Spring bucket list recap

 I got a lot done on the bucket list for Spring!  The rainy days delayed some of these, but whatever didn't get done will be added to the summer list.

I learned how to make chilequiles

Spring Bucket List: 

file my taxes

treat crepe myrtle

paint hall ceiling and attic opening

look into swim lessons

clean and reposition landscape lights

order a swimsuit

go admire some bluebonnets - we had a pitiful showing this year - too much rain?

spiff up the front door area

clean the A/C coils

touch up outside paint

clean the gutters

plan a summer trip Port Aransas in June

finish the photo album project - slowly but surely

watch the bats emerge at sunset at the Congress St. bridge

get the mower maintenance done

mulch landscape beds

powerwash the back patio and front steps

take a calligraphy class

go to the symphony

visit Barton Springs - maybe when its hotter

begin researching: carpeting for house, toaster oven, tub insert for guest bath, fridge, new mattress

see a friend for coffee/beer at least twice

meet with a book club at least twice

try a new thing - Qigong meditation, calligraphy

cook a new dish for myself  Chilequiles!

take one Saturday off and visit a farmer's market or similar

see each of my peeps for a lunch

start getting semi-regular pedicures

meet with therapist twice, minimum

catch some live music

Not bad, and I had a lot on my daily lists.  I am famous for starting projects before previous projects are complete.  I am already putting together my plans for the summer!  

Gina

Little project: landscape lighting

 I was finally able to deal with this pile of parts to my solar landscape lights.  I had taken them apart and cleaned with some sudsy Simple Green cleaner, then let them air dry on a towel in the garage.  Then I ordered batteries so each one would have the same bright light.  Then they sat in here for a couple of weeks!

When I pulled them up from the landscaping, my little voice said "don't forget the stakes", but I got lazy.  You need needle nose pliers to get those suckers out of the dirt.  This week, I was happy to find all of them, and even a couple from a previous set - still embedded in the landscaping.

I cleaned those up a bit, too, just so I didn't make a mess in my garage.

I gathered everything together to get each one assembled and ready.  I bought some black Gorilla tape for reinforcement, as well.

 A few of the posts have split over the last three years or so.  Probably from me moving them so much, trying to get the spacing right.  Also the Texas heat!

Split or not, I wrapped both ends of all of the posts.  I used the edge of the tape to act as a sort of gauge for the height of each light when I was putting them back outside.  Worked great.

Its hard to see them during the day, but at night, they are lovely.  And all of them have nice bright lights now that the batteries have been replaced and the clear plastic cups cleaned.

The next day I mowed and edged, and the yard doesn't look as sad as it did in the winter.  I still have more weeds than grass, but everything is green.  I also sprayed deer spray on all of the shrubs.  I'm not running a deer buffet over here.

The lights in the backyard work the same way, they are just heavier.  I only have two of them at either end of the deck, and getting them cleaned up was super easy.  They are so pretty at night.  Now all that's left to do is power wash the concrete slab and clean and reseal the deck, and those are on my bucket list for summer.  Once the weather gets too hot, I plan on relaxing out here more than working on projects!

Gina

What the week holds and fish tacos

 I am on a serious soft taco kick that has lasted for months.  HEB has really delicious bakery tortillas in plain, butter, southwestern, and whole wheat.  I eat them with whatever filling items I happen to have. Its not particularly healthy, but it is so easy to cook.  And bonus: this week I made my own refried beans from a pound of dry pintos, some bacon fat, and chopped onion.  

So. freaking. good. I eat these once a week.

I'm not going to learn how to make my own tortillas and why would I?

This week I am:

*working 12 hours on Monday

*spiffing the attic opening and hall ceiling

*having a check-in with my therapist

*maybe doing some yard work

*seeing Firstborn for dinner one night

*walking each day

*and planning a nice Easter lunch to take to work

Its going to be a pretty springy last week of March, full of pollen and possibility.  What does your week look like?

