Saturday was a marathon! It turns out, Youngest is a slavedriver

So Youngest texted me Friday and asked me if I wanted more rock to fill the frame of the deck before he laid the redwood planks down. I said yes (it’s better for drainage and keep critters out), and then I made the mistake — I told Youngest that his dad and I would be home all day to help him. Then he made us help. All day long! But the deck is done! And I learned a new-to-me skill in using a cordless screwdriver. I got pretty good at it too after Youngest drilled enough holes to use up a 5lb box of screws. That deck is solid.

So once the deck was done and we were all sitting around with cold drinks, Wizard says…”I think we need a cover (like a patio cover) for the deck.” Because that is the slippery slope of home improvement projects, one ideas becomes an expensive, time-sucking, landslide of chores. But for now, I’m thrilled to have the deck done. Today Wizard and I will seal it, but that shouldn’t be too hard.

Also I have to note, Maggie was right smack in the middle of all this work. She’s scared of phone chimes, but power tools? Not a bit scared and decided to curl up under the table that youngest was cutting some wood on with a power saw. When I told her to move (safety and all that), she went and curled up on the thick mat we were using for kneeling and watched us wield noisy power tools. Then my phone dinged a text message and she ran to the door to escape the terror. She’s a strange critter sometimes.

Sunday, I ended up staying home because my lucky grandson got to go to Disneyland. I’ll see him another time. It worked out nice though as I got all my floors cleaned and the furniture dusted after all that digging and sawing that somehow migrates to my floors. Then I made some sourdough bread that I’ll bake today.

How was your weekend?

I had a brain glitch and set this to post on the right day, but at the wrong time. Sorry I’m late!

Happy Hump Day!

I have not gone back to reading the getting unstuck book But I am reading THE THINGS WE LEAVE UNFINISHED by Rebecca Yarros and really liking it. I started it on the camping trips, which was awesome. However, the room had crapping lighting so I couldn’t read at night. It’s a trade paperback, if it had been on my Kindle, I could read it. But these days, I really like reading in Trade paperback. Probably because on my Kindle, I watch YouTube.

It’s nice to be home and have a few calm-ish days. But am I getting any work done on my site I want to create? Um…in my defense, I’m lazy But seriously, it’s making me think about how much effort I want to consistently put into this. It’s good to set realistic goals for myself. So the question becomes, is it something I will have a lasting passion and energy for? I think so, but in manageable chunks. Figuring this out now can save me a lot of agony and worry later!

What are you reading, and how’s your midweek going?

But before we get to that, my heart and prayers go out to Texas. The tragedy their is awful. Truly, I hope they can find everyone, and if they aren’t alive, at least let the families have the peace of knowing, and saying goodbye. It’s just heartbreaking.

Now for something lighter. We’re home! The day before a trip is always busy and stressful and I wonder why I ever booked the trip. But then we get on the rode, and it all makes sense We had a great time! Maggie was good. She loves going in the car, and she behaved well the whole trip with no issues. We had so much fun with Middle Son, his wife, CiGi and the pups, Jett and Hazel. Maggie gets along fine with the dogs too so that makes it overall easy. We spent one day at the big campsite pool, another day, we had lunch and a wine tasing at a local winery. My daughter in law’s mom and her husband were there for Fourth of July dinner and the day at the winery day, so CiGi had two Grandmas to spoil her! We really like my daughter in law’s mom, so it feels like we’re all family.

For the Fourth, our daughter in law made a lovely dinner of tri tip, potatoes and tortellini pasta salad. We all hung out at the campsite, visited and relaxed.

Here’s a pic of CiGi in her camp chair, and then one of her with me — I’m looking at the camera while CiGi is chatting with Grandpa across the table

And a pic of Maggie on the little patio of our room at the Inn:

Maggie is getting as gray as her mom, but we love her all the same.

And let me just say, CiGi is such an easy baby! Grandpa and I had so much fun with her. She recognizes us which is so cool, and she gets mad her her parents take her away from us for parenting tasks like diaper changes. She makes us feel loved. Grandkids really are a gift! And a fun note: Our room was a pretty quick walk to their campsite–like a three minute walk. Yet our son had a sudden need to stretch his legs when we walked back to our room at night and would accompany us. And you know what? We thanked him. There are worse things then our kids caring, right? But seriously, it was a short walk, and we felt perfectly safe I’d happily stay at the Inn again.

How was your Fourth and weekend?

So yep, I was suckered. Again. By a book. I’ll explain. So I was intrigued by a title; “THE SCIENCE OF STUCK: Breaking Through Inertia to Find Your path Forward.” It started off good, talking about dealing with anxiety, the hidden benefits of being stuck and some steps to deal with that. Then, it quickly began to fall apart for me.

It’s all about expectations. I was looking for a book with with solid steps of forward motion.

This book delves into the psychology of drug use, traumas, relationship abuse and…wait for it…getting know know your shadow self, and then making friends with your shadow self.

It’s not for me. I’m sure it’s useful for many others who are looking for this information. Maybe for a 20-something type figuring herself out. People dealing with serious troubles. And those who have some curiosity would probably enjoy it too. It’s easy reading and not complex at all. I just had way different expectations.

