Thursday's Progress

Chocolate "Choco Taco and Churros" Milk Shake

My daughter sent me a photo of the chocolate milkshake that one of her friends had when they were in Boston.  Chocolate and caramel and churros, oh, my!


Once again, I slept most of the morning.  That's what happens when one goes to bed at 4:30 a.m.!  I had set my alarm to get up at 9:00 a.m., but I just turned it off and went back to sleep!  It was still morning when I finally woke up, but, just barely!

I spent the early afternoon responding to blog comments and commenting on a few blogs.  Then, I called cousin V to find out how Aunt T is doing (she's doing well, I was told) and also spoke with cousin M who is visiting from Australia and staying with cousin V for the duration.

Then, I got going with my schedule for the day!  I did some paperwork, which included writing out the payments for my gas bill and municipal services (water/electricity/sewer/trash collection) bill.  After that, I planned my route for running errands: gas station, post office, and library, in a more or less clockwise route.

I went to the gas station, first.  I was down to almost a quarter tank and I filled it up.  Gas was $3.65/gallon and it came to $40.15 for 3/4 tank of gas.  My monthly budget for gas is $50, so I still have $10 left in the budget for gas, if needed (plus what was carried over from March).  Then, I went to the post office and handed in the bill payments for mailing.  Finally, I stopped by the library and returned the magazines I had borrowed and checked out a book and two more magazines.  Visiting the library was my joyful activity for the day.

After I came home, I watered the front garden with the garden hose.  While I was watering, someone - a stranger - driving by in a pickup truck pulled over and told me that the plants were looking nice!  He meant the osteospermum which are still putting on quite a show!  I decided not to water the back garden, today, as it looked like it might rain in the night.  If it doesn't, I'll water the peach tree and the orange tree by hand, tomorrow.  The rest of the back garden can wait until Monday.

It was a little after 4:30 p.m., by then, and I had a cup of tea and watched some news.  I tried sewing up the sweater, but it was hard to see the black yarn and I had a bit of a headache, as well.  So, I continued with cleaning out a file folder as part of my paperwork/filing.

Later, I did the dishes, scrubbed the kitchen sink, wiped down the kitchen counters and stove top, and sorted through one of the pantry shelves.  I took everything out, wiped the shelf, tossed a few items (some ginger cookies that were bought 3 years ago as they were supposed to help with nausea during chemo, a box of cereal that had a best by date of 2015, etc.), and put the rest of the things back.  Then, I sorted through the shelf where I keep my food storage containers.  They came in very useful back when I was working and my daughter was going to school because we'd pack our breakfasts, lunches, and snacks in them to take with us.  Now, I am not sure if I need to keep quite as many, since I don't pack a lunch, anymore.  However, they do come in handy when I want to send food home with various people or when I want to freeze stuff.  The tall kitchen cabinet, which is a deep, floor to ceiling cabinet, has now been gone through and, if not necessarily decluttered, at least, sorted!  I know what is stored in it; I just need to decide if I really do need a dozen or so food storage containers and all those empty jars!  But, that's for another day, along with the under sink cabinet and the corner cabinet!   Finally, I mopped the floor.  This week's kitchen cleaning has been accomplished!

I managed to give Dancer his flea prevention medication, too!  He was happily sleeping, curled up against the new sweater that I am in the process of sewing up, and I was able to apply the medication before he was awake enough to realize what was happening!  LOL!  Very sneaky of me, but mission accomplished!

Cousin P called in the evening and we chatted a bit.  Apparently, someone stole the battery from her husband's car, that was parked on the road, outside their house, sometime last night or early this morning!  And, while he was checking it out, someone else discovered that his car battery had been stolen, too, and then, another neighbor and another!  Altogether, four car batteries had been stolen!  Cousin said her husband called the police, but, apparently, they had said they won't come out unless there had been more than $900 worth of damage.  I am glad I park my car inside the garage! 

Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to chat with my cousins
- My car battery wasn't stolen
- A productive day
- My headache went away
- Libraries

Thursday's To Do List:
- Give Dancer his flea meds - DONE
- Put gas to the car - DONE ($40.15)
- Go to the library - DONE
- Go to the post office - DONE

- Clean the kitchen - DONE
- Do the dishes - DONE

- Paperwork/filing - DID SOME

- Water the garden, front and back - DONE; front only

Yay!  I got through my to do list for today!  My weekly cleaning schedule had listed "a load of laundry" for Thursday, but I checked the laundry basket and I didn't have enough for a load.  Instead I ran the errands, which was on the schedule for Friday; had to switch to Thursday because that's when the library books were due!

Friday:

- Do one decluttering/organizing task in the spare room

- Do one deep cleaning task

- Water the peach tree and orange tree
- Sew up the black sweater

One more photo of the Japanese Garden: the lake represents the sea, the pebbled area, the beach

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

Wednesday at Home

On Wednesday, I slept in and then, spent the rest of the morning and the better part of the afternoon playing on the computer!  I finished writing my Japanese Garden post, replied to comments, visited a few blogs, read other stuff online, etc., and spent another hour or so trying to motivate myself to do the cleaning!  LOL! 

Eventually, I got off the chair and cleaned!  The smaller bathroom didn't need a lot of cleaning, as I had already scrubbed the bathtub on Monday.  I wore a dust mask when I vacuumed, but, even so, after doing most of the house, with just the family room left to do, I found myself starting to wheeze, so, I took a break.  I had a cup of tea, made myself a tuna salad sandwich, watched the evening news, finished knitting the sweater sleeve, and read the magazines I had borrowed from the library.  Afterwards, I felt OK and vacuumed the family room, too. 

Then, I went into the spare room and tried to do one decluttering/organizing task, there.  I sorted through a pile of stuff that daughter had decluttered from her room and put aside some of it to be donated (clothes, shoes, some lotion, etc.) and tossed a few items (old make up, nearly empty bottles of hand sanitizer, etc.)  However, I am not counting those items as part of my April decluttering, as they were my daughter's stuff.  I kept a couple of items she had decluttered - a t-shirt and a bottle of green frosted nail polish.  She tossed the nail polish as it doesn't cover well.  I tried it, myself, and I saw what she meant.  Well, after 3 coats of polish, I now have green frosted fingernails, but, although I let them dry for a long time, they got smudged, overnight! 

Smudged Nails

Maybe put another coat over them and see if that helps?  I do like the name of the color, though: "Big Money Frost"!  LOL!  Painting my fingernails was one of my joyful activities of the day, on Wednesday (the others were reading magazines and knitting).

Dancer ran away from me and hid when he saw that I had the flea meds in my hand, so I didn't give him his meds.  I also decided that I will wait till Thursday to put gas to the car and combine it with a couple of other errands.

Cousin P called me in the evening to say she spoke with one of our cousins who is visiting from Australia.  Aunt C called too, as the evening news was showing an on-going police chase in my area for a suspect who escaped them, to tell me to close my windows and lock my doors!  LOL.  It wasn't in my immediate neighborhood and I was not overly concerned, but I assured her that my windows were closed and my doors were locked, as they were, more because it was cold than because of a suspect on the loose!

Brunch had been a slice of leftover pizza, tea was the tuna salad sandwich, dinner was the last of the pasta-noodle stir fry, with yogurt for dessert.

On Wednesday, I was grateful for:
- Being able to sleep in
- Getting the day's cleaning done
- Inhalers and dust masks
- Aunt caring enough to call to check on my safety
- Video chatting with my daughter

Wednesday's To Do List:

- Give Dancer his flea meds - he ran away from me and hid!  Will do on Thursday

- Put gas to the car - Will do on Thursday

- Vacuum - DONE 

- Clean the bathrooms - DONE
- Do one decluttering/organizing task in the spare room - DONE (sorted through a pile of daughter's decluttered items to donate/toss)

Thursday's To Do List:
- Give Dancer his flea meds
- Put gas to the car
- Go to the library
- Go to the post office

- Clean the kitchen
- Do the dishes

- Paperwork/filing

- Water the garden, front and back

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

A Visit to the Japanese Garden

On Sunday, March 31, I attended an Ikebana exhibition and demonstration that was held at the Japanese Garden.

