So, I'm back with my monthly sentences after an absence of a few months. It was a loooong summer, what with our ongoing yard construction, and as a result, I just didn't feel like blogging my daily activities because so many of them were affected by the stress of our project. Honestly, I was more focused on simply surviving what seemed to be the never-ending ordeal of finishing up our front and backyard without alienating everyone on the street . . . bright yellow outhouse anyone?
However, we are almost to the finish line and the outhouse is now long gone. I feel like I'm forward facing for the first time this year, and excited to be back on board with the Sentence A Day crew!
(And P.S. - Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post to see who else is participating,
and to visit their blogs for additional Sentence A Day inspiration!)
October In A Sentence A Month
1. Started the month with a dreadful case of the blahs so accomplished pretty much nada.
2. Still had the blahs, so I curled up on the sofa and spent the day reading.
3. Enjoyed a group hike through the beaches of Dana Point, followed by lunch together at Coffee Importers in Dana Point Harbor . . . best bagels ever!
4. Termite inspection and spot treatment (a constant issue here along the coast), then a fun night out with some gal-pals enjoying the Laguna Beach First Thursday Art Walk, where I fell in love with this oil painting:
5. Couples retreat weekend, an annual event with our spiritual congregation.
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| The art gallery was closed, so I took a photo of the painting from outside. |
5. Couples retreat weekend, an annual event with our spiritual congregation.
6. Left the retreat to attend a daylong Sierra Club leadership training class, then dashed back afterward to rejoin hubby for the evening events.
7. Last day of the couples retreat, then returned home and enjoyed dinner together at Brick in San Clemente (check another off my Top 75 In OC list 
), with two thumbs up for the glasses of excellent Chianti we enjoyed along with our wood fired pizza.
), with two thumbs up for the glasses of excellent Chianti we enjoyed along with our wood fired pizza.
8. Seven mile ridge hike with my hubby, attended Spanish class, then a new book club meeting where we discussed In The Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea, a charming and poignant story about a group of teenage girls determined to bring back the men to their Mexican town.
9. Enjoyed a seven mile hilly hike with a new group of folk, including one 80 year old gal that hiked so fast I had to run to keep up, then a group lunch with everyone afterward, which we much enjoyed.
10. Attended a talk by the League of Women Voters, which went over all of the various propositions on our upcoming November California Ballots . . . there's a lot of them!
11. Appointments with our financial planner and our hairstylist, both in our old town, which after 15 months no longer feels like home, yeah!
12. Lunch with one of my favorite gal pals at her wonderful new home just steps from the beach in Corona Del Mar, plus lunch together at Rose Bakery Cafe including one of their unbelievably delicious mini-coconut cakes.
13. Did laundry, packed for our upcoming trip to Japan, made delicious stuffed portobello mushrooms for dinner, then headed out to attend the musical 'Beautiful,' the story of singer Carole King's life, only to experience the thrill of my life when she walked out onto the stage during the final curtain call, joining in on the encore song, I Feel The Earth Move Under My Feet , and demonstrating that she still has her chops and then some!
14. Cooked my heart out for our quarterly book club dinner, being hosted here, positively swooning over these Barefoot Contessa raspberry & almond crumble bars, which I served with small glasses of Amaretto . . . yummy!
15. Our backyard staircase finally got delivered, plus hubby and I went on a seven mile hike, and I attended Spanish class.
16. We're off to Tokyo, Japan!
17. Landed late in the afternoon at Narita Airport, where our tour shuttle was waiting to whisk us off to our Tokyo hotel, the Keio Plaza, where we dropped our luggage and went for a walk before joining our fellow travelers for a beautiful Kaisaki welcome dinner.
18. Tokyo sightseeing, and there was so much to see - Shinjuku Temple, the Imperial Palace, Asakusa Kannon Temple, historic Nakamise and trendy Takeshita shopping promenades, and a trip up to the top of the Tokyo Observatory.
19. Drove toward Mt. Fuji, hidden behind clouds unfortunately, but a wonderful day was still had visiting the breathtaking Itchiku Kubota Kimono Art Museum, Hokone National Park's sulfur vents via gondola, and Lake Ashi by boat, before enjoying a rousing chorus of group Karoake on the way back.
20. Enjoyed the Tsukuji Fish Market, including samples of fresh ahi, a sushi making class, shopping and people watching in the glamorous Ginza District, then a tour through the very busy, but somewhat odd, Akihabra electronic district - think thousands of young men wandering in and out of gaming, anime and electronic stores in a bit of a glaze, not to mention the scantily dressed 'Kitty girls' waving to the crowds.
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| Made by hand . . . mine! |
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| Overlooking the thatched-roof village of Shirakawa. |
23. Another no-clothes (!) hot spa bath to start the day, then to the Takayama Morning market where we sampled raw beef sushi and sake-from-a-cedar-cup, before boarding another bullet train, this time bound for Kyoto.
