Sam Squared

      We never got the rain, just little sprinkles until overnight. We need it even after last Sundays soak. I had both dogs ( and cats) as my daughter helped her cousin. She stayed over Saturday night so she and my son could ride together.     He's still picking through boxes he hauled from California and trying to discard what he doesn't want and make lists of what he needs. He, with help from his sister, successfully got the sectional couch, a couple book shelves, and dinette table hauled to the condo from my friends moms. What's left will fit in cars as they packed the cargo van full, and he'll bring as he goes rather than special trips. I said it was going to be a slow move in! He's figuring out the layout, but just wanted this beast in the home for now.      I got the front and sides mowed Saturday morning before it got too hot. I must get back done today and weed whack. The grass in some places will need the weed whacker too. I walked to th...

                                                     For my Friday posts, I copy a previous week, delete the old and update as I go along the week. This helps me add as the week goes on. Here's my recap of Friday, May 29 to Thursday, June 4. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.  Use it Up/Avoid Waste  Five of us road together to a graduation party. It was a little tight but glad to not take two cars 140 miles round trip. Avoiding Spending/Saving on needs  Paid or accounted for all bills that are set for automatic pay. Knowing bills are accounted for and what truly is my balance helps ensure I stay on track. Spent Saturday night in my backyard with neighbor's in lieu of local sports bar with a store bought 6 pack of Leinies and a bottle of wine. Drinks at just a fiver each and beautiful no humidity e...

      May was both busy and not. It was a mild social month, not intentional, but just how it ended up. Two sisters and husbands were on back to back cruises, left on the 8th, with extended days in London upon docking from second cruise. I'm picking them up today at the airport. Others siblings and friends were busy with their lives. My kids are all busy with their jobs and I certainly wouldn't expect them to keep me entertained. I've read more this month and have a good list of recommendations. Soreness aside, I did a bit of puttering, overdue life admin, and a few mentally stimulating hobbies. I probably watched too much TV or streaming. May 1-7 Derby Day combined with book club and cards was fun. I though needed to miss most of cards as pup needed his shot and we're not young anymore so would have been a time waste to go back asceveryonecwoukd have been wrapping up soon anyway. After son's condo went through the inspection phase, happily, repairs needed were few ...

      It was a good Sunday overall with coffee to start the day. I made my son a huge stuffed omelette before he set out for work, and I had avocado toast and an egg.  My older daughter came over before my sister picked me up to meet others car pooling to a town northwest of the cities for a family graduation party. I made chocolate chip pan cookies and these little s'more snacks to add to the dessert bar. They proved popular with kids and teens. On line they got mixed reviews. I had already wrapped them up with the pan cookies on a large disposable tin, so the pictures not great. There's about three dozen. There should have been more but I kept breaking the crackers. I also ran low on chocolate after going overboard on the pan cookies.     Pup finally slept through the night, from 11:00 after one more bathroom trip, until after 7. I thought he made it without an accident, but he had one right after he woke up barking and before I got him out. I've been gat...

                                                   For my Friday posts, I copy a previous week, delete the old and update as I go along the week. This helps me add as the week goes on. Here's my recap of Friday, May 22 to Thursday, May 28. I just sort of list things as they come up, then edit before publishing.  Use it Up/Avoid Waste  With just myself home Memorial Day weekend, I used it as an opportunity to use up bits and "one of" items for meals. I got the refrigerator good and tidy. Avoiding Spending/Saving on needs  I chose not to meet a couple sisters for dinner out on Friday. The timing just wasn't great with having all the pets and I really was looking forward to a quiet night and starting the last Outlander season. (I said yes to the pets instead of sisters.) No heat or AC over the weekend, but by Monday it was getting a bit hot i...

      Photo by Marta Branco      My mom's book club is made up of very busy women, present company excluded. We've had to pivot and adapt on dates and by our June meeting, we'll have read eight books. We'll skip July and August. S, our fearless coordinator and probably the busiest, had a fun idea to cap off the year. We each picked a book and will bring a food or beverage featured in the book. She's doing string cheese and complimentary bites to represent The Measure.  M picked Dear Mrs. Bird but didn't say what she'd bring.       P hopped on  Something from Tiffany's  right away and not to give away the book too much, is going to bringing sweet rolls. I'm stretching a bit, but selected the Venice set book, The Instrumentalist, which did reference the fruit and veg markets so I'm bringing a fruit platter. There's two other regular attendees and three sporadic joiners so we'll see what else might surface.      J...