Five on Friday: June 2, 2017

After all the rain, we have had two days of sun! It's amazing!  I think I could get used to this and then of course, I'll complain that it's too hot. Familiar?

1. This quote is just lovely but I'm afraid it is so so me. Books weren't meant to sit on shelves so I can stare at all those lovely spines and gloat over my possessing them.  said by Kate at Miss Mustard Seed

2. Iced coffee is back in my life and I'm afraid it could become dangerous. It's so terribly easy to drink. I make it with decaf coffee, French Press style, and chilled overnight. Sweetened with stevia, and made milky with whole milk. Easy to make and oh baby easy to drink. The gray cup is for tea and the brown one is for...coffee! That was the last of the hot coffee.

3.  There are some books that I  dole out to myself. The Louise  Penny ones fit into that category.  When I get one I do read it in about two days. I don't gobble it but I read it kind of straight through. Fortunately, I'm only up to the 5th book I think. The latest one of the Inspector Gamache mysteries I read was The Brutal Telling. Loved loved it. I always wondered how easy it was to fall in love with Gamache in these stories. Well this week I  read that Penny has based him on her husband who sadly and recently died.  Yes, the love comes through. While this is the one I just read, I seriously suggest you start at the beginning of the series and get to know the cast of characters who will become people you'll know well. Not all will be friends...

4. Today I am painting outside. No not Art but rather the back panels that are holding new lights outside our back door. I never liked the ones we put there when we renovated in...2004. However, there they were and so I just ignored them. However, eventually they started to look ratty so when I saw ones that had non-replaceable LED lights at Costco, in my cart they went. Photos next week.

5. There needs to be a grocery run today also. I'm not clear why he buys what he does when he goes for groceries himself but at least that does make my list a little shorter. Meaning I buy what he uses but it doesn't always seem to be reciprocated.  Ah marriage..

Have a great weekend and be sure to do something fun for yourself!

Five on Friday: April 28, 2017

Well it's been quite a while since I did a fiver. But right now I've had a good couple of weeks and am totally grateful for that. I can look beyond the utter clutter that fills my upstairs as I keep trying to sort out the fallout from adding another double bed. In time, in time...

1. The rain has finally ended! I think the rain doesn't bother me but as we've had the a/c on already this spring, to have chilly rainy days is upsetting. I had to turn the heat on once in a while during the day and my computer gloves have been used. I'm going to keep them on the desk...just in case.

2. All that overcast rain did lead to great great sleeping weather. Sadly I realize I can't sleep beyond 06:30 much anymore. Plus if I sleep in the studio bed I have the computer set to come on at that time. Actually, it's a good time to get up!

3. In Googling my old 1976 Leeds United-W.B. Albion 'programme' on eBay, I found a program from the 1974 Liverpool-Leeds game. The game that Steve Heighway scored the winning goal and the game where I won the pool. It is also where I got my Liverpool scarf that god willing my grandson still has. My programme wasn't listed and the other comparable ones were selling for $1. That Liverpool-Leeds one was going for £16. I guess I'll keep mine and let my descendants sort it out.

4. One serious downside to that week of rain was that the beautiful cherry blossoms got so soaked. It's often what happens. Gorgeous days of blossoms and then Bam! the rains come and it's a soggy mess. I did sweep away loads of them yesterday which is not easy once they're wet and clumpy. Another year, another mess. 

5. Today I'm finally taking myself up to Costco. It's a 20mile drive and I didn't need a lot so I've procrastinated on it. I can also get gas i.e. diesel fuel on my way at a station that has a diesel pump at EVERY island! I love love love that whereas so many stations only have 1 diesel pump and it's a nightmare navigating to snag that pump AND have the correct side of the car next to the pump. Now I just have to make sure to have a list so my round trip isn't wasted.

Have a great weekend and see you on Monday! Ciao!

Five on Friday: January 20 2017

1. Well for starters I am not in Washington and will do whatever I can to avoid any mention of the inaguration of that person. God help the United States of America and her people.