Suiho-en:  "Garden of Water and Fragrance"

The Japanese Garden is located in the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Los Angeles, in an area known as the San Fernando Valley.  It was designed to showcase the use of reclaimed water, which is used throughout the garden (there is a viewing tower which enables visitors to look out onto the adjoining water reclamation plant).   The Garden covers 6 1/2 acres and consists of a  karesansui or "dry Zen meditation garden", a chisen or "wet-strolling garden" with a water fall and streams, a roji or "tea garden" adjoining a teahouse, and a lake.   Entrance to the garden costs $5, or $3 if one is a senior (62 or older) or a child under the age of 10.  It is often referred to as "one of the best kept secrets in the Valley", although, on the day I visited, the parking lot was practically full!

After I attended the ikebana demonstration and exhibit, I strolled around the garden for a bit and took some photos:

Karesansui or Dry Zen Garden, with Tortoise Island in the upper left

The Tortoise Island represents longevity as, in Japanese mythology, the tortoise lives for 10,000  years.

The Plover Path in the Dry Garden

The plover path, apparently laid out in a manner that represents the bird's tracks, leads to a wisteria covered arbor, which wasn't in bloom when I went.

There are several bridges in the garden, including a zig zag bridge, but I didn't take a photo of that.  Instead, I took these photos of two different log bridges:

Log Bridge

I read that the log bridge has four foundation stones, but, because the Japanese word for four sounds a lot like the word for death, a nearby stone was also incorporated into the design of the log bridge!

Modified Log Bridge

I don't know for sure, but, I think this second log bridge might have been modified to make it more wheel chair accessible.

Bamboo Water Fountain:  sōzu

This type of water fountain is known as a "sōzu".  It is is a type of shishi-odoshi, which are devices meant to scare away wild animals that might eat plants in a garden or field.  The water drips from the tall bamboo spout onto a long bamboo that is set up on its pivotal point so that the heavier end rests on the ground and the bamboo slants upwards towards the water spout.  Water trickles into the bamboo until the weight of the collected water causes the bamboo to pivot down and dump the water.  When the water is emptied, the bamboo then pivots back and the heavier end hits a stone placed under it and makes a noise, which is supposed to scare away the wild animals.  In this photo, the bamboo pole is pivoting down and dumping the collected water.

Waterfall

I read that the three levels of the waterfall is meant to represent heaven, man, and earth.  The garden is meant to showcase reclaimed water, it is designed to represent three states of water, with the waterfall representing the falling or vertical movement of water, the streams its flowing or horizontal movement, and the lake its still or calm state. 

View of the Lake

Another View of the Lake

There are several islands in the lake, one of which is called Crane Island, representing longevity and good fortune.  There were several kinds of water birds swimming in the lake and resting along the edges of the islands and lots fish in the water.  I also saw at least one turtle.

The Garden is built adjoining the Reclamation Plant and incorporates the plant's Administration Building into its design.  The ikebana exhibit was inside the building.  I didn't take a photo of the building, but I liked these fountains in front of the building:

Active Water Fountains

Practically all the water fountains that were located on public property (city buildings, parks, etc.) had been turned off during our recent nearly five years long drought.  To see and hear an active fountain was a sheer delight to me. 

A Series of Views

This is the area under the walkway connecting the Garden to the Reclamation Plant viewing tower.  It features a series of openings, designed to give a glimpse of what is beyond, which I thought was interesting. 

