Things You Don't Want To Live Through Twice (Week 11 Of Quarantine)

Yesterday was a horrid day. In honor of that, I will skip my totals for Week 11.

If having to be quarantined for months on end wasn't enough...

I checked in with Facebook and found out that there was going to be a demonstration regarding the killing of George Floyd. It was going to happen at 11AM at the corner of Valencia Blvd and McBean Parkway. Basically our Mall.

I had 2 errands to run and so I made sure to do them early in the day. I brought 8 bags of food, TP and clothes to our Church, for many organizations that are distributing things for the less fortunate in So Cal. Then got eye medicine for my cat, from the vet.

Our local demonstration went on until the mid afternoon, and then dispersed, after they had walked to the Police Station (which is adjacent to the Mall). Big sigh of relief, from me.

We then heard that Saugus Cafe had opened and so my Husband wanted to go. I allowed it, but I want to say, I was not comfortable with eating without a mask, in a restaurant. It is too soon for me.

Meanwhile, there was a demonstration going on in the Fairfax area of Los Angeles. I could feel it coming, because I had lived through the L.A. Riots in 1992 (which I wrote about HERE). Late afternoon and things started hopping, with things set on fire and then looting. Talk about a flashback. My girlfriend lives in that area and was screaming on Facebook about what it was like on the ground and it did not sound pleasant. Finally, the Governor called in the National Guard.

As all this was going on, a fake Twitter account said that people were coming to our area of town, because we are rich and white. Really?

The Sheriff's Department said it was not credible but covered the Magic Mountain area, anyway. At that point, I went to bed, I had had it.

We survived to live another day.

Photo is of yesterday's Sunset.

INXS

I have written before about the fact that back in 1987 I worked on American Bandstand. You can see it archived at KCET's website, HERE.

My favorite group that I watched perform, was INXS.

They were there to promote their new album (at the time) Kick. The first song they came out with, off that album was "Need You Tonight".

I have not watched this video, since it aired back in 1987, but amazingly, I found it on Youtube the other day.

Someone had recorded the song on a VHS tape and uploaded and posted it. I guess since Dick Clark is dead, these things sometimes happen.

No matter what, check it out and see our camera, which was on the floor of the stage with the kids dancing. Luis Fuerte on camera and me keeping the kids from tripping on his cable.

Curious as to who else I saw that year? Here is the entire lineup for Season 31

Food For The Poor

It has been difficult to give to the poor, over the last 3 months.

This week I was invited to drop off food at my Church.

I had not stopped buying things on extreme sale and had just been holding them (or figuring we could use them if things got worse).

So I had 2 bags of things, right off the bat.

This week I went and shopped for Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Mecca, which is a very poor area out in the California Desert. It is the Women's Guild ongoing project that has been put on hold. I gather that some of the men took what provisions were left at St. Kateri Church, over to Mecca the other day and found out the Pastor for the Church had to turn away over 1000 people who needed food.

I am sure in this pandemic, it is even harder for them to to survive. I have no idea how many stores exist out there.

So this is my collection of things to make their life a little better, at least for now.

I found so much that was not very expensive, but nutritious.

Hopefully it will help.

Update: Love SCV posted some photos of the food drive. My stuff is there, mixed in. Yay!

Jazzman & Zanzibar Sounds Of Steely Dan?

Recently some of the Steely Dan groups that I belong to have been alluding to the fact that they think some of the songs out there, harken back to Steely Dan songs from the past.

2 songs that get mentioned, in particular are:

Jazzman by Carole King

In a cool kind of way, the lyrics were written by former member of Steely Dan, David Palmer (who sang Dirty Work and Brooklyn on their first album, Can't Buy A Thrill).

Tom Scott played the sax on the song.

The 2nd song mentioned is Zanzibar by Billy Joel. This is the original recording, btw, with the sax solo by Freddie Hubbard.

HERE is a more recent one, from Shea Stadium in NYC.

Jazzman came out in 1975 and Zanibar came out in 1978. To put them both into perspective, Aja (their most Jazz influenced album) came out in 1977.

Yes, the songs have Jazz influences in them and they are both good songs, but Steely Dan...No, I do not hear it.

