The Weekend Update

 

Asian Pears, Persimmons, a Red Chili, and 
Dried Okra Pods (for seeds)

I have had a very quiet weekend.  I did a couple of loads of laundry, spoke with my aunt and my friend, did a little gardening, did some housework, and felt a bit out of sorts.  I've been trying to declutter, but, I am struggling with that.  But, then, I knew that I would have a difficult time towards the end of the month, when I needed to find larger numbers of items to declutter.  Honestly, it is like pulling teeth!  

In the meantime, my daughter sprained her ankle on Thursday evening, shortly after her acrobatics class - not while doing acrobatics, but, at the end of class, while stepping off a padded mat.  Fortunately, one of her friends gave her a ride home so she didn't have to call for a ride share to get home.  Her ankle is still swollen, but, she has been icing it, and she ordered a pair of crutches which were delivered to her today so she doesn't have to hop on one foot around her apartment.  I feel bad that I am not there to help her.  

I am grateful for:

- Daughter's injury is only a sprain, not anything worse
- The garden harvests
- Sunny, warm days
- M's help with the garden
- Making even some progress with the decluttering

Weekend joyful activities have included spending time in the garden and reading.

My plans for Monday include the usual Monday chores and watering the back garden.  

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

The Back Garden in September

The Back Garden

Ready for a tour of the back garden?  This post is a bit picture heavy as I tried to capture the garden.
 

From Another Angle

At the bottom of the back steps, twe have he "stonery"; the dog bane plant is trying to take over the whole area and we had to cut it back a little bit:

The "Stonery"

M keeps bringing new plants to plant in this area.  One of the plants he brought is flowering:

Close-up of Flower

Nearby, the moringa tree is doing well:

Moringa Flowers

The hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees, love the nectar of the moringa flowers, and their visits help to pollinate the flowers which form the pods:

Moringa Pods

I picked several of the pods after I took this photo!

Across the paved pathway from the moringa tree, the lemon trees grow along the side of the garage.  Here's the one that was pruned down a couple of years ago - last year, it was still recovering, and this year, it is forming fruit:

Lemon Tree

Nearby, one of the roots from one of the lemon trees sent up a little sucker plant.  I persuaded M to leave it to grow.  It's been about three years, now, and it's still only about two feet high, but, it is producing its first crop of lemons:

Little Lemon Tree

It's leaning to one side, so M placed the tomato cage over it to help it stay upright:

Lemons on the Little Lemon Tree

The majority of the pole bean vines died during the heatwave, but, one vine survived and has attached itself to the nearby Asian pear tree!

One Green Bean Vine

The Asian pear tree is doing well, although it doesn't have a lot of pears on it:

The Asian Pear Tree

Towards the back of the garden, along the side wall with the neighbor who bought former neighbor T's house, the plumbago hedge was growing all over the place and M cut it back on Wednesday, which is why you can see the dried brown area at the bottom.  

Pruned Plumbago Hedge

The Fuyu persimmon tree grows in front of the plumbago hedge:

The Shaded Fuyu Persimmon Tree

There are still about five persimmons still ripening:

Ripening Fuyu Persimmons

One of the loquat plants grows nearby - not sure if I can call it a tree, yet!

One of the Loquat Plants

The second loquat plant is growing a few feet away:

The Other Loquat Plant

On the opposite side is the wall over which Chicken Little flies over to visit my garden.  It's where the rosemary bush with the twisted stems grow:

The Rosemary Bush

Nearby is the avocado tree.  This is how the avocado tree looked about a week ago:

Avocado Tree (Sept. 21)

On Thursday, when I took these pictures, I took a closer look and saw some signs of new life:

New Growth on the Avocado Tree!

There's new growth and hopefully, these tender new leaves will have time to grow and harden before the colder weather arrives in January and February.  

In the meantime, this is what one of my neighbor's avocado tree looks like:

Neighbor's Avocado Tree Seen over the Wall

The back garden in September doesn't have a lot of flowers, but, there are one or two roses blooming:

Fall Rose

I lost another rose bush during this summer - the yellow rose that was a favorite of mine.  I am not sure if I want to replace it or not.  

The star jasmine vine is thriving, however, and starting to cover the homemade trellis.  M pruned it back a bit, earlier in the month:

Star Jasmine on the Homemade Trellis

Growing next to the star jasmine vine is another type of asparagus fern, which is sprawling all over the place and climbing up anything it can find although M and I have been trying hard to remove it. We cut it back and tried to dig it up, but, it keeps growing back!  Maybe it's time to admit defeat and make another trellis for it, too!

Asparagus Fern Vine

The orange tree is recovering from the heatwave and there are oranges growing:

Orange Tree

And that is this month's tour of the back garden.  I hope you enjoyed the tour.  

