One Week into September

 

Scorched Succulents

Didn't we just begin September?  How can it be one week into the month, already?  This has been a week of hot, sometimes record breaking, heat.  

Yesterday, Tuesday, I relaxed and took it easy during the heat of the day.  Then, in the evening, I cleaned the litter box and the fridge, took the kitchen composting bits to the compost pile in the garden, took the trash cans to the curb (since Monday was a holiday, the usual Tuesday pick up got done on Wednesday), and watered the front garden.  Aunt C called and friend R called and neighbor S called to ask if I'd like more fried fish and a tray of cut up vegetables and dip that someone gave her!  I asked her if she didn't want to keep them for herself, but, she said she had enough, so, she brought over the extras:

Veggie Tray and More Fried Fish

I told S that I will not need to go grocery shopping this week!

Today, Wednesday, it was slightly cooler in the morning (in the 90s), but, we went up to 104F in the afternoon.  I brought the trash cans in, opened the gate for M, and took a couple of photos of the front garden.  When M arrived to water the garden, I asked him to pick the rest of the Asian pears that were on the tree because they were getting baked in the sun!

Freshly Picked Asian Pears

It's a mixture of varieties because the tree has four different varieties grafted onto it.  I really can't tell the difference in taste between the varieties, but, some are crispier and juicier and some are softer and sweeter.  It's not a big harvest, but, this is only the second year for the tree and I'm just grateful that it produced anything at all with our drought and heat!  I gave M a couple of them and he ate one immediately and said it was very sweet and took the other with him.

Later, I called neighbor S and asked her if she'd like to have a couple of the Asian pears (I know her daughter N loves them) and she said she would.  I took her two of the larger fruits and also a classical music CD (some of Mozart's compositions) which came with its own book about the composer.  I thought she might enjoy listening to the CD or, she could give it to one of her music students.  In return, she gave me more gata (in the plastic bag) and freshly made bakalava that she had baked!

Baklava and Gata

I enjoyed a piece of the baklava with a cup of tea after I came home.  

Breakfast had been a freshly picked Asian pear.  Lunch was the last piece of pizza I had frozen.  Baklava for tea.  Haven't decided on what to have for dinner as I am not hungry, yet (it is 9:00 p.m. as I type this).

Today, I am grateful for:

- We still have electricity to run the fans
- M tending to the garden
- Freshly picked Asian pears from the garden
- Being able to share some of the fruit with M and with S
- Receiving more delicious food from S!

Today's joyful activity was sharing some of the fruit from my garden.  

I am not making any plans for tomorrow!  It's going to be another triple digit day.  I did receive a notification that the car was due to the next scheduled maintenance, so, I'll probably call and make an appointment.  At least it will be air conditioned at the car dealers waiting area!  LOL.

How was your Wednesday?  Any plans for Thursday?

SPSH Update

Mary-Lou at Patio Postcards has reminded us that we are coming closer to the end of the Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt, which ends on the 30th of this month.  The final link up will be posted then, but, in the meantime, here are the photos I have taken for the challenge, since the first link up

#1: A Path:  This path leads to the back of the garden.  

#1: A Path

#4: Faceless Selfie:  Me and my shadow!

#4: Faceless Selfie

#7 Leaf Vein:  The veins on one of the sunflower leaves:

#7 Leaf Vein

#8 Sipping On: Passionfruit juice from my homegrown passionfruits!

#8: Sipping On - Passionfruit Juice

#13 All Gone, Empty:  I had served myself a bowl of fruit salad and a few minutes later, it was all gone and the bowl was empty!

Before

#13 All Gone, Empty

#15 Wind Power:  They do need electricity to run, but, the resulting wind is keeping me cool!

Fans!

#21 Invokes a Childhood Memory:  Dhal and rice - I grew up eating this!  Often, it was the first meal given to me after an illness, so, when I had an upset tummy, earlier this summer, this was the first meal I decided to have.   

#21 Invokes a Childhood Memory - Dhal and Rice

Alt A: Recent Purchase:  Well, it was recent when I took the photo!  LOL.  

