New Washer and Dryer on Thursday

I woke up before the alarm went off, at 9:00 a.m., this morning!  I woke up from the weirdest dream - I dreamt that I was still working, had gone to the office at 10:00 a.m. and a former higher level supervisor was in the room with one of my former supervisors and he gave me an odd look for coming in so late.  A little while later, my supervisor called me aside and told me that my job is likely to be terminated due to a lack of funding, since the project I had been working on was coming to an end.  In my dream, I felt a moment of panic, as I wondered how I was going to earn a living if my job ended.  And then, I realized that I was retired and I informed my supervisor that it didn't matter if my job was terminated because I was already retired!  Apparently, I was volunteering my time at the office, even though I was retired, in order to finish up the project!  That, in turn, caused quite a bit of fuss with the HR people because I was not supposed to work after retirement and I was breaking all the rules!  That's when I woke up - when I was trying to explain to them why I was working after retiring!  LOL!

A short time later, I received a text confirming that the delivery of the washer and dryer was scheduled for this morning, between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.  There was a link to a "real time" delivery schedule to see when it was estimated to take place within that 2-hour time frame.  I checked at it said 11:54 a.m.!  So, I knew I didn't need to rush.  I had a cup of coffee, checked blog comments, and put away the load of laundry I did, yesterday.  It included the kitchen rug and I decided to sweep and mop the kitchen floor before I put down the newly washed rug.

When I next checked the "real time" delivery schedule, it stated 11:30 a.m.!  I took the kitchen trash to the bins, outside, and unlocked the back gate, in case the delivery people found it easier to bring the washer and dryer from the back door.  Soon after that, I received a phone call from the delivery person, saying he'll be arriving shortly.  He and his helper arrived at 11:30 a.m. and they removed the old washer and dryer.  I offered them a cup of coffee which they accepted and my daughter brewed them some coffee.  When they removed the old washer and dryer, I quickly swept the laundry room, but the floor under the old washer and dryer was dirty.  I tried to mop the area, but the delivery guy was very nice; he took the mop from me and cleaned that area for me and he wiped the floor and the wall with the old towel I handed him.   Then, they installed the new washer and dryer, ran them for a bit to check how they worked, had me sign the delivery receipts, accepted the coffee and cookies I served them and left, at 11:50 a.m.!

New Washer

I wanted a top loader, not a front loader.  The outside measurements are about the same as the old washer, but the tub, inside, is bigger:

Tub Inside

It has no central agitator and it has a larger capacity than my old washer, which would make it easier to wash my quilts and sofa covers, etc.

I did a load of laundry (table cloths, chair covers, and napkins used at the almsgiving), to try out the new washer, and it worked well!

Then, I dried the chair covers in the dryer to try it out:

New Dryer

It is the same white as the washer, although it looks more offwhite in this photo.  It is a slightly different model than the dryer that matches the washer, because I wanted one where the door opened down, rather than to the side, due to space concerns.  Plus, the matching dryer cost more!  I don't mind that the models don't match.  The chair covers dried nicely and several years worth of lint from them got collected on the lint screen!

The table cloths and napkins, however, weren't dried in the dryer.  Years of experience has taught me that these particular table cloths and napkins need to be ironed right out of the washer, while they were still wet, in order to get them properly ironed.  They are now hanging up to finish drying!  And I've realized that my next appliance purchase will be a new iron!  The one I have is about 26 years old and it has only one heat level no matter what the dial setting is, the steam vents are clogged, and it doesn't iron too well!

Daughter went to the engagement party of one of her friends, in the afternoon.  Prior to the engagement party, she and her special group of friends (friends since middle and high school) celebrated their annual holiday get together and exchanged gifts.  She's known the girl who is getting engaged since they were in 6th grade, and she's been best friends with one of the other girls since 7th grade; they started their tradition of a holiday pot luck/gift exchange with two other friends since 9th grade.   It's nice to see them making the effort to keep the tradition going.

