T Minus One Day ...

Final hike in the books for this week. It was a nice walk even with some showers at the start. The group was a cast of characters and that makes for a fun time.

Sea oats -- edible plants

Groundcedar which is one of
oldest plants in area.

Stone bridge

Interesting path when it's winter

I finished a lot of the packing. It feels like a disorganized mess (and it is) but it'll come together today (no choice). 

I don't have a busy day, but I don't have much time to pack until later. Cleaning crew this morning and then we're dropping the dogs. Big chunk out of the day. It's a little frustrating, but nothing I can do about it. I wanted to take the dogs while cleaning crew was here, but that time didn't work for their sitter. Now I have to stack one thing after the other.

As usual, my pre-travel nerves are in full force. Why am I this way? It's such an old story and I wish it would stop. I don't let it stop me from traveling so it's really unnecessary EVERY SINGLE TRIP. Yet, here we are again. I bought some CBD calming gummies. Maybe I should try one later. I'm a little reluctant in case it messes with my sleep. We have a super early out-the-door tomorrow. I'll see how I feel later.

On that note, I'm not sure what tomorrow morning will look like so I may check in or not. If not, I'll be back on Tuesday.

Have a good one! Later gators. 

Books are Packed!

I started the dreaded packing. It's a balance because I can't pack too far ahead but I want to pack early. Got travel toiletries restocked, found my beach stuff and selected books. These aren't my usual beach reads, but I want to move through a stack of books that might not call my attention anytime soon, but I really want to read. I should have decent reading time this trip.

"A Court of Thorns and Roses"
is probably the only beach read.

Next steps for packing today. Swimwear and clothes. It's a big pack day. Tomorrow will hopefully only be last minute items and actual suitcase loading.

But first, I have a 7 mile hike that's local to me. Couldn't pass on something so close.

Last night I took a free virtual herb growing class offered from the farm. It was helpful, but I wish she covered a few other things. She asked for class ideas and I might suggest some ideas. I'm excited to get growing.

That is all from here. Early morning to get ready for the hike. Have a good day. Later gators.

Hike Recap

It was a BIG hike. We got a little turned around and suddenly it was 4 hours and over 12 miles. Lots of rocks, creek crossings, tree roots, sand areas, waterfalls -- we got everything on this hike. It was a super hike. I totally enjoyed it. As expected, I'm glad I said 'yes.'

Spring wildflowers are starting.

Lots of flat water falls

Granite rock at the top --
felt like we were on the moon.

Even cactus!

Red algae -- grows only
at the top of the mountain.

More cactus.

Barren rocks for miles

"Moon" walking

Pretty lake on the way
to the rock top

Rock trail for a few miles

I was pooped by the time I got home. Cooked food and sat on the sofa for the rest of the afternoon -- 4 o'clock by the time I got to sofa surfing. I started watching Marcella on Netflix -- like it a lot so far.

I'm behind on my advanced packing for Puerto Rico so I'm focusing hard on that today. I definitely don't want to be in a last minute packing situation for a beach trip -- it's one of the harder ones for me to pack since I don't go to a beach very often (or wear my swimwear). Man, I hate packing.

But first, nail appointment -- yes! It's been a minute so this will feel good.

Have a good Monday. This is a split week for me with the trip starting on Thursday. Not my usual week, but adventure is what I want, right?!?!? Yes, but all the other stuff that goes with an adventure I could do without. And, it's nothing to complain about. Poor me, taking a vacation. I hear it.

Later gators.

One Garden Step at a Time

Feeling like a want-a-be farmer. I'm in denial how many spiders probably took a ride with me.

I'm tackling the garden prep one step at a time and trying not to think too far ahead in the process because I'm instantly overwhelmed. We picked up the hay. I ordered soil. Next step is to final seal the wood. 

I finished a library book yesterday -- very quick suspense read. "The Cabin in the Woods" Sarah Anderson. It was a fun suspense that wrapped up a little too nicely, but it was enjoyable.

