Jennifer Lyon
Monday, March 11th, 2024
Weekend Roundup

The weekend was all the things; good, tiring and sad. I went to the memorial service for my friend’s husband. He lived such a full life and was loved by so many people. I’m happy to see how much his loved ones valued him. My friend is hanging in there. It’s hard to comfort someone when their losses have been so deep and vast. But it was great to see all that showed up to try.

And in fun news, Turbo had his first baseball game and was awarded the game ball! He did great, but Wizard and I were able to be there (due to memorial service) to see it. But we’re still proud grandparents! Here’s a couple pics:

The rest of the weekend was a lot of arranging stuff, cleaning stuff, and doing life things while chronic tiredness tries to slow me down :-). Some days I win and some days fatigue wins :-). But in the end, most things get done and Monday showed up as scheduled.

Oh and Maggie wanted me to tell you all that Wizard let her go to the car wash with him again. She loves going there with him. Maggie is a very cheap date, LOL!

How was your weekend?

Friday, March 8th, 2024
Friday Five

TGIF! I’m sorry for missing Wednesday. I don’t have an excuse aside from just running out of energy to post on Tuesday :-) And since I’m not writing, I don’t have a focus for my blog, so I run out of things to say. Lastly, this blog has probably run it’s coarse, but I just haven’t been ready to let go. So I’m hanging in here for now. Okay lets move onto posting five random things about our week:

  1. We had more rain, and now comes the talk about a Super Bloom. And it’s truly breathtaking when we get those. In fact, the hills surrounding our house are gorgeous now and will become even more stunning soon. But having lived through the super bloom a few years back when people acting with incredible stupidity and created serious havoc, injuries and the death of a motorcycle officer, I actually flinch hearing it, LOL. The good news is the city closed the trail. Which will protect the land and keep the snakes from biting those who forgot their caution and common sense.
  2. This week is weird. Too many of my friends are sick, mourning or worried about one of their loved ones. Saturday I’m plan to go to one memorial service.
  3. I got blood work done Wednesday and I was in and out so fast, I was pleasantly shocked! Wouldn’t be nice if all our medical stuff was that easy!
  4. I gave Maggie a hoof filled with peanut butter and she’s too funny. I only let her have it for an hour or two, then take it back. When I do this, I require her to move away then I pick it up. It’s just conditioning, so if a kid in our family grabs something from her, she’ll move back from the item rather than bite or growl (I hope!). Then she looks at me with super sad eyes, but I don’t fall for her puppy eyes :-) Anyhow, the last few times I gave her the bone, she has tried to “hide” it — right in the middle of the floor of the small hallway to our bedroom. My dog will never be a criminal mastermind, LOL.
  5. I spent yesterday with Biker Witch and had a blast. First we had coffee, then went shopping in Home Goods. It was nice to see her. That said, I am so not gifted at home decoration. But I get points for trying, right?

That’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! I’m pretty sure your week is more interesting than mine! Have a great weekend everyone!

Monday, March 4th, 2024
Weekend Roundup

My weekend was fine.

Friday, Biker Witch wasn’t up to going out, so we rescheduled for this week. I went to the Home Store, because it’s time to start adding the small touches to our house. Well except for wall art because Wizard really really wants to paint. Anyhow, in the space of ninety minutes I’d filled my cart with artificial plants and decor…but only ended up buying two small items. I’m cheap and a danger to myself :-) I’ll also needed to think about the spaces and measure a bit. Now I think I might go back this week and pick up a few of the items I’d put back.

Saturday it rained as predicted. The hills are getting really green and probably the poppies will bloom soon. I doubt we’ll have the same hysteria we had a few years ago. Pretty sure people have moved on to whatever the trend of the moment is.

Sunday, we had a few rain showers mixed with moments of stunning beauty when the sun broke through. Maggie and I walked a couple miles, then we (and Wizard) took the pressure washer back to middle son’s house. It’s always fun to see him and hang out with his dogs (my daughter in law was running errands). Maggie was thrilled to see middle son and made sure he pet her before doing anything silly like hugging his mom. I noticed it’s a little harder for Maggie to jump from the ground into the seat of the SUV. This has been happening for a couple months, and she’s had two misses. I kept letting her try it, and fortunately, this time she stopped and thought about it. She figured out to hop up to the floor board first then onto the seat. While I really don’t want her to get hurt, I believe it’s best for her to learn her limitations and how to work around them as she ages. The other option would be me constantly hovering over her rather than her making good choices herself. But dang, it’s hard to stand there and let her fail to figure it out.

I’m still reading Larissa Ione’s latest book. I love her books, so it’s just me. My reading moods fluctuate daily, LOL.

That was my weekend, how was yours?

