#2959 three things: allergies/migraine, odious fictional siblings, Home Goods

 1. Allergies/migraine. Since yesterday, my allergies have been in overdrive. I've been sneezing and blowing my nose and just in general feeling kind of yucky. It has been hot here, too, with temperatures in the upper 90s, so it's been uncomfortable. (The swamper is doing a good job about keeping the house cool, FYI.) This morning when I took the dogs for a walk, the temperature was already in the mid 80s and windy. My nose was runny, my eyes were itchy, and my throat was scratchy from sinus drainage. Around 10:30, I started to feel a little wobbly and nauseous and the words and numbers on my screen were not clear. My head was aching. At my lunch break, I decided to call it a day and took the afternoon off. I immediately went to bed in my cool, dark bedroom and slept for a couple of hours. I have been sleeping really well at night, thanks to Swampy, so it wasn't that I was feeling tired. I think I was having a low-grade migraine. I'm feeling a lot better now. I took a cool shower and laid around this evening. I'll be going to bed soon, too, so I'll get plenty of rest.

2. Awful fictional siblings. I just finished two books in which the older sibling was completely shitty to the younger sibling. In The Truth About the Devlins, John tried to frame is younger brother TJ with murder to cover his own ass. In The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits, Zoe said horrible things to Cassie that caused Cassie to run away from society and feel miserable for 20 years. John and Zoe were both awful characters, and I didn't feel any real redemption from either of them at the end of the books, although Zoe was closer to being forgivable. What I took away from these stories is that I am so thankful I have a good relationship with my sister!

3. Home Goods. During my lunch break from work on Tuesday, I decided to go check out a store in Bountiful called Home Goods. I've never been there before, and I hoped that I could find some flower pots for the deck. The store is amazingly huge and probably has just about anything you could possibly want for your home, except maybe appliances. I just walked through a very small section of the store, and I found plenty of stuff that interested me. 

I ended up buying these two cute ceramic pots, made in Spain, and a small plant stand. The catmint in the back is sitting up on the stand. The pots were buy one get one half price, so I got both for a total of $30. Aren't they cute?! I put the coreopsis in one pot, but I haven't planted it there yet. In the photo you can also see the pretty lavender plant I just got from Lowes.  I'll be going back to Home Goods for sure!

Enjoy the rest of the week. Stay hydrated. Be kind.

#2887 three things - books

 

I sketched this pile of books back in November 2022 when I got back from Greece. You can see I drew them with a pencil, then went over it with a pen. I didn't do a great job with the eraser. Let's talk about books!

1. The Empyrean series by Rebecca Yarros. MT and I listened to the first book in the series, Fourth Wing, during our January trip to northern California. It isn't my typical fare; this book is a romantasy full of violence and action, and some spicy scenes, too. It takes place in a war college and our heroes and heroines are all dragon riders. The war college itself is a brutal place for the cadets - they go there when they are 20 years old. The world building and the story telling are very good and we were immediately engaged in the story of Violet and her pals. I was able to get the second book, Iron Flame,  on audio in late February (MT got it right away and finished it quickly.) I'm about 95% through it; I expect to finish it tomorrow. The story and characters have captured my imagination, and I especially like the reader. She's good. I'm pretty sure there will be a third book; I hope the author doesn't make us wait too long for it!

2. I like it when the author joins the discussion. I have been reading with #EkpesBookClub for six years now, and it's always good. We are currently reading Loyalty, our fourth book by Lisa Scottoline. The fun thing about this author is that she joins in on our weekly discussion when we read her books.  There is another author who joins our conversations,  and it's freaking cool when they do it. With Lisa (fun fact: we follow each other on Twitter/X, so she's my "friend") joins us, she gives a little background into what she was thinking about when writing a particular scene, and she talks about the research she does before writing a book. Loyalty takes place in Sicily; another book we read, Eternal, takes place in Rome during WWII and the research she did for each book was extensive and fascinating.  

3. OMG my friend wrote a book! No, not Lisa Scottoline, but a person I actually know in real life, my BFF LA! She wrote a book called Guardian from My Dreams. She self-published and it is available from Amazon. I have the ebook, and I think you can buy a paperback version of it, too. I just started reading it yesterday. It is a sci-fi romantasy book. I think it is going to be a sweet story. I am so happy for her and proud, too. Telling a story and putting it out for the world to see is ballsy and pretty awesome. 

#2880 the wrap-up

I am always stunned and a little dismayed about how quickly the weekends pass. I barely remember what I did yesterday (Saturday) because it zipped by so quickly. 

The past week was interesting. I didn't work on Monday since we were driving back from Dixon. We spent Sunday night in Elko, NV. In the morning it was lightly snowing, and as we continued east, the snow turned to a drizzle of rain, then fog and low clouds, and finally partly cloudy skies when we got home. 

Here are some photos of the landscape and weather:

In the office on Tuesday, the Company announced a big reorganization. My job basically stays the same, but there are a lot of changes that will happen in the business as a whole in the next month. It will make for an interesting year. 

Friday night is movie night at my house, and I always get to pick the movie. MT had gone to Pocatello for the day, so when I got home from work, I played with the dogs, ate some dinner, and chose the movie. We have pretty much every streaming platform there is, I think, so picking a movie can be tricky. Usually, I pick a platform, then chose a movie on that platform. This week I picked Peacock, and the film Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. (Note: If a movie involves Paris or France in general, or Rome or Italy in general, I'll probably watch it.)  I really liked this movie. It's about a widowed house cleaner in London who decides to go to Paris to buy a haute couture dress from Christan Dior. The story takes place in the 1950s, and really, it is just charming and sweet. It doesn't hurt that the gorgeous Lucas Bravo - you may know him as Gabriel in Emily in Paris - is in it, but the story and everything about the movie is great. It was a perfect Friday night movie for me.

Today my favorite thing is that I went to visit my friend Wendy from work. She has Guillain Barre syndrome, and has spent the past two months in the hospital and in acute physical therapy rehab centers. GBS attacks the nerves, and was brought on by a virus (not Covid). Her body's immune system went to work fighting the virus, then overstepped and attacked her nerves. She was unable to feel her hands or feet for most of the time she was hospitalized. Happily, the feeling and use of her hands has come back, and she is able to walk again using a walker. She can't stand up for a long period of time, but at least she is up and more mobile. I was glad to see her and really glad to see her doing so well. She's being discharged from the rehab place tomorrow, and I'm hopeful that with continued physical therapy, she will regain her physical abilities and be able to come back to work. I really miss her.

I made her this little card:

Those little spatters seem to be all the rage in the watercolor videos I watch all the time. My spatters are a bit big, and my leafs are kinda wonky, but it's cute.