2. Somehow, like all things on the internet, there seems to be a way you can easily go off down a rabbit hole and be somewhere you never intended to be. I ended up on this site and found the makeup demo pretty darn good. Now she is more than 20 years younger than I am and has a face with terrific bones but still...I found it worth watching.

3. When my 1st husband and I divorced, I chose to have a percentage of his pension rather than alimony. I knew I could work and support myself but US Senate salaries did not pay me enough to pay my mortgage and contribute to my own pension. Today, the difference between my $13 drop in SocSec (Medicare increase) and the $6.77 increase in my portion of his pension is a loss of $6.23 a month. $74.76 a year. 

4. This is a weekend of some movie watching I think. Lately, I watched  Freeheld and Burnt. Both good in different ways. I really loved the shots of London in Burnt!

   

5. Books? I just finished Masie Dobbs (book 1) and The Tulip Eaters. The first was a mystery set in post WWI London. The second was a more or less current day historical fiction/mystery set in the 1980s Houston and Amsterdam with a lot about the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in WWII.  I'm definitely going to try and track down some more of the Maisie Hobbs series.

and that's all for this Friday. Hope you have a great weekend, do something fun or just take a break from your day to day life. See you on Monday!

Five On Friday: January 13, 2017

1. My son is moving from the West Coast to the East and that means I ought to go visit him soon so I can eat at Zait and Zaatar in Anaheim. There is nothing quite like California food and even better is California Arab food. I saw this place on Instagram.

2. I'm back to doing a load of laundry a day. With just one person in the house I was back to about once in three days or so and that included sheets and towels from when there were two of us.  I've had my washer and dryer for over 15 years and they are still going strong. ASCO stackables.

3. Over the years I've done volunteer work at the local detention center. I stopped when I had my knee replaced but have signed on again. I went for a new orientation and badging Tuesday night and hope there is a job for me. It turns out that we in the county are good volunteers. There are more badged volunteers than inmates!

4. Doing the daily challenge at The Lilypad's MOC (Month of Challenges) has been a lot of fun. Plus you can receive a $20. gift certificate if you complete them all. This has been one of my favorites. It was to make an ATC (Artist Trading Card 2x3in). I haven't done ATCs for quite a while and did not enjoy them when I was doing them with paper and glue. I thought I would but it just didn't turn out that way. I am so much happier with digital!

5.I have a couple of things I wanted to get done before himself gets back from Florida. I found that my energy level was not as high as I had thought or hoped. Oh well, that's how it goes and eventually it all gets done...or really wasn't that important after all. So says I.

Have a great weekend and I hope to see you here again next week!

FIVE on Friday: January 6, 2017

1.Well the snow arrived! In our backyard, which doesn't get the sun til much later in the day if at all, the snow covers the deck and parts of the grass. Out front, it's just a sprinkling on the bushes. Usually, the snow doesn't stick to the brick driveway or walk until it's heavier. That's good because it makes walking easier.

2. I did a massive amount of grocery shopping yesterday when himself told me snow was predicted for today. I got to the store(s) round noon and they were well stocked and pretty empty. Actually by the time I got to Trader Jo's I think the word was out but it still wasn't bad. Now today and tomorrow, I'll think of things I wish I had bought. But I have to be up next to Costco next week so that may solve my 'time to get the big jugs of detergent and softener'. That's about a twice a year purchase for me.

3. Construction work stopped yesterday in our cellar. We had it waterproofed...god willing!...and the jackhammers half the day were a challenge. Fortunately, I was two floors up and put some meditation music on. There is still some final work to be done but not this week. I asked for a week off and that will also let the concrete set even more.

4. Today was another batch of steel cut oats. This time I made them with water and I don't think I like them that much that way. Normally, it's pure milk but next time I'll go with half water and half milk. What do you use?

5. Since we got DirectTV about two years ago, I have enjoyed recording various movies to watch later. Last March...yes, what can I say???...I recorded San Andreas.  I had been sooo anxious to watch it but once I had it, it never seemed the right time. kwim?  well I watched it last night with a good mug of decaf mocha. Slept like a baby but then I don't live on the left coast, do I!

