Thursday in Review: Lunch, Doves and Rocks

Three loads of rocks, many more to go.

Yesterday, I had planned to go back to the gym to start chair yoga again.  It is a low-impact strength training/stretching exercise that is easier to do than regular yoga.  Instead of that, I got a better offer.  A long time friend called and wanted to meet up for lunch.  Lunch sounded much better than chair yoga. We became friends in 1989 when I started working at my kids' elementary school as a Teacher Assistant.  It was a great job, I had the same schedule as my kids and I made several lifelong friends as a bonus.

Lunch was great, we both had shrimp tacos  ($12.50 for three small tacos) with water and lemon as the drink.  I am finally at the age that I don't want to pay $2.00  ( sometimes more) for a glass of Coca-Cola. A beer maybe, but not a soda. She had recently lost both her parents within 3 months of each other, similar to when I lost both my parents within 6 months of each other.  Grief is like a monkey on your back, that is not always there but when it grabs you around the neck, you hardly know what to do with it. I encouraged her to take the free grief counseling that Hospice is offering. I did, and it was very helpful. 

Before lunch, I was able to get a few tasks completed which included walking Cricket, a small pile of laundry, and for a bit of physical activity, I have an ongoing task of moving landscape rocks from the back yard to the front bed that sits below the bedroom windows.  The rocks originally were placed (we moved them ) around the pool cage and looked really nice.   But, there are so many of them that they prevent drainage from the pool deck which caused pooling of water and eventually staining. We have NO pool ownership experience so we didn't know that the rocks would be a problem.

Momma dove on the nest 2022

I get my gloves on, and start loading rocks with a shovel into the wheelbarrow and then tote them to the front of the house. They are heavy, and the wheelbarrow is cumbersome.  But, I feel accomplished that I can fill the wheelbarrow, roll it into the front yard, and dump the rocks into the front bed.  I count this as my physical exercise for the day.  I am good for about three loads and then I have to give it a rest lol.   There is always tomorrow. 

 The rest of the day was uneventful as was dinner.  Simple grilled ham and cheese sandwiches with tomato soup.  I did go out and water a few of the Lowes rescue plants that I planted in the backyard and clean out the birdbath for Friday.  The crows do enjoy it and the crows amuse me.  I also checked in on the momma dove that has built a nest in our pole barn.  We have had doves nest in the same place for the last three years. It must be a safe place away from the hawks and crows to hatch their babies. 

Tomorrow the drywallers are coming to patch the holes in the walls left by the plumbers that did the re-pipe.  Fun times. 

Wednesday in Review

The stitches in my gum (post gum surgery) were removed and I am thankful it was a quick and almost

painless process. I still get to go back in two weeks for a check-up of the healing process. The area is still swollen a bit and tender.  I was instructed to continue to swish with salt water after meals.

Today was my monthly haircut appointment.  I have been seeing my stylist for 33 years, which may tell you we are similar in age.  We both graduated in 1978, but from different schools.  He cuts hair in Orlando, and I live about 30 minutes north of Orlando but will travel to see him for a haircut and a highlight when necessary. Pretty sure I will be blonde forever lol.  

Afterwards, I hit up Publix for beef bones for bone broth.  We have been using chicken feet for bone broth but for the last two weeks, we could not find any chicken paws at Walmart or SavALot. I like the chicken bone broth better flavor-wise, but for now, we will have to make do with beef bone broth. I use the InstantPot to make the bone broth, and it really makes quick work of it.  My husband and daughter swear by it, my husband says it helps joint pain and my daughter says it is great for gut health. 

The second stop of the day was Target. After dropping off the Publix groceries, I went to Target to stock up on toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags, paper plates, and Gatorade.  The paper goods were bought in prep for hurricane season. Just one less thing to worry about if and when a big storm comes through. I also picked up another watermelon, the one we got from Walmart earlier this week was kinda tasteless. But we are going to eat it anyway. Hopefully, this melon will be better.  We enjoy watermelon as a nightly snack, so I try to keep it on hand. 

