Wash on Wednesday

The old rhyme says:
"Wash on Monday
Iron on Tuesday
Mend on Wednesday
Churn on Thursday
Clean on Friday
Bake on Saturday
Rest on Sunday"

By following this order, your clothes will be ready (washed, ironed, and mended), your house clean, and your butter freshly churned and your bread freshly baked for Sunday, and your Sunday best clothes will be washed, again, on Monday, before any stains set in!

I meant to wash on Monday, but managed to do it only on Wednesday!  But, that's OK.  Today, I stripped both beds - my daughter's and mine - changed the sheets, and washed the sheets that were on the beds.  They are now hanging up to dry.  There is another small basket of laundry to be done, but I'll wait and do them on Monday!  Not enough of either lights or darks to make a load of each, yet.

In the afternoon, I placed the 35 patchwork quilt blocks on the bed, on the blanket I am considering using as the batting, to see how they look:

Set in Rows

I also tried placing them "on point" (some of the squares would have to be cut in half along the edges):

On  Point

What do you think?  Which setting do you prefer?

I do have one other setting I am considering, one that will incorporate some leftover or "orphan" blocks, but I haven't tried it out, yet.  Of course, my ultimate "orphan" blocks quilt was this one that I made for my daughter, a few years ago:

Love is a Wild Goose Chase Quilt

The hearts (intended for a baby quilt for my daughter, but never made into a quilt, back then), the triangles, and the bricks (rectangles) had all been cut years ago, in an attempt to tame the stash!  I wrote about it, here.  My daughter took this quilt up to Berkeley with her.

The next step is to decide on a color for the sashing.  I think it needs a strong, saturated color to pull it all together and set it off.  I would like to use something I already have in my stash.  I took a quick look and I have some dark green fabric, some blue floral fabric, and some red (the largest piece of fabric).  I will try them all out, tomorrow. 

Later in the afternoon, I went to the pharmacy to pick up one of my medications and then, I stopped by the dollar store to pick up some groceries:

Groceries

I will do a separate groceries post.

They also had some fresh herb plants and I bought these:

Greek Oregano, Italian Parsley, and Rosemary

They had tomato plants, too, but I didn't buy any because I wasn't sure if it was too late to plant them.  I texted M and he said to go ahead and buy them, so I might go back, tomorrow.

After I came home, I had a cup of tea and had a long chat with Aunt T who called.  I really do owe her a visit!

Leftover rice, fish curry, and okra for dinner. 

I've spoken with daughter several times, today.  She had a fever in the morning and took the day off from work, again.  In the afternoon, her fever "broke" and she felt better.  She is planning to go to work, tomorrow.

Today, I am grateful for:
- Daughter feeling better
- Spending the afternoon playing with fabric
- Bargain plants at the dollar store
- Being able to do the laundry on any day, not just Monday
- Great "oldies" type music programs on public TV


Wednesday's To Do List:
- Pharmacy - DONE
- Grocery shop - DONE
- Bring the trash cans in - DONE

- Call for dental appointment

- Do the laundry - DONE

- Dust - STARTED

- Vacuum

- Pay the natural gas bill

- Do some filing

- Start on my closet

- Visit neighbor T

Thursday's To Do List:
- Dollar store for more plants!
- Call to make the dental appointment
- Put away the laundry
- Finish dusting
- Vacuum
- Pay the gas bill
- Filing
- Closet
- Visit neighbor T

How was your Wednesday?  Do you have a particular day of the week when you do laundry?

A Surprise Gift on Tuesday

Daughter texted me this morning and said she was running a temperature, so she called in sick, today.  Then, she called me and we spoke for a bit and I told her to take a Motrin for her fever.  She said she did and napped on and off, all day.

I spent a relatively quiet morning.  I emptied the dishwasher and put away the rest of the washed dishes that were drying in the dish drainer, overnight.  I called to make the doctor's appointment to have my eyes checked, finally, and then, texted cousin N to see if she's available to accompany me so she could drive me home, afterwards, since I'll have my eyes dilated for the check up.  Before cousin responded to my text, her mother called and, in the course of the conversation, mentioned that they were expecting a visit from a relative from Sri Lanka on the day before my appointment, so I figured cousin might be too busy to accompany me. Therefore, I also called the temple to ask if one of the monks could drive me if cousin N was not available, and they said yes.  But then, cousin N called and insisted that she will take me and aunt called, too, and said cousin will take me!

