Rainy Tuesday!

Guava Tree After the Rain

It RAINED today!  Woo Hoo!  Not just a drizzle, either, but a proper shower of rain!  Since early this morning until mid-afternoon.  It's 2:30 p.m. now, and the rain has ceased and the sun is shining through a break in the cloud cover.  What a blessing this shower of rain has been!  My garden has been so thirsty for a good drink of water!  And the plants all look so lovely and fresh with the sun shining on the drops of rain.

I tried to photograph the raindrops on the leaves of the cherry guava tree growing outside my dining area window:

My laptop photography skills leaves much to be desired - I just opened the window, stuck the laptop out and pressed blindly, hoping for the best!  :D  You might have to use your imagination to picture the raindrops on the leaves!  Ha, ha.

This tree was pruned, late last year, after a rather poor crop of fruit - poor in the size of each fruit, not quantity.  Cherry guavas are not very big, to begin with (about the size of a small cherry, which is why they are called cherry guavas), but with plenty of water to irrigate the tree, the fruits are soft and juicy.  Without water, however, each fruit is the size of a small blueberry, and tend to be hard and mostly all seeds.  There were plenty of fruit, but most were dry and hard and even the birds didn't want them.  Often we just eat the cherry guavas freshly picked off the tree, but I have also made jelly with the fruit in years past.  Maybe this year, with more rain, my garden might do better.

I am spending the day doing office work, today.  Later, I would like to change my bed sheets, do a load of laundry, and start taking down some of the Christmas decorations. 

In the half an hour it took to take the pictures and write this bit, the sun has been blocked by another bank of clouds!  There might be more rain on the way!  If so, we'll accept it gladly.  After 4 years of drought, we need every drop of rain we get!

Today, I am grateful for:

- Rain!  The gift of water for my garden!
- A good, tight roof!  (I still have some walls and ceilings that were damaged from when my roof leaked!)
- Not having to be any particular place, so not having to drive in the rain (too many accidents when it rains, here)
- A nice long chat on the phone with my cousin who called
- Coffee-flavored meringues made by my friend's daughter

Nothing spent, yet, today.

I had a frozen tamale for brunch and took out a packet of sauted beef from the freezer to thaw for dinner (will add some vegetables to go with it: carrots, green peas, broccoli, etc.).   There's some leftover rice that needs to be used up, as well - time for some fried rice, I think, to go with the beef and vegetables.

How is your Tuesday?
 

Monday, January 4

Today, I had a hydration session that was scheduled for late morning - 11:15 a.m.  Which meant I had to leave the house by 10:00 a.m. to arrive at the clinic in good time.  

Today was supposed to have been a day off from work for me, due to the hydration session, but there was an email from my supervisor, this morning, asking me if I could spare the time to work on a particular project.  I had been working on one project, but, as so often happens, I've been asked to put that project on hold and work on a different project that has higher priority.  So, I called my supervisor in response to her email and told her of course I'd do it.  We discussed  the logistics and I told her I had the hydration session today and chemo on Friday, but we agreed that I will work around those medical commitments.  So, I was able to put in a couple of hours of work this morning, before I had to leave for the hydration treatment.

Daughter and I left the house at 10:00 a.m. for the 11:15 a.m. appointment.  We got there in good time and I had to have my insurance verified again as it is a new year.  The clinic office had called me regarding that on Friday, so I went prepared with the letter I had received from my health insurance provider, which stated that I could continue to use my current card until a new one is issued sometime during the first week in January and phone numbers to call if additional verification is needed, etc.  Fortunately, there were no difficulties with the insurance.

My blood pressure was good (new medications are working!); I had lost a little more weight (down to 166 lbs.; nothing to worry about, though, because, I'm still considered obese); my white blood cell count was checked again and declared normal (yay!)

