Weekend Wrap Up- Vampires, Wildfire, And A New Car

 Weekend Wrap Up- Vampires, Wildfire, And A New Car

I'm sometimes a bit nervous putting up my Weekend Wrap up posts, because my level of active may not be others, and I do understand that. I post them primarily to remind myself to keep my foot on the gas, as that is when I do live my best life.

Friday- Walked 4 miles in the AM with spouse. Returned to house to clean up and leave to attend a delayed new resident orientation at my mom's 55+ community. When she first moved in a few years back, the orientations were still stalled due to COVID, and so we were attending this one as a make-up. Nicely, we saw a couple we know from one of our social groups, so that was fun.

On the return trip home we stopped at a Toyota dealership and found a hybrid sedan that was very close to, but not exactly, what we wanted. Our want list was primarily the color of the exterior (pearl) and interior (black or dark grey), Apple car play, and a sun roof. 

Returned home and saw smoke in the hills near where we'd just been, which is never good. Our Watch Duty app showed a fast moving wildfire had just broken out. We spent several hours keeping an eye on both the hills and the app to see where the fire was moving. Although it never turned in our direction, or anywhere near, it did end up burning six homes before being put out by our amazing and hardworking firefighters.

A bit sobered by the day's fire event, we spent a quiet Happy Hour at our favorite brewery before returning home to watch the sunset, then a little TV, before bed.

Saturday- I put together a smoked salmon spread from a packet I purchased in Alaska this summer, in order to bring it to a gathering at one of our social clubs.  The spread was delicious, and the event was, as expected, much fun.

On the return we stopped into a different Toyota dealership and found a hybrid sedan with the exact features we wanted. I jotted down the VIN and called the salesperson at the dealership closer to our home, so he could arrange to get it transported over to them for us to purchase. While we were waiting for the call that the car had arrived, we did a quick re-arrange of the garage in that the new hybrid is a bit longer than the Prius it's replacing. Once we got the call, we headed out to purchase the car. 

Sunday- A slow morning after our late Saturday night at the dealership. The car purchase actually went smoothly, other than having to endure one high pressure sales pitch. My spouse and I had agreed we were not going to purchase any maintenance or service plans no matter what, but darned if he didn't waver, which caused the finance manager to 'up' his pitch. I reminded my spouse of our agreement, and we did end up declining any and all options.

Which is why I so loathe the new car buying process. What other transaction results in you being put in the position of having to resist a hard selling pitch? In my normal life I just wave my hand at any attempts, and keep on with what I'm doing. 

After breakfast, we took second cups of coffee outside for a bit in order to enjoy the break in heat we were finally receiving. I also worked just a bit in the front yard, 'playing' with some new plants I'd had installed in front of our privacy fence. We then got dressed for a live production of an adapted version of Dracula, after which we enjoyed a lovely shaded patio Happy Hour at a nearby restaurant and talked about the production we'd just seen. It was different, and opinions were divided. 🙂

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Today, Monday, I walked four miles at our harbor, and am now headed out again in order to sell our trade in car to C#rMax at the price I already have in hand. I hope you are having a good Monday as well, wherever you are.

Friday Five- New Car Shopping, Plus Eggs vs Beef

 Friday Five - New Car Shopping, Plus Eggs vs Beef

Short and sweet this week in that I'm rushing to beat the heat, which is not coincidentally, item 5 on my list today.

Friday Five

1.  We are going shopping for a new car today, and I am decidedly not excited. Which makes me a bit sad, but that's how unpleasant the new car buying process is here in the US. (Curious what it's like in other countries?). Anyhow, we already have a trade in bid from C#rMax for our aging Prius, so that's one hoop we've already covered and won't need to jump thru at the dealership. I'll work with the same sales person as I did last year when we bought our hybrid SUV, as at least his sales tactics are 'known'. 

We'll see how it goes.

2.  Played Mahjong for the second time and it was even more enjoyable than the first time. I like that it's a thinking game, unlike Bunco as an example. And I enjoy the strategy of the game. Hoping our club takes it from a monthly to semi-monthly activity soon, based on how many of us have been turning up.