Gina

Spring bucket list

I got this idea of making a spring bucket list form Joanne at Slices of Life.  I haven't come up with a bucket list in a while.  I'm going to create a hybrid list with tasks, plans, and new experiences.

the jury is still out on whether this crepe myrtle will thrive...

Starting with the official start of Spring - file my taxes, treat crepe myrtle,  paint hall ceiling and attic opening, look into swim lessons?, clean and reposition landscape lights, order a swimsuit, go admire some bluebonnets.

April - spiff up the front door area, clean the A/C coils, touch up outside paint,  clean the gutters, plan a summer trip, finish the photo album project, watch the bats emerge at sunset at the Congress St. bridge.

May - get the mower maintenance done, mulch landscape beds, powerwash the back patio and front steps, take a calligraphy class, go to the symphony, visit Barton Springs, go to the farmer's market.

Also:

*Big ticket items to begin researching: Carpeting for house, toaster oven, tub insert for guest bath, fridge.

*See a friend for coffee/beer at least twice

*Meet with a book club at least twice

*Try a new thing - Qigong meditation

*Cook a new dish for myself

*Take one Saturday off and visit a farmer's market or similar

*See each of my peeps for a lunch

*Start getting semi-regular pedicures

*Meet with therapist twice, minimum

*Catch some live music

This makes me excited for Spring!

Gina

5 thing Friday - light bulbs, savings account, spray paint, yard tasks, relax

 This week feels like its been one misadventure after another.  Maybe the universe is telling me to sloooowwww down.

Thinking I was being efficient, I replaced the flood lamps out on the patio one day.  Then came out the next day to discover that one of them had exploded.  {I had ignored the little voice in my head that said the bulbs I used were not the right ones.}

these are in fact, the right ones

Usually I will take the broken/used thing I am replacing to the store with me to get the right one.  This time I had merely used what I had on hand.  Big mistake.  A trip to Lowe's to compare bulbs and buy the right ones was was what I should have done to begin with.

I did find the right ones - and the spray paint for the bathroom fixtures. Side note: Lowe's is where you should go for spray paint.  They have a huge selection, you can peruse the colors at will, and some old grumpy dude in the paint department won't have to come unlock the paint "cage" for you.

Once I was back home, I turned off the breaker to the patio, carefully carefully unscrewed the remains of the bulb, and replaced it with the right ones.  Crisis managed.

It was past time for me to deal with two old savings accounts that had minimum deposits in them, languishing and about to go into dormancy.  Closing one of them felt surreal.  Mark and I had used this account for 8 vehicle loans.  The closest branch to me was Round Rock, and was not worth the drive or the extra paperwork/memory to maintain it.  Turns out that closing an unused savings account does not impact your credit score.  The other savings account is tied to a refi we did on this house many years ago.  I could use that one as an emergency fund.  Or not.  I make the best financial decisions I can on my own, after all. 

Ok, this is the exact paint color I was searching for the re-do the lights in the master bathroom.  Its a beautiful shimmery cross between silver and gold, called Satin Nickel.

I think it will be perfect for spiffing this light fixture.  Again, I will cut off the power, pop off the light cover, spray it, then replace.  And now that I have my handy dandy ladder, I won't have to stand on the actual bathroom counter to reach it.  This might be on my short list of things to do today.

I have been doing a repertoire of spring tasks in the backyard: repotting plants, wiping down patio furniture, sweeping, replacing the garden hose, adding soil to the raised beds,

raking tons of leaves.  Yesterday during all of that I lost my one functional hearing aid, then spent a frantic 20 minutes on my knees in the lava rock section frantically going over every square inch.  Finally found it sitting atop a pile of leaves to be scooped up.

I accepted that as my nudge to stop for the day, built a firepit, then sat with my wine to decompress as dinner was cooking in the oven.  There are only so many tasks I am going to get done in one day.  Today I will clean and store the firepit and make me a spot to relax in my anti-gravity lounge chair.