After I did the laundry and ironing, I had a late lunch and did a load of dishes in the dishwasher.  Later, I wiped the kitchen counters and the stove top.  I cooked a fish curry to have with leftover rice for dinner.

I called one of my "cousins" today - she is actually the cousin of my cousins, so not a relation, but extended family of sorts.  Her mother usually hosts an annual New Year's Day luncheon/open house, every year, that I've been going to for years.  Her mother is in very poor health, but, apparently, insisting on having the New Year's Day lunch, saying it might be her last!  Considering how ill she is, it very well might be and that is the reality of the situation.  I asked my cousins' cousin if she'd like me to make a dish for the lunch or bring a dessert (or both); she thanked me and said that the lunch will be catered, but, a dessert would be welcome.  I have already called my cousin and offered her and her daughter a ride to the lunch on New Year's Day.

Later, I called friend R to check on her and chatted with her for a bit.

I feel that today was a very productive day.

Today, I am grateful for:
- All that I was able to accomplish, today
- A new washer and dryer - delivered and installed without any problems
- The delivery person cleaning the laundry room floor and wiping down the walls for me
- Daughter had a safe drive to her friend's party and back
- A sunny, if very windy, day

Thursday's To Do List:
- Have the new washer and dryer delivered and installed - DONE
- Have the old washer and dryer removed and taken away - DONE
- Do a load of laundry to try out the new appliances - DONE
- Put everything back in the laundry room - DONE
- Wrap the rest of my holiday/New Year's gifts - STARTED
- Put away laundry from yesterday - DONE
- Iron the table cloths and napkins - DONE
- Sweep and mop the kitchen floor - DONE
- Do a load of dishes - DONE

Friday's To Do List:
- Do another load of laundry
- Exchange one of the T-shirts I bought (wrong size)
- Pay the homeowner's and earthquake insurance
- Pay the store credit card bill for the washer and dryer
- Water the garden (we had a little rain on Christmas Eve, but the garden needs watering, again)
- Finish wrapping the rest of the gifts

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

Winter Joy List - 2018

Now that my almsgiving is over and Christmas has been celebrated, I thought it would be a good time to post a Winter Joy List.  I picked 15 joyful things to do to enjoy the winter days in January and February, until Spring arrives in March. 


Winter Joy List:

1. Greet the New Year with my daughter (and maybe some friends)
2. Hot chocolate - with whipped cream!
3. A warm house
4. Cozy knitted blankets and throws
5. Winter decorations
6. Homemade soup
7. Candle light in the evenings
8. Continue to enjoy the rest of daughter's holiday visit
9. After-Christmas sales!

10. The Winter Photo Scavenger Hunt
11. Reading
12. Afternoon naps
13. Relaxed days after the holiday rush
14. Afternoon walks
15. Winter gardening

I am looking forward to warm, cozy, slower paced days, once the holiday rush is over and daughter goes back.  How about you?  Is anyone else doing a Winter Joy list?  

Christmas Day and the Day After

Christmas morning, my cousin's phone call woke me up!  She wanted to come over to exchange gifts, so I got up.  I was still brushing my teeth when she knocked on the door!  We exchanged gifts and wished each other for Christmas.  Then, after a cup of coffee, I finished wrapping and bagging up the rest of my gifts.

Daughter and I had a late brunch.  We decided not to make pancakes, after all!  Instead, she had toast with butter and her apple/cranberry jam and I had an egg salad sandwich.

Then, I picked a bag of lemons to take to my friend's house and got dressed to go to her house to Christmas dinner.

Santa Bearing Gifts!

This Santa consists of a stack of three nesting velvet covered boxes.  I thought that he would make an excellent container for the gifts I was giving my friend.  I put the inspirational journal I bought for her in the largest box at the bottom, I put a jar candle in the middle box, and a jar of my strawberry jam fitted nicely in the smallest box on the top (Santa's face).  Santa's hat forms the lid for the smallest box.  I tied the whole stack with ribbons to hold the boxes in place and put it in a large gift bag.  The container made as much an impression as the gifts, I think!

