Still Relaxing on Friday!

Yet another relaxed day, today!  I slept in, then, put away the laundry from yesterday, replied to blog comments, read some blogs, spent some time in the afternoon chatting with neighbor T and friend A, did a bit of weeding in the back garden, did the dishes, and checked the mail.

There was a sales ad from the fabric store, advertising their Thanksgiving/Black Friday deals!  Oh, I wanted to order just about everything they had advertised!  Fabrics at 60% off, plus a coupon for 20% off the total purchase!  I didn't actually buy anything, of course, but, I enjoyed drooling over everything!  LOL.  

M tended to the garden in the early evening and I chatted on the phone with friend R later in the evening.  I also watched news and one other program about ancestry that I like to watch on TV. 

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being able to enjoy another relaxed day
- Chatting on the phone with friends
- M tending to the garden for me
- Feeling well after the booster dose
- Hugs from my daughter 

Today's joyful activity was watching a hummingbird enjoying the nectar from the moringa flowers.  

Plans for tomorrow include doing some sewing (holiday gifts won't get done unless I actually start making them!)

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

 

Relaxed Thursday

A cloudy and cooler day, today, with a high of only 73F.  I slept in this morning and took it easy because I felt just a little tired, probably a side effect of the booster dose?  My daughter encouraged me to relax and so, I did!  I did do two loads of laundry, just to feel I was productive, as I told my daughter.  She just shook her head at me!  LOL.

I called neighbor T to check on her and I called neighbor S to ask her if she'd like some of the tomato soup I had made, but, she declined saying tomatoes give her heartburn.  Later in the evening, I called friend R and had a chat with her.

Today, I managed to put together a small gift for a friend's daughter using things I had on hand!  A long time ago, I had seen and bought sets of tiny, painted terra cotta pots; each set consisted of three pots on a small tray.  I use one set on my desk to hold paper clips, etc.  Today, I paired one set with three tea light candles.  Wrapped in tissue paper and tied with a matching colored ribbon, it made a little "thinking of you" gift for her, with the added bonus of enabling me to declutter a couple of items I had in my "Stash"!  

Today, I am grateful for:

- Good health and being alive
- A working heater
- Other working appliances
- My "Stash" for a quick gift
- Online videos to watch

Today's joyful activity was chatting on the phone with friends.

Plans for tomorrow include paperwork and tending to the garden with M.

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

Boosted!

I received my Covid vaccine booster dose, yesterday, evening.  My appointment was scheduled for 5:30 p.m., so my daughter could accompany me after she finished working for the day.  In fact, she drove me there and back.  There were no problems, only a short wait until it was my turn (there was one other person ahead of me) and a 10 minute wait until the straight-from-the-fridge vial of vaccine warmed up, and then, the 15 minutes of waiting after the injection.  During the waiting time, I had daughter purchase an adaptor for a power outlet (to allow up to six items to be plugged into a dual power outlet) and a bar of chocolate!  Honestly, I seem to get this urge to shop every time I go for vaccinations at the drug store pharmacy!  

I took everyone's advice to be fully hydrated and drank water throughout the day, yesterday.  I drank at least 8 cups of water before going for the vaccination and drank another 4 cups of water afterwards, during the rest of the evening.  I am sure it helped, because I haven't felt any adverse side effects, so far! 

Yesterday morning, I picked up the groceries and put them away,, brought the trash cans in, mopped the kitchen, did the dishes, cleaned the litter box, etc., before I went to get the booster dose.  After I came home, I relaxed.   I did a little embroidery, read blogs, watched videos online, and took it easy.

I didn't plan anything for today, either, because I didn't know how I would feel.  The only thing on the agenda was M's regular Wednesday morning visit.  He brought me another plant cutting - a type of philodendron.  He thought it was "Silver Sword" - it's from one of his plants that he had to repot because the pot fell over and a piece of the plant broke off.  I put it in a vase of water to root and added it to the growing collection of plants on the sideboard!  

Trio of Plants on the Sideboard

M watered the garden, pruned the lemon trees and some of the curry leaf plants that are springing up all over the garden, and filled the green yard waste bin!  He also picked a few lemons (the ones that had been growing on the branches he pruned).   

Today has been partly sunny, partly cloudy, with cooler temperatures (a high of only 71F).  I had a banana for breakfast and a tuna salad sandwich for lunch.  There are leftovers and "planned-overs" in the fridge for dinner. 

I called neighbor T and checked on her, exchanged greetings with neighbor S when I went to collect the mail (she was watering her front garden), and spoke on the phone with friend R who called to check on me.  

I ordered a six pack of paper towels and two more kitchen towels, over the weekend, and they were delivered, today.  I usually stock up on paper towels at the end of the year, but, I decided that mid-November was close enough to the end of the year to get some now, instead of waiting until the end of December.

Today, I am grateful for:

- The availability of vaccines and boosters!
- Not feeling any adverse side effects!
- M tending to the garden and bringing me another plant cutting
- Packages being delivered
- A restful, relaxed day

Today's joyful activity was tending to the garden with M.  We planted another mango seed that had sprouted!  