After that was all sorted, I spent a quiet afternoon, sewing.  Apparently, September is National Sewing Month!  I had no idea!  I sewed five more mile-a-minute squares for the quilt top.  I now have 35 squares sewn.  I think that will be enough.  Tomorrow, I will spread them on the bed and see.

In the evening, I went to the knitting group at the library.  One of the ladies there, who was doing needlepoint, asked me to thread her needle for her and I did.  Then, she gave me a piece of fabric with a design stamped on it and some yarn, saying it was for me!

Knitting Group Gift

 
It's been awhile since I did crewel embroidery.  She wanted to give me a needle, too, but I assured her that I had needles.  She said (through another lady who translated for us) that she will bring me brown and yellow yarn for the basket, next week! 

I had wanted to bake a cake to take to the knitting group, but it was too hot to turn on the oven, today.  Instead, someone brought cookies:

Chocolate Covered Wafer

After I came home, I cooked a mackerel curry (canned mackerel) with onions and tomatoes in it, and cooked the okra I bought during my last grocery shopping trip in August; I had them for dinner, with leftover rice:

Dinner: Rice, mackerel curry, sauteed okra

I had some grapes for dessert, and the chocolate wafer from the knitting group.

After dinner, I video chatted with daughter; she napped for a bit while we were video chatting!  She didn't want me to sign off, but said that seeing me and hearing me type (I was typing an email to a friend) and my TV broadcasting the evening news in the background made her feel that she was at home with me, resting on the other sofa.  So, I stayed on while she napped and said goodnight to her only after 11:00 p.m.  I told her to stay home from work, tomorrow, too, but she said she'll see how she feels in the morning.

Today, I am grateful for:
- I have a ride to and from the eye appointment
- Daughter has paid sick leave
- The gift from one of the ladies at the knitting group
- Being able to video chat with daughter
- Family and friends being there for me

I didn't accomplish a lot of the things on my to do list, today!

Tuesday's To Do List:

- Call for eye doctor's appointment - DONE

- Call for dental appointment

- Do the laundry

- Dust

- Vacuum

- Pay the natural gas bill

- Empty the dishwasher/put away dishes - DONE

- Do some filing

- Start on my closet

- Attend the knitting group - DONE

Wednesday's To Do List:
- All the undone items from Tuesday's to do list!
- Visit neighbor T

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

Labor Day Monday

Today, I took it easy and relaxed for the most part.  I went to sleep late, as usual, but was able to sleep in, so managed to get almost 8 hours of sleep.  I spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon, responding to blog comments and reading other blogs.

I cooked one of the two cassava roots I had bought, earlier, for brunch.  The actual root is white, when the peeled, but we usually cook it with turmeric, so the cooked root appears yellow.  I ate it with katta sambol, which is a very spicy mixture of onions, a type of dried fish known as Maldive fish, dried chili, salt and lime juice:

Cassava and katta sambol 

In the meantime, my daughter has been cooking, too:

Daughter's Cooking

Top row:  Korean spicy tofu stew; green beans with butter, basil, and garlic; Pad Thai with shirataki noodles (which are made from a type of yam).  Bottom row: Nametake - Enoki mushrooms cooked in mirin and soy sauce; one pot spicy Thai noodles made with shirataki noodles; braised daikon.

Nanchatte bouillabaisse and tofu brownies with pecans and milk chocolate chips

She said the tofu brownies would be considered vegan, if she didn't add the milk chocolate chips.

Kamaboko and carrot puffs

Kamaboko is a type of fish cake.  She adapted recipes she found online, she said, and they are all recipes she's making for the first time, except for the green beans.  Well, at least I don't have to worry about her not eating!  LOL!

In the afternoon, I thought I would wash daughter's bed sheets, but when I went to take the sheets off her bed, this is what I found:

Dancer sleeping

I didn't have the heart to wake him up!  I know the saying is to let sleeping dogs lie, but I think it ought to apply to napping cats, too, don't you?

