First and Foremost Friday

[Harriet]

Good title.
Like Nancy, I just can check in
emails flying betw dd34 and me

planning big weekend
ordered cake ( A C and N)
Walmart for curtains ( ) party paper goods, groceries,

laundry going here and there poof

[Twins' Mom]

Progress - I think salmon is done. Ended up poaching for twice the recommended time, but this may have been thicker than the recipe indicated. Eggplant is is oven for baba ganoush appetizer, I think it will be done well before the challah needs the oven. Once eggplant is roasted, it just has too cool and be scooped out and blended with tahini and seasonings.

I am going to start with setting the table while the eggplant roasts. I will need another trip to grocery for lemons - underestimated what was needed, may be other items I think of as the afternoon wears on, so want to wait as late as possible.

I have music going - perhaps helping my mood.

[Harmony]

Sunny, I didn't think our cousin would ever have kids.

I'm sorry Mr. Dee had a fall, but glad he's not hurt worse.

I'm doing a very small conga today. It was not a great week around here again.

I went to the bank. One LOL is hanging up and another is put away. Dingy shirt is pre-soaking in hot soapy water.

I shoveled up a pile of wet oak leaves in the driveway. I gathered up the smashed flat soda cans DH put down there amidst the mess and I rinsed them and put them in the recycle. We save them for the building program at church, someone collects them and turns them in.

Reconciled bank account. Not much but I guess that's something.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Interesting bike ride.

I found it was hard (was really tired even before the half-way point. Then ds's derailer fell apart. He gathered up the bits and pieces and was able to reassemble. All I can think of is that he just had that fixed (for $60) when we had our bikes tuned up and 1) it fell apart, 2) dh's bike had a flat and 3) my bike wouldn't shift into the lowest gears and still makes another noise. So much for getting the bikes tuned up - we won't ever go back there or recommend them.

Ds was afraid to shift and was in his highest gear so had a rough finish to the ride there. That made it easier to go slowly!

He had breakfast, I had a fruit cup and a muffin and then we biked home. He shifted down a bit and nothing fell off his bike but my rear light fell off mine before making it out of the parking lot! So we gathered up those pieces and dh has put it on for me. There were two new noises so he's looking over my bike and realizes my rear brakes seem to always be on. He's trying to adjust those now and figure out why the bike light fell off (it is relatively new, just installed last fall.)

The bike paths are rough here so our bikes seem to literally be shaking apart. I'm going to make sure I always bike with my transit pass in case I break down while out. When ds broke down we were biking alongside the transitway so if he couldn't fix it he could walk to the next bus station and take the bus back (buses along the transit way have bike racks on the front.)

Ds picked up his key to the building so now can get in on his own. I went to the apartment estate sale and looked at the blinds but she wants $225 for each and they aren't quite the right size (all windows in the building are different sizes by about an inch due to layers of plaster, I don't have two exactly the same.) But at least I got to see what the transparent blinds looked like and how much view and light they block.

Dd called and we talked for ages. That's nice.

[lucylee]

Boy, I am completely useless today. Pouring down rain and I just stayed in bed and stayed in bed and stayed in bed.
Then I finally got up and ate, and dh asked me to type an e-mail for him. He had written out this half page in his closely spaced handwriting, telling a distant cousin about a Civil War ancestor and his death in fighting near here. Good gracious I wish dh would learn to type.

I am trying to establish some TINY habits, though, LM... do they say 21 days for EACH TINY habit? Ugh. I figure if I am EVER going to build any sort of routine, I should do like they say, and start really small... so I'm doing a five-step wake-up routine. This is all ALMOST automatic already, but not quite.
This is the plan:
Wake up
Straighten be
Weigh
5 Minute Exercise
Clothes

My next five steps will be
Breakfast
S/S baths
Bible reading
15 minutes something... I should start w/WHB tasks, shouldn't I? I think Flylady says don't worry about zones until WHB is done. Is that right?

Hmmmm... Maybe TWO 15 minute sessions before computer time? That would be a big help here. Any suggestions would be welcome!

