Monday

Monday's Harvest

I had my regular check up with the oncology nurse, today, and the blood test results were mostly good, especially the cancer markers.  My weight had crept up instead of down, which was disappointing, but, my blood pressure was very good.  I mentioned the pains I've been having when walking and the minute I showed her where the pain was, she told me it was sciatica!  I was afraid of that!  She showed me two stretching exercises to do before walking; I hope they will help.  I will follow up with my primary care physician when I see her, next week.

My appointment was in the afternoon, at 1:00 p.m.  In the morning, I called the clinic to confirm the appointment, watered a few of the plants in the front garden with water I had collected (usually, while waiting for the water to warm up when showering, etc.), cleaned up some Dancer messes, and did a load of laundry.  By noon, I was on my way to the appointment and I arrived at the clinic 10 minutes before my appointment.  I was pleased to see that they still required people to wear a mask, but, half the people in the waiting room were not wearing their masks properly (wearing it with the nose exposed or below the chin doesn't really do anything!)  I had to wait for over one hour before I was seen by the nurse practitioner.  Afterwards, there was another short wait while the office staff refilled the printer paper tray and changed the ink cartridge before my paperwork for the next appointment could be printed (lab request order, etc.)  It was past 3:30 p.m. when I got home!

I ate a bagel with cream cheese for brunch (after I got home), did a little quilt repairing, and took a two hour nap on the sofa!  I was tired from my appointment, I guess!  

Afterwards, I cleaned the litter box, swept the bathroom, took the trash cans out to the end of my driveway for pick up in the morning, picked blueberries (unfortunately, I accidentally broke off some unripe berries, too, but, I kept them except for the greenest ones) and a handful of snow peas, did the dishes, fed Dancer and Mama Cat, and had soup noodles for my dinner.  

I didn't do a meal plan for this week, yet.  I'll probably do that, tomorrow.  I didn't do my regular Monday cleaning, either.  Another thing to be done tomorrow.  Tomorrow's to do list is getting long!

Today, I'm grateful for:

- Access to medical care
- Having medical insurance
- The blood test results were mostly good
- A safe drive to the clinic and back
- Afternoon naps

Today's joyful activity was picking blueberries.  

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

The Front Garden in May

The Front Garden in May (5/20/23)

Here's the latest installment of the monthly photos of the front garden, taken on or around the 20th of the month!  The osteospermum have stopped flowering but the lantana is making up for that!

The Lantana Border

The other day, when I was out walking, one of my neighbors across the street from me commented on the lantana, admiring the colors. 

Lantana in Bloom

A look at the garden from the other end:

The Garden from the Other End

This side of the garden is where I have planted most of the succulents and M brought me another new succulent to add to the collection on Wednesday: 

New Succulent

He didn't tell me the name of the plant, but, he said it gets spikes of orange or red flowers.  I think I might have to widen the succulents border!  

My Favorite Section of the Succulents Border

In front of the succulents border, I have the succulents circle where I have aloe plants and aeoniums growing, plus the newly planted jacaranda seedling which seems to be doing fine.  

Jacaranda Tree and Aloe Plants

Closer to the driveway, I have a couple of native plants growing, including this White Sage.  It had remained fairly compact for the past couple of years, but, this year, after all that rain we had, it really shot up!  M is over 6 ft. tall and this plant is at least a foot taller.  We believe it is getting ready to flower and apparently, bees love the flowers.  

White Sage

Another plant that is flowering now is the pomegranate tree:

Pomegranate Flowers

I'm hoping to get a good crop of pomegranates, this year.  

And finally, closer to the front door, the pink geraniums are still flowering:

Pink Geraniums

Thank you for visiting the front garden with me.  Do you have a front garden?  If so, what do you have growing in it?

Friday's Activities

Voodoo Lily 

I took another picture of the spent voodoo lily, today.  Even the spadix is hanging down, so, I doubt if there will be any seeds.  The leaves, too, look like they are drying up.  Looks like the plant is just about done for the year.  But the flower was lovely, wasn't it?

Elsewhere in the garden...

Peaches Ripening

The peaches are starting to ripen!  The individual fruits are on the small side, this year, but, I am looking forward to fresh peaches, soon!

Meanwhile, the blueberries are ripening, too!

Blueberries

As I mentioned in yesterday's post about having garden produce to pick, this was today's garden harvest:

Friday's Garden Harvest

Snow pea pods, a few broccoli side shoots, and blueberries (not counting the blueberries I ate while picking these!)

Washed and Sorted Out

I washed everything and sorted them out.  The blueberries were bagged up and frozen to be shared with my daughter when she comes home next (whenever that might be; probably not before Thanksgiving).  The broccoli and snow pea pods went into the fridge drawer, to be cooked over the weekend.  

