I mentioned in the last post that I was getting an estimate for housecleaning. And today the service came! They do a “deep cleaning” first, then do maintenance. It took about 3 hours and I locked myself up in one room with the cats. They weren’t to clean that one so we could stack stuff in there. I was a bit apprehensive about this; you never know what it’s going to be like and if you will be satisfied. Also, despite my best efforts at picking up stuff I had limited time as my friend’s service was yesterday, from 11-3. I was wiped out when we got home but still tried to do some more picking up.
Results: I’m thrilled! I’ve never had anyone clean my house but wow. They were so thorough and even moved things and put the pillows back on the couch in a nicer way than I had them! It was really like hotel service. I had to laugh when I saw this in the bathroom:
Like I said – sort of like a hotel! Even funnier, we don’t even put toilet paper on that roll because Taffy unrolls it or tears it. Note the evidence below – which was taken during the pandemic when toilet paper was scarce!
If my WordPress skills were better, I could add text next to the picture, but alas. So, we now have to try and keep the house clean until my brother-in-law visits, and I still have to deal with my excess stuff.
Other things: we just finished watching Succession. I liked the show when we first started but found the meanness and bickering among the characters was draining. We continue to DVR Alone, which we got hooked on during the pandemic. I have not been at all motivated to cook which is a problem because I also don’t like to eat out.
So there you have it. I’m a bit antsy as I haven’t exercised in 2 days but it is 95 degrees out and I’d have to go to the gym. I hope you have a good weekend. Thanks for reading.
I’ve had a rough couple of days for no real reason. My two main goals are done today, so I have the sea otters streaming on TV as well as on this computer, for background sound. There is a great YouTube channel that I’ve used to relax – here is the link!
So, my goals were to finish the mid–year report for the Friends of the Library – Orangevale Branch and pay bills. I am the treasurer of the Friends (volunteer group) and so am responsible for this. It is a job I did NOT want but was talked into by a former member who I greatly respected, and who passed away in 2020. I do not like to deal with numbers. It just does not interest me. I’m fortunate that another member DOES like detail and does most of the work on tracking the budget. But I must submit the reports. The frustration came in because I only had PDF copies of the required forms so couldn’t alter them. I spent LOTS of time yesterday searching emails and contacting folks to try and get the forms. Finally, my co-volunteer sent me the original email with the forms attached. I have no idea why she didn’t do this initially. AARGH. (Isnt AARGH something we used to see in the Peanuts comics?)
Definition of argh (Entry 2 of 2) —used typically to express frustration, disappointment, anguish, or pain I was in Hawaii and I flipped on the TV and it was on. (ref, Miriam Webster Dictionary)
Another thing going on is my in-laws are coming up for a funeral service in 10 days. “My” room is also the guest room and it’s a mess. I’ve been trying to get a handle on the clutter, paper, stuff but I don’t seem to get too far. I still have things on the floor in the living room from the re-piping project. When my husband brought up the news that they’d be up here and wanted to stay with us, I was a bit freaked out. I have things scheduled this weekend and next, and frankly, I am tired of cleaning. So I told him I was going to have someone come in, and they are coming tonight to give us an estimate. I’ve thought of doing this for a while, particularly when I was going through cancer treatment, but it takes an amount of mental energy to research folks so I never got around to it. What is making me chuckle is that K is running around picking up stuff. He had offered to clean when I said I’m not up to it but it’s not realistic. He’s had back pain and just had some blood vessels in his nose cauterized because he gets regular bloody noses (and is on a blood thinner). I’ve been down this road before and it ends up with me doing things.
After my last post where I was Debbie Downer …I’m afraid this isn’t much better. Okay. Let’s try some good news or things I’m thankful for:
We had a few days of cooler temperatures (in the 90s)
I did another aqua class, at a different gym, with my yoga instructor teaching! It was great. First time I’ve done water aerobics and felt like I was sweating
The fruit is incredible this time of year. There is a farm stand close to where I live and so it’s an easy drive to pick up the most delicious strawberries, plums, nectarines. It’s such a treat to have in the morning for breakfast!
I just finished a pretty good book in the Inspector Gamache series. Lots of folks rave about this mystery series so I finally started. I liked it, and heard they get better.
I’m slightly embarrassed to say I go hooked on the reality real estate shows. They really are just fluff. I’m just amazed at some of these house. And the people! Yikes to have to get dressed up like that every day. No thanks.