Up next ... sequel time! I'm about 50 pages in and it's feels like a next chapter to "Fourth Wing." Sometimes sequels take time to recap -- this gets right to the meaty story and I'm glad. Especially since I just read the first book and don't need a reminder.

I'm up really early for a long hike this morning. I'll be glad I did it, but I'm not happy right now. I woke up at 3 o'clock and couldn't get back to sleep. It's an early hike so temps start low. I'll be gone over 5 hours this morning (3 hour hike, 2 hours travel time). This feels like a what-was-I-thinking moment (i.e I'd rather be in bed with a slow-roll morning).

On that note, got to get going. Hope you have a good Sunday. Later gators.

5 of 5

Five nights out -- in a row. 

All different too -- 

Dinner date with hubby

Evening hike

Seed planting class

Journal making class

Dinner at the kids' house

I'm kind of happy about it AND happy that I have NO evening plans until our trip to Puerto Rico. I have 2 morning hikes and a nail appointment -- all fun, all early.

You'd think I randomly climbed Mount Everest, but I haven't done this in a long time so it feels big to me. Being home and going out. Saying 'yes' to things I wanted to do even though they all happened in one week. It's part of my focus for 2024. The discerning YES. 

When I'm interesting in something, but then see it's not super convenient (i.e. long drive, at night, social week, etc) I'll talk myself out of it. I don't want to do that. It's okay if I'm on the fence and then I see too many cons and decide not to do it. I'm talking about the things I really want to do and then change my mind when I see the details aren't "perfect" for my preferences.

I spent a couple of years leaning into acknowledging what I prefer and I swung a little too far. It started to feel like I had a list of things I won't do and I wanted to stop that before I got so rigid I wouldn't do much of anything.

Working on garden things today and first stage of packing (yep, I'm going to pack a little every day because beach travel packing is very stressful lol). 

P.S. We had the best time visiting the baby and a great dinner with our youngest and DIL-to-be. 

Have a good Saturday. Later gators.

Garden Journal

Making a journal from reused book covers isn't easy. I went thinking this would be a fun craft to make journals from thrifted old books. Nope. Way too hard. Way too many tools needed. My results are just okay. I'm sure I'd get better with practice and when it wasn't such a push to finish. It took a solid 2 hours and I'm a fast crafter. Now I see why they are expensive to buy from crafters.

I'm glad I tried it though. Class was in an historical log cabin with incredible local artwork -- I never knew it existed. Only 2 of us showed up for class so we each got an instructor lol. I didn't take pictures because my phone was almost dead and I turned it off.

Here's the garden journal. The pictures will load wrong -- what strange setting changed? 

After I sewed and glued inside,
the pages are a little long.

I used a ribbon on the binder
to make a bookmark.

Back - old card from my aunt.

Inside is ribbon and vintage
fabric from a pillowcase.

Seed packets for the front cover.

I started this library book. Recommendation from Currently Reading Podcast.

Tonight is my last evening out in a stretch of 5 nights. It was far easier than I thought it would be and I'm glad I didn't back out on anything. Tonight we're heading to the kids -- first to see the baby, drop diapers and dinner. Then around the corner for dinner with our youngest, bride-to-be and her mom. They looked at wedding venues so we're getting together to talk about it. 

Today is a regular sort of day. I need to make dinner for the new parents, get together a hostess gift for our dinner invite and get caught up on some house chores. 

The weekend awaits. Later gators.

I Did It

It was a long day, but I did it AND enjoyed it. Even the volunteer work -- gave me a feeling of accomplishment. 

I keep rewording the thought -- I'm doing too much. It isn't too much. This is a thought on autoplay and I want to stop thinking it, especially since it's rarely true and it keeps me moving very slowly through life.

The farm planting went well. I'm not planting the seeds until I get back from Puerto Rico, but I filled the seedling pots and picked out seeds. We had to meet at 2 locations because the house on the farm has mold. That makes sense now and it wasn't big deal as it turned out. I was early so I walked around the farm. The chicken coop is fun -- some pretty birds.

I read a quick book from the library -- nothing like I've read before. The writing is beautiful. I have 2 more library books to read before Puerto Rico because I have a problem lol. Honest to god, why?!? I can't stop reserving books and when there's no wait, I can't suspend the reservation. 

