Five things that made me happy today – 6/30/21

However many years she lived, Mary always felt that ‘she should never forget that first morning when her garden began to grow’.

Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

1. The weather this morning was cool and damp. It finally started to clear off about 3:00 and warmed up a little.

2. Sorry, this is only going to be two things today – Big Al’s computer was hacked, and I’ve spent 6+ hours messing with the wreckage. I’m exhausted. The only thing that makes me happy is that #2 son was able to help us stop the rot. It’s going to be a mess, but not too much was lost.

3.

4.

5.

How about you? What made you happy today?

Five things that made me happy today – 6/29/21

What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

Plutarch

1. Only 63 deg when I got up (TBTG) and the marine layer in full effect, cooling us off and protecting us from the blazing sun. I think (fingers crossed) the worst is over. It’s only 84 for the high today, and it didn’t break 80 until after 2 pm.

2. I opened the windows and doors before breakfast, and the house is gloriously cool. All the collected odors from being shut up for several days have blown out and are history!

3. Food Services had their tuna sandwich on wheat special (2 for $5.75) today. I ordered them and that’s what Big Al and I had for lunch.

4. I’m working on discovering who in the Gazebo Group is interested in a 4th of July potluck picnic. So far it seems like most people would prefer to do a 5th of July potluck picnic because the 4th is on Sunday. I also looked at the 7-day forecast, and it looks like Sunday will be in the low 80s, and Monday will be in the mid 70s.

5. Greisser Girls Gab this afternoon. That will be great!

How about you? What made you happy today?

Five things that made me happy today – 6/28/21

Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.

Henry Nouwen

1. One more day to get through, hibernating inside in the A/C. High 70s before 7 am. <sigh> “They” promised relief overnight tonight, but, alas, they’ve changed the forecast and now say it will be in the 90s tomorrow. Better than today’s 105 deg.

2. I got the flowers in back and in front watered before breakfast. I spent the rest of the morning indoors reading.

3. We had ham, asparagus and fresh sliced tomatoes for lunch today. The tomatoes claimed they were vine-ripened, but they didn’t really taste like it. (And, no, they haven’t been in the refrigerator, they’ve been sitting on the window sill since I got them last Friday.)

4. I got all the laundry washed, dried, folded and hung up before I went to the Wellness Center to get my steps for the day.

5. I called an audible and cancelled Gazebo Group because I didn’t think any of us would do well in temperatures over 105.

How about you? What made you happy today?

Five things that made me happy today – 6/27/21

When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’

Sydney Harris

1. The heat continues – it was in the 70s when I got up this morning and the A/C ran all night keeping the house at 73 deg. It was in the high 90s when we got home from lunch, but a cool 80 in the house. We’re hunkering down inside in the A/C.

2. I decided to attend the PCUSA More Light worship service on line. More Light is one of the denominational organizations that celebrate the full inclusion of the LGBTQiA+ community. They did a superb job.

3. We decided since it was so HOT we would eat something cool. We drove (in the Air Conditioned car) down to our favorite Japanese restaurant I had sushi and Big Al had salmon.

4. I have to move the car to the parking lot – again – this week because they are SURE they’re going to repave the road in front of the house tomorrow. I’ll wait until 7:00 pm when the sun gets lower in the sky, but it’s never REALLY off that parking lot until dark.

5. I watered the flowers on the back porch as soon as we got back from lunch, and I’ll get thr front porch soon since the sun is on the back of the house now.

How about you? What made you happy today?

Five things that made me happy today – 6/26/21

Once upon a time, there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. The birds still remember what we have forgotten: that the world is meant to be celebrated.

Terry Tempest Williams

1. Pretty day this morning. Blue skies, light breeze, temperatures in the 70s early.. It was 80+ by the time we finished breakfast (but at least it was a dry heat). It got up to 96 deg this afternoon before the temperature started to fall again. 3-4 degrees below the threatened high.

2. I had opened the front and back doors when I got up to let in the cooler night air. I watered the flowers on the back porch and front porch before 10:00 am and closed up the house. I was born and raised in the South, so I have some experience with trying to keep a house cool in the summer.

3. We had Lloyd’s Pulled Chicken in Barbecue Sauce for lunch today with Bush’s Baked Beans.

4. The Wellness Center was all set up with tables and chairs, as a cooling center. There were board games, cards, puzzles, books, and an ice chest with bottled water. By the time I left at 2:00 pm it didn’t look like anyone had taken advantage of it.

5. I managed to get most of my steps in on the NuStep in the Wellness Center. It was lovely and cool there.

How about you? What made you happy today?

Five things that made me happy today – 6/25/21

You never know how small the box you are in is until you escape it.