Alt A: A Recent Purchase

Alt B: Sunset:  My phone camera doesn't capture the true colors of the sunset, but it was glorious!  

Alt B: Sunset

I have till the end of the month to find the rest of the items on the list!

1. Path
2. Peek-A-Boo
3. Stairs
4. Faceless Selfie
5. Something That Looks Like A Number or Letter
6. A Corner
7. Leaf Vein
8. Sipping On
9. Changes Shape When Wet
10. OMG, The Shoes
11. Yellow & Blue Together
12. Fuzzy Wuzzy Texture
13. All Gone, Empty
14. Left Overs
15. Wind Power
16. Oh So Colourful
17. Out of Place
18. In The Distance
19. Culture, Yours Or Another
20. You Grew It, Made It
21. Invokes A Childhood Memory
22. Add, 1-2 To Change The Taste

Alt A: Recent Purchase

Alt B: Sunset

Alt C: Free Choice

Labor Day Monday

Labor Day Feast Compliments of Neighbor S and Daughter

I had a phone call from neighbor S, this evening; her daughter N and N's friend had made fried tilapia and a salad, if I would like some, she could bring some over!  I said I'd love to have some and a short time later, S and N brought over this feast!  Battered, fried tilapia, sauces for the fish, mango salsa, pickled bell peppers and red onions (so colorful), a big container of coleslaw, tortillas, some tortilla chips, and for dessert, a gluten free brownie made with almond flour and applesauce!  Oh, my!  Enough food for several meals!  I had a piece of the fish, the mango salsa, and the brownie for dinner and I am full!  S and family are such wonderful neighbors and such a blessing! 

Thank you, everyone, for your kind concern for my daughter.  She woke up early, this morning, feeling much better, did her meal prep for the week since she was feeling OK, took a nap in the afternoon, and has been relaxing in the evening.  It went up to 91F in Berkeley, today, which was very hot for them, although daughter loved it.

It only went up to 104F, here, today, with 39% humidity,  According to the forecast, the humidity made if feel like 108F.  I decided to try my sewing project, with a different pattern, and had more success:

New Cotton Blouse

I used one of my old blouses that I had sewn as my pattern!  Kept the blouse on the fabric (leftover from making a pillowcase for my daughter's bolster pillow) and cut out the pieces!  I made it a bit bigger though, as the other blouse is a bit tight on me.  I had to patch a strip of fabric at the bottom to get the length I wanted, but, it is hardly noticeable.  I didn't have enough of the blouse fabric to make the bias bindings for the armholes and neckline, so I used some lilac colored fabric that was leftover from a nightdress that I had sewn several years ago for the bias bindings.  This blouse is made for wearing around the house and I don't mind that the bindings are of a different colored fabric!  I am not fussy!   I wore it in the evening, after I took a shower to cool off:

Modeling the New Blouse!

I changed out of the white cheesecloth skirt and into a pair of shorts after I took the photo and after neighbor S and her daughter brought over dinner; I would not dream of subjecting anyone to the sight of me in a pair of shorts!  LOL.  

Neighbor T called in the afternoon, saying she had been concerned about me.  I told her I had called and left messages, but, she sounded surprised by that bit of news.  I guess she didn't receive my messages?  Maybe she doesn't know how to check her voicemail!  I will call her daughter, tomorrow, and mention it to her.

Later in the evening, I watered the back garden just to keep the fruit trees and the rose bushes alive.  All the vegetable plants, except the chili plant and the moringa tree, have been uprooted.  I am not sure if the chili plant will bear anymore chilies, but, I will keep it to see if it does (this is the second year for it).  

Still later, I chatted with friend R and video chatted with my daughter.

Today, I am grateful for:
- Neighbor S and her daughter N being such wonderful neighbors and bringing me such a generous dinner
- Hearing from neighbor T
- The fabric stash!
- My new blouse
- Daughter felt much better, today.

Today's joyful activity was sewing!  

Today's decluttering was a catalog that arrived in the mail, last week, featuring Labor Day sales.

