August Week 2 Review

Bridal Shower Card

The second week of August has been a rather busy one for me.  

When I posted my August Week 1 review, I mentioned that I was posting it on Sunday afternoon and my plan for the rest of the day included accompanying my daughter when she went to her gymnastics session.  I did accompany her and it was a very good thing that I did because, apparently, she landed awkwardly on her final flip, rolling her right foot under her and hurting her small toe.  It's the same foot that she sprained, earlier.  As a result, she was unable to drive her car home so, since I had accompanied her, I drove us home.   She thinks she might have sprained her toe. That was Sunday, August 9.

On Monday, August 10, I had a dental appointment to fix a broken tooth and get it ready for a crown.  I was fitted with a temporary crown and was given an appointment for the end of the month, to return for the permanent crown and more work on the adjoining tooth.   My daughter went with me for moral support more than anything else.  The dental procedure took a little over two hours and I was told that the next appointment would also take about as long.  

It was my aunt C's birthday on Monday.  I sent her a message through her daughter, my cousin N, as Aunt C is no longer able to speak on the phone or do anything much due to her advanced stage of Alzheimer's.  

Daughter made a card to send to Aunt C:

Birthday Card

It opens up to reveal...

A Bouquet of Flowers

On Tuesday, August 11, I rested and recovered from my dental work.  My daughter was kind enough to water the garden for me, but, afterwards, she needed to ice her foot.  

On Wednesday, August 12, I continued to recover from the dental work and tried to figure out what I wanted to do about a border from my hexagon quilt.  Thank you to everyone who commented on it and offered suggestions.  

On Thursday, August 13, I had a follow-up appointment with the dermatologist.  My skin irritations have cleared up and we decided that I don't need any further follow-up visits.  Earlier in the day, I spent about 30 minutes tidying up in the garden.  Then, I picked some kale and cooked it, stir-frying it with spices.

Around 5:30 p.m., my daughter received a phone call from her friend A (my late friend A's younger daughter) who is engaged to get married in approximately six weeks.  A wanted to know if we would like to taste test wedding cake samples to help her choose the cake.  Of course we said we'd love to help!  She said she'd bring the samples and come around 7:45 p.m.  About 10 minutes before she arrived, she asked if it would be okay if her fiance came over, too, and we said yes.  My daughter quickly tidied the house a bit and, although not a word was said about dinner, I cooked a pot of rice and warmed up some curries.  I was very happy that I had packages of chicken curry and moringa curry in the freezer and that I had picked and cooked the kale earlier in the day!  We had rice, chicken curry, sauteed kale, moringa curry, and peach chutney for dinner, and samples of five different types of cakes (there were two mini cupcakes of each different flavor) to taste test for dessert!  All the cakes tasted good to me, but, we all agreed that one particular cake (lemon and raspberry) was better than the others.

Later in the evening, daughter managed to stub the same toe she hurt during gymnastics, so she was back to square one where that toe was concerned!  

On Friday, August 14, I had an appointment with the oncology nurse practitioner.  My appointment was at 1:00 p.m., but, I left the house 10 minutes before 12 noon to allow time for traffic congestions on the freeway.  I arrived at the clinic by 12:45 p.m.  I was called in and weighed, my pressure checked, etc. around 1:30 p.m.  Then, I had to wait until an examination room was available, which didn't happen until 3:00 p.m.!  Then, there was another 15 minutes or so until the nurse practitioner actually came in to exam me (with a trainee accompanying her; with my consent, I was examined twice!)  It was 3:30 p.m. by the time I left the clinic and 4:30 p.m. when I got home!  

I hadn't eaten all day (although I had a granola bar with me), so, as soon as I got home, I had half a bottle of a protein drink and then, I drove my daughter to the post office so she could mail a work-related package.  

On our way back from the post office, daughter suggested stopping by our favorite Chinese restaurant; I reminded her that we had food at home, but, she said she wanted to treat me, so, we picked up some Chinese food for a late lunch/dinner.  