24. Full day of Kyoto sightseeing, after which we about dropped dead of exhaustion - Kiyomizu Temple, Sannen-zaka and Ninen-zaka promenades, Kodai-ji Temple and Garden, a zen meditation lesson, a tea ceremony, and a visit to Heian Shrine.
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| Hubby with our zen teacher, a Buddhist monk of 10+ years. |
25. Another full day of Kyoto sightseeing, after which we did drop dead of exhaustion - Arashiyama bamboo forest, a ride on a rickshaw, Kinkaku Ji Temple, aka the Golden Pavilion, Ryoan-ji Temple, Nijo Castle, and Kimona dressing up at a traditional Kyoto-style home.
28. Slept 11 hours straight (!), unpacked, grocery shopped, then attended a performance of Dvorak's The New World Symphony by the Pacific Symphony, the same chosen by Neil Armstrong to take along on his voyage to the moon in 1969 on Apollo 11.
29. Awake until 3:30 AM (thank you jetlag!), so I slept in late, meaning I missed two before-lunch events, however I did manage to attend an evening training session to become a volunteer at a nearby cultural arts center.
30. First hike since returning home, seven miles of rolling hills, plus new boots and booties shopping!
31. Happy Halloween, which we celebrated at Laguna Beach's Pageant of the Monsters . . . so fun!
31. Happy Halloween, which we celebrated at Laguna Beach's Pageant of the Monsters . . . so fun!
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And so went the month of October! How did your month go? Please share your highlights (or lowlights!) below.
Documenting our month with one sentence a day. Hope you join in on the fun!
The collection has closed. Let other people know about it through twitter.
I enjoyed reading your October SaD, and all the photos, Tamara. Sounds like you had a full itinerary in Japan. For you both to be exhausted it must be really full. Have a fabulous November!
ReplyDeleteThe itinerary was beyond amazing, and also beyond exhausting! Almost non-stop stimulation, the result of a smaller group tour being able to get around more quickly. Can't move as fast when there are close to 40 people being moved around! However, I do feel like we left no stones unturned, and we will be processing this trip for a good long time to come.
DeleteWelcome back! I enjoy your blog so much and was happy to see that you're back at the keyboard. It must have been a tight itinerary if even you were played out on your trip. My October goals & activities didn't exactly measure up. The only thing I got accomplished was processing the garden tomatoes, i.e. 7 more qts of tomatoes & a batch of salsa awa pickled beets. I have 40lbs of carrots from a local producer for juice, cooking & my favorite pineapple carrot bran muffins. Today I will get 8 doz pyrogies made. Many fall preparations are complete: lawn & garden supplies are put away; windows are washed; winter tires are on; 2 cords of firewood delivered & stacked; renter's cows have gone home. The first 2 house concerts of the 2018/19 Home Routes season are in the books, the first being a Brazilian artist living in Canada x 8 yrs now & the second a rock 'n' roll artist from Nova Scotia. The previous host said that hosting house concerts is a good reason to clean the house & cook something nice. It does take time to advertise, prepare, host & then clean up afterwards. The 2018/19 monthly whist night is underway & the monthly get together for cards with friends continues. We also connected with 2 friends before they leave for winters away to Costa Rica & AZ. I got to see Shooter Jennings in concert with his mama, Jessie Colter (wife of Waylon Jennings); a house concert at a neighbor's; the movie, A Star Is Born; my great niece's 1st BD party. The month's activities also included errands for my aged mom - arrange the final house repairs (storm door, eave troughs), check tires, medical appt, shopping/banking. The retirement of my acupressure practitioner of 10+ yrs necessitated a referral to a new one. I experienced a minor episode of BPPV; I hope this new practitioner will be able to remedy the serious episodes like the old one did. I worked 2 nights at a casino 2 hrs away. It's really easy work that brings in ~$15T for the community association. It's taken 3 wks to get over the heightened sense of vulnerability after a break-in at the neighbor's. I'll be putting a gate up at the end of the driveway. That's the only thing left to do to mitigate the risk. I have started Christmas shopping. It is only 8 wks away. And finally, I'm back to walking regularly. Reviewing the month's activities reminds my that my life is full.
ReplyDeleteMona, do you still enjoy your various, what I call 'homesteading' activities? I ask because this house is slightly larger than our last home, but I much enjoy taking care of it, and wonder sometimes if that enjoyment will continue as I get older. Nothing I do is very strenuous, there's just a good amount of it. Same with the outside, though the outside is now about 90% hardscaping and faux grass, with the remaining plantings all being slow growing and drought tolerant. My primary duties outside are now just picking up leaves from the faux grass, and sweeping the pavers. I would love to think we'll age right where we are, but again, I wonder if things will change at some point.