View of the Lake showing the Shoin Building (left of center) and Viewing Arbor (to the right)

Shoin buildings were originally audience halls in temples where the monks taught Buddhist doctrine.  Eventually, they evolved into the residential dwellings of aristocrats, high-ranking monks, and samurai during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.  The ikebana demonstration was held in the Shoin building, which also contains an authentic 4 1/2 tatami mat teahouse and adjoining tea garden.  Tatami mats were originally used as seating for only the highest ranking person in the room; eventually, they were used to for everyone and the floor of the shoin rooms were covered with them.  Since tatami mats have a standard size, the floor plans of a shoin are designed in terms of tatami mats.  

Roji or Tea Garden

I didn't actually go into the teagarden on this particular visit.  But roji apparently means "walk" as the stepping stones are the main design element.

The tea garden is located in the bamboo grove:

Bamboo Grove

This was one of the coolest spots in the Garden, on that hot afternoon, as the bamboos provided some shade.

Bamboo Grove

Old Growth/Cut Bamboo Stumps

The azaleas were in bloom and this hedge of them was very colorful:

Azalea Hedge

By then, I had spent a couple of hours in the Garden, and I was getting tired.  Plus, it was hot (88F) and guess who went walking in a garden on a sunny afternoon without a hat!  I had a bottle of water with me, so I stayed hydrated, but I was starting to get hungry, too.  I had a granola bar in my purse; one isn't allowed to eat inside the garden, but I could have gone into the area just outside the garden and eaten if I needed to.  But, I was ready to go home by then. 

Bamboo Water Dipper 

Just outside the entrance/exit to the Garden, there is this water fountain, with a bamboo water dipper.  It's a good thing it was set at the back of a newly planted bed of petunias - otherwise, I'd have been tempted to splash some of that refreshing water on my arms and face!  

There is a gift shop, too, just outside the Garden; I poked my head in there, hoping to find a book about ikebana, but I didn't see anything, and I left without buying anything.

I will be going back to the Japanese Garden, later in the summer, as that's when the lotus will bloom.  I shall need to go in the cooler morning hours and wear a hat!  

Have you visited a Japanese Garden?  

Visiting Family on Tuesday

Cherry Blossoms at the Japanese Garden

On the second day of my new cleaning schedule, I slept in and spent the rest of the morning on the computer!  Cousin P called around noon to touch bases and see if I was still planning to visit Aunt T.  I said yes, and we decided we should leave around 2:30 p.m. Then, I had a scrambled egg and half a piece of toast for my brunch and got dressed.  

I brought in the trash cans, put away some of the laundry from yesterday, checked the mail, and took a quick look at the week's grocery ads that came in Tuesday's mail.

Cousin came over around 2:20 p.m. and we left to visit Aunt T at the assisted living facility.  It took me about 30 minutes to drive there.  Shortly after we got there, Aunt's daughters, my cousins V and R, came with one of their other cousins (Aunt's brother's daughter), her husband, and V's husband, too.  Aunt was very happy because we were all there.  However, her blood pressure was very high (normal for her, according to my cousins) and the staff at the facility became alarmed and they insisted on calling the paramedics.  Aunt declined to go to the emergency room, however, and after the paramedics checked her out, and everything else was deemed normal, it was decided that she didn't need to go to the emergency, after all. 

Cousin P and I waited until things settled and Aunt was taken to have her dinner.  As we started to take our leave, however, cousin V invited us to her house to a meal.  Since neither cousin P nor I had any other plans, we accepted the invitation and we all went over to cousin V's house.  She ordered Thai food and we ate and chatted for awhile.  

On the way home, I stopped at the pharmacy to pick up my medication refills that were ready and then, both cousin P and I did a little bit of grocery shopping.  I mostly wanted the eggs that were on sale for $1.49/dozen (today was the last day of the sale) and some cat food.  Then, I dropped cousin off and came home.  It was past 8:00 p.m.!

I had a bit of an asthma attack, after that, so I rested while I waited for the inhaler to take effect.  I had a cup of tea, chatted with my daughter, corresponded with a friend, etc.  Then, I put away the rest of the laundry from yesterday, cleaned the litter box, watered the indoor plants (I'm down to just a couple, now, since I seem to have killed at least two more plants!), and dusted the family room and my bed room, because I was determined not to procrastinate and go off the cleaning schedule on just the second day!  LOL!    

