Cloudy Saturday

Saturday was a cloudy day, with a little sunshine from time to time, but, no rain.  However, more rain is in the forecast for next week!  

I spent a rather relaxed day, having slept in till quite late. I continued to repair the quilt, watched online videos and some TV programs, chatted with friend R, exchanged emails with a friend, and video chatted  with my daughter.  The only productive things I did today were cleaning the litter box, doing the dishes, and putting in an order of groceries.  I decided to stock up now, instead of at the end of the month, in order to take advantage of the current sale on chicken and daughter's coffee.  I also wanted to get some pantry items, such as rice, sugar, flour, and condensed milk (which I use for my tea).  They are some of the items I stock up on a quarterly basis.  The rice and one of the varieties of coffee I ordered was low in stock, according to the store website; I will find out tomorrow if they have them or not.  

Brunch was some of the drop biscuits with cream cheese.  For dinner, I had leftover rice, the last of the chicken curry, dhal curry, and peach chutney.  I had a bowl of my yogurt for dessert; it turned out well.

On Saturday, I was grateful for:

- Being able to sleep in
- A break in the rain to dry out a bit
- Daughter's area is not affected by the floods in northern California
- Being able to order groceries online
- A working heater

Saturday's joyful activity was sewing.

Plans for Sunday include picking up the groceries.  

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

 

Rainy Friday

Rainy Backyard with Plum Tree

It started raining late last night and it rained most of the day.  Not a very heavy downpour, but, a steady rain.  It eventually stopped raining, later in the evening, but, by that time, we had cancelled M's visit as it was too wet for him to do any gardening and I didn't have any inside work for him to do.

I had a fairly productive day.  I cleaned my bathroom, changed my bed sheets, did a load of laundry (and hung it up to dry; not using the dryer unless I have to), put away the cans and bags of cat food that were delivered, did some dishes, and finished knitting the back of the sweater I am making.  I had to turn the oven on low a couple of times this morning to get the dish of yogurt to set, but, it eventually set:

Freshly Made Yogurt

I put it in the fridge to cool.  Later in the evening, I made a pot of ham and split pea soup, using some ends of ham I had frozen (from the half ham I had bought at the end of December, on sale for $1.68/lb.), about half a cup of green split peas from a bag that I had been given by a friend, a carrot, some onions, and some celery.  I soaked the split peas before I added them to the soup, which shortened their cooking time.  Then, to go with the soup, I baked a batch of drop biscuits:

Drop Biscuits

Dinner was a bowl of the soup and a drop biscuit:

Dinner:  Ham and Split Pea Soup and Drop Biscuit

There are leftovers for several more meals.  

Today, I am grateful for:
- Rain for the garden!
- Deliveries of cat food 
- Being able to hang laundry inside the house to dry (daughter's lease, for example, expressly prohibits hanging up laundry to dry, in order to minimize mold build up). 
- Working appliances
- Video chatting with my daughter

Today's joyful activity was knitting.

I don't have any specific plans for tomorrow.  I'll probably continue to repair the quilt and take it easy!

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

Thursday

 

Plum Flowers

My biggest accomplishment on Thursday was taking the tax documents to the tax accountant's office and handing them to her!  She will review them and do my taxes for me; I have an appointment with her to finalize the taxes, sign the documents, and pay her, of course.  

I spent a fairly relaxed morning, answering blog comments, catching up on a couple of blogs, cleaning the litter box, etc.  Then, in the afternoon, I dropped off the tax documents and came home.  I spent the rest of the afternoon watching online videos and repairing the quilt.  I had to insert new quilt batting in some area because the old batting had disappeared!  Either it got wadded up and migrated to another portion of the quilt or, it came off!  

Osteospermum Flowers

Later in the evening, I watched news and knitted.  Cousin V called and we chatted for a bit and later, I called friend R to check on her.  

Afterwards, I cooked rice and a dhal curry to have for dinner, with some of the chicken curry I had in the fridge and cucumber slices.  I did the dishes while dinner was cooking.  After dinner, I made a batch of yogurt.  I put the yogurt mixture in the oven, after preheating the oven for a few minutes at the lowest setting, to firm up overnight.  I might have to reheat the oven for a few more minutes before I go to sleep.  Sometimes, in cold weather, especially, it takes longer than overnight for the yogurt to form.  

The week's grocery ads came in the mail and chicken is on sale for $0.99/lb. again.  I still have some chicken in the freezer from when I bought two trays of chicken in February.  I wasn't planning to grocery shop this week, but, now, I'm wondering if I should stock up on chicken at that price or wait!  Well, the prices are good through next Tuesday, so, I still have time to decide.

