The Past Week

When I was a kid, the people who lived directly behind our house had 2 kids my sister and I were friends with. My parents also became friends with their folks, and we visited back and forth.  

Prior to marriage and motherhood, their mom, V, played the piano in a honky tonk band. Sometimes when just the kids were playing at their house V would bust out in piano tunes and it thrilled us to no end.

We had an old studio upright piano in our living room and occasionally when V was visiting, (whenever we could beg/plead coax her) V would play the piano and our house would rock. Her fingers flew over the keyboard while she pounded out songs. 

I had not thought of her playing in quite a while until I was deciding what genre of music to concentrate on this week. So in homage to the not only very talented, but also incredibly kind and beautiful V,  I chose boogie woogie.

It turned out I really did enjoy listening to this genre, and created a new Spotify playlist dedicated to Boogie Woogie. I will be listening to this more often now.

This is what our house would sound like when V was playing.

What a wonderful childhood memory

Monday: I woke early, at least it was early for me. Most of the sunrises I see happen on nights I have stayed up until the sun greets the day. I had a couple of cups of coffee before deciding on the music genre for the week, tossed a couple of loads of clothes in  to wash, then sat with TheHub while we made reservations for hotels in a couple of different cities.

I had a surprise phone call from Sluggy, and she continues to make improvements. Not as fast as she would like, but improvements are improvements.

The rest of the day was spent doing odds and ends to the house, and possibly working on the jigsaw puzzle TheHub bought for us me to do.

Listened to: Boogie Woogie by Tommy Dorsey

What I learned: I learned the alder planks I like to use on the grill for fish are now priced completely beyond what I am willing to pay for them. Oh well.

Dinner: I am trying to use some of the foods I have in storage. This was not what I wanted to have, but we had it anyway.

Salmon patties, Mexican cauliflower rice, green beans

Tuesday: This was a great day. My Beloved Sister and I went to my happy place. She has been going with me for a while and the participants of Independence Place make her as happy as they make me. 

A couple of weeks ago one on the participants texted me to let me know what N. wanted to have. When I got there Tuesday morning I told them we were doing a food experiment. It turned out peanut butter banana pudding was a hit. Who would ever have thought that? So, well done with your suggestion N.

We left just in time to get rained on, not only getting to the car but it rained all the way home and into the night. 

What I learned: If the series is to be believed, Marco Polo was an incarcerated "guest" of Kubla Khan.

Listened to: Swanee River Boogie, by Luca Sestak

Dinner: I did not remember to take anything out of the freezer for dinner. I had to run to the grocery store to grab a few more things for the monthly basket for my assigned church employee, so I picked up our dinner there (I also got soaked. It started raining while I was in the store and was pouring down when I came out. By the time I pulled in the driveway at the house I could not get any wetter than I already was. No point sitting in the car until the rain slacked off)

Rotisserie chicken, turnip greens, black eyed peas (thanks deli).

Wednesday: I had my final Wednesday class until summer is over.  It will not resume until after Labor Day

Stupid jigsaw puzzle. Or stupid me for continuing to work on this stupid 1500 piece puzzle.

Most of the pieces do not interlock, they just kind of  loosely fit against each other, then about every 4th piece you finally get the interlocking piece that will hold those few pieces together. This means each time I accidentally bump the table some (lots) of the puzzle pieces come apart.

Listened to : Whatever Spotify played when I searched Boogie Woogie. I listened as I was working the puzzle and heard a lot of songs. 

It did make me "dance" in my chair, and tap my feet while working the puzzle (which also caused me to bump the table, pieces separated, and I used some colorful language).

What I learned: Employees of our church really do enjoy getting their monthly appreciation baskets. This month I had one of the members of our housekeeping team. We met and he was very excited to get it.

Dinner: Squash casserole, turnip greens, black eyed peas, cooked carrots

Thursday: Laundry, working in master BR and bath. And of course some reading.

We watched a softball game, Bama vs. South Carolina and another episode of Marco Polo. I am enjoying the dramatized historical parts, but could do without the unnecessary Khan's consort shots, as well as the Ninga type fight scenes.

Listened to: Barrelhouse Boogie by Albert Ammons

What I Learned: TheHub had to go to a Parkinson's event* and brought home a book filled with what is happening locally with Parkinson's research, along with personal stories from some folks who are impacted by the disease.

