Friday Five - Bring On The Weekend!

 

Friday Five - Bring On The Weekend!

Even in retirement, I still look forward to and love Fridays. I always plan something to differentiate Friday from the remainder of the week, so as to ensure we always have things to look forward to. 

Tonight we are going to our social club to enjoy dinner outside on the ocean-viewing patio. Tomorrow, Saturday, we are going on a long coastal walk to get to and enjoy an ocean festival without having to stress over parking. On Sunday, we plan to enjoy a picnic lunch at our harbor after first walking it. Afterward we'll be meeting up with our quarterly book club for dinner and discussion - this quarter's read was Before The Coffee Get's Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, and it was just wonderful - so sweet, so smart, so very, very charming.

1.  I bought my girlfriend a fanny-saver. I always pack a small cold-cell pad for sitting whenever I go hiking or kayaking. The one I have is from REI and weighs just two ounces, so it's a breeze to pack and carry along. My kayaking gal pal has long envied it when we pull out onto a sandy beach for our sack lunch break. So, as a 'thank you' for all the amazing fruit and vegetables she's brought me over the years from her garden, I recently bought one for her to enjoy, and will be giving it to her this weekend.

2. I love my Skorts. I spend so much time in workout gear, that it's nice to put away my ubiquitous yoga pants for the summer in favor of Skorts. I feel like they are one of those fashion items that were made just for senior women, even if not intentionally, and I am here for them.

I am completely au natural here, in that I snapped this just prior to heading out for an eight mile walk. And it shows! LOL

(This is my home office, BTW, which while I don't necessarily utilize as much as my husband uses his, I still very much appreciate. We have joked over the years that his 'n her offices are one of the keys to a happy marriage!)

3.  I love the detail work of travel planning. I'm deep in the weeds, currently, planning out the eight on-our-own days that will proceed our upcoming 18 day organized tour around the British Isles, and other than researching and booking the flights and hotels (which I do not enjoy!), I much enjoy the process. Currently on the planning agenda is dinner at a vegan haggis spot in Scotland, which should be very interesting (😄), a Highlands dinner show, and a tour of the Guinness factory in Dublin.

4. I took a Spin Cycle class and loved it. It's been some years since I took my last class, but I felt compelled to return in that I am working to up my endurance game in a manner that long walks and hikes do not address. The class I took didn't begin until 9:00 AM, which works perfect for me - I do not enjoy leaving the house prior to my preferred two hours of morning coffee and blog reading time!

5.  Girlfriend dates make me sooo happy. I had three this week, including this morning when I'm leaving shortly to meet one of my girlfriends for an eight mile beach walk and coffee date. I love and treasure my spouse, but I really cannot imagine life without my girlfriends, some newer, some whom I've known for decades. ❤

-----------------------------------------------

I hope you all make it a great Friday wherever you are!

Wednesday Wellness - August #1

  

Wednesday Wellness - August #1

I feel like I would benefit from some accountability, so I'm going to set some Wellness goals here, and then track my progress.

Fitness:

- Do cardiovascular movement five days out of seven. (The humidity here currently has knocked me slightly off my game)

- Do strength training at the gym three days each week. (I struggle to make myself workout indoors vs outside)

Weight:

- Continue to remain within my self-set maintenance range of 108 - 110 pounds. I'm currently 111 as of this morning, after four days in a row of events involving meals. I expect to be back within my goal range by tomorrow,*  given that I'll be out on the water kayaking all day today.

* Done!

Water:

- Consistently consume four glasses a day.

Long Range Goal:

- Find a long distance event to sign up and train for. I enjoy both the training for, and the sense of accomplishment achieved at completion.

Friday Five - Short & Sweet!

 

Friday Five - Short & Sweet!

I'm feeling a bit on the run this morning as we head into a jam packed weekend, so I'm literally whipping these Friday Five out ahead of my housecleaning team's 7:00 AM arrival. That is not a complaint, BTW!