The Front Garden in September

The Front Garden in September

The front garden in September is a scene of brown and green.  Bare brown earth and mostly green plants.

The Succulents Border 

The succulents border is doing well, even though you can see some evidence of heat stress:

The Aeonium Schwarzkopf (in the middle) have lost most of its leaves

But, without the osteospermum blocking the view, the branches that edge the succulents border are more visible and they tie in nicely with the stumpery at one end:

The Stumpery at the Left

Some of the clumps of Aeonium arboreum show more sun damage than others:

Scorched Aeonium Arboreum

But, they will eventually recover and turn bright green again:

More Scorched Aeonium

The succulents planted at the base of the eucalyptus tree are still quite small; however, they are coming along, nicely:

More Succulents

I hope that, eventually, they will form a carpet around the eucalyptus tree.

The asparagus ferns in the mixed border took the heat well, but, even here, one or two plants look like they've been scorched:

The Asparagus Ferns

But, they are quite drought tolerant because they have water filled nodules in their roots.  

Pomegranate

The pomegranate tree at the other end of the asparagus ferns bed has only a couple of small fruits, but, I'm looking forward to picking them in a few weeks.

And that is a look around the front garden at the end of September.  

But, here's a preview of the back garden - especially for June who asked about the stems of lemons:

Ripening Lemon on the Tree

I think the stems are a little thicker while the fruit is still growing and ripening.  These lemons won't be ready to be picked until around December or January at the earliest.

Another Greener Lemon

Thank you for visiting the garden with me!

Starting Fall/Autumn

 

Moringa Pods (left), Moringa Leaves (center), Curry Leaves (right)

Over the weekend, we went from summer to fall, here, in the northern hemisphere.  The weather, which had been unseasonably cool for summer, last week, corrected itself over the weekend and turned warm, again.  Today, Monday, we reached a high of 94F and I was so happy!  

I had been calling my Sri Lankan friend S and leaving her messages, the past several days and she finally called me back this morning.  I offered to bring her moringa pods and she wanted to know if I had any leaves, too.  She was getting ready to leave for work, but, she said her daughter would be home in the afternoon.  So, I picked a dozen moringa pods, a few sprigs of moringa leaves, and some curry leaves, too (although she didn't ask for them), and dropped them off at her house.  I called her daughter and told her I was leaving them on the doorstep, so she could collect them later.  There are more moringa pods and I will pick them and cook them tomorrow.  You have to peel the pods and cut them into shorter lengths to cook them.

A little later in the day, after I had returned from dropping off the produce at friend S's house and had taken the trash cans to the curb for pick up in the morning, I picked a few lemons from the Meyer lemon tree:

Meyer Lemon

One of them is almost as big as an orange!  The lemons are coming to an end - many of them got scorched for the sun during our heatwave.  I have a few quartered and frozen lemons in the freezer and they will have to do until the new crop of lemons ripen later this winter.  I squeezed the juice from one of the lemons I picked and made myself a glass of lemonade, today.

Brunch was a croissant with tuna salad and I had some tortilla chips with it and drank the lemonade.  I haven't had dinner yet; Might just have some fruit (the bananas must be eaten before they get too ripe) and maybe a slice of bread and peanut butter.

Today, I am grateful for:

- More fresh produce from the garden
- Being able to share some of it with a friend
- A safe drive to friend S's house and back (and finding parking in front of her house)
- A warm, sunny day
- Being able to play my vinyl records

Today's joyful activities included sharing the garden produce with friend S, a nap on the sofa, listening to some of my vinyl records (I only have 5, so it's not a big collection and I think I might be down to 2 or 3 by the end of this month).  

September Meal Plan - Week 3 Review and Week 4 Meal Plan

Time to review how I did on my meal plan for Week 3 which was on the cool side, with highs in the low 70s.

This was the plan:

Brunches: Waffles and corned beef✔, egg salad sandwiches, Indian style cream of wheat, toast and peanut butter

Dinners: Tomato soup and toast (Monday)✔, Rice, chicken curry, beets, and moringa curry✔, Sauteed salmon with rice and vegetables; Breaded shrimp with salad✔, Leftovers✔.

