This weekend was pretty boring. I cleaned the oven, washed all the sheets, dusted blinds, cleaned the outside of my kitchen cupboards and pretty much managed to do nothing interesting Well I did order a couple pies for Thanksgiving. Normally I’d make them, but there’s a lot to do with all my family coming, so I’m managing my time in order to actually enjoying T-Day. I may make some cupcakes for Turbo and anyone else who loves chocolate but that’s pretty easy and a fun project.

Otherwise, I guess the highlight was a movie Wizard and I watched, titled “THE COUPLE” It was about a wealthy Jewish family trying to survive the Nazi’s in Poland. Both Wizard and I really liked it. One thing I particularly liked is it was very suspenseful without showing violence. We understood the violence, we just didn’t have to see it. I thought that was skillfully done.

Oh and another highlight: I started reading Silver’s book, MOONSTRUCK MAFIA: BOSTON.  I’m only a couple chapters in, but really enjoying it! I’m looking forward to reading more!

This week, I have Wednesday booked for babysitting my granddaughter. Otherwise, it’s just more mundane life stuff. That’s okay though, I’ll take mundane over drama any time!

How was your weekend?

TGIF!!! Let’s get to sharing five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

1. I lost a day this week for sure. Aside from the holiday, we were traveling so I guess it’s understandable.
2. I did my last of the latest tests on Wednesday and I felt great about it! It’s just bloodwork, and easy to do, but it still feels good to have that battery of tests over. But of course, something will be weird in one of them because, well, it’s me, LOL!
3. Maggie likes to bring a new trick home with her from boarding — spitting out her pill from the pill pocket. Normally she takes these for me with no problem. I have no idea why she does this after boarding. But when she does that I then grind it up and put it in her food. She’s hating that. We’ll see who wins this battle of wills! Spoiler alert: I will win. Otherwise, Maggie came home her normal happy self. They take good care of her there.
4. Yesterday was awesome — we went to see our granddaughter! She was so happy, smiling and playing with us! She tries to talk now it’s so cute. She’s 9 1/2 weeks old now. Her pediatrician said she’s thriving and very strong. I’m a preening Grandma! It’s nice that I got to spend time with Turbo over the weekend and her yesterday, even if I had to share her with Grandpa Wizard
5. This weekend I need to start some deeper cleaning stuff. It’s not fun but, surprisingly, no one else has volunteered to do it. I guess that leaves me! Probably because I’m the only one who is going to care whether or not the kitchen cupboards are cleaned or the blinds dusted, LOL. And I barely care…so we’ll see if having company for Thanksgiving motivates me!

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

I’m back!! I didn’t intend to totally disappear, but I guess I went into vacation mode and didn’t surface until now I also no longer have a laptop and hate trying to do it on my phone…so my laziness played into that, too.

The trip was good! We had fun, and I love being at the beach. We got to spend some time with Turbo, but also, Turbo and his dad are best buddies. Here’s a pic of Turbo and his dad:

My daughter in law isn’t in this pic because she took it.

We had some good meals, but the best was at Robin’s in Cambria. I ordered the New York steak and devoured it. I asked for my steak medium well (yeah, yeah, all the foodies are aghast), and it came out perfectly cooked while still tender and flavorfull. I loved it.  The whole meal was lovely. My family was all, “I’ve never seen you eat so much.”  That’s ridiculous, of course. I eat a ton (I’m serious, I eat a lot of food). But I often adjust my eating according to what we’re doing, so to others it can look like I don’t eat much. Follow me around my house in my daily life, and people would be amazed. I wasn’t worried that night, so I ate it all and had dessert! Honestly, I’m surprised my stomach didn’t act up.

Wizard and I took a side trip to one winery we both liked, and bought some. We really enjoyed that. While we went there, Turbo and his family went to a farm to pet goats. He had a great time! I love goats, but the farm would have been difficult for Wizard and I wanted to go to the winery too.

Otherwise we did some shopping, (of course I took Turbo to a candy store because I’m a card carrying grandma),  walked on the beach and some trails, ate lots of food, and did all the normal vacation things. Oldest brought their bikes, and they road them all over the town. I wanted to rent one, but Wizard was concerned I’d fall. I doubt it, but I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep up with The Biking Family, so I didn’t.  Plus if I did fall, I’d never hear the end of it!