By this time, I had started to get a headache, so I took some Tylenol and took a nap.  The nap and Tylenol helped, because the headache went away, after that. 

In the evening, both cousin P and friend R called.  I chatted with them, had a cup of tea, did the dishes (some in the dishwasher, the rest by hand), cleaned out the fridge a bit, and took the trash cans to the curb.  

For dinner, I had another of the curry puffs.  The remaining two curry puffs have been frozen for another day.  I had some yogurt for dessert.

Daughter and I video chatted in the night for a bit.  Her sore throat is turning into a full blown cold.  I had her drink more coriander tea before we said goodnight.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being able to sleep in

- Afternoon naps (and Tylenol)

- Phone calls from family and friends

- Emails from another friend

- A restful, relaxed day

Tuesday's To Do List:

- Call for eye doctor's appointment

- Call for dental appointment

- Do the laundry

- Dust

- Vacuum

- Pay the natural gas bill

- Empty the dishwasher/put away dishes

- Do some filing

- Start on my closet

- Attend the knitting group

How was your Monday?  Did you celebrate Labor Day?  What are your plans for Tuesday?

September Balanced Life Goals

As I've explained before, my monthly balanced life goals are similar to the spokes on a wheel, with the length of each spoke representing my satisfaction in that area of my life, from 1 to 10, with 1 being most dissatisfied and 10 being most satisfied.

September's goals for a balanced life will be more or less the same as August; but I have added a sub-category, "Retirement Planning", under Time Management, to make sure that all paperwork, etc., will be handled in a timely manner.  I will be on vacation this month, too!

Spiritual (8):  The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life.
- Continue with daily prayers and gratitude; focus on being positive
- Take time for meditation - Resume going to Friday night meditation sessions at the temple, at least twice
- Cultivate non-attachment - focus on letting go of attachment to material possessions
- Attend the monthly rosary prayer gathering (scheduled for 9/15)

House (8):  The goal is a clean, tidy, uncluttered house:

- Focus on decluttering and maintaining cleaned areas
- Get 20 bags of donations out of the house by the end of the month
  - Call for pick up
- Organize my closet - My closet has one long hanging pole and an overhead shelf.  The shelf contains my daughter's stuff, because I have appropriated the shelf in her closet for the altar (long story short - it used to be my mother's room before and she set up the altar on that shelf and I am unwilling to take it down).  I want to go through the clothes and sort out the stuff I store on the closet floor!

Garden (7):

- Maintain (water 2x per week; weed; prune pine tree)
- Flea spray at least one more time, preferably twice

Daughter (10):  The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her (without being over-protective!)
- Daily texts, phone calls, emails, and video chatting

There are no visits planned for this month.

Family & Friends (10):  The goal is to keep in touch with various family members and friends.
- Visit aunt T
- Regular phone calls and emails
- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at this month's prayer gathering
- Weekly calls with neighbor T/visit her one day  

Community (9):  The goal is to become more involved in my community.
- Continue to participate in the blogging community
- Participate in the temple community/attend weekly meditation sessions at least twice
- Participate in the library weekly knitting group - attend at least twice

Finances (9):  The goal is financial security.
- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose

Health & Well Being (7):  The goal is good health.
- Attend the appointments with my various medical doctors
- 9/12 for endoscopy & colonoscopy results 
- Call and make appointment for new referral to eye doctor
- Call and make dental appointments!
- Work harder at those life style changes!

Time Management (6):  The goal is having enough time to do all what I want to do!
- Retirement Planning - attend to the paperwork in a timely manner!  
- Implement routines and schedules (why do I find this so hard to do?)

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time (10):  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Set aside 1 hour a day to do something relaxing (read/knit/play the piano/take naps/craft, etc.)

So, those are my goals for a more balanced life, in September and how I plan to implement those goals.

Are you thinking of making similar goals for a more balanced life between work and play, between time for yourself and others, between housework and leisure, etc.? 

August Balanced Life Goals - Month End Review

As I've explained before, my monthly balanced life goals are similar to the spokes on a wheel, with the length of each spoke representing my satisfaction in that area of my life, from 1 to 10, with 1 being most dissatisfied and 10 being most satisfied.