Friday, March 1st, 2024
Friday Five

TGIF! Let’s dive right into sharing five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

  1. Well start with Monday. My friend’s husband passed away. I didn’t even know he was sick, which makes me even sadder. Even worse, her daughter passed away just a few months ago. My heart just breaks for her. On top of that, I’m worried about Silver, but trying not to bug her for an update. I just want her to get well, and I’ll wait as long as it takes to find out how she’s doing. The rest of the week was much better.
  2. I accidently had a package delivered to our old house. Sigh…anyway, I went over to pick it up and discovered the new owners have a 2 week old baby! I am thrilled for them. They had mentioned to us they could envision themselves having and raising a family in that house, and now they are living their dream. I seriously smiled the rest of the day. Also the baby was so cute!
  3. I ran to Target for one thing, and if you know anything about Target Math, you probably know that I went into buy a tub of Greek yogurt for roughly $5.00 and came out spending more than $80.00, LOLOL. But what I remember was the little girl sitting in the front part of the shopping cart swearing. And the mother’s seemingly slow and uninspired reaction. I’m NOT blaming the mom — I didn’t have long enough exposure to her and her child to really know the situation. Heck the “mom” could actually have been the big sister and a babysitter for all I know. Little kids swear, but what I was thinking about is how much more small children are exposed to the things we once tried to shield them from until they were a bit older and could begin to understand things like how and when it’s acceptable to use certain words, general politeness and the consequences of breaking rules (and embarrassing mom in the store :-). Cell phones and social media have changed the parenting game in a way that just makes me tired. I don’t have answers.
  4. Today, I’m meeting Biker Witch for coffee. I’m really looking forward to that.
  5. This weekend, I have a vague idea of seeing Turbo, but I haven’t talked to my son or daughter-in-law yet to see if they’ll be home. They are super busy as Turbo is starting his baseball season now, plus his martial arts, and there’s always kids playdates and birthday parties. He keeps his parents busy, so we’ll see!

That’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Wednesday, February 28th, 2024
All Things Maggie :-)

This week started off with some shocking sadness. I suspect the rest of the week will hopefully be better, but I’ll talk about that on Friday. Right now, let’s ignore the sad stuff, and talk about Maggie instead :-)

Here’s Maggie when I try to make her pose for a picture:

She’s looks old and dejected. She is old, but she’s still her cheerful, sweet self and that usually shows through. Unless I pull out my phone and open the camera, LOL.

Here’s Maggie in her natural happy state of lizard hunting. If I remember right, she was stalking something in his shot:

To me, it’s a huge difference. She looks more fit and engaged. Her age shows, but who cares, she’s doing what she loves!

Which means we should be doing something we love! What do you think?

Happy Wednesday!

Monday, February 26th, 2024
Weekend Roundup

It was a pretty good weekend.

Friday, we went to my brother in law’s to power wash the outside of the house. Wizard always underestimates how much time it will take. He assured me it’d be no more than two hours…Bwhahahaha!! I think it took five hours. We were exhausted when we got home, but happy to get it done. My brother-in-law had been sick for a while, and some of his house is north-facing, so there was a buildup that needed to be cleaned up. Middle Son’s powerwasher was up to the job! He’d told Wizard and I exactly how to do it, and he was right! But nothing Wizard and I do can compare to all the work my sister-in-law has done in the house, and that’s while enduring harsh grief. Her strength and resilience are amazing.

Saturday we did some cleaning, then I made these mini chocolate chip Bundt cakes filled with chocolate frosting:

I have some things on my mind, and baking keeps me occupied. If I can’t pawn these off on Youngest, I’ll free most of them.

Sunday, I took Maggie to Petco to pick out a surprise. She hasn’t been anywhere in a while, and I wanted her to have a little fun. While waiting in line to pay for her surprise, three people commented on what a happy dog she is because she was doing her happy-silly-girl-dance. I just shook my head at her ridiculous antics. I should have made her sit and stay but I just let it go. Even though I’ve been walking her two miles daily, she needed to get out and socialize a bit. A little attention was good for her. Then she came home and chewed her stick. Now I just hope it agrees with her. I don’t let her have things like that often.

That was my weekend, how was yours?

Friday, February 23rd, 2024
Friday Five

TGIF!! The weeks seem to be flying by. Now it’s time to share five random things about our week, here’s mine:

 

  1. I got a call from my medical group that my Humira medication has been authorized. I’m really surprised it happened that fast. I’ll call the specialty pharmacy today to see if the authorization has shown up in their system. If all goes well, I’ll get it next week and only be roughly a week late, which usually doesn’t cause me problems.
  2. I found a way I like sweet potatoes. I don’t hate them, I just don’t really like them and will usually choose something else if I can. Anyway, I roasted them in some olive oil and taco seasoning, then I use them to build a taco salad. I loved it. I still prefer russet or most of the other potatoes over sweet ones. And don’t even make me look at those yams covered in marshmallows :-) I don’t even know what that goop is supposed to be — a starch or dessert!
  3. With this house, our great room (kitchen, dining and living area) is in the back. Maggie has window to the world in the front of the house, and has taken to alerting us if she sees someone coming to the door, often to drop off packages or leave flyers. She just barks a time or two and comes to get us, wanting us to check it out. I’m not sure if it’s age, access to a front window or just the layout of the house making her feel she needs to alert us to people walking to the front door. Dogs are interesting! We always check and tell her she’s a good girl. She doesn’t harass people walking by, so it’s a behavior I like.
  4. I’m listening to Kristin Hannah’s THE WOMEN, a fiction about an army nurse serving in Vietnam and her life after that. I like it. I just started reading Larissa Ione’s THE LEGACY: A Demonica Birthright Novel. I’m not far into it, but really like it so far.
  5. Today the plan for Wizard and I is to go to his brother’s house (his widow’s house now), and do some power washing on the outside. We borrowed Middle Son’s power washer and then the rain keeps delaying getting this done. I don’t think Middle needs it back soon, but Wizard and I want to get this done and return it soon anyway. Otherwise, the rest of the weekend is up in the air. We have some ideas but no solid plans yet :-)

That’s my five, now I’d really love to hear yours! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

JenniferLyon.com