3.  Spent my entire weekly grocery allocation, the first time in a very long time that has occurred. I am certainly not saying that inflation doesn't exist, because of course it does, but . . . because I primarily cook from scratch, and generally casseroles, soups, stews, and the like, one recipe tends to last us two-three meals. I do make a fresh salad or vegetable nightly, and often a bread accompaniment for my spouse, so our leftovers feel fresh, never tired. 

And that really has continued to positively impact our grocery spend. We started off our retirement at $100 weekly, and are now at a still pretty modest $125 a week some 15 years later. And we generally end the year, this year included based on current accumulated spend, with several hundreds dollars of our grocery allocation unspent, which we've then been donating to a food bank. 

Has anyone noticed, BTW, that both chicken and eggs are back to their pre-COVID pricing? Both are staples in our home, and thus we are very pleased by the price drops.

4. Conversely, primarily due to stratospheric pricing, very little red meat is consumed in our home these days. We really only eat beef when I find something in the must-sell-by-date discounted area of the meat section. That has helped counter beef inflation here, and results in a bit of a 'treat' for us when beef does come to the table.

If we adored red meat, I'd buy it regardless, but we eat very well without having it in regular rotation, so I don't.

5. We are in the midst of a mini two day heat wave. Only two days long projected, with tomorrow supposed to bring us back into the 70's. If that occurs as projected, the first thing I'll do when I wake up is to throw open windows.

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Off shortly to enjoy a walk at the harbor with spouse before the temps here get to high. I wish you all an enjoyable day as well, wherever you are.

Weekend Wrap Up - So Much Fun Had, Plus Some Coastal Sobriety

Weekend Wrap Up - So Much Fun Had, Plus Some Coastal Sobriety

Now that we are beyond the self-imposed days of keeping our calendars clear in order to get through jet lag (It took a full week), we entered into the weekend with a full slate of activities. Monday mornings are always my in-hindsight wake up call. If we wake up feeling good about the weekend, I made the right balance in planning our activities. If we wake up exhausted . . . well, perhaps I got a bit to ambitious.

This Monday morning we woke up feeling good, so, yeah, I appear to have struck the right balance. 

So here's how our weekend went -

Friday - I zipped out early to a supermarket in order to load my cart with loss leaders - $1.99 old fashioned oatmeal containers and granola bar 6 packs. A couple were for us, the remainder for a food pantry we support.

I next headed to the harbor for a quick 3 mile walk, then back to the house to get cleaned up for a monthly club ladies lunch. I enjoyed the other gals at the table, though I did get a bit sharp with one gal who opened her dialogue with me by making a crack about California and Californians. 

Never, ever, would I think to insult someone else's place of residency upon first meeting. Sincerely, who does that, and why?

Anyhow, we both recovered and moved on. But trust that I'll remember her and avoid sitting near her if possible in the future.

I love my native state with a passion. Insult her at your own risk. 😂

From there I returned home to read for a bit, followed by a tasty but easy tuna salad for dinner, then my spouse and I left for an event in Laguna Beach, where we also met up with friends.

The event was fantastic and just so much fun, and our friends much enjoyed as well, their first time attending at our invitation, and so that was a relief. I don't know about you, but I always feel responsible for someone having a good time if they are there at my/our invitation.

Saturday - My spouse left early for a men's event, and I headed down to the beach to see for myself the effects of a trifecta of events - increased swells from 1) Hurricane Marie, 2) Kelvin wave, and 3) high tide. The intense swells, and the subsequent damage caused to coastal infrastructure, was just amazing. I left in awe of the power of the ocean, and how truly insignificant we are in comparison. 

I am truly, truly sorry for those suffering financial and/or emotional loss due to damaged homes, but I am also in awe of the power of nature which is simply doing what nature/the ocean does. It's part of the natural cycle of the earth, and to have seen some of it working in action was something I'll not soon, if ever, forget.