I also received more food from neighbor S, today - cookies, baklava, cheese filled puff pastries, and two slices of pizza.  Her mother-in-law's funeral will be next week; meanwhile, family and friends calling on them to condole are bringing more gifts of food than they can eat, so she's distributing the extras.  I will share some of the cookies and pastries with my friend R and gardener M.  I also froze some of the cookies to share with my daughter.  

Brunch had been a bagel with cream cheese; dinner was the two slices of pizza that S gave me.  I had a cookie with my cup of tea in the evening.

Housework included cleaning out the fridge drawers: took everything out, washed the drawers, relined them with paper towels, and put everything back.  There was one dried out lemon that I put in the compost bin.  I also cleaned the shelving unit in my bathroom - it is a plastic shelving unit with 5 shelves.  I took everything off the shelves, removed the old wax paper I had used to line the shelves, washed the shelves, relined four of the shelves with recycled white paper that had been used as a filler in a package I had received and the fifth shelf with some leftover wrapping paper as I ran short of the white paper, and put everything back.  I checked to see if I could declutter anything, but, didn't find anything I wanted to declutter.   Items I store on those shelves include a package of toilet paper, the first aid kit, a box with Dancer's flea prevention medication, brush, and flea combs, a box with disinfectant wipes, a box of disinfectant sprays, and a basket of spare toiletries.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- More treats from S!
- Garden harvests
- A working freezer
- Phone calls and emails from friends
- What I was able to accomplish in terms of housework

Today's joyful activity was picking blueberries.  I have three blueberry bushes growing in containers and they are providing me with some tasty treats!

M wasn't able to tend to the garden, today, and asked if he can do so tomorrow (Saturday) morning, instead.  So, plans for Saturday include, tending to the garden with M, finishing up the bathroom cleaning, and tidying the kitchen.

How was your Friday?  What are your plans for the weekend?

May Grocery Shopping: Part 1

I ordered groceries this morning and pick up the order in the afternoon.  This is the first time I've grocery shopped this month; my last grocery shopping pick up was on April 21st, so almost 4 weeks ago (I thought it was 3 weeks ago!  No wonder I was out of bread!)

In addition to being out of bread, I was out of cereal, too, and half way through the last jar of peanut butter.  I was waiting for the peanut butter to go on sale at $0.99/jar, but, it hasn't been on sale at that price in a while, so, I decided to buy one jar on sale at $1.99 for now.  

Once again, I mostly ordered things that were on sale, this week, along with a couple of treats (bagels & cream cheese, frozen gyoza).  I bought:

3 Bananas,1.27 lb. @ $.69/lb. = $0.88
Oranges, 3lb. bag, reg. price $4.99, on sale with digital coupon = $2.99

1 Cucumber = $0.79

2 boxes cinnamon cereal, 12 oz., reg. price $5.59 (!), on sale with coupons @$1.49 = $2.98
1 box multi-grain cereal, 13 oz. reg. price $4.49, on sale with coupons = $1.99

1 Smoked sausage, 14 oz., reg. price $5.49, on sale with coupon = $3.49
2 lb. Bacon, store brand, reg. price $6.49/lb., on sale with digital coupon for $3.99/lb. = $7.98
1lb. Ground turkey, reg. price $6.99/lb. = $3.99

1 Peanut butter, 16 oz. jar, reg. price $3.69 on sale with coupon = $1.99

1 Cream cheese, 8 oz., store brand = $2.39

Bagels, 6 ct. bag, 18 oz., store brand = $2.49
1 loaf sandwich bread, 20 oz., store brand = $1.99

Frozen Gyoza (Potstickers), 20 oz. = $5.99

Total = $39.94

In addition, I bought some canned cat food for Dancer, but, that doesn't come from my grocery budget.

My monthly grocery budget is $100.  Plus, I had $4.40 carried over from the April budget. So, my May grocery budget is $104.40.

Balance remaining in my May grocery budget = $104.40 - $39.94 = $64.46

In case anyone is wondering about the small quantities of fresh produce I purchased - I still have 8 apples in the fridge, plus 8 mandarins and the garden blueberries are starting to ripen (I am picking a small handful almost daily, now), I am still picking lemons when I need some and there will be fresh peaches, soon.  There are carrots in the fridge, as well as a bit of fresh broccoli from the garden, and there are fresh snowpea pods to be picked almost daily, and broccoli leaves for greens, as well as the last of the lettuce.  The 3 celery plants are starting to bolt even though the stalks are thin, so I might harvest those and use for cooking (I can't eat raw celery as it gives me indigestion).  I also have frozen vegetables and fruit, as well as canned.  