MT has spent the weekend washing all the quilts we brought home from Dixon. I was thinking about something my mom said about a quilt my dad had that his mother had made for him. Mom said that Dad never wanted to put the quilt on his bed because he didn't want it to get dirty or ruined. I confess that I feel the same way. I know my dogs will get fur and dirt all over it, and I want the quilts to be pretty. I also feel that the quilts are meant to be used and loved. What good are they in a neat stack, tucked away in a closet or a linen box? The quilts are wonderful and so beautiful and filled with great memories for me. I don't remember every quilt individually, of course, but I certainly remember Grandma quilting. I clearly remember her sewing quilt blocks and putting together the tops in the winter, then doing the actual quilting on the rack in the summer. She was an amazing sewer. She made all the quilts by hand, and the stitches are so tiny. I don't remember her having any patterns, she just picked how she was going to do it and started sewing. 

I have a dozen new quilts, plus probably another half dozen or so that I've had for a long time. I'm going to use the quilts. I will rotate them. There aren't many that will fit my king size bed, but I think there are a couple. The smaller ones will be in the spare room, and a few of the much smaller ones will be in the living room to snuggle with on movie night, or for couch naps. I can fold them and drape them over the couch so the dogs can't lay on them all the time. I've got plenty of other blankets the dogs can lay on. 

Here is a little collage of some of the quilts:

I didn't take all of these quilts; I'll have to take photos of the ones I brought home. I do have the one in the upper left corner, that magnificent blue and white creation. So pretty!

What am I looking forward to in the week ahead? T will be seeing all the doctors this week: GP, dentist, and eye. He's turning 26 in March and will no longer be on my insurance plan, so we are making sure he gets treated before the end of March. He is signed up under the Affordable Care Act and has health insurance coverage that actually goes into effect on Feb. 1, but no dental or vision. 

My book club is back in action. We are reading "The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store," by James McBride. It's been good so far. We will discuss the last third of the book on Thursday. Also on Thursday, one of my favorite things is happening: a new month is starting so I get to flip all the calendars. It's the simple things. I will be creating my wee calendar page tomorrow, I think, so I will likely be ready to show it to you on Wednesday when I write here again.

On Friday, MT and I are going out with some of my work friends to a comedy club downtown. I think that will be fun. 

My weather app says that the high temperature this week will be in the mid 50s. What kind of madness is that? We've had a fairly dry January. There has been some snow and rain, but my yard is just a muddy mess right now. It felt more like mid-March than late January today. 

Have a wonderful week! Do something that makes you forget about time! Lose yourself in something awesome.

#2857 a whole bunch of stuff in seven days

The last time I wrote, I'd gone to see the Foo Fighters and had a little summer cold. Lots of things have happened since then.

Last weekend, on the 11th, I went to visit Mom and Lizzie in La Mirada. T and his girlfriend J came with me. On Saturday night, T and J went to see Drake in concert in LA. It was our birthday gift to T, some delayed gratification, but he was very happy. I'm pretty sure he was grateful that I got a ticket for J and that she was able to go with him. I was happy about it, too. I mean, I would have gone to the show with him if J hadn't come along, but I'm sure T was much happier seeing the show with J than with his mom. (heehee)

I got exactly what I wanted out of the weekend: time with Mom and Lizzie, time to relax, recover from some of the stress, and enjoy a bit of down time. Lizzie took me out on a nature walk in Coyote Hills and for a nice walk in a pretty park. We had coffee. We went to Seal Beach for a meal and a walk in the town and out on the pier. I was so glad to see the ocean and hear the waves. Everything was wonderful. 

We got back home on Monday evening. The flight was good, and I was glad to be home.

On Tuesday, MT and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary. 30 YEARS!!! To celebrate, we had dinner at Mazza, a groovy little restaurant in the 15th and 15th neighborhood. We both enjoyed the meal immensely. It was also fun to try a new place. For dessert, we went around the corner to Sweetaly Gelato. I had salted caramel and coffee gelato. Oof. So good.

On Wednesday, I was in bed by 8:30 pm, and I slept good and hard until my alarm went off at 5:00 am on Thursday morning. 

On Friday, I went to see a dermatologist for the first time ever. I had a spot on my chest that I've had for over 10 years. It wasn't growing or hurting, but it was beginning to weigh on my mind. Mom has had some spots removed, so her action made me want to take some action, too. The dermatologist took one look at my spot and told me it was probably basal cell skin cancer. I thought maybe he'd just take a sample, but no. He removed the spot. The worst part of it was the lidocaine injections, and then the irritation caused by the Band-Aid adhesive on my tender, sensitive skin. I'm not wearing a Band-Aid now because my skin is red and itchy where the adhesive was. You can see the outline of the Band-Aid. I bought some gauze and some medical tape. When I go to bed, I'll use that to protect the wound. 

Yesterday was Saturday, and it was a really cool, fun day. The book club I am in, #EkpesBookClub, had an in-person meeting here in Salt Lake! Ekpe no longer lives here; he lives in Atlanta where he is now an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks. He's going to be a great coach, I think. Anyway, he came back to town, and invited us to brunch at a nice Greek restaurant called Manoli's. It was wonderful to see him, and to see my book club friends, plus meet some of the clubbers for the first time. I thought it was so cool that clubbers came from Florida, Texas, and California! As a awesome bonus, the author of the book we read, Erin A. Craig, joined us for brunch. It was fun to sit around and listen to her stories and talk to her a little bit. 

After brunch, we went to The King's English Bookshop for an Author's Talk in which Ekpe asked Erin questions, and she responded. The bookshop is a Salt Lake institution, and independent bookstore on 15th and 15th, just a couple doors up from Mazza. It's freaking charming! They have a groovy little patio where the author conversations happen. Erin then signed books and posed for ussies and our book club took a group photo, which I don't have yet, but I hope that Ekpe will post it soon. We chatted and hung out and basically were delighted with all of it. I also bought a book and a couple of stickers while I was there. Here are some pics:

at brunch

Ekpe and Erin at The King's English

that's Erin Craig and me!

that's me and Ekpe Udoh!

Here are some of my book club friends! 

In the photo above, five of the women came from other states to have book club fun. The woman with black hair right in the front is Staci - she lives here in SLC. Behind her on the right is me, of course, then Kaitlyn, Colleen (mother and daughter from California), Sarah from Florida, Whitney from I don't know where, (I thought she lived here!), and Jan from Texas. That man in the background is Erin's husband. 

Oh yeah, and after all of that fun, I had to have some quiet time to myself, so I went to Sweetaly and got some gelato. This time I got coconut and pineapple. It was good, but the salted caramel and coffee was better. 

Today I spent most of the day at Red Butte Garden. I did the docent thing from 9:30 to 1:00, then I recorded blooms until around 3:00. I usually record blooms on Thursday, but it was raining that day, so I had to postpone. 

It's been a busy week!