My sweet potato experiment is going well.  She likes her pasta jar and spot in the window, apparently.  I will leave her here and just watch her grow.  Yesterday I potted an agave and whenever I am done with cleaning up the oak leaves and pollen out back, I will move all the plant babies back to their spring/summer homes.  But for today, the To Do list has been scaled back, and I am looking forward to some reading time in my lounge chair out on my swept patio.

Happy Friday!

Gina

5 thing Friday - bathroom spiff, paint storage, keychain, going out, Spring

I didn't spend a lot of time feeling sad this week - too busy with things here and there.  I feel like this week's To Do list will not get completely done - and that's OK.  We are "springing forward" this weekend and I want to make sure I get a nap in today!

The light fixtures in my bathroom, repainted by me many years ago, are showing their age and a bit of rust on the corners.  So I will be spiffing them up with a little spray paint in this pretty silvery champagne color.  Which encouraged me to do a bathroom refresh all around.

I took everything off the vanity, cleaned it up, put back only the things I wanted sitting out, added a couple of faux plants.  I also stored all of the personal care things that were sitting on the ledge around the tub and added a pretty 3-wick candle (not shown). 

 A calm and clean uncluttered space was just what I was after.  Even faux plants can soothe!

I don't know if I ever showed the method I have for saving touch-up paint from those big painting projects.  These screw top plastic containers work well to organize the bit of paint with product info in case I need to buy more.  Each container has a small stainless steel mixing ball inside, too.

I had one more to add from the last big paint job.  They all live in the cleaning closet just off the kitchen.  Hopefully, they will stay fresher in here than their original can in a hot garage.  {every time I open this closet I am newly pleased with the fact that it isn't stuffed full of crap I don't want!}

I pulled out my clear crossbody purse to go to a show downtown and I found this silver keychain clipped onto it.  I polished it up and discovered "Jim" engraved on the back.  I had picked this up when we cleared Mom's house - I don't remember if she ever told me where it came from, but I suspect she bought it for him as a gift.  It lived in a small dish in her office for years.

With my '60 penny and a silver "evil eye" charm, it made the perfect talisman to navigate an evening out at the Paramount Theater to see the Vitamin String Quartet.

I found parking nearby, walked alone to the venue, found my seat, and enjoyed a show.  The music was all contemporary and the show was high energy.  Music of  Bridgerton, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and more - a varied mix with some music I did not recognize.  These solo dates have been a lot of fun, but I think I will change them up.  I have one more symphony to attend, then will look for things closer to North Austin that are budget friendly.

Beer and talk time with a friend at Meanwhile yesterday.  The weather has been unreasonably pretty with average temps in the low 80s.  Everything, and I mean everything, is blooming.  March winds are knocking all of the oak leaves and pollen out of the trees, so pretty soon it will be time for me to re-rake and clean the yards.  But not today.  The rest of the day I have:

*a meeting with retirement team to talk pre-planning

*lunch with Grayson (peep #4)

*pick up a few filler groceries and meal prep for three days at work

*get gas, do light housework, change out two floodlamps on the deck

*nap

Happy Friday!

Gina 

5 thing Friday - Spring, book club, organizing files, meals, photos

Its been a long couple of weeks - finally spring feels like its here (in Austin) and the weather has been beautiful.  I have been walking about 25 minutes a day, out in the sun.  Sometimes raking the leaves.  Sometimes watering the grass.  Sometimes just sitting on my patio with a glass of wine, decompressing.

I found another book club and am enjoying chatting with people my own age and gender about books.  That seems like a small thing, but I feel like most of my friends are younger than me, so this is a chance to be with, more or less, my peers.  {This was an election sign outside of the library where we meet.  I promise I am not running for office!}

I am ordering less and less from Amazon, opting to shop in person whenever possible.  One of the reasons is pictured above - an anticipated book purchase that turned out to be not what I ordered.  A couple of weeks ago it was washi art tape that did not arrive, even though I was charged.  I know it sounds like an old lady thing to say, but I think I would just rather know I am getting exactly what I am paying for.  In both cases, a resolution was had.  But still.