Have you gone grocery shopping this month?  Are you finding good sales on the items you buy?  Are you able to keep to your grocery budget or have you had to adjust it to accommodate price increases?  

Voodoo and Done!

Voodoo Lily is Done!

The voodoo lily has done blooming!  This is how it looked, today.  It stayed open only for a couple of days!  

Another Look

Ah, but, when one flower closes another two bloom:

More Roses

And they smell sweeter, too!  LOL!

I woke up early today - at 6:00 a.m.!  And couldn't fall asleep, again, even though I tried.  So, I got up and fed Dancer, had a cup of hot water because I was fasting for my blood test, showered, dressed, and said my morning prayers.  All before my wake up alarm went off at 9:00 a.m.!  

My blood test appointment was for 10:40 a.m., and I had been told to arrive 15 minutes before that.  I was at the clinic in good time and the waiting room was not crowded.  Most of the people who were waiting had masks on, a few didn't; the female staff at the clinic had masks on, the male staff, including the one who drew my blood, didn't.  I had my mask on as I am not yet ready to go without a mask.  The County Health Department is now reporting cases on a weekly basis, instead of daily, but, there were 2,266 new cases as of last week, with a 7-day testing positivity rate of 3.3%, and 46 deaths (new numbers are posted on Thursdays); even though Covid is no longer considered an emergency, it is still present and people are still getting sick and dying from it.  However, the number of people hospitalized due to Covid have gone down to 250, which is good.

After I came home, I had the last waffle for brunch (just a plain waffle, without any curry or jam, this time) and a glass of chocolate milk.  

I had set out the old recycling bin with the broken lid by the curbside late last night, because it had to be out by 6:00 a.m.  But, it was not picked up and replaced until after 11:30 a.m.  I now have a brand new pristine looking recycling bin!  

M arrived shortly after that; he watered the garden and we chatted a bit.  I picked more snowpea pods while we chatted.  

In the afternoon, I felt sleepy and took a nap on the sofa, until Dancer's meowing woke me up; it was 5:30 p.m. and he was reminding me that it was his tea time!  I fed him and had a cup of tea.  Then, watched news.

Later, I made some leftovers fried rice for dinner: leftover rice, leftover garbanzo beans, leftover curried chicken, shredded, some broccoli side shoots from the garden, and an egg added to the mixture, everything cooked in leftover fat from cooking the last hamburger patty, saved in a container in the fridge.  I call this a frugal meal:

Leftovers Fried Rice

There were macadamia nut chocolates for dessert!   

Unfortunately, falling asleep on the sofa in the afternoon meant I didn't get any cleaning done, today.  So, I will carry those tasks over to tomorrow.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Access to medical care
- Health insurance
- A safe drive to the clinic and back
- M helping with the garden
- Leftovers!

Today's joyful activity (or, should it be inactivity?) was taking a nap on the sofa, with the afternoon sun warming me up!

Plans for tomorrow include catching up on the cleaning I didn't do today, in addition to Thursday's tasks of cleaning the kitchen and a load of laundry.  I might put in an order for groceries, too.

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

This and That on Tuesday

 

Ornamental Strawberries Ground Cover

My daughter sent me photos of some ground cover being grown in the 5th Floor roof garden in her office building where she usually eats her lunch. We've determined they are a species of strawberries, some with white flowers and some with yellow flowers, and small fruit, but, we don't know if they are ornamental strawberries being grown as a ground cover mostly for their flowers, or some sort of wild strawberry being grown as a ground cover and fruit for birds.  This is the same roof garden where a mama duck had her ducklings, last year.

She also sent me a picture of what she thinks might be a blueberry bush in flower, but, I really can't tell from this photo:

Blueberry Bush (behind the lavender)?

I told her to check it from time to time to see if it forms any berries.

Today, I had another fairly relaxed day; it felt a bit chilly in the morning, but, it warmed up nicely in the afternoon.

I checked the grocery ads for this week, but, I have not decided, yet, if I will order some groceries, yet.  Store brand bacon is on sale for $3.99/lb., with a digital coupon, which is a good price, and ground turkey is also $3.99/lb.  Ground beef is $5.99/lb. and there is a buy 1 get 1 free deal on chicken.  Cherries are $4.99/lb. (they are $1.99/lb. at the ethnic store!) and strawberries, sold in 2 lb. packages, are $7.99/container, so almost $4.00/lb.  I will not be buying any cherries or strawberries, this week!  Cereal is on sale for $1.99/10-12 oz. box if you buy 5 participating items, which include name brand peanut butter for $1.99/1 lb. jar, smoked sausages at $3.49/14 oz. package, among other items (these are the items I might consider buying).  As I've mentioned before, I buy what's on sale and then, base my meals on what I've bought.