This week, MT and I will be going back to Dixon. We'll leave on Thursday afternoon and come home on Sunday. I'm going to finalize setting up the trust with the bank, and MT is going to install a couple of new toilets at the house. Other than that, I will take Mac to the vet on Wednesday, and I will work my face off for The Company. 

I was glad to have this weekend of fun for myself. 

Have a great week. Stay safe!

#2847 weekly wrap-up

This past week was kind of strange. We had all the types of weather from nice sunshine to a bit of snow to thunder hail. Yes, it hailed and there was big thunder. The hail was pea-sized and it stung when it made contact with a human. I was standing in the doorway taking a short video and got plonked by a hail, and it was unpleasant. 

Speaking of unpleasant, T had a couple of weird-looking splotches on his torso, so we went to Urgent Care to find out it was ringworm. ARGH! The doctor prescribed some medicated cream and it is really working well. No idea how T got ringworm. It is contagious, but neither MT nor I have it, and neither does Jordyn. I'm glad it is going away, though.

Wednesday is a work-from-home day for me, but the internet provider was doing work in my neighborhood last week. In fact, the dude was working on the pole in my front yard, so my internet was going in and out. I didn't even think about using the hot spot on my phone; I just went to the office. It was fine to be there. It's nice and quiet on Wednesday. The downside was that I was a little confused about what day of the week it was the next day. I thought it was Friday when it was really Thursday, and Friday was a total drag! LOL

I recorded blooms on Thursday evening - first time this year. There weren't a lot of blooms, but there was a lot of budding, and I bet this week I will see some more flowers! A squirrel ran right in front of me, and startled me. I damn near broke my ankle coming to a hard stop like I did. Not really, but I did hit my walking brakes pretty hard to I didn't run into the squirrel, or vice versa. The weather was nice that evening, although we'd had a minute of chunky snow rain earlier in the day. The spring weather in the intermountain west is a mixed bag for sure. 

Another fun thing I did this week was participate in a Zoom meeting with the book club. The author Wanda M. Morris joined us for an Author Talk. She was kind and generous with her time, telling us about how she went from a corporate attorney to an author. She's written two novels, and our group has read both of them. Our club leader and sponsor, Ekpe Udoh, is playing basketball in Japan this year for the Kyoto Hannaryz. I love that he continues the book club even when he is playing overseas and the time differences are so stark. In the past few years, he has played in China, Italy, and now Japan, and we still read 15 or 16 books a year. He's really great. Talk about kind and generous. I am fortunate to be involved with his book club.

Because I was working in the office on Wednesday and the Author Talk, I missed participating in the Zoom meeting of the creativity group. I watched the replay on YouTube Saturday morning, though, and had lots of fun. We always do different cool things. This meeting was about finding our style. To do that, we looked at paintings by artists like Chagall, Norman Rockwell, and Picasso, to name a few. Then we painted carrots - no drawing, just painting carrots free-style. I'll have to post a photo of them another time. They were not amazing LOL. I got a little excited and put a couple of the carrots really close together when the paint was still wet and it looks messy and not nice. It's still fun though! 

Here's a couple of art things I did this week:

This one came right out of my own head. I have a tree sort of like this one in my back yard. It doesn't have any leaves on it yet, just a gabillion branches. When I got out to play with the dogs, there are always a bunch of little birdies in the tree. I just see them as dark blobs, so that's what I drew. I liked the way this looks, so I posted it on Facebook and got some really nice comments about it. My BFF LA wants to have it so she can frame it. I decided to draw her a fresh, slightly different version on a piece of cardstock. I think it looks okay, too, and I will send it to her next week. 

The wine glass drawing is in response to a prompt from the creativity group. The prompt was: purple, drink, zodiac sign. I splotched on some purple and pink paint, then added random dots of yellow, because why not. Then I sketched in the "twin" wine glasses using a single line that I went over and over to get the scribbly effect. I enjoyed doing this one and was happy with how it turned out.

This bird on a ball is based on a painting by Chagall called "The Green Bird." Jill the Artist used it as an example and encouraged us to give it our own flair. Here is the Chagall painting:

"L'Oiseau Vert" Marc Chagall, 1962 (poster from Mourlot Studios Chagall Exhibition)

As you can see, we removed the couple in the circle and put our own spin on it. Mine says "Fake it 'til you make it," which is kind of my philosophy on art at the moment.  I like how mine turned out. I thought it was fun to do, and that's what it's all about for me. 

The trip to Europe is getting closer and closer! I intended to take a look at my trip 'fits this weekend, but I didn't get to it. This week for sure, though!  There are a couple of other things coming up this week that I am excited about. Tomorrow, Monday, Red Butte Garden will put the first half of the concert season tickets for sale to the members. I will be right here in front of my computer at 6:45pm  getting ready to purchase tickets when they go on sale at 7pm.  (I'm logging on early to make sure I know where I'm going online. They have changed ticket sellers in the past couple of years. I didn't buy any tickets last year because we were in Rome and I wasn't interested in getting up at 3am to buy tickets.)

On Wednesday, I'll go to a concert volunteer orientation. We review safety protocols, including active shooter information. It seriously makes me sick to think such a thing could happen, but it totally could, so it's good to know where I would go for safety in that event. We also cover less grave situations, but everything feels less grave than an active shooter situation, am I right? After the orientation, my friend Liz and I are going out to get a bite of dinner and catch up. She recently got back from a two week tour of Greece, and I am excited to hear about her trip. 

Take care of yourselves! Wear sunscreen! Do something fun! Read a good book!

xo

#2820 Saturday with Sandy

I had a very good night’s sleep on Friday/Saturday. For one thing, I was extremely tired. I took MT to the airport on Friday morning - he was on his way to Florida to go on a cruise with his parents and wanted to be at the airport by around 4AM for his 6AM flight. Neither of us slept very well on Thursday/Friday because we were worried about missing the alarm. Friday was kind of a daze. I took a melatonin to ensure good sleep and went to bed around 9PM. I got up this morning around 8AM. 

Another thing that might have made me feel so tired was that I received a shingles vaccination on Friday afternoon. My arm is still sore!

This morning, I fed the dogs and took them for a walk. They are doing well while we are out walking, but getting out the door is kind of a fiasco because they are so excited to go. Here’s a before-the-walk photo:

Mac is kind of blurry because she had just jumped up, all four feet off the ground. Harley wears a harness to reduce the stress on her throat when she pulls. Stella is excited about the whole thing. She often has this face.

After the walk, they are a bit more calm, and look like this:

Today was nice and mellow for me. After the walk, I made a pot of coffee, had some breakfast, then wrote in my journal for awhile. I cleaned up the kitchen, a fairly quick job, then settled on the couch to finish a book I’ve been reading since November. I liked the book, but I was reading other book club books at the same time. Since the book was my own, I didn’t have to hurry to finish it. I enjoyed the book, even though I thought it was quite long, over 500 pages. 

