Tag Archives: Spring

Happy Spring!

Posted in budgeting, budgets, California, camping, cooking, swimming by

Spring is officially here, and it sure is where I live. Northern California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, is a wonderful place to live. All around the oak trees are blooming, daffodils are up, my wisteria is just starting to break out.

I’ve had a productive couple of days. I did go to the pool yesterday, and it was nice. I shared a lane, but the pool was not overly busy, which is always a plus.

From there, I went back to Costco to get more lavender plants, alas, they were all sold out. I stood there for a minute, wondering how they sold out in 2 days. So, I went and picked a few bottles of Sauvignon, a pair of workout leggings, and some salsa and hummus. I was back home by 10, so that was good. After I rested up, I tidied the house and then decided to tackle the outside windows.

I am very fussy about clean windows. maybe a little OC, really. I wash the inside windows in every zone when it comes up. So the outside ones are harder for me to do. I use Windex Outdoor Spray, which you attach to a hose, and it has a clean, rinse, and off setting. It’s quite easy once you get the hose untangled and ready to use. So I got them all done. I had to switch hoses 3 times, and that is probably the most time involved. I didn’t do my daughter’s room as her windows were open and she has the catio open to one of her windows. I’ll let her know she needs to close it up and do them next week. I felt really good about getting that crossed off my list.

Aftre regrouping I made some pizza dough using my tried and true recipe.

I made half the recipe for 2 dough balls. It comes out perfect every time. I’ll put the other one in the freezer unless my son wants it for tomorrow night. He’ll be staying here to take care of the kitties. Thankfully, they are all over their colds.

Today, I plan on getting the camp chairs in the car and getting B’s Mac Air in a travel bag to take with me. My MacBook died a while back, but this is newer and nicer. I don’t use it at home, though, since I have the new Mac my daughter bought me. I plan on leaving by 9am, and traveling on Sunday is always my preference since there is usually less traffic.

I’ll pack up my meds, clothes, and CPAP tomorrow and then be ready to go.

Next week, my daughter is on Spring break from the college, so I’m hoping we can go check out the tent trailer rental and see if it’s something we’re interested in. I don’t think we’ll know till we see it. I don’t think that place does trade-ins, but where we bought Rubi does, so we may try to fit that in as well. That’s farther down near Sacramento.

I’ve been reading some Agatha Christie books we got at the pet bookstore. She was such an amazing writer. I’m enjoying them and may pop out today to go see if there are any more there. Plus, I need some garden soil to repot some things. Yesterday at Costco, I tried to get the bag there, but it was way too heavy for me. Our nursery is right across the street from the bookstore. So convenient.

Simple Sunday & Happy Imbolc

Posted in bread, budgets, California, Uncategorized by

A nice walk this morning, and wow, is it getting light early. By 6:30, it’s predawn and almost light enough to walk. I waited a few more minutes, though, and got there about 6:40. A pretty sunrise was starting with pink and orange streaks. The Canada Geese are back, getting ready to have babies. It’s always fun to watch. Circle of Life.

Today, I’ll go to Auburn to the gym and then get some cash out of the teller for the week. I know I need some salad stuff, but I think that’s it. I have a full pack of spinach to use up. I plan on making a creamy spinach filling for some puff pastry I had in the freezer. I’ll serve that with some tilapia, I think.

Imbolc starts this evening and :

It celebrates the beginning of spring, the return of light, and purification.

I’ll have a fire outside and enjoy the stirrings of spring. It’s always noticeable around this time as the grass is growing, and I even saw some flowering trees( probably a flowering cherry) in Auburn.

My sourdough loaf yesterday came out near perfect. So I’m pleased. Last night we finished up some orange chicken from TJ’s. It was ok, not great. I bought a different brand at Costco that was on sale, so I’ll see how that one compares.

Well, that’s it for now. What spring stirrings are you seeing??

Someone asked about the chair Pilates so here’s a picture of the book.

.

Wrights Beach at Sonoma Coast State Beach

Posted in California, camping, cooking, reading by

We had a great trip.

We left Tuesday morning. Stopped in Sonoma for gas which is a little more than halfway. Traffic was fairly easy and towing went well. We love our truck for its towing capacity. Unfortunately on the way home, we discovered the AC wasn’t working again. When we bought the truck 2 years ago, the AC wasn’t working and they replaced the compressor. So the question is why would it not be working now??? Anyway, I checked our paperwork and we had paid for 24 months of unlimited service so we should be able to get it fixed at no cost. I certainly hope so as I won’t drive in a vehicle w without AC when it’s 95 degrees out. Still, it’s a PITA to deal with.