Plans for tomorrow will depend on the weather, of course.  According to the forecast, it will be 101F, tomorrow.  I shall try to water the front with some shower water I have collected in buckets.

I didn't do a meal plan, today; I think it will be safe to say that this week's meal plan will be based on leftovers from the feast that neighbor S gave me, leftovers I have in the fridge (sauteed chicken, moringa curry, etc.), and stuff from the freezer (leftover pizza, gyoza, etc.) which will be quick and easy to cook during this heatwave! 

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

Hot on Sunday

Sunday's Temperature

110F with a humidity of 21%.  At one time in the afternoon, they thought the high would be 112F, but, I don't think we reached that.  Also at one point in the afternoon, they thought it might rain and there was a notification that appeared on my computer screen to expect rain in 30 minutes!  I didn't believe that because there were no rain clouds in my area.  It might have rained somewhere else, but, we didn't have any rain in my area.  

I stayed in the family room until around 3:00 p.m. and then, went into the bedroom and turned the a/c unit on and stayed there.  At about 6:30 p.m., I opened the windows to air out the house and turned the a/c unit off, but, I stayed in the cooler room until 7:30 p.m.  Today, even Dancer chose to stay inside the cool room without fussing!  LOL.

I wasn't very productive, today.  I considered sewing myself a cotton blouse (I have very few cotton blouses and none that is sleeveless and I thought it would be nice to have one to wear in this heat).  I went so far as to pull out a pattern, cut out the pattern pieces, and choose a piece of fabric from the stash.  But, the pattern required facings, etc., and it was really too fiddly to sew in this heat!  I was getting frustrated just trying to pin down the pattern pieces without them blowing around for the fan.  In the end, I just folded up the pattern pieces and put everything away.  I will figure out another way to sew a simple cotton top!  I just want something that will be cool and comfortable to wear during this heatwave!

I did start the car and let it run for a few minutes and I cleaned the litter box.  Called friend R and chatted with her for a bit; she said she went to the shopping mall because it was air conditioned and spent several hours there.  I haven't been to a mall since before the pandemic!  End of December 2019 was the last time I was inside a mall.

My daughter had another migraine, today, after about a month of not getting them.  She took the over-the-counter medication her doctor had recommended she took and said she felt better after a few hours, but, not before she felt some different migraine symptoms like cold hands and feet, that she had not felt on previous occasions.  She said she checked her temperature at one time, because she was feeling chills, but, her temperature was normal.  I'm glad it's a long weekend and she has a holiday tomorrow to rest.  

Brunch, today, was a mango, followed by an egg salad sandwich.  I had another egg salad sandwich with my evening cup of tea.  Dinner was a salad and a piece of cold chicken.  

Today, I am grateful for:
- Daughter is feeling better after her migraine headache
- The room air conditioner and fans
- Electricity to run them
- The car started without any problems
- Easy, cool meals

Today's joyful activity was video chatting with my daughter, who was feeling better.

Today's decluttering included two glass jars (I had been using them to root plant cuttings in water, but, the cuttings didn't root and the jars are not needed).

Tomorrow, Monday, is Labor Day and a holiday here, in the USA and in Canada, too, I believe.  It is considered the unofficial end of summer and one is not supposed to wear white after Labor Day (although I admit I wear white even after Labor Day).   I don't have any plans, as such, for tomorrow.  The weather forecast says it will be 107F, tomorrow.  Currently, just before midnight, it is 85F outside and 90F inside.  Although the house remains cooler than outside during the daytime, it doesn't cool down much at night!  

How was your Sunday?  What are your plans for Monday/Labor Day?

Heat Wave!

Temperature Inside the House at 6:60 p.m. on Friday

Late in the evening, yesterday (Friday), there was a roll of thunder which surprised me, followed by a sprinkle of rain!  Just a light drizzle which lasted only a few minutes, which really didn't do much because it was still 90F outside, but, there was a breeze, afterwards, which was very welcome!  Of course, the rain just made it more humid, but, I didn't care!  It rained, even just a tiny bit!  I had already spoken with friend R, earlier in the evening, but, she called to ask me if I had any rain because it sprinkled a bit where she lives, too!  LOL!  We southern Californians go a bit crazy when it rains!  There is even more rain in the forecast for next weekend (a 35% chance), but, we shall see if it actually rains then.

