Monday, March 18, 2024

On Sunday

Bless' Waffle Station

I had a rather restless night, last night.  My leg was painful and my stomach was having some issues.  I woke up a couple of times to go to the toilet and had some trouble falling asleep again, but, eventually, I fell into a deep sleep and slept in.  Let's just say that I tacked on my afternoon nap to the night's sleep!  LOL!

I felt better when I woke up today and haven't felt as much leg pain today.  I made a pork curry with all the leftover pieces of pork that I hadn't already frozen and then, decided to make waffles for brunch.  But, I didn't want to stand to make waffles, so, I set up a little waffle making station in the living room!  I had my daughter place the side table in front of my arm chair and I made plain waffles and blueberry waffles.  We had the plain waffle with some of the pork curry and the blueberry waffles with syrup.  Around tea time, we snacked on the leftover waffles.  Later, for dinner, we had leftover rice and pork stir-fry from last night. 

In the late afternoon, I walked a little bit in the garden and up and down the driveway. 

The Plum Tree is Flowering

Last summer, we had about a dozen or so plums; I'm hoping that we'll have a few more than that, this year.

The nectarine tree has one flower blooming, but there are more buds on the tree:

The First Nectarine Flower

Last year, we didn't get any nectarines; I am hoping that we will get at least a few fruit, this year.

The Fuyu Persimmon Tree is Leafing Out

The fuyu persimmon tree is starting to leaf out!  Last year, we had one tiny fruit from this tree.  I am hoping that there will be more than one fruit to enjoy this year.

Much later in the evening, my leg hurt a bit, but, it was time to apply more of the ointment I was prescribed and the pain lessened.  

My aunt called in the evening and I spoke with her for a bit, then, played a few computer games and watered the indoor plants.  All in all, it was a good day.

Today, I was grateful for:

- Being able to sleep in
- Medication for the blood clot
- My daughter didn't have to leave today
- Phone calls and emails from family and friends
- What I was able to accomplish

Today's joyful activity was walking around the garden, checking on new growth.

Plans for tomorrow include cleaning out the fridge, maybe making a meal plan, taking the trash cans out, and crocheting.  Daughter will be working from home and I know that she has some online meetings, so, I will do some quiet activities in the background until she is done with her work.  

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

Saturday, March 16, 2024

On Saturday

Mourning Doves

It's been a lovely sunny day, with an afternoon high in the upper 60s.  

I woke up feeling much better than I did, yesterday.  The blood clot is still there and the leg is still painful, but, I think it is getting better.  

I did two loads of laundry in the morning (although I haven't put them away, yet!)

In the early afternoon, neighbor S called and came over to see me and my daughter.  She brought us some gata (Armenian cookies).  She was happy that my daughter will stay another week, but, told me to call her if I needed anything.  She is such a wonderful neighbor and friend.

Later in the afternoon, my daughter and I went for a very short walk, up and down the driveway and in front of the house.  Just for 10 minutes or so as I didn't want my leg to hurt.  We saw these two mourning doves sitting together on one of the overhead power lines. 


Side By Side

Love was in the air!   There was a moment of fluttering wings and a high wire balancing act and we realized that the one with the ruffled feathers to left was the male!

After the Loving

Then there was a moment of billing and cooing and daughter and I left them to continue their courtship and went back inside!  LOL.

Daughter showed me how to log into the Hoopla website on my laptop, today, and I borrowed an e-book from the library!  Once, a few years ago, she had shown me how to download the app on my old cell phone and I borrowed an e-book, but, I didn't like reading it on my small phone screen, especially since I had to enlarge the print in order to be able to read it.  But, the laptop screen is big enough and I can read more than a couple of words at a time!  I read a couple of chapters of the book I borrowed (non-fiction; The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir); I think I will enjoy reading e-books, now.  

