October In A Sentence A Day

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:

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.

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.

Made by hand . . .  mine!

21. Bought bento box lunches at the train station before hopping aboard one of Japan's fabulous bullet trains, headed to Kaga for a night in a traditional Ryokan Inn with tatami mats, futon mattresses for sleeping, and nothing-but-your-birthday suit hot springs baths.

22. Got up early to enjoy a long soak in the women's hot spring, where I was lucky enough to find a private tub overlooking the lake (plus managed to keep my towel on until the last possible moment!), then headed to UNESCO designated Shirakawa, a thatched-roof village, then onward to gorgeous Takayama where we toured a fabulous wooden float museum, and then enjoyed a romantic dinner for two at lovely Le Midi.

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.

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.

26. Drove slightly out of Kyoto to tour Imperial Nara, the Gread Buddha Statue, One Thousand Deep Park, the Kasugu Grand Shrine, and then a final dinner with our group where we were honored to be visited by a real-life Geisha for ceremonial dancing plus a Q&A.

27. A long trek home - 90 minute drive to Osaka Airport, a 9 hour flight to San Francisco, 3 hour layover, then a one hour flight back to Los Angeles, and a 90 minute drive home from there.

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!

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And so went the month of October! How did your month go? Please share your highlights (or lowlights!) below.

An InLinkz Link-up

June In A Sentence A Day

Greetings! Today, and each month going forward, I'm documenting how I spent my month in just one sentence per day.

Turns out that the theme for June was On The Road Again! We spent most of the month traveling with friends through Utah and Colorado in our RV's, and it was glorious. And possibly even just a smidge better, when we returned, our backyard balcony rebuild was well under way, relief!

(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!)

June In A Sentence A Day

1. A lovely afternoon out with my daughter in Laguna Beach, including dinner together at Urth Caffe, then a fascinating late night out at the beach learning about, waiting for, then experiencing that most unusual (and earthy!) event, a genuine grunion run.

2. Beach racewalking in the AM with my Saturday group, then a terrific evening out enjoying dinner and tribute band Queen Nation, a defining band of my teen years without question, at our favorite nearby concert venue, The Coach House. (P.S. Keep an eye out for the Queen biopic movie Bohemian Rhapsody coming November 2!!!)

3. Morning visit at the house with our daughter and her significant other, than over to UCIrvine to attend the Green Day written musical, American Idiot . . . dang but those college students did a terrific job with it!

4. The city approved our balcony project, the city approved our balcony project, the city finally approved our balcony project!!!

5. A glorious morning walking the five mile San Clemente Beach Trail with a new friend I met through my Spanish class, including lots of talking over breakfast afterward at Ellie's Table.

6. Lovely six mile hike through the hills surrounding Ladera Ranch with my hiking group, followed by a group lunch, always fun.

7. Met my Thursday group for breakfast before heading out on a fast paced hike through Quail Hill in Irvine afterward, home to clean up and do chores, then off to a fabulous dine out with my Lifelong Learning group at The International Culinary School's testing restaurant, Exhibition, in Costa Mesa . . . oh those wonderful, enthusiastic culinary students!

The culinary students receiving a well deserved round of applause after our meal.

8. Last minute landscaping decisions so our project can continue to move forward during our trip, then off to a super fun evening pops concert featuring the music of BeeGees . . . a group that was one of several that most definitely defined my teen years.

9. Morning beach walk with my Saturday group, a mad dash to pack and prep for tomorrow's departure, then an evening performance with the Dana Point Symphony, whew!

10. And we're off . . . a 5AM departure toward St. George, Utah, travel trailer in tow, arriving finally at 2PM, where we promptly threw on our bathing suits and headed to the pool to await the cool of evening, at which point we toured nearby Pilgrim Park.

11. - 30. Our Southwest RV Adventure!

Our 2018 driving route, 1720 miles in all!

We were gone a total of three weeks, visited five national parks, three national monuments, and traveled over 2,000 miles. We visited an amazing array of places by car, foot, kayak, gondola and boat, and made countless memories we will never, ever forget. Our newly retired best friends, who have the same type of travel trailer that we do, accompanied us, and I am pretty confident they had as wonderful of a time as we did in that midway through they were already talking about planning another long distance RV trip to do all together, possibly up into the Pacific Northwest.