It was so hot, last night, that, I turned on the a/c in the bedroom and stayed up, reading a magazine, until it had cooled off.  Then, I brought in a stand fan from the living room and set it up so that it was focused on me, turned the a/c off, opened the doors just enough so Dancer didn't complain, and slept!  

Today, we had a day time high of 108F and the temperature inside the house went up to about 92F.  It's 10:30 p.m. as I type this, the temperature outside has cooled down to 86F, but, the house is still at 90F.  

I did a load of laundry in the morning, then, because the 'clean washer' indicator light has come on twice now, I ran a cleaning cycle, too.  The laundry was hung up inside the house to dry.  It added to the humidity, but, with it being so hot, things dried in no time at all.  

In the afternoon,, the heat got to me, so I retreated to the bedroom and switched on the air conditioner.  Dancer was not happy and we went through the "I want to be on the other side of the closed door" routine a few times until he eventually decided that on the bathroom floor just outside the closed bedroom door was an acceptable spot, with the occasional meow to let me know he was there and not entirely pleased with the situation.  

In the meantime, I dusted the bedroom, remade my bed with the already dry sheets, moved the small folding side table from the family room into the bedroom, set up the sewing machine on it, and sewed some patchwork pieces for about half an hour.  I had to sit on the edge of my bed to sew and without a back support, half an hour was about as long as I could sit and sew.  Afterwards, I turned on the laptop and watched some videos and played sudoku games.

Around 6:30 p.m., I turned the a/c off, opened the windows in the other rooms to air out the house (although it was still quite hot outside) and stayed in the cool bedroom with the fan on for another hour or so.  After that, I came out of the room, although the rest of the house felt like an oven after the coolness of the bedroom.  I folded and put away the dried laundry and decided that the next time I retreat to the bedroom and put the a/c on, I will sort through my closet.  

Later in the evening, I did the dishes, doing some by hand and the rest in the dishwasher.  I chatted on the phone with friend R and video chatted with my daughter.  She had decided to do a painting this evening:

Daughter's Painting

Brunch had been a slice of bara brith with butter followed by the last of the fruit salad.  Later, at tea time, I had some cream crackers and a glass of cold chocolate milk instead of tea.  Later, I ate some grapes.  I cooked some frozen gyoza/potstickers for dinner.  

Today's decluttering included an old teacup.

Today, I am grateful for:

- A daughter who cares if I take my medicines or not

- Working appliances
- Electricity to run them
- Clean water for drinking, for cooking, for washing clothes, for washing dishes, for washing myself

- Phone calls, emails, video chats, etc.

Today's joyful activity was keeping cool in the air conditioned bedroom.  

It's just after midnight - it has cooled down to 84F outside, but it is still 88F inside the house!  The forecast for tomorrow says it will be 105F.  Plans for tomorrow include starting the car and letting it run for a bit, sorting through my closet, and keeping cool!  LOL.

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

Starting September

September - the ninth month of our calendar which is still named the seventh month (thus October, November, and December all being misnamed!).  Yes, I know they switched from one calendar system to another, way back when, but, one would think they'd have renamed the months at the same time!

Yesterday (Thursday), it being the first of the month, I cooked kiribath (milkrice) and seeni sambol (sweet and spicy onion relish) and had that with some leftover chicken curry for brunch.  It was cooler, yesterday, with a high of only 102F (10 degrees cooler than the day before), but, it was more humid and in the afternoon, I retreated to the bedroom and turned on the window air conditioner.  Of course, I had to close the doors to the room to keep the cool air inside the room and, of course, it meant the usual dance with Dancer, wanting to come in and go out and come in, again.  We kept that up for at least one hour before he consented to being in the room with me, complaining occasionally about being kept in an air conditioned room!  I stayed in the room until around 7:30 p.m.  Afterwards, I opened the windows to air out the house although it didn't cool down until well past midnight, when it cooled down to 80F, outside.  I called neighbor T and left her a message as she didn't answer the phone; chatted with friend R, exchanged emails with a friend, and video chatted with my daughter.  I had leftover rice, chicken, and stir fry for dinner and some ice cream for dessert!