On Saturday, although I had left the bag of food for the post office food drive in good time (the night before, actually), it was not picked up!  I didn't have any mail and I suppose the letter carrier didn't notice the grocery bag kept by the mail box, with the food drive postcard stapled to it.  No mail delivery on Sunday and yesterday (Monday), I didn't see the mail carrier.  Today, however, I stood outside and waited for him, and told him that no one collected the bag of food and asked him if he would be able to accept it, today?  He seemed surprised (I guess not too many people had complied with the request for food donations?), but, he accepted the bag of food.  It wasn't much, but, I hope it helps someone!

Today, I did most of the tasks on my to do list:

- Dust & vacuum the family room ✔

- Do a freezer inventory

- Water the house plants✔ (and the garden, if needed)

- Bring in the emptied trash cans✔

- Clean the small bathroom✔

In addition, I took the old recycling bin out to the curb, tonight (they said to leave it out before 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday and you know I'm not going to be awake that early in the morning!)  And I cleaned the litter box.

I didn't do a freezer inventory and I decided that the garden could wait to be watered until tomorrow when M will be here.  I also didn't walk, today.

Brunch was a waffle with peach jam.  Dinner was rice, chicken curry, the last of the vegetable stir fry, and cucumber salad.  Tangerines for fruit.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Refrigerators (without which one can't keep food without spoiling, especially cooked food)
- A working vacuum cleaner!
- Sunshine in the afternoon
- Online videos to watch
- Time to sew

Today's joyful activity was sewing on the quilt I'm repairing.

Plans for tomorrow include:

- Blood test appointment in the morning
- M tending to the garden
- Freezer inventory

- Dust and vacuum my bedroom

- Paperwork/filing 

- Do one decluttering/organizing task (the shelves in my bathroom)

How was your Tuesday?  What are your plans for Wednesday?  Can you believe that the first half of May is over?

Monday

Voodoo Lily on Monday

The smell has mostly dissipated from the voodoo lily, when I checked on it, today.   The spathe is about a foot long.

In addition to the voodoo lily, the poppies are doing well:

California Poppies

Although the phacelia are coming to the end of their flowering season:

Phacelia

The apple seedling that I grew from a seed has leafed out, too:

Apple Seedling

Guess who I saw when I went out to check on the garden, today?  Chicken Little! It was back, eating the cat food!  It ran down the garden and hid in the corner behind the yucca plant before I could take a picture!

Today was a fairly productive day and I got most of my to do list done:

- Dust & vacuum living room & dining area✔
- Fresh flowers for the altar✔

- Clean the fridge (took everything off the main shelves and wiped down the shelves; door shelves didn't need to be done this week) ✔

- Take trash cans to the curb for Tuesday trash pick up✔
- Water the garden
- Start the car✔
- Meal plan✔

I didn't water the garden because it didn't look like it needed to be watered, but, I did a bit of weeding and mulching.

I also didn't order groceries, yet; I'm going to wait until I can preview next week's grocery ad tomorrow to see if there are any better deals than what's available this week.  All I really need are bread and breakfast cereals, with maybe another jar of peanut butter if it is on sale.  I am hoping to find peanut butter on sale for $.99/16 oz. jar, which is my stock up sale price.  Store brand is currently $2.19/16 oz. jar, but, a brand name peanut butter is on sale for $1.99/16 oz. jar if you buy 5 participating items ($2.99/jar otherwise).

In addition, I walked for 20 minutes in the evening, repaired the quilt a little, handwashed a doily my mother had crocheted (it was dusty after being displayed on one of the side tables in the living room) and did a bit of knitting (I'm making a pair of socks with leftover wool yarn).  I emailed a friend and spoke on the phone with friend R.  Later, I video chatted with my daughter. 

Brunch was a leftover waffle; I ate half of it with leftover chicken curry and the other half with some of my homemade peach jam.  There were freshly picked blueberries, too.

For dinner, I had a scrambled egg and katta sambol with two lavash flat breads.  I had some Armenian sweets for dessert.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- A sunny afternoon after a cloudy morning
- A productive day
- The car started

- Phone calls and video chats
- Garden flowers

Today's joyful activity was video chatting with my daughter.

Plans for tomorrow include:

- Dust & vacuum the family room 

- Do a freezer inventory

- Water the house plants (and the garden, if needed)
- Bring in the emptied trash cans

- Clean the small bathroom (this week's cleaning cycle focuses on the bathrooms and front porch; I don't have a front porch as such, just the walkway and area near the front door).

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