This guy, and his videos, have been really interesting to follow. And, I have to admit, he also cracks me up with his nonstop "Hey Dudes" and other call outs:

I've taken my granddaughters to this particular beach and playground, so I feel a bit emotional watching this video, even though I know the tide waters will inevitably recede.

From there (I was there walking and gazing for a good number of hours and miles- three hours and seven miles to be precise.) I scooted home to get cleaned and gussied up for a social event being organized by one of the social clubs we belong to, where my spouse then met up with me after his event concluded.

The event was fantastic. We danced, we sang, we ate, we laughed. We've belonged to this particular social group for almost 15 years, and at this point it is simply comfortable and fun to do things with the group. Really, very little effort involved other than getting ourselves dressed and there.  

Sunday - I returned to the beach, this time with my spouse, as he hadn't yet had the opportunity to witness the big swells. He was as awed as I had been, and at one point we spent some time chatting with a couple also out to see the swells, who had grown up in the area. They shared all types of interesting things about our section of coastal south Orange County, which we always enjoy learning more about.

From there, we returned home to clean up and head out to a live production musical at one of the playhouses in the area that we support and frequent. The musical was just fantastic, completely exceeding our expectations. Which is what I love about local live theater - you simply never know what you are going to get, and sometimes what you get is fantastic!

After that we went to dinner, sharing an entree during the restaurant's Happy Hour, since we arrived relatively early after our matinee production.  On the way back to our car, we passed a restaurant that was hopping with live music, and stopped in for a half hour to simply enjoy. It was a great crowd and energy, and I connected with several woman in the group, who all invited my spouse and I to return and attend again. Which we agreed we will - so another item to add to my list of fun weekend things to do.  🙂

We ended the night watching a little TV, which felt great. By then, yes, we were a bit tired.

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Today, Monday, is rainy here, so my plan is to do some chores, primarily laundry, get a workout in at our gym, spend the afternoon reading, and make turkey meatballs with lemony rice and tzatziki sauce, plus salad, for dinner. 

I hope your weekend was likewise good, and that today is also a good day, wherever you are!

Friday Five - Ants, Jet Lag & New Habits

 Friday Five - Ants, Jet Lag & New Habits

It looks like we are finally out of the heat dome that descended here last week. I've missed sleeping with open windows, but have learned that I can make do with AC at 76, and our ceiling fan. And in quite the turn of events, it looks like we have a tropical storm coming in over the weekend. Wild times here in Southern California!

Friday Five

1.  I successfully eradicated house ants all on my own. We returned from our recent trip to find small groups of ant scouts in a few places around the house. One trip to the hardware store and 10 liquid traps set out later, and the small groupings of scouts turned into a full on traffic jam of ants. Online research indicated that was exactly what was supposed to happen, and to leave them be so they could take the liquid bait back to the colony, but boy was it hard to do!

However, in the morning they were all gone. Completely eradicated, so yeah us in that we managed to handle the issue without having to call in a pest control company.

These are the liquid bait traps we used. They get excellent reviews online.

2.  I have struggled the entire week to overcome jet lag. Who are you people that adjust quickly thru jet lag? I want to be you! 😄

Currently, one week after our return from an eight hour time difference, I'm sleeping from approximately 8:30 PM to 3:30 AM. My goal for tonight is to manage to stay awake until 9:00 PM and then sleep until 4:00 AM. Wish me luck!

3.  My mom and sister-in-law are so excited about their first-ever cruise that they are already packed, even though it's still some weeks away. Which I'm finding beyond adorable. And no time zone changes on this upcoming trip, just saying!

4.  I had so much fun buying British Isles souvenir goodies to give away that I think I got a bit carried away. Not to mention we brought only carry-on, so space was tight to begin with. But we somehow managed. Basically I laid everything out in a shallow layer at the bottom of our suitcases, which took up hardly any room. Plus, we each left a pair of shoes behind at the end of the trip that were near the end of their respective tread-lives, and that took care of any remaining space issues.