Later in the evening, gardener friend M returned from his week of vacation and tended to the garden.  He brought us a pomegranate from his garden, which was very nice of him.

On Saturday, August 15, friend R came over in the afternoon to pick up some packages that had arrived for her.  She brought us some stringhoppers and snacks and had tea with us.  We gave her some eggs and curry leaves to take back with her.

Also on Saturday, I made the card shown above.

On Sunday, August 16, we attended A's bridal shower.  It was at 11:00 a.m. and went on till just after 2:30 p.m.  After we got home, I took a long nap as I was tired.  

August Decluttering - Week 2:  In the second week of August, I decluttered 3 glass bottles/jars and 2 plastic containers that I had been reusing to store items in the kitchen, 2 blouses (daughter took one of them), 2 stems of silk flowers, and some dried up glue sticks and other crafts supplies (counting those as 1 item), for a total of 10 items, which brings my monthly total up to 36 items..  

In the first week of August, I was grateful for:

- Access to dental care
- Access to medical care
- Having medical insurance
- My daughter treating us to Chinese food
- M's help with the garden
- Garden fresh eggs (the chickens are making sure we are not lacking for eggs!)

The week ahead is a slower one.  I have no medical appointments, although I need to schedule a bone density test.  We have one visit scheduled for Monday evening to visit one of daughter's friends, but, other than that, it should be a relaxed week and I should be able to catch up on my blog reading.

How was your week?  What are your plans for August Week 3?

Celebrating Mother's Day

 

At Descanso Gardens

On Friday, May 8, my daughter and I visited Descanso Gardens as an early Mother's Day activity.  The Gardens had sent an email stating that they were having a Mother's Day celebration over the weekend with snacks available for purchase at the Rose Garden pavilion, etc., but, we weren't interested in over-priced snacks and crowds.  On Friday, it was not crowded and we were able to enjoy wandering around the gardens.  Not too much wandering as I am not quite up to it, but, we spent about two hours walking around.  

We went to the Rose Garden, first: 

In the Rose Garden

I loved the rose arbors and these apricot colored roses:

Sorry, I didn't take a picture of the name of the rose

From the Rose Garden, we made our way to the Mulberry Pond, passing by this waterfall:

Waterfall

Along the way, we sat for a bit on various benches and just took in the peacefulness of the place and listened to the birds:

View from a Bench

And admired some of the plantings of other flowers:

Foxgloves

Violas

On our way out, we visited the model train area:

One of the Model Trains

Model Trains Passing Through the Landscaped Area

There was a new art installation in this area, named World Pollinators, with sculptures of several pollinators and plants.  I took some pictures of them, but, that will be another post, I think.

By this time, I was tired.  We went to the central courtyard area and I sat down at one of the tables they had set up there and daughter bought me an almond croissant and bought herself a piece of guava tea cake and a rose and vanilla latte.  We enjoyed our snacks in the car as we didn't want to remove our masks to eat.  

On the way home, daughter treated me to some fried rice and drunken noodles from our favorite local Thai food place, for a very late lunch as part of our Mother's Day celebration.  We brought the food home to eat and had leftovers for dinner.  

It was after we came home that I got stung by the carpenter bee!

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- A lovely afternoon at the botanical gardens as an early Mother's Day celebration
- Daughter gifting me with a year's membership so we can take our time exploring the gardens
- Daughter treating me to lunch and an almond croissant
- A safe drive there and back
- NOT getting stung by bees when we were at the garden!  LOL!

Friday's joyful activity was the visit to the botanical garden with my daughter.

On Easter Sunday

 

Fish Cutlets

On Easter Sunday morning, I fried the fish cutlets my daughter and I had made the day before and kept in the fridge.

Fish Cutlets Waiting to be Fried

After being fried, the fish cutlets were packed into a container to be taken to our friends' home.  These friends are my late friend A's widower and their two daughters who are now my daughter's friends, as well.  

