November In A Sentence A Day

Greetings! Today, and each month going forward, I'm joining in with some other fab bloggers to share how we spent our month in just one sentence per day.

Turns out that the theme for November was creating new routines as we branched out and really starting exploring our new community. We discovered new hiking trails, new restaurants, new entertainment venues, new lecture series, and made several new friends. The month also included a visit from our East Coast daughter and family meaning we also got lots of granddaughter time!

(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 September In A Sentence A Day inspiration!)

November In A Sentence A Day

1. Another home project kicked off, as cabinets arrived and started going in for my husband's home office, plus, my Pottery Barn home office furniture finally arrived in good form, plus we attended our first monthly dining event with a group attached to our Lifelong Learning program.
   
   
2. Spent pretty much all day hauling boxes up to my finally-furnished office, purging as I went along, plus hubby's home office installation continued, plus our downstairs powder room got a complete makeover.
   
   

   

   Before . . .

   

   After! 
   We had already changed out everything but the builder grade cabinets, which got refaced today in a rich brown maple.
   
   

3. Hubby's home office completed, yeah,
   
   

   

   
   

   plus I did the grocery shopping, ran four miles, worked a shift at the Ocean Institute, and prepped a big pan of pumpkin lasagna for a dinner party we're having tomorrow night.


4. Busy, busy day cooking and cleaning for a dinner party, working a tide pool docent shift, then having said dinner party!
   
   

   

   This carrot cake from The Barefoot Contessa cookbook
   was a massive hit with my guests.

   
   
5. Postcard perfect day doing a five mile walk along the San Clemente Beach trail, lunch at Ellie's Table, then another sightseeing walk at The Strands, which culminated in a free funicular ride!
   
   
   

   

   We detoured off the trail to walk to the end of the San Clemente Pier.
   
   

6. A rare go-nowhere day (yeah!), then a darned good I-made-it-myself dinner of grilled salmon with a mustard horshradish sauce over brown rice before heading off to an evening couples-fellowship event.
   
   
7. My final home office decor items arrived: a bright cheery red rug, and a white leather and shiny chrome office chair!
   
   

   

   My office is also our second guest bedroom,
   utilized when we have VIP's like granddaughters staying over!
   

   
   
8. Took my girlfriend hiking on the spectacular Dana Point Headlands trail
   
   

   

   
   

   followed by lunch afterward at one of my favorite little cafe's, PDM.
   
   
9. Took my husband on yesterday's walk, his first time, though we started at the harbor to add in some hill work,
   
   

   

   
   

   had lunch afterward at Andrea at beautiful Pelican Hill Resort, then an evening lecture about our local seal and sea lion rescue society.
   
   
10. A fascinating lecture on our First Amendment by a law professor in the morning, and our first dinner outing with two new couples, which culminated in a stop in at the notorious, slightly touristy Swallows Inn in San Juan Capistrano, bra-strewn ceiling and all.
    
    
    

    

    So not my scene, but it was fun to do once!
    
    

11. Made this gorgeous Barefoot Contessa chocolate cake to take to an evening potluck dinner and Cabernet Sauvignon wine tasting event . . . it was delicious!
    
    

    

    The cake was easy-peasy, the frosting not so much -
    four full steps from start to finish.
    
    

12. Walked along the harbor and came across this begging pelican midway.
    
    

    

    
    

13. Enjoyed a hike in the San Juan Capistrano hills with a fun new-to-us hiking group, and got invited to join them in upcoming biking and kayaking events, yes please!
    
    

    
    
    
14. As-big-as-you-can-make-them $5 yogurt bowls at Yogurtland . . . we did our best!
    
    

    

    
    

15. A second hike with my new hiking group, this time high atop the ridges of Trabuco Canyon, where we enjoyed fabulous views of Catalina Island out in the distance. . . loved it!
    
    

    

    
    

16. Worked a tidepool shift where this interesting Giant Key Hole Limpet we spotted clinging to a rock got everyone all excited . . . first sighting of one in over a year, indicating that the tidepools are healthy and doing well.
    