But did I learn anything? Sure…I’m a sucker for good titles

In audiobooks, I’m listening to “GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE” by Emily Henry and enjoying it. It’s just easy listening, and great for getting things done.

What are you reading?

**Programming Note: I’ll be out of town on Friday, so I’m not sure if I’ll post or not, depending of how busy we are. If not, I’ll try to post on Monday!

The weekend was hot. Summer seems to be digging in now.

Friday, I got my hair done! Three and half hours. But I really like it. I’ve never been so harsh on my hair, but now it’s an all gray (think silver) base, with dark ash blonde lowlights. From here on in, I’ll just need to touch up the lowlights now and again. My hair is tolerate all the abuse pretty well.

Saturday, Youngest came over, and I have no idea how he works in the heat. He dug out the second half of the deck and set in the base (which is basically the frame beneath the deck). So the worst part is done! It’s really coming along. I helped him when he needed it, and by the time he left I was covered in dirt However I spent much of the time inside making him Mocha Espresso Bars. Which I decided to do just that morning. And naturally I chose I complicated cookie bar. And yet, I still did not work as hard as Youngest did!

Sunday, Wizard went racing with Turbo. Turbo got second place!!!! That’s absolutely amazing for his very first time racing. I was dancing for joy when they told me!!! Turbo’s grin on the winner podium for the top three said it all! Grandpa came home beaming with pride! Picture below — Turbo is on the left. Middle is first place and right is third place.

I spent my day doing boring stuff like taking the shorts back all the way back to the store (it’s about 45 minutes away). They, of course, didn’t have the smaller size I need. So I went to another store and bought some cheap shorts and they’ll have to do. It’s hard to find shorts here once it’s actually hot.

This weekend is getting ready for the trip with Middle, his wife, CiGi and the dogs, including Maggie. We’re looking forward to it.

But I’d also love to find some free chunks of time in my day to work on my blog. There’s a ton of back end work I want to do before I get it up and running. Isn’t this always how life goes — make plans and things will happen to get in the way But there’s no real rush.

How was your weekend?

TGIF! Now it’s time to share five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

1. Monday was amazing! I got my teeth cleaned, that was not amazing, just normal But then I went out to see CIGI and she made my day! As soon as I go there and  picked her up, I must have shaken my head (like we do to indicate no), and this set her off. She laughed and shook her head no. Then we played this game for five or ten minutes, totally cracking her up. Her mom and I were cracking up too.  The best we can guess, she liked the way my hair swished around my face when I did it. From then on it was nonstop play time until she ate and fell asleep. That was the day Jett had his minor procedure and last I heard, he’s doing great.
2. Tuesday was a total Brain Drain day. It involves other people so I’ll just leave it at that. Let’s just say that I’m glad that day is over.
3. I have to take another two pairs of shorts back. It’s possible that all my exercise stuff has changed my body enough to make find a good fit difficult. But more likely, this once trusted brand name, resized their sizes bigger. I hate when they do that. It’s a stupid trick to make consumers think they stiff fit into whatever size. But how can we trust their sizes when we have to order most things online these days? I mean I really want to believe I’ve changed the shape of my body, but I’m pretty sure that’s not really it
4. Yesterday, Wizard and I followed followed directions to remover our freezer doors to clean out a drain that’s causing ice buildup. It went great until the last screw we couldn’t get out. We could see the drain but couldn’t read it to fix the issue. Wizard was getting so frustrated, and I called a halt before we stripped that last screw. We put everything back together, and now we’ll have to call out a repair person. Annoying and a waste of money since we should have been able to do this ourselves. It’s probably a flaw in the freezer/ice maker system we’ll have to deal with forever too. On the other hand, the fridge, freezer and ice maker work so we no time pressure there — at least that’s a bright spot. I just have to keep cleaning off frost/icy buildup. I miss old appliances that, you know, worked.
5. Today I’m supposed to get a another weave in my hair to blend the gray. I have the appointment but I haven’t received the normal reminder and I’m nervous. Last time that happened, the appointment had vanished from the system. This particular appointment is important and time sensitive. I’ll call to verify later and I will practice reminding myself — it’s just hair! The sun will still rise tomorrow even if I don’t get the weave color done today.

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

Tuesday was a mentally draining day. They happen to us all — it’s a life thing. But the bright spot was definitely seeing Cigi on Monday! And today is a new day, with (hopefully) renewed energy. Now let’s talk books!

I stumbled on a nonfiction,  THE SCIENCE OF STUCK: BREAK THOUGH INERTIA TO FIND A PATH FORWARD  by Britt Frank. I’m not big into pop psychology but I liked what I read about this book, so I’m giving it a try. So far…it’s not bad. I’ve read about a fifth of it so far, and find it easy to read, pieces of it resonate, other pieces feel a bit simplistic or pop-psychologyish, but overall I’m liking the message of this book so far. I was curious if this book had any useful tips or tools for writers to get over “being stuck.” I’ll have to get back to you all on my conclusion.

I just bought an audiobook, GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL LIFE by Emily Henry, who is an author I like, and has a narrator I really like. But I haven’t started listening to that yet.

What are you reading?