The summer week I am not sad to see end

It was "one of those weeks", a mix of tying up some loose ends and working on future projects.

Reba's in Giddings

A trip to Brenham was made, with a stopover at a restaurant in Giddings that a friend and I used to meet at for lunch.  Sometimes Mom and I went here, too.  Their new location is BIG - a space where a furniture store used to be.  Mom and I bought her little loveseat here many years ago after she moved to Brenham.  She would have enjoyed this burger - we did love being Ladies Who Lunch.

the burger and fries were amazing

I got many things done this week, including:

*met with Mom's executor one last time

*bought groceries and did errands

*cleaned the front door area and transom window

*enjoyed martinis with The Girl

*set up the mower maintenance and tree-trimming

*got my CEU's loaded into a new system

*caught up on book club reading

*and barely cooked!

I tried not to think too hard about how final this last trip to Brenham felt.  Saw Mom's house - it looks nice and the new owner is happy there.  Next week will feel challenging too, as it makes 5 years since we lost Mark. July feels a little hard right now.  But like I told a friend, I know it won't feel this way forever.

Happy weekend!

Gina

Addition by subtraction

 I knew that, as time went on, I would be able to let go of even more things.  As I make my way as a single person, I realize that less stuff makes more space - addition by subtraction is my mantra.  Last week I sent another set of china away, along with two very fussy silverplate candlesticks and some pink cocktail glassware.  Shocking, right?

For me, there is zero purpose in storing this stuff away until I die and making it someone else's problem.  And I don't think my kids' generation views china as practical.

More empty space.  I love it.

I saved out a pretty dish for the sewing room.  This can get passed down to my daughter as a memento of her Nana and a grandfather she never got to meet.  I also saved out 6 pink martini glasses, just because I like them.  

We didn't use these dishes even one time - just stored them.  This set dates from 1950 and likely was not used past 1970, if even then.  That's a long time to keep something pretty boxed up and un-loved.

I set it all by the door, and the next morning it went to a charity thrift store to find its new owner.  Who knows? Someone may see it and recognize the pattern.  Or fall in love with it and buy it for their home.  Or gift it to a couple as an anniversary or  wedding gift.  My garage and closets and cabinets have never felt emptier or cleaner and my home is getting more representative of me.

Gina

5 thing Friday - freezer cleanout/restock, backyard relaxation, paver re-do, ice cream, Girl Lunch

For the last few weeks I had been doing little grocery runs for fillers and eating meals made of what I had left in the freezer.

I got myself organized with everything I wanted to do for the morning.

I made some containers for work: Beefy Spaghetti, Chicken and Lentil Tikka Masala with rice, and Veggie and Chicken Korma with rice.  Eight containers that should make Friday food prep easier for almost a month. Pasta and rice dishes generally heat up really well for me at work.

Then I wiped down the inside of the freezer and bought some things from Trader Joe's that I think will be both appetizing, and easy to cook.  I will fill in with sandwiches and the occasional meal out.

I bought a new strap for the vintage binoculars - worth it to not accidentally drop this thing on my concrete patio.  I have been spending lots of time in the backyard, listening to and watching birds.  So relaxing.

I got the firepit put up and hauled the lounger over to the shade.  A perfect place to unwind with a glass of wine.  Now I need a pretty lumbar pillow.

Then I reworked the pavers (again!) and will gift the others to a friend for her garden. (she also has the timber from the Cannary kid's playscape!)

 The two piece design was making it easy for the oak sprigs to push up between the pavers.  And it was impossible to keep them level.  While I was at it, I used some random ones to make a small little "plant patio" under the window.  That's how it goes with projects sometimes - tweak it 'til you get it just right.

And then reward yourself with a treat - sweet cream ice cream with bananas and caramel swirl in a waffle dish at Coldstone's.  That hit the spot.  Our days are pushing 100 degrees now and rain is nowhere in sight!

Another way to cool it down - Girl Lunch.  This week: fresh peaches, water crackers, Caesar Salad dip, prosciutto rolled with mozzarella, pinot noir rose.  Better than take-out!

Gina

Orange Fig Jam

I've been mostly letting the squirrels have the figs my tree produces.  In years past, it was nothing to write home about. But for some reason (probably all of the rain we've had) she decided to make a lot of fruit this summer.

She's hiding waaay back there in the corner.  She has been very nearly dead two or three times due to ice storms or drought, but always manages to claw her way back!

 

Lately I've been finding a couple fat figs per day.

And since one of my favorite things is fig jam, I made some!

This is about 1 1/2 c. quartered figs placed in a small pot with the juice and peel of one small orange, about 1/2 c. or so of sugar, and a couple tablespoons water.

I brought it to a boil, then simmered it nice and slow until it was the thickness I wanted.