I dragged out all 9 of the life insurance policies* and had a meeting with the agent (an associate of Mark's) who is helping me stay on top of them.  In addition I updated my VIP notebook where I store a household inventory, legacy list, copies of important documents, and all this policy information.  It was kind of overwhelming and made me feel a little sad, but I know that since I am organized, my kids will have an easier time of it when they need this information some day.  We will call it a gift of love, from me to them.

Nothing exciting on the food front, unless you count me making a batch of cookie dough for the freezer (recipe on Monday) and eating a couple of lunches out this week.  I also did an overnight crockpot of butter beans with some ham.  Dinners have been more streamlined and usually involve a protein and a veggie, like above.  I keep it simple and its manageable.  I run the dishwasher every other day or so and clean the kitchen each night before bed.  Maybe simplicity was the key after all!

The photo project is slowly coming along.  I find that I can only do about an hour at a time on it - its so hard to relive memories of a happier time.  I know it wasn't all roses - raising four kids and experiencing all the curve balls life threw at us.  But the photos show smiling, happy, loving, beautiful children and their parents.  And sometimes, I wish I could go back in time, just for a day.

I do need to finish this up so I can use this table for my jigsaw puzzles!

*Mark was an insurance agent for 36 years, as well as a Certified Risk Manager and Certified Insurance Counselor.  He worked at John Hancock, Prudential, and Nationwide, among others. Most of these policies were purchased when the kids were born, or very young, and there are a mix of term, whole life, and accidental death.  The premiums on them are low and since I am not sure if my 30 somethings have life insurance, I will keep these from lapsing until they can take over. I am the owner and primary bennie, siblings are contingents for each other.  For now, I will hold onto them.  

Gina

5 thing Friday - lunch al fresco, pollen, Baja, extra hours, Snickerdoodles

Last week, I changed up the weekly coffee/journaling to lunch/journaling at a local brewery.  I had something called "Jane's Huarache" for lunch, which was like a flat gordita taco with carnitas.  It was amazing.

I plan on switching the journaling plan to be more of a gratitude journal.  Extra points for combining it with al fresco lunch.

Its been windy lately, so its a mixed blessing of the pollen being fully dropped out of the backyard oaks, and the piles that amass on the roof and patio.

Today's plan involves blowing as much off this area as I can, then scooping it up in yard bags before it rains and turns into carpet!  The good news is that the trees look like they are done dropping it.

I'll take all the good news I can get.  This week, I have decided that its time to say goodbye to the Baja, for real.  Bubbie got the windows rolled down on Sunday, then the engine died.  We thought it was related to the battery, but charging it overnight did not solve the problem.  After 20 years, I think we are done pouring money into it.  Once it is gone, that's the last of the big items that Mark left for me to deal with.  The rest of the things are not as immediately important. (stereo system, for example)

the breakroom at work on a pretty day

I was on call this week and had to work 5 hours of an overnight shift which kind of ruined a day for me.  I ended up sleeping odd hours and too many of them, feeling like I was fighting off some kind of illness.  Yes, the extra money will be nice, and I will replace the kitchen garbage disposal to celebrate.  Little wins, I guess.

I have had a serious sweet tooth lately and had everything to make cookies.  I don't think I have ever made Snickerdoodles*, but they came together so fast and were really good.  A bunch of them got eaten straight out of the oven until I restrained myself and packaged them up for work lunches.  Something to look forward to!

Happy Easter weekend,

Gina

Easy recipe for Snickerdoodles:  Cream 1 softened stick of butter with 3/4 c. sugar.  Stir in an egg and mix well.  Add 1 t. baking powder, 1/2 t. salt, and a few dashes of cinnamon.  Stir in 1 1/2 c. flour, about half a cup at a time.  Let dough sit for a few minutes.  Roll into 1 teaspoon sized balls, then in cinnamon sugar. Flatten slightly. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.  Eat them.