Give them a listen, it is worth the time, since they are both great songs.

The sax solos are outstanding, on both of them.

Lucia & CeeCee

My niece-in-law posted a photo of her daughter and their new cat, up on Cluster the other day.

We had seen just 1 video of the cat and heard that it's name was CeeCee.

I have no real information about it (even to it's sex).

But since I fell in love with KCAT way back in the 80's, I have always had a thing for black cats.

I hope all is going well with them.

A Visit To Father Ed

The man who married my Husband and I almost 30 years ago, died on this day in 2012. I wrote about him, HERE.

Since it was Memorial Day weekend, I asked my Husband if we could take a drive to our local cemetery in Newhall.

We had in our possession the location for his grave and after much to do, with help from the staff, we found him.

The grave is well taken care of and that made me very happy. He was a good man and he deserves to be remembered.

I placed a rock (in the Jewish way) to let others know someone cared to call on him.

I said a prayer, too.

Please note that this post was given the date of 5/27, before I clicked my link and found out he passed on 5/27. That man could always make miracles happen. :-)

The Lights Outside My House

A friend of mine from work has been decorating her new house with lights. It is quite a production, considering how little dirt area she has.

Coincidentally, Almost all our solar lights have died and in this time of being not able to go out and things, it has bothered me, as I sat out at night. No lights on the walkway in normal times is a safety hazard.

So I checked out my go to solar place...Harbor Freight. Yes, you could order via their website and so I did.

I only ordered 10 lights, but after replacing all the walkway lights, I really could have used another set of 10.

No matter, we are looking just a bit better out there and it makes me happier, once again.

I know it is hard to see in this second photo, but we are still lighting our "Blue" light in the window, for Saugus High School. Was that mass shooting just over 6 months ago? It feels like the world definitely turned since then.

These last 4 lights are different bugs, dragonfly, butterfly and hummingbird. They shine with multicolored lights.

We picked up another set of 3 and now have 4 in the front and 4 in the back.

A definite piece of happiness, to add to my solitude. It beats HGTV, by a mile. :)

Nawiliwili, Kauai

My Water Post For Today.

The absolute best looking departure on our 5 stop Hawaiian trip in January was the port of Nawiliwili, Kauai.

It was an outstandingly beautiful day and that never changed.

This photo was taken just after we got free of the port itself. People had been watching us and we watched them.

Then, suddenly, it was a totally different view.

I love the waves crashing and the lighthouse on the left.

I hope you enjoy.

Totals: Week 10 Of Quarantine

It's Memorial Day Weekend and who knew we would all still be staying at home for the 10th week.

In good news for the angel house, NASCAR racing came back last week and so we got to watch some really good racing at Darlington, SC.

On a personal level, after checking out more sink dish drainers then I ever wanted to check out, we finally found one via Wayfair. It is almost identical to the one we had and fits perfectly in our sink.

We are still holding our own, at the angel house. Still healthy and still staying home, for the most part, even though things are beginning to open up a bit, especially in Ventura County.

Quarantine Week 10

Toilet Paper: 27 rolls left of the 40 roll score, from 5 weeks ago. Add to that the 12 Costco Rolls and the 15 rolls in the emergency supply and we are still rolling in TP.

Paper Towels: 2 weeks ago we scored with a web order on Costco dot com. 12 rolls! That was on top of 6 rolls of a no name brand at Von's. We have 2 rolls left from our original stash, so all is well with that.

Tissues: I picked up 2 Kleenex square boxes this week, added to our 3 boxes in the closet. Of everything, tissues seem to be around a store, each week, so I have managed to keep them going during this quarantine.

Soft Soap: A large bottle under the sink in the bathroom. In addition I still have 2 new Lavender bottles that I got at Rite Aid. We are still set, for quite a bit.

Wipes are being used, but are similar to last week's totals, thanks CVS.

Meat: I still saw no meat shortage here in LA. I did buy a package of pork ribs at Smart and Final and Chicken wings at Von's this week. It is Memorial Day this weekend and we NEED to BBQ. :-)

The inventory of our freezer hasn't changed too much. It is jammed.

