All Things EARTH... part 2

[pacruise804]

Happy Birthday, Anita!  

 

Margaret, when we were first married we lived outside DC and later had a little over a year near Princeton.  While we have some Chinese food nearby I've been missing good take-out for 15 years 😉 

 

It looks like we have a rain free day here, so I plan to tackle some more leaf clean up then grill hotdogs for supper.

[Anita Latte]

Thank you for all the birthday wishes everyone! DH ventured out first thing in search of the elusive TP but alas, he found now, and rather than come away empty handed, he came home with a bottle of champagne and OJ so that I could have mimosas on my birthday! So beginning at 2:00 pm... I began the great mimosa marathon whereby I endeavored to drink my way through the bottle of champagne while DH worked and DS also worked (school work). I did share one mimosas each with DH and DS...

 

And I finally, FINALLY dyed my hair purple! Woot woot! Something I have been wanting to do for over a year. I had thought to do it for my birthday last year but it was so close to DS’s graduation...I was concerned with the whole idea of purple hair and graduation photos...and then after graduation and before we moved to FL, I ultimately decided to have my hairdresser do the dye...nerves about the DIY job...and while it was good...it wasn’t as purple as I was hoping nor as much dyed hair as I was ready to do. He kind of did one of those “breaking in to dyed hair” jobs...

 

And then the chlorine pool and the salt water beach...never seemed to be the right time...until yesterday! Finally! It was a bit of a mess... my hair is ridiculous long...and so challenging to keep away from my skin...can you say, purple back, purple streaks on arms, ears, cheeks, omg...purple here and there and everywhere? DH did the rinse in the kitchen with the sprayer and in the stainless steel sink👍🏻

 

Ill get non-selfie photos tomorrow. Suffice to say...I’m thrilled.

 

Today...I did a mani...dark purple nails to match the hair. My toes are already purple and still good...so I decided to leave them be.

 

We did pizza take away so I didn’t cook. And today, the birthday streams forward as we scrounge left overs because, hello, still don’t feel like cooking! 😂 

 

Thinking about more projects around the house...or apt, I guess...we are now on “stay at home” orders which is pretty ridiculous because the exceptions are so great...

 

And today!!! Finally, I have more TP. Just a 4-pack, but I’ll take it. Yay Target! I commend Target, having shopped in both Publix and Target this morning. Publix was ok, but Target was amazing. The dude stood in the one aisle where there was TP and paper towels, mask and gloves, handing out the one per person allotment. No one could go down the aisle, we all waited in line with 6’ distance...and there was an announcement, thanking everyone for shopping Target and reminding everyone to keep the 6’ distance while shopping and checking out. I have to say...it was a way better at atmosphere than Publix. Not everyone in Publix seemed to care...but Target shoppers were on pointe.👍🏻 Target is much further away than Publix but I might just go there when I need to because it was so good...and I could also get eggs. 

 

So yay!

 

Weird life right now but I got to have lunch with my Freshman in college DS and a great evening with my whole nuclear family sooooo, don’t care about the odd circumstances...that was a win! And a big blessing. I’ll totally take it.

 

Stay healthy everyone...I’ll post photos of my purple hair mañana.

[laurspag]

I'm used to buying frozen veggies, but I have never tried to freeze certain things such as herbs.  This is pretty neat to learn about.  I hate throwing things out, so I really want to learn what I can do to freeze things.  

 

One thought I had is that if something is fresh, but isn't going to last much longer, I should just go ahead and try to freeze it if I'm not going to use it right away.  The other option is to throw it out, so why not?  

 

I like buying groceries once a week, so  freeze meat all the time.  I am not a big fan of canned goods, mostly because there is usually a lot of sodium involved, and my doctor wants me to avoid it.  I've been trying to move away from processed foods too.

 

Sometimes, we'll make up some ideas.  Episodes of Chopped...lol.  That can be a fun show to watch.

 

Sometimes I will make breakfast for dinner too.  That is fun to do, and I will likely do that this week.  We can still order food from restaurants and pick it up right now.  It is really a great way to boost the local businesses, but that is rather expensive to do.

 

Last night when I got home, my husband had the heater going in our detached garage.  I didn't think anything of it at first, since he likes to work out there.  Then I noticed two strips of carpeting laying on the floor that we had around.  Then I saw this car part...and my hand weights.  He was warming up the garage so we could use it as a little work out space.  That was fun.