My daughter had woken up with a migraine headache and I told her we could stay home if she preferred to, but, she took her migraine medications and felt well enough to go.  

On our way there, I stopped to put gas to the car.  Gas at the cheapest gas station in my area was $5.999 per gallon, which in my opinion is as good as $6.00!  Other stations, however, were charging $6.099 and higher per gallon.  Since I budget $50 per month for gas, I put $50 worth of gas to the car and that will have to do!  There was a flower vendor at the gas station, who came up to me to offer bouquets of mixed flowers;  I wasn't planning to buy flowers, so I declined to buy a bouquet for $10.  But, when he then dropped his price to $5, I felt sorry for him, and decided to buy some flowers to take to our friends' house, in addition to the cutlets.

Easter lunch with late friend A's family was lovely.  We were joined by the fiance of one of the girls (whose engagement party we attended at the end of March) and of course, these two:

Sasha (who is curled up on a blanket I crocheted for A)

and 

Winni (curled up next to daughter)

who has grown quite a bit since we last saw him at Christmas:

Winni at Christmas

And here he is, waiting for a belly rub in return for posing for pictures:

Winnie (waiting for a belly rub)

We had samosas (purchased from an Indian restaurant) and the fish cutlets, along with some cheese and crackers for appetizers, chicken biryani, baked ribs, pasta alfredo, cheesy baked potatoes, raita, and salad for lunch, and there was ice cream for dessert.  

We came home around 5:00 p.m. (with a container of leftovers!)  I was just making us a cup of tea when my friend S (not neighbor S) called to ask if we were home and, when I said yes, said she and her husband were on their way!  I set out a plate of cookies for them and was ready to make tea for them, too, but, they were on their way to visit two other friends, so they didn't stay to tea.  Instead, they handed over a bag with our Easter dinner:

Easter Dinner (Compliments of Friend S)

Yellow rice, brinjal moju (eggplant pickle), fish cutlets (!), mutton (goat) curry, mixed vegetable pickle, cashew curry, and fried pappadum. 

I gave friend S a gift that I had bought for her daughter as a New Year's gift that I had not been able to give to her, earlier, and included a gift my daughter had made, as well.  My daughter said that S's daughter had texted her, later, and thanked her for the gifts.

Daughter and I enjoyed friend S's gift of food for our dinner.  There are some leftovers for Monday's lunch, as well.

Later in the evening, I did a load of laundry (which I haven't put away, still).  

It was a lovely Easter Sunday and I was grateful for:

- Gas being available, even at a price.
- Being invited to Easter lunch with late friend A's family and spending time with them
- A safe drive there and back
- Friend S and husband visiting us and bringing us dinner
- Daughter's migraine responded to medications and she felt well enough to enjoy Easter Sunday

My joyful activities included spending time with long-time friends.  I am blessed to have friends who include my daughter and me in their celebrations.

I hope you had a lovely Sunday with family, friends, and loved ones.

Making Cards This Week

 

Birthday Card

It was my half-sister's birthday, this week, and I made her the above card, using leftover papers from scrapbooking and flowers I had pressed, years ago.  The flowers are buttercups and a wildflower.  Growing up, I had read about buttercups, but, had never seen them.  But, when I was in Wisconsin attending university, the grounds around the student apartments where I lived were full of buttercups and I picked a few and pressed them.   Later, I glued them to some writing paper that I had.  I used a few of them whem I wrote letters to friends, but, I still have a few of them in my stationery box.  Some of them are discolored because I didn't separate them and a pressed flower from the paper beneath has stained it.  But I found one sheet of paper with pressed flowers that hadn't been too discolored and cut it down to size.  The card still seemed to need something else, though, and my daughter gave me a butterfly cut out from a package of cut outs that one of her former supervisors had given her.  I think it was just what the card needed to finish it.  I wrote happy birthday at the bottom after I took the photo.