Speaking of which, we went to the State Fair on Monday. I can’t remember the last time we did that. It was okay; I did enjoy the art exhibits. I don’t care for the vendors trying to sell you stuff. This one lady asked me, “what do you do to style your hair in the morning?” to which I laughed and said “I don’t!” There I was with a hat and hair that basically had been washed and let dry as it was. She was selling some sort of curling iron or such.
We ran into some folks we know from our running group there. Sacramento can be a small town.
OMG I am at 752 words! Time to stop and say thanks for reading.
It’s been so long since I’ve written or posted, I almost get overwhelmed. It was easier for me on Sparkpeople!There’ve been some changes to WordPress and that always throws me, and I got a new computer, which meant new software and it has not been smooth sailing. I have been having trouble uploading pics to WordPress (grr) so it’s just going to words for now. So here are some updates from 2022 so far:
I travelled a bit. In April this year, I finally went to visit the Vancouver Aquarium with my friend and got to see my sea otters! This was a longtime dream, begun in the summer of 2020, when I was not doing much because of the pandemic. I started watching the YouTube stream of the rescued baby sea otter, Joey, where his care and rehabilitation was streamed 24/7. I found the stream relaxing, entertaining, and informative, as I learned a lot about sea otters and their importance to the environment. I decided that once I could travel again, I would go visit the Vancouver Aquarium, where Joey lived. This became even more important during my cancer diagnosis, surgery, and treatment. I was so isolated from others that having something to look forward to became extremely important. I booked and cancelled several trips before the trip became a reality. It was more than I could have dreamed of. I met several of the aquarium staff, who graciously took me and my friend “behind the scenes” to see the otters up close. We also got to do that with a stellar sea lion – a huge marine mammal weighing 500 pounds! Another unexpected treat was staying with a friend of MY friend, a woman who lives in Vancouver. She opened her home to us and not only was her place absolutely gorgeous, with views of the water, but she herself was a delightful and interesting person. I felt so lucky to have gotten to meet her! I loved spending time with my friend Mary, who I’ve known since graduate school days in the ’80s. She and her partner had moved the year before from Seattle to Bellingham, which happens to be only 30 minutes from the Canadian border. That part of the country is so beautiful, and so much cooler than where I live. I find I have become increasingly more bothered by the heat here in Sacramento.
In March, a big group of us went to Moss Landing (near Monterey) to kayak in Elkhorn Slough. This part of the state is one of my favorites; especially when we stay in Pajaro Dunes. It’s very peaceful and not crowded and of course….. there are otters! It was a fun filled weekend kayaking in the ocean, although the whale watch that we had scheduled was canceled due to weather.
In May, cousins from Kansas came out to visit. I hadn’t seen them since my mom’s funeral in 2017, and my cousin’s wife and kids had never been to California. They wanted to see lots of things which made for a very packed visit. I felt a bit bad for my sister, who served as hostess for the family. She has the most room at her place but we learned that none of us are very comfortable having house guests !..I was a bit leery of getting too close to these cousins since NONE of them were vaccinated. I got my second booster the week before they arrived.
In the first part of September, I travelled to Ireland with another friend from graduate school. Ireland was another place I’ve really wanted to visit, and plans were made earlier this year for our trip. We scheduled flights and hotels, choosing to stay in two places and make day trips from each. Neither of us wanted to drive, so this was a good option. We started in Dublin and then took the train over to the West Coast to Galway. While there, we took days trips to see the Cliffs of Moher, Connemara, Kylemore Abbey, and one of the Aran Islands, Inishmore. We both had those items as our priority places to see, and I also went on a castle tour in Malahide, where we stayed for a few nights before our departure.
The only real downside to my trip to Ireland is that I caught Covid!!! I was pretty careful while on the planes, but less so while there. We did most things outside, but the two tours meant being on a bus for quite some time. Honestly, I wasn’t as careful as I have been and paid the price. Fortunately, I didn’t get sick until the very last day of the trip, feeling symptoms all the way home. I wore my N-95 all the way but still had a positive test. My husband set up the back bedroom so I could isolate, and I immediately began taking Paxlovid after a video appointment with my doctor. The Paxlovid is terrible but at least it prevents the virus from multiplying. My major concern was my husband getting it. I tested negative after a week, but stayed isolated until 10 days are up. Now I have to wait another week before getting my next dose!