The summer afternoon storms are here and they definitely cool things off.  Temps are in the high 90's with high humidity.  Outside chores are completed in the AM, walking the dog, watering any plants that need it and start cleaning the vinyl fence panels in the back yard.  I haven't counted them, but maybe when I am done I will let you know how many and how long it takes. It is a yearly chore that I try to get done before it gets too hot, but I  put it off until the heat gets here.

If you live in the south or are experiencing high heat, what do you keep your thermostat set at to keep your house comfortable and to not break the bank?

We try to keep our AC set at 78 degrees and keep the fans going to keep it tolerable and afforadable. 

Happy Thursday!

Nasty Summer Cold

Thursday, Friday, Saturday AND Sunday were a complete loss due to a nasty summer cold/sinus infection?  that snuck up on me.  Fever for two days and recovery for two days, and a lot of naps in between.  I tend to suspect it may have been triggered by the gum surgery to remove an infection from a tooth that had a recent root canal.  Maybe the infection traveled to the sinuses, (the gum surgery was on an upper tooth)  But, who knows? 

 Today there is no fever and I am actually able to get a few things done.  Cricket had her walk before it gets too hot and the crows were fed and their birdbath was cleaned and refilled. You know when you are sick, not much if any housework gets done.  So there are sheets to wash, clothes to put up, and floors to vacuum. 

The rest of the day was packing up a couple of eBay orders.  The first order was a vintage webbed beach chair.  I picked it up for $2 and it sold for $54 plus shipping.  There were also a couple of smaller orders, that were much easier to pack.  

 

I did get to Target to pick up a couple flats of their eggs.  There are 30 eggs per flat, and typically they cost $2.89 a flat.  The price has almost doubled to $5.89, no surprise. We are big fans of boiled eggs as snacks and go through a lot of eggs.  I also picked up a watermelon for $5.89 and some bananas.  As a way to add more protein in our diet, I decided to try Target's brand of protein waffles.  Will keep you posted. 

Today I get the stitches in my gum removed. I will be so glad when this is over. That is later on this afternoon. Before that, I have a few rescued plants from Lowe's to plant and a bit of watermelon rind to plop into the compost bin.  

Hope your Tuesday is grand!

Tuesday with Endodontist

Tuesday morning chores included watering the front bed that is being filled with the rescue plants from

The crows before the mockingbirds showed up

Lowes.  They are perennial and will hopefully come back year after year. I was only able to plant one plant in the bed, and I still have at least 5 more rescue plants to place in our yard. 

I fed the crows their morning peanuts. The mockingbirds are here as well and they are antagonizing the crows. I suspect that there are mockingbird nests in our trees and they are protecting their babies.  

The mockingbirds are determined and fierce. Divebombing and chasing the crows, but the crows are standing their ground.

I scrubbed and washed out the trash cans.  They were full of flies from rotten freezer meat that I had thrown out when both fridges died. We are so grateful that the trash was picked up today and that we did not have to wait until next week. That would have been awful.  

I have 5 eBay orders to pack up and I am committed to listing at least 4 items a day to keep the eBay algorithm happy.  So far so good,

The endodontist appt was a follow-up to a root canal on a tooth that had a crown but was severely infected.  The endo did the root canal two weeks ago but said I had to return for an apical surgery procedure.  

The infection needed to be cleaned out through the gum.  Anxiety was high but this guy is so darn good!  He is quick and effective.  The procedure took about 15 min and I go back in a week to have the sutures removed. I am so happy that this tooth will be saved.  Fingers crossed. 

Dinner was crockpot ravioli. Easy and tastes pretty good.  When I buy hamburger, I brown up a couple pounds and freeze it in smaller quantities.  This way I can defrost what I need quickly prepare a meal.  I pick up the frozen ravioli when it is BOGO at Publix.  

We are starting a new project.  Remodeling our master bathroom.  This project was initiated about a month and a half ago.  It was interrupted by the repipe of the whole house due to a home inspection to get new homeowners insurance.  We just had the repipe inspected by the county, and now we can move forward on the bathroom remodel.   Do you see all that money just flying out the door? Repipe, new fridge, and bathroom remodel. Well, it could always be worse!