Oh look, Monday arrived right on time So our weekend was good. Saturday I cleaned and prepped to have youngest and his wife over on Father’s Day. They are absolutely the easiest people to have over for dinner. So the cleaning and prep was most anxiety driven to keep myself busy while dealing with an insurance curveball in my treatment. Things will be fine, it’s just my inner control freak doesn’t like it, and I had to physically exhaust her to shut her up And yet she still wakes me up in the night to uselessly fret. She needs drugs, LOLOL! The same inner control freak drove me crazy when I was writing, along with the characters waking me up to chat in the middle of night. I’m used to voices in my head

Sunday (Father’s Day!), Wizard and I went out to breakfast to a place we haven’t been to since well before Covid, and really enjoyed it. I had a Mediterranean omelet with feta cheese. It was so good! That afternoon, youngest and his wife came over and we had a fun and relaxing time. We ate and laughed way too much Maggie was exhausted when they left.

How was your weekend, and if you celebrated Father’s Day — how was that?

So, I don’t want to brag or anything, but I’ve kept a small tomato plant alive for like, two weeks now.  With real baby tomatoes on it! It’s snacking tomatoes type (I can’t remember the real name — but the grape-like tomatoes that grow well in a planter rather than that ground). I’m impressed. So far my basil, cilantro and thyme are doing well too — but to be fair, those are pretty easy.

I truly do not have a green thumb, so I’m always happy when I haven’t murdered plant life…at least not yet. Stay tuned though, LOL! This could turn into a Murder Mystery at any time. The mystery part being “How did she murder the innocent plants this time?”

What’s your Wednesday brag?

Crazy, LOL!! It was a very good weekend. But —

Friday, we did things I can’t remember during the day. Then that evening, Youngest, his wife and her mom came over. Maggie had the best time of her life getting everyone to talk to, and pet, her. However, I made Youngest mad when I said I think Maggie likes his mother-in-law better than him He insisted she liked him the best. The whole conversation was ridiculous, LOL. Also Maggie is very spoiled.

Saturday morning, Youngest came over so he and Wizard could go register the car in his and his wife’s name. But when Youngest came to the door, Wizard rushed him out and Maggie didn’t get to see him. She did a round of Serious Mad and Sad in her bed after that. In that time, I baked a cake for Middle son. Then Youngest came back and Maggie’s joy almost exploded her heart. Youngest hung out and we talked which is always nice. That evening, we went to Middle’s house to celebrate his birthday, and from there we went to dinner and had a great time! We also viewed the baby’s nursery in progress, it’s going to be so pretty. We all talked way too much. Middle liked his lemon pound cake. His favorite cake is the easiest to make which was a bonus for me this year. But also — Middle is an amazing son and both Wizard and I just wanted him to know that. We got home around 9pm.

Sunday morning Wizard left around 7 am to go racing, and I left at 8 to get to Oldest’s house then we went to brunch, followed by going to see Turbo do some amazing bike riding on U shaped dirt hills. This boy had training wheels just a month or two ago and now he’s riding right into BMX territory! I also had to watch his dad on the same hills and that made me laugh. He’s still my son, LOL. No matter how successful he gets, Oldest loves nothing more than riding bikes with his son. Then we went back to the house and visited and finally I went home.

My voice was shot after that, but I didn’t care. We got to hang out with all three kids and families at different times in one weekend, and it was totally worth the price of all the driving and a cranky throat.

Today Wizard gets to stay home, while I’m trotting off to the dentist for a 9AM appt. I’m not complaining though. I had to suddenly cancel on them last time due to a last minute bloodwork snafu before my surgery, and the dentist managed to slot this appt in before I may have to do anything else of a medical nature. I really appreciate that kind of kindness and customer service.

How was your weekend?

It’s been a week of news. Some bad to hear, but will be okay eventually (vague, I know but that’s all I feel like discussing right now). Which let to the the realization that I shouldn’t yet go back to walking dogs at the animal shelter. Then a tumble of things followed like concerns over how much hour homeowners insurance is going up. A rock that flew up and hit the car window, cracking it, and that’s not cheap these days. Just a series of things — I’m sure you all have had those weeks. Nothing tragic, just a series of annoying things.

But then, I also had a gift card to a store in town with a fair chunk of $$ on it. We got it for switching our pharmacy to this store pharmacy. So I went to buy practical things we needed or would need in the near future.

What did I end up buying? Some pears we both really like that we can’t get at our regular store… and a few bottles of wine

I showed Wizard the pears, and he was satisfied.