[geocruiser]

Had a good day to day.  We had a frittata for lunch and at night I made sausage with peppers and onions.

I did some things around the house too.  When this is all over I should have a very organized house.  I hope to bake on Friday, maybe make pizzelles .  We will see if I do that.  

This is a good time for me to go through my closets and see if I can get rid of anything in there.

Have a good night all.

 

[purduemom1]

1 hour ago, geocruiser said:

Had a good day to day.  We had a frittata for lunch and at night I made sausage with peppers and onions.

I did some things around the house too.  When this is all over I should have a very organized house.  I hope to bake on Friday, maybe make pizzelles .  We will see if I do that.  

This is a good time for me to go through my closets and see if I can get rid of anything in there.

Have a good night all.

 

 

Maria, 

i make Pizzelles too but only for Christmas. My grandmother made them with a long handled iron using a gas stove. Had to turn the iron over to evenly bake them. It was a lot of work. I have a great electric Pizzelle iron and I love it.  

 

You posted some some good ideas about freezing food. Just today I read an article in the New York Times about freezing foods. I didn’t know that you could freeze eggs. The article said to crack each one into an ice cube tray, freeze and then pop them out as needed. I may try this idea when I can go back to buying eggs at Costco since they come in larger size cartons. Right now I am avoiding that store-just too many people. Fortunately we bought TP in Feb before we went to Minneapolis for 2 weeks to cat sit. Their large package usually lasts us quite awhile.

 

Anita, happy belated birthday. Sounds like it was a good one! Also one you will always remember.

 

Margaret, it must be pretty scary where you are. The daily reports of the Covid  cases are frightening. We are also on home stay, shelter in place or whatever you want to call it. Not a huge number of known cases where we are but it will get worse before it gets better I’m sure. 

Stay safe and well everyone. This will be behind us one day.

Sharon

[awhfy]

10 hours ago, geocruiser said:

Had a good day to day.  We had a frittata for lunch and at night I made sausage with peppers and onions.

I did some things around the house too.  When this is all over I should have a very organized house.  I hope to bake on Friday, maybe make pizzelles .  We will see if I do that.  

This is a good time for me to go through my closets and see if I can get rid of anything in there.

Have a good night all.

 

Love a good frittata

[pacruise804]

13 hours ago, Anita Latte said:

 

Thinking about more projects around the house...or apt, I guess...we are now on “stay at home” orders which is pretty ridiculous because the exceptions are so great...

 

 

Sounds like you had a good birthday, all things considered 🙂 I know what you mean about the exceptions - my Dad's county is listed on more restrictive measures than mine, but with all the exceptions I can't really tell how we are different.

 

Yesterday I got another section of the back "weed" corner cleared out and should be able to tackle the hydrangea today along with some burning.  I also have postcards to get addressed and dropped at the post office for the littles at church.  Assuming we are still isolating for Easter (which is the thought our church is going with) I also have egg hunt kits to distribute to local families (porch drop off only) since we can't do a church wide one this year.

 

DH and I plan to tackle the office some this weekend and eliminate an old desk plus rearrange some furniture.  Laura, your new "home gym" sounds nice 🙂 

 

Have a good weekend all.

[MJC]

There is some scary tragic stuff happening here but so far we are very sheltered from it at home. It is stressful however how many ambulances pass by every day. I can't help but think of all the families who are losing or will lose loved ones to this disease. It has turned out to be a blessing that DH had his hip surgery when he did so we were home for all of February and early March. They believe the virus has been spreading in NY since at least January, possibly as early as last December. I did feel like I was being a bit paranoid two weeks ago when we self isolated, but it turns out to have been the wise course.

 

I came across this article and I highly recommend it. There are some good thoughts and recommendations about the feelings we are all sharing at this time. The term "anticipatory grief" was very appropriate for me since I worry so much about my family members. It doesn't help that we live so far apart. https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief

 

One of my Zumba teachers has started to live stream her class two times per week, which is much more fun than doing it on my own. I can see the little boxes with my classmates and my teacher is fun and high energy. It is a great stress reliever, for sure.

 

I sorted out my tshirt drawer because I seem to always wear the same things over and over. I also had a few that I didn't want to get rid of but weren't suitable for outside wear, and a few I just didn't prefer so they sat around not being worn. I ended up with two categories, ones I like, and ones for cleaning house or messy cooking type tasks. 

