Starting July

 

More Fruit 

One of the photos that didn't get selected to go in the monthly photo challenge!

Here we are; the second half of the year has started!  As usual, I made milkrice to greet the beginning of a new month.  I ate it with some chicken curry and there are leftovers for another meal.

I had a doctor's appointment on the first of July to have another screening procedure done.  I drove to the clinic and back without any problems.  I felt very nervous prior to the procedure, but, it went well.  The results were very encouraging as one cause for the symptoms I've been experiencing was ruled out.  Such a blessing!  I have another scan scheduled for mid month and one lab test prior to that, and a follow-up appointment with the specialist to go over the scan results.  

The doctor prescribed some antibiotics as a precautionary measure after the procedure, so, I picked it up from the pharmacy (along with another medication refill that was ready for pick up) on my way home.  I wasn't physically tired from the doctor's visit, but, I was emotionally drained.  I had already anticipated not wanting to do much afterwards, so, I took it easy, watched some news and videos, played several games of Sudoku, and relaxed.  

I checked this week's grocery ads after I came home.  The pork chops that were on sale for $1.99/lb. back in May (on May 13) are on sale, again, for $2.49/lb. this week.  Up by $0.50 per pound or a 25% increase in less than two months.   But, I am not planning to do any grocery shopping this week.  As I mentioned in my previous post, I had gone over my June grocery budget and spent almost $40 from the July budget, leaving me with $60 for groceries in July.  I have plenty of food on hand and I am determined to stick to my reduced grocery budget in July.  This month's meals will be primarily from the fridge, freezer, and pantry.

On the first day of July, I was grateful for:

- A safe drive to the doctor's clinic and back
- The medical procedure went well 
- Encouraging results
- Medical insurance
- The availability of medications
- Answered prayers

The day's joyful activity was informing my daughter of today's screening test results.  We had both been bracing ourselves for not so good news.  Now, we are cautiously optimistic.

Plans for Wednesday include tending to the garden with M, changing my bed sheets, doing a load of laundry, meal planning, and tidying the family room and kitchen.  

How was your first day of July?  What are your plans for Wednesday?  

Thriving in June

Mirabilis/Four O'Clocks

 

I am continuing with my quest to thrive each month and here's my review of June, which has turned out to be a bit of a mid-year review, as well:

Spiritual:

In June, I kept my spiritual side thriving with daily prayers, meditation, and doing my best to live my life according to the teachings of my religion.  Overall, I am happy with the spiritual side of my life and there is very little I want to change.  

Daughter:

My daughter visited twice in June, spending five days down here on each visit.  The first visit was for the baptism of her goddaughter and the second visit was for the 1st birthday of the little girl.  As always, Dancer and I enjoyed having her home again.  Her injured foot continues to improve and she has received new physical therapy exercises to help with the recovery.  When she is away, we continue to keep in touch through daily phone calls, texts, and video chats.  I am happy to say that our relationship is thriving.  

Health & Well Being:

June continued to see a lot happening where my health and well being were concerned. I had an ultrasound done in the first week of June and a visit with the specialist in the second week of June.  I have two additional scans/tests to be done in July and a blood test.  From a mid-year perspective, some of the medical issues could/should have been addressed earlier in the year, when the first requests for referral authorizations were submitted, but, the people submitting the requests sent them to the wrong people because they apparently didn't read the information on my insurance cards properly.  However, it has now been corrected, hopefully, and future appointments should go more smoothly.  

Family, Friends, & Community:

I had quite a few social interactions in June, too.  There were phone calls, emails, and texts, as usual.

In addition, I attended my daughter's goddaughter's baptism, visited cousin V twice, had a visit from my long-time friend E whom I hadn't seen in about 20 years, and attended my daughter's goddaughter's 1st birthday celebration.

Neighbor S brought over some cake from her birthday celebration and I took over some homegrown peaches for neighbor E, who arranged for my living room and dining area to be painted, and his family.

I'm pleased with the amount of interaction with my family, friends, and community, in June, and I feel that this area of my life is thriving.  I feel that there has been quite a few social interactions during the first half of this year, and I am looking forward to possibly more in the second half of this year, too.