Then I showed him the wine and his face lit up. This is something we rarely buy anymore, partly due to inflation and partly because both of us just didn’t want it. But I told him that I’m tired of being practical, we weren’t going to buy it in our regular budget, so why not indulge when we had the gift card?

The retired accountant known for being practical and cheap, agreed! I was a hero for my executive decision making!

What have you done for yourself this week?

Happy First Monday of June! The months of 2024 sure seem to be flying by. Let’s talk about our weekends. Mine was good but intentionally quiet.

Friday, I had lunch with Biker Witch. It’s always nice to see her, but the restaurant was crowded and loud. Its graduation week, and the restaurants have been crammed all week and all times. Kind of weird. But it’s always a win when I can spend time with Biker Witch. I also called my brother. We don’t talk enough, so it’s good when one of use manages the amazing feat of picking up the phone and dialing the other

Saturday: I did a short workout. I’m struggling with yoga, partly due to an injury a couple months ago, and just not recovering enough energy yet. I’m going to switch to just doing 10 or 15 minutes of stretching yoga and some light weights to see if my hip will finally hill and I’ll feel a bit more energetic. And I tackled my big project of cleaning the carpet in our room. It’s normally not a big chore but this time it was. We had various stains from doing the floors, having the house painted, Maggie, and a crime-scene worthy nosebleed on my part I got it as clean as it’s going to be and I’m happy with that.

Sunday was little chores, then Wizard and I bought some plants. We just had three spots we want to fill on the hill, and I wanted a few herbs. I hope to work on plants for my little sun patio now that life has slowed a bit for us. I have a vision of what I want, but I don’t really have the skills to do it, LOL! But trying is half the fun.

Oh and Sunday morning Maggie and I found a dead snake on our walk. No, I didn’t actually check to see if it was dead, another woman had checked and told me before I got to that spot I passed quickly and kept going. I am not knowledgeable enough about snakes to take any chances. Then later, Maggie chased a little critter (mouse or rat) out of our backyard. She spent the rest of the day going out and checking the perimeter of the yard for anymore unwanted critters. She’s finally earning her keep!

And something I wanted to comment on (and this is just my opinon). While I dropped my RWA Membership years ago, it gave me a pang to see the organization file bankruptcy last week. I once truly loved that organization when it’s focus was on supporting all writers. Things will always change, and maybe it needs to, but I will always remember the version of RWA that helped me learn my craft, make a lot of friends, and promoted the idea of respecting and encouraging all romance writers even when their chosen work wasn’t my cup of tea. It appears to be a sad end, but I guess we’ll see if there’s in Phoenix in those ashes.

How was your weekend?

TGIF!! It’s the last day of May and time to share five random things about our week. Truthfully, I’m hard pressed to find anything to share, but here goes my attempt.

1. I’ve been quiet this week. Nothing wrong, just not much to say. Something I have way too much to say, so the Internet should definitely enjoy the moment!
2. It’s warming up so I guess summer will come This is when I think of our old pool, but it’s sure nice that Youngest has a pool!
3. Hilariously, I bought a (somewhat modest) bikini AFTER coming home from Hawaii. And really, Hawaii is where I would have used it. I don’t look great it in, but I’m okay with that.
4. We are trying to figure out a way to celebrate Middle’s birthday (two days ago!) but schedules are challenging us. However we will do it, as Middle is very important to all of us! He’s also going to be a dad in roughly 3 months
5. Today I’m seeing Biker Witch and happy about that. Before Hawaii she had a lot going on, plus I had stuff — so this will be nice! This weekend plans are exciting things like cleaning the carpets in the bedroom. Hope no one is jealous of my amazing life, LOL!!!

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

Just popping in to thank all who served in the U.S. and remember all the service members who were injured or made the ultimate sacrifice. It’s important to actually remember the cost to those who earned our freedoms.  It hit me hard when I visited the Arizona Memorial in Hawaii. All those souls below us as we stood to view the wall of names of those who died was sobering and left a lasting impact. I consider it an honor to have had the opportunity to silently thank them as I stood on the memorial. While the rest of our trip was fun and family time, those moments were spent in quiet refection, prayer and gratitude. It also gave me a chance to thank my dad for his service as a fighter pilot in WWII — although he was fortunate to come home physically unharmed, he carried the emotional scars of war and, I believe, that heavy weight took him decades earlier than his two sisters who lived well into their 80’s. The cost of combat is great and long lasting.