Relaxing on Sunday

Osteospermum in Bloom

I slept in, this morning, and had a very relaxed morning.   Aunt C called and we chatted for a bit and then, neighbor T called.

Today, I picked some osteospermum flowers for the altar.  The plants in the front are all full of flowers.

Then, I did a tiny bit of tidying up: the dresser drawer where I keep my scarves, the nightstand where some books had piled up, the floor of my closet, etc,, gave Dancer his flea prevention medication, and practiced the piano.

In the afternoon, friend R called and I asked her if she'd like to visit the Japanese garden, again, as they are having an event featuring Japanese music, next Sunday.  She said she wouldn't mind going, so, that has been written down in the calendar.

Later, I did some scrapbooking, redoing some pages where the pictures had been removed for one of daughter's school projects.  Some pages had one or two photos removed, some had only one photo remaining, and a few had all the photos removed!  I redid a few pages and put the old pages in the recycling bin.  I am using only the papers I have in my stash and don't plan on buying anymore, unless I absolutely have to in order to finish this project.  I also made a conscious decision to leave the scrapbooking supplies out on the dining table until tomorrow.

Today, I am grateful for:
- Phone calls from family and friends
- Garden flowers
- Being able to preserve memories by scrapbooking the photos
- A relaxed day
- Video chatting with my daughter

My joyful activity today was scrapbooking.

Tomorrow is a holiday, here (Presidents' Day), but, every day is a holiday for me now that I am retired!

Monday's To Do List:

- Clean the fridge

- Take trash cans to the curb for Tuesday trash pick up

- Water the garden, front and back
- Continue to scrapbook
- Cook a fish curry
- Practice the piano

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

Procrastinating on Saturday

Today has been another sunny and warm day.  I woke up feeling a bit tired, though, and not motivated to do anything much.  I spent the rest of the morning having my tea, replying to blog comments, reading a couple of other blogs, reading a library book, marking my calendar with upcoming appointments and events, etc.  All the while, I knew that I was procrastinating on doing something I had to do. 

Then, after brunch (more coconut flat bread and beef curry), I played the piano.  I played a few pieces from a different beginner's level music book for fun and then, practiced the pieces I should be playing.  Then, I removed the faded flowers from the prayer gathering and rearranged the remaining flowers in one vase.  Then, I tweaked the objects displayed on the living room shelving unit I had dusted, yesterday, and took pictures:

Living Room Shelving Unit

I am finally happy with how the top two shelves look.  Almost all the decorative items displayed were gifts from my mother, my daughter, and other family members, and one small item had belonged to my mother.  In my efforts to declutter, I have considered if I should continue to keep them, but, they do bring me joy and I do have the space for them, so they are staying, at least for now.  There maybe some books that can be decluttered the next time I declutter books, especially the one or two books that I decluttered earlier, but, found their way back on to the shelves!  But, I am not ready to declutter my books, yet, so, I shall consider this shelving unit to be as decluttered as it is going to be for the near future! 

While I was still procrastinating, I cleaned the litter box, swept the bathroom, decided to give my toilet another scrubbing to remove a hard water mark, using a cleaning product that claimed it would do just that (but, it didn't work for me), took the kitchen trash out, admired the flowers in the front garden, collected today's mail from my mail box, and decided to process the mail right away, instead of leaving it out on the coffee table like I usually do!  The junk mail was tossed in the bag for recycling and the rest was filed!  Woo hoo!  I tell you, I can be so productive when I am procrastinating!

By this time, it was late afternoon.  Almost 4 o'clock.  I finally got around to doing the job I had been procrastinating doing all day.  I dusted and tidied the top of my dressing table!  I even tossed a couple of items, including a lotion that I had never used and some medications that I no longer take.  Then, I vacuumed - my bedroom, the bathroom I had just swept, the hallway, the kitchen, and the other two bedrooms.  Then, I put away the vacuum cleaner (I decided to vacuum the rest of the house another day) and made myself a cup of tea!

I've been relaxing, ever since.  Dinner was some of the leftovers, so no cooking required, only reheating. 

Today, I am grateful for: 
- Fresh flowers
- Sentimentality
- The piano my mother bought for us
- Productive procrastination!
- What I was able to accomplish

Today's joyful activity was playing the piano for fun.


Saturday's To Do List:
- Vacuum - DONE
- Finish tidying my bedroom (dressing table top) - DONE

Plans for Sunday include doing some scrapbooking.  Plus piano practicing, of course. 