Have a great weekend, snow or summer depending on your base. See you back here Monday!

Five on Friday: Giving It a Go Again

1. Happily out of the hospital, and with a collection of drugs I appear t be making my way back to health.  I can spend my days out of bed and feel ok. I can do a few things without feeling exhausted. I am no longer plagued by the deep cough with it's rainbow of mucus.  So far so good.

One thing I'm not so sure about is the massive dose of prednisone which does give me energy but I am in no way sleepy at night and ended up taking a double sleeping pill last night around 1am. Tomorrow I'll try to take the prednisone around 7am if I'm up.

2. December 30 - we had a brief, very brief snow flutter. Fortunately we were both downstairs and saw it because sometimes these flutters are so short that by the time he calls me or vice versa, it's gone! I do want to go to the store today but I also hope this 2 min flutter is not going to cause a run on food.

3. I have four movies on my PlayOn  app that I had planned to download before the England trip. No did happen. So now I have four movies to watch before the end of the year. Somehow I'm thinking that they are the final free ones and the choice now is to sign up for ...what $39.95 or more? Sure not happening as I also have Amazon Prime and Netflix and that's enough. I also am not sure I want to take the time to really explore PlayOn. If you have please tell me what you found!

4. I have had a terrible time getting photos from my phone to my iMac since returning to the US. I went through the instructions on each device and no luck. I even had a message that SHOULD have been a red flag on my phone saying I had 13 images for upload when connected to WiFi. Connect to WiFi? That's the first thing I did when I got home the night of December 21st!!!  Who knows what happened, how or why, but sure enough I checked - not connected to WiFi!  Now the process seems to be working and I can start of my 2017 folders.

5. Other things I can do revolve around this image... If you know Persnickety, you know what it is. However, this is the biggest order I've ever placed  - 278 12" layouts. I have some work ahead in the new year filing them all away. I suspect I also need another box or two of plastic protectors and I mean the boxes of 60 protectors. But oh when it's done, it's such a treat to look through the year and review our life. Makes the process worth it every time!

And that is it for me for 2016....I will see you back her in the new year hopefully with renewed energy to write more.

Five on Friday: October 21, 2016

This week the five are 5 books I've recently read. Until I saw them together, I hadn't realized how much they seem to be in the same color family. I'm so done with summer maybe this is my need for a real autumn. Now.

Have you read anything interesting lately? My short reviews for all of these can be found on Goodreads. Have a great weekend!

Five on Friday: October 14, 2016

1. I haven't done a Friday post for a while and I felt it might just be time to do so. If I write now, I can have a pumpkin latte at the finish. I make my own and often just make a decaf coffee in our faux Keurig. I like this machine because you can use pods or a filter basket that looks like a mini of the normal coffee filter holder. No trying to get the grounds into the little lidded baskets sold for the real Keurigs. That process tends to lead to spilled grounds, kwim? So if your Keurig breaks, look for this handy dandy little machine Hamilton Beach FlexBrew

2.  We are supposed to be well into fall now but with all the rain we've had even before Hurricane Matthew, the leaves do not appear to be interested in putting on their autumn outfits. I am dressed appropriately in tans, orange and greens but the trees? Only a smattering of those early adopters who go yellow.  It may be time to just look at autumn on line. Google Watercolor Pumpkins or check on Pinterest and you'll find the prettiest pumpkins around. Or look at some of my favorite ones from Katie Pertiet - Watery Pumpkins.

3.  I saw some of an online discussion about someone hating a boss. It always amazes me that some people just cannot get along with a boss. I do know about unreasonable bosses but when you need an income, you learn to stick it out. If you have marketable skills, you look at your options before leaving in a huff and burn another bridge.  Sometimes, I think there are just some people that are unable to learn life's 'job lessons' and end up spending their life always unhappy at work...if they can still find work. It's sad because most of us do have to work most of our life and those are a lot of hours to be miserable.

4.  Yesterday, I managed to do something I've always hoped I wouldn't do. Take someone else's iPhone by mistake. I was at a friend's and she asked me to help her fold some king size sheets before I left and one of us put her phone down.  Automatically I picked it up, stuck it in my purse, and drove home.

