Thriving in October

Ocean Waves

My goal this year is to thrive each month.  To that end, here's my review of October 

Spiritual:

In October, my spirituality included daily prayers and meditations, practicing non-attachment by letting go of certain items to which I was attached, and participation in the kathina ceremonies, which observe the end of the traditional three months long rainy season retreats observed by the monks, at the temples.  I consider the spiritual part of my life to be thriving.

Daughter:

In October, daughter helped me with the virtual house inspection required by the insurance company, not only getting the place tidied, but, also downloading the links to set up the virtual inspection and taking the pictures that were needed.  

In addition, she has accompanied me to various dental appointments for moral support and as an extra pair of ears and to advocate for me if needed.  

I am so thankful that she is living at home with me and I can honestly say that my relationship with my daughter is thriving.

Health & Well Being:

In October I had a follow up appointment with the prosthodontist and an initial consultation with the oral surgeon.  My daughter accompanied me to both and asked several questions on my behalf as I've a tendency not to ask questions at these consultations.  

I also took my Covid vaccination at the end of October and that went quite well without any side-effects other than a bit of soreness in my arm.  

My weight has been fluctuating a couple of pounds this way and that, but, on the whole, I feel that I made some progress where my health is concerned, in October. 

Family, Friends, & Community:

In October, I observed my mother's birthday by making donations to the temples in her memory. 

Social interactions in October consisted mostly of phone calls, emails, and texts with family and friends.  They included a call to my sister to check on her and a chat with my aunt C.

In person visits included Neighbor S coming over to borrow my recycling bin and bringing us some food. friend R visiting to pick up a package that had been delivered to my address, and a visit to neighbor E's to give him a moringa plant (he always comments on my moringa plant) and to ask him if he wanted a kitten as he had asked me if there were any kittens, earlier (his wife said no to the offer of a kitten).

Plus, of course, the twice weekly visits with M, my gardener friend, who tends to my garden; we always chat a bit before he starts watering the garden and we share treats with each other.  This month, he shared some fruits and homemade bread that another client of his had shared with him and today, he treated us to some Halloween candy.

We also supported a small business in my local community by ordering a meal from a local restaurant.  

I'm pleased with the amount of interaction with my family, friends, and community, in October.

Finances:

I was able to keep my finances maintained in October.  I stayed under budget when it came to regular groceries and kept to my budget for gas for the car.  

There were other expenses, too, including all the dental work, which are eye-wateringly high since I am using out-of-network dentists and my dental insurance will not cover all the costs, only a tiny percentage of it.  I am thankful that I have savings in place and will not have to go into debt to pay for such expenses.

I think I am managing well where finances are concerned.  

Time Management:

I am still procrastinating when it comes to doing certain things and often, they are fun things, too, such as crafting - I need to make time for crafting!  Time management continues to be a work in progress and there is definitely room for improvement!  I can't honestly say I'm thriving where managing my time is concerned.  

Leisure/Hobbies/Crafting:

In October leisure/hobbies/crafting activities consisted of a visit to the beach at the beginning of the month which was wonderful, doing a crafting project with my daughter, and doing a bit of sewing, in addition to the usual blogging, reading, gardening, watching videos and playing games online.  I also participated in October's monthly photo challenge, which I enjoy.  I am glad I was able to go on that outing to the ocean (something I had been longing to do) and get some crafting done this month.  I am going to say that I thrived in this area of my life.

House:

In October daughter and I (mostly daughter) continued with decluttering our possessions.  There were two lots of donations picked up in October with 30 bags/boxes of items donated for the month.  The second lot was mostly my items.  The only items that were declined were three decorative cookie tins, which were recycled.

There was a virtual home inspection conducted in October for insurance renewal purposes.  Daughter helped me to get the house tidied prior to the inspection- she does the putting away of stuff and I do the cleaning; it works well for us!  I was very nervous about the inspection and wondered if the house would pass inspection, if I would receive an offer of insurance renewal, and how much would the premiums increase.  Well, I just received the insurance renewal offer in the mail today!  Premiums have increased by 20%, which is a big increase, but, I was expecting that.  In fact, I was afraid that the premiums would have increased even more.   I am thankful that my house would be insured for the coming year.  Now, I am waiting to receive my earthquake insurance renewal offer and bill; I expect that premium to increase, too.  