5 thing Friday - yardwork, cactus, music, new shoes, cooking

 I spent a fair amount of time out in my yards this week, pulling weeds and raking and bagging leaves and debris.  An hour or two at a time.  I'm going to wait for the grass in the back to seed itself before I mow.  Then I might scatter more grass seed and call it done.  I'm going to do my yearly deck maintenance, too.

Meanwhile, the front yard was so packed with leaves and crap that I gave it a gentle rake through, then mowed with the bag on to collect as much debris as I could.  For years I thought "what pretty yards we have" - they looked so great.  I look at other neighbors' green yards and think, what is their secret?  Literally all they do is mow and edge.  I think a hands off approach is where I'm headed - I am pretty much done worrying about it.

My Highlands barrel cactus died, so I replaced it.  I might have to find another place for this to live, though.  The rocks in it are not deterring the squirrels.  I like to sit out here in the mornings and sip my coffee.  My little place of peace.

I did figure out how to get the CD player to work, now I need to go through the CD's.  There are some crazy ones in there - a lot that were purchased for the kids (Tarzan soundtrack, horror sounds for Halloween) and some that are ambient music (ocean waves), along with a lot of jazz.  It looks like I have right at 200 discs, but I will whittle that down.

I was shopping for new work shoes and thought, why not check Ebay?  I found these brand new Alegria (my favorite work shoe!) in the box, in just the right style and size.  They normally sell for $130 and I got them for $46 with shipping. Alegria has saved my feet at work.  They have a rocker bottom which reduces foot and leg fatigue.  I haven't had plantar fasciatis since wearing them.  As my mother would say, these are "jazzy".

I'm trying to reframe the whole issue of cooking in my mind.  Instead of seeing it as a chore, I am trying to see it as an expression of love and care for myself.  Though I can easily go down the path of resentment that I have always been the one responsible for meals, and there is no one here to pamper me with cooking, I also see that I have the choice of eating exactly what I want.  I am only limited by what I feel like eating and what I have on hand.  Its a work in progress, for sure.

Gina

5 thing Friday - blue week, paint by number, cleaning closet, thrift shopping, bluebonnets, rain

 Not gonna lie, its been a poopy week.  I have felt very blue and I am doing my best to keep moving.  That's one way I know to keep it from spiraling. 

I did get a few things done here and there (groceries, laundry, raking leaves, starting a new craft, thrift shopping, pedicure, lunch out), and today I have some things to do.  But man, the grey skies do a number on me.  

A small project that morphed into a bigger project was taking all of the vinyl albums out of this space, purging them, then moving them to another place I can actually use them.  I really love the metamorphosis this closet has gone through.  From being a catch-all place to store board games, vintage camera equipment, vinyl albums, coats, table leaves, and a vacuum to just being a plain old cleaning closet with a few unrelated things that are stored out of the way.

This week I spent $12 at Goodwill on a Lego knock off, wall wart for my charging cable in the sewing room, some ric rac, a book,

a belly basket, and some embroidery hoops.  I didn't really have to have these things, but it was a boredom buster activity.  I actually did hang out in the sewing room and work on a few small things including that paint by number canvas above. And lest you think me thrifty, let me also say that I ordered some things from Amazon to include a couple of switch plate covers, some new house shoes, and a self adhesive card holder for my phone.

Last summer I gathered a few bluebonnet seeds outside of the post office and tossed them in a spot near the sidewalk that never gets mowed.  I am happy to say they have sprouted!  I would love a bluebonnet patch out front.  I am making a mental note to stealthily harvest more seeds this year.

Spring sprung yesterday and we got an hours long drenching rain.  As you can see, I did not get the leaves in the front cleaned up before it rained, but there's always next week.  I actually have quite a few things to do in the yards - its just hard getting started.  This year I plan on simplifying the yard routine.  My thought is that the less I do to it besides water and mow it, the better it will do.

Gina