I had just had a JSJ session which does leave one rather out of it in my defense. At home I decided I would take a nap and enjoy the blissful feeling but thought I should call for my mammogram appointment first. I reached in my purse, got a phone and went to may desk to check the appointment sheet. I noticed the phone felt strange, then also noticed I had texts from people I didn't know but the names seemed slightly familiar. Finally really looking at the phone I saw it had a solid black case while mine has a display of vegetables.

A true comedy of errors took place over a few hours...remember you can't call your friend to tell her you have her phone ...because you have her phone! plus if there's no working land line...well...it all resolved but what an afternoon!

5. Now if you're in the mood and feel like making another thing for these fall holidays, here are the instructions for Paper Book Pumpkins!

Now it's time for my PSL! so have one yourself and have a great weekend!

Five on Friday: August 26, 2016

1. Getting ready to say goodbye to August. It's not my favorite month because of the heat and humidity but there are a bunch of good birthdays. My friend Anna was August 11, my Nana was August 13,  my son is August 26 and he shares that date with my granddaughter, his niece. Maybe all the candles (if they were all alive) is causing the heat!

2. When my fisherman came back from Alaska he stopped at the Midway (Chicago) airport and bought snacks for me. I'd heard of this place and thought of going on one of our Chicago trips but it was a cold, cold time and a bit to far from our hotel.  Yes, it's all gone.  A combo of cheese popcorn and candied. Very very good combo.

3. I am waiting for my molar crown to be replaced and with the temporary, I'm being very careful about chewing on that side so most of those candied kernels just got a bit of savoring before they hit the trashcan.

4. A friend of mine had yellow polish on her toes last week. That was what I wanted not this. I'll have to ask her what color it was not that I plan to have yellow again. Oh well...in the scheme of life it's not critical is it?

5. I have been waiting for it to get cooler for some semi-local trips. Alas, it seems that our 90°+ weather is lingering longer than I'd like. I had postponed a trip I'd hoped to make today til next week praying for cooler, but at least there should be less traffic. Take blessings as they come!

Have a great weekend and I'll see you back here on Monday!

Five on Friday: August 12, 2016

Well August is moving on and if I can just get through the rest of the month, I'll be ok. I think.

found here

1. I found the above sentiment almost frightening though I do understand what the author meant. Now if it said, eternal autumn, I'd do my damnedest to always be grateful!

2. The kitchen has barely been disturbed lately. It's amazing how long one can live on iced tea and iced coffee. Fortunately, the grocery stores have wonderful prepared foods and salad makings. I've even made it to Whole Foods considering it was only me eating here last week. I'm splurging.

3. Another on line find for me this week. The person suggesting this used it to pin a monthly calendar on the wall near her computer. Clever her and clever those Scotch 3M people.

4. Another chore for me that I wish I had done earlier when the cellar wasn't damp and maybe full of potential mold from all the rain - empty the freezer for the fish I hope he catches in Alaska. We ended up needing two chest freezers when he was catching lots of halibut and salmon and we were going to Hatch NM every other year or so for chiles. At least the chiles can be bought here now. All this presumes I don't put many tomatoes in the freezer.  Canning certainly works but damn it's  hot in August! And if no salmon, I may just empty the one freezer til we need the 2nd one again. It's a thought.

5. My trunk is full of things for donation but you know what? I can barely see the difference in the house. How is that possible? There is so much more that could/should/will go. I hope I live long enough to finish this clean out!

Have a good weekend, stay cool or stay warm if you're on the south side of the planet and make sure to do something fun! CYA on Monday!

Five on Friday: June 15, 2016

I haven't been here on Friday lately with things going on. Of course, for the life of me I can't think of what all those were but obviously things got in my way. A weekend retreat was one of the good things which is always a nice way to get the batteries recharged. But for today.

1. I just started the HBO series "The Tunnel". Good and creepy but sadly too close to the horrendous terrorism of our daily lives.

I really do like the one image at the opening credits of the train going into the tunnel in the midst of bucolic fields. I'd love to capture that or find it on line.

