Sunny and Warm

 

Sunflower Cascade

"Sunny and warm" is what the weather forecast said and yes, it has been very sunny and with highs of 95F on both Wednesday and Thursday, it has been warm.   

Yesterday, Wednesday, was when work began on neighbor T's roof that she is having replaced.  The workers arrived at 7:00 a.m., but, I only heard them when they were up on the roof, removing the old asphalt shingles that are used on the roofs here.  They were using some sort of scrapers to loosen the shingles.  Scrape, scrape, scrape...T's house is right next to my bedroom.  I took a quick peek and saw that there were at least 5 workmen up on the roof.  They finished their work around 3:00 p.m.   Earlier in the day, there had been some stray debris that had fallen on my driveway (T's daughter K had already apologized in advance for that and I had assured her that it was OK), but, the workers cleaned up everything before they left.

Wednesday was also M's day to tend to the garden.  He watered the garden and started trimming back the overgrown osteospermum in the front.  He also brought me a rooted pineapple top that he had potted up, but, I forgot to take a picture of it!  I served him some of the yogurt I made, topped with the peach topping, and he liked the yogurt.  I offered him some to take home, but, he had to do another garden after mine and didn't want to have the yogurt sitting in his truck in the afternoon heat.  He asked if I can keep it until Friday, when my garden is the last garden of the day.  

Later in the evening, I picked more broccoli side shoots (tiny florets) and two small zucchini that were already starting to yellow from the sun:

Wednesday's Harvest

Wednesday was also the anniversary of my father's death.  I felt a little wistful about that because his passing had a big impact on my life.  

Today, Thursday, has been a fairly relaxed day.  While it was still relatively cool in the morning, I did my usual Thursday kitchen cleaning.  Then, I made myself a fruit salad, with an apple, an orange, some grapes, and the rest of the mango I had cut, earlier in the week.  I had some of it for my breakfast:

Fruit Salad

In the afternoon, I replied to blog comments, had some of the pizza I had frozen earlier for my lunch, and relaxed.

Dancer decided to pretend going camping, using the clothes drying rack as his tent (I had placed the towel there to catch some drips from some items I had hand washed and hung to dry, overnight: 

"This is Dancer's tent!"

I spent a relaxed afternoon, had some Maria cookies with my afternoon tea, and then, watched some news and the January 6th Committee Hearing which aired at 5:00 p.m., our time.  Afterwards, I cooked the broccoli I had picked yesterday and had it with rice, leftover stir-fried pork, and zucchini chutney for dinner.  There is enough of everything leftover for one more meal!  Dessert was another bowl of fruit salad.

Later in the evening, I called friend R and chatted with her for a bit and, afterwards, video chatted with my daughter.  

I am grateful for:

- Fans and other appliances and electricity to operate them
- Garden produce
- M tending to the garden for me
- The rooted pineapple plant M gave me
- Chats with daughter and friend R

Joyful activities have included gardening and harvesting the garden produce.

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

What are your plans for Friday?  Are you managing to keep cool during this heat wave a lot of us are experiencing? 

The Garden in July

The Front Garden in July

Continuing with my newly established tradition of photographing the front garden on or around the 20th of July, I took some photos, today.  The previous six months of photos are here.  

The Vertical View

Everything is very dry.  I watered it on Monday and I asked M to water it today, too.  

Looking Through the Pomegranate Tree

A slightly different view of the garden:

View from the Front Door

I've asked M to start cutting back the osteospermum that is growing in this flower bed and has spilled over the edge of the bed.  Do you see where the edge of the flower bed is?  Maybe the next photo might help:

Blue Oval Where the Edge of the Flower Bed is Located

It looked pretty, spilling over like that, when the plants were flowering, but, now, it probably needs to be cut all the way back!  I might even ask M to cut them all the way down and let it grow back, next spring.

Snapdragon Still Going Strong!

Last, but, not least, that self-seeded snapdragon growing in the crack in the driveway is still flowering and doing well!  I am amazed because I usually don't remember to water it!  

I hope you enjoyed the visit to the front garden in July!