Once again (do I sound like a broken record, or what), the main reason I went shopping this week, is for some fresh produce. Fortunately, Von's had plenty of salad. Hubby is happy.

Pantry is, thankfully, still full of staples. I saw cereal for $1.99 this week and so I broke down and bought 2 more boxes. I had some idea of bringing a donation to the Food Pantry on my own, but amazingly, Knight of Columbus at my Church is having a food drive next Saturday. WIN!

We got another bunch of free stuff from Von's Monopoly game, which is (thankfully) coming to an end. I didn't do quite as well (money wise) this week, but still came out paying $124 and saving 40%, due to the free stuff and sales.

We will continue to stay at home, so there will probably be a week 11 entry next week.

I hope you are holding your own in these very unsettled times.

SoCal Connected Profiles Mass In LA

A week ago, KCET did a small story about my Church and how they are connecting with their parishioners during the quarantine.

It was very well done and shocked the heck out of me, because (number 1) I used to work audio there and (number 2) I tune in quite often, to participate in the Mass.

Father Albert mentions in the video, that one of his interests is the technology of audio and video. So he is the one who sets up the Mass each day.

If you would like to view it, you can do so HERE.

Things Are Hoppin' In My "Garden"

It has been just one month since I planted my "Victory Garden" in the front of my house.

I won't give you the full garden right now, but just a preview of the biggest movers, so far.

I have about 10 cherry tomatoes currently growing on one of my plants, 1 "big boy" growing on the big tomato plant.

Those 2 purple flowers are going to grow (God willing) into eggplants.

My cucumber is beginning to show off flowers and 1 of them definitely has a cucumber attached to it.

I am just so jazzed to watch them grow, from day to day.

The best under $20 I have ever spent and it keeps me happy and busy in this hard time.

The Last Photo You Took Before Lock-Down

Facebook and Twitter have been asking you to post your final photo before the Lock-Down.

I went back to Friday March 13th, just over 2 months ago and found a photo of my Other Son at Saugus Cafe.

It was our last dinner with him

Now days, it is seeing no one and staying at home.

This photo makes me miss eating out so much. Sigh...

Little John Dwarf Bottlebrush

The hummingbirds in my neighborhood are currently happy.

I bought these three dwarf bottlebrush plants a few years ago and this year they are really going crazy.

Look at the yellow pollen on them!

The hummingbirds (obviously) appreciate it, though I am not so sure people with allergies appreciate it flying in the air.

Anyway, I like the fact that they have such bright red flowers and the contrasting yellow that is currently on each of them.

It won't last long, but, for now, I am enjoying it.

HERE is more info, if you want to check them out.

Rocky Raccoon

My Son lives in a rural area of Michigan and so the other day he looked outside and coming out of a drain was a mother raccoon and her 5 babies!

He went running for his "Good" camera and got a few photos of them.

All I got was a photo he took with his cell phone, shooting the display on his camera...thanks son.

At least I can see what he was talking about on our "Facebook" call.

BTW, I think the baby at the end looks just like mama. :-)

The Thunderbirds Came For A Fly By

We have seen the Air Force Thunderbirds before, especially HERE in 2008.

In this hard time, there have been planes sent around the Country to cheer up the American people who are stuck at home.

Last Friday was our turn.

Amazingly, it was not the normal 5 planes in formation, but 8 planes!

My Husband got all 8 of them in his close up photo, though mine has them too...if you check out their noses real closely. :-)

We were incredibly lucky that they came through Saugus, right by my house!

So many people waited by the Hospital, figuring that they would fly right over it, but for some reason, they did not.

It was the highlight of our day.

Chittenango Falls, New York

My Water Post For Today.

John Kucko graduated from Oswego back in the mid 1980's somewhere. He lives in the Rochester area and goes around Upstate NY, taking beautiful photos.

This one was taken from a 60 second video at Chittenango Falls. The falls are 167 ft high.

It is located in Madison County, to the East of Syracuse.

I just grabbed a screen capture of the video, but I never knew about this and maybe someday, I can go visit it.

I have so much I would love to do and right now, there is no way to do it.

I hope you enjoy.

Totals: Week 9 Of Quarantine

We are still holding our own, at the angel house. Still healthy and still staying home, for the most part. Though I did have my first appointment on Monday. It was a surreal experience.