Crocosmia Flowers

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being able to drop off the tax documents for the tax accountant to work on
- A safe drive to the tax accountant's office and back
- Phone calls with family and friends
- Video chatting with my daughter
- Working appliances 

Today's joyful activity was dropping off the tax documents with the accountant!  

Plans for tomorrow include some housework, making the ham and split pea soup, and more quilt repairs.  It is supposed to rain, tomorrow, which will be good for the garden!  

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

Mid-Week, Already?

Cloudy Skies on Monday

More Clouds

Monday was rather cold and cloudy, after some rain in the early morning.  I took these photos in the early evening, when I went to take the trash cans to the end of the driveway.  

All Clear on Tuesday

On Tuesday, however, the skies were clear and the day was sunny with a high of 60F.  I brought the trash cans in and walked for 20 minutes.  

I've been busy doing some paperwork, this week.

On Monday, I went through several stacks of mail that had piled up, again.  Afterwards. I gathered all the tax related documents I needed (I have been putting the various documents in a file folder as I received them in the mail, but, there were one or two documents that were in the stacks of recent mail that needed to be included in the tax file folder).  

On Tuesday, I called the cancer clinic's billing department about a bill I had received.  The bill stated I owed $334.55, which was the difference between what they charged for the office visit and the bone density injection and what insurance had covered.  I had been getting ready to pay it on Monday, but, when I logged into my account, online, I noticed a discrepancy in the amounts I owed.  According to the bill, I owed $334.55 while the online account showed that I had a credit of $115!  So, I called the billing department and spoke with one of their customer service reps.  Apparently, the bill had been submitted to my primary health insurance and they paid a certain portion of the bill in accordance with their agreements with the clinic.  Then, the clinic submitted the unpaid portion of the bill to the secondary insurance, but, they billed me, too, at the same time, without waiting to receive payment from the secondary insurance.  In the meantime, they have received payment from the secondary insurance.  The credit on the account were from previous copay overpayments (at least one of which dated back to 2020!)  The billing clerk I spoke with said to disregard the bill, that I didn't owe anything at all, and that she will put in a request to issue me a check for the credit of $115.  Isn't that nice?  She said it might take about 10 business days for me to receive the check, but, I can wait.  That will be like found money and I will apply it towards offsetting that big gas bill!  

Today (Wednesday), was another cool and cloudy day.  M was here in the morning and he brought some roofing nails to do more roof repairs.  He also cleaned my gutters while he was up there.  I told him to give me a bill for the roofing work and he laughed.  I will have to bake him some cookies or something to thank him.

I spent the afternoon sewing and watching videos.  I also double checked my tax file to make sure I have all the documents I need.  I had emailed my tax accountant, earlier in the week, to let her know that I will be dropping off the tax documents by the end of the week, but, she has not replied to my email.  I will call her, tomorrow (Thursday) and drop the documents off at her office.  

I had the last of the lasagna for brunch, today, and the last of the macaroni and cheese with chicken curry for dinner.  There's another portion of the chicken curry for Thursday's dinner.  

I am grateful for:
- I didn't owe any money to the cancer clinic; rather, I had a credit that they will reimburse!
- Medical insurance
- M helping with the roof repairs
- Working appliances
- More rain for the garden

This week's joyful activities have included watching videos and video chatting with my daughter.

Plans for Thursday include dropping off the tax papers and doing some tidying.

How is your week coming along?  What are your plans for the rest of the week?

Monthly Balanced Life Goals - February Review and March Goals

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 ratings for each segment are shown within the parentheses, with the beginning of the month ratings in black (later, when I do reviews, the end of the month ratings will be shown in blue.) 

The following five areas of my life continued to receive a high satisfaction rating of 10, so, once again, I am just going to skim over them:

Spiritual (10):   The goal is to live a spiritually meaningful life:
I continued with daily prayers, meditation, etc.  The highlight of the month was the visit to the Temple in early February; I was able to hold a prayer service or puja in memory of my mother on her death anniversary.  I was happy to have been able to do this.  March goals will continue to live a spiritually meaningful life.

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

Daughter and I continued to keep in touch by phone and video chats in February.  She also celebrated her birthday in March and I called her at midnight to sing Happy Birthday to her.  March goals will continue to have a close relationship with her.

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

There wasn't a lot of community involvement in February, other than on line and phone chats, etc.  But, I was content with that for now.  I plan to continue to do the same in March, too.

Finances (10):  The goal is financial security:

I continued to budget and spend mindfully, with purpose, in February, unusually high heating bills notwithstanding!  I will continue to do so in March, too.

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies/Self-Care (10):  The goal is to relax doing something I enjoy doing for the pleasure of it.