I am planning to take it easy, tomorrow, too, but, I might tend to some paperwork as that has been piling up!  

How was your day, today?  What are your plans for tomorrow?

November Grocery Shopping - Part 2

Daughter and I put in an order for groceries, late last night.  I drove to the grocery store and picked it up, this morning (actually, the store clerk loaded all the bags into the trunk and gave me a thumbs up! LOL).  

This week, the store was having whole turkeys on sale for $1.59/lb.  (Thanksgiving is next week).  However, if you bought $25 worth of groceries in a single shopping order, then, the turkey will be on sale for $0.49/lb., limit 1 turkey per grocery order!  Even at $1.59/lb., it was cheaper than chicken, which I've been buying at $1.99/lb.  Normally, daughter and I would have bought a whole chicken to roast for the two of us, as a whole turkey would have been too much, but, poultry at $.49/lb. is a very good deal!  Too good to pass up!  Especially, these days!  I will freeze the cooked turkey meat in portions and have that instead of chicken for weeks to come!  Whether I have any room in the freezer is another matter, but, we will make room!

Today, I bought:

1 loaf multi-grain bread (24 oz) = $1.99
1/2 gal. half and half = $3.99
1 x 16 slice pack (12 oz.) American cheese slices = $1.97 (good sale price!)
1 container whipped topping (8 oz.) = $1.50 (got to have whipped topping for the Thanksgiving pies!)

1 bottle (16 fl. oz.) honey mustard salad dressing = $3.79

16 oz. container salad greens mix = $4.99 (they actually substituted 3x 5 oz. containers)
1 lb. sugar snap peas = $4.99
1 cucumber = $.99
1 broccoli crown @ $1.98/lb = $1.47

2 packets (5 oz, each) wafer cookies (1 vanilla, 1 chocolate) @$.99 = $1.98 (I've been craving these!)
1 bag hot Cheetos = $3.49

2+ lb. apples @ $.99/lb. = $2.17
1+ lb. pears @ $1.49/lb = $1.82
3 lb. bag mandarins = $4.99
1 papaya (2.96 lb) @ $.98/lb = $2.93
2 mangoes @ $1 = $2.00
3+ lb. bananas @ $.65/lb = $2.05
1 x 2lb. bag fresh cranberries = $3.99 (I prefer to make my own cranberry sauce)
1 x 6 oz. container blueberries = $2.50

2 pkts. store brand Italian sausages @ $2.97 with digital coupon = $5.94
2 cans (15 oz. each) sardines in tomato sauce, $1.67@ = $3.34
1 turkey (12.27 lb.) @ $.48/lb (according to the receipt; sales ad said $.49/lb.) = $6.01

Total = $68.89

According to the receipt the total price of all the items would have been $98.16 if I had paid the regular prices.  But, since I bought some items that were on sale and a couple of items that had digital coupons, as well, I saved $29.27 from the original price and my total came to $68.89.

As mentioned before, my regular grocery budget for the month is $250 for two people.  Plus, I still have almost $80 ($79.61 to be exact) left from what was carried over from the August and September grocery budgets.

So far, in November, I have spent: $74.98 (on 11/2) + $68.89 (on 11/16) = $143.87

I have $106 left in the regular budget for this month, plus the $80 I've carried over.  I anticipate doing one more grocery shopping trip at the end of this month.  

As always, I feel blessed to be able to budget what I do for my groceries.  And I am very, very grateful to be able to buy my groceries.  I have heard, very recently, from family and friends in Sri Lanka, who are faced with high prices and shortages of what one of my cousins said were "essential consumer items".  

How are you coming along with your grocery shopping, this month?

Productive Monday

Another sunny and warm (86F was our afternoon high) day.  Tomorrow, however, according to the forecast, the weather will change and the rest of the week will be cloudy, or partly cloudy, and cooler, with the highs in the low to mid 70s.  That's sweater weather for me!  LOL.

After morning tea and prayers, etc., I started on my To Do list, taking breaks to read and respond to blog comments and visit a few other blogs.

I finished dusting the family room and dusted my bedroom, vacuumed the house, cleaned the fridge (the shelves were fine, but, the three drawers had to be cleaned out, washed, and lined with new paper towels before the things stored in them could be put back!), took the kitchen composting to the garden, watered the seedlings, took the trash can and yard waste bin to the curb for pick up in the morning, and cooked - a ground beef curry, a pot of tomato soup (using a packet of the homegrown tomatoes I had frozen), and some seasoned croutons using bread ends I had stored for the purpose.

I kept up with the dishes and pans while I cooked, so only the dinner dishes will be left to be washed.

I also called neighbor T to check on her (she had told me that her daughter would be out of state for the first part of this week and I had promised to call and check on her, daily).  Called friend R and checked on her, too.  I asked both ladies if they needed anything from the grocery store since I will be ordering groceries, tonight, but, they both said they had plenty of groceries.  T said her daughter did her grocery shopping, yesterday, and R did her grocery shopping on Saturday.  