Sister's card was mailed to her.  She didn't mention receiving it when I called to wish her on her birthday, but, I hope she received it!

Then, it was time to make a card for an engagement party that daughter and I have been invited to:

Engagement Card

Once again, leftover scrapbooking paper, some sparkly "rhinestones" I had in my stash, and a heart I drew with a stencil and cut out.  

Daughter made her own card:

Daughter's Card

Daughter chose to draw and color her card with oil pastels and acrylic paint pens.

We both enjoyed making our cards.  Do you make your own cards?  Is that an activity you enjoy doing?

New Year's Eve - 2025

 

Guava Strudel

On the last day of December, neighbor E's daughter brought over a dozen guava strudels from our favorite Cuban bakery!  How lovely!  Daughter and I enjoyed some of them for brunch (in fact, I ate one before I remembered to take a picture!) and for tea, too!  

We've had light rain all day, today.  It's wonderful for the garden, of course, but, the grounds are saturated in the burn scar areas and I hope there won't be any more mudslides.  

I spent another relaxed day, knitting and watching online videos.  In the afternoon, I did dust the living room (I wanted to vacuum, too, but, my daughter asked me to take it easy, so I didn't vacuum).  Sandy asked me to post pictures of my knitting and the yarn I was using, so I did:

Sweater Back

This is the back of the sweater I am making.  My usual mock cable ribbing and a plain stockinette stitch back.  I'm using US size 7 needles (for the ribbing as well as the body of the sweater).

I ordered and picked up groceries, yesterday (Tuesday), which included a 1.71 lb. piece of boneless beef chuck roast at $5.98/lb.  I made a pot roast with it, today, for dinner, with onions, carrots, potatoes, and home grown corn on the cob from the freezer.  Cooking it was a joint effort as daughter peeled and cut all the vegetables for me.  We have leftovers for another meal or two and pot roast sandwiches for brunches.

I called my late neighbor T's daughter K to check on her as tomorrow (New Year's Day) would mark the 1 year anniversary of T's death.  K was down with a very bad chest cold and cough, but, we chatted a bit and she was happy that I had called her.  

Daughter and I are planning to greet the New Year at home, with sparkling apple juice and I will continue with my tradition of boiling milk and making milkrice.

On this New Year's Eve, I am grateful for:

- The year that is just coming to an end 
- Having my daughter home with me to say good bye to the old year and greet the new year
- The rain that is watering my garden

- The gift of pastries from my neighbors

- Being alive and relatively well, too

Today's joyful activities included watching the rain, knitting, enjoying some delicious pastries.

I wish all my blog friends a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year.  Thank you for your friendship over this year, for all the lovely, kind comments you've made, and for the difference you've made in my life.  I look forward to "seeing" you in the new year.  

May you have a blessed New Year.

On Christmas Day and Day After

 

Christmas Lunch

On Christmas day, the rain paused for a period of time.  Late friend A's younger daughter called my daughter around 9:00 a.m., asking if we could make it to Christmas lunch, after all.  Daughter asked me and I said, "Yes".  It was supposed to rain later in the afternoon, but, we were hoping we could manage to make it there and back before it resumed raining.  However, just in case it rained hard and the roads flooded, I decided we could spend the night at their house and put a change of clothes in the car ( I've decided to leave it in the car along with the sleeping bag that I've kept in the car since the January fires, in case we need to evacuate in an emergency) 

There was no rain on the way to our friends' house, but, as soon as we pulled into the parking lot, it just poured!  Hard, heavy rain, that sounded almost like hail as it fell on the car.  Two minutes later, the rain stopped!  I guess we had a cloud burst of sorts.  It rained on and off while we were at our friend's house, but, we left when it was just a ight rain and that stopped just before we reached home.

Our friends had prepared a feast for Christmas lunch: Ham and gravy, corned beef brisket, chicken curry, vegetable rice, cheesy mashed potatoes, salad, bread rolls, and Christmas cake, pumpkin pie, and ice cream for dessert.  

