#2538 weekend wrap-up

We had beautiful weather here this weekend. The high temperatures were in the mid-60s, I think, with bright blue skies and lots of sunshine. I spent some time outside, and I did wear sunscreen, although looking at my face today you might not think so. I got a little bit of color. 

Yesterday morning, MT and I took the dogs for a walk over at the park. This morning we took them out to the dog park for a free run. We got there pretty early, and there were only a couple of other dogs running around in the big field. It didn't seem to bother Harley and Mac. They just played and ran together until other dogs came. By the time we left there were more dogs, but my girls were tired and ready to go. I always give them a good drink of water when we get to the car. Harley had a couple of slurps, then plopped herself down in the shade of car. I've never seen her do that after a dog park adventure. They have both been quiet and mellow all day.

This afternoon MT and I went out to lunch and shopping. It was my first time eating in a restaurant in a year. I would have preferred to sit outside, but the restaurant did not have outside seating. There were other people there, but I felt okay. We are now both fully vaccinated and we still take precautions. It was a big step for me and I was a little tense at first, but then I relaxed and enjoyed the meal. 

Yesterday afternoon, I went to Red Butte Garden to record blooms in the Children's Garden area. There were so many people up there! I've been volunteering at the Garden for a few years now and I don't remember seeing so many people at once there. The parking lot was nearly full, although not as full as last weekend. I'm glad that people are getting outside and visiting the Garden. There are hundreds of daffodils blooming all over the place. The leaves on the trees are starting to unfurl. I can tell that the lilacs are getting ready to open up and perfume the whole place. It's still early spring, but it's going to be spectacular up there in a couple of weeks. 

I ran into my Saturday Courtyard partner, Joann. She was volunteering as a docent in the Courtyard that afternoon. The Garden will not be running the trams this summer, but it looks like they are still having docents in different areas. Joann said no one had asked her any questions or approached her at all, so she was just enjoying the sunshine. I've done the Saturday afternoon docent shift for the past few years, but I guess it's up for grabs to whoever signs up for it now. I may take a few shifts here and there, but I was already planning on cutting back my volunteer hours. It felt like I was always up there in 2019 between blooms, docent, concerts, and weddings. I definitely love recording blooms and will do that weekly. The other stuff I will be more choosy about. I've heard that they are hopeful of having some concerts later in the summer, maybe in August. We'll see how that pans out.

On both Saturday and today I took lovely afternoon naps. Man, I love a good nap!

At work last week, we had a major, major clean-up. We've been in the building since 1996, and it was looking lived in. There were lots of big file cabinets originally, and as they got full, we would bring in whatever cabinets we could get our hands on and put them wherever we could. The hall was lined with ugly file cabinets. Now almost all the file cabinets are gone. Everything that needs to be kept was boxed up and put out in storage facilities. We file nearly everything electronically now. (Thanks for that, 2020!) In my own room, there were two file cabinets, and they are both now gone. There were also two small bookshelves that held binders and booklets and papers, some of which I hadn't even looked at in over 10 years. In the spirit of the clean-out, I boxed up what needed to be kept and threw everything else away. It was very liberating. The whole place looks better, and even smells better. We used a ton of Simple Green cleaning solution everywhere!

That cleaning spirit is still with me. I cleaned the top of my desk here at home, and I'm looking to get after this office room. It's been something that I've wanted to do for a long time, but I get nervous about throwing stuff away, even when I haven't used it or looked at it for a long time. For example, for some reason, I have old copies of Sunset and Real Simple magazines in the office closet. Why? I must have thought I'd refer back to them someday? Um...no. 

I am hopeful that next weekend I will remember my cleaning fervor and get rid of a bunch of stuff in this room. For now, at least my desk is clean and it makes me feel happy.

At work, there are a couple more weeks of splitting time between the office and home. I am thinking of changing my hours from 7 - 4. Working those hours is easy when I'm at home because I don't have that 30 minute commute, so I can wake up at a decent time - 6:00 - get myself ready enough to sit at my dining table and get to work. I'll have to wake up earlier, probably around 5:15, to get myself ready to see people and leave home by 6:30 (earlier if I need to stop at the 'Bucks) to get to the office at 7:00. I'm testing it out for the next couple of weeks to see how it goes. I do like the 6:30 commute better. Less cars on the road, and getting home by 4:30 is really nice. Getting up isn't really the problem. It's getting to bed earlier that is hard for me. 

I hope you had a good weekend and have something fun to look forward to this week. For me, I look forward to talking to my sister on Tuesday night and to my mom on Friday night. I also have book club on Thursday evening. Take care of yourselves! Wash your hands! Stay safe!

 

#2459 thankful for a bright moment

It has been overcast and gray here all day. I don't think I ever saw the sun come out. MT and I took Mac for a walk at the park this morning, and since then, I have been in the house. I actually watched another movie. It is called My Octopus Teacher. I heard about it when the filmmaker gave an interview on Fresh Air on NPR. It's actually a documentary about this man (the filmmaker) and an octopus that befriends him. It sounds kinda strange, but it was fascinating and weirdly moving. The photography was exceptional. I'm glad I took the time to watch it.