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

Clean on Friday

Today, I spent a relaxed morning, enjoying a cup of tea, replying to blog comments, reading other blogs, etc.  Breakfast was a bowl of sauteed garbanzo beans.

In the afternoon, I did some cleaning.  I started with my bathroom, dusted the top of my chest of drawers, tidied my desk, did more paperwork and filing, hand washed the last wool sweater, and dusted the living room and the dining area.  The dusting wasn't on my To Do List for today, but, one of the down sides of keeping windows open to air out the house is it gets dusty quickly.

Lunch was a bowl of salad.  Dancer enjoyed his own salad of three spinach leaves without any dressing (he would have eaten more, but, that's all I feel comfortable giving him at one time). 

Later, I showed gardener friend M the round piece of metal (the unidentified flying object) and, together, we decided that it was what some of you had suggested it was - the top of a chimney.  Not from any of my chimneys, but, from one of my neighbor's (which is probably why it landed in her backyard and not mine).  We put it in the recycling bin!   I also showed him the lantana plants that had yellowing leaves and seem to be withering, and we checked for spider mites, but, we didn't find any.  We are going to leave them in place and see if they revive.  After that, he tidied the garden for me.

After tea, I watched news and went through three file folders and decluttered them.  Decluttering my file cabinet is a long term project!  I keep too many papers, but, I am getting better at  tossing old papers.  Later, I practiced the piano.

For dinner, I made coconut flat bread (pol roti) and had them with some of the beef curry my friend had brought to the prayer gathering.  I had some avocado pudding for dessert. 

Today, I am grateful for:
- A sunny, warm day
- What I was able to accomplish
- My heated rice filled neck warmer
- M helping with the garden
- Medications I no longer need to take

Today's joyful activity was reading a magazine (as part of my birthday gift, last year, my daughter gave me subscriptions to four magazines, so I receive new magazines to read each month!)


Friday's To Do List:

- Clean my bathroom - DONE
- Continue to tidy my bedroom - DID SOME (wiped the top of the chest of drawers, tidied my desk)
- More paperwork/filing - DONE
- Practice the piano - DONE

- Have M  check on the lantana and pot up the rooted lemongrass plant - DONE; decided it was too cold at night, still, to plant the lantana, outside.

Saturday's To Do List:
- Vacuum
- Finish tidying my bedroom (dressing table top).

How was your Friday?  Did you celebrate St. Valentine's Day?  What are your plans for the weekend?

Stickers and Cookies on Thursday

New Sticker and Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Today's piano lesson was a success!  I received several stickers and a baggie of chocolate chip cookies my neighbor's daughter had baked!  LOL!  I admit to eating two of the cookies!  I froze the remaining three cookies to share with my daughter when she visits at the end of the month.

In the end, I managed to memorize six of the songs I had been assigned (although I made a couple of mistakes with some of them when playing - silly mistakes, too, considering I played them fairly well at home!).   A few of the songs are back on my homework assignment for this week, as she would like me to be able to increase the tempo.  I have new pieces to learn, too, but, luckily, I don't have to memorize them!  Oh, and I memorized my cell phone number, too!  Finally!  LOL!

In the morning, before I went to my piano lesson, I responded to blog comments, put away the blue handknit wool sweater I had washed and laid out flat to dry, did the litter box, and washed the few dishes that were in the kitchen sink (from my late night snack and the morning tea).  After the lesson, I made fried rice for lunch (used one egg to make it), washed the lunch dishes, wiped down the kitchen counters, washed the grey handknit wool sweater, started tidying the desk in my bedroom, watered the front garden (I've three lantana plants that don't seem to be doing too well - too much "watering" by the neighbor's dogs, I suspect!), and did some paperwork/filing while I watched news.

Later in the evening, I called friend R and chatted with her for a bit.  Later, I video chatted with my daughter.  Dinner was a scrambled egg on toast (used another egg!), with avocado pudding for dessert.

Today, I am grateful for:
- A good piano lesson
- Stickers and cookies!
- A sunny, warm day
- Being able to open the windows to air out the house
- Having window screens in place! 

Today's joyful activity was - eating chocolate chip cookies!