The drive — I drove roughly half way both ways. The first time we changed places, we’d pulled over at a gas station. Wizard started in on me, “Make a U Turn. Why aren’t you going? Just make a U-turn and go back out to the street.”  Um I didn’t make the U Turn the second you said it because I didn’t want to whip around  in front of the semi truck that pulled in!  This back and forth went on for a minute while I waiting for the truck until I turned to him, and said, “Wizard, We haven’t even left the gas station and you’re starting.” He stopped. And surprise, I got us all the way to Cambria and found out hotel with no trouble.

We also had a power outage on Sunday night. Trust me, it’s pitch black at the beach. And now I have a massive bruise on my leg where I hit the wood bed frame while trying to change clothes in the dark. But I’ll take the bruise because when I hit my leg, it felt like it had split open. I had visions of trying to find a place to stitch it up during this big power outage on a Sunday evening. When we got some light on it and saw it was just a bruise, I considered that a win. It barely aches so it’s fine. I even took Maggie for a walk and did a mile. All good there.

That’s a bit of our trip. As always, I’m happy to spend time with our kids when they ask us.

How was your weekend and how’s your week going?

TGIF, and I’m an idiot…again, LOL. I deleted current blogs when I was trying to delete old blogs from years ago. Between removing my books from sale in EU countries on one site, cleaning up unused FB sites and this, it’s an endless chore. Then I get impatient, and accidentally delete stuff I wanted to keep. Sometimes I amaze myself with my own genius <insert sarcasm>.

And second aside here: We had really high winds this week and there’s horrible fires in part of So Cal (not near us). I’m praying for all of them. There’s little anyone can do to stop the fires in those strong winds. My heart breaks for those people who’ve lost homes. I’m praying no one is hurt and the firefighters are able to get control soon.

Now let’s move onto sharing five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

1. Our Anniversary was Wednesday. It felt odd as we did nothing. The trip this weekend is our celebration. All that said, we’ve been married over four decades. This last year when I faced a concerning diagnoses, I realized how lucky I am to have a partner I had zero doubt would stick with me no matter which way it went. So while we both had worries and fears, ending up alone and feeling abandoned was never one on them. That’s priceless and I don’t take it for granted.
2. Wednesday I also saw my sister, Biker Witch. We went to a makeup store as I was looking for something. And while I was there, I let a salesperson demonstrate skin care stuff for me. So she took off all my makeup and put on magic elixir stuff. I spotted my sister wandering around, and asked her, “What do you think?” Her response, “I can see your freckles.” Um…thanks???? I told her “That’s why I was always Mom’s favorite.” The conversation continued with more playful sister sniping and we had the salesperson laughing. She got it — she has a sister In case anyone’s worried, no one’s feeling were hurt. If my sister had said I looked fat, then we’d have had a problem. And I do have freckles, it’s not a secret After all that, I may have gotten upsold on some magic elixir. And yet, I still woke up looking like a woman who is not in her thirties. Shocking, right?
3. You know what’s not fun? The day before travel. Just saying.
4. Yesterday, I was rushing around due to #3. I stepped into my stretched out flip flops and went outside to soak my pants (it’s going to be a warmish weekend). I turned around to put the hose away, and caught my the hose in my stretched out flip flops and flung myself forward at a scary momentum. I was fine because I caught myself, but dang it, I knew these flips flops had become dangerous for a month now. I was too cheap them out throw out because I use then around the house and back yard. After that near fall, I threw the things away and got out my newer pair I was saving…for what…to be buried in when I killed myself? My intelligence is being seriously questioned this week. Just saying…
5. We’re off to a low key trip. We’re will probably do a little side trip for ourselves Saturday, then spend the rest of the time with Oldest, Special K and Turbo. Youngest and his wife will be spending time at the house. And Maggie is off to her Spa Vacation (she’s old s0 I like to keep her on the routine she knows and understands).