Here are a few of the random things that went through my mind during our journey:

• Wildfires are a constant summertime threat throughout the southwest. Our scheduled ride on the Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Train out of Durango was cancelled due to the Burro Wildfire, and our return trip home from Kanab, Utah was impacted by the Lone Pine Wildfire.
• Our National Parks are without question one of our nation's greatest treasures. We met foreign visitor after foreign visitor that came here solely to see our vast, beautiful wilderness, and we were humbled anew each and every time they shared their joy at being able to do so with us. 
• It's hot in the southwest! And while, yes, it's a dry heat that is much, much easier to take then when combined with humidity, it still affected us tremendously when we were out and about. My skin cracked open in a few places, plus I experienced several instances of moderate heat exhaustion in spite being well covered from the sun, finding shade where  I could, and  drinking a good amount of water each day that had been supplemented with electrolytes.
• Utah is the cleanest state we've ever traveled in, with some of the nicest, most helpful people we've ever met. But it's also home to some of the goofiest alcohol laws we've ever encountered, including not being allowed to order any drinks in a restaurant bar unless it's accompanied by a food order, and limiting the percentage of alcohol in beer to 4% or less. Too funny!
• We enjoyed riding a series of gondolas into and out of Telluride, Colorado during our visit there, which are completely free to use in the summertime.
• We saved over $250 in entrance and camping fees with my husband's National Parks lifetime senior pass, including half price full hookup camping reservations at Mesa Verde National Park. 
• We came in well under budget thanks to our love of being active wherever and whenever possible. The majority of our days were spent hiking or attending ranger talks, both free, including an Astronomy event in Bryce Canyon one memorable evening - we exited the shuttle bus in a completely dark field, and basically groped our way over to the dozens of viewing telescopes that had been set up. 
• In total we hoofed our way over more than 100 miles of national park and monument trails, enjoying amazing sights and sounds as we went along.
• Our wildlife sightings included coyote, marmot, collared lizard, turkey, mule deer, Blue jay, red tail hawk, chipmunks and squirrel. 
• Our geology sightings included the Colorado River, the Colorado Plateau, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyondland, Arches and Mesa Verde National Parks, and Canyons of the Ancients, Cedar Break, and Escalante National Monuments, plus the Navajo Nation's Four Corners Monument at the point where Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico come together. We also enjoyed exploring the Utah towns of St. George, Torrey, Moab, and Kanab, and the Colorado towns of Cortez and Telluride.

May In A Sentence A Day

Greetings! Today, and each month going forward, I'm documenting how I spent my month in just one sentence per day.

Turns out that the theme for May was Hang In There! With our backyard remodel temporarily on hold, I worked hard to stay busy while out plans were finalized, submitted to the city for review, and bounced back, finally, with just a few small change requests. Almost to the finish line!

May In A Sentence A Month

1. Struggled with a little post-menopausal depression today . . . sometimes it hits out of the blue and I have to just ride it out as best I can.

2. Headed to San Clemente to walk the five mile beach trail the moment it stopped raining this morning in order to take in as much post-storm coastal beauty as I could, and felt soooo much better for doing so,

plus did my weekly grocery shopping, wandered around TJ Maxx but left empty-handed (yeah me!), cooked this lemony dish for dinner, then settled in to watch The Phantom Thread, which I loved, but which left hubby scratching his head!

3.  Five mile hike along the beaches and cliffs of Dana Point with my sweet hubby, a delightful outdoor lunch afterward at the harbor, then a couple of hours of backyard luxuriating, even if on dirt, reading and enjoying a beautiful viewing day of the ocean . . . I love living here soooo much!

It was a gorgeous day to take a hike.

We may have nothing but dirt in the backyard currently, 
but that doesn't keep me away when the ocean is this visible!

4. Headed out and up into the mountains in order to attend a much needed women's retreat . . . it's been a bit stressful around here the last couple of weeks what with our backyard project, and it feels great to get away!

5. Just what the doctor ordered . . . spent the day enjoying bird watching, yoga, meditation, a clean-foods cooking class, wonderful meals, good wine, lots of chocolate, and the companionship of some truly inspiring women.

6. Arrived home from above retreat in time to enjoy a wonderful walk along the beach with hubby, have lunch together in downtown San Clemente, enroll in a beginners course at a knitting store we spotted, wander through the surfboard-heavy Los Molinos manufacturing district, and go beer tasting at Left Wind Brewery.

7. Fabulous paddle around Newport Harbor with my kayaking group, including a stretch along the Newport Back Bay, where I enjoyed watching an Osprey deliver a still-flopping fresh fish to two new hatchlings in a nest high overhead.