I also sliced the orange rind very thin and stirred it in. When It was cool, I ladled it into a pint jar for the fridge. I'm having a friend over for wine and charcuterie this week and I think this will pair nicely with some cheeses! 

But it will also be wonderful on my oatmeal, a bagel, or PBJ!

Gina

Little project: garage opener bulbs

I truly am trying to make headway on my summer bucket list - I would say I have at least a third of it done.  But along the way, these other mini "projects" keep popping up and I think, oh I can do that right quick. Case in point are the bulbs in the garage door motors. 

One of them is burned out, so I decided to replace all four and in the process discovered that the opener on the storage side of the garage actually works.  I could have sworn Mark told me that its motor was burned out.  But no, it opened smoothly and quietly - unlike the side I use all of the time.

These motors are 30+ years old and still going strong.  I do need someone to come out and adjust them, but I can change the bulbs and clean them up.

I hauled out my trusty ladder and unplugged them first. A YouTube video later, I had figured out how to open the lightbulb cover.

They were very dirty and had a couple of dirt dauber wasp nests in them.

(side note: do you know that people actually sell large wasp nests on Ebay? What a weird world we are in. Mine got tossed into the driveway.)

Things like this make me pause - why did we never have actual pull strings on the emergency release?

I found some paracord and a 2 knobs from my stash and put one on each door, making it long enough for my 5'3" self to reach.

You would think a simple project like this would take maybe 30 minutes, tops, but I also had to look things up, go buy the dang bulbs, and talk myself onto that ladder.  I also swept out the garage and set some stuff by the trash bins.  Plus, it was already climbing in the 90s here.

I'm gonna have to pace myself with outside projects in the summer...

Gina

Homebody me

 One thing I re-learned about myself recently:

I am a homebody at heart.

I traveled lightly!

 Much as I loved putting my feet in the sand and feeling the warm summer sun and cool breezes off the Gulf, home is my Happy Place.  Two days away from home is always the outside limit for me, and I have always been this way.  As a child, we spent summers visiting family while my mother worked and even if we were having a blast I had some serious homesickness.  I remember feeling that way when we had Highlands, too.  On Sunday afternoons I was READY to get back home to my own home and bed, even though Mark was grumpy about it.  When I spent two nights at the hospital for the ice storm in January, I was so ready to get home that I was willing to face my fears driving through icy Austin to get there, crying as soon as I hit the front door.

Its just how I am wired.

I had a good time at the coast and I can cross it off my summer bucket list, but in future I will look for day trips, closer to home.  I still want to be independent, still feel capable, still want to have fun.

But I am definitely a homebody!  

Gina

A quick trip to Port Aransas

I went to Port Aransas this week for two days.  I was going to take my time getting there, and maybe shop a little but I got a late start on Tuesday and was ravenous by 11 a.m.

I stopped at a Mexican restaurant in Luling that had amazing enchiladas and friendly people.

Got to the Aransas Pass ferry landing around 2 p.m. and I was the first on/first off, so Brigid had a clear view!

Home for the next two days was Best Western - fancy fancy.

I walked down to the beach (about 3 blocks) and sat for a couple of hours.

This is pretty much the exact spot we always came to when I brought the kids.  The water felt cool and wonderful, the breezes were so nice.  I could have napped right here on the sand.  I walked back to the hotel and ate a girl dinner of snacks while I read.  Slept like a rock!

Next day - the hotel provides breakfast and I was too impatient to stand in line to make a waffle, so I made a plate with some breakfast empanadas.  I loaded up my ice water and headed back to the beach.

The seagulls are like birds anywhere - hoping you will toss snacks their way.

I walked along gathering shells and just enjoying the breezes.  It started warming up pretty quickly so I walked back to the hotel after a couple of hours to shower and relax in the A/C.  Dinner seemed pretty far away, so I scouted out a new-to-me restaurant near Fisherman's Wharf called Grumbles Seafood Company.

Goal to eat a shrimp Po'Boy - accomplished.

I ended up bopping around a couple of souvenir shops, visited the paint your own ceramics shop (then decided against it), then headed back to basically lay around reading my book.

Around sunset I had another Girl dinner: wine, cheese, and crackers.

This is a low key hotel, but was small, close to the beach, and very comfortable.  Had I not been so tired from my beach trekking I would have taken a dip in the pool!

The next morning, I felt homesick and I knew it was time to head back to Austin after breakfast. I made good time on the road and was back in my home sweet home at a little after 11 a.m.! 

Got my totes unpacked, laundry washed and put away, made plans for tomorrow, napped, and made an easy meal.  All that's left to do today is give Brigid a shower - washing road bugs and sand off her. I'd say it was a pretty sweet little trip, but I have a different kind of thing in mind for mini-vacays going forward, and now I can cross this off my summer bucket list.

Happy weekend!

Gina