Today is also a full day, but an easy morning. I have a journal making class tonight -- I'm curious how to use recycled books.

Hope you're set for a good day too. Later gators.

Granddaddy Day of the Week

Today is the granddaddy day of this week with a lot of work for the volunteer position. I need to introduce myself to a school and provide identification and I have about 3-4 hours of document writing to finish this afternoon. Add a 2+ hour hair appointment that was moved to today and the garden class that had an hour added to it ... this is a long day for me.

Funny thing is for many years, this would be a piece of cake. Older? Out of practice? Who knows. 

The evening hike was a mixed bag. I enjoyed the hike a lot. Faster paced to beat nightfall, but a strange man on the hike who bugged me a lot of the way. He actually said he'd been kicked out of another hiking group because he was "flirting" with too many women. I finally separated from him the last part of the hike. The timing was hard too. I left at 4 o'clock -- home by 7:45 and hungry. I ate way too late for my immediate bedtime. The hike gets later as more daylight comes so it might be fun to do again and I'll eat before I go. That said, I'm glad I tried it and I think I'll do it again.

Here's my retirement gift. The artist is from GA, but I saw her work in Asheville. She does mixed medium art. The originals are expensive, but she was offering an inventory sale on prints from a collection she's retiring. I got print 99/100 and it's signed. I absolutely love it. Everything sold out quickly -- I was lucky to get it.

I've had a screen shot of this picture saved for a long time -- never thinking I would buy a print. It's a long, convoluted story of finding this artist in several places, having the inspiration screen shot, finding her website and noticing a sale that included the print I liked.

In-person, up close, this is so nice with lots of little details. I love to travel by train, the green bench, umbrella ... love it all. It screams retirement to me. I feel like it was meant to find its way here given the road it took. When I first saw it, I had no thoughts of an upcoming retirement date, actually purchasing it, etc. It's hung so I can see it from my desk.

Hope you have a good day. Later gators.

On Repeat

Very nice day yesterday -- did all the things I planned and it was a good day. Then slept like poo. Don't know what happened. I'm pulling off caffeine this week and see if that will make a difference. I didn't sleep because I felt awake, I didn't sleep because I was restless/nervous. I've gotten looser with caffeine lately so that might be the cause. I'll taper this week so I end up back to very low (only decaf coffee) by next week.

I'm a tiny bit regretting this full week and I'm also happy I'm doing it. Time to get a little out of my comfort zone -- which is ever shrinking. I don't need to be a bump-on-the-log by the time I'm 60.

BUT ... prepare for some complaining, lamenting, etc ON REPEAT this week. I'm trying to focus on the PROUD and HAPPY, but, you know me lol.

It happens that this week is heavy in the planning-for-later-adventures too. The Chimp 5K weekend is in full force. Now it's 2 nights, chef home dinner, me teaching a rock painting afternoon, possible shared room. Eeek. Out of my comfort zone. And the 2 night hiking trip registration was last night -- plans in full swing for this too. Also out of my comfort zone. I keep telling myself these are "worries" for a later date.

I have enough out-of-the-box this week. I might be a bit overextended, but all the things happened to come together in one week. The hiccup is the add-ons, changes in appointments, and some of the things are ending up being more complicated than originally planned. 

Everything is small, but all the small is adding up. Here's a little example -- there are more. I'm trying to keep a better attitude because a bad one doesn't help anything.

** Hairdresser decided to go out of town, so I needed to change appointment and squeeze my Wednesday or no appointment before Puerto Rico. 

** Offered to bring Mac+Cheese to my son and DIL -- they want me to add roasted chicken (which I now need to go to the store to buy/cook) ... on Wednesday that is jammed packed now.

** Seed class is in 2 locations -- farm and across town in a conference room. Why??? So an hour is added to the class so we can switch locations. I won't get home on Wednesday until almost 10 o'clock. 

** Dinner out is now dinner at my future DIL's. Very nice, but now I need to bring and/or cook for Friday.

** Volunteer is in full swing. Probably 2 hours a day this week because of the change in court dates. Normally the work isn't this condensed. 