My friend had prepared Sri Lankan yellow rice and curries for dinner.  There was one other young Sri Lankan couple with their 7-months old baby, besides my daughter and I.  As I observed to my daughter, I have an almsgiving and my Catholic friends and family attend and my friend, who is Catholic, invites her Buddhist friends to celebrate Christmas with her.  After dinner, we exchanged gifts and then, it was time for my daughter and I to leave to join my Aunt T at her home for the family gift exchange!

At Aunt's home, we were joined by two of my cousins and their children.  We spent some time visiting and then, exchanged gifts.

After we came home, daughter and I relaxed and she tried on her gifts (she received mostly clothes,  some costume jewelry, and hair accessories).  I, too, received some new sweaters and blouses, a lovely shawl, bath salts and hand soap, costume jewelry, a set of monogrammed holiday towels, and a  picture frame with a selection of photos taken at my cousin's son's wedding, including one of the bride and groom lighting my brass lamp!

On Christmas Day, I was grateful for:
- My daughter being home to celebrate the day with me
- Friend A inviting us to her house to dinner
- Being able to be with aunt and cousins, later in the evening
- The lovely gifts we received
- Safe drives to and from

This morning, I was woken by yet another phone call, but it was one I could ignore, so I did.  I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't, so I got up and had a cup of coffee.

Later in the morning, I went to the library.  I had a book that was due that I wanted to return.  It was a book I had checked out, along with another book, earlier.  I had gone to the library to return that other book and to check out this book, again.  I hadn't looked at the check out slip they inserted into the library book when I did that, but, when I looked at the check out slip on Christmas Eve to verify the due date (due 12/26), I noticed that the check out slip showed that the library had made a mistake and checked out that other book to me, as well!  The one I returned and which I no longer had with me!  I drove over to the library on Christmas Eve afternoon, when I realized that, but, the library had closed earlier in the afternoon and, of course, they were closed over Christmas.

So, this morning, when I went to the library, I explained the situation to the librarian.  I was able to locate the previously returned book on the library shelves, so they cleared my record and I checked out two new books.  I've gone online and checked my library account to verify that I currently have only the two books I checked out this morning, charged to me!

In the afternoon, my daughter went to visit one of her friends.  I started reading one of my new library books, put away some laundry, did another load and hung it up to dry, put away the last of the almsgiving dishes, and cleared out the laundry room, as the new washer and dryer are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow morning!  I pushed some of the furniture (living room and family room sofas, the family room table, etc.) aside to make room for the delivery people to bring in the new items and take out the old ones.  I am hoping the delivery and installation will go off without any difficulties or problems!

Neighbor T called me in the afternoon and asked if I could meet her at the side wall between our two houses; when I went over to the wall to see if she needed anything, she handed me a box of chocolates as her Christmas gift to me!

Later, I called one of my cousins and had a long chat with her.

Today, I am grateful for:
- The library book situation was taken care of without any problem!
- New library books to read
- Confirmation that the new washer and dryer will be delivered tomorrow
- Being able to clear the laundry room
- Being able to tidy the house a bit

Thursday's To Do List:
- Have the new washer and dryer delivered and installed
- Have the old washer and dryer removed and taken away
- Do a load of laundry to try out the new appliances
- Put everything back in the laundry room
- Wrap the rest of my holiday/New Year's gifts

Hope each and everyone of you enjoyed your Christmas holidays.  What are your plans for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day?

Christmas 2018

Merry Christmas

Wishing all my blog readers a wonderful day.

May there be peace on Earth and may there be goodwill to all.

May all beings, whether feeble or strong, small or large, long or short, seen or unseen, dwelling near or far, born or yet to be born; may all beings, without exception, enjoy peace, happiness, and well-being.  (Adapted from the Karaniya Metta Sutta)

Christmas Eve

O, Christmas Tree

It is Christmas Eve! 