While we were there, my friend S called to say that her husband and daughter were on their way to my house to drop off something for me and that usually means food.  I told her that we were not at home.  But, apparently, they were making a drop off at friend R's too, so they said they'll leave my parcel with friend R, if I could pick it up from her place.  Then friend R called to tell me that friend S's daughter had called her saying I was not at home!  I confirmed that I was not at home and I will stop by to pick up my package on my way home.  Which I did and I handed over a package that had arrived for R just as we were leaving the house and which I had with me in the car.  

As I suspected friend S had sent us a dinner!  Rice, cashew curry, beef curry, eggplant moju with fried dried salted sprats, Sri Lankan mixed pickle, cutlets, slices of fresh pineapple, and homemade marshmallows for dessert.  Daughter and I were too full from our Christmas lunch to eat a full dinner, so we kept it in the fridge to enjoy on the following day and over the weekend, too.

It started to rain quite heavily in the night.  I was glad we came home before the heavy rains started again.

On Christmas day, I was grateful for:

-  Our friends inviting us to Christmas lunch
- The heavy rains let up while we were driving to our friends' home and back 
- Safe driving there and back (we avoided the flooded roads and intersections)
- Time spent in the company of friends
- Friend S sending us dinner; friend R keeping it for me

My joyful activities included enjoying Christmas day with my daughter and friends and cuddling a new puppy that one of late friend A's daughters has just adopted.

Puppy Wants Christmas Lunch, Too!

We generally don't open gifts at the end of the gathering so we left our gifts to them under their tree and they handed their gifts to us as we were leaving.  

One of the girls is an avid hiker and we got her a hiking journal and a set of pens:

Hiking Journal

The other girl has asked daughter to teach her how to crochet, so we got her a crochet instruction book and a set of crochet hooks and stitch markers, etc.

Crochet Book

Daughter also made them each two beaded bracelets.

Their father received a jar of homemade peach chutney.

I received a lovely set of kitchen towels as the girls continued their mother's tradition of giving me towels each year, as well as a gift card.

Set of Kitchen Towel

I love the colors and the fact that it is suitable for year round use and not just at Christmas.  

Daughter received a selection of reading themed gifts and a necklace.

Speaking of necklaces, my daughter made me this wrapped wire pendant as one of her Christmas gifts to me:

.  

Wrapped Wire, Glass Crystal Beads, and a Moonstone

Later in the evening I called my cousin N and spoke with her mother, Aunt C who is in her early 90s and recently been diagnosed with dementia.  Aunt spoke with me for a long time, rambling a bit as she spoke.  When I asked my cousin if I could come and visit her mother, she asked Aunt C if she'd like me to visit, but, I could hear Aunt C saying no.  So, I told cousin C not to worry about it, I will just drop off a gift without seeing Aunt C.  The last pair of socks I knitted are for her.  I also called friend S for thank her for the meal she sent us.

Today, the day after Christmas day, it continued to rain more or less all day, quite heavily at times.  My cousin V called and I chatted with her for awhile.  Daughter and I are having a relatively quiet, relaxed day as I've been trying to keep my blood pressure under control (it's been fluctuating a bit).  

Daughter is assembling one of the gifts she bought for me; I will post a picture once it is fully assembled.  

I hope you've had a lovely Christmas with your loved ones.

Did you take advantage of any after Christmas sales?  What are your plans for the weekend?

Christmas Eve

 

Moo:  "I don't like this wet stuff, Lady"

It rained all night on Tuesday and all day on Christmas Eve.  Some roads and freeways flooded and there were mudslides and hundreds of accidents.  It is supposed to rain all day on Christmas Day, too.

Daughter and I had been invited to join some friends of ours for Christmas dinner, but, after receiving two weather alerts and flood watch warnings, we took a "rain check" on the invitation!  Especially since we saw on the news that the freeway and the intersection under the freeway that we would need to drive through to get to our friends' house were flooded and closed to traffic.  

