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.

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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!

 

Friday Five - Spending Other People's Money Is Fun!

 

Friday Five - Spending Other Peoples Money Is Fun!

1. I am looking forward to spending someone else's money today. In this case, my sister-in-law's. She is in need of some new clothes, and I have offered to take and help her in picking out some outfits. She has some physical challenges that necessitate simple clothing without zippers, snaps, or buttons, and in doing a bit of online research, Kohl's appears to carry affordable clothing that meets her needs.

Kohl's is not a place where I shop myself, in that their clothes seem to run 'boxy', but that would actually work well for my SIL, in that items need to be very easy to pull on and pull off. 

I'm a very good steward of other people's money, and I will thus be very diligent in finding items that work, are attractive, and are on sale. Plus, it's fun to not be the one pulling out a credit card at the register!

The type of easy slip on and off clothing we are searching for.

Afterward, we'll celebrate our expected success with a shared lunch - she and I both recently lost weight, so we are of like mind there, nicely.  The fast casual place we're going to has a crispy chicken katsu sandwich with plum sauce that we both much enjoy, and a nice big outside and shaded patio for eating. We are currently in the low to mid-70's here, unlike what I know is happening elsewhere, so outdoors is still enjoyable. And appreciated!

2. We are eating faux on the Fourth. Specifically, Smart Dog hot dogs from Trader Joe's, about as faux as you can get in that they are made from soy. I find them to be delicious, however, and actually prefer them over a 'regular' hotdog at this point. And I appreciate that they are lower in saturated fat and calories than a regular hotdog.

I bought Brioche hot dog buns from Aldi's - so good - and we'll top our July 4th dogs with mustard, red onion, and relish. That should bring each one as served to just over 200 calories, an easy treat to slide into my daily plan. Watermelon will round out my plate, others will likely enjoy baked beans and Barefoot Contessa Old Fashioned Potato Salad along with their hot dogs. I think my mom is planning to serve ice cream for those interested to end the evening as we enjoy the fireworks from her front yard.

3. I'm looking for a new physical challenge. My primary activity this year has been walking, a result of my husband falling and straining his back late last year. He's been slowly and steadily recovering since, and is now back to almost 100%, so I've begun pestering him a bit to pick back up where we left off with road cycling and golf. 

We'll start off the road cycling with a flat and easy 15 mile roundtrip ride, then advance from there. We find that we can increase in increments of about five miles a ride, more to slowly train our saddle muscles than our leg muscles. (IYKYK!)

And once we return from our upcoming Alaska Cruise, we'll start back up with golf lessons, likely much needed after so many months away from the sport. I have to say that even while I have no aspirations that I'll ever be a fabulous golfer, I do get much enjoyment from simply going to the driving range with my spouse, and then enjoying glasses of iced tea together afterward on the golf course's scenic patio.

4. I reached backward in time and picked a date for my once-upon-a-time running club group of pals to meet up at a brewery. I also reached backward in time and made a date with a girlfriend I haven't seen since high school, to come out for an overnight visit.

The running club reunion event will be easy- I'm just texting the where and when, and our collective joy at all being together again should take care of the rest. The high school girlfriend overnight visit should also be easy - we'll spend a long and leisurely evening enjoying dinner and sunset viewing at our west-facing social club, talking non-stop I'm sure. In the AM we'll walk down to the beach for breakfast before returning to the house for good-byes.

5. I'm returning to Bridge, a game I both enjoy and do not enjoy in equal parts. I much enjoy the strategy and the playing. I much do not enjoy how intense and at times downright unpleasant some of the other players are. It seems to be the basic nature of some of the folk that are drawn to this game, an energy I don't bump into at any of the other activities I/we participate in. However, I've decided to give it another try after my spouse sincerely asked. Oh, the things we do for love! 🙂

Weekend Wrap-up & Why I Blog

Weekend Wrap-up & Why I Blog

It was another vibrant, active, and fulfilling weekend here, but not by accident. I have spent much time and energy creating a framework in our retired lives that provides a plethora of options. Assuming we have the energy to do them all that is, sometimes a dubious assumption depending on how early our body clocks go off. 

This weekend as an example. I woke up at 3:30 AM on Friday, 4:30 AM on Saturday, and then finally ‘slept in’ until 5:30 AM on Sunday. At this point in my aging life, I accept that it simply is what it is. I do try to catch catnaps in the afternoon as I can/need, but otherwise just try to keep on keeping on.

In a nutshell, our weekend was comprised of a lovely and romantic evening at a coastal steak house enjoying Happy Hour and time along the beach afterward, a social gathering at a drop-dead coastal home in Laguna Beach, a beach festival, a harbor picnic, and miles and miles of coastal walking.

Which is a large reason why I'm choosing to blog again. Blogging places me in the position of wanting to be more intentional on how I move through my days. I want to post about things that make my days better, more vibrant, more fulfilling, more positive, not about the things that drag me down or don't move me along. So, I'm increasingly more deliberate about the choices I make in my day, and I appreciate that tremendously!

From our social event in breathtaking Laguna Beach.
I don't think I'd ever want to leave home if this was my view.
To be fair, the homeowner has had to accept some definite tradeoffs.
Tradeoffs like limited spacing between homes, significant traffic
 noise from nearby Pacific Coast Highway, and extremely limited parking.
However, I'd still take the tradeoffs in a heartbeat in order to get those views!

It's much the same reason why I blogged here about my weight loss journey - it helped me to be more intentional in the choices I made along the way. So thank you for allowing me to do that.

Even in spite of some non-supportive comments I received. But even those helped to move the needle along. We humans seem to be good at providing support to those we deem as 'like us', but not necessarily as good at supporting the final success. Perhaps because we perceive it as some sort of critique on ourselves, even though of course it is not that at all.

What I wore to the event in Laguna Beach over the weekend. 
Posting the occasional after-weight loss photo here helps incentivize me to keep on keeping on with maintenance.
Because while maintenance is now a greatly diminished effort, 
is not wholly without some effort.

I hope you all make it a great and intentional day wherever you are!