, smooth flight to Oakland airport and a safe subway ride from the airport to downtown Berkeley and a safe bus ride from the subway station to her apartment (she called me when she got to her apartment).

After I came home from dropping her off at the airport, I did two loads of laundry (daughter's bed sheets and her quilt) and remade her bed.  Then, I covered the remade bed with a sheet to keep dust and Dancer's fur off the bedding.  I will remake the bed with fresh sheets just before daughter comes home, next, whenever that will be, but, I like the beds to be made up with sheets in between visits, as well.  I tided the living room (there were some cardboard boxes from a couple of packages of cat food that were delivered, which needed to be broken down and recycled) and cleared the top of the coffee table in the family room.  I walked a bit in the garden and took some photos.  Later, I spoke with former neighbor T; she said she's doing well and she and her daughter were in the process of going through some of her belongings to clear out the house.  From what she said, it sounds like they will be putting the house up for sale in the near future.

I had a piece of toast with peanut butter and a little peach jam for brunch; dinner will be leftovers.

I am grateful for:

- Daughter was able to visit for just over a month
- She had a safe journey back to her apartment
- M's help with the garden
- Sunny, spring-like weather
- Working appliances

Joyful activities have included spending time with my daughter and being in the garden.

I haven't planned anything specific for tomorrow (Sunday).  I'll see what I feel like doing once I am up.  

How is your weekend coming along?  Any special plans for Sunday?

The Peach Tree Thinks it's Spring

12 comments:

  1. I didn't realise Aloes had flowers like that. My neighbour gave me one in the summer to keep on my kitchen windowsill. It has lovely green leaves but no sign of flowers

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    1. Yes, Aloes do have flowers and they generally tend to flower in winter. The flower I have shown is from Aloe arborescens which has "teeth" along its long leaves. I am thinking that the plant your neighbor gave you to keep on the kitchen windowsill is probably Aloe vera, which has smoother green leaves and the gel from the cut leaves maybe applied to soothe burns, insect bites, etc. (it may also be mixed into drinks). I have Aloe vera growing in a pot outside and it has sent up a flower stalk, too. I posted a not very good photo of it in my January Back Garden post, last week. I will try to take a better photo and post, soon.

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  2. I hope it's not too long before your daughter can visit you again and I know you will miss her company and I'm glad she had a safe journey home. You teepee for the peas is very cute. You're lucky to have Spring like weather it is still cold here but not quite as cold as it has been.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. We are not quite sure when my daughter will be able to come home again. She'll try to come down some time in the summer, if not, it will be in late November for Thanksgiving.
      I am pleased with my teepee! What I really wanted to make was more of a trellis, but, I don't have the sticks for it.
      Today's weather is more typical of winter - cloudy, with rain expected later, and a high of 54F/12C.

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  3. I'm glad your daughter was able to stay with you for that extra time and has now had a safe journey home. I'm assuming there was no damage to her apartment following the weather conditions that kept her at home with you as you haven't mentioned it.

    Is T's house the one to the right of yours as you face the buildings? I do hope you get good neighbours if they do sell it.

    The peach tree blossom is beautiful and a good option for the WPSH ... the linky will be posted next week for a mid hunt update to see how everyone is getting on. xx

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. My daughter mentioned that it looks like her apartment building lost power at some point because the microwave and oven displays were blinking. But, I don't think the apartment building itself got damaged (not sure if the underground parking garage had water flow in, but, if it did, they didn't mention anything to her).
      If you stand on the road facing my house, then, T's house is to the left of my house. Her house is on the other side of my driveway.
      The peach tree is in full spring mode and I've noticed that at least a couple of bees have discovered the flowers! I am just hoping that we won't have a cold spell now as that might damage the flowers!

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  4. I'm glad your daughter had a safe trip home and that her apartment is fine. I hope it won't be too long before she gets a chance to come home again. Your garden looks lovely and I like your cute little teepee!
    Yesterday I had a lovely visit with my friend that lives nearby. We had only spoken on the phone for a long time, because of my cold and then other interruptions of our intentions to get together. This afternoon DH and I finished off a jigsaw puzzle (after I had done all the hard stuff. LOL). We decided against going for a walk. It is snowy and this morning I was glad when I got back from church on the messy highway.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. Daughter is going to try and visit again in the summer, if she can get a ride down. If not, she'll visit in November for Thanksgiving.
      I'm glad you were able to visit with your friend, yesterday. Too funny about DH helping you finish the puzzle after you did all the hard parts! :D Staying home on a snowy afternoon sounds like a good idea to me! It's cloudy here, but, no rain, yet.

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  5. We parents always breathe a sigh of relief when our kids make it home safely. It's true what they say, it doesn't matter how old your kids get, you always worry about them.

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    1. We do, don't we? :) She worries about me, too, and I usually let her know when I leave to go anywhere and when I come back home. :)

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  6. I'm glad your daughter's travels were safe and she is back in her apartment - with food from Mom! It's nice that she was able to have a nice long extended stay.
    I think your little stick teepee looks very creative and resembles my efforts with a couple tomato cages last summer lol
    We do what we can, right?

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    1. Thank you, Debra; yes, I always seem to send food back with her, don't I? :D
      Ha, ha, I have two wire tomato cages and we used them for the peas, last year, but, this year, I want to keep them for tomatoes. Yes, we do what we can! :D

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