Monday This and That

Good Monday morning.  Another week begins.  Had an awesome dinner last night.  Hubby and I went to Olive Garden.  Been trying to get there for awhile now.  First he was sick, then I was, so rain or not, we headed out last night.  Had whole wheat linguini with marinara sauce, topped with grilled chicken.  Yummy.

Had a full day on Friday. I'd gotten up so early so I decided rather than just sit around and watching The Golden Girls until it was time to go that I would leave early. So I left home before 9 and got there when the 9 am exercise class was starting so I sat in on it and then sat in on the  the next one, too.  Not a good move on my part. My back has been doing so well that I haven't needed to wear my brace, but I still carried it with me just in case....and Friday was one of those 'just in case' days. Already have it on this morning. Had lunch at the center and then stayed on for the two jewelry classes. Well, they aren't really classes because there is no teacher, and we all basically do our own thing.  Once in awhile like on Friday a total newbie will sit in and we'll all reach out to help.

Made this on Friday. It's actually must shinier than this picture. The dark beads are sort of a blue gray crystal.

The woman who signs us in at WW attends on Fridays since she has that day off.  She came up to me and asked what had happened to me on Thursday.  I looked at her and said, "I'm not gonna like to you.  I was here eating filet mignon."  She started to laugh.

Saturday I went and did some food shopping.  No cooking this time. Just shopped for the food.  Will cook a few things on Tuesday.  Last time I tried to cook and shop on the same day I realized how tiring it was. 

This is a great book.  I cannot put it down.  That summer was one that cannot be forgotten.  From the Moon landing, to the Stonewall riots in NYC, to the Woodstock festival, they were tumultuous times indeed.  I was 22 years old at the time, and I remember standing in my front yard as a huge caravan of cars slowly drove by.  Found out they were heading to Woodstock so I was invited to go along with them. A time I will never forget.  Still brings goose bumps to my arms when I realize that I was a part of it.

From the book cover.

"Four siblings experience the drama, intrigue, and upheaval of a summer when everything changed, in New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand's first historical novel

Welcome to the most tumultuous summer of the twentieth century. It's 1969, and for the Levin family, the times they are a-changing. Every year the children have looked forward to spending the summer at their grandmother's historic home in downtown Nantucket. But like so much else in America, nothing is the same: Blair, the oldest sister, is marooned in Boston, pregnant with twins and unable to travel. Middle sister Kirby, caught up in the thrilling vortex of civil rights protests and determined to be independent, takes a summer job on Martha's Vineyard. Only-son Tiger is an infantry soldier, recently deployed to Vietnam. Thirteen-year-old Jessie suddenly feels like an only child, marooned in the house with her out-of-touch grandmother and her worried mother, each of them hiding a troubling secret. As the summer heats up, Ted Kennedy sinks a car in Chappaquiddick, man flies to the moon, and Jessie and her family experience their own dramatic upheavals along with the rest of the country.

In her first historical novel, rich with the details of an era that shaped both a nation and an island thirty miles out to sea, Elin Hilderbrand once again earns her title as queen of the summer novel."

I got it from the BOMC.  It will be available on Amazon on 6/18.

On a sad note, the white cat I saw was not my Scout.  I thought he looked slimmer and trimmer and didn't quite remember Scout as having a black circle around one eye, and I REALLY did think she was a female and pregnant, but I guess wishful thinking made me hope that this was her.   Well, I ran into my neighbors the other day, the ones who feed the kitties along with me.  Scout has indeed passed away.  They found her in our courtyard and got the super to let them in to bury her.  We don't know if she died giving birth or if there was something else wrong.  May my beautiful girl RIP.

 

Sunday Selections

The focus of this month's Awakening in a Box was Mother Moon.  I'd looked forward to this box, but must say I was disappointed.  This is another box I have unsubscribed from, and to be honest, I don't think I will re-subscribe.  With postage now it is $19 a month and just not worth it to me.

 The unveiling.

Was shocked to see that this was all that was in the box.

A small cube of Selenite.  The name of this crystal comes from the Greek goddess, Selene. It is a stone of clarity which can dispel negative energy in people, objects, homes, and other crystals.  Needless to say, this is not one that I needed.  I have an awesome Selenite tower plus several other nice sized chunks of Selenite.  This one was so small it was impossible to get a decent picture without blurring it.

Pink Calcite.  This was a nice sized stone.  Helps to foster self-esteem as well as enhance compassion.  It is beneficial for anyone working through emotional trauma.
 

Full Moon essential oil .  Don't let this picture full you.  This bottle is half the size of my thumb.

 Moon Child patch.  Nice, but have no use for it.

Moonstone.  Have far too many of these already.

These boxes were much better.  Perhaps this one is a fluke, but I am not going to take that chance.  

Saturday Quote

Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.

Chief Seattle, 1854

Friday Roundup

As another week comes to an end, I am happy to say it has been a better one.  I suffered those past two weeks.  It was good to feel pretty much normal again...aside from the lingering cough from the post nasal drip.  But at least I am not hacking away from morning to night.

Monday was another rainy day.  Fortunately, the heavy stuff held out until I was safely at home.  In Wellness class we discussed exercise in the summer heat and the things we seniors have to look out for.  A very interesting class.  Food for Life was changed to Wednesday again.  But when Wednesday came around, it was moved back to Monday.   I do wish they could get it straight so I can plan out my week. Needless to say, this has been since the very beginning, and I am about ready to give up.

Tuesday was another washout.  Stayed in and worked on some jewelry.  But that didn't last long.  By 12:30 I was back in bed and slept until almost 4 pm.  Guess my body needed it. 