The treatment room was crowded (since Friday was a holiday, those people who are regularly scheduled for Friday treatments, such as myself, have to be accommodated today in addition to the Monday people) and the nurses were busy.  It was almost 12 noon when I was hooked up to the machine for my treatment.  I knitted on the scarf while I waited and had my treatment (Leisure/Hobbies/Crafts segment of my Balance Wheel checked off!); daughter played on her phone.    
It was past 1:30 p.m. when we left the clinic.  Even though I had drunk a protein-rich meal replacement drink, earlier, I was hungry by then, and so was daughter.  I had a yearning for popcorn shrimp, so we headed to my favorite fish and chips place and I waited in the car while daughter went in to get us our lunch.  By the time we did that and drove home, it was just after 3:30 p.m.!

As soon as I got home, I started downloading the work documents one of my colleagues who is  working on the project with me had sent to me and sent him some emails regarding the project.  I copy my supervisor on all emails, so she is aware of when I am working, and so forth.

So, between the hydration session and office work, the day has pretty much taken care of itself!  I still need to clean out the fridge and do dishes; daughter will take the trash cans to the curb for trash collection tomorrow. 

It had rained a little bit, very early this morning, because the road was a bit damp when I woke up and looked out.  It must have been a slight drizzle, though, because the garden looked as dry as ever.  We are, however, supposed to get some rain, tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday.  The garden needs it, so badly. 

One of my friends called this evening and we spoke on the phone for a bit.  She is having a sore throat and cough, so she hasn't been able to visit.  I called one of my aunts to check on her (she has been recovering from bronchitis). 

January Spending:
1/1 - Nothing spent
1/2 - $83.80 for New Year gifts (4x$20 gift cards to a book store + T-shirt)
1/3 - Nothing spent
1/4 - $15 co-pay at clinic; $8 parking; $12 lunch for daughter and I  (we had the leftovers for dinner, so, $6 per person for lunch and dinner isn't too bad); $129 internet/cable service

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being able to work while accommodating my medical needs
- Vital statistics being good
- Having a good hydration session
- Phone calls with family and friends
- Rain!  Even if it is a drizzle.

How was your Monday?  Did you have a good start to your week?

Sunday, January 3

I had a wonderful start to the day with a video chat with a friend in Europe!  Isn't technology marvelous?

While I was video chatting, my washing machine was doing a load of laundry for me!  After I said goodbye to my friend, I hung up the laundry to dry and made myself brunch:  a scrambled egg and fried potatoes.  

After brunch, I gave myself a pedicure (minus the toe nail painting), soaking my feet in the  massaging foot bath machine I had bought for my mother, when she was alive.

Later in the afternoon, one of daughter's friends came over and they went out to late lunch/early dinner with another friend of theirs.  They were then joined by more friends (all of them friends since elementary, middle, and/or high school) and went to some place called an "Escape Room" - apparently they are locked in a room and given a time limit during which they have to work as a group to solve some puzzles to work their way out.  I asked her what happens if they don't solve the puzzles in time and she said they open the door after the time is up.  But, apparently, she and her friends solved the puzzles well before the time limit was up.  :)  

I folded and put away the dried laundry.  I noticed that there was a small tear in one of daughter's sweaters, where the seam was coming undone, so I mended that.

Afterwards, I watered a few select plants in the back garden: the camellia bush, the orange tree, the hibiscus which had suffered a bit of damage due to the recent low night-time temperatures in our area (low 30s - we've had frost warnings several nights), a potted fern, etc.  The lemon trees are laden with fruit, but I still have the lemon juice and segments that I froze earlier, and no room in the freezer for more!  I think I shall call a couple of friends and ask them if they want some lemons. 

Later, I vacuumed the rooms I didn't vacuum yesterday.

In the evening, I called one of my cousins to wish her for her birthday and had a nice chat with her.  And one of my neighbors across the street, who has become a good friend over the years (her daughters and my daughter played as children and are still close friends), also called to wish me a happy New Year.  

All told, it's been a very good day!