August was a month of vacation and, at the beginning of the month, I had high expectations of what I'd be able to achieve.  Reality, of course, is a little different!  But, isn't that usually the case?

Spiritual (8)(8):  The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life.
- Continue with daily prayers and gratitude; focus on being positive - On-going; prayers are being said, daily; I've been listing 5 things I am grateful for, daily; and I made an effort to be positive.

- Take time for meditation - Resume going to Friday night meditation sessions at the temple - I went twice, this month; basically, every other week.  That worked out quite well for me.  I will continue to aim for twice a month, next month, too.  

- Cultivate non-attachment - focus on letting go of attachment to material possessions - Still working on this!

- Attend the monthly rosary prayer gathering -  Attended the prayer gathering on 8/26; daughter was able to go with me and we gave a ride to my cousin P, as well.  

I am keeping the rating at 8, since there were one or two things I didn't accomplish, but I am very happy with this aspect of my life.

House (5)(8):  The goal is a clean, tidy, uncluttered house:

- Focus on decluttering and maintaining cleaned areas - get 20 bags of donations out of the house by the end of the month! -  I got a lot of cleaning done - dusting, vacuuming, mopping, etc., although some of it was necessitated by the flea situation!  I didn't get any donations out of the house, but I have several bags ready to go; just have to call and arrange for a pick up
.
- Deep clean my bedroom - It is the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night; it should be a place of calm restoration!  DONE!  It took me several days, but the bedroom has been cleaned!  All that is left to do is clean the ceiling and wash the windows, but I'll do that as part of my Fall cleaning, when the window a/c unit is taken down, etc.  At that time, I will also wash the curtains or, maybe, sew new curtains.

In addition, I deep cleaned the living room, dining area, laundry area, and family room!  The kitchen doesn't look half bad, either, although I didn't deep clean it.  I am happy with what I was able to accomplish in this area - getting the bedroom and other areas of the house deep cleaned have raised the level of satisfaction from a 5 to 8. 

Garden (8)(7):

- Maintain (water 2x per week; weed; prune pine tree) as it is too hot to do any real gardening - The garden has been maintained, watered and weeded, although the heat has scorched some of my plants, including some of the succulents, and the pine tree didn't get pruned, yet.  I mentioned it, again, to M, when he was here, on the last Friday of the month.  I might just buy myself a small chain saw and do it, myself; as my old handsaw isn't of much use.  Not when I am alone, though - I'd want someone to hold the ladder for me.  

I reduced the rating a little bit, simply because the garden is a sorry sight in August and I haven't felt like going out to garden because of the fleas!  I plan to spray the garden at least one more time before I feel comfortable about being out any longer than I have to!

Daughter (10)(10):  The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her (without being over-protective!)
- Daily texts, phone calls, emails, and video chatting - On going

- Look forward to her visit towards the end of August - She was down here for a week and it was wonderful!  She came down mostly to be with me during my medical procedure on Wednesday and to be on hand for the preparation and recovery.  She worked from home during the week, except Wednesday, but having her home was still lovely.

As always, this section is rated as high as it can go!

Family & Friends (9.5)(10):  The goal is to keep in touch with various family members and friends.
- Wish Aunt C for her birthday - DONE; paid her a visit and took lunch for her (and cousin, too)

- Wish friend S's daughter on her birthday - DONE

- Take Cousin P to the Sri Lankan store - Didn't go; but gave her a ride to a friend's birthday party and to the prayer gathering

- Take friend R to get her shipping boxes - DONE; she treated me to lunch, in return!

- Regular phone calls and emails - There were plenty of those!

- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at this month's prayer gathering - Accomplished

- Weekly calls with neighbor T/have coffee with her one day - We've enjoyed our weekly Sunday chats and I made her a belated birthday card.  

In addition, cousin N made herself available to accompany daughter and me to my medical procedure, rearranging her schedule in order to do so, keeping daughter company while I was having the procedure done, and driving me home, afterwards.  I am very grateful to her for being there for me, and so willingly, too.  We are second cousins, actually (her father and mine were first cousins), but she is more like a sister to me.