2. Watermelon! It's that time and we've had one really delicious one despite its really tough skin. Hard to cut but sweet to eat! Better than the reverse.

3. Speaking of watermelon, that's now my screen saver. There are a couple other summery ones at this website and best of all - they're FREE. Thank you ModCloth

click here

4.  I've recently been reading J.K. Rowling's thrillers, written under a pseudonym. As Robert Galbraith, she had done the Cormoran Strike series. I've only read two and like them a lot! Here's the one I just finished, #2 in the series, and there are currently four. Yay!

5. The heat has finally arrived in Annapolis. We've had rain now and then in the form of summer thunderstorms, often with real downpours. Yesterday, however, the temps reached 97° and it was one of those days when the heat was a shock when I opened the door. No, I wasn't outside yesterday but happily stayed indoors. Thank you whoever invented air conditioning!

So if it's summer for you, stay cool, and if it's winter stay warm! We'll all switch soon enough!

Have a great weekend and do something fun for yourself!

Five on Friday: June 17, 2016

An interesting week....

1. So you know when you put books on hold at the library? well it does seem to be feast or famine. I'm now in one of those feast times with five new books, another one to pick up and...a bag of used books from one of the local sales. Fortunately, I think five of the sale books were free cookbooks so I may just read these, enjoy them for a bit and then pass them on to the next sale. I did pay $2. for the Martha Stewart Cookbook. I have a few of her original one subject ones and they were quite good. This one eems to be a modern version of the Fannie Farmer kind of book. It was in very good condition and clean so we'll see.

2. Most of this week, I have been kind of linked to the computer waiting for intermittent calls or emails from Apple regarding my backup problems. Since they often want me to do something with my computer, I've been home a lot. In this 'in house' time I did get to a few projects round here including finishing the Paris album for my granddaughter. Now just to wait for the mail and actually SEE it!

3. There was also time to start watching some of the movies I put in my on demand queue. Now that many of the series I've been watching are on a break, it's movie time for me. I started with one that I wasn't sure about, The Railway Man, but it turned out to be not as depressing as I thought it might be.  You can't go wrong with Colin Firth. It also hit me a while after watching this that I had actually visited this railway with my mother while living in Thailand. Somehow I missed what the British has suffered after the fall of Singapore, even though I had lived in England for seven years! The self-centered obliviousnees of being  young.  

                                            

4. Happily, there was time to have breakfast with a friend downtown and in addition to our breakfasts we shared a berry PopTart. I could never stand the bought ones but this one was a bit of a nice treat especially for her who had them growing up. This one was freshly made though with sprinkles AND a good dollop of whipped cream. It was a celebration breakfast for my friend as she had 3 big events in her life including getting her B.A.   I know how that feels when you are an adult student working full time and trying to be the perfect student too. 

5. Sadly, it was quite a disappointment to find that the DC store I had hoped to visit this week to donate art supplies was closed, having lost their lease as the rent was too high for a non-profit group. In addition,  my other donation site was also not taking things right now. If the weather gets sunny, I hope I can work with my final location. Otherwise, I'll have to resort to Freecycle and go through the time-consuming matching up with a taker. Sigh.

Well no matter what, I hope you have a great weekend, and if you're celebrating Fathers' Day, give the father in your life some love.  See you Monday!

Five on Friday: June 8, 2016

1. The author calls this CE - Cookie Excitement.

click to see more

2. Back to walking and fortunately it's a lot cooler in the am. Cool enough to wear a long sleeved shirt. What a blessing.

3. Went out to dinner this week with some friends for Peruvian Chicken. I've had it with fries before but one person got the fresh yucca and boy will that be my choice in the future! As he said, only if it's freshly fried.

4.This girl...Shutterbean...makes some darn good food. Even if they didn't taste so good, so healthy, so California, she seduces you with photos like this. Have some summer recipes.  You'll be glad you tried them!

5. When I said it's been cooler - imagine San Diego weather - it's also led to making sun tea outside, but also drinking hot coffee for mid morning drinks. I'm also finding the coffee just fine with coconut milk. Only 48 calories for a cup of that milk!