Choosing that damn full life. Remind me this is a good thing.

Anyway ...

I finished this book. So good. It reminded me of Twilight meets Hunger Games meets Harry Potter. I ordered the sequel (last in series of two). It lived up to the hype.

Heading back to GA first thing. I have a conference call early afternoon for volunteering and a bunch of report writing before I leave for the evening hike. I ordered a head lamp for the end of the hike as it's getting dark (per suggestion) and it works well. I've used it for mornings in Asheville. Only $11 on Amazon. It has a tilt and different light options. Nice to have hands-free.

Best get moving. Have a good day -- I'm focusing on that too (hopefully). Later gators.

Asheville Feels

Even with holiday weekend crowds, I got a nice teahouse moment. Hubby dropped and picked me up -- the teahouse is not his thing. We hung a couple of vintage/antique oil paintings, hung the birdhouse gourd, took the dogs for a walk and I read the rest of the evening.

More on the book once I take a picture -- it's such a fun read. Probably a favorite for 2024. I read 300/500 pages yesterday. I want to give it its proper dues.

I also drank a Budweiser Zero -- I have a little stash of non-alcoholic beer here. I don't drink it often or a lot because it probably has gluten. It's something different when I come to Asheville.

I want to add something more
to the wall -- something that's
not a picture or a mirror. It
needs softer angles.

The LFL was opened, looked at (books in a different pile) and one book added. Not super popular, but I'll keep trying. I added a few more books, some wildflower seeds packets and a couple of painted rocks.

Today is a mix of things. Some work (start volunteer report), workout (Peloton and a mountain walk), pick up the framed print (part of my retirement celebration), teahouse (always, whenever possible) and dinner date with hubby.

I slept well last night. First night my recovery stats were back in range since shingles. I feel like the anxiety is easing up. I also ordered CBD gummies for stress (rather than sleep). I'll give those a try -- I welcome a placebo effect even. 

Have a good Monday. Doesn't feel like a Monday to me. I forgot to write up my weekly plan -- geez, and it's a full week.

Later gators.

Rollercoaster Again

Man, yesterday was a rollercoaster of emotions. I won't get into details, but I held my head up through it (wanted to cry twice). I'm determined to give this anxiety my best effort to figure it out. Lots and lots of self-talk cheering me on to understand absolutely none of the things I felt upset about were about me. People had reactions to things and it was out of my control. I was a bit of a punching bag, and that's okay because I didn't need to take it personally.

I liked how I responded. Nicely, listening, understanding, not defensively ... and still protecting myself.

This morning I feel more relaxed. Maybe it IS possible to practice a different response and move away from unnecessary upset.

Here's the upside of the rollercoaster.

The hike was fun and fast with great weather. It was expected to be overcast, windy and cold ... but nice weather stayed all morning.

I got a bunch of goodies at the craft fair. Not much time to shop (probably for the best lol). I'll share some pictures as I use things. A few gifts for people and a few gifts for me. I like being prepared with gifts for upcoming needs. Taking it off my plate ahead.

New mug from a ceramic vendor I bought from last year and a few coasters with favorite books from a new vendor. I had nice chats with both crafters. Edited myself to not get an expensive floor quilt for the baby. I have ones from my son's baby years and I'll use those instead. 

This one is for my office.

I booked a "big" trip for August with the hiking club. Up a local mountain to stay in a bunk house inn for 2 nights. Hiking with all the stuff (so heavier backpack), everything comes back out. Three days of hiking. I wanted to try this as a little practice moment ahead of planning our El Camino de Santiago adventure next year. I'm a little nervous and a lot excited. That checks the right boxes. It's big for me because this is completely out of my wheelhouse. From no ac in August (eek), to sleeping in a room with no bathroom (I'm fussy), to prepared foods, shared showers, possible spiders, etc. I need to rough up myself a little lol.

This is a really full week with a few out-of-the-box experiences for me and a lot of stuff around a big learning curve for volunteering. Remembering words matter, I've stopped saying "hard week" and started saying "fun week." Why fun? Because it's full of learning, curiosity and accomplishment. Exactly what I say I want from my life. This has it in spades.