5.  My new eating habits are increasingly habits that I don't need to give thought to. I am a big fan of self-help writer Gretchin Rubin, and one of my biggest 'aha's' after reading her book about forming new habits, Better Than Before, is that once something becomes a habit, it no longer requires significant brain energy. It's now a habit - you just do it without really having to think or exert extra will power. Similar to brushing teeth - most of us don't have to fight or force ourselves to brush our teeth, we do it pretty much without thinking.

And that, thankfully, is just about where I'm at currently with both continuing to avoid sugary foods, and with my post-weight loss modified eating. I am close to 100% of both changes being hard wired, non-thinking habits, which is just so great. And such a relief to be able to divert my energies elsewhere going forward. I do still plan out my daily meals, but that takes just a few minutes of my morning, and very little thinking compared to when I first began this life change process in the spring of 2025. 

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Otherwise, we have a fun weekend planned, and I hope yours is full of good things as well!

On A Roll With Travel Planning

 On A Roll With Travel Planning

I am curious if others do what I tend to do while traveling, which is to make even more travel plans. I feel inspired when we are in the midst of a trip, and it very often results in even more ideas on what to do next. Which is the theme of this post.

The Remainder of 2026

In a few weeks we will be leaving for a one week Coastal Cruise with my mother and my spouse's sister. This will be the first cruise for them both, and we are feeling very excited based on their respective excitement. It's been really sweet to experience their growing anticipation about what awaits. 

The cruise will visit Ensenada, Mexico, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco. We have fun tours already booked through the ship to enjoy a beautiful hacienda in Mexico, a harbor cruise in San Diego, an open trolley tour in Santa Barbara, and a shuttle tour in San Francisco that will take us over the Golden Gate Bridge, among other stops. 

We tailored our list of activities to accommodate my 80+ year old mother's needs, plus my own stress level. It makes things very simple to leave the driving, literally, to the cruise line, vs doing everything on our own, when attempting to accommodate two elderly travelers who are not seasoned. 

The weather should be lovely along our southern and central California coastline in early November, and thus our cabin connecting balconies should see much use.

Otherwise, we'll be traveling to the Santa Ynez wine country with our wine club, and spending Christmas in Tennessee with our daughter and family, before flying down to South Florida for a New Year's Western Caribbean cruise.

In 2027 our 'big rock' trip will be a two week cruise through New England in the fall, that will begin with a week on our own in Montreal, Canada and conclude in NYC, where we'll spend another week on our own before flying back home. 

In 2028 our 'big rock' trip will be a four week cruise that begins in Amsterdam and ends in Boston. Included on the itinerary are the fjords of Norway, the Shetland Islands of Scotland, a full circumnavigation of Iceland, three ports in Greenland, and a variety of French territory islands and Canada maritime provinces. 

In 2029, depending on how my aging parents are doing at that point, we are looking at doing a four week cruise of Eastern Asia that begins in Indonesia and ends in Japan.

In 2030, I am wrapping my head around doing, finally, for my long-asking spouse, a gynormous trip to S. Africa and surrounding to see what are called 'The Big Five' - lions, leopards, rhinoceros, elephants, and Cape buffalo. plus, hopefully, giraffe and zebra.

Neither of the later two are yet etched in stone, but given that we would most definitely fly Business Class given the distances, they may each use up a big chunk of their respective year's travel allocations, so I want to remain aware of them now.

Monday Musings - Hot Hot Hot

 

Monday Musings - Hot Hot Hot

Every so often, based on memory and historical records, we get hot, hot, hot here along coastal Southern California. And hot, hot, hot we are currently, with temps of 90+ degrees even along the beach. Thus our walks over the weekend occurred early, and on one day we actually dropped a car at the beach in order to avoid even the slightest of uphills on the return trip to the house.

We have another few days to go, during which we'll confine workouts to our air conditioned gym. We should be released from heat jail by Thursday, yeah.