Snacks/Desserts: Fresh fruit, sesame seed crackers, tea cookies, cake

Here's how it worked out:

Monday:
Brunch: Cup of tea (I was not hungry)
Dinner: Tomato soup (made from the leftover salad that S had given; tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, basil, garlic powder; I tossed the black olives as I don't really like olives and didn't think they'd taste good in the soup)

Tomato Soup

Snacks/Desserts: Yellow cake, Fuyu persimmons from the garden

Tuesday:
Brunch: Corned beef hash (leftover corned beef, potato, tomatoes, onion, chili powder, garlic powder) and a scrambled egg

Corned Beef Hash and Scrambled Egg

 Dinner: Rice, Chicken curry, moringa curry
Snacks/Desserts:  Yellow cake, sesame crackers

Wednesday:
Brunch: Waffle with corned beef hash

Waffle with Corned Beef Hash

Dinner: Waffle with chicken curry (didn't feel like cooking rice)
Snacks/Desserts: Persimmons, cake, peanuts

Thursday:
Brunch: The last waffle with corned beef hash
Dinner:  Curried chicken ramen

Curried Chicken Ramen

Snacks/Desserts:  Persimmon, Chili mango

Friday:
Brunch: Scrambled egg with last of the corned beef hash
Dinner:  Fried breaded shrimp and fries, salad
Snacks/Desserts: Persimmons, tea cookies, a piece of jaggery

Saturday: (picked up groceries)
Breakfast: Cheese sandwich
Lunch: Croissant with butter, banana
Dinner: Croissant with butter and seeni sambol
Snacks/Desserts: Ice cream, tortilla chips

Sunday:
Brunch: Croissant with tuna salad and lettuce
Dinner: Croissant with tuna salad and lettuce (yes, I had the same thing for dinner)
Snacks/Desserts: Ice cream, banana, persimmon

Well, obviously I didn't quite keep to the plan, but, it worked out well.  

Moving on to September Week 4.  Here's the plan:

Brunches:  Croissants with tuna salad and lettuce; Cereal and milk, Scrambled egg and toast; Indian style cream of wheat

Dinners:  Croissants with chicken curry; Rice, chicken curry, beets, and moringa; Rice, chicken curry, leftover beets, sauteed cabbage; Salmon and salad, Leftovers

Snacks/Desserts: Cake, fruit, tea cookies, tortilla chips, ice cream, maybe yogurt if I make some

Did you make a meal plan last week and, if you did, did you stay on plan?  Are you making a meal plan this week?

September Decluttering Week 3

Continuing with my September Decluttering Challenge - as many items per day as the date.

Week 1's decluttering is here

Week 2's decluttering is here

15th - 2 craft books, 9 magazines, 3 hair bands, 1 CD

Day 15: 1 CD, 2 Books, 3 Hair Bands, 9 Magazines

16th - 12 magazines, 3 VHS videos, 1 seed necklace from Sri Lanka (a gift from sister)

Day 16: 12 Magazines, 3 Videos, 1 Necklace

17th - 10 magazines. 1 knit top (given by cousin), 1 multi outlet plug in (I bought it, but, it doesn't fit my outlets), 2 CDs, 3 brass bottle openers from Sri Lanka (souvenirs/gifts; there were 4 and I kept one)

Day 17: 10 Magazines, 1 Knit top, 1 Multi-outlet plug in, 2 CDs
3 Brass bottle openers from Sri Lanka

.

18th - 6 doll stands (from when I used to collect dolls), 1 ice bucket/vase; 1 ceramic cannister/jar, 2 board games, 1 cookbook, 1 perpetual desk calendar with quotes, 2 larger doll bodies (for crocheted doll cushions, still in their sealed packages, originally bought by my mother), 2 smaller doll heads and hands (for smaller crocheted dolls), 1 small doll head, 1 brass ashtray in the shape of Sri Lanka

Day 18: Doll Body Parts, Stands, and Games

19th - 9 books (Christmas Crafts/Decorations, Crafts/Cardmaking, Cookbooks), 5 Crafts magazines, 4 doll hats, 1 torn clothing item (not pictured)

Day 19 - 9 Books, 5 Magazines, 4 Doll hats, 1 Clothing item (not pictured)

20th - 3 Crafts books, 5 CDs (including 1 boxed set of 4), 6 packages of binder divider tabs, 6 crafts booklets

Day 20: 3 Crafts books, 5 CDs, 6 Sets Divider tabs, 6 Crafts booklets

21st - 1 Patchwork Designs book, 1 CD, 3 VHS tapes, 1 Brass ornament, 4 Scarves, 1 Platter, 6 Shell shaped silver plated dishes, 4 Apple shaped silver plated dishes

Day 21: 1 Book, 1 CD, 3 VHS tapes, 1 Brass ornament, 4 scarves
1 Platter, 10 Silver plated dishes

Week 3 decluttering = 15 + 16 + 17 + 18 + 19 + 20 + 21 = 126

Here are the decluttering totals to date:

Week 1 = 28

Week 2 = 77

Week 3 = 126

Total number of items decluttered so far in September = 28 + 77 +126 = 231

Decluttering doesn't come easily to me.  And it's getting more difficult to find decide which items to declutter and which items to keep.  At the beginning of the challenge, I had stated that, continuing to declutter all month would give me 465 items decluttered, but, I have given myself permission to stop at 300 or to continue until I reach 500.  