    

    

    
    

17. Spanish class, followed by a volunteer shift at the harbor, then a wonderful late day walk with my hubby prior to enjoying a fun and delicious Happy Hour medley of apps and cocktails at Jimmy's Famous American Tavern directly across from the harbor, thus providing us with these festive views as we dined.
    
    

    

    
    
18. My little 2003 BMW convertible appeared to give up the ghost, but after a stressful morning waiting to hear what in the world was going on with it, learned it was a simple computer malfunction that the mechanic charged me $0 (!!!) to repair.
    
    
19. Attended a fun dinner and game night event with congregational friends featuring an amazing pumpkin soup with lamb kebobs, baklava and the new-to-us-game, Quiddler.
    
    
20. A frustrating day of cancelling a kayaking event in order to wait for a roofer and a landscaper, both of whom cancelled last minute, grrrr.


21. Our girl arrived with her mama and papa, and solemnly informed me that "Mama has a baby in her belly" . . . !!!!!!!
    
    

    

    
    

22. Took the granddaughters to the beach, which they both looooved,
    
    

    

    
    

    followed by an afternoon at our community pool, then an evening of pizza and Hello Kitty cafe cookies at the Irvine Spectrum . . . they both fell fast asleep before we even got back to the house!
    
    
23. Happy Thanksgiving!
    

    

    
    

24. Spent our #optoutside day doing a six mile hike along the beach while our girl visited her papa's side of the family in Los Angeles.
    
    

    

    
    

25. Explored the Dana Point Headlands, then spent the afternoon climbing rocks at the harbor with our girl as we watched the fog roll in. 
    
    

    

    
    

26. After months of anticipation, and of reading the loooong book, the day finally arrived, and we headed to Hollywood to see Hamilton!!!
    

    

    
    
27. Took everyone to San Clemente in the AM for breakfast at Ellie's Table and a walk to the pier and back, then down to Dana Point Harbor after dinner to ooh and aah over the Christmas lights.
    
    

    

    
    
28. Our girl left for home with her mama and papa so we spent the day (sadly) cleaning up, but did finally finish decorating the Christmas Tree!
    
    

    

    
    

29. An interesting lecture on the Shackleton expedition to Antartica at our Lifelong Learning program, which we attended in preparation for a visit to the Bowers Museum in December to view the Shackleton traveling exhibit.
    
    
30. Haircut in the AM, a lecture on evolving Japanese/Korean relations at our Lifelong Learning program, then a night of food and Latin Jazz in nearby San Clemente . . . so fun/good!
    
    

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

And so ended November! It really was a terrific month that blended home improvements, outside exploration, family and fun. In looking ahead to December, it's going to be an insane month of holiday concerts, festivals, family and fun, and I can't wait to get started.

Make it a great day wherever you are!

Blogger

An InLinkz Link-up

Making Grandparent Memories

After a week of hugs, kisses, more fun than we can recount, plus the occasional mini-tantrums, our younger daughter, hubby, and three year old granddaughter have departed. I'll likely spend the next couple of days attempting to put the house back in order, and we are both exhausted and sick (we can never seem to escape getting sick around our granddaughter!), plus hubby has a gorgeous black eye, the result of an accidental head bump with our granddaughter while playing hide n seek.

We wouldn't have missed any of it for the world.

So, so many memories were made, and we feel a renewed sense of thankfulness that we'd decided to relocate closer to the coast earlier this year in that we were at the ocean almost daily during their visit. On their last night here yesterday, we zipped over to the harbor, which was resplendent with Christmas lights, and which tickled my granddaughter to her toes.

What was hard
- Watching my pristine home look more ragged by the day.
- Crumbs constantly underfoot in that my daughter is very relaxed about where our granddaughter eats.
- No down time in that our granddaughter has seemingly endless energy, and at newly three is of the age where absolutely everything in the world excites her.