Quarantine Week 9

Toilet Paper: 30 rolls left of the 40 roll score, from 4 weeks ago. Add to that the 12 Costco Rolls and the 15 rolls in the emergency supply and we are still rolling in TP.

Paper Towels: Last week we scored with a web order on Costco dot com. 12 rolls! That was on top of 6 rolls of a no name brand at Vons, which was the first time I saw any paper towels in their store (note, I did not see any this week). We have the 4 rolls left from our original stash, so all is well with that.

Tissues: I used 1 more package of my stash, since another one ran out this week. That leaves 3 boxes in the closet.

Soft Soap: A large bottle under the sink in the bathroom. In addition I still have 2 new Lavender bottles that I got at Rite Aid. We are set, for quite a bit.

Wipes are the same as last week, thanks CVS.

Meat: I still saw no meat shortage here in LA. and I did not buy any this week.

The inventory of our freezer hasn't changed too much. It is jammed.

Once again (do I sound like a broken record, or what), the main reason I went shopping this week, is for some fresh produce. Fortunately, Vons had plenty of salad. Hubby is happy.

Pantry is, thankfully, still full of staples. I did not go to any effort, in this regard.

We got a bunch of free stuff from Von's Monopoly game, which is (thankfully) coming to an end. I ended up buying $58 of groceries and half of it was basically free. I will take that to the bank.

California started opening up a little bit on Friday, though we will continue to stay at home. I hope you are holding your own in these very unsettled times.

Gerbera

I do not like Petunia's at all. Especially since they are summer plants and I end up getting them in the late spring and do not even think of getting the winter flowers, in the Fall, which are the very beautiful Pansys.

For the past year, I have remembered to get my Pansys, but they die out in the late Spring. So here I am, at Lowe's 2 weeks ago and I am wondering what to get.

I saw these beautiful plants (called Gerbera) and I decided to take a gamble and try them.

So far, 2 weeks in, they are beautiful.

The colors are stunning and they stand out on either side of my porch area.

They make things very lovely right now, which I really need.

We will see how long they last.

My Trash Man

I was not aware that I was married to the neighborhood trash man.

When my Husband goes out to bring in the trash cans, he does (not only) our trash cans, but the entire local neighborhood's trash.

Most of them either work, or are retired or on disability.

It is a total of 4 houses, besides our own.

I get a kick out of it.

Photo is of him finishing up our across the street neighbor and moving on to the house one down from that house.

Pine Trees (2020)

The best part of being "retired" is that I don't have to trim the Pine Trees over a weekend or so.

This first photo was taken after I had trimmed the branches I could get with the tree cutter. It telescopes to a large height and you can do a branch at a time. Great for getting things in the front, but it still means that I have to climb up the hill to the top and trim from the back side of the trees.

Being I stubbed my toe/hurt my foot toward the beginning of March, I could not climb onto the hill.

So the down on the ground process is what you are looking at in the first shot. That was April.

This second photo is the finished trees, which were done in May.

Yes, I managed to get up on the hill, but then I slid down a bit on the same leg with the old injury and ended up with a very upset thigh muscle.

I gave it a week to get better and then got up on the hill, once more. Yeah, I made sure I did NOT water the hill the day I went up there. No more sliding for me this year.

I still have some dead branches to trim off with a different cutter, especially the second tree on the right (maybe I can talk my Husband into doing them). Otherwise, all is finished for another year.

Stream Of Consciousness

Stream Of Consciousness. Just thoughts I have on Mother's Day.

Thankfully, after talking to all siblings, I have heard that everyone is holding their own, at this point.

I seem to spend more and more time moving things around in my house. Not spending money, just finding things I have and rearranging an area, to highlight it.

I spent yesterday giving new life to my little water feature that has been sitting on my dressing table for the past 10 years.

Now, what to do with it, so that I can see it operate once in a while.

It's original purpose was to operate as I worked on my nails, but I have not done my nails for the past 10 years.

I will figure something out, it is just going to take a few days of thought.

One of my ideas was to use a plexaglass tray we received back when we got married. It is almost 40 years old and has never been used.