I had a scrambled egg and some fried potatoes for brunch while daughter finished up some leftovers.  For dinner, I made a stir-fry with slices of leftover pork roast (daughter cut the slices for me), onions, tomatoes, and broccoli and cooked a pot of rice.  Daughter enjoyed the dinner.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- Phone calls from my aunt and former neighbor T
- A visit from neighbor S
- A sunny day and a short walk with my daughter
- Feeling a little better
- Working appliances

Today's joyful activities included reading and crocheting.

I haven't made any plans for tomorrow.  Since daughter is not flying back out, tomorrow, we will spend a relaxed day, being together.  

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

Relaxing on Friday

Rose Leaves

The rose bushes are leafing out; hopefully, we'll have some roses, soon.

It was a mostly cloudy and cool day, on Friday.  It had been very windy, on Thursday due to the Santa Ana winds, but Friday was not as windy.  I woke up once at 9:00 a.m. to feed the cats and turn off the porch lights.  Then, I went back to bed and dozed until 10:00 a.m.  But, even after I had a cup of tea and said my morning prayers, etc., I felt, not exactly sleepy, but, very drained and unenergetic.  I suppose the events of the past few days and yesterday's diagnosis sort of took a toll on me.  However, as the morning went on, I felt better.  

I had a bowl of cereal for brunch, replied to blog comments (thank you, everyone for your well wishes) and read a few blogs. 

Daughter went for another walk with neighbor S's daughter in the afternoon.  Later, we chatted for a bit and she emailed her supervisor at work to ask if she could work from home, next week.  Her supervisor, who works remotely 100% of the time, was quite agreeable.  So, daughter extended her visit by one more week and rescheduled her flight to the following weekend.  I think we are both a little relieved to know that she will be with me for another week, just in case!  

I wore my compression socks all day, today, and have felt comfortable wearing them.  I'll probably take them off when I go to sleep, though.

In the evening, M tended to the garden and watered it as there is no more rain in the forecast.  

I made roast pork sandwiches for dinner (and daughter had some leftover soup from Tuesday's Italian meal, as well).  

On Friday, I was grateful for:

- Daughter was able to extend her visit by another week
- M's help with the garden
- Working appliances
- Phone calls from family and friends
- A relaxed day

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

Plans for Saturday include more laundry (today, I handwashed one of my wool sweaters) and crafting.

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

Friday, March 15, 2024

On Thursday

Fresh Fruit Tart

On Thursday, I called the doctor's office at 8:00 a.m. (before they opened) and again at 9:00 a.m. (after they had opened) and left a couple of messages.  Then, when I didn't hear back from them within the hour, I messaged the doctor and the nurse called back a short time later, saying they had an opening at 1:30 p.m., if I would like to come in then.  I was happy to get that appointment.

I had originally planned to visit my cousins at 2:00 p.m., but, I let them know that I will have to push back the visit for later in the afternoon and they were both fine with that.

My daughter accompanied me to the doctor's office and the doctor confirmed that it was a blood clot, but, fortunately, it was a superficial thrombosis as opposed to a deep vein thrombosis which is more dangerous.  She was of the opinion that the superficial blood clot would go away after a few days.  She prescribed a blood thinner and gave me a topical ointment to apply for the pain.  She also prescribed a low dose aspirin and recommended I wear compression socks.  

Afterwards, we went to a local store in the next block to pick up one of the ointments she recommended.  It was a tiny little ethnic store, with groceries, a deli, some take away food, as well as a small stock of over the counter medications and it was well patronized!  

Then, we drove home and decided to go to my cousin's house, right away, having texted her that we were on our way.  We picked up a fruit tart from an Armenian bakery on the way and took it to my cousin's.  Cousin had put together a tray with cheese and crackers, stuffed peppers, and salami, etc., and my other cousin who was meeting us there brought some pastries (both savory and sweet) from a popular Cuban bakery.  So, we spent an hour or so visiting, chatting, and eating.  Just before we left, both cousins gave us several bags (five bags, to be exact!) of clothes they had decluttered!  We are to keep what we want and donate the rest.