 

Here are my favorites. I realize now my new teal one is missing, it must be in the laundry. The one on the far right I tried to tea stain to soften the white, but it didn't take. I'll probably try again with a different type of tea. I realized that I have a lot of blue. The new brown and teal ones were a good addition.

 

These are the ones that are relegated to hard duty. They aren't in my color wheelhouse and I'm just not in love. The black one on the far right I also tried to tea stain to calm down the peachy tones, since I do wear black and tan sometimes, but again it didn't seem to take. The ivory floral one is actually ok but my kitty put a few claw holes in it. I think the three on the left are AIR.

 

 

 

And I finally did my toes. It's one of my new Essie colors, Bed Rock & Roll. It's on the brownish end of brick red. I love it!

 

Edited March 27, 2020 by MJC

[MJC]

Melody, we did weigh the pros and cons of staying at the lake, but we decided that the lack of good medical services in the area could prove problematic. Here we are only 15 minutes from a world class hospital and all our doctors. We also have a maintenance staff here at the complex and many grocery stores to choose from. When we go for our walks we always run into someone we know for a 6ft chat, which is very very nice. DH was on the Board so we know a lot of our neighbors to say hi to.

[geocruiser]

MJC,

I like the colors of all you tee shirts.  You fold them so neatly too.  Your fur baby is so cute.

I have family in NYC and they are staying home, all but one.  He is working and I worry about him.  He is a PA in a hospital.

[MJC]

Thanks, Marie. Best wishes for good health for your family in NY. Extra blessings to all our health care workers on the front lines.

 

jjill keeps tormenting me with new things in my favorite color:

 

https://www.jjill.com/product/caroline-boat-neck-sweater?color=AMM

 

https://www.jjill.com/product/eyelet-trimmed-knit-dress?color=AMM

 

 https://www.jjill.com/product/pj-relaxed-pullover?color=34L

 

I don't do pink but isn't this pretty?

 

https://www.jjill.com/product/compassion-fund-bloming-flowers-square-18918133y1sz?color=33Y

 

[awhfy]

21 hours ago, MJC said:

Melody, we did weigh the pros and cons of staying at the lake, but we decided that the lack of good medical services in the area could prove problematic. Here we are only 15 minutes from a world class hospital and all our doctors. We also have a maintenance staff here at the complex and many grocery stores to choose from. When we go for our walks we always run into someone we know for a 6ft chat, which is very very nice. DH was on the Board so we know a lot of our neighbors to say hi to.

That was kind of what I figured. At least you have some distance social contact. Hope you both continue to stay well.
 

I’m doing my T-shirt cabinet (yes, I have that many!) today as it’s snowy outside

 

Marie, hope your family member stays safe. Melody

[geocruiser]

Thank you all.  I keep praying for all to stay safe.  My cousin is doing as best he can working in the hospital in NYC.

 

MJC, 

I just love the clothing, I do like the greens, they go great with the scarfs. 

 

Ok on a lighter note.

I have any here been doing crazy things. .  I did three of then  this past week.  You can all laugh at me, It is OK.

1.  A couple of days ago I brushed my teeth with a RX hand cream!!  I was lucky that it tasted so bad so quick.  I did a good mouth rinsing to get it out. I have very soft gums now!!

 

2. The the other night I put my PJ's on and go to bed.  In the morning I am looking for my pair of sweat pants to put in the wash, before I take my shower.  I looked high and low for then for about 10 minutes.  And then I look at my self in a mirror (as I turned).  And yes, I am wearing them.  I slept in them and did not know it.  My PJ top was on, but the bottom was the sweat pants.

 

3. I was going to put some RX liquid med on my face.  I have to shake the small bottle first.  "Note to self", make sure the bottle is closed before I shake it!!  I just lost very little, I saw it come out right away.

 

Any one else doing crazy things?

 

Maria

 

 

Edited March 28, 2020 by geocruiser

[Sailor_Sally]

I think it is totally normal doing crazy things now . Our lives have completely changed and there is no date for when it will normalize even a little bit . I miss my life . I miss trivia nights and book club and dinners out with friends .I miss being able to get on a plane and visit my daughter .

The plus is we are okay with plenty of toilet paper and food.