Other than the heat, the weekend was lovely. We're still battling through jet lag, but moving in the right direction with it. I fell asleep at 8:00 PM last night, waking at 2:45 AM this morning, but that's an improvement from the last two nights (Midnight, then 2:00 AM respectively). Nicely, thankfully, our next trip over to Europe will start off with an abrupt nine hour adjustment, but our return back to the US- eastern time zone will be leisurely via a cruise.

I left our schedule open the first two days after our return home because I knew our sleep would be wonky. Yesterday, day three, I had a volunteer event in the AM, and a musical live event in the afternoon, followed by dinner out.

Today I have, joy of joys, a mammo in the AM, and then I'm taking my mother to lunch for a deferred birthday celebration at a lovely coastal restaurant with air conditioning. Even right at the beach is too hot right now, so indoors for lunch it is, but hopefully at an ocean view table.

Dinner back here will be teriyaki marinated salmon, rice, and green beans, so very easy.

Oh, and I returned home one pound lighter than when I left, which was great. We enjoyed the local cuisine - fish n chips, salmon, hake, haddock, haggis(!), soups and bread of all types, scones, cottage pie, and apple pie with warm custard (I limited myself to just a few bites of my spouse's pie),  and thus I wasn't 100% certain I'd held, even though the travel shorts I tried on each morning during our trip indicated I had.

Oh, and if you've been reading that our coastlines have lost much of their sand, that would be correct. It will return eventually (this is not the first time this has occurred) but this is what low tide (low tide mind you!) looked like yesterday at one of the beaches we frequent during our walks.

Business Class- It Really Is All That!

Business Class- It Really Is All That!

I am writing this under the influence of our Business class flight return from Dublin, Ireland. We've only been in the air for 90 minutes, but I have already been provided with champagne and had it refilled twice, selected my three course dinner meal from a generous menu, been provided with hot towels to clean our hands before dinner, had my metal seat meal tray set up for me, then covered with a clean towel, and been provided with a code for free wifi for the duration of the trip. And this after spending two hours in the Business Class lounge pre-flight, where we ate and drank and relaxed to our heart's desire, at no additional cost.

This has already been a game changer, even before making up our lay-flat beds to go to sleep on later this evening.

Truly, it feels like heaven. 

There are several far-flung places in the world where my spouse wants to travel, primarily South Africa and it's surrounding countries, and also to India. Due to the challenges of the flight lengths for both destinations, I have been very, very resistant. But, with what I'm experiencing with this flight's comfort and luxuries, I can already see myself potentially changing my mind. Because it really is that significantly elevated from the flying experiences we've had previously, including our flight over to Scotland just a few weeks ago.

In my younger years I would not have been willing to spend for Business class seats. I would have wanted to use that extra money for more travel, not more comfort. Because I really didn't need much additional comfort in my younger years.

But, I do now, a result of increased anxiety that is most certainly a result of being older. So, if the choice is to either give up traveling due to increased stress, or instead attempt to minimize the stress by taking fewer but more luxurious trips, I think I'm increasingly in the camp of the later.

And so thankful to even have this as an option.

Our 'resting lounge' at Dublin airport, prior to boarding our flight.

What appeared within moments of my spouse and I taking our side by side seats on the plane.

What next appeared, along with refills to my champagne glass above.

My dinner starters: cold salmon, and salad, and rolls. In my case, this was my entire meal at my request, as I could have added an entree (second course) and dessert (third course) if I wished.

Business class amenities and staffing: We have two restrooms and four flight attendants for 21 people, the entirety of the business class section of the airplane we're on. And there is also a mini snack area we can select from at any time.

The other thing both my spouse and I are noticing is how quickly the flight time is going by. Perhaps because we are so very relaxed?

It's incredibly wonderful, and my expectations have been wildly exceeded already, with much still to come - like lay-flat beds!

So, I'm thinking flying Business Class is going to quickly become identical to how we feel about cruising. That being that if we can't afford a cabin with a balcony, then we'd simply rather stay home.

Quite the game changer for me, and by proxy, for my husband.