Later, we decorated the house for Halloween, using decorations and items we already had, many of which have memories and stories attached to them.

In general, we are still working on merging our belongings, but, the house is being maintained.  I think I'm making good progress in this area of my life.

Garden:

The garden continued to thrive in October.  I continued to harvest moringa and okra, although they are coming to an end.  M continues to tend to the garden and he and my daughter set up her raised garden and planted arugula, kale, and most recently, some chard seeds in it.  We had a much needed shower of rain over a couple of days which revived the garden; the next shower is forecast to take place in mid-November.  We have ended the month with a mini heatwave, but, I am not complaining.  

Over all, October has been a good month.  There is room for improvement, as always, but, for the most part, I can say that I thrived in October.

I'm looking forward to thriving in November, too.

I hope you had a good month in October. 

Monthly Photo Challenge: October - "Pattern(s)"

The theme for October's Photo Challenge, hosted by Eileen at A Bracelet of Days, is "Pattern(s)".  These photos are my selections for the theme:

Pattern of Colors in the Leaves
of a Variegated Aeonium

Chain Links

Knitting Pattern

Sewing Pattern

Patchwork Quilt Pattern

Another Patchwork Quilt Pattern

Shadow Patterns

Brick Pattern on a Chimney

Flowering Vine Pattern
 on a Blue and White China Container

Another Floral Pattern

Raised Pattern on a Glass

Repeating Pattern on a Table Cover
Crocheted by My Mother 

And last, but, not least, Dancer wanted me to take a photo of the pattern of stripes on his head and paws!  He jumped up on the coffee table and meowed at me when I was taking the pictures of the blue and white china pieces.  He loves to pose for pictures and I used to try an incorporate a picture of him in previous photo challenges.

Striped Pattern on Dancer's Fur Coat

There you are!  A "baker's dozen" of photos for October's "Pattern(s)" themed photo challenge.  

Thank you, Eileen, for hosting the Monthly Photo Challenge.  Looking forward to the theme for November.  

October Meal Planning - Week 4 Review and Week 5 Options

I am very late with my meal planning options review this week.  It should have been done on Monday, but, here we are almost at the end of the week!  

These were my October Week 4 (10/20 - 10/26) meal plan options:

Brunches:  Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice (Monday - this seems to be a regular Monday brunch, lately)✔; Cold cuts sandwiches✔; Boiled mung beans;  Pancakes/waffles/French toast✔; Cereal and milk✔(often eaten as a late night snack); leftovers from dinners✔ Thai beef fried rice

Dinners:  Rice, chicken curry, sauteed green beans, okra, and tomato chutney✔,  Pulled pork with rice or  potatoes or pasta✔; Salad✔;  Beef curry and parathas; Chicken curry and Parathas; Stringhoppers with fish curry and seeni sambol; Ramen soup noodles; Leftovers/Planned-overs ✔

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit (need to buy more fresh fruit)✔; sauteed apples (apple slices cooked in a bit of butter with sugar and cinnamon)✔; smoothies made with frozen fruit; crackers✔; granola bars✔; cereal and milk✔; maybe bread pudding?

And here's how that worked out:

Monday: 

Brunch:  Scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice

Dinner:  Leftovers - mac & cheese with chicken curry (daughter); mac & cheese with pulled pork (me)

Tuesday:  

Brunch: Cold cuts sandwich (me); leftover mac & cheese with pulled pork (daughter; she also had a granola bar)

Dinner:  Rice, chicken curry, sauteed green beans, tomato chutney (daughter); salad (me)
Snacks/Desserts: Sauteed apple slices; savory crackers

Wednesday:

Brunch: Thai Beef Fried Rice

Dinner:  Leftover Thai beef fried rice

Thursday:

Brunch:  Bread rolls sandwiched with curried chicken

Dinner:  More bread rolls with curried chicken (and a piece of the bread roll with butter and Lyle's golden syrup - me; daughter doesn't like golden syrup)

Friday:

Brunch:  French toast

Dinner:  Parathas and chicken curry
Snacks/Dessert: Homemade bread shared by M; chocolate

Saturday:

Brunch:  Leftovers

Dinner:  Beef curry and parathas
Snacks/desserts:  Bananas, strawberries, persimmons

Sunday:

Brunch:  Leftover French toast (me; daughter was out with friends all day)

Dinner:  Leftover Chinese food from daughter's lunch out with friends - fried rice, lamb ribs, soup)

I didn't keep a close track of what we had for snacks and desserts; mostly fruit, crackers, leftover sweets, etc.

I also didn't follow the meal plans that closely, but, I didn't go off the meal plan completely, either.  

Nor did I take any pictures of my meals!

Once again, I am grateful I am able to have a variety of food available from which to meal plan and for generous friends (M) who share food with me.  

Moving on to this last week of October (which will include the first couple of days of November); the meal plan options are being made up as we go!  There are quite a few leftovers in the fridge which must be used up and I am preferring to eat softer food that don't require a lot of chewing.

But, here are the options for this week:

Brunches:  Cold cuts sandwiches; Bagels, Cereal and milk;  milkrice with fish curry and seeni sambol (on Saturday, November 1); leftovers from dinners;

Dinners:  Rice and beef curry with green beans, Stringhoppers and/or rice with fish curry and seeni sambol; Ham and split pea soup; breakfast for dinner (scrambled eggs, bacon, toast); Baked yams; parathas and curries; Leftovers/Planned-overs 

Snacks/Desserts:  Fruit; crackers; granola bars; cereal and milk; Hot Cheetos; bread pudding? 

Are you making a meal plan this week?

Mid-Week Catch Up

Mockingbird

It's Wednesday early morning as I type this; a quick mid-week catch up post.

I was up bright and early on Monday morning; well, bright and early for me, anyway.  I went to bed after 3:00 a.m. and was up by 6:45 a.m. to be ready for the service technician from the gas company to arrive.  It used to be that you could book a morning only or evening only appointment, but, when I booked the appointment this time, there were only all day/anytime during the day appointments, 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.  Since the gas company was providing this service free of charge, I was not going to complain.  So, I was up, bright and early on Monday.  

The gas company called me at around 11:00 a.m. to let me know that the technician was on his way, he'd be at my house in 5 to 10 minutes, would there be someone home to let him in, etc. and I assured them that I would be home.  The technician arrived shortly thereafter and checked the furnace.  He made a few adjustments (they will make adjustments, but, will not repair any appliances) and did an adjustment on the thermostat, too.  Then, he told me that it was good to go and left.  Of course we are having a mini heatwave, currently (we went up to 93F on Tuesday and we will go up to 92F today), but, the furnace is ready for when it does get cold, eventually.  

I thought I might take an afternoon nap to make up for getting less than 4 hours of sleep, but, I wasn't tired or sleepy.  Instead, I caught up on a couple of blogs, cleaned the kitchen counters, did a short walk up and down the driveway, called the pharmacy to see if they were taking walk-ins for vaccines (but, couldn't talk to a pharmacy staff in person, so, left a message), took the trash cans to the curb for trash pick up on Tuesday, took the kitchen compost to the garden, and watched some online videos.

Brunch had been a cold cuts sandwich.  For dinner, I cooked a fish curry with the frozen fish I had bought at the Sri Lankan store and steamed more dehydrated stringhoppers to have with it, along with seeni sambol.  I wanted something soft and easy to eat because my dental bridge was becoming very loose.