Finances:

I was able to keep my finances maintained in June.  Once again, I increased my grocery budget by $50 for the month to $150 because my daughter was coming down twice for a total of 10 days, and I was planning to send some food up with her.  I went over budget by almost $40 and tapped into my July grocery budget.  I am thankful that I was able to both increase my grocery budget and borrow from the July budget.  Overall, I think I am thriving on my retirement income and have lived beneath my means for the first half of this year.  Going forwards, expenses will increase, partly because my daughter will come home to live with me.  But, I anticipate being able to live within my means.

Time Management:

I feel that I am getting better with my time management.  I think I made some improvement in the first six months of this year. There is room for improvement, however, and I shall focus on that in the second half of this year.

Leisure/Hobbies/Crafting:

June's leisure/hobbies/crafting activities included sewing (a sari blouse and a baby quilt), blogging, reading, gardening, watching videos online, and participating in June's monthly photo challenge.  I feel that I thrived in this area of my life. I believe I made time for leisure activities, hobbies, and crafting during the first half of this year and plan to continue to do so during the second half of the year, too.

House:

In June, I was able to accomplish another long awaited project with my neighbor E's help and have my living room and dining area painted.  Yet another project that had been on my Mile Long To Do List for years.  I took the opportunity to wash and rehang the drapes, wash the windows and the front door, and do a bit of decluttering.  It felt really good to have that crossed off the list.  I feel that I have been able to thrive in this area of my life during the first half of this year.  I still have more home maintenance projects to accomplish during the second half of the year and more decluttering, too; I think I'm making good progress in this area of my life.

Garden:

The garden continued to thrive in June, too.  I picked peaches, tomatoes, plums, lemons, wax beans, chilies, etc.  We planted corn and squash.  M and I have been watering the garden on a regular schedule since the weather has turned warm.  That is the downside to growing a garden in our semiarid environment.  There is no rain in the summer so everything must be watered.  However, I look forward to having a thriving garden in July, too.       

Over all, June has been a good month and conducive to thriving.  I am happy with how the first six months of the year turned out.  I am hoping that the rest of the year will go well, too.  Everything is not quite how I would like it to be, but, I am staying focused on the positives, making the best of things, and thriving to the extent that I can.

How was your June?   Were you able to attain some of the goals you had made for the month?  

The Mirabilis are Thriving, Too

Monthly Photo Challenge: June - Fruit

The theme for June's Monthly Photo Challenge that Eileen at A Bracelet of Days is hosting, was "Fruit".

I decided to limit myself to homegrown fruit.  Here are my finds for this challenge: 

Homegrown Lemons

Peaches on the Tree

Strawberries

Plums Starting to Ripen

Ripening Plums

Freshly Picked Plums

Passionfruit on the Vine (Nor Ripe Yet)

Asian Pears

Blueberries

Nectarine Starting to Ripen

 

And, last, but, not least:

Tomato (which is, botanically, a fruit)

Thank you, Eileen, for this opportunity to participate in the monthly photo challenge.

July's theme is "Number(s)" with the added challenge of a different source for each number.  Eileen has posted the challenge rules on her blog (a minimum of five photos taken during the month, no upper limit) if anyone reading this post is interested in joining in the monthly photo challenge in July. 

On Sunday

 

Amigurumi Bluebird

This is one of the gifts that daughter crocheted to give her friend's daughters.  She used a chenille yarn to make it and embroidered the eyes and beak.

On Sunday, we made a quick trip to one of the crafts supplies store to buy two kids' art kits to give as gifts to my cousin's visiting grandsons, aged 8 and 6.  We looked around the store a bit, with daughter checking out the beading supplies and both of us looking at the yarn, but, we didn't buy anything other than the art kits we had gone to buy.  There was a 20% off coupon, too, which daughter applied towards the purchase of the art kits.

We picked up some Chinese take out on the way home to have for lunch. 

Later in the afternoon, we went to my cousin's to spend a little time with her and her two grandsons.  I was able to collect my square glass baking pan in which I had taken the peach cobbler the last time I visited her.  I missed that baking pan!  

I took a nap after we came home.  Later, I did a load of laundry and cooked a sort of beef stir fry with onions and homegrown tomatoes added to it.  I froze half of it for daughter to take back with her and the the other half was put in the fridge for me for the week.  

On Sunday, I was grateful for:

- Spending some time with my cousin and her grandsons
- A safe drive to cousin's and back
- Daughter applying her 20% off coupon to the purchase of the art kits
- Afternoon naps
- Working appliances and the gas and electricity to run them.