Yesterday, I was grateful for:
- It being slightly cooler
- Being able to have air conditioning in the bedroom
- Ceiling and stand fans
- Electricity
- Keeping in touch with family and friends

Yesterday's joyful activities included keeping cool in the air conditioned room and a refreshing cold shower in the night!

Today (Friday), our high is 103F with around 30% humidity.  I have the fan on.  I had leftover milkrice and seeni sambol for brunch and some of the fruit salad, afterwards.  Aunt C called and we chatted for a bit and daughter called at 3:00 p.m. saying she was off work early - they were told to have an early start to the three-day weekend, Monday being Labor Day and a holiday.  Daughter is happy!  I've decided I am going to relax and take it easy, today, partly because it is too hot to do anything and partly because, well, it's almost the weekend!  LOL.

I just went outside (it's 4:00 p.m.) to unlock the gate (gardener M will be here a bit later) and to throw out the trash.  It feel like an oven, outside!

Today, I'm grateful for:
- Fans and refrigerators and the electricity to run them (we are under a flex alert)
- M tending to the garden for me
- Water for the garden and for cold showers!
- Friendly blog readers and the kind comments they leave on my blog posts
- Keeping in touch with family and friends

Today's joyful activity has been relaxing!  

How is your Friday coming along?  What are your plans for the weekend?

Monthly Balanced Life Goals: August Review and September Goals

It's time again for a review of my monthly goals for a more balanced life!  

Very briefly, I picture my life as a wheel with ten spokes, each representing a different area of my life.  I have stated goals for each area and below each goal, I list how I plan to attain those goals.  The numbers within parentheses show my satisfaction ratings, with the beginning of the month ratings in black and the end of the month ratings being shown in blue. 

Spiritual (10)(10):   The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life:

- Continue with daily prayers, meditation, being grateful, positive, resilient, and joyful
- Continue to cultivate non-attachment by being generous and giving to the extent I am able

I continued with my daily prayers, meditation, being grateful, positive, resilient, joyful, generous and giving, etc., in August.  I feel that I do live a spiritually meaningful life.

I will continue to keep the rating at 10.

September's Spiritual goals will be the same as above.  

House & Garage (7)(7):  The goal is a home that is pleasant, comfortable, and welcoming:
- Clean - Clean the house and garage as needed
- Organized - Continue to find a place for everything and keep everything in its place
- Well maintained - Keep "erasing the evidence"; implement daily and weekly cleaning schedules
- Decluttered - Continue with the decluttering process

 

I've kept up with the housework, cleaning, organizing, maintaining, and decluttering.  August decluttering included 1 chair (broken, tossed), 1 children's picnic table (recycled), 1 file folder with 2 years of bill statements (recycled), 1 planter (tossed), 1 item of clothing that was torn beyond repair (tossed), 1 porcelain vase (given away with flowers).  There were other bits and pieces, but, I stopped keeping count after some time and I don't think I met my goal of 31 items decluttered, unless I include all the dead plants from the garden that were tossed/composted and the too small bits of fabric from the scrap basket!   

I am keeping the rating at 7.   

September's House & Garage goals will be the same as above.  My Room of the Month will be my bedroom and my decluttering goal is 30 items.

Garden (8.0)(8.0):  The goal is a garden that is productive, yet drought tolerant:

- Maintaining (water, fertilize, and weed)

- Start improving the parkway in the front

The garden is struggling!  It's summer, we have watering restrictions, and high temperatures.  I have been watering as often as I dare to and cleaning up.  We transplanted some ferns to the front garden to replace the spent osteospermum plants.  The ferns seem to have taken well to being transplanted and have some new growth in them while the osteospermum have self-seeded and the seedlings are coming up! 