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

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

1. The weeks are a blur this year. Seriously, both Wizard and I are trying to keep up lately! We’ve been trying to get to landscaping the front year without success. All that said, I have been feeling better this week with a bit more energy — however I tend to overspend that energy because I am not wise, LOL.
2. We are keeping Amazon busy this week by ordering randomly weird stuff. My two biggest thrill was a counter top organizer for my sponges, soaps etc., and a bread sling (from moving sourdough in and out of the Dutch oven. I didn’t even know I needed a bread sling until I learned I did — on YouTube Where I learn most of the important and live-changing things these days.
3. We hit Costco yesterday for our every month or two stock up, and we also hit the highest amount spent in one shopping. We were out of a lot of stuff! It was all boring stuff too, except we did pick up some wine.
4. This morning we’re going to the endocrinologist doctor for my followup. We are very glad to get this appointment, BUT…we have to be there at 8:20 and which means we’ll need to leave by 6:20 am because California traffic is just that miserable. That’s inconvenient but not too big a deal. What stresses me out is making sure Maggie gets a walk first — in the early morning dark and striving to not getting attacked by a coyote or any other creature who has been displaced by the fire. Seriously I have a path planned that should keep us safe, but Maggie really needs a walk because we’ll be gone a good portion of the day…
5. …Because after the appointment, we plan to go see our Granddaughter and her mom!!  That we’re excited about! There will some jostling and possible elbow jabs as we, um, negotiate who gets to hold her when and for how long    Then in the evening we’re going to dinner with Youngest and his wife to celebrate her birthday. We’re late celebrating because I had surgery and then she was gone on a vacation and then both our houses almost burned down…so yeah, late. Also our houses didn’t actually almost burn down, but the threat was very real (any time one can see the flames from their house, the threat is heart-poundingly real!).

And that’s my week, now I’d love to hear yours!!! I hope everyone has a terrific weekend!

One of the funniest (to me) books I’ve listened to in a long time: The Starter Villain by John Scalzi and read by Will Wheaton. I totally bought this on impulse when I was on Audible to look at the ones recommended by Silver. I, um, got distracted! I don’t want to give anything away, but if you like weird twisted humor and aren’t easily offended (by dark humor or salty language) give it a try!

Since then, I haven’t tried to listen to another book because I’m not ready   Also, keep in mind, I was listening to this during a high stress week, so the humor was exactly what I needed.

And in reading on Kindle, first I dumped the last book I was reading. It started strong and then got lost in endless descriptions, pointless encounters and too many characters. Maybe I’ll go back to it later. Right now, I’m reading “Working Stiff” by Judy Melinek and TJ Mitchel which is the biography of a Forensic Pathologist. I can’t remember how I stumbled onto this one. This book is, for me, delightfully well written, although sometimes starkly graphic. Also, this is normal reading, right? Not weird?

And I have a book on nutrition/diet on order. Now I happen to know exactly why I bought this book — I love the author on podcasts. I could listen to him all day. And so, I ordered his book to see it more critically through reading a physical book, rather than being hypnotized into blind belief by his voice and manner on podcasts. Also totally normal…I think

Okay, maybe my reading selections aren’t precisely normal, LOL.

So what are you reading, intending to read, or recently read?

Wow last week was a wild ride! So I know I did a quick Friday Five, but this round up covers the weekend and some of last week.

Most important is Baby Girl — our new granddaughter!! (I’ll come up with a nickname soon).

She was about 6 lbs 9 oz when born, and I think 20 inches. She small but mighty! She’s super engaged when she’s awake and either looks into our eyes or follows voices. This pic she’s obviously sleeping And no they don’t leave the necklace on her in case anyone is worried. She makes the most hilarious faces, including one dubbed “Grandpa Face” by her dad (he’s evil — he gets it from his dad, LOL) I love her so much! I’m waiting for a chance to get a pic her of her and Turbo together. Her parents are doing great. My son took the week off from work and is not looking forward to leaving her to go back. My daughter in law’s mom will be staying with them for the week and that will help my daughter in law. I’ll be available too.

Then the fire: As of yesterday afternoon, it’s 19% contained and we are safe enough for now. Cooler weather with overcast mornings and evenings has helped too. But also — fire crews are amazing! They are inserting Hot Shot crews deep into the terrain to help with the fire lines too. Here’s a couple pics:

This is a picture a few days ago from my back yard.

And this pic below is one I took when we were coming back into town after storing The Mustang at my sister’s house. Our house is a mile up the road, and then we turn right to weave into our track of homes. Also notice the sun behind the smoke in the upper right side of the screen.

And a fun break — this is Phoebe when I watched her. Keep in mind, she’s 14 years old!! And very happy that I came over to hang out with her

Over the weekend, we took food out to Middle and his wife so they didn’t have to cook while taking care of their baby girl. Then we spent the rest of the weekend cleaning up and catching up from the wild week. I did manage to get out to Trader Joe’s but going anywhere requires getting around road closures and dealing with traffic from a major highway closure. But that should ease up this week or early next week and it’s all for a good cause.

Oh and in the middle of all the chaos, UCI scheduled my endocrinologist appointment for this Friday. I was amazed they got it approved and scheduled so quickly! I know my surgeon wanted me to get in somewhat urgently just to make sure I’m adjusting well, and due to some genetic markers, but I didn’t think it would happen this fast. I was happily wrong!

How was your weekend?