Sleepless Nights.

I couldn't fall asleep on Monday night.  I went to bed and stayed wide awake, trying to sleep, until finally, shortly after 8:00 a.m., I gave up trying to sleep and got up.  I had my morning cup of tea, made my daughter her cup of coffee, fed Dancer, brought in the emptied trash cans, called in Dancer's medication refill to the pharmacy, checked the mail (I've a Jury Duty Summons), watched some videos online, replied to blog comments, read and commented on a few other blogs, and did some thinking about things.  

In the afternoon, my daughter insisted that I tried to take a nap or, at the very least, lie down and rest.  After about an hour of lying awake, I eventually managed to nap for about an hour.  Once I was up, I warmed up the leftover hot dogs for a very late lunch, watched the evening news, cleaned the kitchen a little bit, ran the dishwasher, washed Dancer's dishes and cleaned his litter box, and prepared dinner.  I was going to make the devilled chicken, but, the chicken was still frozen solid!  Instead, I heated up a can of beef stew and cooked some fresh rice to go with it.  I don't generally buy canned beef stew, but, I bought a few at the very beginning of the pandemic to have on hand as part of my emergency supplies.  It is now time to use them up before they get too old.  I doctored up the beef stew with some garlic salt, chili powder, and frozen green peas.  I decided to serve it with rice, instead of mashed potatoes.  There's leftover beef stew and rice for at least another meal or two.

Friend R called after dinner and we had a short chat.  Then, I exchanged emails with a friend.

All the things I didn't do are glaring at me, but, it is already almost 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday, so all the undone tasks will have to wait.

On Tuesday, I was grateful for:

- An afternoon nap
- Being able to call in Dancer's medication refills
- Weekly trash collections
- The mail being delivered on a more or less regular basis
- Working appliances

Tuesday's joyful activity was watching some favorite videos online.

Plans for Wednesday include registering for jury duty, tending to the garden with M, and doing some laundry. 

How was your Tuesday?  What are your plans for Wednesday?  Do you sleep well at night?

Wednesday's Accomplishments

Maple Streusel Bread and Homemade Gata (Armenian Cookies)

It was not quite 62F inside the house, this morning, when we woke up.  Outside was warmer and sunny!  As soon as I had my cup of tea and had said my morning prayers, I went outside and walked in the drive way for 15 minutes, and then, sat on the short side wall in the sun for a few minutes.  LOL.  

Aveline Avocado Stands Tall, Again!

M was here later in the morning and he and I found a taller stake for the avocado plant which has been named Aveline by Lady Ella (thank you, Lady Ella for naming her!)  I asked M about planting her in the ground, but, just as I suspected, he said to wait until next spring.  

M was also kind enough to install the new fluorescent light tubes in the kitchen ceiling light fixture, for me.  The kitchen lights stopped working almost a month ago! I had been managing with the light on the stove vent hood and the dining area while the new bulbs were ordered and shipped.  They were delivered, yesterday.  Today, M installed them for me and I took the opportunity to clean the light fixture cover.

Then, I asked M, since he was up on the ladder anyway, if he could also clean the section of the molding above the kitchen cabinets above the stove.  Even with the vent hood, grease had accumulated up there and it was very unsightly and had been bothering me a lot!  It has been at least a couple of years since I've climbed up a ladder to clean the molding - I've climbed the step stool and cleaned the cabinet doors and the top of the vent hood, but, I can't reach the molding from the step stool.  Not only did M clean the section directly above the stove, he cleaned the entire length of molding along that wall!  Now the molding looks so clean that the cabinet doors look dingy!  LOL.  That's the problem with white kitchen cabinets - they are hard to keep clean!

The afternoon was nice and warm, with a high of 75F!  I spent a little more time out in the garden, to enjoy the warmth.  By then, the inside of the house had warmed up to about 68F.  But, in the evening, I was so cold that we used one of the small space heaters to warm up the family room!