I took Mac out for a walk in the neighborhood around 5:00. Like I said, it has been gray and drab all day, so imagine my delight when I opened the front door and saw this:

That orange sky was thrilling. And brief. By the time I admired it, took a photo, and put my phone away, the orange sky was gone. Only the grey clouds remained. 

I'm thankful that I happened to walk out the door at just the right moment so I could see this beautiful sight. 

Hope y'all had a good weekend. Be safe!

#2407 Saturday with Sandy

Greetings from the backyard deck at my house. It's just after 9 pm. The sun is setting, there is a very light breeze, and it the air feels good on wet hair and clean skin. I just got out of the shower, washing away the ick of this hot summer day. Mac is playing with a stock she found. She is rolling around on the deck and leaning against a pillow bed I originally bought for Osi that she totally hated. Mac seems to think it is okay.

Yesterday I took Mac to the vet for her second set of shots. I wasn't able to go in with her, but the vet called me while I waited in the parking lot to tell me how cute she is, that she is healthy and what shots he gave her. She will have her last set of puppy shots in three to four weeks. She is 22 lbs. 

Last night T, Mac, and I went for a drive. Mac was standing in the front seat on T's lap with her head on my shoulder when I heard the tell-tale "I'm about to barf" noise. I thought I felt something on my shoulder, but didn't feel anything. She kept making the noise, so I told T to put her in the back seat where I have a sheet for her to lay on. She stayed back there and I didn't hear anything else. When we got home, she came back to the front seat, we got out, and went inside.

This morning Mac and I were going to Starbucks. I opened the back door for her to get in and there was a giant pile of puke on the seat. EWWW. She must have had a bit of a reaction to the shots and dewormer medication. I'm thankful that MT had a shop vac handy so I could easily clean up the mess and vacuum my car while I was at it. Also, there was a bit of puke between my seat and the center console, so she did barf on me. Mac is fine today, as energetic and playful as ever. 

Last night I stayed up late watching the series High Fidelity on Hulu. I really liked it.  Zoe Kravitz is awesome and I liked all of the characters. The dude who plays Mac is gorgeous.  I was up until about 1:30, so I didn't bother to put Mac in her crate. She slept on the bed with me, I guess. That's where she started anyway. She woke me up this morning around 7 by scratching at my leg from the side of the bed. I didn't see any signs of destruction or messes, so that's good.  I'm not sure what I'll do tonight. (MT is in Idaho this weekend, but I doubt he would care that she was on the bed. He loves her,)

Today I have been active. Aside from Starbucks and cleaning my car, I also went to Target and to the grocery store. For a late lunch I had street fries from Spitz after which I took a glorious nap. This evening I went for a walk at the park and now I'm going to watch something on TV. I can't decide whether to watch Hamilton or Little Fires Everywhere. 

Now it's getting too dark to see the keys on my Chromebook. Good thing I am familiar with where the letters are, so I don't have to look for them. Guess that's my cue to wrap up this post and go inside. Such a beautiful evening. I wish you could sit here on the deck with me and enjoy the solar lights I have here, and sip a cold drink (ice water for me today; it was such a hot day!). 

Enjoy your Sunday. Do something nice for yourself. Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Stay safe.

#2394 travel Tuesday: Hawaii memories

It's a good thing I take so many photos when we go on vacation, because even though we are not going anywhere in the foreseeable future, I can look at the photos and remember the good times. 

Today we will look at photos from our June 2015 trip to Hawaii. MT, T, and I went to Oahu and then on to the Big Island along with Jake and Linda (MT's parents), and Kelly and Denise (MT's brother and his wife). I think we were there for ten days. 

We started out on Oahu. That's where Honolulu is. We went to Pearl Harbor (awesome!) and to the Polynesian Cultural Center (meh). The last morning we were there, MT really wanted to get wet, so he and I went out early in the morning to Hanauma Bay. It wasn't very far from where we were staying, we were there so early that parking was easy because there weren't very many people. It is a beautiful spot. I sat on a blanket and read while MT snorkeled for a couple of hours. Look how pretty it is:

Over on the Big Island of Hawaii, we stayed on the Kona side of the island. The sunsets there are phenomenal. The color is vibrant and saturated. There are no filters on these pics:

The top two photos were taken on the same evening. The bottom photo was taken on our last night there. Watching the sun set is an event not to be missed!

My love for turtles grew in Hawaii. We saw turtles every day.

One of my favorite days on that vacation was the day we went to Hapuna Beach. We had been to a couple of other beaches, and they were nice for snorkeling but very rocky and not much fun for a casual beach goer like myself. Hapuna was a perfectly beautiful spot and we all had a great day there. MT and T had lots of fun body surfing. (That's Kelly and Denise to the right of them.)

I had a good time on that vacation! I don't think I would go back to the Big Island though, and probably not Oahu either. I'd like to go to Maui or Kauai sometime, though. Maybe someday!