Time to get moving. Heading to Asheville today with the dogs and hubby too :) I need to water plants and pack before we get on the road. I want to get there in time to get to the teahouse -- always try to make this my first stop in Asheville.

Hope you're having a good weekend. Later gators.

Double Things Today

Today is one of the days where I decided I can do more than one thing. I'm hiking in Helen, GA with my hiking club, going to a craft fair AND having a first meeting with the child in foster care and her foster placement. 

Full day.

Since the pandemic, my back injury and peri, I've gotten very used to pacing my life. In the last 4 years, I wouldn't have done all of this in one day. I would've canceled the hike or postponed Asheville (to do volunteer on Sunday). 

I have a lot going on in my life right now -- pacing too much doesn't leave time to do the things I want to do. I end up taking away fun things to do the obligations. Even obligations that ARE fun -- like planning an upcoming vacation.

I'll see how this goes. I imagine I need some practice. This week is full of practice. I'm out EVERY NIGHT this week. Might seem silly, but that's unheard of for me these days. A bunch of things that I wanted to do ran together in one week. Seems like a good opportunity to practice stacking and not being afraid to have some full days in a row.

It's okay to have plans during the day AND plans at night. It's funny how hard this feels.

I'm on the fence about getting help for the anxiety that started with hormones. Peri is no joke. I hate feeling like this all the time. The more I have to do, the more anxious I feel. I can only relax when I feel like I can hide at home all day, alone. That's not the way I want to live so I continue to walk forward. Maybe medication would take the edge off. I have mixed feeling about it because I wonder if I'm learning from the anxiety. Is it teaching me how to walk in the world differently, giving me a strength I didn't have before, helping me see ways I need to adjust my life?

Question for another day.

This felt timely. I think this is a lot of where the anxiety steps in -- I'm feeling low, then feel I'm not loved, capable of anything, not a good person, get everything wrong, etc. Fun times in a brain of a middle-aged woman. 

Have a good Saturday. Later gators.

Hello :)

Let's catch up. It's list time.

1. Our grandson is doing super well. Clean bill of health and home with his mom and dad -- who are already beautiful parents. This is one lucky little boy.

I got to meet him and
take a little buggy ride.

2. My volunteer position is in full swing. I meet the child on Saturday. I'm a little nervous with lots to learn. 

3. Grow room is almost ready for seeds next week. We were planning to final sealer coat the raised garden bed this afternoon, but rain overnight so it'll wait until next week. It needs 24 hours of dry time outside.

4. I've been hiking -- finally. Fast hike yesterday (perfect weather), big hike on Saturday (cold!), long hike next Sunday.

5. Saying yes too. Remember the Chimp 5k Event I invited a friend to join me? Well she got a group together and now it's a girls' weekend. I'm excited. It's not until March so more on this later.

6. I've been trying to say 'yes' more. I AM capable of doing more than one "thing" each day. Time to build up some endurance. 

7. I got this decanter for my bedroom in Asheville. Fill with water and a drinking cup sits on top. This is a vintage knock-off from Amazon. Dishwasher safe with thick glass. I was keeping 2 water glasses on my dresser -- this consolidates and gives me more water. Plus I like that it's covered.

So pretty!

8. Antique oil painting from online IG. I've gotten a few things from this account and I love them all. This is my favorite. It's going up to Asheville. It's so charming in person. Mailman delivering the mail in the countryside.

9. Got this card in the mail from my artist aunt. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE getting handmade cards -- made my day.

10. Had a coaching call about my hobbies feeling like work. Guess what? Apparently that word carries a lot of meaning to me. Switching my language to I'm playing (rather than working) helps. It's also connected to officially retiring from nursing. Need to feel I'm working to justify worth. Interesting. I knew this was in my head (so to speak) and I'm practicing some new thoughts and this shift in wording. These hobbies are meant to be FUN, not a dreaded drag.