Well, I cleaned it up and we set it up on our dining room table, instead. It looks quite nice there among some of the normal things I have sitting on the table and maybe we will use it someday for its original purpose.

As a matter of fact, my dining room has slowly been spruced up, as I mentioned before.

Things to keep me busy, in the midst of this outrageous time.

Goodbye Marie

5 years ago, a friend who worked with my Husband for years, retired from Walmart.

Almost immediately, we set up a trip on the Red Line, to Langer's Deli, which you can read about HERE.

This opened up a new world to the recently retired person and she ran with it, taking friends and others to places, via the Red Line subway.

She then decided to be an Uber and Lyft driver, to make money to go on exotic trips to Mexico.

It got to the point when she was rarely in Santa Clarita...then suddenly, it stopped.

She had some bad health problems and had to stay in Santa Clarita for treatment.

She had looked like she was past the worst of it, when suddenly the Coronavirus came calling.

I personally do not think she died of it, but I think she was a person who maybe could not get the treatment she had been getting, due to being unable to visit Doctors, Hospitals, etc.

As with so many things right now, there will be no service for her, until maybe August.

She has joined the love of her life, Fred, in heaven.

God speed to you, Marie.

All The Roses In My Back Yard

I took this photo at the end of the April/May show, that I have been documenting.

Most have reached the end of their profuse blooming spring cycle.

In this very hard time, the roses have been my savior. Making me want to go out and see how they are doing, each day.

Onward to the heat of the summer. Sigh...

Victoria And Puget Sound

My Water Post For Today.

My final "Alaska" themed post is from Puget Sound, outside Victoria, British Columbia.

It is just in shades of blue and the water is so very calm.

You can just barely see the dock at the very bottom of the photo and 3 boats, doing what boats do, in The Sound.

A calm end to my mini-series.

I hope you enjoy.

Totals: Week 8 Of Quarantine

First off, Happy Mother's Day to the Mothers.

We are still holding our own, at the angel house. Still healthy and still staying home, for the most part.

Quarantine Week 8

Toilet Paper: 33 rolls left of the 40 roll score, from 3 weeks ago. Add to that the 12 Costco Rolls and the 15 rolls in the emergency supply and we are still rolling in TP.

Paper Towels: We scored with a web order on Costco dot com. 12 rolls! That was on top of 6 rolls of a no name brand at Vons, which was the first time I saw any paper towels in their store. We have the 5 rolls left from our original stash, so all is well with that.

Tissues: I used 2 packages of my stash, since some of the other ones ran out this week. That leaves 4 boxes in the closet.

Soft Soap: A large bottle under the sink in the bathroom. In addition I still have 2 new Lavender bottles that I got at Rite Aid. We are set, for quite a bit.

Wipes are the same as last week, thanks CVS.

Meat: I made a major score of 4 Chicken Breasts this week. I cooked 2 of them and placed the other 2 in the freezer I also got 2 Lamb Shoulder chops and Pork Sausage (because it was on sale) both went into our freezer. I still saw no meat shortage here in LA.

The inventory of our freezer hasn't changed too much. Several packages of pork and a package of lamb. 4 NY Strip Steaks.

Once again, the main reason we went shopping this week, is for some fresh produce. Fortunately, Vons finally got a delivery this week. Hubby is happy.

Pantry is, thankfully, still full of staples.

California started opening up a little bit, though we will continue to stay at home. I hope you are holding your own in these very unsettled times.

Peanut Butter Cookies

When I wrote the post about the Peanut Butter Banana Bread, I realized that I forgot to showcase the wonderful peanut butter recipe I found online.

What makes them so good is the fact that you put baking soda into the dough, to give them a crunchiness that most peanut butter cookies lack.

I ended up getting 4 dozen cookies from this batch and we are still eating them.

Recipe is from gimme some oven

Peanut Butter Cookies

Instructions

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
(optional: 1/2 cup granulated sugar for rolling the dough balls)

Directions

Prep your oven and cookie sheet. 350˚F and parchment paper.

Combine dry ingredients. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch and salt.

Mix the wet ingredients. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the softened butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Mix in peanut butter until it is incorporated and smooth. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl down after each addition.