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being able to visit Aunt T and give cousin P a ride

- Being able to visit with my cousins and share a meal, afterwards

- Inhalers which enable me to breathe easier

- Chatting with my daughter

- All what I was able to accomplish, today

My joyful activity for today was spending time with family.

Tuesday's To Do List/Cleaning Tasks:

- Dust family room and my bedroom - DONE 

- Errands - pharmacy and grocery shopping - DONE
- Put gas to the car

- Water the house plants - DONE
- Visit aunt T - DONE
- Bring the trash cans in - DONE
- Give Dancer his flea meds

Wednesday's To Do List:
- Give Dancer his flea meds
- Put gas to the car

- Vacuum

- Clean the bathrooms 

- Do one decluttering/organizing task in the spare room

My planned joyful activity for tomorrow is reading!  I have some magazines I borrowed from the library that are coming due, which can't be renewed!

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

Monday - Implementing the New Cleaning Schedule

Harlequin Flowers in Friend M's Garden

Friend M sent me this picture of the Harlequin flowers in his garden!  Aren't they gorgeous?

I spent part of this morning writing out a cleaning schedule, one which I hope I will be able to implement.  It looks quite reasonable when written out, but, we'll see if I can keep to it!  I might need to tweak it, a bit, but, I managed to get through today's cleaning tasks!

Monday's Cleaning Tasks:
- Change bed sheets - DONE - I put the mended flannel sheets on the bed; we shall see how well they work out.

- Load of laundry (bed sheets/towels) - DONE  - I hung it all up to dry

- Dust living room & dining area - DONE - I rearranged two of the shelves in the process and arranged fresh flowers at the altar - jasmines, this time.

- Clean the fridge - DONE

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

- Water the garden, front and back - DONE; I watered the front with the garden hose and turned on the sprinklers to water the back.  

I also washed the dishes, did some knitting, and scrubbed one bathtub.  I consider it to have been a productive day.

Cousin V called to let me know that Aunt T was moved to an assisted living facility, today, and gave me the address.  I am planning to visit aunt, tomorrow afternoon; I called cousin P and offered her a ride.   

The Abbot at the Temple called to personally invite me to the ceremony they are having at the Temple, next Sunday.  I had already received the email invitation but, I appreciate the personal invitation as well.  I asked if I am to bring anything, but was told that my participation would be more than sufficient.  Nevertheless, I shall make a donation as my contribution.

Later in the evening, I video chatted with my daughter.  She returned, last night, from a 4-day visit to Boston with several of her friends.  She had a great time with her friends and she sent me this picture of a milkshake she had:

Strawberry Shortcake Milkshake

Yes, it is a strawberry shortcake on top of a strawberry milkshake!  She said it was delicious!  LOL!  I am just grateful that she made it there and back, safely.  On Sunday, shortly after her plane left Boston's Logan airport to fly to St. Louis (where she caught a connecting flight to San Francisco), another plane leaving Logan airport to fly to New York hit a flock of geese and had to make an emergency return to the airport!

Today's joyful activity was picking jasmine flowers for the altar.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Daughter had a safe trip to Boston and back

- She had a good time with friends

- Video chatting with daughter (we didn't do that when she was away in Boston)

- The start of a new month

- All that I was able to accomplish today

Tuesday's To Do List/Cleaning Tasks:
- Dust family room and my bedroom

- Errands - pharmacy and grocery shopping
- Put gas to the car

- Water the house plants
- Visit aunt T
- Bring the trash cans in
- Give Dancer his flea meds

How was your day?  Have you seen anything resembling the strawberry shortcake milkshake?

Weekly Cleaning Schedule

One of my April goals is to implement a cleaning schedule.  I shan't talk about how many times I've tried doing this.  That was in the past, over and done with.  I am moving on.  Of course, it is April Fools' Day, today, and this might be the biggest joke, ever, but, here goes!