What was wonderful
- More hugs, kisses, and 'I Love You's' than I could possibly count.
- Decorating cookies together.
- Teaching her how to slide along our wood floors while wearing socks.
- Going from clinging firmly to Nana upon encountering the ocean for the first time to shouting, 'Ready, Set, Go!!!' by the end as we would race toward, then away from the waves.
- Learning to climb rocks, bravely jumping high in the air off of them by the end of the week.
- Playing 'fishy' in our HOA swimming pool.
- Running to the hot water (i.e., hot tub) to warm up before racing back to the 'cold pool' (see above) for more fishy play.
- Finding every single thing at our nighttime visit to our county's unofficial outdoor shopping and fun center, the Irvine Spectrum Center, to be unbearably exciting; 'Nana, a carousel!, Nana, a fountain!, Nana, twinkle lights!, Nana, la luna!, Nana, pizza!, Nana, cat cookies (at the Hello Kitty Cafe)!'
- Endless play in our backyard fountain.
- Watching the tide and fog roll in together one memorable afternoon at the harbor.
- Absolute enchantment with every Christmas light she encountered.
- Absolute enchantment with our Christmas tree, which we put up the day after Thanksgiving.
- Helping me unpack our ornaments after I explained how to do so gently, mesmerized by each and every one as she handled them.
- Watching her excitement the night we built a fire in the backyard.
- Watching her excitedly pick out a mermaid doll the afternoon we took her to the Ocean Institute, which she then lugged around everywhere we went for the remainder of the week.
- Working on small puzzles together.
- Listening to her tell me that, 'Mama has a baby in her belly,' and that she hoped it was a baby sister.
- Singing 'Happy Birthday' together every time we encountered balloons.
- Pushing her on the swing at the beach one day, watching her lean back and close her eyes in ecstasy.
- Her joy each time she encountered a surfer; watching intently after each wipeout to ensure they emerged safely from the water.
- Total bliss on her face as Nana poured some colored sprinkles on top of her strawberry frozen yogurt.
- The joy on her face each time a train passed during a walk along the beach in San Clemente one day, where the train tracks run close along the ocean. 'Trains go Choo Choo, Nana,' she would solemnly announce afterward.
- A car! A truck! A fire engine! A plane! A boat! Each sound she heard produced an absolutely thrill of delight.
- Listening to a Christmas caroler at the harbor, who upon seeing all the children gathered round broke into a rousing chorus of How Far I'll Go from Disney's Moana.

So as they depart today for home, and the house falls silent, my heart is beyond sad in spite of the work and chaos of this past week. We have lots of fun events to look forward to over the coming holiday season, but I think my husband and I would both happily trade them all in were we given the opportunity to spend more time with our girl instead.

Come tomorrow I'm sure we'll be back to our old selves, but today our sweet girl will be lingering in our minds as we slowly put the house back together, and sadly adjust to her energetic presence no longer being here.

See you soon our little one.

October In A Sentence A Day

October was a good month overall! I got lots of granddaughter time, we settled even further into our new home, we became increasingly connected with our new community, and we finally found time to start branching out and exploring new activities and restaurants. 

1. First non-family entertaining event, a dinner party for our book club that included these Chipotle chicken kebobs with cilantro lime dipping sauce, this Southwest black bean and corn salad and this delicious Trader Joe's ready-made pumpkin cheesecake (I cheated and bought dessert because I ran out of time!).
   
2. Cleared out 70 emails ( yep, even in retirement!), plus packed and prepped house for our trip tomorrow.
3. Flew to Metro-DC to visit our granddaughter, arriving after her bedtime, boo hoo.
4. Speaking of 'boo's' had a marvelous day with our girl visiting Burke Nursery Farm & Pumpkin Patch, taking their spooky hay wagon ride not once, but two times (our girl is so brave! 😊 ) 
   
   
   
5. Our girl went to preschool today, so we snagged same day tickets to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC,
   
   followed by lunch with some visiting friends, Peter and Kathy, at one of Jose Andres' DC restaurants, Oyamel, where we enjoyed great food, but, unfortunately not great service.
6. Took our girl to two more play parks, plus another pumpkin farm, because a tired-out toddler is a happy toddler!
   