Daughter took the kitchen trash, etc., to the trash bin for me, after I had cooked, because I was tired by then!   I am happy with what I was able to accomplish, today, though!  I wanted to get the house cleaning and cooking done before I go for my Covid vaccine booster shot, tomorrow!  I expect I will have some side effects on Wednesday; with the housecleaning and cooking done, I won't feel guilty about relaxing on Wednesday and even Thursday.  I do hope that I will not get the sciatica pains as a side effect, again!  That was just a horrible experience!

Well, I haven't seen Bun Bun in days (maybe even a week), Snowbunny and Pirate Bunny in weeks, and Bunny Foo Foo in months, but, today, I saw a little black bunny in the front garden!  Twice!  Once in the morning and later, in the evening, when daughter saw it, too!  I was unable to take a picture of it, but, I hope to see it again, soon!  I wonder if there are more little bunnies!  I'm not sure if I am ready to host all of them!  

Today, I am grateful for:

- The sunny and warm day
- A productive day
- The newly planted seedlings seem to be doing well
- Weekly trash pick up
- Phone calls and emails from friends

Today's joyful activity was watching a favorite dance program on TV with daughter.

Tuesday's To Do List:

- Mop the kitchen floor
- Bring the trash cans in
- Pick up groceries
- Get the booster shot

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

Sunday

 

Outdoor Play Station

My daughter made full use of the computer desk which has been put outside to set up a computer games playing station for herself and neighbor S's daughters, N and C, who came over to play, this afternoon!  They sat outside, with chairs placed as far apart as the space allowed and they were still able to see the TV screen, and wore masks.  I loved the fact that these three girls, young women, actually, who grew up together (N is two years older than my daughter and C is two years younger) still find ways to get together and play.  Daughter wants me to hold off on calling for the bulky item pick up, saying she can sit outside and use the computer table as her work desk on days when the weather is nice.  I'm fine with that.

Today was another warm, sunny day.  We are supposed to have cooler weather, next week, however.  

I put away my laundry from yesterday, dusted the living room, dining area, and family room, did the dishes, spoke with neighbor S, cousin P, and friend R, and watched some pantry challenge type videos online.  I watered the indoor plants, but, decided to wait until tomorrow to water the vegetable seedlings as they seemed to be doing well when I checked on them, today (don't want to overwater them!).  

My daughter and I had ordered some supplies from the fabric store, the other day, and the package was delivered, today!  I received two queen sized polyester quilt battings, three reels of all purpose white thread, and a reel of all purpose black thread!  My daughter received a type of paint brush she had wanted, some cotton yarn, and embroidery floss.  We were both very pleased with our purchases.  The quilt battings are for two quilt tops I have pieced; one of which will be given as a holiday (New Year) gift, if all goes well and I can get it done!  The thread is to have on hand for my sewing.  In case you didn't notice it, I didn't order any fabric!  LOL.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Daughter was able to have two friends over for an afternoon visit, outdoors, masked
- A sunny, warm day
- Working appliances
- Leftovers for meals
- Deliveries of new crafts supplies

Today's joyful activity was watching some videos online.

Monday's To Do List:

- Clean the fridge

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

- Dust my bedroom

- Water the garden

- Vacuum
- Cook a ground beef curry

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

November Decluttering - Week 2

This week's decluttering didn't go quite as well as last week's, but, I still managed to declutter at least one item each day, although I took a little bit of liberty with the item I counted as tossed on my birthday!  It did come from my dwindling stock of birthday candles, though, so, it counts!

11/8 - 1 toy rocking chair (to be donated)
           1 picture frame (to be donated)
           1 packet plastic beads  (tossed)

11/9 - 1 VHS tape (yes, I still have those! to be donated)

11/10 - 1 name plate from when I used to work (tossed)

11/11 - 1 birthday candle!  (lit, blown out, and tossed) 

11/12 - 1 bottle old nail polish (tossed)
          - 1 old powder compact (tossed)

11/13 - 1 glass vase (given with flowers)
             1 food storage container (given with food)

11/14 - 1 wooden box

11 items decluttered (including the birthday candle).  I am keeping to my goal of decluttering at least one item per day.  I am starting to feel the effects, here and there!  An empty shelf appeared on one of the shelving units and it remained empty for a whole week, until I moved three items from other areas to be displayed there.  Which opened up a small space on an otherwise full shelf.  There are other items I've been eyeing, but, I haven't been able to decide if I want to keep or give away.  They have been put on notice!  

I would like to declutter my books again and I was hoping to do some of that, this week, but, I put back every book I pulled out to declutter!  It's not that the house is being overrun by books; there are no stacks and piles of books everywhere.  I have plenty of shelf space for the books.  It's just that I am wondering why I am keeping them all!  I have some favorites I read and re-read - you can tell which ones they are because they are falling apart!  I will probably continue to keep them.  There are others I've read once or, occasionally, twice; will I re-read them again if I keep them?  Then, there are others I haven't read yet, even though I've had them for years - if I haven't read them, yet, will I read them if I keep them?  The hardest books for me to declutter are the crafts books and the home and garden type books.  I just like to look through them from time to time.  Decluttering the books is going to take some effort!

Did you declutter anything this week?