I hadn't planned anything for a special Christmas dinner at home, but, I can put together something and we'll plan a festive New Year's Day meal, instead.

M came to visit during a break in the weather (it was still drizzling, but, not raining hard), with a gift for us:

Yummy Pastries and Cakes

He offered to water the garden for me!  Ha, ha!  Very funny, M!

I had made waffles and sausages for brunch.  At tea time, instead of tea, I made hot cocoa with the last of the whipped cream squired on top:

Hot Cocoa

 For dinner, I made some curry puffs:

Curry Puffs

Puff pastry triangles filled with ground beef, tomato, a grated potato, and grated zucchini.  . 

On Christmas Eve, I'm grateful for:

- The rain for the garden

- The previous night's wind storm only toppled one of my blueberry bushes 
- Our friends understood our reasons for declining their invitation to Christmas dinner
- Electricity (friend R called to say her power went off for several hours due to the storm)
- A working heater

My joyful activities included walking around the garden when the rain slowed down to a light drizzle and sampling some of the delicious desserts M gave us.

I wish you all a very joyous Christmas.  May you be blessed with the love, peace, and goodwill that is so much a part of this season.

After the Almsgiving

 

The Last of the Butternut Squash

Thank you to all who left such kind, considerate, and respectful comments and genuine questions on my almsgiving posts.  I truly appreciate them.  

Happy Winter Solstice and the first day of Winter!

I had thought that I would sleep in on Sunday, especially since I didn't go to sleep until past 4:00 a.m.  But, I got up at 8:00 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep.  So, I had a cup of tea, got dressed, unloaded the dishwasher, etc.; daughter was surprised to see me already up and about when she got up around 8:30 a.m.  She woke up with a migraine-related visual aura but, couldn't go back to bed because her friends were coming over for the planned pancake/waffles breakfast at 9:00 a.m.

Her friend C, who lives out of state and was visiting family to attend a grandparent's funeral, arrived just after 9:00 a.m. and they chatted and had some one on one time before friend A arrived around 9:30 a.m.  A third friend V was not well and had let daughter know she was not attending the breakfast, out of consideration for the others.

There was a lot of laughter and chatting while daughter and her friends made scrambled eggs and pancakes (apparently, they didn't want waffles).  Friend C left around 10:30 a.m. and friend A stayed for another couple of hours.

I had retreated to my bedroom after I had greeted friend C when she first arrived, but, I sat in the family room when it was only friend A.  These are girls I've known since daughter was in middle school and it is lovely to see how they've grown over the years and stayed in touch.  

After they had their pancake breakfast, I made myself waffles for my brunch.  

I had just finished my brunch when gardener friend M showed up!  He had been unable to tend to the garden on Friday since he had an issue with his truck.  So, he was making up for it by working on his day off!  He cleared up the butternut squash vines and harvested the last of the butternut squashes!  The biggest one is just around 6 inches, the smallest one is just under 2 inches!  I think that will go in the compost heap, but the other two might yield about a cup and a half of squash to be cooked!

I served a plate of the leftover almsgiving food for M and he enjoyed it.  

Later in the afternoon, I made myself an egg salad sandwich.  

After that, daughter helped me to put away the dishes and other items that are used only for our almsgivings.  They are stored on the higher shelves in the upper kitchen cabinets that I can barely reach even when standing on the top step of a two tiered step stool.  I am definitely vertically challenged!  Daughter also cleaned the top of the refrigerator for me and I cleaned the top of the vent hood over the stove and the cabinet doors directly above.  I would like to clean the rest of the kitchen cabinet doors before the New Year.

Both daughter and I had naps in the early evening.  Afterwards, we both had leftovers for dinner.  