Tuesday

Mango for Breakfast

Today's daytime temperature high in my part of the world was 95F, which, surprisingly, was not as hot as it was in some parts of the UK, or certain other states in the US, either!

I brought in the trash cans and started on the dusting in the morning, when it was a bit cooler, but, halfway through, my left hip started to twinge.  It's the side I had the sciatica last year, so, I decided not to push myself to finish the dusting and tidying.  I might have been dehydrated, too, so, I've been making it a point to drink plenty of water, today.  

In the afternoon, I spoke on the phone with friend A and later, texted cousin V to check on her.  Called friend R to check on her, too, and video chatted with my daughter.

I cut up a mango for my breakfast, today.  Usually, I just peel and cut the mango into pieces, but, today, I decided to go a bit fancy.  It was a very sweet mango and I savored it.  Later, I finished the last of the cucumber salad I had made and had an egg salad sandwich with my evening cup of tea.  For dinner, I remade the slices of roast pork I had defrosted; I sauteed some onions, bell pepper strips, the one small tomato I harvested yesterday, and some peapods I had frozen, along with the sliced pork, added a little soy sauce and a bit of Worcestershire sauce:

Pork Stir Fry

I had it with some freshly cooked rice and a bit of hot sauce.  I put the leftovers in the fridge for tomorrow's dinner.  I had some grapes for dessert.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Weekly trash pick up
- Fans and electricity to run them
- Chatting/texting with family and friends
- Leftovers and 'planned-overs'
- A cool evening after a warm day

Today's joyful activity was, once again, chatting with family and friends.

Plans for tomorrow (Wednesday) include M tending to the garden, continuing with the dusting, and vacuuming.

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

 

Cooler on Monday

 

Monday's Harvest

It was cooler on Monday, a high of only 93F as opposed to Sunday's 102F.  But it was more humid with 45% humidity (Sunday's had been 20%).

I started the day by stripping my bed and doing a load of laundry, which I hung up to dry inside the house.  I put the same sheets back on the bed afterwards (less folding and putting away!)

Brunch was a bowl of my yogurt with peach sauce.  After brunch, I called neighbor S to ask her if she'd like some of the homemade yogurt, but, she declined my offer saying she had two kinds of yogurt in the fridge, one being what she preferred and the other being what her daughters preferred.  Later, when neighbor T called for a chat, I asked her if she liked yogurt and she said she didn't.  So, I am unable to share my yogurt with my neighbors, but, that's OK.  I had another bowl of it for dessert!  LOL.

Then, I made my meal plan for the week and made some egg salad.  I had a slice of bread with some of the egg salad sandwich with my evening cup of tea and dinner was another egg salad sandwich because I didn't feel like cooking!  

Later, I called friend A to check on her (left a message as she didn't answer the phone), cleaned the fridge, cleaned the litter box, took the trash cans to the curb for pick up on Tuesday morning, watered the front garden, watered the back garden, too (hadn't planned to do that, but, everything was wilting) and picked what is shown in the photo above - one tiny ripe tomato, one passionfruit (which is scorched on the other side), two zucchini (the yellowing one felt very soft, it might have got pre-baked), and two very ripe lemons that just fell from the tree.  I did not dust the living room and the dining area, however, so that gets carried over to Tuesday!

Friend R called later in the evening and we chatted for a bit.  And, of course, I video chatted with my daughter.  She said her office had sent out an email stating that everyone will be required to wear a mask in the office, once again, even in their cubicles (earlier, they had relaxed the masking requirement to wearing a mask in public areas, but, not in the individual cubicles, although the cubicles are set up in an open plan arrangement).  Of course, my daughter had been wearing her mask in the office on the days she went in, right throughout.  Apparently, there have been several Covid cases in the office in June and July!

Today, I am grateful for:

- A slightly cooler day
- Working appliances
- Electricity to run the applianaces
- Today's harvest, such as it is
- Phones calls, etc., with family and friends

Today's joyful activity was being out in the garden, watering and harvesting.