Well, that's all she wrote, so go and have a great weekend! See you here Monday. 

Five on Friday: June 3, 2016

Last week we were in Arizona, so I'll share a few tidbits with you.

1.A non-stop flight to Phoenix is less than 5 hours from here. Had we had time, it would have been a 5 hour drive from there to more family in CA.  Just not this time.

2.  Dick got to play with the choo choo trains with two grandchildren. I think a little 3 year old girl fell for her Grandpa! He definitely fell for her! What a beauty.

3. For three of our days we were on a spiritual retreat.  Father Tom suggested a siesta when we weren't in session. I listened to him and had several good naps! I 'could' do that at home but of course I don't. That's what vacations are for!

4. We only managed to have one good meal in that week. A stop at a different branch of Los Dos Molinas than our usual. This dessert was one of those 1doz egg flans! It was solid and creamy and omg good.

5. Finally, on one day I managed to get egg yolk on my white shirt. It washed out fortunately and the AZ sun bleached it just fine. That afternoon, my favorite rough silk slacks gave up the ghost and shredded along the back seat.  The next day,  I managed to get stuck by cactus thorns twice! Once was my own fault but the 2nd was not.


So that's my AZ saga and it's good to be home and safe in MD. Have a great weekend and see you on Monday!

Five on Friday: May 13, 2016

So I'm back after neglecting these Friday posts for a while.I didn't think the weather bothered me but in hindsight I see it has. Maybe I need a sun lamp.

1. Yes, it is Friday the 13th. Not much one can do about that but there isn't a full moon at least with it!

2. How many days has it been raining? well all of May and a good bit of April. One thing that is 'benefiting' from the rain is the bamboo. Ugh. I have been stepping on new shoots every day and then by afternoon there are more. As my husband says, you can just about watch them grow.

3. While he's been away, I have done virtually no cooking but I did get myself some meals from Trader Joe's.  Two Indian paneer dishes and one bowl of mixed stir fry veggies. I had half of those veggies last night with quinoa and peanut sauce. The sauce was an old one that was from Target and it needs a lot of oomph. It was one of those things that I thought might be good but meh.

4. My long ongoing album of our 2012 River Cruise is truly truly in the final stretch. I only have Budapest to do and I think that will be four pages. I did get all, well almost all, the earlier pages printed and in an album. I don't know how I manage to miss uploading some but it happens more than I'd like. I think later this year I'll upload the lot to a couple places and print an 8" book somewhere. In any case having the majority done and ready to look at will be a nice surprise for him.

5. As depressing as the constant grey and drizzle has been, he said that this Monday they had 9 tornadoes in OK incl an F3 and an F4 just 50 miles away. All in all I saw no reason to go with him on this trip and I think I made the right decision!

Have a great weekend people and I'll see you back on Monday.

Five on Friday: April 22, 2016

1. The pollen count has really been  high and everything outside is covered with a layer of chartreuse. Fortunately, I've pretty much gotten over pollen allergies as I've aged. I do need to wash off my eyelids a couple times a day though and I am limiting my time outside til it rains.

2. We all know these people  " a collector of injustices". Get them out of your life! Thy'll wear your soul down.

3. This boy is 77 today! A very Happy Birthday to my husband. As he says, he's still on the right side of the grass.  To many more happy and healthy days!

4. Today is also Earth Day. What have you done to be good to your Mother? I'm glad we are in that fortunate time when we don't need heat OR air-conditioning. It's good to shrink that carbon footprint.

5. I had a good report from my latest bloodwork and my doctor assured me that my fall onto my butt is probably just soft tissue bruising. Having that padding is a good thing!

Well wherever you are, spring or fall, have a great weekend and make sure to thank Mother Earth for the ground we walk upon and the air we breathe. She's the best Mama we could have!

Five on Friday: April 16, 2016

I thought of some things that were unique to my recent trip to NYC. Boy, it was a good trip.

1. I had my first ever 'chocolate phosphate. Interesting, but I think I prefer a fruit puree to my club soda (or yoghurt for a lassi).