Add in the dry ingredients. Reduce mixer speed to low and slowly add dry ingredients until they are just incorporated and the batter is smooth, being careful not to over-mix.

Form your dough balls. Form the dough into 1.5-tablespoon round balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. (If you’d like, you can roll each of these balls in a bowl of granulated sugar before adding them to the baking sheet.) Press a criss-cross pattern into each dough ball with a fork to flatten slightly, being sure that each dough ball is at least 2 inches apart.

Bake. For about 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the centers are slightly puffy. Remove from the oven, and then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack to cool.

Enjoy! Serve warm, or store in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I had bananas, I am enjoying the peanut butter cookies I made last week and so I decided to find a recipe for a bread that incorporates both. It turned out delicious.

From Simply Recipes:
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Ingredients

2 to 3 very ripe bananas, peeled
1/3 cup (74g) melted unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk, (whole, 2 percent or even a nut milk works)
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (200g) sugar
1/2 cup (113g) creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1 1/2 cups (191g) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (143g) chocolate chips

Directions

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray or grease a 4x8-inch loaf pan very well.

2 Make the batter: Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl using a fork. Whisk in the melted butter, milk, egg, and vanilla. Mix in the sugar.

In another mixing bowl, using the hand mixer (or a whisk), beat peanut butter until smooth. Beat this into the banana mixture.

Scrape the bowl down and beat in the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and flour. Fold in the flour until completely combined, followed by the chocolate chips.

3 Bake the loaf: Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake on the center rack of the oven for 55 to 60 minutes, or until the bread is deeply golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

4 Cool the loaf: Remove the bread from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely before turning out.

5 Enjoy! Store the leftover bread wrapped well in plastic at room temperature for 3 days. Leftovers are great toasted lightly in a pan with butter.

Birthday Clothes For Lucia

In this time of quarantine, I had to send my great niece a Birthday present.

I looked at different toys and things and I decided that the best idea, was to send clothes to her.

I figured that before they got onto sweet Lucia, her Mom would wash them.

It made me feel better about the entire thing.

To get free shipping, I ended up purchasing 4 little tops, these 2 and 2 pink and peach ones.

I have not found the other 2, but these photos show off one of my favorites, the lemon summer sunsuit.

Being they live in the South, they will get plenty of use out of a short sleeve top.

At just over a year, she is still not walking on her own, but as you can see, she climbs onto her slide.

With her Dad's help, she climbs the stairs to the 2nd floor.

She also crawls to the roomba, as it chugs along the floor, which I found absolutely hilarious.

In other words, she is coming into her own and will soon be attacking everything she comes into contact with.

Go Lucia!

The Dining Room Plants

2 weeks ago, I wanted to spruce up my tiny bathroom with a plant.

I found a narrow basket up in my vaulted ceiling and went around my house, looking for extra fake greenery.

The ones I found were so very dusty and after looking at them for a few days, last week I went to the extreme step of washing them. They took to that well and I decided to do the remainder of them. They are the plants on the bottom shelf of my dining room.

What started out as a small project, became quite the cleaning project and I even glued some of the leaves that had fallen off, over the years.

Polished up the glass objects and the furniture itself, which made the room look a bit better.

Picked off the dying leaves on my Spider plants (an ongoing process I do each week) and am quite proud of the look.

In Makenna good news, I found a fluffy ball with a bell in it that she loves to play with and she is happily playing with it, once again.

Archie Harrision

We were in Canada, when the news hit.

Kind of appropriate since Canada is part of the Commonwealth.

Megan Markle and Prince Harry's first child was born a year ago today.

As we all know, he was eventually named, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

A very Happy 1st Birthday to him.

I really love this couple and I hope that things eventually get better for them.

Reusable Bags

One of the things that has bothered me the most, is the fact that grocery stores now pack your groceries in heavy plastic bags.

They don't charge you for this, but several sites mention that you should throw them out as soon as you get home.

I have found this to be intolerable.

My current idea, is to just have the bagger place the groceries back in my basket and I pack them up, off site.

I then disinfect the groceries out in my garage and then immediately wash my reusable bags, in the laundry.

A small win for the environment.