Plans for tomorrow include:

- Bringing the trash cans in
- Dusting and tidying
- Sewing

How was your Monday?  What are your plans for Tuesday?  Hope everyone is managing to stay cool, especially if there is a heatwave where you live!

July Meal Planning - Week 3

Yogurt with Peach Sauce

This was how last week's meal plan worked out:

Brunches - pizza (Monday)✔, leftover tabouleh-type salad (Tuesday)✔, egg salad or tuna salad sandwiches, French toast,  tortillas and chicken curry, waffles/pancakes, toast with peanut butter and peach jam, scrambled egg and toast, etc.

Dinners - 
- Bread with chicken curry (Monday)✔
- Leftover stir-fried noodles ✔
- Spaghetti and sauce ✔
- Leftover spaghetti and sauce ✔
- Rice and curries (omelet chicken curry, dhal, cabbage, cucumber salad, zucchini chutney, etc.)
- Leftover rice and curries ✔
- Cheese toast ✔
- Pizza from the freezer✔

Some of the planned dinners were eaten as late brunches (I usually eat my brunch around 2:00 p.m. or later) and some of the brunches were eaten at tea time or as late night snacks, but, all in all, I think it all worked out really well!

On to this week's meal plans!

I am starting out the week with a dish of yogurt I made on Sunday to have as brunches or dessert, a packet of frozen sliced roast pork that I put in the fridge to thaw, most of a bag of cole slaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots) that need to be used up, a sweet potato, and beetroot.  I also boiled two eggs this morning and made egg salad.

Brunches:

Yogurt with peach sauce or other toppings, egg salad sandwiches, cereal (imagine that!), fresh fruit salad, pancakes/waffles.

Dinners: 

- Sliced pork roast made over and served with rice/noodles/pasta 
- Rice and omelet curry with beetroot and cabbage 
- Pork fried rice
- Shrimp curry (from the freezer) and rice, dhal, cabbage or broccoli
- Leftovers

I think this meal plan will work out well for me.  I have all the items I need on hand, in the fridge, freezer, and pantry.

How about you?  Did you make a meal plan last week?  If so, did you follow it?  Are you making a meal plan for this week?

Another Sunny Sunday

Sunny and Warm!

Make that a sunny and warm Sunday!  We went up to 102F this afternoon.  That's when I decided to switch on the stand fan.  Our humidity level was 20%, so the heat didn't feel too bad, plus there was a nice breeze, too.  

I had a fairly quiet, relaxed day, today.  I had a brunch of peanut butter and peach jam on toast because I didn't feel like making a cooked breakfast.  Afterwards, I decided to make a batch of yogurt to use up the rest of the half a gallon of milk I had in the fridge.  I brought the milk to a boil and simmered it for 20 minutes, stirring it constantly (it is my belief that doing this reduces some of the water content from the milk).  Then, let it cool and added the last bit of yogurt left in the container of yogurt that M had given me, last month, as the starter.  Then, I covered the dish and let it sit out on the stove top all afternoon.  By evening, it had set and become yogurt:  

Freshly Made Yogurt

I put it in the fridge after it had set to get cold.  Later, after dinner (rice, chicken curry, cucumber salad, zucchini chutney), I tried some of the yogurt with palm treacle.  It turned out well, with a silky texture.  I told M he'll get to try it on Wednesday when he comes to tend to the garden.  I plan to offer some to neighbor S, tomorrow.

The power went out while I was writing this post!  But, it has come back on, again.  I am glad for that!  But, I had better finish this post and publish it before there is another power outage!

Today, I am grateful for:

- Electricity!
- Homemade yogurt
- Relaxed, warm summer days
- Friends I email and chat with on a daily basis
- Video chats with my daughter

Today's joyful activity was making yogurt!

Meanwhile, my daughter took a trip to San Francisco to meet up with some friends (she wore an N95 mask the whole time) and on her way home, she stopped at a French-Algerian bakery and treated herself to a mini fruit tart:

Mini Fruit Tart

She said there was another slice of strawberry, but, she ate it before she remembered to share a picture with me!  Doesn't that look delicious?  She said she bought a piece of opera cake, as well, but, she didn't share a picture of it, yet.