Also, cousin P and I were able to help each other out, when she gave me a ride to a friend's birthday party and her car broke down on our way there.  

And the birthday party, itself, was another opportunity to be with family and friends, once we made it to the event!

My level of satisfaction was already quite high and now, it is as high as it can go!

Community (8) (9):  The goal is to become more involved in my community.
- Continue to participate in the blogging community -  DONE

In addition, I was able to attend the knitting group at the library, twice.  The first time I went, I wasn't quite sure if I would continue to attend, because everyone else was speaking in Spanish, and although a few made the effort to speak to me in English or translate for others, it was hard to participate in the general conversation.  The second time, however, there were one or two additional English speakers and I felt that the regulars were a little friendlier with me.  I quite enjoyed the second session and I think I will continue to attend the sessions, at least every other week, if not weekly.  

Also, participating in the Friday night meditation sessions is also more community participation, I feel.

As a result, I have felt quite happy with with segment of my life.

Finances (8)(9):  The goal is financial security.
- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose - On-going; I did very well with the grocery budget, in August!
- Attend the appointment with financial planner (8/6) - DONE - had a good meeting and was treated to lunch, as well!
- Make final decisions about pension options - DONE!  Decisions made and papers filed!  I was told there will be more papers to be filled out, but, at least, the official notification has been handed in!  

I am quite satisfied with this segment of my life, too, and I've increased the rating to 9.  It has taken years of careful spending and frugal living to get to this point. And, even now, I don't spend simply because I can.  I still prefer to spend $1 instead of $10, whenever possible! 

Health & Well Being (5)(7):  The goal is good health.
- Attend the appointments with my various medical doctors - 4 scheduled for August, so far:
8/2 - podiatrist - DONE
8/15 - radiation oncologist - DONE
8/17 - primary care physician assistant - DONE
8/22 - endoscopy & colonoscopy - DONE
- Call and make dental appointments! - Not done!
- Continue to monitor blood pressure, sugar levels, and weight - On-going; all blood test results, etc. have been very good.
- Continue to focus on a healthier diet, drinking enough water (8x 8oz), exercising regularly (resume walking for 30 minutes, Monday through Friday), and getting sufficient sleep - Ha! Ha!
- Focus on accomplishments and staying positive - On-going

There is much room for improvement, but, I am going to raise the level of satisfaction a bit, because, I attended all medical appointments, had all the tests and procedures done, and my blood test results and pressure readings have all been good!

Time Management (5)(6):  The goal is having enough time to do all what I want to do!
- Procrastinate less - Yes, well, we all know just how well I met that objective!  BUT, nevertheless, I got the retirement papers done and turned in by my own self-set deadline of by the end of the month!  So, YAY! 
- Implement routines and schedules - Work in progress!

I debated long and hard on the rating for this category!  I am not very happy with it, BUT, on the other hand, I DID accomplish filling out the retirement paperwork, even if I procrastinated on it until the very last day!  And, I got to my various appointments on time and got the cleaning done as needed when it mattered.  So, in an attempt to stay focused on the positives, I will give myself a pat of encouragement on the back and raise the rating to a 6!  Positive reinforcement is a good thing, right?  Right!

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time (8)(10):  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Set aside 30 minutes a day to do something relaxing, such as reading books  blogs, or doing a craft - Oh, yes!  Often, it was more than 30 minutes a day, but, hey!  I'm on vacation!  I've spent hours reading blogs/blog hopping to my heart's content (not always commenting, however; just reading), I've played hours playing solitaire and sudoku and mah jong online, I've read a couple of books, I've knitted several red hats for the American Heart Association, I've started on yet another patchwork quilt, watched several hours of TV, made a couple of cards, and relaxed!  Occasionally, I've felt guilty about not doing certain other things (like housework, paperwork, filing, etc.), but, I can't complain I haven't had time to relax!

So, that was my August Goals for a balanced life, reviewed.  Most segments went up!  One, Garden, came down slightly, but that's OK.  I am looking forwards to September!  

Relaxed Saturday

I took it easy and relaxed on Saturday!  

I got up at 8:00 a.m., after only 4 hours of sleep, so I could watch some of the coverage of Senator John McCain's funeral.  Even so, I missed the first hour or so of it, but I knew I would not be able to wake up at 7:00 a.m., not when I went to bed at 4:00 a.m.!