Thursday's To Do List:
- Practice the piano - DONE
- Piano lesson - DONE
- Water the front garden - DONE
- More paperwork - DONE
- Continue to tidy my bedroom - ON-GOING

Friday's To Do List:

- Clean my bathroom
- Continue to tidy my bedroom
- More paperwork/filing
- Practice the piano 

- Have M  check on the lantana and pot up the rooted lemongrass plant

How was your Thursday?  What are your plans for Friday?  Will you be celebrating St. Valentine's Day?

More Grocery Shopping on Wednesday

Wednesday Groceries

Today, I spent some time in the morning responding to blog comments and commenting on a couple of other blogs.  Then, I practiced the piano for a little bit, emptied the kitchen trash, and turned around and it was 12:15 p.m., already, and time to leave for my podiatrist's appointment.  My appointment was at 1:30 p.m., but I always like to leave a little earlier than necessary because I never know how congested the freeway might be.  Traffic wasn't too heavy, today, and I got to the clinic in plenty of time, except they were closed for lunch and I had to wait!

While I was at the podiatrist's, I received a text from the pharmacy stating that another medication refill was ready for pick up (I've given up trying to coordinate the refills to be ready all at the same time).  So, after my appointment, I drove straight to the pharmacy, picking up a hamburger on the way, since it was already 3:00 p.m., by then, and all I'd had was a cup of tea in the morning and a couple of saltine-type crackers while I waited for the podiatrist's office to open after lunch.

At the pharmacy, I picked up my refill and then, I went to the dollar store, next door and bought a salad mix ($1.49), a box of cereal ($1.99), a bottle of soy sauce ($.99), a box of pudding mix ($.99), two packets of chicken salad with crackers and one packet of tuna salad with crackers (@$.99).  My total came to $8.49.  The packets of chicken/tuna salad and crackers are for me to take with me when I go to various appointments, along with the bottle of water I usually take with me.  I used to keep them in my office desk drawer when I was working, as part of my earthquake supplies, along with some granola bars.

After that, I went to the regular grocery store in the same mall to pick up some eggs, as I had finished the eggs I had bought earlier (in January, I believe).  The eggs were $2.79/dozen if I bought one carton, but $1.49/dozen if I bought two cartons!  So, I bought two cartons for $2.98!  I don't eat a lot of eggs, normally, but, I guess I'll be eating more eggs than normal for the next few weeks!  Maybe I'll ask friend R if she'd like some eggs!

My February grocery budget was $185.00 ($75 regular monthly budget + $10 carried over from January + $100 for prayer gathering related items).

Spent to date: $32.71 + $41.86 + $26.41 + $12.00 + $4.40 + 8.49 + $2.98 = $130.85

Balance remaining in the February grocery budget: $185 - $130.85 = $54.15

It was almost 5:00 p.m. by the time I came home!  I put away the groceries, opened a few windows to air out the house, had a cup of tea, and rested on the family room sofa, watching news on TV.  I had a crocheted blanket over my legs and Dancer decided he, too, wanted to be warm:

As snug as a bug in a rug?

I didn't water the front garden because I was tired from grocery shopping, etc.  Then, after dinner (leftovers: rice, chicken curry, dhal, the last of the green beans, pappadum), I practiced the piano (I might have memorized a fourth piece), did some paperwork, did a little cleaning in my bedroom (just a little bit), and video chatted with my daughter.

Today, I am grateful for:
- The podiatrist's appointment went well
- I had a safe drive there and back
- The pharmacy had another refill ready without any problems
- I was able to run a couple of errands
- Scented candles

Today's joyful activity was video chatting with my daughter.

Wednesday's To Do List:
- Doctor's appointment - DONE
- Continue to tidy my bedroom - DID SOME
- Water the front garden
- Practice the piano - DONE
- Paperwork/filing - STARTED

Thursday's To Do List:
- Practice the piano
- Piano lesson
- Water the front garden
- More paperwork
- Continue to tidy my bedroom

How was your Wednesday?  What would you do with an extra dozen of eggs?  What are your plans for Thursday?

Unidentified Flying Objects and Volunteer Plants on Tuesday

Unidentified Metal Flying Object - Top

The Under Side

This is the object that flew into my neighbor's yard which she gave to me.  It is about 6 inches in diameter.  One can see that it was fixed to something which rusted and broke off.  I can't think of what it might be.  Maybe it is a flying saucer!