Glacier Bay Via Cruise Ship

My Water Post For Today.

Glacier Bay, Alaska was the most beautiful parts of our cruise last year.

I have thoughts of going back someday, but with the Coronavirus, I don't see that in our immediate future.

For now, here is a photo of the ship in the midst of turning around and some of the mountains that surround Glacier Bay, itself.

Stunning, even in the rain and I hope you enjoy.

Totals: Week 7 Of Quarantine

We are still holding our own, at the angel house. Still healthy and still staying home, for the most part. Quarantine has been extended to May 15th, here in California, though there are hints that we may open earlier than that.

Quarantine Week 7

Toilet Paper: 36 rolls left of the 40 roll score, from 2 weeks ago. Add to that the 12 Costco Rolls and the 15 rolls in the emergency supply and we are still rolling in TP.

Paper Towels: 7 rolls, though I am almost out in our kitchen.

Tissues: 2 more packages were added to my total, this week. Scott tissues, no less. So I have 6 new ones and the dregs of the other ones, that are in use.

Soft Soap: A large bottle under the sink in the bathroom. In addition I still have 2 new Lavender bottles that I got at Rite Aid. We are set, for quite a bit.

Our Quarterly CVS supplies came in on Thursday and so we have 3 more Rubbing Alcohol Wipes for dealing with our groceries. Just in time, since we have maybe 1 or 2 wipes in our original one, pictured on the far left.

Meat: I made a major score of 4 Country Pork Ribs this week. We BBQ-ed them and have plenty for a few days. I also got 4 NY Strip Steaks and 4 Beef Short Ribs, that I added to our freezer. Many weeks I don't buy much, but with the threat of a meat shortage, I thought a few purchases were a good idea.

The inventory of our freezer hasn't changed too much. Several packages of pork and a package of lamb. 4 NY Strip Steaks.

Once again, the main reason we went shopping this week, is for some fresh produce. Unfortunately, Vons only had exactly 3 bowls of Caesar Salads. I wiped them out.

Pantry is thankfully still full of staples, I added some cans of beans and peanut butter to the stash, for extra protein.

I hope you are holding your own in these very unsettled times.

Roses, Roses And More Roses

I promised that as they bloomed, I would show off some of this year's roses.

This is just in the far corner of my backyard, by the kitchen. From the far left top:

Ketchup and Mustard
Perfect Moment
Julia Child
Peace (close up)
Peace with Princess Diana right next to it, on the far right. Note, she has not bloomed yet.
Peach Rose (I don't remember the name of it)

Too bad this week has been so hot. It is nice to spend a few minutes in their presence.

Rain Gauge

Unless I am totally off track, I believe we are about done with rain for this year.

Just when we got a rain gauge.

Maybe next rainy season, or maybe a thunder storm or two in the month of August.

It made my Husband happy and it wasn't expensive, so what the heck.

The things quarantine does to people.

His Son would just laugh at the whole thing.

Well 2020 Has Not Exactly Been What I Was Hoping For

As I pointed out on my New Year's Post, I had many plans for my "Gap Year".

Thankfully, the first few actually came true.

I went on my Birthday Cruise to Hawaii and even got remarried on the ship.

I went to 1 concert this year (too bad I won't manage to see much else this year).

Maybe if things calm down, we might get a small amount of travel in, but don't count on it.

Aquafit did happen in January, February and the very beginning of March. After that, no gym and no aquafit, so I am not fit at all. :-(

I was planning on taking ceramics, in April. That (obviously) can't happen at this time, due to social distancing.

The same with Iconography. I did get to a Pysanky egg making class (just before shutdown) and made a few of my own, from home. As to anything class driven, I am not hopeful.

Church, just not happening.

Seeing my Great Niece, also not happening, NAB and Tech Con did not happen in April.

We have a September wedding that I seriously doubt will happen.

As you have seen, I am doing crocheting, coloring and baking at home.

Gardening, too. At my own pace, which works for me. So I guess there is some good in the retirement/gap year at home thing.

I just can't get into making a new website for myself, I think I will continue using this free one. It is coming up on year 13. It works for me.

The one who won the most from this whole pandemic...my cat, Makenna.