T had to work this afternoon, so I dropped him off, then decided to go to the library. I hadn’t been there for awhile, since I was reading my own books. I decided I needed a little something new, light, and maybe quick. What book to choose, though? WARNING: nerd alert! I didn’t see anything right off the bat that interested me, so I turned to my Goodreads list. There were so many books on the list, that I decided to sort it in the order I’d put the book on the list, and just pick the oldest one. I’d put it on the list sometime in 2020, so yes, the book was there, but it did not fit the new, light, and quick criteria. I got it anyway. As I was driving to Harmons to buy coffee, I had a stern conversation with myself. Why would I have books on my TBR list from over two years ago? There’s no way I was going to be able to read all the books on my list, so I decided to get rid of all the books I’d put on the list in 2020 and 2021. I went to another library, returned the novel I’d picked up at the first library, then chose another book that was still on the list and fit the criteria. I feel better! Currently, that TBR (to be read) list on Goodreads only has 34 books on it. Some of them I own, so it’s good. 

New book in hand, I decided to try out a coffee place in my neighborhood that I’d read about in the Axios Salt Lake City newsletter called Azúcar. It is a Latina-owned business and I was excited to try the Mexican mocha. I also got myself a pastry, which are locally sourced from Mexican bakeries. 

It was pretty late in the day, around 5PM, so the pastry wasn’t exactly fresh, but it still tasted nice. I think it was pineapple, maybe? The coffee was delicious. There’s the book I picked up at the library! I can see myself going back to Azúcar regularly. It was nice to sit there with my book and my delicious treats of coffee and pastry. 

Back home, I took the dogs for their evening walk. It was pretty dark and there was a lot of activity in the neighborhood for some reason, so we didn’t stay out long. The doggos were okay with it since it was their dinner time, anyway. 

After a nice chat with my mama, I watched a movie I’ve been wanting to see since I got back from Greece, The Two Faces of January. It is filmed almost entirely in Greece, with the first part in Athens, and the biggest part in Crete, including Chania. It was awesome to see familiar sites! I love to watch movies that are filmed in places I have been. 

Now it is bedtime. Mac and Harley are already sound asleep on my bed. Stella sleeps downstairs on any couch she chooses. I’ve invited her to come upstairs, but she rarely does. It’s okay. I don’t really want three dogs on the bed!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

#2812 Saturday with Sandy

Oh, hi! I did a few things today. The first thing I did was take my car to the Xpress Lube to get the oil changed. It's a good thing, too, because one of the things they check is the windshield wipers, and mine needed to be replaced. More snow is on the way, and I'll be glad to have new wiper blades. 

A fun thing about being at the Xpress Lube: the Morocco/Portugal World Cup match was playing on the TV there, and I noticed one of the workers came in to ring up a customer and he stole a glance at the TV. There was no score at the time, then Morocco scored a goal. When it was my turn to pay, another employee was taking care of me checked the score, and told me that the employee who had peeked at the score earlier was from Morocco. He has only been in the U.S. for about a year. He was really excited about the match, but also very nervous because Morocco has never made it to the quarterfinals before, I think. When the Moroccan employee came back into the lobby, his co-worker told him to check the score. He whipped his head around, saw the score was 1 - 0 Morocco, and he got so pumped! I think he would have hollered if there weren't other people in the waiting area. It was fun to see how happy he was - I'm sure he was thrilled when the game was over and Morocco advanced to the semi-finals. 

When my car was done being serviced, I came home to finish reading the pages for the book club meeting. The book is good, but I kept dozing off. It was just so cozy on the couch with the dogs and my blanket. I did finish the reading; we just discussed the first half of the book today. Our group often speculates on whodunits and red herrings on these thriller books. (We are reading A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham.) Since our meetings are on Twitter, I had the France/England World Cup match on TV. It was a good match. France won. 

With soccer finished for the day, and the book club meeting over, it was time for Christmas shopping. I went to some cute local shops first, then to a couple of chain stores. I think I am mostly done shopping for the women. I'll shop for the menfolk this week. I don't have a bit more leeway on their deadline since I don't have to ship packages to them. 

Tonight, MT and I got burgers from Five Guys, then we watched the movie Ticket to Paradise starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney. It's streaming on Peacock. I'm quite glad I didn't pay to see it in the theater. It really wasn't good. Yes, I smiled on occasion, but blech overall.  

Today's IG prompt was BRINGS ME JOY. This is going to sound super-goofy, but shopping at Trader Joe's brings me joy. I went to the store yesterday during my lunch break. The Christmas specialty items are fun. I enjoy watching the other shoppers load their carts with boxes of panettones (one woman got about a dozen), peppermint Joe-Joe's, and anything gingerbread. There are so many types of chocolates and cookies. seasonal cheeses and meats and random stuff. It's awesome! I bought a porchetta roast that I am excited to cook tomorrow. I bought a few things to give as Christmas gifts, which sounds strange, maybe, but I don't think it is. I got a Kringle, my favorite one of the year, with the original almond filling. I got cookies, Jingle Jangle, chips and dip, and a five cheese Greek pastry. You know what else I like about Trader Joe's? The crew is so nice. I don't know if I have ever been there when I haven't had a friendly exchange with the checker. It's just so freaking pleasant, even when it's super busy, as it is during the holidays. 

Oh yeah, I also got my annual wreath for the front door. It makes me happy every time.

I hope you are having a good weekend. Stay safe and have fun!

 

#2783 Saturday with Sandy

I started the day off very, very slowly. I didn’t get out of bed until after 8:00. It was surprising that the dogs weren’t all amped up about getting their breakfast a whole lot earlier, but they were snoozing hard. MT has a cold and slept in the guest room, so the dogs and I had the whole bed to ourselves, and we used all the space. Plus, it was overcast and chilly, so snuggles were required.

A shower, coffee, breakfast, and reading are Saturday morning rituals that cannot be messed with. Usually on Saturday I will read until it’s time for the book club meeting at 1:00, making sure I get all the pages read. However, this week, I knew I wouldn’t finish the pages because I just started the book on Thursday and the club was wrapping up the book discussion this week. I didn’t join in the discussion, but I really like the book! (Daisy Darker by Alice Ferney, in case you were wondering. It’s a superb book for Halloween, since it all takes place on Halloween!)

My goal today was not to leave the house, but I had to go to the store from pure necessity. I was out of coffee. I have K-cups, but I wanted some beans so I could brew a nice pot. I don’t buy coffee from my regular grocery store. Instead, I go to a somewhat bougey grocery store called Harmons. They have fancier items than my regular Smiths, like a very nice bakery, a superb selection of cheeses, and a beans from a local roaster, Cafe Ibis. (Actually, the roasting company is up in Logan, in northern Utah, but they have good beans!) I bought their Highlander Grogg beans that have tasting notes of vanilla, hazelnut, and aged scotch whiskey. It smells so good! I will make a pot tomorrow and report back. 