"I'm not bothered by flying saucers; I'm taking a nap"

I put water to the back garden today and discovered these little plants growing under the orange tree:

Unidentified Plants

Well, maybe not quite unidentified.  Considering how close they are to one of the crocosmia plants, I am pretty sure these are crocosmia seedlings growing from the seeds that dropped, last year:

Crocosmia Seedlings

I think I'll let them grow a little bigger and then, transfer them to another area.

Today, I am grateful for:
- Volunteer plants
- A fridge full of leftovers
- Water for the garden
- A sunny and warm day
- Being able to post pictures

Today's joyful activity was discovering new plants in the garden.

Tuesday's To Do List:
- Remake the guest bed - DONE
- Bring the trash cans in - DONE
- Water the house plants and back garden - DONE
- Start tidying my bedroom
- Practice the piano - DONE

I haven't started tidying my bedroom at the time of writing (4:30 p.m.).  But, I hope to get started, later in the evening.

Wednesday's To Do List:
- Doctor's appointment
- Continue to tidy my bedroom
- Water the front garden
- Practice the piano
- Paperwork/filing

How is your Tuesday?  What do you think the metal object might be?  What are your plans for Wednesday?

Monday

I slept in, this morning, and got a good 9 hours of sleep!  I guess I was tired from the weekend's activities.  After I woke up and enjoyed a cup of tea, I responded to blog comments.  Breakfast was grapes:

"Sweet Sapphire" Seedless Black Grapes

Later in the afternoon, I noticed that the avocados I had bought had ripened.  I cut one, scooped out the flesh from one half and made:

Avocado Pudding!

I grew up eating avocado made into this favorite dessert: mashed up ripe avocado with condensed milk and sugar!  It is the only way I will eat avocado.  I am not a fan of guacamole, avocado toast, or sliced avocado in salads, etc.  I guess this was lunch!  

Neighbor T called me to tell me that she found a round metal piece that had blown over into her backyard after last night's wind storm.  She wasn't sure if it was from her roof or mine!  So, I went over and she gave me the piece of metal - it looks like it was a cover of something, but, I've no idea where it came from!  Anyway, I guess I will keep it until I can show it to someone who might know what it is!  Neighbor T showed me the damage the winds did to the wall between her driveway and her other neighbor's back yard - there had been a section of fencing on top of the cinder block wall and that had blown over, taking some of the cinder block capping stones with it!

Then, I took the trash cans out and watered the front garden - the newly planted euryops and the beds of osteospermum.

Today, I did three loads of laundry, including the bedding from the guest bed.  But, I didn't remake the bed, yet.

In the evening, I re-did some scrapbook pages.  My daughter had removed some of the photographs to do school projects when she was in high school; that was almost 10 years ago!  The scrapbook pages with the photos missing had been languishing in the "will re-do one day" pile.  Well, I re-did several of them, today, while I watched news.  Nothing fancy; just a matter of rearranging the remaining photos on new card stock and pasting them down.   Of course, Dancer came to help!  He is such a good shredder of papers!  Didn't matter if I wanted them shred or not!  LOL!  I still have several more pages to re-do, but I put everything away after I finished for today.

I am so happy the way the house looks after I tidied it for the prayer gathering that I am determined to try and keep it looking that way, by erasing the evidence after each activity!

The Family Room (before the sofas were covered)

With the Sofas Covered (with old bed sheets and towels on the arms to keep Dancer's fur off them) 

Dinner was leftovers.

Friend R called in the evening to check on me and daughter and I video chatted a bit.

I practiced the piano twice, today, and I think I have the first song memorized.  Working on the next two songs.  One of them is Happy Birthday, and while I know the melody well and have no problems with the right hand, I haven't quite memorized the notes for the left hand!

Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to sleep in
- Last night's wind storm didn't do any damage to my house and garden, as far as I can tell
- A tidy house (at least, the main rooms)
- Time to craft
- Phone calls and video chats

My joyful activity today was scrapbooking.


Monday's To Do List:
- Cover the sofas with the dust sheets - DONE
- Laundry - two three loads (guest room bed sheets; quilt; kitchen mat and Dancer's towels) - DONE
- Wipe down the toilet seat in the guest bathroom - DONE

- Take trash cans to the curb for Tuesday trash pick up - DONE

- Practice the piano - DONE

Tuesday's To Do List:
- Remake the guest bed
- Bring the trash cans in
- Water the house plants and back garden
- Start tidying my bedroom
- Practice the piano

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