2. While I didn't walk the HighLine as I'd planned, I did see and walk along the Hudson River Greenway. Another time, I'll take it all the way down to the Staten Island Ferry.

3. I had no idea that it would really be spring in NYC. Wow! the flowers were everywhere.

4. My first sight of a movie filming. I saw Benedict Cumberbatch right around the corner - literally - from where I was staying.

5. omg the dessert I found! A gluten free chocolate fudge cake. So so good. I'm going to check and see if Whole Foods carries them.

I hope you have a great weekend and time outdoors. I have an on-line digital class this weekend but I'll be sure to get outside in the mornings to feel the spring air! See you Monday!

Five on Friday: April 8, 2016

1. If you snooze, you lose. I did get up this morning before 7am and there was wonderful light on my desk with lovely patterns. However, in the time it took to lift my phone and try to get a photo, the clouds came over. At least I have the memory.

2. My husband was teasing me that I had a flannel shirt on over a long sleeved t-shirt. Yes, I know it's April, but it's cold! Isn't it about now that we usually go right into summer???

3. It's only been yesterday that I've been back to scrapping and somehow it's seemed like ages. The NYC trip really was a vacation for me - no responsibility for anyone but myself. Sleeping and eating on my own time. Pure luxury.

4.This week I had to go to Target for some meds, and saw this. It looked like an Easter Basket of delicious color. Yummy, like my favorite colored almonds. Even though I don't paint almost at all, it was really tempting. Even those shades of purple and lavender called to me.

5. On that note, I did find one little rainbow of my own from the crystal hanging in my window. The light is wonderful til early afternoon these days.  But then it shines directly at me from another window even with the blinds shut. I've learned I need to take a serious computer break for about three hours at that time or end up with a headache from squinty eyes.  Lesson learned.

That's all for today so have a great weekend! We have some fun plans and I hope you do also. See you again on Monday.

Five on Friday: March 25, 2016

1. It's that time of year when the weather forecast say 70° and yet it's still pretty chilly inside the house. So, no it's not iced coffee time yet round here. All decaf and made at home in this old $1. cup.

2. Now that Downton Abbey is finished, I have adjusted my record options with our tv. But darn that CBS. I don't usually set Madame Secretary to record since 60Minutes tends to run over time and it screws with the recording. However, trying to watch Madame Secretary on demand is not as easy as on other channels. There is a 24 hour window of availability or else they want you to pay.  Do Not Like. :(

3. Have you ever done a screencast?  Someone asked online and this tutorial makes it seem quite simple.

4. We had a 'boys night in' posole dinner last night and while 8 is a good number it's not a great seating arrangement for our table. I may have to do some furniture fiddling next time.

5.  When I came home last night after that dinner (I cook and leave. They eat.) I found leftover eclairs! omg. I had a half of one but they are calling to me....

That's all from me today so I hope you have a great weekend and a Happy Easter!

Five on Friday: March 18, 2016

This week felt like spring despite the craziness going around in the world and with various families. I think it's in the collective consciousness so it behooves each of us not to add to that negative energy.

1. My lovely granddaughter has made it to London and yes, has her Liverpool hat on!! That's my girl!

2. I believe I have finally washed all the winter bedding that is washable and aired the down comforters.  However, I know from past experience that as soon as we turn our gas fireplaces off, we are bound to get one day or evening that I wish we had the pilots still lit!

3. Orange season is just about over except for some lingering CaraCara and Halo oranges. I've just about switched to strawberries but this seems to be that time betwixt winter's citrus and summer's Peaches. I do hope we get a good crop this year and wish the farmers' the best.

4.I've been thinking of making this chocolate peanut butter pie for himself for Easter. Can we avoid a ham that way???

Put a bunch of little blue chalet eggs around the outside? which means I better get the supplies tomorrow!

5. While the lad was in Florida this week, I did get a lot of shifting around. Tomorrow also means a trip to the charity shop to clear out a huge load of things. Please no rain on Saturday!!

Have a great weekend and hopefully we really won't get more than a sprinkling of snow on Sunday!