#2377 weekend wrap-up

Sunday evening already. At least somethings during These Trying Times haven't changed. I still get bills in the mail and the weekend still flies by.

Yesterday morning was a WW festival. Maybe you know that Oprah is a WW member and ambassador as well as being, you know, Oprah. She has partnered with WW to present on online series called Oprah's 202 Vision: A Vision Forward. The first presentation was Saturday. I knew it was happening but didn't know what time it started, so I found it a little late, and am I glad I did find it. I was able to cast it to my TV, so I didn't have to sit there holding my phone for the whole time. Basically, she has people on Zoom and she is broadcasting it to the rest of us. She talked to some regular people, and then she also had guests: The Rock, Kate Hudson, and a meditation guy named Jesse. Jesse lead us all in a good meditation. I really liked the whole thing. I will be sure to watch next week's presentation from the beginning!

After that, I jumped into the La Mirada virtual WW workshop. I've been to that group's meeting a few times in person when I've gone to visit the fam. I like the leader, Jacki, a lot. I like her style and her personality. She was very nice to me when I got on her meeting. 

Full of WW inspiration, I took my journal outside to write for a few minutes. I realized that I haven't been getting outside very much, and I miss it. I made a commitment to myself to get outside a little while every day and to take a photo of it. Here's my Saturday photo:

It was a gorgeous day and I felt like riding my bike, so MT and I loaded up the bikes and headed to Farmington to ride on the Legacy Parkway trail. I did great the first seven miles, but kinda bonked on the way back. In all my WW joy, I hadn't eaten anything (well, half of a peanut butter sandwich). We were still two minutes better than last week's ride. Here's the summary from my biking app:

We stopped at a Mexican restaurant in our neighborhood on the way home to get some take out. It was so good!

Last night T went out to a friend's house. MT and I stayed home and read. I also did a Babbel lesson in French and reviewed my Spanish. The Spanish lessons are way longer than the French lessons. I don't know why. Spanish comes more naturally off my tongue than French, but both are difficult. 

This morning I made French toast for breakfast (delicious), then MT and I went for a walk. I'm doing a photo challenge on Instagram and today's prompt was "clouds". The pic also serves as my proof that I was outside today:

It was pretty cloudy earlier today. Now it's clear, but very windy and warm.

I went to the grocery store and bought gas for the car. The car was almost empty (about 70 miles left in the tank) and I filled it up. Guess how much I paid? $19.93! It was just $1.439/gallon! I had a $0.40/gal credit from the store. Awesome!!

This afternoon I have been reading and I just got done paying the bills. In an hour I'll watch episodes 9 and 10 of The Last Dance. Since the last game of the Last Dance is against the Utah Jazz in 1998, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna cry, just like I did back then. I do acknowledge Jordan's greatness as a basketball player, of course, but how that all went down still stings.

I hope you had an excellent weekend. Please take care of yourselves and find some joy in the everyday stuff. 

#2358 fantastic Friday: clean air is good

It was a pretty spring day here in the Salt Lake Valley. I went into the office for about an hour this morning. I think I saw less than ten people in total while I was there. I wore my new face mask, just to get the hang of it. Back at the home office, I kept myself busy, but I admit that I did easy stuff and got a bunch of tasks knocked off my to-do list.. It was a hard week. Did I mention that I'll be working at home until at least May 1? I'm glad about it.

T mowed the lawn today. It really needed it and he needed the money, so that was a win-win.

MT and I went for bike ride. Same place, but a bit longer, just under nine miles. We also stopped and took a tiny walk at the Lee's Creek area. I was wearing my cycling shoes, which are meant for riding, not walking, and that's why we didn't go very far. We told ourselves that the next time we felt like going for a walk, we would go back to Saltair and walk on the beach to the water. I might have done that a long time ago with my dad, but I don't really remember it.

One of the good things about so many people staying home is that there are fewer cars on the road and the air is so clean and fresh. The mountains looked so beautiful today, all white-capped and gleaming. Here are some pics I took while we were out this evening:

This is looking east at the Wasatch Range from the Marina. The building on the right is Saltair. I think the name of this beach is Silver Beach. That's not the beach I'm talking about walking on, but we could.

This is also from the Marina looking northeast. I think that is Stansbury Island.

That big column thing is a smoke stack at the north end of Kennecott. I like the reflection of the mountains and sky (and everything else) in the water.

Across from Saltair are marshy ponds that are teeming with birds. There are a bunch of these blackbirds with red or yellow throats. This one looked like a hybrid - an orange throat.. Pretty!

I don't have any big plans for the weekend. I'd like to do a bunch of reading while laying on my bed. I'd also like to watch a few more MCU movies. Tonight we watched Captain America: Civil War. It was a good one. We've got eight more to go. We are getting to some of the ones I have seen before.Watching the movies in chronological order has been good because everything makes a little more sense. They all tie together. There are always after-credit and after-after-credit scenes that give hints to the next movie. So good.

Have a great weekend!