8. We're off to the airport, headed to the east coast in order see our granddaughter, plus visit Colonial Virginia, hooray!

9. Attended a Mother's (and Grandmother's!) Day Tea at my granddaughter's preschool, then took her to a nearby shopping mall where we rode trains, 'fished' for rubber duckies, ate pizza, shopped for toys, played an a fruity playground, and had an overall fabulous time.

10. Visited the National Zoo with our girl and had the best day ever . . . our third time taking her there, this is the first time she had enough stamina to we make it through pretty much the entire zoo!

11. Visited two parks with our girl, built the world's longest train track, then enjoyed singing one tired little girl to sleep for her nap.

12. Off to Colonial Virginia for the weekend, to give ourselves and our daughter's family a little private time (plus we need time to re-energize after three days with a fabulously energetic little 3 year old!), where we visited historic Yorktown before checking into our hotel in Williamsburg.

13. Spent the day in Jamestowne, which we loved, loved, loved, including visits to Jamestowne Settlement, Jamestowne Historic Site, and driving all around the island via the National Historic Parkway.

14. Drove back to our daughter's home in time to pick up our girl from preschool and enjoy lots of playtime in the backyard of her house, including showing her how to load and shoot a water spray gun . . . oodles of wet, watery fun!

15. Took our girl to the playground, baked cookies together, had a picnic lunch in the backyard, played on the swing, and just thoroughly enjoyed our last day with her before returning home.

16. Flight home, after which I collapsed on the sofa in exhaustion for the remainder of the day!

17. Off to get my hair cut, then a pre-lecture dinner at Taco Surf in Dana Point before attending a surprisingly interesting lecture on the life cycle of a tree by Cavity Conservation, and how many animals it supports both while alive and decaying.

18. Up early to bake lemon squares before heading off to a 36 mile bike ride up into our local hills with my group, including a tasty lunch stop at Java Juice, then home to shower, take a short nap, then head out to an evening potluck get together (hence why I was up early to bake!) with some gal-pals in light of all of our hubbies being gone at a men's retreat.

19. A rare hubby-less day (missed him!) which I spent race walking along the beach with my Saturday morning group . . .

. . . then off to San Clemente to take a knitting class at a cute little yarn shop there called Strands, plus a little browsing around the adorable Del Mar shopping and dining area before returning home and trying to remember the stitches I'd just been taught!

20. Weeded the front yard in the morning, enjoyed a potluck lunch event with my spiritual congregation, then welcomed hubby home from his retreat before heading out together to meet our Lifelong Learning dining club for dinner at Eva's Caribbean Kitchen in Laguna Beach . . . fun night!

21. Attended end of semester Spanish lunch at a Peruvian restaurant, had a wonderful time, and met a gal that wants to meet soon to go walking, so nice!

22. Worked a volunteer shift at the harbor, then hurried to do all the grocery shopping afterward for our upcoming trip to attend a bike rally and then do a little RV'ing along the coast.

23. Packed, prepped our trailer and did food prep . . . early AM departure in the morning!

24. Off at 5:00 AM sharp for the 300 mile drive to Paso Robles, then took off to do a little wine tasting once we were all set up in our site.

25. Attended a 30 mile group bike ride through San Miguel, then back to clean up and head out for a tad more wine tasting. ;-)

26. A wonderful 32 mile bike ride with just hubby and me, first to Templeton to attend the Saturday Farmer's Market, then back via a series of winding roads through the heart of the wine country, including a delicious lunch stop at Cass Winery, where we both enjoyed some Santa Maria tri tip steak along with our wine tasting.

27. Headed to Cambria for the day to walk the beautiful Moonstone Boardwalk Trail, then back to the fairgrounds via the uber-scenic Santa Rosa Creek Trail Rd.

28. An AM walk into cute, downtown Paso Robles to pick up lunch sandwiches, then back to break down our site, hook up our trailer, and head to Morro Bay, where we set up camp and went for a walk along a nearby estuary in the fog.

29. Spent a fabulous day hiking through breathtaking Estero Bluffs State Park, followed by fish and chips at Morro Bay's Bayside Cafe . . . so delicious!

30. Headed for home, a coastal and scenic, but long, six hour drive.

31. Spent the day cleaning up - the trailer, our towing vehicle, and our clothes . . . to every fun trip a little work must follow!

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And so went the month of May!