I am now approaching the last week plus of decluttering for this month.  Will I manage to declutter 465 items?  Will I stop at 300? Will I keep going until I reach 500?  What do you think?

If you are decluttering, how are you doing so far?

September Grocery Shopping Part 1

September Groceries

I put in an order of groceries this afternoon and picked it up in the evening.  This was the first time I grocery shopped since August 24, when I shopped in person at the Armenian grocery store.

I bought milk, bread, pancake mix, unsalted top saltine crackers, a box of 4 croissants (they gave me 3 boxes and charged me for only one!), a lettuce, a cucumber, two onions, two apples, bananas, a bottle of cranberry juice cocktail (there was a $0.10 deposit for that), chicken thighs (on sale again for $0.99/lb.), roasted peanuts, and 3 cans of tuna.  

In addition, I received a free bag of tortilla chips with a digital coupon for being a "best customer" and I received a free jar of store brand peanut butter because I shopped on the weekend!

Rather than type everything as I usually do, I'm just going to copy and paste the receipt, with the UPC numbers removed:

Order Summary

Original Item Total$64.28

Item Coupons/Sales-$25.67

Fulfillment Fee+$0.00

Sales Tax$0.00

Order Total$38.61

---

Item Details

20 Items

CA Redem Val (deposit for the bottle of juice)$0.10

1 x $0.10 each

Cucumber, 1 ct$0.89

1 x $0.89 each

Doritos® Nacho Cheese Flavored Tortilla Chips, 9.25 oz$0.00

1 x $0.00 $5.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.00

Item Coupon/Sale: -$4.99

Dreyer's/Edy's™ Grand Mocha Almond Avenue Ice Cream Tub, 48 oz$2.99

1 x $2.99 $5.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$2.00

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.00

Foster Farms Fresh & Natural Chicken Thighs, 1 pk$5.13

5.18 lbs x $0.99 $2.49 each (approx.)

Item Coupon/Sale: -$7.77

Fresh Banana - Each, 1 ct$1.53

2.22 lbs x $0.68 each (approx.)

Iceberg Lettuce, 1 ct$1.59

1 x $1.59 $1.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.40

Kroger® Complete Buttermilk Pancake & Waffle Mix, 32 oz$1.54

1 x $1.54 $3.49 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.50

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.45

Kroger® Cranberry Juice Cocktail, 64 fl oz$3.00

1 x $3.00 $3.69 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.69

Kroger® Low Sodium Lightly Salted Dry Roasted Peanuts, 16 oz$3.29

1 x $3.29 each

Kroger® Peanut Butter Creamy, 16 oz$0.00

1 x $0.00 $2.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.00

Item Coupon/Sale: -$1.99

Kroger® White Bread, 20 oz$1.79

1 x $1.79 $2.49 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.70

Kroger® Wild Caught Chunk Light Tuna in Water, 5 oz$3.37

3 x $1.12 $1.29 each (approx.)

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.50

Large Gala Apple - Each, large / 1 count$1.89

0.95 lbs x $1.98 each (approx.)

Medium Yellow Onions, 1 ct$0.58

1.09 lbs x $0.53 $1.29 each (approx.)

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.33

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.50

Premium Unsalted Tops Saltine Crackers, 16 oz$3.99

1 x $3.99 each

Private Selection® Fresh Baked In-Store Jumbo Croissants Bread, 4 ct$4.14

1 x $4.14 $4.99 each

Item Coupon/Sale: -$0.85

Ralphs® Vitamin D Whole Milk Half Gallon, 1/2 gal$2.79

1 x $2.79 each

My order total came to: $38.61

My September grocery budget = $100 + $10.45 carried over from August = $110.45

Spent to date = $38.61

Balance left in September grocery budget = $110.45 = $38.61 = $71,84

I was pleasantly surprised to receive three boxes of croissants when I ordered and was charged for only one!  What a blessing!  I checked the sell by dates, thinking that maybe they were trying to get rid of them before they expired, but, they were good until 9/25.  So, I called neighbor S to ask her if she'd like to have a box of croissants.  She was not at home, but, she told me to call her daughter N, who was at home, and ask her.  I called N and she said she'd love to have some croissants, so I took her one of the boxes.  I ate two of the croissants for my lunch and dinner and I'll have two more, for Sunday's meals.  I might freeze the remaining croissants or just eat them over the next couple of days.  

I am not sure if I will go grocery shopping again, this month.  If I do, it'll be closer to the end of the month.  If not, the balance will be carried forward to October.

How is your grocery shopping coming along?