1. I love my housecleaning husband and wife team. Our 7:00 AM cleaning slot is always a bit stressful (vs a more leisurely 9:00 AM slot 😊) but we are so very thankful to have such a reliable team show up every four weeks to spiff up our home from top to bottom.

On our side, the things we do to get ready are make up the bed a bit earlier than normal, pick up our various throw rugs, and clear off the top of our respective bathroom counters. And really, that's about it.

2. I reminded my husband, the happy introvert, that having lots, sometimes too many, things on our calendar is a blessing at this point in our lives. I may have to mention this more than once over the upcoming weekend, as we have visiting friends, an organized hike with breakfast, and several evening events. The resting will come on Monday!

3. Farmers Markets are crazy expensive . . . when did that happen??? I walked through a Farmers Market this week and just kept shaking my head at the price per pound being charged for fruit and vegetables - between $4 and $6 a pound, depending. Meanwhile, I currently have $1.89 a pound sale priced supermarket peaches and nectarines ripening on my counter, smelling like little bundles of heaven. And $1.29 a pound crisp green grapes from Aldi in my fridge.

Is there really that big of a difference between $6 vs $1.29 per pound grapes?

4. Conversely, I'll happily pay $10 - $15 for a loaf of good quality bread. The difference for me is in the longevity I think. As opposed to fruit, which has a very limited life, I carefully separate each slice of bread before freezing, and we can then slowly enjoy this super high quality item for many weeks if not months. I reserve usage of high quality bakery breads for picnic sandwiches, evening grilled sandwiches, or for garlic toast. 

5. We threw in the towel, and the A/C is now set to 'On'. I blame the humidity. Once that moves in and we end up closing windows, A/C is then our only option. Prior summers here indicate we'll run it for about six weeks before the humidity lifts and we can return to our norm of simply leaving our windows open to keep the house comfortable.

-------------------------------------------------------

I hope you make it a great weekend wherever you are!

Monday Musings - A Vibrant Week

Monday Musings - A Vibrant Week

Before I launch into all the goings on over this past week, you should know that yes, I am definitely tired this morning. However, it's that kind of deeply good tired that means my choices were well made.

My week started with a walking date at the beach with a girlfriend. Originally we were scheduled to go kayaking, but I apparently got off our cruise with a bit of a bug, and I woke up the morning of our event feeling way less than 100%, plus deeply fatigued. I gave her a quick call accordingly, and we defaulted to a beach walk instead. Upon arrival, I started off definitely exhausted, but I actually felt a bit better with each mile, and finished feeling somewhat normal. So yeah that.

We enjoyed six miles of beautiful coastal walking, a sack lunch stop midway, and good, strong iced coffees at the finish, before saying a no-physical-contact goodbye, lol.

I had a girlfriend from high school come for an overnight visit toward the end of the week, and I had so much fun showing her our coastal sights. I tried hard not to over-walk her (hard because we walk so much here!), as she's still working and doesn't have the extensive downtime to get outdoors and to the gym that I do, but she swore she loved it all, and hinted strongly that she'd like to return an do it again, and sooner rather than later. 😊

So I was already slightly tired even before we entered into the weekend, but that is not a complaint! Being tired because of to much fun is never going to be a problem, you can be sure.

Friday night found us out on the patio at our Club with some good friends. 

Saturday morning we enjoyed a long coastal walk that included several spontaneous occurrences - watching a Coast Guard vessel sail in, then encountering this adorable little USCG self-propelling Coastie.

We also much enjoyed watching our County Sheriff boat spray the heck out of beach going kids, which, based on the shrills of excitement we could hear, they loved. 

Saturday evening we attended a Marvin Gaye tribute concert with my mom and sister-in-law that was so fun and upbeat I laid in bed afterward for four hours before falling asleep. Live music always has that effect on me if the band is great, which this tribute band was. I mean, people (me!) were literally dancing in the aisles.