11. I got a speeding ticket. OMG (!!) I've never had a ticket before. It was a camera on the drive home from Asheville. It says no association with license or points so I paid it on the down-low from hubby. Why? Because I'll never hear the end of not using the smart cruise control. He already bugs me about it, but I don't like the way it feels to give over so much control to the car. I didn't slow down quickly enough through a park area (goes from 55 to 45). I got flagged at 56. BTW, the highway is the same through the park -- 4 lane, divided. If you miss that initial sign, you are screwed because the speed limit changes a mile before you can see the park entrance, but the road is still the same highway.

We are headed to the park today for some grandson time -- 2 parents, 4 grandparents and one precious baby.  

2024 has felt like quite a ride -- so many emotional happenings. I'm trying to get myself back to a calmer state and back to enjoying things (aka get this anxiety under control). 

Hope you are well and set for a good weekend. Later gators.

NICU

I'm keeping this short again this morning. 

Baby had respiratory problems and then seizures. NICU. MRI of brain is normal. Everything has gone back to baseline. Once he has feeding endurance again (using a feeding tube when he was really sick), doctors will talk discharge.

I think we're through the worst of it.

We've been so worried.

I have shingles. I have my period 2 weeks early.

My mother sent a nasty text and I have her currently completely blocked from my life (family drama I've alluded to in other posts). Now I don't care who knows. She is an unkind human being. 

Our focus is this baby and his parents.

The dogs are here. I finally got some medications into the chihuahua. 

The only important thing right now is this little baby. He is cute as a button. I can't wait to see him. Everyone else met him, but I'm holding off because of shingles (even though I'm not contagious). 

Later gators.

Baby!

No pictures because of the dang bots. 

He was born around 4 o'clock this morning. 8lbs 7 oz. Emergency c-section but everyone is doing well.

Canceled hike. 

Might have shingles.

Never a dull moment. 

Later gators. Off to pick up dogs for the week.

Granny Time

My DIL got an induction date for Friday (assuming the maternity ward isn't full and/or she doesn't go into labor before). If all goes as planned ... baby by the weekend. 

Eeeek. So exciting (!!)

We'll have the dogs. We love them, but they're a lot. Both sick, incontinent, etc. I'll pick them up after the hike tomorrow and we'll have them at least 4 nights. It's a lot of work -- my back will be problematic and sleep is usually an issue. I expect this is the last time we'll watch them for this long.

That said, this stretch of days is probably one of the better ones for us to be tethered home. I won't register for a hike on Sunday, but next week should be a regular week for us. Being "on-call" was tough. Hopefully, it's not postponed until Monday (that's the worse run of days for us). 

Granny time (!!)

I had a nice time at coffee with my DIL's mom. I stopped at 2 of 3 thrift stores in the area. I ran out of time to check out the 3rd. Both were good in different ways, but I didn't find what I was looking for -- plant pots. I have 2 new plants and I want to thrift the pots.

I got these little frames for 50 cents each. I want to put pictures or quotes in them for the LFL. My coffee bean refill came with a sticker so I played around. I won't keep it like this because Asheville doesn't know this coffee shop, but it's a holding place for now.

I also got a package from Etsy to bring to Asheville. Heart pillows made from old fabric. They're sweet and feminine.

Court hearing this morning. Volunteering officially begins. Next couple of weeks will be a lot of work, but I'll manage it. Timing isn't great. If it hadn't been postponed 3 weeks ... but it did.

I woke up to a burning, itching corner of my eye. The exact way shingles started both times. Wholly moly, this better not be shingles. No baby visit for me. I'll know by tomorrow. My neck is also a little irritated so I'm hoping it's just from being out in the sun yesterday. 

Lots and lots happening around here. All projects are in full swing, Granny time and plenty of dogs. I'm reminding myself this is FUN. This is what I LOVE. It's not a stressful to-do list. But is my burning eye giving away the truth?!?!? Geez.

Have a good day. Later gators.

Dead Time and Thrift Stores

I'm doing a good job to keep me in the mix of things, even though I have plenty of outside commitments this month. I'm rearranging and reconfiguring to get opportunities to hike in February. Right now hiking is important to me. I hadn't hiked with my hiking club since fall. Some was circumstance (height of spider season, weather, a little back flareup and travel), but most was because I let it slip from priority. 