Harmons also has a groovy salad and soup bar, so I made myself a big ol’ salad. I’ve been craving salads this week, probably to balance out all the grilled meat I ate the past couple of weeks. After the big salad, I needed a nap, so the doggos and I sacked out for an hour. Glorious rest!

Now I am practicing the fine art of hygge. I’ve got a candle burning. I’m settled into a corner of the couch with pillows and blankets and the aforementioned Daisy Darker. Utah football is on the big TV. It’s raining outside. The dogs are snoozing in their comfy spaces. MT is upstairs, reading. T is at work, so I am enjoying some quiet time. I’m going to do a little sketching and some more writing. I’ll probably make myself a cup of coffee.

Oh! Check out my new favorite mug:

That little red spot on the left is a heart with the word CRETE in it. Owls are a THING in Greece. I’ll probably talk about that factoid in an upcoming post. 

I just remembered the World Series is on tonight! I will be flipping back and forth between football and baseball now.

Hygge out, friends!

#2776 Saturday with Sandy

First things first…SLC is  having the nicest weather right now! Cool in the morning and evening, just warm enough - in the 70s - in the afternoon. It’s the magical time when neither the AC nor the heater is on. The windows are open, letting in the cool, clean air. At night, I actually need a light blanket and snuggling with the dogs is more fun. I love early October weather here.

The most interesting and unusual thing I did today was attend a Zoom meeting with fellow Chania travelers. The artist, Jill, hosted the meeting and our tour operator, Carlo, was on the call as well. Carlo answered logistics questions, then Jill led us through a couple of art things, including the making of zines. Do you know what zines are? I had heard of them, but didn’t know much about them, much less how to make them or what to do with them. Now I’m kinda psyched about them and am thinking they might be fun little souvenirs that I create for myself. 

Here’s a cute little video about how to make a zine, if you are interested.

After the call, I got some take-out, finished scanning my book, and participated in book club. I say scan the book because I read this book last year. Although I enjoyed the book, I don’t really want to read it word-for-word again. I remember it well enough to know what happens, so I’m just scanning it to review so I can participate somewhat knowledgeably in the book club. 

Another thing I did today was watch the Utah/UCLA football game. I took a nap in the third quarter. What can I say? Football relaxes me and I was full of food and had the Saturday sleepies. Utah lost the game. 

I decided to go to Old Navy this evening to see if there were any clothes I wanted to purchase for the vacation. I did buy a couple of things. I think I’ve got everything I want now. I’ll wash the new stuff and lay it all out in the extra bedroom to make sure all the stuff works together. Packing light is a fun, challenging game, isn’t it?

Now I am in my bedroom, watching the Padres get hammered by the Mets. I liked last night’s game, when the Padres hammered the Mets, a whole lot more. 

That about covers it. Kind of a quiet day, which was pretty great after the long, long work week. Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

#2771 weekend wrap-up

Here we are, Sunday night again already. I'm so thankful I don't work in the office on Monday. I used to have terrible anxiety on Sunday night. The thought of going back to work, of being in the office, made me a little irritable and stress-y. Since I've been working from home on Monday, I haven't had those feelings. I fall asleep easily and don't worry about what Monday will bring. I know it's all in my head, but Sunday anxiety is a real thing. When I just looked it up online, it is often referred to as the "Sunday scaries." It's is interesting that I haven't experienced Monday scaries. I am just fine with rolling into the office on Tuesday, and I really like being there on Friday. It's weird. 

Yesterday, Saturday, I only left the house twice to get food. LOL In the morning I zipped over to the grocery store to get some milk, ice, a donut, and bones for the dogs. When I got home, I made a pot of pumpkin spice flavored coffee (interesting) and finished my book club read. After the book club meeting, I did a partial swap of my clothes, changing the warm weather items to the cooler weather items. I didn't bring out all the sweaters, because we still have warm days ahead of us and I'll want to take some of the warm weather clothes to Greece. I did bring out some fleece and light sweaters, and I put away a bunch of lightweight blouses and skits. I also got rid of a few things I haven't worn this summer. It's all good. 

Last night I watched the Utah football game against Arizona State. Utah won handily. MT got home from his bus ride to South Dakota. We chatted about the trip for a little while. He seemed happy about the trip and glad to be home. He faded pretty early was sound asleep when I made it upstairs.

This morning, I was up at 6:00. Usually I get up at 7am on weekends, but today, I was awake, so I got up and made zucchini bread! I meant to make it yesterday, but was busy laying around and couldn't be bothered. I had my last docent shift of the year at Red Butte Garden. It was a beautiful morning. We didn't have many guests until around 10:30, then it was hoppin'. I am thankful for the glorious Sunday mornings I spent there over the summer, and the people I got to spend time with.  Here's a photo from this morning:

 When I got home, MT and I went to lunch at Copper Creek Pub. After lunch, I went up to my room, thinking I'd play Heardle, Wordle, and Quordle, and finish a book, but I took a nap instead. A long nap. A two hour nap. It was wonderful and unexpected and a little disorienting! The only reason I woke up, I think, is that I had to pee and I was really thirsty. I fixed both of those situations, then sat on the deck to finish a book. I cried when it was done. I want to live in that book with (most) of those people. Plus, reading the acknowledgements just made me even more weepy. I know you're going to read the book - the newest by Sarah Addison Allen called Other Birds. You'll see what I mean.

A week or so ago, maybe two weeks ago, I wrote about my reading dilemma - too many books, too little time. I want you to know I finished two books last weekend and two books this weekend. I'm a reading machine!

I still have a book from the library that I haven't even started. It's Beach Read by Emily Henry. It's due on Friday and isn't renewable. Not sure I'm going to start it. I think I'll just return it and hope to get it another time. I didn't enjoy putting myself in that reading bind. 

Now I am going to take a shower, wash my hair, and put on some relaxin' clothes. I'm going to pay the bills and plan the week. It's the last week of September! I'm just 22 days away from my trip to Greece! (My countdown goes to Oct 17, the day I go to LA. The trip to Greece officially begins on the 18th, but I get an extra travel day/vacation day.) It's time to get all kinds of serious about what I'm taking with me as far as clothing and shoes and outerwear. 

Okay...I hope you had a peaceful, relaxing weekend and you are ready to go forth with the final week of September, bravely marching into the mania of the fourth quarter of the year.

#2767 three things: inspo, no pressure, and a slow start

 1. The influencer’s influence. For the past few years, I have been following an account in Instagram called This French Life. It is the account of an American woman who lives full-time in France. Over the years, she has kindly responded to some of my comments. Of course, we are not friends, but she seems friendly and I like her site. Her posts make me interested in going to France.