David Hayward

1. Another night with the temperature not too hot. Still good sleeping weather. That all changed this afternoon when the temperature hit 84 deg, and not going to be below 72 before 1:00 am. The house is pretty cool since I had windows and doors open all morning. Now all the blinds on the sunny side are closed, and I’m hoping it won’t get too hot too early. Saving as much A/C as I can.

2. I made a Safeway order this morning, and picked it up this afternoon. I got lots of fruit and salad stuff to avoid cooking.

3. I had the rest of the tuna salad in a sandwich for lunch.

4. After lunch I went to the Wellness Center and worked out on the NuStep. My 10,000 steps for the day are history.

5. Thank goodness the Wellness Center is cool – even cold. They have it set up as a cooling center for any folks who don’t have A/C.

How about you? What made you happy today?

Five things that made me happy today – 6/24/21

Compassion is an action word with no boundaries.

Prince

1. Good sleeping weather last night – mid 50s this morning when I got up. The weather is still pretty decent (high of 81 this afternoon). Everyone is hanging crepe about the forecast temps of over 100 over the weekend. I’m glad we have air conditioning (and who knows what the electric bill will be), but we can certainly survive.

2. Bill McKibben’s weekly column in the New Yorker was especially interesting today. He talks about how the human body is affected by extremely high temperatures. Really good stuff there.

3. We had PF Chang’s Honey Chicken and Signature Rice (Home Menu) for lunch today. It’s very acceptable, easy to do, and tasty.

4. We have our Great Decisions discussion this afternoon. The person leading the group is a retired Foreign Service officer, so it will be interesting to hear what he has to say about China in Africa.

5. I took a short walk around the Duplex Circle this morning. Then I went over to the Wellness Center and worked out on the NuStep this afternoon. It’s air conditioned in there, so that’s good. I’m finished with my 10,000 steps for the day.

How about you? What made you happy today?

Five things that made me happy today – 6/23/21

For many years, at great cost, I traveled through many countries, saw the high mountains, the oceans. The only things I did not see were the sparkling dewdrops in the grass just outside my door.

Rabindranath Tagore

1. Still cool – mid 50s – with the marine layer keeping us cloudy early this morning. It warmed up nicely to the mid-70s this afternoon. They are threatening us with a severe heat advisory this weekend. I’m eternally grateful that we have central Air Conditioning.

2. I spent the morning just messing around – watering plants and catching up on email.

3. We had the leftover pork roast, fresh asparagus, and a Yukon Gold potato for lunch.

4. I spent the whole morning waiting for the promised (threatened) road repaving. So far nothing. I finally inquired at the Front Desk and they “Oh, one of their pieces of equipment broke down, so they won’t be doing it until Monday.” <sigh>

5. In that case, I guess I’ll take the car over to the Wellness Center to meet with my personal trainer.

How about you? What made you happy today?

Five things that made me happy today – 6/22/21

At night our fear is strong…but in the morning, in the light, we find our courage again.

Malala Yousafzai

1. The marine layer is back, and is much cooler – and damper. The high this afternoon was only 75.

2. In Bible Study this morning we looked at Jeremiah 12, and Galatians 5:19-26. I’m not fond of Jeremiah in the first place, and I really dislike this passage that says all the bad stuff that happened to the Hebrews was because they were wicked. The Galatians passage was the list of all the stuff you’re not supposed to do and then the things you are. Those lists of bad things tend to give people ideas, I’m afraid.

3. I had a tuna sandwich and a tomato for lunch. Big Al had a big salad.

4. The housekeepers were here today, and I have mopped and swept floors, vacuumed rugs, and a clean kitchen and bathrooms.

5. They will be paving the road from the front to the Gazebo tomorrow, so I’ll be stuck in the house except to walk, which I need to do. I moved the car over to the parking lot across from me so I CAN get out if necessary.

How about you? What made you happy today?

Five things that made me happy today – 6/21/21

In an age of constant movement, nothing is more urgent than sitting still.

Pico Iyer

1. Warm overnight, and much warmer today. Beautiful weather with a cloudless sky. A little warmer than is optimal (mid-80s), but they promise there’s a cool down coming overnight with the return of the on-shore flow.

2. I went down to the local Multicare clinic before 8:00 this morning for my “fasting” blood test that the doctor ordered last week. I was home before 8:30 in time to fix breakfast for myself and Big Al.

3. Tuna fish salad for lunch. Good, hot weather meal.

4. The laundry is all washed, dried, separated, folded and hung up.

5. Gazebo Group this evening. The group was originally formed when there were a couple of Duplexes that didn’t have Air Conditioning. The Gazebo was a nice place to sit in the shade and it usually catches a good breeze in the late afternoons. I think I’ll have a margarita!

How about you? What made you happy today?