Neighbor S called me and handed some easy piano pieces she had printed out for me.  She is taking a break from teaching piano this month, so I will resume taking piano lessons in November, but, I will practice these new pieces on my own until then.  I spent about 20 minutes playing them, this evening. Later in the evening, S brought me some homemade gata (an Armenian cookie) which she had made and some maple streusel bread that her younger daughter had bought.  The gata were absolutely delicious and my daughter has asked her for the recipe!  S said she will ask her daughter to translate the recipe from Armenian to English to share with my daughter.  

Lunch had been leftovers, followed by slices of "Wawa melon".  Dinner was boxed mac and cheese with canned tuna added to it - what I'd call a pantry meal!  It was a rather frugal meal, too.

Today, I am grateful for:

- A sunny, warm day
- M putting the new bulbs in the kitchen light fixture and
- Cleaning the kitchen cabinet molding for me
- S sharing some yummy treats with us
- Phone calls with family and friends

Today's joyful activities included being in the garden and enjoying the treats S provided.

Plans for tomorrow include some cleaning and sewing.

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

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October Decluttering:

10/1 - 1 banana holder (to be donated)

10/2 - 3 decorative beaded buckles (to be donated)
10/3 - 1 craft book
10/4 - 3 anime books (daughter's; to be donated)
10/5 - 1 pack of HP playing cards (daughter's; to be donated)
        - 1 Rubik's cube-type 3D puzzle (a triangle, instead of a cube; daughter's to be donated)

        - 1 chemistry set for making models of molecules and ions (daughter's; to be donated)
10/6 - 6 bottles of old dried up craft paint

        - 3 items of clothing (to be donated; daughter took 2 of them!)
10/7 - 5 knitted scarves

10/8 - 1 basket

10/9 - 1 blouse (given to daughter)

10/10 - 1 hair clip (broken; tossed)

          - 1 cat toy (cat is not interested in it; tossed)

10/11 - 1 resin chair (broken, recycled)

10/12 - 1 old dry erase board

10/13 - 5 plastic plant pots (cracked/broken; recycled)

Saturday

Waffles with Apple Topping

Saturday was a bright, sunny day, with clear blue skies and not a cloud in sight!  It was warmer than it has been, too.     

I made waffles for brunch and made a topping for it with an apple, sliced and cooked in a little butter, sugar, and cinnamon.  It was good, but, some ice cream on top would have been even better! LOL.

In the afternoon, I walked about in the garden, for a bit.  But, I felt tired, later, and took a nap on the sofa from 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.!  I only woke up because Dancer was crying for his evening tuna!  Then, I felt groggy and took awhile to wake up!  Later in the evening, however, I felt a bit nauseated, so I chewed on a piece of candied ginger, had a peppermint, and ate some plain crackers for dinner.  I don't think it was the waffles or the apple that I ate for brunch, but, maybe my stomach just wanted a rest.  

Friend S called me in the afternoon, to say that she was at the Armenian grocery store and did I need anything?  I thanked her and said no, because I have everything I need for right now.  But, I am so grateful to have friends who offer to do my grocery shopping for me.  They know that I am staying home during this time because I want to minimize my risk of getting the virus since I have underlying health conditions that increase my risk factors for not only getting the virus, but, also for not recovering should I get it.  I know I have to die at some point or another, but, I am hoping that I will be blessed with a few more years before that happens! 

My daughter baked chicken pot pies with pantry items, today:

Chicken Pot Pies

2 cans of chicken meat, 1 can of cream of chicken soup, 1 can of mixed vegetables, and 1 tube of refrigerated biscuit dough.  She lined the muffin cups with the stretched out biscuit dough (she doesn't have a rolling pin) and brought the tops over the filling to the extent possible, because she wanted to be able to remove the pot pies from the muffin cups without difficulty.  The two individual ramekins, however, have the biscuits topping the pie filling. 

Today, I am grateful for:
- Friends who call to offer help with grocery shopping
- Afternoon naps
- A sunny day
- Phone calls from family and friends
- Video chatting with my daughter

My joyful activity was my afternoon nap!

How was your Saturday?