Daughter and I spent a relaxed morning, today.  In the afternoon, we went to the grocery store to buy a frozen tiramisu cake ($14.99) to take to my friend's home as our contribution to the Christmas dinner,  one gallon of milk ($2.79), two 4-lb. packages of sugar ($1.69/4 lb), and a box of frozen General Tso's chicken ($5.69) for us, a 14-lb bag of cat food ($8,99 plus sales tax) and two boxes of 12 half-pint canning jars ($8.99 plus sales tax).  My total came to $56.38 with sales tax.

A little later in the afternoon, we went over to neighbor T's house to wish her for Christmas and to hand over her gift and some apple dump cake.

In the evening, after tea, daughter helped me to make a batch of cinnamon apple cranberry jam:

Cinnamon Apple Cranberry Jam

I used 2 lbs. apples, 1 bag (12 oz) cranberries, 2 lbs. sugar, and 2 sticks of cinnamon.  It made 8 jars and a little bit, which I put into a lidded glass container and kept in the fridge.  Tomorrow morning, I am planning to make pancakes for breakfast and we'll spread some of the jam on our pancakes.   Five of the jars are for daughter to give as gifts to her friends.  The other three jars will be given as gifts, too.   

We had leftovers from the almsgiving for lunch; dinner was the General Tso's chicken served over rice.

I still need to wrap some gifts and I plan to watch midnight Mass from the Vatican, as I do each Christmas.

Today, I am grateful for:
- A peaceful Christmas Eve
- Making jam with my daughter
- Chatting on the phone with my aunt, cousin, and friend
- Visiting my neighbor
- A card from my half-brother


Plans for tomorrow include going to my friend's house to share Christmas dinner with her and her family. 

I wish all my blog friends a joyous Christmas and happy holidays.

It's still Dancer's tree!

Holiday Gift Shopping on Sunday

Sunday morning, I was still tired from Saturday's almsgiving, so I rested and took it easy.  Later in the afternoon, my daughter and I went to the mall to do some shopping, as we both needed to buy some gifts for Christmas and New Year and an engagement, as well (one of daughter's friends).  I had made my list of people to buy for, what I wanted to buy for the majority of them, and at which stores.

I wasn't sure how crowded it would be at the mall at 3:30 p.m. on December 23, but, we set out prepared for long lines at the check out counters.  The parking garage was full, but, we got parking almost immediately, as someone else pulled out; we just had to wait only as long as it took the driver of the other car to pull out!  Inside the mall, it was busy, but, not too crowded!  I had time to look around a little bit and the check out lines were not that long, at all. 

The mall we went to has three stories.  We started at the top - at the first store we went to, I looked around a bit to find a gift for my cousin's son and his wife and found something for their house (they are newly weds, so household items seemed appropriate) and I also purchased a gift card for one of my friends.  Three people crossed off my list!

Then, we went to the second floor, to the bath and body shop for body lotion; buy 3 and get 2 free.  Not as good as their buy 3, get 3 free sale, which they had the day before, but I was too preoccupied with the almsgiving to take advantage of that sale (in hindsight, I suppose I could have asked my daughter to order it online, for me, but I didn't think about it).  Anyway, now I had enough lotion to complete the gifts for five more people on my list!

Then, we went to the department store, also located on the same floor, to buy gifts for two of my aunts.  It took a little time as I was looking at sweaters for one or both of them.  Eventually, I settled on a sweater for one and a knitted scarf for the other.  Yes, I could have knitted a similar scarf, myself, but, the scarf was on sale for not much more than what the yarn would have cost me and it saved me time!  That store had the longest line I stood in at the check out, with about 15 people ahead of me, but there were 4 cashiers and the line moved fairly quickly. 

After that, I could feel myself getting tired (daughter noticed that I was walking slower).  I had finished the shopping I needed to do at the mall, but daughter needed to check one more store for one of her gifts.  So, I sat down at an empty table in the food court (located on the 1st floor), and rested, while daughter checked the store.  Then, we left the mall - we had spent about 2 hours shopping!