Another area in my life that continues to get a high rating.  February's leisure/crafts/hobbies, etc., included repairing the quilt top and participating in the monthly photo challenge.  Looking forward to a month of joyful activities and crafting in March, too.

The remaining areas of my life continued to receive a satisfaction rating of 7 or above and they are the areas I will be focusing on:

House (7.5)(7.0):  The goal is a home that is pleasant, comfortable, and welcoming:

- Clean - Clean the house as needed 
- Organize - 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'm doing better about keeping the house cleaned and maintained although I continue to struggle with finding a place for everything and keeping everything in its place!

I'm afraid I didn't meet February's decluttering goal of 30 items (unless you count the number of scrap pieces of fabric I "tossed" to the quilt I'm repairing!) and I reduced the rating accordingly.  I will continue with my attempts to declutter with a goal of 31 items in March. 

Goals for March include getting some needed repairs done, starting with the garage roof.  

Garden (7.0)(8.0):  The goal is a garden that is productive, yet drought tolerant:

- Maintaining (water, fertilize, and weed); M will continue to visit twice a week

- Focus on the winter vegetable and fruit plants

The good news is, the front parkway project was completed!  Woo hoo!  It took a few more bags of pea gravel than originally anticipated, but, that is fine.  The parkway looks intentionally bare, not neglected.  So far, neighbors and others have been respectful for the most part (still find the occasional empty cans of beer, etc.)  I have raised the rating based on the parkway project being completed.

March goals include continuing with planting spring vegetables and caring for the fruit trees.

Family & Friends (8.0)(8.0):  The goal is to have a close connection with family and friends:

- Regular phone calls and emails to check on them

There were plenty of phone calls, texts, emails, etc., with family and friends in February.  As I've mentioned before, I am content with how things stand in this area of my life.  It's not ideal, but, I am not that comfortable with in-person visits.    

Goals for March will remain the same.  

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 had a blood test and two doctors appointments in February.  The blood test results were mostly good, the check ups were good, too, and I received my bone density increasing injection.  I was asked to reduce the dosage of one supplement I was prescribed and to add another supplement.  I have follow-up appointments to return in May.  I'm leaving the rating at 8.5 because, although the blood test results were good, there is still some room for improvement.

Health goals for March will remain the same.  

Time Management (8)(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 think I managed my time for the most part in February.  There might have been some procrastination going on, but, for the most part, I didn't waste my time.

The goal in March is to keep at it.  

I think that, overall, it was a good month and my life was balanced.  I need to focus more on keeping the house maintained in March.  Anyone else making monthly goals for a more balanced life?  

March Meal Plans - Week 2

First a review of how my March Week 1 meal plan worked out.  

Breakfasts/Brunches:  Banana muffins (3 left)✔, pancakes or waffles, milk rice with seeni sambol (March 1)✔, turkey soup (1 serving left)(added to dinner)✔, scrambled eggs✔ with fried potatoes or hash browns, leftovers✔. cinnamon rolls

Dinners:
- Leftover shredded turkey made into something!  It's been sitting in the fridge for several days, now!✔
- Rice with sauteed shredded turkey chicken* or mackerel curry, dhal, moringa curry*, chutney
- Ham* and split pea soup?
- Ground beef* with mashed potatoes, snow pea pods* or broccol
- Leftovers✔
*Items from the freezer

- Macaroni and cheese
- Roti
- Cup noodle soup
- Lasagna

Ha!  See all the items crossed out?  I didn't make them! The items in blue are what I had, instead! Here's how it all turned out:

Monday:
Brunch: banana muffin
Dinner: Made-over shredded turkey with rice cooked with the last of the turkey soup, cucumber slices

Tuesday:
Brunch: Scrambled egg (by itself)
Dinner: Leftover rice, shredded sauteed turkey, cucumber slices
Snack: Cheese and crackers, banana muffins

Wednesday:
Brunch: Milk rice, seeni sambol
Dinner: Milk rice, chicken curry
Dessert: Home canned peaches with non-dairy whipped topping

Thursday:
Brunch: Leftover Milk rice and chicken curry
Dinner: Roti, chicken curry, seeni sambol
Dessert: Home canned peaches with non-dairy whipped topping

Friday:
Brunch: Leftover roti with chicken curry and seeni sambol
Dinner: Boxed macaroni and cheese, leftover shredded sauteed turkey
Snacks: Half the sugarbee apple, home canned peaches, cheese and crackers

Saturday:
Brunch: Lasagna and cinnamon roll
Dinner:  Cup noodle soup (mostly the broth from it; saved the noodles for another day); half a bagel with cream cheese, mandarin 

Sunday:
Brunch: Half a bagel with cream cheese
Dinner: Lasagna
Dessert/Snacks: Cinnamon roll, the other half of the sugarbee apple

I see a sad lack of vegetables, but, I did add some vegetables to the sauteed shredded turkey.