My days have a fairly consistent routine. I get up when I wake up, feed the cats (indoor and outdoor feral), and have coffee. I like a slow start to the day after so many years getting up super early to work out before going to work. Now, I work out after my coffee and during the summer, before it gets too hot! We had a nice string of cooler days in May but the summer was pretty hot again. I was so glad to be in Ireland when the temps here hit new records of 115 degrees. We put up some sunshade curtains in our den/kitchen area, as that part gets afternoon sun. My art classes were on break over the summer, but resumed in September. I did a bit of watercolor while on “break”, taking classes through Skillshare. We tend to eat early, watch some Netflix, then head to bed. I usually read for a while, then sleep! On the weekends, there are usually things to do with my active friends. Usually there’s a hike or two scheduled, cycling, and maybe kayaing.
Well, I will call this a minor success if I can just post. Now, I need to figure out the pictures…thanks for reading.
I just changed the format for the blog – I saw it elsewhere and liked it better! But uh-oh, there is more to learn about THIS one. The first post that is now appearing is my first EVER post, again, instead of the most recent one. This happened when I first went back to posting here.
My fingers are clicking as I type because I didn’t cut my nails and actually painted them a few days ago. This is the first time I’ve done this since the pandemic. Not that I did it a lot before, but I like to wear jewelry and think rings look better with clean up hands. Most of the time, I just cut my nails off and was more aware of this in the past 2 years because I really wanted to make sure my hands were well scrubbed. I’m also pretty hard on my hands, so wearing nail polish doesn’t usually last long. And sure enough, it started peeling almost immediately and now it bugs me. So I suspect the nails will be unpainted and short again very soon. (Written last week; the nails are gone now. Back to short).
Last week I did something very out of character for me. I bought a new phone and didn’t wait for the deals or the sales or whatever. And I don’t have it yet, I just ordered it. I have an iphone 7 and it has run out of memory and has been stalling when I text so I figure it’s going to be time soon. I did make a faint attempt to get a phone through Costco but it turned out to be kind of a hassle. And these days, I just can’t do hassle.
A recent hassle example is this. My sister in law offered us two “free” meals from Hello Fresh (one of the many mail order companies. To claim the offer, I had to create an account and give a credit card to pay for the shipping ($8.99). Which is why it wasn’t really free. The website was kind of clunky and I found it hard to figure out if I 1) had actually ordered the meals; and 2) had ordered something veggie rather than what was on the menu that week. I guess they automatically send you something if you don’t change your order. And I found out that they also automatically send you the next week’s meal unless you cancel. This, I found out the hard way, getting a message that the next two meals were arriving the NEXT day, neither of them being anything we eat. GRR. So I cancelled (not easy) and hoped I did so in time to prevent the meals from arriving. Nope. My neighbor was the lucky recipient of the parmesan chicken bake and the shepherd’s pie.
Another hassle: canceling newspaper and magazine subscriptions. There was a time when I read the latter (magazines). I really don’t anymore and if I do, I read it online, through the library. Really, the only good thing about a hard copy is reading it in the bath tub, which I don’t do much either because I try to take quick Navy showers rather than a bath. Drought awareness, right here. So somehow I ended up subscribed to People magazine (I didn’t do it and neither sister did) and it hasn’t appeared on my credit card statement. I have been subscribing to Entertainment weekly but again, not reading. So I did manage to cancel both of those —- but here’s the hassle. I am still getting the magazines. Yikes.
I also wanted to cancel the newspaper. I really really want to support local journalism. But the local paper is TERRIBLE. And expensive. And hard to get rid of once you start. So I called (no online way to cancel) and was talked into one more year at a seriously reduced rate. At least they didn’t get my credit card. Because they’ve gotten me that way before.
First world problems, I know. I’m trying to reduce my personal paper waste and try to keep the clutter from overwhelming me more than it already does.
On to Halloween. It was fine; I decided to hand out candy and there were about 30 -40 kids total, most coming between 7:00 and 8:15. And mainly in larger groups. I was fine with that. The last two kids that came were a bit older, and commented that “no one is out.” I told them it was pretty busy an hour earlier! We turned out the lights at 8:30 and went to bed soon after.
As ONEKIDSMOM said, on to another month. I learned from her today what a no bones day is! Thank you Barb! Stay safe and thanks for reading.
selfhelpsunday 