Routines

Well back to 2023. It has been two full weeks of company and rain.

Katherine visited from the 4th to the 10th and then Tonya from the 11th to the 16th. Both trips had plenty of hikes planned but the rain foiled those plans.

I did spend a lot of time on the beach with both and got a good dose of ocean waves to start the year.

After two weeks of vacation days I am back to work, saving up time again to go on a vacation in June. Also back to my usual routines…..

I had plenty of walking the first week, but not as much the second week because there was driving…. Santa Barbara, San Diego, Murrieta, Long Beach, Hollywood and Laguna. But lots of adventure, visiting and fun.

I am still on track to get my 100 miles this month and yesterday was great to get back to the walking. I was on my usual morning walk and realized it was Tuesday so walked to the farmers market for veggies and fresh eggs.

Also getting the laundry, vacuuming (soooo much sand in the house) and a solid two hours in my studio helped get all the routines back in line. Yes the work routine also as I had a be back to work but now with a new addiction of code words to fill in any slow times I might have.

Of course the sun has been out since everyone left and things are drying out. Our back yard that we use for just about everything from art studio to yoga section was just soaked and unused while company was in town, taking away many sitting and visiting options, but we need the rain, maybe not eight atmospheric rivers in a row.

Trick or Treaters

Halloween was a success. Even though we did nothing but buy candy and pull out my ghost bowl in preparation.

We ended up with 45 trick or treaters. Our neighbors in the cul-de-sac behind us were texting asking how many we were getting and to send more their way. It wasn’t really a competition, but being in the cul-de-sac they didn’t get quite as many. They were smart enough to put up decorations. I on the other hand just stood on the porch when I heard people telling them to come this way.

One thing I noticed while out there was they would walk right past all the houses with no decorations and go straight to the ones with lights and pumpkins. Our neighborhood is highly decorated (went looking for the “decoration blog” to link to – but alas it was an Instagram post – but here they are again) These started going up in September and the neighborhood has been completely decked out for well over a month.

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Giving out halloween candy is one of my favorite things. I have been known to write down all the costumes in the past but this time I just tic marked a piece of paper to keep track. Because I have worked 2nd shift for so long, with small forays into the Farmers Market and Healthcare that were first shift I am only able to give out candy when Halloween falls on a weekend. Then last year it was cancelled altogether, which I think lended itself to the neighborhood going over the top this year.

I still have left over candy. I didn’t buy it ahead of time like last year, instead picking up what was left at Target. In texts with the neighbor I have bagged up what is left (see pic) and am taking it to her so she can take it into the office. I would do the same if I was working in the office, but thankfully we are still working from home.

Pandemic Chicken Tenders

I would never have made these completely Whole30 chicken tenders if we were not in a pandemic lock down.

I have had a couple successful Instacart deliveries.  Last weeks sat “ordered” for five days before it was actually ‘shopped’ by someone.  I kept getting messages that things were not available and would this substitution work.  Most were things like onion salt instead of onion powder.  Or the “share” size potato chips instead of a regular bag (cause its more chips that we need around here).  I just clicked “yes to all” and found three things later I probably would have said no to.

One item was instead of buttermilk to make cornbread I got a tube of buttermilk biscuits.  The kind you pop the tube and bake,  those are still in the fridge.  The other was a box of cornbread mix because they were out of cornmeal, that one I actually said yes to but it was before I knew I wasn’t getting the buttermilk.  Third were two chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs.

I can’t really recall the last time I bought chicken breasts.  But maybe because today I was thinking of my God-son who has a birthday next week and I was writing him a card I made chicken tenders.  As-in-I-Deep-Fried-Them.

I have not made these things in easily 20 years, maybe 25.  I used to only make them for my nieces and Godson.  Granted back then I used wheat flour and corn oil.  These were made with Arrowroot flour, cayenne in the breading and fried in olive oil.  They were pretty darn good too.

That was just two breasts cut up.  Leftovers will not be as good, but it was fun and “something” to do.

Hodge Podge

Its been well over a week since I even thought about blogging.  And although life seems super busy, there hasn’t been much to report.

The date has been set for my step-dad’s memorial service.  This has been a year-long event.  He passed last Thanksgiving but there was a ton of stuff to deal with and sell his house and get through probate.  Now I am not taking credit for any of that work, my sister has taken the brunt of all of those tasks, physical and emotional.  My involvement was monetary and being a venting / sounding board.

But now a road trip next week up to Washington.  Eighteen hours in a van with my sister, nieces and great-niece.  Hilarity will ensue I am sure.  We have rented a house for the time we are there which will make life with the baby a bit easier.

Besides planning that trip which all I can say is it’s a good thing we have an unlimited text plan, school started this week.  So we are sliding back into the usual routine.  Lori has multiple classes a day on three days and a combo of classes and committee meetings on the others.  She is asleep when I get home which is now always after midnight, or 1:30am if I go to the gym.  I see her briefly in the morning while she is getting ready for work and I try to get breakfast made for her.  Back to the usual schedule of prepping food that she might want to eat when she gets home, except it is so late the likelihood is low.

We spent some time this last weekend working in the back yard again.  Weeding the back and putting down cardboard to put the gravel on.  I moved a bag of gravel on Monday, one on Tuesday and one today to fill in where we had been working.  The end of the gravel project (at least for the back) is near.