Friday Five - Happy To Pay The Weather Tax
1. I had not been paying attention to the weather because, well, Southern California, and so this morning was the first I heard of Winter Storm Fern. My dad lives in one of the projected-to-be-deep-cold areas, and so I spent time this morning chatting with him about his preparations. He has been through this before, so I knew he'd have already prepared (which he had), but I still wanted him to know I was aware and concerned.
As a side note - I've been trying to talk him into returning to California in order to be closer to me as he continues to age into his 90's, and perhaps this will give some added weight to my 'push' in this area.
2. I restarted HRT, after weaning off of it last Fall. Within weeks, the hot flashes returned, and after a couple of months, they began to affect my ability to sleep through the night, leaving me feeling increasingly exhausted. So, I threw in the towel and restarted HRT a few days ago. Nicely, already, the hot flashes are diminishing, and I am able to get through the night without waking in a sweat. I'm still waking up unreasonably earlier, however, even after hours of exercise, so looking for improvement to occur there as my body continues to adjust to the resumed hormone medication.
I'm also encouraged by the recent release of studies indicating that remaining on HRT, once begun, for pretty much the rest of a woman's life, turns out to have some benefits not previously noted.
3. So happy to have received a call from a girlfriend that is dealing with brain cancer to say she was done with treatment for the time being, thus feeling stronger and better, and would I like to get together for coffee? And also, would my spouse and I like to get together for dinner with her and her spouse?
Yes and yes!!
I was not about to put something like this off, so she and I now have plans to meet up for coffee next week, followed by a couples get together the very next evening at our water-facing social club the for conversation, music, sunset viewing, and dinner. What a gift to have another opportunity to enjoy her company, and the company of her spouse.
4. Slightly annoyed that I didn't stock up on pumpkin puree when it was on sale everywhere this past Fall. I needed to hunt some down yesterday for this absolutely amazing Pioneer Woman recipe for pumpkin & sausage chili I'm making for an event next week, and it was nowhere to be found at Aldi's, so I had to resort to, horror of horrors, the regular supermarket. I found it, but at what I consider a stupid not-on-sale supermarket price of $2.99 a can (vs the $1.49 a can it was at Aldi's during the Fall season). So, lesson learned - I'll buy a few extra cans next season.
In the meantime, I really cannot exclaim enough about this rendition of Pumpkin & Sausage Chili. It's incredible, and even more so if topped with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of roasted pepitas and cilantro-
5. Looking forward to a social wine event we are attending tonight, and also looking forward to wearing a gray knit dress that I tried on last night after putting it in the back of my closet years ago when I felt it made me look thick.
It doesn't make me look thick anymore after last year's Herculean weight loss efforts, and I'm excited to wear it after wearing it only once previously. I'm pairing it with gray suede boots and a chunky silver and pearl necklace and earrings.
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