On Sunday, I was grateful for:

- Daughter had a good gathering with her friends
- The sound of laughter blessing the house
- M making time to tend to the garden
- The last of the butternut squashes from the garden
-  A lovely day

Sunday's joyful activity was sharing some of the almsgiving leftovers with M.

Plans for Monday include getting my flu vaccine, making a batch of blueberry jam, and maybe sewing a couple of New Year gifts.

How was your Sunday?  Did you do something special to observe Winter Solstice? What are your plans for Monday?

Thanksgiving Week

 

Thanksgiving Dinner

Happy Thanksgiving!  I know I'm a day late, but, we can give thanks year round, can't we?

This week has whizzed by!  Daughter worked on Monday morning and took the afternoon off as well as Tuesday and Wednesday, so, with Thursday and Friday being holidays, she had most of the week off.

On Monday, I had an appointment with the dental hygienist to get more deep cleaning and a digital scan done.  Daughter accompanied me and drove us back.  I also put away the tea things used for Sunday's tea party, made cranberry sauce in advance, and had a chat with neighbor S, who said that the stray puppy belonged to one of my neighbors and she was able to return the dog to them.

We had egg salad sandwiches for brunch and I opened a can of chicken noodle soup for a quick and easy to eat dinner for me.  Later, I cooked a package of ground turkey with diced onions, bell peppers, celery, grated carrots, and tomatoes added to it and boiled some pasta for daughter's dinner.

On Tuesday, we took Dancer for his monthly arthritis injection.  This time, he threw up the sedative even before we left the house!  However, with daughter sitting in the backseat with him and petting him through an opening in his carrier, he was fairly relaxed during the car ride there and back.  

After we came home and let Dancer out of his carrier, we went grocery shopping.  We went to the Armenian grocery store to take advantage of their Tuesday special of pork chops for $1.99/lb.  We also bought some large head-on shrimp on sale for $4.99/lb., although the fish counter service person initially charged me more!  I disputed it and showed in the flyer and the sale sign with the price per pound posted on the glass case.  He still had to come around to verify it, but, he acknowledged the posted sale price and I got the shrimp for $4.99/lb.  We also picked up some fruits and vegetables, bread rolls, and a few treats. My total came to $48.49.

Grocery Receipt

Later in the afternoon, I put in a grocery order for pick up from the supermarket, which included a whole chicken, salmon fillet, a pumpkin pie and two mini pecan pies, whipped topping, and a dozen bottles of flavored water.  When I came home, I realized that, while they had charged me for the flavored water, they had not included it in the bags of groceries that were loaded into my car!  I called the store and they weren't even sure if they had any left in stock.  So, I put in a request for a refund, online; I received a message that the refund went through, but, it would take a few business days for it to be posted to my account.  

Here's the original receipt:

Order Summary

Original Item Total$77.89

Item Coupons/Sales-$19.57

Fulfillment Fee+$0.00

Other Fees+$0.20

Sales Tax+$1.17

Order Total$59.69

---

Item Details

18 Items

Bakery Fresh Mini Pecan Pie, 3.25 oz$3.00

2 x $1.50 each

Bakery Fresh Pumpkin Pie, 21.5 oz (6 servings)$4.99

1 x $4.99 $5.99 each

CA Redem Val$0.60

1 x $0.60 each

CA Redem Val$0.60

1 x $0.60 each

CA Redem Val$0.20

2 x $0.10 each

CA Redem Val$0.20

2 x $0.10 each

Farmer John Maple Pork Sausage Links, 8 oz$5.00

2 x $2.50 $2.59 each

Foster Farms Fresh & Natural Cage Free Whole Chicken, 1 bag$9.67

4.86 lbs x $1.98 $2.99 each (approx.)

Fresh Atlantic Whole Salmon Fillet Farm Raised (sustainably sourced), 1 lb$9.09

0.91 lbs x $9.99 $14.99 each (approx.)