Sunday's joyful activities included spending time with my daughter and visiting my cousin.

Plans for Monday include taking daughter to the airport, watering the backyard, taking the trash cans to the curb, and maybe some housework and meal planning.

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

On Saturday

 

Trees in the Park

On Saturday morning, I slept in while daughter joined some of her friends to do a virtual escape room.

In the afternoon, we went to daughter's goddaughter's birthday party which was held at a park.  There were at least two other parties being held at the same park, but, daughter's friend had chosen a nice shady area away from the other groups.  It was 93F outside, but, there was a nice breeze and it felt quite comfortable. The party was from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., but, we were told to feel free to arrive and leave any time we liked.  So, we got there around 2:30 p.m. and stayed until it ended.  Several of daughter's friends attended the party and it was nice to see them chat and interact.  I've known some of these kids since daughter was in 4th grade and it's a joy to see them as young adults.  

We were told to take plates of food home because they had bought too much food, so, that took care of dinner.  

We relaxed after we came home and daughter took a nap.  I watered the backyard and picked a few more plums.  

On Saturday, I am grateful for:

- Being invited to and being able to attend Baby E's birthday party
- A nice outing and a pleasant Saturday afternoon
- A safe drive there and back
- Daughter's group of friends
- Leftovers to bring home for dinner

Saturday's joyful activity was spending the afternoon in the park, enjoying the party, good food and pleasant company.

Plans for Sunday include a quick shopping trip to the computer store and crafts store in the morning and a family get together at my cousin's place in the afternoon.

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

Garden Produce

Early Girl Tomatoes

I picked all the Early Girl tomatoes on Friday, partly because the plant had died and the sun was baking them!  The tomatoes were actually quite hot to the touch when I picked them. 

The Tomato Plant

The tomato plant didn't grow quite as big this year as it had in previous years and there were fewer tomatoes, but, I am thankful for every one of them.  Two of the tomatoes had started to spoil, so, I put them down in another area of the garden to see if any of the seeds will grow.

In addition to the Early Girl tomatoes, I picked the Berkeley Tie Dye tomatoes, too:

Berkeley Tie Dye Tomatoes

They are still a bit on the green side, just starting to turn red, but, they are starting to split and I wanted to pick them before insects got into them like they did, last year.  There are still two very green tomatoes on this plant and I left them to ripen a bit more.  My plan is to slice all the tomatoes and freeze them so I could take a few slices out to add to my curries, etc., when I cook.  I do not care for the taste of raw tomatoes, so, I don't add them to salads, etc.  

In addition to tomatoes, I picked some plums, too, on Friday.  They, too, were sun baked and hot to the touch!  

Santa Rosa Plums

But, once washed and cooled, they were delicious.  

On Friday, daughter and I had a relaxed morning and afternoon.  She finished crocheting the gifts she was making and we both made a card, each.  She had leftover rice, broccoli, and salmon for her lunch and I chose to have a peanut butter sandwich and a banana.  

In the evening, daughter went out with some friends to do an escape room.  I tended to the garden with M (we planted the corn and he watered the garden).  Afterwards, I put away a load of laundry, watched some TV, did the dishes, packaged the gifts ready to be taken to the birthday party on Saturday, read a few blogs.  

After daughter came home, we had dinner - salad with sauteed chicken added to it and garlic bread.  Then, daughter showed me more of the pictures from her trip to Japan.  She and her friends took hundreds of pictures and they sent each other their pictures, so there are quite a few pictures to go through.  

On Friday, I am grateful for:

- Spending time with my daughter
- M helping me with the garden
- Freshly picked garden produce
- Daughter had a fun evening out with her friends
- Working appliances and electricity to run them

Friday's joyful activities included spending time with daughter, tending to the garden with M, and picking garden fruits and vegetables.

Plans for Saturday include attending my daughter's goddaughter's first birthday party.  I would also like to get some cooking done and tidy my bedroom.  

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

Wednesday and Thursday

 

Lemons and Lace

The lemons are from the garden.  The silver fruit basket was a gift from my late friend A one Christmas.  The lace table cover was crocheted by my mother.