I've picked the last of the serrano chilies, beetroot, passionfruit,  sunflowers!  M harvested one of the sunflower heads and I will be collecting the seeds from it.  I've picked some of the Asian pears and pomegranates; we pulled out the tomato plants and the zucchini plants - this was not their year!  But, the moringa tree produced a good harvest of pods and I picked most of them!  

The parkway improvements are on hold until cooler weather arrives in October.  But, I'm keeping it listed, just so I don't forget it!

I am keeping the rating to 8.0 because the garden is doing its best under the circumstances.

September's Garden goals will be the same as above, with the inclusion of more cleaning up.

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

- Keep in daily contact with her

I continue to have a close relationship with my daughter with daily texts, phone calls, and video chats.

A definite 10!

September's Daughter goals will be the same as above.

Family & Friends (8)(8):  The goal is to have a close connection with family and friends:

- Regular phone calls and emails to check on them

I kept in touch with family and friends through texts, emails, and phone calls in August and sent cards to those celebrating birthdays.  Other than that, there haven't been much interactions, but, I am fine with that.  

I am keeping the rating at 8.0.

September's Family and Friends goals will be the same as above.

Community (10)(10):  The goal is to be involved in my community:

- Continue to participate in the various community groups to the extent possible in the following ways:

  - Participate in the blogging community

  - Participate in the online organizing group

  - Weekly phone calls with neighbor T
  - Food exchanges with neighbors from time to time
  - Participate in temple events when safe to do so

I participated in my community in the ways that I felt comfortable participating, online or on the phone, with some limited in person interactions with neighbors.  

I'm keeping the rating at 10.

September's Community goals will be the same as above.

Finances (10)(10):  The goal is financial security:

- Continue budgeting and spending mindfully, with purpose

I have continued to manage my finances in a more or less responsible manner, budgeting and spending as mindfully as possible.  I managed to stay under budget for groceries in August (after going over in July) and since I didn't need to put gas to the car in August, I have that budgeted amount to put into savings or pay for some unexpected expense (a higher water bill, perhaps!). 

I am keeping the rating at 10.

September's Financial goals will be the same as above. 

Health & Well Being (8.5)(8.5):  The goal is good health:

- Focus on continuing to improve my health through diet, hydration, adequate sleep, etc.

- Attend my medical appointments
- Continue to take my medications as prescribed
- Continue to take necessary precautions against viral infections

I feel that I managed to maintain my health and well being in August.  My goal of walking daily and increasing the duration of the walk didn't work out quite as I had hoped; I walked more of less daily (there were days when I didn't walk for one reason or another), but, my attempts at increasing the duration of the walk were unsuccessful due to leg pains and my reluctance to push through the pain.  I will keep trying in September.  I didn't have any medical appointments this month, but, I do have one scheduled for the end of September.

I am keeping the satisfaction rating at 8.5.

September's Health & Well Being goals will be the same as above. 

Time Management (7.5)(8.0): The goal is to spend my time in a mindful manner:
- Spend time purposefully, mindfully

- Continue to focus on making my schedule work for me

- Procrastinate less

I kept a time log during the first week in August and I became more aware of how I was spending my time! It led to some conscious decisions and prioritizing my activities.  I have had to let some things go and I decided it was OK for the time being.  I still need a better schedule, however, and that will be my focus in September.  

However, I feel a little happier about my time management, mostly because I've taken the time to do a couple of projects I had been wanting to do for several months.  As a result, I have raised the rating  to 8.0.

September's Time Management goals are the same as above.

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Self-Care (10)(10):  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.
- Engage in daily joyful activities
- Engage in leisure activities
- Do crafts and pursue hobbies

I feel I had a good month in this area of my life in August.  I took time to play with fabric, sorting through my scrap stash and starting on a quilt!  I participated in photo challenges, gardened, played online games, and relaxed.  

I am keeping the rating at 10.  

September's Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Self-Care goals will be the same as above.

I feel that August was a good month.  Most ratings stayed the same, but I increased the rating for Time Management and nothing got reduced.  I am looking forward to September.  I hope to maintain those areas with a high rating and improve those areas that have room for improvement. 

Do you make any monthly goals for a more balanced life?  If so, what are your goals for September?