It's been a week of awesome lunches at the center.  It seems someone donated a lot of money for us to have some special meals during the month of June.

 This the month's menu.

On Tuesday they served shrimp tacos.  Since I don't eat shrimp I got a pork taco instead.  It was huge.  This is only the half I brought home.  It was served with yucca and salad.

OMG!!!  I can't say enough about this meal. Filet Mignon, mashed potatoes, asparagus, mandarin slices, and pistachio ice cream.  All for $1.50.

So I wanted to warn everyone who has FB messenger about a scam going around... 

A few days ago I received a PM from an old friend I haven't heard from in a long time telling me that she received a large sum from grant money that was allotted for seniors, disabled, etc. and that she saw my name on the list. She was wondering if I had collected mine yet.  If not, would I like the name of the agent and his number?

Okay so she texts me the number of some agent whose name I could not even find on  Google. Right there it told me something was up.  So I went to her FB page. She mentioned nothing on her page about her windfall. I would think if she had received this money she would have said something. Then I checked out her Messenger. Not one message on there. The fake person then kept contacting me and asking why I didn't believe her, that it was true.  So, I asked, "If you really are (no names) tell me the name of the Yahoo group we met on." No response. 

Here is a part of the text starting after she contacted me and asked me how me and the family were. 

The agent name is Agent Collymore Shaw Robertson Sr., text him to his phone number here.
(202) 810-2916.  

I think the agent is online now try to get in touch with him now so you can able to confirm if your name is still on the winning list so that you can also claim your winning money as well too like i did

Then, after I called it a scam I got this message.
No, what do you mean? Of course this is real and legit because I have already received my money already I won't have told you about this if I haven't received my money yet.  Have i ever told you anything like this before?

It ended when I asked her what the name of the Yahoo group was.


Had I fallen for it and texted or called that number back, I would of opened up my computer for a major scam. Beware. I think they are going through their friend's list and getting names. And, let me say this, IF IT SOUNDS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT'S NOT TRUE. And what bothers me the most is that they are targeting the most needy people, unemployed, disabled, and retired.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Thursday Odds and Ends

This was my school picture the year I began taking care of myself in the mornings.  Notice how straggly my hair was.  

Six of my great grandchildren.  This was taken a few years before Sadie was born.

This is Sadie.  Hard to believe she heading for a year old already.

My little mermaid statue.  She comes out of the China Closet every summer.

My sweet Miss Minga.  I miss her so much.

Mom's high school picture.

This was our house in Berkshire Valley, NJ.  I rented the upstairs apartment from mom and dad.

The famous Nathan's at Coney Island.

My daughter's wedding in Colorado. The marriage did not even last a year.

Me and my little friend from across the street.  She has passed on now.  She used to come out in her yard and wait with me while I waited for the bus.  We didn't speak the same language, but the friendship between was there.

Tuesday Ramble

Good Tuesday morning.  I am not liking this wet weather.  I was just starting to enjoy getting out in the sun, and the rain came again.  Heard this was going to be a wetter summer.  Don't know how true it is, but it sure looks like it so far.

So far this seems to be my best morning since the allergies hit.  A lot less coughing.  Hoping the allergy pills have finally taken hold.

Decided to switch things up this week. No soups and salads. In all honesty, it's getting too hot for soup. While it's true that homemade soup and salad are healthy to eat and low on points, when you eat the same thing over and over again your metabolism slows. Switching things up speeds it up. So today I made some balsamic roasted broccoli and some roasted curried cauliflower. Will have that with some grilled chicken. Later in the week I hope to make some cumin scented peas and minted carrots. Also adding some refried beans to the menu. The fat free beans are zero points.

Veggies were simple to make and called for few ingredients.

One head of cauliflower sprinkled with olive oil, curry powder, and cumin.  Toss and roast in the oven.

Broccoli, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.  Toss and roast in the oven. 

Both came out so yummy.

So Food for Life is now on Wednesday afternoons.  They changed it again.  What else is new?  I went yesterday all prepared to spend the entire day. On a plus side, coming home earlier than expected helped me beat the heavier rainfall, but  this constant changing of days is not fair to those of us who really enjoy that class.   But, on the plus side, I did beat the worst of the rain home.  No sooner did I take my sweater off than the skies opened up.

Have a good one.

Monday This and That

Good Monday morning.  Feeling much more alive now.  Only an occasional tickle, but still wake with a sore throat from the post nasal drip.  Grrr!!!  At least it doesn't last.  Goes away with my morning tea.

It felt so good getting back to the center.  I really missed.  Hanging around the house with nothing to do depresses me.  Oh, I've plenty to do here, yes, but when you're not feeling well, you just sit around and look at it.   So, since I felt a little better, I started to declutter this weekend.  My living room really needs it.  

Beautiful sky on Friday.  Not so beautiful this morning.  Gray and wet.

Made this in jewelry class on Friday.  Still have to trim the wire on it.

Oh, more news. Discovered Scout, the stray I feed,  is a boy.  Yup.  And all this while I thought he was a girl.  Even thought he might be having kittens.  Guess that's just the good food he gets from me and my neighbor.  Why, I even bought them Pounce so they could have a treat.

So I have been feeding Scout and Mr. Gray for awhile now.  When Scout disappeared, Mr. Gray hung around and ate like a champ.  Breakfast and evening snack from me and lunch from my neighbor.  He knew where he had it made.  But I looked out the window yesterday and discovered Scout and Mr. Gray in a rather compromising act.  So now Mr. Gray is Ms. Gray.

So today I am off to the center.  Don't think they will be having Wellness class, but at least it gives me a chance to socialize....and later in the afternoon will be the cooking class.  Always fun.