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being able to video chat with my friend
- The technology which enables us to do so
- My washing machine
- Daughter having a fun get together with her friends
- My pedicure

How was your Sunday?

January Goals and Balance Wheel

Spiritual:
-   Focus on prayers and meditations; on gratitude and being thankful; appreciate the blessings. 

Environment:
- Undecorate from Christmas and start cleaning and decluttering and organizing!  Loads to be done!
 
Daughter: 
- She still has 2 weeks of Winter break left, so she'll be home for a bit longer.  Then, she returns to Berkeley to begin her last semester of Grad. school.

Family:
- Most, if not all, contacts will be on the phone or on-line, this month.  I need to call and wish one cousin and one aunt on their birthdays.
  
Friends:
-  Again, contacts will be mostly on the phone and on-line.   
 
Career:
-  I plan to continue to work from home on the good days.

Finances:
- I will continue to budget and manage my finances to the best of my abilities.  The big bill due this month is daughter's tuition and fees.

Health:
- Once again, the main focus will be on health.  I've a hydration session scheduled for Monday, January 4, a blood test on Tuesday, January 5, and the second chemo therapy session on Friday, January 8.  It will be followed by another blood test the following week and a hydration session on the Friday of that week.  And depending on the blood test results, more immunity booster injections, and "lather, rinse, repeat".

Time Management:
- Procrastinate less!  Go back to making daily to do lists and actually do them!

 Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time: 
- I plan to finish knitting the scarf I am making and start on the Mountain Climbing quilt.

I am keeping this year's New Year's resolutions in mind and trying to incorporate them into the monthly goals.  To that end, I've included a new segment to my Balance Wheel - Time Management.  I tend to procrastinate and waste a lot of time, so, my new year's goal is to be more efficient with my time.


Anybody else wants to try to do a goals/balance wheel of your own?

The Second Day of the New Year

Yesterday, after I posted, I did some knitting (making a new scarf with some leftover yarn from the stash), and spoke with my cousin who called.  In the afternoon, I went for a walk around the block and put water to the front garden.  Later, I did a load of dishes and a load of laundry, which I hung up to dry overnight.  I read on-line that it costs between 15 to 33 cents to dry a load of laundry in a gas dryer.  Assuming it cost 33 cents per load (my dryer is old and so probably not the most energy efficient appliance), and I do an average of 3 loads a week, I saved just under $51.50 this past year, hanging all my laundry to dry.  Of course I am not hanging up the laundry with the sole intention of saving money - I do it mostly because my dryer isn't heating and I still haven't got my dryer repaired!  I don't mind hanging the clothes up to dry, so it's not a hardship.  But it does take a little more time and effort than tossing them in the dryer.  Still, it is nice to know that I am being a little bit frugal, saving energy and thus, environmentally friendly, by not using my dryer.

Also yesterday, my aunt who hosts an annual New Year's Day open house/lunch, sent a plate of food for for us, through one of my cousins, so we were blessed with dinner!

Today, I took down and folded the clothes had had hung up overnight to dry.  Then, I spoke on the phone with a friend who called and with my half-sister who called.  Sister had been on a river cruise in Europe over the Christmas holidays, so we hadn't spoken over the holidays.

Later in the afternoon, daughter went shopping for some gifts for some of her friends (she's getting together with them tomorrow evening), for the last of the holiday gifts I had wanted for people on my list (a T-shirt for my cousin's son, gift cards to the book store for my nieces' children), and to buy herself some new clothing items with the money I had given to her as her Christmas gift.

While daughter was out, I busied myself vacuuming the house.  It's been awhile since the house was last vacuumed as I have a canister vacuum and my daughter doesn't like to vacuum with it!  Neither does my cousin who sometimes comes to help nor my friend.  They will sweep, but they don't like my vacuum cleaner!  And while I appreciate their help, I don't think sweeping picks up as much dust, etc., as the vacuum.  I vacuumed the living room and dining area, the hallway, kitchen and daughter's bathroom.  And then, I got tired and had to stop.  It used to be that I could vacuum the whole house in about 30 minutes, but today, I didn't have the energy to do the bedrooms, family room, and my bathroom.  So, those areas will have to be done tomorrow.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Aunt sending over dinner, yesterday
- Phone calls from sister and a friend
- Daughter going shopping for me
- Getting part of the house vacuumed
- Drying my clothes in a frugal and environmentally friendly way

How was your second day of the new year?