If I thought I'd go to sleep early on Monday night, it didn't happen.  What did happen was the dental bridge came off when I brushed my teeth before going to bed!  And, I think one of the teeth that was anchoring it broke off, too.  I'm glad it came off before I had gone to sleep, because it had been so loose that I had been concerned that it might come off when I was asleep and I might choke on it.  Fortunately, I was not experiencing any pain or discomfort, which is a blessing.  But, I rinsed my mouth with warm salt water as a precaution against any infections.  

On Monday, I was grateful for:

- The gas company provides free annual furnace (and other gas appliances) safety checks
- The furnace passed the safety check
- Warm, sunny weather
- The bridge came off on its own
- I am not in pain or experiencing any discomfort

My joyful activity for the day was spending time in the garden.

On Tuesday, I slept in and woke up quite late.  One of the first things I did after I woke up was call the dentist's office.  I explained what had happened and said I wasn't in any pain.  The receptionist I spoke with checked with the dentist and, after confirming that I was not in pain, it was agreed that I could wait until Monday, when I have an appointment with the dental hygienist for a deep cleaning, to come in and the dentist will take a quick look.  

I spent a rather relaxed day after that.  I brought the empty trash cans in, checked on the garden, watched some online videos, called friend R, texted with cousin N, spoke with a couple of my neighbors, and took it easy.  I had leftover stronghoppers and fish curry for brunch (daughter had rice and beef curry).  For dinner, I thawed and reheated a container of ham and split pea soup I had made and frozen, earlier.  Daughter blended it with her immersion blender and we both enjoyed a bowl of soup, followed by scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.  For dessert, daughter had strawberries and I ate a tangerine.  There's more of the soup leftover for another meal. 

By the way, Blossom the Skunk visited again on Tuesday night!

On Tuesday, I was grateful for:

- A lovely warm day 
- Not being in pain or discomfort due to the bridge coming off
- I didn't have to make an emergency visit to the dentist
- Weekly trash collections
- Working appliances

My joyful activity for the day was relaxing and taking it easy!

Plans for Wednesday include tending to the garden with M, doing a load of laundry, and maybe doing some sewing.

How is your week coming along?

The Back Garden in October

 

The Back Garden

I thought I'll do a quick tour of the back garden as it looks at the end of October.

Seedlings in the Raised Bed

The seeds that daughter and M planted in her raised bed are starting to sprout.  Arugala at the top end, kale at the bottom.  The branches and trellis on the top are meant to keep the garden cats out.  They have a tendency to treat the garden plants as lounging areas or worse!  

Moo on a Bed of Irises

The garden is mostly brown and dusty, but, here and there, we have some color:

Hibiscus

Rose

Gazania

Parts of the garden are dry and brown.  Other areas are quite overgrown with weeds.  M is slowly making his way around the garden, weeding and tidying, but, it's a slow process.

Roses and Gazanias Among the Weeds

There are flowers on the calamondin tree:

Calamondin Flowers

They are a type of citrus and the flowers are very fragrant:

More Calamondin Flowers

The avocado plant, which had looked more dead than alive during the summer, seems to have recovered a little:

New Leaves on the Avocado Plant

The nectarine tree, which was covered in flowers in the spring, disappointed us by producing just one fruit, this summer, but, it's one of the few trees in my garden that has leaves that change color:

Nectarine Leaves Turning Color

I hope you enjoyed the quick tour of the back garden in October.  

On Sunday

 

Plant Picks

Daughter made the two plant picks above, with polymer clay, for her new raised bed that she and M planted with kale and arugula.  

Daughter's Raised Bed

.  

We set up the raised bed in the middle of the corn patch as most of the first planting of corn had finished producing, it is close to the backdoor for easy watering, and the wire mesh fencing deters the garden cats from going in the raised bed.  Daughter and M planted kale seeds on one side and the arugula seeds on the other side.  We are looking forward to harvesting the leaves over the winter.

On Sunday, daughter had a day out with several of her friends, doing escape rooms and having lunch out.  Her friends picked her up and dropped her off so I didn't have to drive her anywhere.

I spent a quiet, relaxed day at home with Dancer.  The only productive thing I did was a load of laundry.  The rest of the day, I watched videos, called my aunt C and cousin N for a chat, and did a crafts project.  I took a short nap, too, which was very nice.