On Wednesday, I went grocery shopping at the Armenian store.  They were having a sale on salmon fillets ($7.99/lb.) and I wanted to buy some to cook for dinner (my daughter loves salmon).  I also bought some chicken drumsticks ($0.99/lb.) and thinly sliced beef shoulder steaks ($5.99/lb.)  In addition, I bought some half and half, six cans of coconut water (on sale for $0.99@), bread rolls, a cucumber, broccoli, onions, sweet potatoes, bananas, mangos, and nectarines.  My total came to $43.53.

When I went to pay, the cashier said my $100 note was not valid because one edge of it was torn.  I had recently received the note from a teller at the bank, so, I knew the note was valid.  I asked if there was a manager and the cashier called the manager over who looked at my note and said it was fine.  

Meanwhile, in the checkout line next to me, there was a bit of an altercation between a customer and a security guard, who said that the customer had opened a container of dried fruit and should, therefore, pay for it while the customer denied ever opening the container.  The security guard must have said that he has it on video, because the customer said, "Show me, show me" and the security guard pulled out his cell phone and began to show something.  By this time, I had paid for my groceries and I left the store, having claimed my cucumber which the bagger had forgotten to bag, without waiting to see how the issue between the other customer and the security guard was resolved.  

Who said grocery shopping was boring?  

After I came home, I ate half of a bread roll with the last slice of ham I had thawed, earlier.  

A short time later, gardener M arrived with a bag of top soil or soil amendment he had bought for me.  I served him a slice of blueberry yogurt cake, reimbursed him for the bag of soil, and chatted with him for a bit.  He watered the garden and prepared a planting bed for the corn I want to plant again.  I'll have another corn patch, this year, too!  

Last Year's Corn Patch

I had a long list of things I wanted to do, on Wednesday, but, I took a nap instead!  After I woke up from my nap, however, I was very productive.  I changed the bedding on my daughter's bed, did a load of laundry, vacuumed the whole house (the robot did the bedrooms while I vacuumed the living room, family room dining area, and the hallway with the big vacuum cleaner), and cooked dinner - rice, sauteed salmon, sauteed wax beans from the garden, and made a cucumber salad.  I also sauteed two chicken breasts I had defrosted.

Then, it was time to pick up daughter from the airport.  She had a safe flight home.  We had dinner and chatted a bit, before going to bed.

On Wednesday, I was grateful for:

- Daughter had a safe flight home
- M's help with the garden and picking up the bag of soil, etc. for me

- Water for the garden
- What I was able to accomplish
- Phone calls from my sister and friend R; emails from friend J

Wednesday's joyful activity was being with daughter.

Today (Thursday), daughter worked from home.  I found a few quiet activities to do while she worked (she had meetings, etc.)  I read my prayer book, ordered more groceries for pick up, and hand embroidered the baby's name, my name, and  the occasion (1st Birthday) on the baby quilt, using a chain stitch.  

Later in the afternoon, I drove to the pharmacy to pick up Dancer's medication as the vet had increased his medication dosage.  

Then, I drove to the supermarket and picked up the items I had ordered, including more half and half because the container of half and half I had bought at the Armenian store, which had a "best by" date of June 30, was curdled when I opened it, this morning!  Daughter had her coffee with regular milk, but, she prefers half and half.  I will not be buying any milk or half and half from the Armenian store after this.  I spent $31.89 at the supermarket and I know I have gone over June's grocery budget.  But, I'm close enough to the end of the month that I don't feel bad about borrowing from the July budget.  Some of the items I bought today, such as four cans of condensed milk and two bottles of salad dressing, will last well into July and maybe even August.

For lunch, today, I made subway-style sandwiches with the bread rolls, sandwiching them with sliced sauteed chicken breast (that I cooked Wednesday night), lettuce, and cucumber slices.  We had some ice cream bars for dessert.  I had a slice of the blueberry yogurt cake at tea time, but, daughter, who doesn't like yogurt, said the taste of yogurt was too strong for her.  We have leftover rice, salmon, and sauteed broccoli for our dinner, tonight.

On Thursday, I am grateful for:

- Daughter being home
- Dancer's medication being available
- Being able to order and pick up groceries
- Safe drives to the pharmacy and the grocery store and back
- A lovely warm and sunny day

Thursday's joyful activities included embroidering and listening to daughter play the piano (Dancer sang while daughter played the piano! LOL)

Daughter has a day off tomorrow (Friday).  We plan to just relax at home while she finishes crocheting the gift she's making for her goddaughter.  She has plans for the evening with some of her friends.  M and I will tend to the garden and I have a library book I need to finish reading.

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