We rolled into Wrights at about 12:30. So the timing was perfect. The campground was not very full at that point so that was nice plus it was mostly retired people like us so it was quiet.

We set up quickly and had sandwiches for lunch. Then we strolled out to the beach and walked. It was sunny and the temperatures quite nice.

The next morning we used the griddle that attaches to the RV for the first time. It was fun. We made pancakes, eggs, and bacon (for me).

.

The rest of the day we walked the beach, sat in camp and read and I knitted.

This part of the cliff trail that goes along the bluffs.

Lots of spring flowers and eucalyptus blooms.

Dinner one night: cheesy potatoes and grilled tofu and chicken.

We went to our favorite local spot , Fishetarian. Delicious.

The weather in Bodega that day was sunny and beautiful.

We also did a Lodge one night of stuffed peppers with home canned tomato sauce. It’s one of the best lodge dinners as the flavors really meld together. There were 2 in the pan not just one.

We did lots of walking and I finished 2 books. One was Michelle Obama’s new book. Very detailed and hopeful.

The second was an older Louise Penny , the Brutal Telling. She is an amazing writer and I plan on putting some of her newer stuff on hold. This was an older one.

After much discussion and so many people coming in on Friday, we decided to leave Saturday instead of Sunday. It was a good decision since the wind was also coming in and at 20mph, it’s tough to be outside. Plus, now there were lots of kids and families which is fine, it’s just we prefer it quieter.

So we took out time and left 10:30am. Then we went over to Bodega Dunes to use the dump station. It’s very weird that the State park system can’t afford to have someone in the kiosks. At both places, no one was in the kiosk most of the time.

We were both super tired after driving 4 hours and so it was nice to have the next day to just do a few things. B did most of the trailer clean up and I dealt with the left over food etc.

So today is Monday, and it’s just a chill day with some house chores. Tomorrow I have my labs and then I’ll go down to the gym. I’d rather swim but my labs are 8:30 and so I can’t get to the pool and swim by the time they close lap swimming at 9:25.

When we got home everything was in bloom and absolutely stunning.

Wisteria.

Apple tree.

This is our cherry tree. I’ve never seen it have so many blossoms.

My daughter had everything tidy in the house too. My son took a few days off work and worked out in the barn.

Now our weather shows cool and even possible rain. Go figure.

Simple Sunday

Posted in Blood test, Uncategorized by

We finished painting the kitchen in the semi gloss Benjamin Moore, Simply White. I thought it had been semi gloss before but it must have just been eggshell. For our kitchen semi gloss is best as our stove hood is not the best and grease does get on surfaces. Even doing the once a month kitchen zone when I wipe all the shelves it still builds up. So that was a good choice. We’re going to add another shelf to the one wall and I just ordered the bracketts. They’re not cheap as they are hand forged but they are nice looking. Then I will put my 1 gallon Ball jars there. Things are still disorganized as a couple of shelves are still drying so I can’t put stuff back yet. But tomorrow I will.

We’re headed for a very nice week so I’m planning on a few BBQ meals on the new Weber. Since I’m doing the freezer challenge, I’ll plan on burgers and chicken at least once. I need to work on the monthly menu plan for April too.

I plan on having labs next Friday since I see my doctor on the following Wednesday. The light chain tests take 3 days minimum so I need to do it earlier than I normally do( which is Mondays). Then April will start Round 4.

B and my daughter haven’t started building the garden shed yet so that will probably be the project for this week. Mavis over at ‘one hundred dollars a month’ blog was writing about what containers to use for gardening and she mentioned the big galvanized bins. A couple of people said they work great and there’s less bending involved. I thought I’d check out how much they are. Most of our raised beds are 2×12 boards and they do break down eventually.

Flylady zone is the bedroom. I’ll do that tomorrow.

This looking down the driveway from the barn. Our neighbors now have their tent trailer up there. The sunroom is where we have our 4pm wine and cheese and listen to jazz or NPR.

Spring is here!!!

Posted in Uncategorized by

Finally, our weather is beautiful. Today should be in the low ’70’s. Hurray!!!!

“Spring is coming, Spring is coming,

Birdies build their nests, weave together straw and feather, each doing their best”…..

That’s a Waldorf song.  When we homeschooled, even though it was only my son, we still did a morning circle, which always included a poem, verse, or song. It might have seemed silly to do with only the 2 of us but we did it anyway. One year we memorized the whole song of LOTR’s The Misty Mountains!!!  Well, anyway, that was a tangent.

So, lots to do today, including washing my VW.  We’re going to go to Home Depot for some plants that were on sale( if there’s any left), then a few other chores.

Dinner is a salad pack I bought yesterday and maybe a piece of chicken.DSCF0004