After daughter came home, we chatted a bit, catching up on each other's day, and had leftovers for dinner.  She is now doing one of her cross-stitch projects while I write my blog post.

On Sunday, I am grateful for:

- Daughter had a fun day with her friends
- I had a relaxed day at home
- Being able to chat with my aunt and cousin
- Time to craft
- A sunny day

Sunday's joyful activity was crafting.

Plans for Monday include waiting for the technician from the gas company to do a safety check on the furnace (any time between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m.), taking the trash cans out to the curb, watering the back garden, watering the indoor plants, putting away laundry, and meal planning.  

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

More Groceries

I ordered and picked up more groceries today. from the supermarket.  They had some good deals this week, including chicken for $0.99/lb. and a dozen eggs for $1.99 on Saturday and Sunday only.  I waited until Saturday to order the groceries, in order to get the eggs at that price.  Unfortunately, the eggs were not available when I ordered the groceries!  By the time I was getting ready to pick up the groceries, the store texted me that the tray of chicken thighs I had ordered wasn't available, either.  They offered to substitute a more expensive variety of chicken, at a higher price, but, I declined. * 

Edited to add: When I came home, daughter unpacked and put away the groceries for me, and, apparently, the store had included a package of the more expensive chicken without charging me!  I'm not sure what was going on, but, I'm not complaining!

No pictures today, because daughter started to put away the groceries almost as soon as she had helped me to bring them in.  But, here is the receipt:

---

Order Summary

Original Item Total$96.94

Item Coupons/Sales-$24.64

Fulfillment Fee+$0.00

Other Fees+$0.40

Sales Tax+$1.17

Order Total$73.87

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Item Details

28 Items

Bauducco® Chocolate Wafer Cookies, 5 oz$3.00

3 x $1.00 $1.59 each

(the store substituted 1 package of vanilla wafer cookies)

CA Redem Val$0.60

1 x $0.60 each

CA Redem Val$0.60

1 x $0.60 each

CA Redem Val$0.10

1 x $0.10 each

Fancy Feast Gems Pate Cat Food Mousse With Chicken and a Halo of Savory Gravy Cat Food, 2 oz / 2 ct$4.00

2 x $2.00 $2.49 each

(Non-grocery item; will deduct from total)

Farmer John Maple Pork Sausage Links, 8 oz$4.98

2 x $2.49 $2.59 each

Fresh Bunch of Bananas – 5-7 Bananas, 1 bunch$1.97

2.86 lbs x $0.68 each (approx.)

Fresh Strawberries – 1 LB Clamshell, 1 lb$2.49

1 x $2.49 $3.99 each

Kroger® Butter Sticks, 16 oz$14.95

5 x $2.99 $4.79 each (approx.)

(Stock up price; I bought the maximum allowed, which was 5 in preparation for holiday baking)

Kroger® Half and Half Quart, 1 qt$3.69

1 x $3.69 each

Kroger® Original Saltines Crackers, 16 oz$2.19

1 x $2.19 each

Kroger® Plain Bagels, 6 ct / 18 oz$2.79

1 x $2.79 each

Kroger® Traditional Favorites Frozen Peas Green, 12 oz$1.50

1 x $1.50 each

Kroger® White Sandwich Bread, 20 oz$1.99

1 x $1.99 each

Nestle La Lechera Sweetened Condensed Milk, 14 oz$4.98

2 x $2.49 $3.69 each

Ralphs® Vitamin D Whole Milk Half Gallon, 1/2 gal$2.99

1 x $2.99 each

Simply® Pulp Free Orange Juice Bottle, 46 fl oz$3.50

1 x $3.50 $5.29 each

Smart Way™ Granulated Sugar, 10 lb$7.99

1 x $7.99 each

Sparkling Ice Lemonade Variety Pack, 12 ct / 17 fl oz$7.99

1 x $7.99 $14.99 each

---

Other Fees

$0.40

Bag Fee$0.40

4 x $0.10 each

---

I paid a total of $73.87.  