I hold my commitments. What I'm changing is my schedule and my available slots. Holding open for hiking choices. I'm not changing dates or times of coffee or lunch because someone else wants to add something to their day -- we'll need to cancel instead. 

Have you ever realized you have a totally open week, but you aren't able to do anything that YOU want to do? That's what was happening with hiking. 

It's about something called DEAD TIME. Changing things or scheduling things so you have plenty of pockets of time, but no time long enough to do THE THING. This can happen for loads of reasons and this is what was happening with hiking. Hikes are usually in the morning, registration is in advance and fills up, cancelations are limited with penalties so letting someone change lunch plans 3 times can be enough to have no hiking opportunities that week. 

Once I get a fill of hiking I might not be as intense about this, but for now, I like what I'm doing. I have a very long list of UNAVAILABLE times that I'm leaving open for hiking. I'm hiking again on Thursday and am attempting to get into 3 more hikes next week. A couple might be hard because they'll be super popular. 

Anyway ...

I also gave up on "My Name is Resolute." 400 pages and I still didn't like it. Time to let go. I have a few library books coming up (I have a problem -- I can't stop reserving recommendations). I was a book-less last night and probably today so I started one of the books my friend gave me for the LFL. It's a little book so I should finish it tomorrow. It's quirky, but I haven't gotten into the story enough to make a judgement though.

A friend sent me a just-because package. Her friend makes earrings from vintage tins and gives them away for free. She also found an old ornament meant for a gift long ago. She sent it as a little joke.

I started to throw it away, but it has a tag on it. I decided to decorate it and drop it at the Goodwill. It's cheesy, but you never know. 

Bees cut from a napkin

I have coffee with my DIL's mom this afternoon. She initiated plans, but asked me to pick the coffee place. I'm heading into a different town so I have a list of non-Goodwill thrift stores to check out after coffee. I'm trying to get a feel for the local thrift stores. I've visited a few that are off my list -- dirty, unorganized, junky stuff. I know it can change week-to-week as far as inventory, but this is more about an overall feel. So far, I have 2 favorites. One for more vintage things and one for more current items. I hope today adds another to the list.

Hope your week is going well. Later gators.

And Monday is Back Again

Dental cleaning today and I'm not unhappy. This is the longest I've gone in years and my teeth feel dirty. I can't wait to have them cleaned -- pain and all. That's a complete reversal for me. All perspective, dang.

Dinner was nice -- the food was amazing, but they were short staffed. Lots of errors out of the kitchen. Some mistakes we got to keep so leftovers came home. I ate way too much -- full belly meant horrible sleep and recovery stats. Worth eating so much?? Maybe not, but gathering for dinner was fantastic. Last family dinner for 6, next time, we'll be 7 :)

Special crispy rice.
Incredible flavor.

Salmon kabob with lentil/raisin rice.
Crispy rice in the background
was a mistake, but really tasty.

I have half the salmon and rice left to eat today. I MUST eat better before bed though. The older I get, the less I can tolerate a big dinner. I'll have this for lunch -- and, of course, no appetizer dips, extra table rice, falafel, special sauces, shared seasoned fries. HAH! It was a feast for my belly last night. I stayed clear of mock-tails, cocktails and dessert. There's a little win.

Dentist is all that's on the "official" schedule today, but I need to do some volunteer refresher before court on Wednesday, work on vacation plans and start figuring out garden mapping. I won't get to all of this today, but I can't waste the day either. 

I read a lot yesterday and still don't love the book. It's okay. The writing is good, the story telling is good, but I don't like the actually story. I still have over 300 tight pages to read. I'll stick with it until the next library book is ready. I should be at the brink of where readers say they suddenly love it (including the friend who recommended it). Slow start, hang in there, last half is outstanding. 

Hope you're set for a good Monday. It feels like a regular Monday again -- last week was a strange, sad Monday. Fresh start Monday is back.

Later gators and bots.