On the way home, we stopped at the pharmacy to pick up the prescription my doctor had called in and I bought myself a pair of compression socks as well.

Then, we came home and had a cup of tea (me) and coffee (daughter).  Afterwards, I took a nap on the sofa!  I guess I was tired!

Later, my daughter went through the clothes and picked out the ones that she liked.  I will go through the remaining clothes to see if I want any of them.  I will offer the rest to my friend R and whatever she doesn't want will be donated.  If I do decide to take any clothes, I will have to declutter an equal number of items from my closet to make room for them!  

On Thursday, I was grateful for:

- Being able to get a same day appointment to be seen by the doctor
- Access to medical care
- The availability of medications
- Visiting with my cousins and their gifts of clothes
- A safe drive to the clinic, to my cousin's, and back home

Thursday's joyful activity was visiting with my cousins.

Plans for Friday include doing some laundry and tidying, plus tending to the garden with M in the evening.  

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

 

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Mid-Week on Wednesday

Tree Bark

I saw this tree trunk when I was at the library, the other day, and took a picture of the mottled pattern of the tree bark.  I believe it is a plane tree.

Today, Wednesday, M was here around noon to tend to the garden.  He did some weeding and watered only the potted plants as the rest of the garden didn't need watering.  

In the afternoon, daughter went for a walk with neighbor S's older daughter.  They just walked around the neighborhood, but, they enjoyed a good talk and catching up with each other.

Still later in the afternoon/early evening, we had a quick, curbside visit with friend R who had wanted to see daughter.  I took some freshly picked curry leaves to R; I offered some lemons, but she declined.  

On the way back, we took a short detour to put gas to the car.  I was down to one quarter of a tank and I wanted to fill it up.  The nice thing about putting gas when my daughter is visiting is she will usually be the one to go in to pay and actually put the gas while I sit in the car!  This was only the second time I put gas to the car this year - I put gas at the beginning of January and now, mid-March.  

After we came home, we relaxed.  I watched news and crocheted, daughter played one of her video games.  I called former neighbor T and we chatted for a bit and I exchanged emails with a friend.  Then, I did a few household things such as washing the dishes. 

We had leftovers for lunch and we'll probably have leftovers for dinner, too.  

Today, I am grateful for:

- M's help with the garden
- Daughter enjoyed a walk and chat with her friend
- A curbside visit with friend R
- Emails, texts and phone calls with family and friends
- Gas for the car

Today's joyful activity was spending time with my daughter.

Plans for tomorrow include visiting two of my cousins in the afternoon.  However, it might be subject to change as I want to call my doctor's office in the morning to ask about a somewhat painful swelling in my leg and see if I need to have it checked and if so, when she might be able to fit me in.  

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

Shopping on Tuesday

Scrapbooking Album

On Tuesday, daughter had to work until 2:00 p.m.  I spent a relaxed morning, replying to blog comments, watching online videos, and crocheting while she worked.  

After daughter was done with her work for the day, she brought in the trash bins for me and we went to the crafts store to look around and shop!  As I mentioned in yesterday's post, it was the first time I've been inside a crafts store since before the pandemic.  I had a couple of items I wanted to buy and I was looking forward to just browsing the aisles.

One of the items I wanted to buy was a scrapbook album.  I wanted one with 12 x 12 inch pages.  I had been waiting to find a good sale on them but, there haven't been many what I'd consider a good sale.  The one I picked was $32.99 but, we had a 40% off any one regular priced item coupon, so we got the album for $19.79 (plus tax, of course).