Of which, $4 was for Dancer's cat food, which is not included in my grocery budget.

My groceries, CA redemption value (bottle deposits), and sales tax came to $69.87

My October Budget = $250

Spent to date = $165.04 + $69.87 = $234.91

Balance left = $15.09

I honestly don't think I'll need to buy any more groceries during the rest of this month, but, I'm glad to have $15 left in the budget, just in case I do want to pick something up, next week!  If not, that $15 will be added to November's budget.  I'm sure it will come in handy when shopping for Thanksgiving dinner.

How are you coming along with your grocery shopping and budget?  Are you finding that the advertised specials seem to run out before you can get to the store?

On Friday

The Front Garden in October

Another View of the Front Garden in October

On Friday, our high was 81F.  

Dancer had an appointment at the vet clinic for his monthly arthritis injection in the afternoon.  I gave him his sedative an hour before we had to leave and this time, daughter accompanied us as she had the day off from work.  She sat in the back seat with him in the carrier, petting him through the opening on the top of the carrier and that kept him calm during the journey both to the clinic and back.  There were no accidents or mishaps going or coming, which was lovely!  

After we came home, I made French toast for our brunch, vacuumed the bedrooms, and did a load of laundry.  

Later in the evening, M arrived to tend to the garden and he watered both the front garden and the back.  One of his other clients had given him some fruit and a freshly baked loaf of bread that was still warm from the oven; he shared some of the fruit (a guava, a dragon fruit, and a pomegranate) and half the loaf of bread with us, which was very generous of him.  

We had a very relaxed evening.  Daughter did some cross-stitching and played the piano, I watched some videos, the news, and a couple of the news programs I like to watch.  

For dinner, I heated some of the frozen parathas I had bought on Thursday and we had them with chicken curry.  I had chocolates for dessert; I don't think daughter had any dessert.

On Friday, I am grateful for:

- Access to vet care for Dancer
- Daughter was able to accompany us to the vet clinic and keep Dancer calm
- A drama free trip to the vet clinic and back
- M sharing what he received from another client and his help with the garden
- Working appliances

Friday's joyful activity was tending to the garden.

Oh, and the past couple of nights, we've had a new visitor to the back garden:

A New Night Visitor

Meet Blossom!  I was going to call it Flower after the skunk in Bambi, but, I don't want to infringe on any copyrights!

Blossom

Apparently, my backyard is an urban wildlife sanctuary!  Who knew?

October Grocery Shopping - Week 3

 

Groceries (October 23)

On Thursday, I went grocery shopping at the Armenian grocery store.

I bought some bread rolls ($4.29), a 5 lb. bag of russet potatoes ($1.49), yams ($0.69/lb), and a package of frozen parathas (a type of flat bread; 30 for $10.99):

Bread Rolls, Potatoes, Yams, Frozen Parathas

I bought a few vegetables: Green Beans ($1.49/lb.), Persian cucumbers ($1.29/lb.) and Brown onions ($0.50/lb.)

Green Beans, Persian Cucumbers, Brown Onions

Lots of fruit plus two cans of coconut water (@$1.19 + $0.05 deposit):

Bartlett Pears ($0.69/lb.), Honey Crisp Apples $0.69/lb.)
Pomegranates ($0.99/lb.), Fuyu Persimmons ($1.99/lb.),
Hachiya Persimmons ($1.99/lb.), Satsuma Tangerines ($0.99/lb.)

And, finally, I bought some beef; three pieces of chuck steak at $5.99/lb:

Beef Chuck Roll Steak

My total came to $43.27:

Receipt

My October grocery budget (for food only) = $250

Spent to date = $121.77 + $43.27 = $165.04

Balance left = $84.96

I am still planning to order and pick up some groceries from the supermarket this weekend to take advantage of their weekend only specials.

As always, I am grateful for the availability of a variety of food, for weekly specials, and being able to purchase the groceries I want.

How are you coming along with your grocery shopping and budget so far in October?