Plans for tomorrow include:

- Change the bed sheets
- Do a load of laundry
- Dust the living room and dining area
- Clean the fridge
- Meal plan
- Take the trash cans to the curb for pick up on Tuesday
- Water the front garden

How was your Sunday?  What are your plans for Monday?  Is it hot where you are?  Are you managing to stay cool?

Saturday: Stocking Up on Sri Lankan Groceries

SPSH: Alternate A: Recent Purchase

These are the groceries I picked up from the Sri Lankan store on Saturday afternoon.  After I took this picture, I thought it might do quite well for one of the alternates prompts for the Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt!

The store called me on Saturday morning to let me know that my order was ready for pick up.  I told them I will be there in the early afternoon.  I left the house around 12:15 p.m. and got to the store just before 1:00 p.m.  I went into the store, masked up, of course, to pick up my order.  The store was empty when I went in and the person working there was in the back stock room, so I called out, "Hello" a couple of times and waited.  A few minutes later, another person walked in and she went to the back of the store and must have alerted the store clerk that someone was waiting at the front.  The store clerk came out with several boxes of tea to restock one of the shelves.  Once he had put the tea on the shelf, I told him I had come to pick up my order.  I didn't notice if the other lady who came in after me had on a mask or not, but, I was pleased to see that the store clerk was wearing one.  He handed me the two bags with my items and I drove home.  I was happy to see that I had received all the items I had ordered.  The only change was they substituted two 250 gram packets of chili powder instead of the one 500 gram packet I had ordered.  I didn't mind it, at all.

I bought two boxes of my favorite extra strength tea (100 tea bags each), three 500 gram jars of roasted curry powder, two 250 grams each packets of chili powder, three cans of coconut milk, one jar of seeni sambol, two jars of pumpkin preserves (making sure I will have this key ingredient for my love cake, later this year!), one jar of ginger preserves, a packet of cream crackers, a packet of Nice biscuits, and two packets of a spicy snack mixture.  The crackers, biscuits, and snack mixtures are treats!

The total came to $68.23.  Grocery budget?  What grocery budget?  I have now used up practically all of my August grocery budget!  I've $8.27 remaining in my August grocery budget!  I will have to carry a negative balance into September, but, I'm not too concerned.  I'm just grateful that I have the opportunity to be able to buy these Sri Lankan groceries.  It is a blessing to be able to do so.  I'll worry about balancing the books, later.

It was a warm afternoon, with the temperature reaching a high of 100F.  After I came home, I ate a slice of the pizza I had baked and frozen, earlier, and relaxed.  Later in the evening, I did the dishes (did some by hand and the rest in the dishwasher), scrubbed the stove top, cleaned the litter box, chatted wit friend R, video chatted with my daughter (she did her grocery shopping, too, and did her weekly meal prep), and watched some videos online.

Daughter's Meal Prep

She made kufta in tomato sauce (kufta given by neighbor S, which I froze and sent with my daughter), stir-fried gailan (Chinese broccoli) with oyster sauce, boiled Brussels sprouts, cucumber pickle (with Persian cucumbers), spinach spaghetti mixed with leftover tomato sauce from cooking the kufta (some of the kufta broke up when she cooked them, so she added the broken bits to the tomato sauce and used that as a pasta sauce), and the rest of the spinach spaghetti in a sauce made up of some leftovers (she blended the leftover shira ae with some leftover teriyaki sauce from last week's teriyaki chicken, leftover mushroom and carrots, and some half and half to make the sauce!  How's that for being creative with leftovers?!)

Today, I am grateful for:

- I am able to get Sri Lankan groceries here
- I received all the items I ordered
- A safe drive to the store and back
- I am able to go over budget to stock up
- Electricity to run the fans and other appliances

Today's joyful activity was going to the Sri Lankan store to pick up the groceries!

Plans for tomorrow include relaxing and doing a craft project.   How was your Saturday?  What are your plans for Sunday?