We, then, drove to another mall, where the crafts supplies store was located.  Daughter needed a planner for next year and a gift for one of her friends; I wanted to buy two more t-shirts to embroider for another niece's two children (theirs will be a New Year's gift, not Christmas).  Again, the parking lot was crowded, but, I saw a car pulling out as we were nearing the store and we were able to park without any trouble.  The store was not crowded, either.  Daughter found her planner and a gift for her friend.  I got the t-shirts I wanted; they were regularly priced at $3.99 and not on sale, but daughter had a 50% off one regular priced item coupon that she gave me as the items she bought were on sale, so her coupon couldn't be applied to them.  So, the coupon reduced the price of one t-shirt to $1.99 and that meant, I paid $5.99 for both t-shirts (plus sales tax, of course). 

The crafts store was having a 70% off sale on all Christmas items and that included their holiday scented jar candles!  Originally priced at $6 each, they had been on sale for $2.50 each (sign on the display stated 4/$10), but now, they were on sale for $1.80 each, which is 70% off the original price.  This is my price point for these candles.  I might have bought them for $2.50 each, but I prefer to wait until they go below $2.00 and then, I stock up!  I bought 10 of them!  They will be given as gifts, either by themselves or in combination with other gifts.  For example, my daughter said that a candle, combined with one of the journals I purchased, earlier, and a pen would make a nice "mindfulness" gift: light the candle and write in the journal. 

Scented Jar Candles

We were in that store for about one hour!  Altogether, we spent three hours, shopping!

When we came home, we had tea and rested a bit.  Later, we decorated the tree!  We didn't quite finish decorating it, as we both got too tired.  I have a lot of ornaments collected over the years; enough for at least two trees!  LOL.

On Sunday, I was grateful for:
- A pleasant shopping experience
- Finding parking without a problem at the two malls we went to
- The shops not being too crowded
- Finding good sales
- Enjoying decorating the tree with my daughter

How was your Sunday?  Have you gone shopping at the mall this close to Christmas?  If not, would you consider it?  Have you finished all your Christmas shopping?

A Pause for a Birth

Linking up with Angela at Tracing Rainbows in the last Sunday of Advent, here. 

I would like to pause to reflect on the birth of a child and to reflect on the woman who was chosen to be the mother of the child.  Actually, I would like to reflect on two women who were chosen to become mothers.  For it is my opinion that, every woman who is chosen to become a mother, no matter how different their lives might be, are also very similar for they share much in common, no matter what the differences might be.

So, I choose to reflect on two women, born centuries apart, in two different countries; yet, they shared the common title of Mother.

It is said that one of them dreamt that heavenly beings took her to bathe in a lake and a white elephant entered her from her right side as she slept and her dream was interpreted to mean that she was pregnant with a son who would become a great person.  It is said that one of them saw the Angel of God who informed her that she would become the mother of the Son of God.

And when the time of birth was near, they both went on a journey: one to the country of her birth and her parents' home as was the custom; one to the ancestral home of her husband in order to comply with a census requirement.    One of them stopped at a park, en route, and her son was born while she stood under a tree.  It is said that heavenly beings appeared to receive the newborn baby son and the earth trembled.  One of them stopped to spend the night at an inn, but there was no room at the inn and so, she stayed the night in a stable where her son was born.  It is said that the heavenly angels sang and a star appeared in the night sky above the stable. 

One mother died seven days after the birth of her son and her son was brought up by her younger sister who became the child's foster mother or step mother.  One mother lived to see her son die upon a cross. 

One mother was named Maya and her name means "illusion" (although it has other meanings, as well).  One mother was named Mary, and her name seems to have various meanings, too, including "beloved" and "bitter".

Two different women who share the common bond of motherhood. 

As someone who follows the teachings of the son of one of these mothers, I wish all those who follow the teachings of the son of the other mother, a joyous Christmas as you celebrate His birth.