************

Here is the plan for Week 2.  Once again, I am going with options, instead of a set menu by day, as that seems to work best for me.

Breakfasts/Brunches:  Bagels and cream cheese, leftover noodles from the cup noodles with some leftover shredded turkey added to it (Monday),  scrambled eggs with toast or fried potatoes, lasagna.

Dinners:

- Leftover macaroni and cheese with the last of the shredded sauteed turkey, salad (Monday) 

- Leftover macaroni and cheese with chicken curry

- Rice, chicken curry, dhal, cucumber slices

- Ham and split pea soup?

- Ground beef with mashed potatoes, broccoli

- Leftovers

As always, subject to change depending on how I feel!  

Did you make a meal plan, last week?  Did you keep to it?  Have you made a meal plan for this week?  Or, do you decide on the day of?  

The Weekend

Freshly Baked Cinnamon Rolls from Daughter's Friend A

It has been a mostly cloudy and cool weekend, with some rain on Sunday morning.  I have had to increase the heating to 70F, but, more on that, later.

My daughter's friend A likes to bake and last year, she baked some cinnamon rolls and brought us some to try, and they were some of the best cinnamon rolls I had eaten.  Last week, I was wanting some cinnamon rolls and I asked my daughter to ask her friend if she could make me some cinnamon rolls that I would pay her.  A had replied that she will certainly bake me some cinnamon rolls, but, she didn't want any payment.  So, I offered to make her some chicken curry in exchange, and that offer was accepted!  A likes my chicken curry!

Saturday was the day when she was going to bring me the cinnamon rolls.  I made the chicken curry in the morning.

While I was waiting for A to arrive, neighbor S called me.  Her sister-in-law had made some lasagna and brought some to her; would I like to have some?  I love lasagna, so, of course, I said I'd love to have some!  A few minutes later, she brought me a plate of lasagna:

Lasagna from Neighbor S
(made by her sister-in-law)

We were both masked and we met outside the door when S handed me the plate of lasagna.  I appreciate the fact that she wears a mask whenever she meets me.

Daughter's friend A arrived a few minutes later, with cinnamon rolls that were still warm from the oven!  She, too, wore a mask when she came over (and I had my mask on when I opened the door).  She did come inside and I gave her the container of chicken curry that I had served for her.  I didn't realize that she had placed the cinnamon rolls in a glass baking pan until she had left, otherwise I would have given the dish back to her right away.  But, she has since said not to worry about it, that, she can collect the dish later.  She also said that the chicken curry was delicious.  

Then, it was time to pick up my groceries, so I did that.  After I came home, I warmed up and ate a piece of the lasagna  and then ate one of the cinnamon rolls!  It was delicious!  

On Saturday, I felt a little discomfort in my throat.  It wasn't a scratchy sore throat, but, it hurt to swallow.  I think my tonsils (yes, I still have them) were enlarged.  Otherwise, I felt fine and had no aches and pains or fever.  I haven't been anywhere except to the doctor's office and I wore my mask the entire time I was there and I am always masked when I meet people, so I didn't think I had caught anything.  But, I gargled with warm salt water, had hot soup for dinner (had half a bagel with cream cheese, later), drank coriander tea (our panacea for everything), ate a mandarin for the vitamin C and increased the heat.  The thermostat had been set at 60F during the night and raised to 65F when I woke up.  In the evening, I realized that the air I was breathing was so cold that I had pulled up my scarf to cover my nose so I could breathe through it to warm up the air I was breathing.  Cold and wet weather usually affect my asthma and the recent rains have raised the humidity levels as well.  So, I increased the heater to 70F and lowered it to 65F at night.

On Sunday, I woke up feeling just fine.  No difficulty swallowing, no swollen tonsils, nothing.  But, I've kept the thermostat at 70F!  It rained a bit in the morning and the rest of the day was cloudy and a bit chilly.  I had the other half of the bagel with cream cheese for brunch; dinner was a piece of lasagna and another cinnamon roll!  I was going to eat only half of the cinnamon roll, but, I ate the whole thing!  It was so good!

I've taken it easy, today.  I slept in, watched some online videos, spoke with neighbor T, chatted with friend R, did the dishes, cleaned the microwave, and, of course, cleaned the litter box.  

This weekend, I am grateful for:

- Neighbor S bringing me some lasagna
- Daughter's friend A baking me some cinnamon rolls
- My sore throat got better and turned out to be nothing to worry about
- Being able to pick up groceries
- A warm home

The weekend's joyful activities included exchanging food with friends and relaxing.

Plans for tomorrow include some paperwork and the usual Monday housekeeping, etc.

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