The HUGE problem here is working around the men in my life and fitting into their schedules... not disturbing DH... watching DGS while DS runs... walking with DS... sometimes walking with DH. It would be a lot more efficient for me to hit the pavement and walk IMMEDIATELY upon awakening... but it is much more pleasant to walk with someone else, and I treasure the time w/ds... so it's a trade-off.

Sunny and Harmony -- so excited for your dcousin!

Continued thoughts and prayers for Mr. Dee.

(((Twins)))

Sounds like lots of excitement in Harriet's corner of the world.

Waving to Nancy... Kathryn... Elizabeth... FF... and everyone else I missed!

OH... and duh... I just saw where Friend's Band (LOL) is going to be playing again fairly close by next month. I sent ds & ddil a sorta heads up that Granddaddy was going to want to tag along if they went. I said, "Is this going to be one of those nights when nana & dgs have to stay at home so the "big kids" can have fun? Granddaddy sure does love this band..." Is that okay? To sorta warn them in advance that he might want to go? I mean gee... they can have time ALONE doing something that is not HIS favorite thing to do, can't they? smh... I hope I haven't started a fight a their house...

[DeeClutter]

I was reconciling dh's bank account too, Harmony. Kept coming up with 'off' figures. Finally realized I hadn't put in an automatic withdrawal for our health insurance. As a matter of fact, think it's due to come out again in 2 days. May as well go ahead and write it in. I was still off a few cents and just decided to put in 'their' figure. It's in there somewhere and I'm too tired to figure it out.

[Twins' Mom]

Progress...I've done the major cooking except for the squash casserole. I've made the dill sauce, but otherwise done none of the smaller tasks. I've cleaned the kitchen back up from that round.

Items to cook that require more prep:
-salmon
-challah
-baba ganoush appetizer
-squash casserole

Less prep:
tomato caprese stacks
cut up water melon for dessert
couscous, which Israeli guests will supervise
dill sauce for salmon

I still have quite a bit of time. I am going to give myself 45 min of down time, then run to grocery and then s2s, and start the rest of the prep.

[Emptynester]

Back from dermatoligist. Possible melanoma removed from ear and possble basel cell removed from eyelid. Now my whole head hurts. But it had to be done.


Skipped grocery shopping on the way home - I'll go tomorrow.

Nap time.

[Harmony]

I literally held my breath as I was reconciling the account. I knew if it wasn't right I might not figure it out - that account is complicated. I was lucky, it was right the first time.

Our bikes won't hold air in the tires. It's annoying.

Copied off some email stuff, important info from church committee. Also a couple emails about DH's license. Very confusing, 1st one said to submit fee; 2nd one said thanks for online payment. Sheesh.

I looked up gluten information. Our small group is having a pot luck and our hostess has just been put on a no gluten diet.

Lucylee. We are so alike. DH can't type either and asks me to type his stuff except for things that are very short. I've offered to teach him (I taught myself originally a long time ago) but he says he doesn't have time. I think he's afraid if he knows how to do it I'll quit helping him. I learned on a manual royal typewriter. How much easier it would be these days!

I'm fighting a nap.
Chicken and sweet potatoes are in oven for dinner.

[BookSaver]

Hello, villagers ~
I never made it to a park yesterday, but did get to spend a little time in a book store, which was almost as good. I had a good coupon and was lucky enough to find a word puzzle book that looks fun, and a light mystery to give to DMom.

Normal 3Ds stuff today. Then updated the library group's fb page and took a deposit for the group to the bank.

This evening I will be volunteering for the library at their end-of-summer-reading-program party. I'm not sure what activities they have planned, but the party starts at 7 and they will give away the grand prizes at 8. Participants have been earning prize entry tickets since the end of May, so it's a big deal. Caught a typo there -- I had first typed parti-pants -- sort of appropriate, eh? I'm still hoping to win the pizza = a free pizza each month for a year. (I originally thought it was every week, but once a month is still a nice prize.)

We will be outside the whole time, so I am taking bug spray. I'm going to put my hair in a low ponytail so I can wear a straw hat. It will look goofy, but hopefully will prevent a burnt face.

I've been really enjoying the Weird Al videos this week.

Chef salads for tonight, so must wash lettuce and start chopping veg.

(((Emptynester)))
Sadie ~ for DS's delayed procedure.
Twins'Mom ~ Your menu sounds delicious.