Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Change

Some changes are excellent.
Meet Charlie (orange) and Kelly!

They live with my brother and his sweet family.

They love cuddling!













The love these kitties are getting is warming my heart!
Officially they are fosters, but I dearly hope they STAY FOREVER!
Welcome to the family, Kelly & Charlie!



Other change is not as fun.

I won't be leading the 1:1 Team any longer
at the church we'd been attending.
Because I have a unique bouquet of skills, we will
 find another church where I will be able to put them to use.

Greg and I went to the facility to gather all the toys and equipment
(most of which were my personal property),
and it was sad.  I will miss the wonderful people 
I volunteered with and of course I will miss the kids and their
sweet families!  Thanks for sharing life with me the last seven years.




To encourage me and bring me joy, my friend Tanya
brought me beautiful flowers, a great card, and some candy!


"Lipstick speaks louder than words"


Look at these!!!






Sweet Cindy dropped off this card and
precious little dish!  Look at the wonderful cheerful springy colors!

"Success consists of getting up once oftener than you fall down".


Once we brought the toys home,
I needed to reorganize my office so that it looked neat and tidy. 



It gets worse before it gets better!



But I got there in the end!
Until the toys are in use somewhere else, I can be a lending library.
It sure looks like an early intervention play-based speech-language pathologist's office!


xo

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Natural Beauty And Food!




Spring has sprung, and by that I mean it's HOT.
Today it was 101, I think.

The heat does not stop these beauties from blooming up a storm!
They are actually our neighbor's bougainvilleas, but
they abundantly and joyously share themselves with us.
In fact, they are in the perfect spot so I can see them
out our master bathroom window while I'm getting ready in the morning.



Here's another view from our backyard.
I like the interesting clouds
and the palm trees.
It's quite green in our neighborhood in spite of being a desert
locale.  One pleasant truth about living in an established
community is that the plants and trees are mature!







These are our own Chinese Elm Trees in the backyard.
Our backyard isn't huge, but these trees (and our fountain)
 make it feel like an oasis. 




Chinese Elm Trees have this neat flaky bark.
It's beautiful.




My Dad left this little avocado tree with me
and it hasn't died yet!  



In fact, it's getting happier!



We also have little spiky friends.



Before I ran out of gluten-free flour and couldn't find any more,
I made the most delicious vegan gluten-free cinnamon raisin bread!



Here's how it looked before baking . . . 



And here it is in all its glory after baking!







I also made some veggie stew . . . 


And twice-baked smashed potatoes.



All these photos are making me hungry.







It was a delectable meal!





Mac & cheese hasn't been easy to find,
so when I found some boxes of Annie's mac & cheese,
 I bought them for Greg.

They were little peace signs
(we could all use more PEACE these days!)



We laughed at the box.
It says, "Push tail to open".
Ha!




I also made a fabulous new "cheese" spread.




The first batch I made was better than my favorite vegan "cheese"
spread I bought at the specialty grocery store that was quite a splurge.



This stuff was cheaper and better!



Although I admit that I made it again the day before yesterday and I
didn't do as well.  It's good, but not mouth-watering like the first batch.
I'll have to figure out what I did the first time and do it again!


The cats are still enjoying our staying-at-home.











Seeing this photo reminds me that I should update you . . . 
I've been mostly out of the boot for about a week,
and I'm doing okay.  I'm trying to increase my level of activity slowly.
My ankles feel about the same as they did before the boot.
I see the orthopedist again tomorrow.





























Greg has not been able to play Foosball with his Foosball friends,
but he's trying to keep his skills up!


We are doing fine in all this COVID19 weirdness.
My sweet friend Hannah made
us these beautiful blue face masks and dropped them off.



Claude approves!
Though she left her long hairs all over the face masks,
which greatly annoyed our noses when we wore them.


They work great!






Though they didn't help us actually get any of the stuff
on the list.  Good thing I have a full pantry from a habit
of stocking up!



Sprout's has their bulk items in bags - smart.



My Dad has gotten into sewing and he made me this cute kitty
cover for ice packs.  It's helpful, since I have two injured ankles!
And it's SWEET and makes me smile.


That's all for today!
I hope you are HEALTHY and CONTENT even in 
concerning and uncertain circumstances.