This week, she has been posting videos - reels - that she takes while walking around Paris. Of course the scenery was beautiful, and what really struck me was how much she loves where she is and what she is doing. Seeing her love inspired in me love for my own life and for what I have going on. I have a small life in the suburbs of a small western city. My house isn’t remarkable, and I know that. We do what we can to make it comfortable and homey. My dogs are nutty, energetic, and all over the place, and I can’t imagine it any other way. I don’t get to see the Eiffel Tower every day; I do get to see towering mountains surrounding the valley.  It is a good life, and I’m happy here. 

It’s funny because I don’t feel jealous of Shannon’s life in France. I’d like to visit the country and wander around the streets of Paris, sure, but I’m good where I am.

2. Still reading. The good news is that I scored a digital copy of Other Birds, the book I got on a seven-day loan from the library. Now the pressure is off to finish it by tomorrow, because now I have 21 days. I’m good!

3. Changing the routine. I work in the office on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Typically, I will make myself a coffee to go on those days. Today, though, I changed it up a little. I got myself ready to go to the office pretty quickly, then I made my cup of coffee, sat at the dining table, drank the cup, and read my book for about 15 minutes. I would have sat on the deck, but it’s dark at 6 am now. No matter. I liked sitting at the table and having a slow start. I got to work on time. I didn’t miss having the coffee at my desk. On the contrary, actually, I drank more water today because the time when I would have been sipping the coffee, I was sipping on water. Wins. All wins. 

I won’t guarantee that magic will happen every time, but it was dang good today.

#2765 weekend wrap-up

 It has been a busy and eventful weekend for me. I meant to write on Friday, then it got to be 11 pm and something had to give, so sleep won out over writing. Let's catch up...

On Friday, I went to the gym for the first time in awhile. My work friend told me she was going to a Zumba class at the Vasa near my house and encouraged me to come dancing there. I think the last time I went to a Zumba class might have been in March. I do love to Zumba, and I was planning to go to the gym anyway, so what the heck? I went and we danced our faces off. 

Note that I said I was planning to go to the gym. I set a goal for myself this month that I would go to the gym at least once a week. CHECK!

After dancing, I came home, heated up some leftovers, talked to my mom, picked T up from work, and then I was done with being awake. 

On Saturday, MT and I drove up to Pocatello to attend an open house baby shower for our best friend's son. Caz. He and his wife are having their first baby, and we had to go wish them well. I hadn't seen Caz in awhile, so it was nice to catch up with him for a few minutes. Of course it was wonderful to see my bestie, LA, and her husband. MT always says that they are our oldest friends, which is true. We have been solid friends for over 30 years. 

MT had some work thing he needed to do, so I hung out at Linda and Jake's house (my in-laws). The three of us sat out on their back deck, read, and snoozed. The temperature was in the 70s and it felt wonderful. It was a little smoky because of fires in the area, but it wasn't bad enough to send me inside. They live in a quiet neighborhood, their yard is nice, and my seat on the deck was shady and comfy.

Sitting there with an iced PSL and reading my book was exactly what I wanted to do that afternoon.

MT and I had an early dinner with LA and Rob at a cute little BBQ place. The restaurant had a groovy patio. We enjoy sitting outside to dine, so it was pretty wonderful. The food was good and the company was even better. 

We drove home in the early evening, and the harvest moon greeted us when we got home.

Kind of a cool photo, huh? I don't know how that line got involved, but I like it.

This morning, the day started slow, just how I like it. I made a cup of coffee, grabbed a book, and sat out on my deck for 10 minutes or so before the rush of the day started. So good.

After that, it was all go. I did the docent gig. It was beautiful up at the Garden this morning, of course. 

Wouldn't you like to sit on that bench and let the sunshine warm your face on a cool morning? That's the bench I sit on when I'm in my feelings. That isn't where I hang out when I am being a docent, though.

After the docent shift, I needed to record blooms. I was unable to get to the Garden after work last week, and I will often do blooms on Saturday morning, but I couldn't do that this week, so I had to do them today. The blooms are really winding down now. The anemones and asters are going strong, and there are still some roses and a few others, but not too many fresh new flowers. The leaves haven't quite started to turn yet, except in the highest branches of the tallest trees, like this guy:

I actually took this pic last week, on the 2nd. He's a little more orange and gold up top now. 

I got home around 3 and let myself chill out with football and phone games for about an hour before I started on some chores. I picked T up from work at 6:00, and we went to Lowes. I bought some mums to plant in a pot on the deck. I also bought a coleus plant. I've been wanting one for a long time, and today was the day. He will live inside the house.

After that, it was dinner time (orange chicken from Trader Joe's), a quick walk with the dogs, then helping MT with some paperwork. I just took a cool shower to relax, and now here I am, writing and thinking back on the weekend's good times. 

I really need to get to bed, but there are pages that I want to read. I've gotten myself into another book situation. I can't help myself! Here's the thing: I'm reading Wrong Place Wrong Time and it is really compelling and I need to find out what happens to Jen. That one is an physical book from the library. I am also reading Carrie Soto is Back. Will Carrie win a Slam, five years after she retired from the WTA? Will she become a better human? I gotta know! That book is also from the library, but it is on my Kindle. On Friday I got a notice from the library that a book I had on hold had arrived, and I've been wanting to read it for so long that I couldn't let it go back into circulation. That one is called Beach Read. While I was at the library, I couldn't help but look at what else was available, and on the Lucky Day rack, there sat the new book by Sarah Addison Allen. I LOVE HER BOOKS! I had to get it. The twist on that one is that I can only have it for seven days, no renewals. I just started it this morning, so I only have five days to finish it now. PLUS, I just got a new book from Ekpe for book club. I've got to read 150 pages of that by Saturday at 1:00. To recap, I am reading one book on my Kindle, plus three physical books, and one book impatiently waiting on my nightstand. I know. I'm a nut when it comes to books. #bookworm #problems

So I'm going downstairs to lay on the couch and read for 20 to 30 minutes, hopefully. Honestly, I'll probably fall asleep with ten minutes, but what can I say? 

What's coming up this week? Not too much, really. I'll go to the gym at least one time (#goals). I will finish Other Birds, the book by Sarah Addison Allen. I don't have any concerts or events this week, so it ought to be pretty calm, hopefully.

Take care! Write on your blogs! I want to know what you are doing :)

#2762 Saturday with Sandy

My day started in one of my favorite ways: I took the time to sit out on the deck before the sun was fully up, sip some coffee, read, and watch the dogs run around the yard. Being able to spend a few minutes outside sets my mind at ease and gives me a wonderful slow start to the day that I cherish. Once the sun comes up over the trees, my east-facing deck gets too bright, and in the summer, too hot, to enjoy. When that happened this morning, I came inside, made some breakfast, and kept reading for awhile.

I got my hair trimmed a bit later in the morning. Is there anything that feels better than a fresh cut, even if it’s a fairly minor trim? I felt invigorated!