Martinelli's Gold Medal® Sparkling Apple Cider, 25.4 fl oz$7.00

2 x $3.50 $4.99 each

Reddi Wip Original Whipped Topping Made With Real Cream, 6.500 oz$5.98

2 x $2.99 $4.49 each

Sparkling Ice Lemonade Variety Pack, 12 ct / 17 fl oz$11.99

1 x $11.99 $14.99 each (not received)

---

Other Fees

$0.20

Bag Fee$0.20

2 x $0.10 each

The original total came to $59.69.

But, the refund for the missing flavored water amounted to $13.16 ($11.99 + $1.17 tax)

So, total paid would amount to $59.69 - $13.16 = $46.53

No turkey since it was just my daughter and I for Thanksgiving dinner and a whole turkey would have been too much for us and we prefer chicken, anyway.  I had invited my late friend A's husband and two daughters to join us, but, they had made other plans.  I was a little disappointed, but, daughter had been worried that I'd get too tired preparing Thanksgiving dinner for company.  As it was, it turned out for the best.

On Wednesday, daughter woke up with a migraine headache.  Gardener M was here and we did a little tidying up of the garden and chatted a bit.  Afterwards, I went to the pharmacy to pick up my medication refills that were ready.

In the evening, daughter was feeling better and we did a craft project together, making some gifts to give at Christmas or New Year.  Then, we tried to unclog a slow draining bathroom sink and I'm afraid our efforts might have made things a bit worse!  I am probably going to have to call a plumber, next week.  

I cooked rice, shrimp curry, and sauteed curried green beans for dinner and poached some pears for dessert.  We might have also sampled some of the pies we bought for Thanksgiving dinner, a day early!  LOL.

On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, daughter still had a lingering migraine, although she said it was more of a dull headache.  But, she had no energy to do anything although she vacuumed the living room.

I watched part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and part of a football game while I did several loads of laundry and did some ironing.  All the laundry got put away right away, so we didn't have a mountain of clean laundry piled up on the table!  I also spoke with my sister and aunt, texted with cousins and friends, and exchanged emails with a couple of friends, as well.

I had planned to have Thanksgiving dinner about 4:00 p.m., so I started cooking around 1:00 p.m., putting the chicken to roast.  I made mashed potatoes, sauteed garlicky green beans, gravy, and there was canned baked beans and the previously made cranberry sauce for our Thanksgiving dinner.  Plus pies, of course.  I was going to make cornbread, but, I got tired and didn't make it.  I'll make some another day.

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving dinner and afterwards, I look a fairly long nap on the sofa!  We snacked on leftovers later in the evening and daughter helped me put away the balance leftovers.  She also rinsed all the dishes and loaded the dishwasher for me, which I appreciated very much.

Today, the day after Thanksgiving, we both relaxed and took it fairly easy.  I made French toast for brunch and we will have leftovers for dinner. 

Later in the evening, I helped daughter make the filling mixture for Sri Lankan fish cutlets, using canned mackerel, mashed potatoes, finely minced onions, herbs, and spices.  The mixture will be made into small balls, about one inch in diameter, dipped in beaten egg, rolled in bread crumbs, and deep fried.  I had toasted several pieces of bread crusts in the oven, last night, and daughter crushed them with a rolling pin to make the bread crumbs.  We will make the fish cutlets tomorrow and daughter will take some of them to the "Friendsgiving" potluck dinner her friend A is hosting.  

This Thanksgiving week, I am grateful for many things, but I am most thankful for:

- Being able to celebrate Thanksgiving with my daughter
- For the food we've shared and enjoyed
- For a warm and comfortable home 
- For family and friends 
- For all our blessings

My joyful activities have included spending time with daughter, doing crafts with her, chatting with family and friends, and tending to the garden.

Plans for the weekend include helping daughter make the fish cutlets, starting on my Christmas/New Year Greeting cards, and making a batch of blueberry jam (which I haven't made before, so something new to try!)

How was your week?  What were you thankful for this week?  What are your plans for the weekend?