7. Apple picking at Great Country Farms in Bluemont, Virginia,
   
   
   
   plus a little wine tasting for the adults at adjacent Bluemont Winery. 
   
   
   
8. Spiritual services in Mount Vernon which included lunch and a seminar on working to improve race relations, an unplanned, impossible-to-resist stop for new toys, then we watched our girl for the evening while mom and dad enjoyed a night out on the town in DC.
9. Our girl again went to preschool, so we sat around all day and read on a rainy Autumn day.
10. Took our girl to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, MD and had a BLAST!
    
11. Our girl is 3 years old!!!
    
12. Flew home, talking about our girl during the entire flight (😊), did grocery shopping, enjoyed wine in our backyard, then fell into bed exhausted at the ripe ole hour of 7:30 PM!
13. Unpacked, did laundry, repacked, then left for a weekend couples retreat, nicely nearby at least.
14. Wonderful day listening and learning about all things pertaining to coupleness.
15. Home just in time to prepare slow cook pork ribs for an at-home dinner date with our oldest daughter, who sweetly brought cupcakes to celebrate my birthday, which occurred earlier this month while we were visiting the East Coast.
    
16. Had custom roller shades installed on our view facing windows,

    

    Now you see them . . .

    

    . . . now you don't!

    then a very robust discussion with our non-fiction book club about this month's read,  The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria.
17. Early morning four mile race walk with hubby, lunch with my monthly ladies group, then a rockin' Halloween celebration with our fellow Ocean Institute volunteers .
    
    
    
18. Gym and grocery shopping in the AM, then, woo hoo, a VIP reception at a yacht club to kick off the 2017/2018 season of the Dana Point Philharmonic - our season tickets were a modest $60, but if that gets us a VIP invite we'll take it!

    

    I don't think I really realized how many boats are moored here!
19. New hairdo!
    
    
    
20. Spanish class in the AM, then an afternoon shift at the Ocean Institute, where I discovered this enormous guy near one of our sailing ships.
    
21. A pain-free four mile run in the morning, then I cooked myself silly getting ready for a dinner party we were hosting in the evening, including this brag-worthy lemon tart!
    
    
    
22. A gorgeous coastal fall afternoon spent shadowing a docent at several Laguna and Newport Beach tidepools, which including some actual docent work myself, as my instructor gently handed over the ropes about midway through . . . scary!
23. Puttered around the house sweeping, doing laundry and going through files, then off to a tidepool volunteer appreciation event in this gorgeous backyard on a balmy fall evening.
    
24. Attended a class on Chinese Culture via my Lifelong Learning program, then an Oktoberfest event that involved pairing traditional German food with a variety of wines.
    
25. Spent the morning practicing how to put together our new inflatable kayak - success!
    
    - then  a stimulating lecture at Soka University titled 'Journalism Under Fire.'
    
26. We took our kayak over to Dana Point Harbor, and yeah, it didn't sink!
    
27. So, so tired and no clue why!
28. A very foggy morning, late morning walk under blue skies, and then a Fall Harvest Festival at our spiritual congregation, featuring chili, baked potatoes and three kinds of corn muffins.
    
29. Hiked the San Clemente Beach Trail with my girlfriend Mary under cloudy skies,
    
    followed by a farewell lunch (she's moving to Singapore!) at the fun and casual Ellie's Table , then a relaxing rest of the day at home before getting cleaned up for date night with my hubby at Tortilla Republic in Laguna Beach, including, yum, Passion Chipotle Sangria!
30. New bed delivery for our second master bedroom, meaning we are officially open for overnight guests!

    

    Lots of decorating still needs to be done, including sheets!

31. Second class on Chinese Culture at our Lifelong Learning program, a docent shift at one of our local tidepools where I discovered and happily watched a two spotted octopus for hours, then a Happy Halloween to the paltry two kiddos that came by the house!

    

    The little slice of paradise where I volunteer!