DeleteI've had our autos and yard vandalized, but I've never had a break in, and I would imagine that would alter how I view the world if so. That, possibly false, sense of safety when you lock up would be destroyed, and I think it would be dreadful, a complete violation of one's sense of serenity.
Christmas shopping here is complete for the most part. All that is left is to make items for the neighbors. I have a bag of lavender, so I'm thinking of making lavender sugar, and giving that out along with some lavender shortbread cookies. Plus the recipe of course!
You had an amazing month! Thanks for sharing so many photos.
ReplyDeleteI did have a good month, Juhli! And I have to tell you that I am really enjoying seeing how your life is likewise continuing to blossom in your new digs. It just takes time, I guess, which is hard to see until one looks backward with some perspective.
DeleteBootie shopping is right up my alley. I hope you bought those leopard ones....they are so trendy and fabulous!!
ReplyDeleteAs for Toyko, It looks like such an incredible time. I'm a terrible traveler though. I love the idea of it, but my body is the worst...
XOXO
Jodie
www.jtouchofstyle.com
I did buy those leopard suede booties, Jodie, and I think I'll be wearing them a lot this fall and winter! I did a search on Pinterest and found all kinds of nice ensembles to go with them . . . excited!
DeleteI love to travel so much, however I totally understand what you mean about being hard on your body. It is, and more so the older I get. However, for me it's a bit like childbirth in that you soon forget the pain and remember only the good stuff. :-)
Wow Japan! What a fun trip, so many amazing things to do and food to eat! So happy that you can see the light at the end of the tunnel with your construction. Happy Friday eve friend! Need to check out that bagel place, I'm always up for a good bagel. Have you tried Bagels and Brew, they have a decent bagel too.
ReplyDeleteSarah, I think I love the harbor views at Coffee Importers almost as much as the open faced bagel sandwiches! Anything with avocado and lemon pepper is sure to be a winner, two of their house specialties. And if you haven't brought your kiddos to enjoy the Dana Point Harbor Christmas lights starting around Dec 1, you absolutely should . . . they are fabulous, including a big Christmas lights whale that the kids can walk inside of.
DeleteAnd I haven't tried Bagels and Brew, but I'll keep an eye out!
Oh wow! That trip to Japan sounds amazing! (and yep, a bit exhausting too but I just can not sit still when I'm in a new place; I want to explore it ALL!).
ReplyDeleteOh, a kindred spirit! Yes, the desire to see it all is definitely something we have i common. It's so exciting to wake up in a new place, it never seems to get old!
DeleteHi Tamara what a fabulous October. I do have to admit we should have done the Gate 1 Tour rather than a cruise of Japan although we still enjoyed ourselves. I love travel and discovering new places and enjoyed looking at your photos. Japan would have been the highlight of October and it is hard to come back down to earth after a great trip, isn't it? Have a wonderful November and look forward to reading about it.
ReplyDeleteSue, if I'd have known ahead how easy Japan is to navigate, I think we would have done it on our own. Such a wonderful country, I'm sure you'll agree!
DeleteWe've sailed the Diamond Princess two times, once out of Sydney in your neck of the woods, and loved it. We have a two week cruise booked for Fall of 2019, and I'm already looking forward to it!
Whew, I am exhausted reading about 7 mile hikes and trips to Japan and the adventures you enjoyed in between. Got a kick out of the 80 year-old 'gal' who sprinted along the hike! Admirable.
ReplyDeleteEverything Japanese is just so lovely. The food has such an artistic presentation. The dishes are beautiful and simple, functional and just work to showcase the food. My father traveled to Japan at least once when I was a bitty girl and he brought me back a Geisha doll. She was so delicate that I just looked at her and changed her wigs but never wanted to take a chance at damaging her by playing with her.
Great booties! Aren't they fun? I have always liked boots a whole lot but booties might be more practical for El Paso. And California?
Hope you and yours are safe with the terrible fires in your state. So terribly sad.
Hi Leslie, we are many miles away from the closest of the fires, the Woolsey fire, but I so appreciate your concern. We have small canyons around us, but nothing like the open land that exists where the current fires are burning. I'm not brave enough to live anywhere near our open areas, preferring more developed areas where the ongoing fire risk is lower.
DeleteI love hiking, and there are hundreds of miles of them all around me, so I can go literally every day of the week and not repeat anything. Add in some friends and a nice meal afterward and I'm set for the rest of the day.
I was slow in getting on the booties train as well, preferring boots up until recently. However, I'm now loving them. Just did a quick count of my shoe closet and it appears I have 8 pair of them. And about a dozen pair of boots. I think I need a recovery program! ☺