Holidays
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Happy Independence Day
Happy Independence Day to my American friends! Our plans today include a small family BBQ with Ted’s parents and maybe his brother. I am looking forward to a good hot dog, as that is something I do not eat very often. Ted and I had a lovely anniversary together yesterday. We started the day slowly, went for a walk early before it got too hot, went to the grocery store for things for today’s bbq, and lazed around a bit. Then we hopped on our local transit (BART) and went in to San Francisco for the day. We took a cable car from the Embarcadero to the end of that…
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Friday Randomness
Just a few random thoughts today. A while ago, perhaps 6 or 8 weeks now, we were out for our morning walk, and came across the potted plants in the picture above. They were lying on their sides on the ground. How did they get there? We don’t know. Perhaps they were stolen? We moved them into the positions shown in the picture, and assumed that if they were there rightfully (meaning if the grounds people left them there and were going to come back) they would be put into the ground. If they were not there rightfully (stolen or dumped for some reason) then someone would come get them.…
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Happy New Year
Ex-blogger extraordinaire (V-Grrl) Veronica is a Facebook friend, and she posted these wise words on New Year’s Eve. The sun sets on 2023, and my resolutions remain the same—savor small pleasures and ordinary moments, take care of my health, cherish time with those I love, be a good friend. I liked that a lot, a lot more than the idea of always trying to change who we are. So I’m taking her resolution and making it my own. I hope the holidays have been good to you. I had a lovely Christmas, and then the week before New Year’s was very busy at work, and now it is New Year’s…
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Merry Christmas!
Sending you all warm wishes for a very Merry Christmas! I haven’t been around much, this is a very busy time of year at work, and then on weekends there are parties and visits and so on. So I’m behind. I’ve read and enjoyed some of your posts, but have been too lazy to comment. I’m hoping that this upcoming week will slow down a bit and I can catch up. In the meantime, look at our ridiculous Christmas tree (which I love, btw). Our living room is TINY and there is no other place for it, so we bought the thinnest entryway type tree we could find. You can…
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(Almost) Wordless Wednesday
Thank you Sarah at The Shu Box for the lovely surprise that arrived on Monday! #SecretSANtaSwap2023
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Top 4 / Bottom 4 / Meh 4 Christmas Movies
Elisabeth had a Top 5/Bottom 5 Christmas movies post, which looked like fun. Here are mine, though I couldn’t come up with 5 of each category, so we’ll only have 4, so I added a meh category. Top 4 Bottom 4 Meh 4
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Throwback Thursday – Happy Hanukkah!
Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah! Let’s rewind to 2006, and you can enjoy Maya singing. The video quality isn’t great, it’s 2006 after all. We’re not Jewish, we just like to celebrate things, and when Maya was little, we wanted to expose her to different cultures. Of course, that confused her, when she was in first grade she told her teacher we were Jewish. Our celebration consists of a nice dinner with latkes and small gifts the first night, and lighting the menorah every night (if we remember – Ted is pretty good about this.) Today I’m working 1/2 day, then I’ll start cooking – brisket braised in…
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National Socks Day
I’m sorry it’s so late, and I am only now aware that today is National Sock Day. Had I known, I could have celebrated by: Any of these would be a good idea, but I didn’t know, so I didn’t do them. Oh well, there’s always next year. At least you get a picture of Mulder in my Totoro socks, which he hated. Not because they are Totoro, but because he hated ALL clothing, with the exception of his collar and his tie.
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U is for Updates
This whole NaBloPoMo thing has been great, and my idea of using the alphabet prompts has kept me very organized. I pre-loaded a lot of the posts, so I could spend more time coming to your blogs and reading. This has not always worked, since life does get in the way sometimes, so I’m a little behind in the commenting and reading department, but just like all of us, I’m doing my best. For today though, I thought I would catch you up on what I’ve been up to. I took a very quick trip to Portland a couple of weeks ago to say goodbye to my step-mom’s partner, Tom.…
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Dinners Last Week
Another week of figuring out what to make for dinner is in the books. I had it pretty easy this week, we went out a couple of times, but I made up for it by cooking Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. Monday – We had this delicious Garlicky Spinach and Chickpea Soup. I love this soup, it is very tasty. Modifications made for my family’s needs: Ted’s doctor told him that beans are very good for him, but they also are carb heavy, so he needs to balance them out. WTF. I mean, what is he supposed to eat? Frustrating. He had some soup, and some leftover lamb curry for extra…
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Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends! This is our table from a couple of years ago, I haven’t gotten this far yet. Still in the ‘make a list for the grocery store’ phase. Enjoy your long weekend and family, if you gather together. We celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving, just the three of us, because Ted was born in Ontario. I wish it weren’t going to be hot today, and hopeful that the turkey breast we buy will fit in the toaster oven.
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Miscellaneous Monday
My company extended our 4 day workweek through 2023, so Fridays are my ‘me’ days. My Friday morning walks are more relaxed and meandering than the other weekdays, since I don’t have to be back and at my desk by 8:00. I enjoy them, but not as much as I did when I had Mulder to accompany me in exploring our town. Le Sigh. This last Friday, I had an appointment at 11:00, after which I took myself to lunch, where I enjoyed a lovely grilled asparagus salad with a delicious biscuit and a glass of Sancerre. I finished up my chapters of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn for Engee’s…
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Meme Monday – Covid Edition
Well, Ted tried his best to keep us safe, but our house is just too small, and Covid is too virulent. I tested positive Sunday morning, and Maya tested positive this morning. I feel like we’re at different phases, with Ted on the mend, me in the midst of it, and Maya on the decline. Mostly it feels like a head cold. At this point, all we can do is stay away from everyone else, and hope none of us have long Covid. I am very thankful for grocery delivery and curbside pickup. Early in the pandemic, in the lock down phase, it felt selfish to me. Like, “I’m not…
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Happy Valentine’s Day
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Friday Thoughts
I’m a day late to wish you a very Happy Winter Solstice. Longtime readers will perhaps remember that I have shared this photo before. It is a time lapse photo from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, of the path of the sun on the Winter Solstice, taken December 21st, 2012. Fairbanks is outside of the Arctic circle, so the sun does technically come up every day of the year, but in the darkest days, it peeks above the horizon, then skits along for a bit, before setting a few hours later. Speaking of the Winter Solstice, I read at Light and Momentary that although after the Solstice, we get a…