Feeling cute, kind of, except for my sort of crazy eyes.

The next stop was Barnes & Noble. I was looking for a guide book about Greece, but glancing through the meager selection, I decided against purchasing anything. I’m going to be in Athens for three nights (two days). Both of the days are fairly full with tours that we have already booked, so we don’t have much time on our own, and I think with the ideas I have from browsing Pinterest, we will be fine exploring on our own. In Chania, we are with a group, so our time is booked there, as well. Just because I didn’t find the specific type of book I was looking for, doesn’t mean I didn’t find books. I am a total sucker for B&N’s sales. Today there was buy one, get one half price. I found four books that I want to read. Three are on my library queue, and one I hadn’t heard of, but was intrigued by the description. I had all four books in my hands, but stopped myself from going to the check out line. I put the books back and decided to go walk around Old Navy for a few minutes and get a grip on myself.

I wasn’t excited by what I saw at Old Navy. I really wanted to buy a new shirt. It is the time of year that I’m kind of bored with the clothes I have been wearing all summer, and I was looking for something new to get me through. Nothing really caught my eye, though, so that left me back in front of Barnes & Noble. I needed help. I needed someone to tell me what to do, so I called Lizzie. We had a brief conversation that went something like this:

Me: Barnes & Noble is having a buy one get one half price sale. There are four books I want. Do I buy the books or walk away?

Lizzie: Walk away.

Me: Okay, I’m walking away. Thanks.

I hung up and got in my car and came home. I know this was the right answer because I currently have four and half books (I’m reading one) in the TBR pile that are new this year, and I have my doubts that I will read all of them before the end of the year, to be honest. I want to read them, but there are so many books I’d like to read. If I had doubled my TBR pile with today’s purchase, I would have not only felt buyer’s remorse, I would have felt guilt at not immediately reading the damn things.  Thanks, Lizzie, for giving actual voice to my inner voice, if that makes sense.

It was book club time when I got home. We finished up What Happened to the Bennetts. I thought it was very good, and I enjoyed our discussion. I don’t know what Ekpe will send out next. After book club,  I was feeling hungry, but I was also feeling tired. The need to nap won out over the need to feed. I slept for about 45 minutes or so, then took T to work, and stopped at a Mexican take-out place for a quesadilla.

College football season started today. I watched the Utah Utes play the Florida Gators at The Swamp in Tallahassee, FL. The Utes lost in a close game. They nearly won, but a touchdown pass to win the game was picked off in the end zone. Bummer. It was good to see the guys back out on the field though. I had some quality couch time, and it was nice. 

Now it’s time to go pick T up from work, and then I’ll probably go right to bed. Not doing much all day is tiring! LOL

Enjoy the rest of this glorious three-day weekend!

#2728 travel Tuesday - the photo book

I think I wrote a week or so ago about the vacation photo book I was creating through Shutterfly. It was a bit difficult to narrow over 800 photos down to around 100 to fit in 24 pages. I finished it yesterday. I’m letting it breathe today. Tomorrow I’ll look through it again to make sure all the spelling is correct and that  I’m happy with the final result before I click the “Add to Cart” button. 

The book was fun to create. At first, it was taking a long time to move the photos around on the pages and to get them scaled so the page looked good. I finally figured out there is a layout helper just over on the left side of the screen. It really was helpful. I didn’t like all the suggestions, but it was pretty easy to maneuver photos around or even change out photos once the layout was set. Plus, there are many, many backgrounds, stickers, and other embellishments to customize the pages. 

I am not a creative, scrapbook type person. I did make a scrapbook of the trip we took to Mexico back in 2007 or so. That project took so long to make, and honestly, it’s not that groovy. I can envision what I think I would like, but making it by hand was very difficult for me. This Shutterfly option was way more fun and a lot easier, though still a bit of a challenge. 

The experience has got me thinking about creating another book with photos from past vacations. I don’t think I want to create a book for each vacation, but a two-page spread with cool photos from each vacation we visited would be wonderful. 

More to come on this topic, I’m sure. I’ll let you know how the Barcelona to Rome book turns out!

#2721 weekend wrap-up

A quick break from vacation photos to talk about real life here in SLC...

It was a nice weekend, weather-wise, here. On Saturday I didn't get out of the house very much. In the morning I made myself some breakfast and tried some new coffee beans. I bought the Italian dark roast. I don't usually drink dark roast coffee, but I thought I'd give it a try. 

Ok, I'll be honest, they had me at Italian. Yes, I'm slightly obsessed. The first sip was abrasive, but three cups later, I decided I like it! To carry on the Italian theme, I was reading the book One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle. Book my trip to Positano right away, please!

The big thing I did yesterday was to swap out my winter clothes for my summer clothes. I pared down quite a bit, too, which felt good. I still have lots and lots of clothes. For instance, I found that I have two pairs of every type of pants: two magic pants, two chinos, two water-resistant pants, two capris, three jeans, but I only wear two of them to work because the other has a wee hole that Mac put in them when she was a sharp-toothed puppy. I quickly separated the pants into two piles. I didn't throw any pants away, but I set one pile aside. I have found twos in so many of my clothes. Thinking back, I'd find a shirt I like, then buy it in two colors, I guess. 

Next Saturday, I will go back through the clothes I kept and make some more decisions. For example, can that top go with more than one bottom? Does the color really suit me? Most importantly, does wearing this article of clothing make me feel good about myself?

The book club met on Twitter. I enjoyed the book we just finished. It was called On a Night of a Thousand Stars and it was set in Argentina, switching time between the 1970s and the 1990s. A young American woman travels to Buenos Aires with her Argentine parents and the young woman becomes interested in learning more about the desaparecidos - the people who were disappeared beginning during the Peron administration in the '70s. The novel was engaging all the way through. It really had me hooked into the story. 

This morning I volunteered at Red Butte Garden. It has been so busy up there on Sunday mornings! There are two trams that run with complimentary tours from 10 am to 1 pm, and they were busy the whole time. When my shift was over at 1:00, I walked around for about 15 minutes, then went to my car. The parking lot was totally full. 

When I got home, I had to take a nap. Being out in the sun, even though I had water, really tired me out. Plus I wasn't feeling very well this morning. I ate some french fries late last night, and they didn't agree with me this morning. Bad choices.

Tonight the three of us had a family dinner at 'Bout Time pub. We went to watch game seven of the Western Conference semi-finals. It wasn't much of a game. Dallas obliterated Phoenix. The final score was 123-90 and it was never close. It was fun to hang out with MT and T, though.

Next week, I'm going to write about art I saw on vacation. I have an interesting post in mind for Tuesday, and I want to do a little more research on it. I'm excited about some of the art because weird things catch my eye and I can't wait to share them with you!

In the meantime, here are some lilacs that I saw at Red Butte Garden today. Pretend your screen is a scratch and sniff and breathe in the glorious, sweet lilac scent!