Mom had Parkinson's and though the diagnosis stats related to genetics are fairly low, it is still something I like to keep up with.

Dinner: We needed a ball game meal (something quick)**since Bama was going to be playing before we could finish eating

Leftover rotisserie chicken (chopped) bbq sauce, hamburger bun, caulitato salad, quest chips, pickle spears

Friday: Woke and began a mountain of laundry (I do not understand how just the two of us create so much laundry, but we do. I do fault myself some, for I use a clean towel each time I shower)

My Beloved Sister came by for a quick visit. She was headed out by my bank and offered to run a credit card payment to them. This was a card we shared with Mom and after her death, we had it changed for the two of us. It has a low limit and we both use it exclusively for online purchases. I know this might not work for some siblings, but we talk to each other daily (who am I kidding multiple times most days) and are very close as sisters so it works for us. Of course I accepted the offer to take it by. It saved me from getting gussied up until later in the day. (When she came by we were laughing at how horrible I looked. I am pretty sure I would have scared small children and made any dog bark)

Bama moved their scheduled night game to a mid afternoon one to avoid getting rained out so TheHub and I watched and ate a quick sandwich lunch between innings.

Later, TheHub and I ran out to do a little shopping before heading out to pick up something for dinner.

Listened to: High Blood Pressure Boogie by Mojo Blues Band

What I learned: I learned the proper stance for hitting a softball from TheHub who demonstrated it***. I could then see how one player was off balance when she came up to bat (struck out every time).

Dinner: We were craving veggies and went to a local meat and three to grab some dinner

Squash casserole, broccoli, green beans, hamburger patty for TheHub

Saturday: Woke, got dressed for the day, had coffee (always a must) then headed out to run a few errands. Unfortunately our produce guy was not there that morning. I am sure the weather uncertainty made the decision to set up or not for him.

Once we struck out there we headed to Meyers Pottery (which is really mainly a garden shop) to buy coco coir. It is impossible for me to go there and just buy what I went for and also added a gorgeous pot of dahlias, and more lantana to the purchase. Hopefully I will go back there another day without TheHub in tow, so I can take my time browsing  finding more plants to buy.

We stopped on our way home and picked up salads from Chipotle for lunch. Though he is doing better since his retirement with lunches, TheHub still "needs" to have a couple a week from (or at) a restaurant.

He usually goes out once with either a friend or meets Son2 for lunch. 

Listened to: Downtown Cafe Boogie by Edmond Hall

What I Learned: Once out of the pack and dampened, the coco coir either doubles or triples in size.

Dinner: We have experienced extended power outages in the winter a few times in the past, so I always buy some canned foods that I can just heat and eat. This was a "get rid of it" meal.

Canned corn beef, sautéed cabbage and onions

Sunday: We woke early and did our usual Sunday church thing. After we got home, we decided to grab some Chinese food from a place near our house. Usually one meal is enough for both of us with leftovers. Sunday however we did get what we ordered, but we must have gotten someone else's order also. Instead of just the one entree, there was fried rice (we always get regular white rice), a bowl of hot and sour soup, and 1 egg roll. 

We didn't realize until we were home that we had the wrong order. I hope the person who got our single order of Kung Pau chicken checked it before leaving the store, or they would be really disappointed.

Listened to: Funny and Uprising by Jean Pierre Bertrand

What I learned: I learned the petunia I bought a couple of weeks ago that was supposed to not need deadheading, does. Bummer!

Dinner: We had one serving of sweet and sour soup that we didn't order so TheHub had it. I wasn't really hungry.

Hot and sour soup, cheese toast

Meal Possibilities:

1. Something for Cinco de Mayo TBD

2. Steak, baked potato, brussels sprouts

3. BLT salad

4. Ball game dinner (probably hot dogs)

5. White bbq chicken, coleslaw, mashed potatoes

6. Grilled tuna steaks, tossed salad, garlic bread

7. Veggie meal TBD (no idea what the produce stand will have Tuesday morning)

Books Read:

The Other Santa: A Christmas Miracle

Beware The Woman

Have a good week staying on plan, going off plan, or with non plan at all.

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Anne

 

*TheHub is currently on the board of The Alabama Parkinson's association.

**We never eat our meals anywhere except at the table, so ball games meals are always something we can eat quickly, with little to no fuss. 

***He used to give private hitting instructions to kids.