[awhfy]

Today is the start of cleaning out 30+ years of race shirts. Les feels well enough to sit in a chair & say keep, donate or rags. May take me a week!  He asked if we had any roasts in the freezer. I said yes, so tonight is roast beef, roasted potatoes & asparagus...I’m really looking forward to dinner!  This is the first time in a couple of weeks that Les has had an appetite, I’m thrilled!!!  Everyone stay well. Melody 

Edited March 29, 2020 by awhfy

[geocruiser]

7 minutes ago, awhfy said:

Today is the start of cleaning out 30+ years of race shirts. Les feels well enough to sit in a chair & say keep, donate or rags. May take me a week!  He asked if we had any roasts in the freezer. I said yes, so tonight is roast beef, roasted potatoes & asparagus...I’m really looking forward to dinner!  This is the first time in a couple of weeks that Les has had an appetite, I’m thrilled!!!  Everyone stay well. Melody 

Melody,

Great to hear that Les has a appetite.  I hope that he recovers real fast.

 

Maria

[MJC]

Melody, excellent news on Les's progress. Roast is the best medicine.🙂

 

Maria, I can't tell you how many times I walk into a room and forget what I was going to do, or misplace things like my phone and my glasses that are usually put in "their spot." I find I have to just focus on one task at a time until it's finished, or I find myself starting to empty the dishwasher, think of something else I need to do first elsewhere, and totally forget to go back to the dishwasher. Yeesh.

 

 

[purduemom1]

35 minutes ago, MJC said:

Melody, excellent news on Les's progress. Roast is the best medicine.🙂

 

Maria, I can't tell you how many times I walk into a room and forget what I was going to do, or misplace things like my phone and my glasses that are usually put in "their spot." I find I have to just focus on one task at a time until it's finished, or I find myself starting to empty the dishwasher, think of something else I need to do first elsewhere, and totally forget to go back to the dishwasher. Yeesh.

 

 

 

Ditto! Someone once said, this happens because our hard drives are full. So that’s my excuse!😉

[Sailor_Sally]

Melody good news that Les is getting his appetite back .Pot roast sounds yummy. We went to a local park for a walk.It was pretty deserted.We have also decided to have occasional Happy Hours on our deck just to give us some sort of life .

[awhfy]

Les started his second round of Zpack today. Hopefully it’ll get rid of the last of this lung infection. Doc gave him cough pearls too. I’d never heard of them but they are magic!  I guess they’ve been around for a long time. He slept all night without coughing (which meant I slept too!). 
 

stuffed peppers last night. Melody

[Sailor_Sally]

I have those cough pearls they are magic ! I made Chicken parmesan in my air fryer . It turned out great . What are people who don't cook doing ?

[geocruiser]

This afternoon, we had a homemade sausage on a bun with a salad.  I have lentil soup going in the crook pot.  To night it will be Broccoli rabe, also known as rapini with pasta & garlic and oil. Of course, top with grated cheese.  DH may have a shrimp cocktail with his.  

[pacruise804]

I'd never heard of the cough pearls either.  It looks like they are prescription only, but I will still mention them to my sister to discuss with her doctor the next time she gets a severe cough (usually at least once per year).  Glad you both got some sleep.

 

I've been cooking all of our meals, tonight will be cheesy ham & potato soup.  I do want to support the local restaurants, but balancing that with being mindful of our own budget (and frankly preferring my own cooking most of the time).  Will probably plan take out a couple times this month: subs, wings (reheat well), maybe try the local Thai place.

 

How would you reheat Thai - oven/stovetop or just eat cold?  It's about 20 minutes away so it won't be warm until I get it home.

[awhfy]

20 hours ago, Sailor_Sally said:

I have those cough pearls they are magic ! I made Chicken parmesan in my air fryer . It turned out great . What are people who don't cook doing ?

Either losing a lot of weight or gaining it from takeout!

[awhfy]

Went to Costco yesterday, they actually had hamburger & chicken & shelves were pretty well stocked ( including paper products, yay tp!!)

 

as I’m standing in the socially distanced line waiting to enter the store in front of me is an elderly lady (mind you, I’m 69) in a garden party dress, full makeup, hat & heels ( like she was going to an elegant brunch) talking to a young guy who was wearing a full faced hockey mask. It was rather surreal!  Gave me something to tell Les when I got home, wish I’d thought to snap a covert picture!  

hope everyone is doing well. Sally, do you use your air fryer much?  I’ve been looking at them, Les loves chicken Parm & I hate to fry. Melody