#2694 Saturday with Sandy

I didn't sleep very well last night. It was warm in my room, and with the dogs on the bed, it was extra snug. Mac often curls up between our pillows, then she gets hot and pants. Her panting is so strong, it feels like the whole bed is vibrating, you know, like those Magic Finger beds back in the day. Today MT got tired of Mac panting in his ear - at least he gets the front end, if you know what I mean - and he pushed her over on me. That caused me to wake up, then I couldn't get back to sleep. I would doze off, then wake up again, and that happened over and over. I believe it is known as "fitful sleeping."  Around 6:00, I took the dogs downstairs for their breakfast, then I sat on the couch with a book. I read for about an hour, then slowly, I found myself lying down on the couch, and the next thing I know, I was snoring merrily. When I woke up, I thought it was around 9:30, but it was 10:30!  So much for going to that 10:30 Zumba class this morning.

It seemed like coffee was the right thing to do, so I got dressed and prepared myself for the day. I hit the Starbucks, and that iced mocha really hit the spot! I took some papers over to the accountant so he could finish up our tax prep, then stopped by Old Navy to see if there was anything that needed to go on vacation with me. There was! I got some cute pointy-toed flats, a couple of tops, and a pair of leggings. I need to try everything on and make sure it will work. I think it will, and I was happy with my purchases. I scurried home to participate in book club. It was our first discussion on our current book, The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager. I find that the first discussion of our books is kind of slow, since we are just getting acquainted with the characters and the plot. There seems to be a lot of "what do you think is going to happen next?" questions. 

When book club was finished, I went to the mall. It is T's birthday, and he wanted cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory. I also went to Eddie Bauer to see if there was anything there that needed to go on vacation. I found a t-shirt I liked. It was just a plain old cotton t-shirt in a cute color. It was $40. I couldn't do it. $40 for a cotton t-shirt? No thanks. 

Cheesecake slices secured, I came home to find T on a FaceTime call with his pals. When he was done with the call, I asked him where he would like to go for dinner. His first response? Firehouse Subs. Why? Because he gets a free sandwich on his birthday. I told him I'd be happy to buy him dinner and that he didn't have to get a free sandwich. We ended up at the Midvale location of The Pie Pizzeria. Here is T's birthday pic:

Yes, the smile is as fake as the glasses, but I'll take what I can get. It was fun to have dinner out with my menfolk. The pizza was delicious, too. 

After dinner, we dropped T off at his pal's house where they were going to have a little birthday celebration with him. They even got him a cake! We will have cheesecake together tomorrow, and I'll make some food I know T will like, too.

I'm looking forward to crawling into my bed. The temperature is dropping as a cold front is coming in. There's a cold wind out of the south and 100% chance of snow tomorrow. Wouldn't it be great if it is the last snow of the season? I don't know about that, but it is the last snow on the forecast for at least the next nine days. 

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

#2688 Saturday with Sandy

 Why oh why does the weekend go by so quickly? It's already nearly 9:00 on Saturday night, and there is still stuff I want to do today!

Today has been action-packed, for me. Let me tell you about it. 

I was up early so I could get to the gym for a spin class at 8:30. I've been to two group classes this week, so I can check that item off my self challenge list for the week! Although I booked a bike for the class, I got there a little late, just five minutes to spare before the class started and there were only two bikes left in the room. I picked one, and a minute later a woman came in to claim the last bike. At least two more people poked their heads in the biking cave, but there were no bikes left. I'll have to count the rows, but I bet there's a good 30 bikes in there. The Saturday morning instructor, Denise, is really good. I attended one other class she taught on a Saturday in December, and the room was full then, too. Her riders are loyal! Spin class is a calorie-burning sweat-fest. There are lots of fans blowing air around the room, but it was hot as an oven in there this morning. All those people generated some heat. When I walked out of the cave, I was surprised how cool it felt out in the main gym environment, and people out there were sweating, of course, as they did their workouts. 

My next big thing today was getting my hairs cut. It was a trim, really. I get my hair trimmed every 12 weeks. It helps to get the ends evened up; makes me feel refreshed. Plus, it gives me a chance to chat with Lanna, and I like that. And yes, I showered before I went to the salon. I didn't wash my hair, but I did get it wet so it wasn't all sweaty/salty. LOL

With my hair all clean, curly, and fresh, I zoomed home to join the book club discussion. We read the book It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover. Everyone in the club liked it and there was a lot of discussion about the premise and a bit about the ending. Ekpe hasn't sent out our next book yet, but he says it is coming this week. He didn't give any hints about what book he chose. 

MT and I went to La Hacienda for lunch around 2:30. It tasted so good! While we were there, a couple of men came in, one carrying an accordion and the other with a guitar. They played and sang while we ate. They sounded good, but I could see Marty was a bit uncomfortable. He doesn't really care for the traditional Mexican music, particularly the accordion. I don't think we've ever had a musical accompaniment to our meal in previous visits. Maybe it's a Saturday afternoon thing. 

Next we went to Lowe's. MT is going to replace the flooring upstairs. We have carpet that is bubbling up in places. It was cheap carpet and probably not put down very well. Plus, the dogs have dug up the carpet at the base of the stairs. I don't know why they did that. Bad dogs. We went to Lowe's to look at flooring not only for the stairs and throughout the upstairs, but also for the basement,. MT has been working on getting the basement ready for a bedroom for T. I think it is a good idea and I know T thinks so, too. 

When we got home, I took the dogs for a quick walk. The temperature had really dropped and the sky was clouding over with thick, heavy, grey clouds. The forecast was for rain today and snow tomorrow, but it had been dry all day, until, that is, I drove T over to his friend's house. 

T's friend, Derik, lives in West Jordan, which is south and east of our place. As we drove south  on Mountain View Corridor, the sky to the southeast was dark and cloudy. There was lightning. As we got closer to WJ, the lightning felt like it was right on top of the car. It started raining, a heavy, chunky rain that wasn't fully-formed snow flakes, but it wasn't far off. It continued to thunder and lightning and chunky rain. We call that THUNDER SNOW. By the time I dropped T off, it was coming down pretty hard and it was getting cold. I saw a couple of cars having troubles. I was extra-careful and really thankful for my all-wheel drive Subaru. (I love that car!)

There wasn't much weather happening at my house when I got home, but the chunky rain began here shortly after I got home and has now turned into full-on snow. It is already covering the ground and the temperature is right above freezing. I'm glad I don't have to go anywhere else tonight *knocks on wood*. 

My big plans for tomorrow are to work with MT on gathering our tax info. We have a meeting with our tax guy on the 16th, and we need to get him our paperwork by Wednesday. I might go to the grocery store, but I might not if the weather is crappy. I've got food to get us through a few days without going to the store.

I hope y'all are enjoying the weekend. Stay safe and have some fun!