Sunday found us in Laguna Beach attending a Festival of Arts Member event that I thought we'd be at for just a bit. Five hours later, ha, we finally left after enjoying a Pageant of the Arts backstage tour, lunch, concert music, included glasses of wine, photo booth, and lots of fun conversation with other attendees.

We'll be back in a few weeks to attend the actual show.

Upon returning home I/we pretty much collapsed. My husband disappeared into his office (we have his 'n hers) for some recovery time, while I hung out in our family room and alternated between a needlepoint project and reading.

Today, Monday, my only hard plans are a five mile walk at the harbor and strength training at our gym, followed by reading and needlework time back here at home. Looking forward to it all.

Friday Five - Homeward Bound

Friday Five - Homeward Bound

Our four-generation Alaskan cruise has come to an end, and was everything I hoped it would be. My heart is full as we head for home later today.

1. Our pre-cruise time in Seattle was wonderful. We enjoy this vibrant city so much. This visit we enjoyed a first-time walk around Lake Union, about seven miles in all, including two fun bridge crossings. We visited Fremont Brewing for a shared sandwich and beer flight at the halfway point, and finished with iced coffees at the finish. That pretty much is my perfect way to spend a day- lots of miles in motion, good eats, good coffee.

2. Enjoying a week with my 90 year old dad, including a day of kayaking, was a privilege and a joy. He really is amazing, and I clearly recognize each additional year at this point is a gift.

A photo of my dad and me kayaking within view of Mendenhall Glacier during our Juneau, Alaska port visit:

3. I’d rather stay home than cruise without having a balcony cabin. 

We enjoyed this amazing view of the city from our balcony as our ship left Seattle and headed for Alaska, just one of the many amazing vistas we enjoyed over our seven day cruise.

And this balcony view as we pulled into Skagway, Alaska:

And this from our sail up Endicott Arm fjord to view Dawes glacier-

4. Watching our granddaughters enjoy the ship’s rock climbing wall, various pools, and ice skating rink, plus their new ability to sit thru/with the family for each night’s formal dining sitting, was priceless. So many funny moments were caught and exchanged, and will now become part of our family lore.

5. Heading for home is a bittersweet this time around. Normally, we look forward to going home because we have so many pleasant activities to step back into. But having to say good bye to our extended family after seven days of completely uninterrupted time made departure distinctly more bittersweet. Being able to be all together is an absolute treasure of time that we do not take for granted at this point in our lives.

 

Friday Five - Bon Voyage Edition

 

Friday Five - Bon Voyage Edition

We head out soon for our Alaska cruise, where we'll have four generations of family sailing together, so my Friday Five will be travel-prep focused accordingly.

1.  Once the suitcases are zipped, I finally get excited. My rule is to pack two days ahead so that I have time to mentally go through our itinerary, the expected weather, and any out-of-the-ordinary activities I may need to bring items for. I then continue to mentally go thru my list over the remaining days, removing or adding items as 'Oh, I need!' or 'Oh, I don't need!' thoughts occur to me.

I also gather my toiletries together, so that I have time to do a complete dry run at least once, ideally twice, before we depart, in order to ensure I have set aside everything I need to take care of my teeth and eyes (contacts) and do my hair and makeup. 

2. This will be my first cruise bringing just a carry-on bag. Even with the many layers we need to pack for Alaska's wild weather, I managed to get everything into one carry-on suitcase. Why bother, in the event you're wondering. Simply to ensure both me and my luggage arrive together!

I file it under 'ways to reduce travel stress', a list which is getting longer as I age.

To be fair, I did place two pair of shoes into my husband's check-in size luggage, but everything else fit into my carry-on bag.

In my bag I packed one pair of basic black pants for dinner, along with six lightweight, blouses, one for each night other than sail-away. On sail-away day, the first dinner dress code tends to be very casual as many guests will not yet have had their luggage delivered to their cabin. So on the first night I'll simply wear what I plan to wear onto the ship - lightweight black summer trousers with an apple green silky tank. 