After that, I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon, sewing.  I have now made 31 patchwork squares from all my scraps and started on square #32!  It's a good way to use up the smaller scraps and I am starting to see a dent in the amount of the small scraps I had in the gallon sized bag!  I even pulled out a few pieces from the basket with the larger patterned pieces, so I'd have a bit of variety in the pieced squares.  This is what I imagined retirement would be like, for me!  Time in which to spend the day sewing my scraps to create something I will enjoy using!

Later in the afternoon, I took a long nap!  

In the evening, cousin P called to say they leased a new car to replace the one that broke down, since her mechanic had told her it was not worth repairing it.  I'm glad she won't have to worry about costly repairs for several years, now.

Still later in the evening, I video chatted with daughter.  She woke up with a sore throat, today, but she went grocery shopping in the afternoon, and made some soup, later.  I told her to make and drink some coriander tea with ginger added to it, to help soothe her throat.  I hope she feels better, soon.  I'm glad it's a long weekend and she has an extra day off on Monday in which to rest and recover. 

Three years ago, today, was when I had the biopsy which confirmed that I had breast cancer (although the diagnosis came a few days later).  I can't quite believe it has been three years, already!  I read my posts from back then, and I had been sewing a quilt back then, too!  Back then, today was a blessing I hoped and prayed for.   Today has definitely been a blessing.    

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being alive, three years after being diagnosed with cancer.

- Being able to spend the day, relaxing and sewing

- An abundance of fabric scraps!

- An afternoon nap

- Daughter has a long weekend in which to rest and recover

This was Dancer, last night, enjoying his "quilt" of scraps:

Dancer's "Quilt"

I hope you are enjoying your weekend and the blessing that is each day.

Friday's Highlights

On Friday, I made it to downtown and the office by late morning.  I had emailed my supervisor last night, to let him know that I was coming in today, so he was expecting me.  All my colleagues who were in the office seemed happy to see me again and, I was told, once again, that if I ever got bored with being retired and wanted to do some contract work, to let them know! 

Afterwards, I went over to the retirement office and handed in the paperwork.  One of the counselors looked over the forms, took what was needed and told me that they will review the file to see what documents I've already filed and send me additional paperwork in the mail!  It looks like they are treating this as a new application, since the previous application was allowed to lapse.  I am fine with that.  I just have to get the papers filled and back to them right away, when I receive them!  No more procrastinating!

Since I was downtown, I played tourist and took some pictures of one of the more iconic buildings:

The Los Angeles Times Building

Built in 1935, it housed the offices of the Los Angeles Times newspaper until the company's lease ran out, in July of this year (2018) and the new owner of the paper moved the company to a new office space located in an adjacent city (El Segundo). 

One of the Entrances

I applied for a job with the Los Angeles Times as a typist in their typing pool, back in the early 1980s!  I remember going for a typing test and not passing!  They wanted a speed of 45 words per minute and my speed was much higher than that, but, I lost points on accuracy! 

Building Dedication

The dedication reads, "This building is dedicated to the cause of true industrial freedom and liberty under the law".

Today, I went inside to take a picture of the lobby, which is known as the Globe Lobby:

The Globe Lobby

I cam home and rested in the afternoon and sewed a bit more.  Later, M came to do the garden and I chatted with him for a bit.   Then, I attended the Friday evening meditation session at the temple.  Later, I sewed a bit more.  This is the gallon sized bag of small scraps I am trying to use up:

 Bag of small scraps

This is the basket of larger, solid colored scraps that I haven't even touched, so far:

Basket of Larger Solid Scraps

There is another basket piled with larger print scraps, too!

This is the helpful kitty, who is always nearby to lend a helping paw with whatever project I am working on:

Helpful Kitty

Fabric scraps apparently make a comfy bed!

 And, of course, I video chatted with daughter, too.

Today, I am grateful for:
- The retirement paperwork have been handed in and the process begun
- The offer of work, even if I am not likely to take them up on it
- A safe drive to downtown and back
- Being able to attend the meditation session
- Video chatting with daughter

How was your Friday?