New Year Resolutions

Is there any other New Year's tradition that is as established as making resolutions? 

Last year, I made New Year's Goals.  They included attaining better health and then, of course, I was diagnosed with cancer!  Less procrastination was another, but, unfortunately, I've procrastinated quite often.  The one goal I did manage to keep was managing my finances in a manner that allowed me to remain debt-free, even while putting daughter through university.





This year's resolutions will be more of the same.

Resolution 1:  Attain good health - go through the cancer treatments with the goal of being cancer free, monitor my weight, activity levels, diet, etc. 

Resolution 2:  Procrastinate less - get into the habit of taking care of things right away

Resolution 3:  Be more organized - this continues to be a long time goal and it includes decluttering and having a place for everything and everything being in its place.

Resolution 4:  Be thankful - focus on gratitude and abundance, appreciate the blessings.

Resolution 5:  Be more balanced - strive to achieve a well-balanced life. 

These are my New Year's Resolutions for 2016.  I plan to incorporate them into my Balance Wheel to make sure they are worked on throughout the year. 

Do you make resolutions or goals for the new year?  What are your resolutions for 2016?

Happy New Year!

New Year's Breakfast Sent by Friend

Happy New Year!  Wish each and every one of you a blessed new year, filled with good health, happiness, prosperity and love.

Daughter and I stayed up to greet the New Year - we watched the ball drop at Times Square in New York on the TV and toasted the New Year with sparkling apple cider.  Then, I followed Sri Lankan customs and boiled a pan of milk on the stove and made "kiri-bath", which means milk-rice - it is rice cooked in milk (sort of like rice pudding, but a firmer texture and not sweet).  Milk rice is usually eaten with a spicy onion mixture, known as "lunu-miris" and/or palm sugar which is known as "juggery".  Daughter doesn't care for the taste of juggery, so she prefers to eat her milk rice with white sugar.  I sometimes substitute brown sugar for juggery.  I also lit a candle at the altar and said a prayer for good health in the New Year. 

Then, this morning, there was a knock on my front door - one of my friends had brought New Year's Day breakfast for us: two pieces of milk rice, spicy onion mixture in small containers, kokis (rosettes), pink and white homemade marshmallows, muscat (a kind of fudge-like candy generally known as halwa), cake, cookies, candy, and bananas (it is customary to have bananas with milk rice and the spicy onions on New Year's Day).  What a lovely blessing!

I am watching a re-run of the Rose Parade on TV, as I type this.  One year, my mother, daughter, and I went to Pasadena to watch the Rose Parade in person.  We had been invited to breakfast at the house of a friend who lived near the parade route, and after breakfast, we all walked over to the route to watch the parade.  It was a nice experience, but, it's a lot more comfortable to watch it on TV while seated on the sofa!



I don't have any plans for the rest of the day.  In years past, we've gone to New Year's Day open house/lunch at an aunt's house, but of course, this year, I am staying away from large gatherings to minimize exposure to catching a cold or cough.  So, I think I will simply do some knitting and maybe a bit of tidying up.

I also reviewed the New Year's resolutions I made for 2015 - unfortunately, as usual with such New Year's resolutions, I didn't make a lot of progress with them!  I need to rethink my resolutions for 2016 and will be back with them in another post.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being alive to greet another New Year!
- Caring friends who are so giving of themselves.
- Family and friends calling to wish Happy New Year.
- Antibiotics.
- A lovely, sunny day.

Do you have special foods you eat on New Year's day?  Any New Year's day traditions and customs?