Then, I wanted more yarn for the blankets I want to make.  The $2.00 clearance yarn bins were empty!  I decided to buy the store brand yarn, instead.  On sale for $3.99 for a 7 oz. skein, but, we had a 20% off the entire purchase, coupon, so, each skein of yarn came to $3.20, which was reasonable, I suppose (it was a little cheaper than the $3.49 a skein I had paid for the pink yarn I had bought, online, earlier).  I selected six skeins of yarn in an assortment of colors for the blankets I want to make:

Yarn for Blankets

Daughter had a list of items she wanted, too, including some chains for jewelry making and more yarn for her own crochet projects.  She selected seven skeins of yarn and silver and gold chains:

Daughter's Yarn and Rolls of Chains

Daughter had also wanted to buy more beads, but, they didn't have the particular type of beads that she was looking for; she will order them online, instead.

We walked around the store looking at various things.  They had jar candles on sale for $3.33 each, which I thought was a good price, but, I have some jar candles at home and I didn't want any more.  I was not tempted to buy anything else, so we paid for our purchases and left.  We had ordered some Italian food from a restaurant in the same shopping mall, so we picked up our dinner and came home.

We ate some of the Italian meal when we got home and it was delicious.  We had some of the leftovers for dinner and there's more for tomorrow's meals, as well.  

Later in the evening, one of daughter's friends (neighbor S's older daughter) visited her.  

I spent the evening crocheting, chatting with friend R, and, of course, doing some of the daily chores such as cleaning the litter box and sweeping my bathroom.  

On Tuesday, I was grateful for:

- Feeling comfortable enough to go shopping in person
- Being able to purchase what I wanted
- A lovely Italian dinner
- A safe drive to the stores and back
- Spending time chatting with my daughter

Tuesday's joyful activities included buying crafts supplies and crocheting.

Plans for Wednesday include M tending to the garden in the morning and spending time with my daughter.  

How was your Tuesday?  What are your plans for Wednesday?  Have you shopped for crafts supplies recently?

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Mending on Monday

Visible Mending

On Monday, daughter worked remotely from home.  While she was busy working, I occupied myself paying the gas bill, renewing a library book, replying to blog comments and doing a bit of mending. 

Daughter had brought home a few blouses and a sweater that needed mending.  One blouse was an easy repair - a strap that crisscrossed in the front and the back had come undone and needed to be sewn in place,  That was done with just a few stitches.  Another blouse had lace inserts in the sleeves and the lace had torn.  I will need to see if I have any lace on hand to repair that blouse.

The sweater is a wool blend garment and had been a hand-me-down from a cousin.  It had a few tiny holes when it was first given to daughter and I had embroidered some pink flowers and leaves to cover the holes, a couple of years ago.  A few more holes had appeared, so I embroidered more flowers to cover the holes, today.  The pink embroidery thread I used today is a shade darker than the thread I used last time, but, daughter didn't mind.   

Later in the afternoon, I filled the yard waste bin with some of the trimmings from the bottle brush tree and took the bins to the curb for pick up in the morning.  

In the evening, I watched news and some online videos, while daughter relaxed with one of her computer games.  

We had assorted leftovers for lunch, today.  In the evening, I cooked the pork roast.  I decided to cook the whole thing as it was.  I made a sort of dry rub with curry powder, chili powder, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper and applied it to the meat and roasted it.  We enjoyed some of it with rice and chutney  for our dinner.  The rest of the pork roast will be portioned out and some of it will be frozen.  I'll keep some of it in the fridge to have later in the week.

On Monday, I was grateful for:

- Daughter was able to work from home
- Texting with my cousins
- Working appliances
- Being able to mend and extend the useful life of garments
- Weekly trash collections

Today's joyful activities included embroidering and crocheting.

Tomorrow (Tuesday), daughter will work until mid-afternoon.  After that, she will be on vacation.  We are planning to go to the crafts supplies store in the late afternoon; daughter wants to get a few crafts supplies and I want to get a scrapbook album if they have one at a good price and to see if they have any yarn on clearance to use for making blankets for the cancer clinic.  It will be the first time I'll be going to the crafts store since the pandemic and I am looking forward to browsing the aisles in person! 

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