Otherwise, I packed a couple of casual pants with a variety of lightweight shirts, several layers of outerwear, including a lightweight rain coat, plus workout clothes, pj's and a swimsuit. 

3.  I located 10+ miles of scenic walking in Seattle, where we'll be for two nights pre-cruise. The weather is looking to be gorgeous - cool and sunny - so perfect for walking. And walking a city is one of my absolutely favorite things to do while traveling. There are also lots of coffee stores scattered along our routes, so, I'm sure some stops for iced coffee will happen as well.

4.  I signed up for tennis lessons. I have played tennis off and on over the years, but it's been almost a dozen since I last picked up a racquet. I've been waiting for our health club to run a series for Beginners, and they finally did. I signed up the moment the email arrived, and start my 'refresh' lessons immediately after we return.

5.  I saw this at the beach during a walk earlier in the week, and it made me laugh:

I hope you all had a great, satisfying week, wherever you are!

It Was A Fabulous Fourth Of July - One Of Our Best Yet

It Was A Fabulous Fourth Of July - 

One Of Our Best Yet

I went to bed, and woke up still under the spell of an absolutely marvelous 4th of July holiday. We did a string of 'ordinary' 4th of July things, but cumulatively they added up to a magical and wonderful day.

Here's how we rolled:

We woke up naturally at 5:30 AM, and immediately jumped into our cars in order to drop one of our cars off in our beach town's downtown area before the crowds descended. And so happy we made the effort to do so, because by 8:00 AM, people were sharing photos of packed parking on our local community Facebook page.

Once back home, we enjoyed our morning cups of coffee leisurely until a little after 9 AM. I then packed a simple sack lunch and we headed out the door on foot. We walked first to the beach we live closest to, enjoying the heightened holiday crowds and energy, saying for the first of about a dozen times over our walk - how happy we were to be out and about on foot instead of being stressed by the crowds and lack of parking from inside a car.

And not to gloat, truly - I'm simply thankful! - but it was a gloriously cool 70-73 degrees during our entire walk.

From the beach we walked next to our harbor, primarily to enjoy Water Wars, a long standing July 4th tradition. People enter the water on anything and everything, and a war between watercraft and the folks watching from land ensues and goes on for hours.

Short video of Water Wars below. You can click Full Screen icon in order to maximize video size.

We watched and laughed at the ongoing antics for about half an hour, then walked to a quieter spot for our sack lunch. We chatted with an older couple we were seated alongside, something that happens all the time here, as people are quite relaxed and open for the most part. A result, I think, of the natural beauty we all live alongside creating a desire to share our joy with others.

From there, we enjoyed an easy walk back up to our already-parked car. Yes, 'up' and why we elected to leave a car for the return trip, lol.

We stopped at the brewery near our home on the return for a shared cup of iced cold brew coffee amidst yet another crowd of happy holiday energy.

I love so much where we live - happy energy spills over almost everywhere we go. It's addictive.

At home we showered and then loaded the car for dinner and fireworks at my mom's, our first time doing so.

We enjoyed a BYOM (Meat) event outside of her building, with neighbors joining in. One neighbor brought our his grill, the others all brought a food item to share. It was just all very relaxed and enjoyable.

As it got dark, we moved our chairs out onto the sidewalk for 'the show.' And a show it was! Literally right in front of us, not having to walk or drive anywhere, the city sent off a fantastic fireworks show. It was fabulous, eliciting several spontaneous rounds of applause from the people that had gathered by this point all up and down her street.

We jumped in our car the moment the show was over, following a route home a friend had said would be uncrowded and . . . it was! It was so easy, and we were able to avoid all post-fireworks traffic.

We arrived home just as the fireworks display nearest to where we live started up, and finished out the night watching them from our balcony.

Honestly, it's probably the best and most relaxing 4th of July we've ever experienced, and we're going to simply put it on repeat going forward.

I hope you had a fabulous 4th wherever you are, and a Sunday that is just as busy or relaxed as you wish it to be!