Weekly Cleaning Schedule:

Monday:

- Change bed sheets

- Load of laundry (bed sheets/towels)

- Dust living room & dining area

- Clean the fridge

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

- Water the garden, front and back

Tuesday:

- Dust family room and my bedroom

- Errands, if any (grocery shopping, etc.)

- Water the house plants

Wednesday:

- Vacuum

- Clean the bathrooms 

- Do one decluttering/organizing task in the spare room

Thursday:

- Clean the kitchen

- Paperwork/filing

- Water the garden, front and back

- Load of laundry

Friday:

- Do one decluttering/organizing task in the spare room

- Do one deep cleaning task

- Errands, if any

Saturday:

- Catch up day - any cleaning that didn't get done during the week for whatever reason!

Sunday:

- No cleaning, other than dailies

Daily:

- Clean the litter box

- Sweep the bathroom floor, around the litter box

- Do the dishes

- Wipe down the kitchen counters and stove top

- 10 minutes pick-up/tidy

- Decluttering

Seems reasonable, doesn't it?  Surely I should be able to implement this schedule?  The active cleaning shouldn't take more than one hour, provided I stay focused.  I think this will enable me to feel productive and not feel guilty about taking time to play!

What do you think?  Do you have a weekly cleaning schedule?  Any suggestions as to how I could improve mine in order to make it more implementable?  

April Balanced Life Monthly Goals

The first quarter of the year is over and we are into the second quarter!  It's time to post my goals for living a more balanced life in April.  As I've explained before, my monthly balanced life goals are similar to the spokes of 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.  Ideally, all the spokes are of equal length and the wheel will roll along smoothly.  If the spokes are of unequal lengths, then, the resulting wheel will be lop-sided and wobbly.  My current ratings for each segment are shown within the parentheses.


Spiritual: (10):   The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life:
- Continue with daily prayers and gratitude; focus on being positive
- Take time for meditation.
- Cultivate non-attachment - focus on letting go of attachment to material possessions - declutter 30 items
- Attend the special relic depositing ceremony at the Temple (April 7)
- Attend the monthly rosary prayer gathering

House (8):  The goal is a clean, tidy, uncluttered house:
- Keep up with the maintenance; implement a cleaning schedule

- Declutter 30 items
- Continue to sort out the 3rd bedroom, a.k.a. The Dump!
- Do one deep cleaning task (kitchen cabinets)

Garden (8):

- Maintain (water 2x per week; weed)

- Plant more seeds (vegetables and flowers)

Daughter (10):  The goal is to continue to have a close relationship with her

- Daily texts, phone calls, and video chatting, etc.

Family & Friends (10):  The goal is to keep in touch with various family members and friends.

- Regular phone calls and emails
- Visit aunt T
- Send package to niece
- Send out Easter cards
- Will be seeing several members of the family and friends at this month's prayer gathering  

Community (7):  The goal is to be more involved in my community.

- Continue to participate in the blogging community
- Weekly phone calls with neighbor T
- Participate more in an online group of which I am a member

Finances (10):  The goal is financial security.

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose 

Health & Well Being (7):  The goal is good health.
- Attend this month's medical appointments
- Continue to work on the following life style changes:

   - better diet - eat more vegetables, less carbs
   - better hydration - drink 8 x 8oz glasses of water, daily

   - better sleep habits - earlier bed times/earlier rising times
   - more exercise - walk 30 minutes 5 days/week
- Lose 5 lbs

Time Management (7) : The goal is to spend my time in a mindful manner.
 - Implement a realistic daily schedule

 - Procrastinate less

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Me-Time (8):  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.

- Engage in daily joyful activities
- Finish embroidering the 2 T-shirts

- Work on one of my many "works in progress" knitting projects (finish the black sweater)
- Finish one of the quilts in progress

Those are my goals for a more balanced life in April.  Yes, they are basically the same as the ones I made for March, as many of my goals are on-going.  Is anyone else making goals for April?