Week 20

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  What is with this wind? The past 2 weeks it has not stopped and I am so not a fan of the wind especially when forced to sit in it for watching tennis.  This week is supposed to be better so we will see.  We're looking forward to the 3-day weekend and then more good things to come for a new month.  I can't believe school is almost over for Brandon and summer is just around the corner.  Hopefully it will be a much better summer than last year's.  At least it seems to be trending that way, and I'm good with that.

Here's a look at a more relaxed, less picture intense week than the last:

Day 137- Monday, 5/17/21

He likes to help me get dressed in the morning either that or he's asking me not to go.😺

Day 138- Tuesday, 5/18/21

There are only a few more tennis games left for the season.  This is the first of 3 for the week.  After that and dinner it was my turn to walk Bella.  It looks sunny and warm but the wind is wild and chilling.

Day 139- Wednesday, 5/19/21

Wednesday at work I had a blood draw for the usual job related titer checks and then watched my boss give her retirement seminar which was a fun walk down memory lane.  I've worked with her for 26 of the 32 years she's been at the University. We've accomplished and discovered so much over the years helping to save entire species of animals.  Thankfully I will be able to help continue some of that work for her moving forward in a different lab.  Back at home, we had orange chicken on this windy and cool day.  It feels more like March than May!

Day 140- Thursday, 5/20/21

One of the great things about having Justin back home is that he likes running errands with me.  He also just secured a job at the rec center for the summer after having no luck working anywhere last summer.  Later, tennis game 2 of 3 for the week while the clouds rolled in and rain fell off in the distance.  You can also se how windy it is again if you look at those palm trees.

Day 141- Friday, 5/21/21

Finally--lighter, brighter skies with very little wind.  It's a really nice afternoon and the pool is looking nice and inviting again.  The last tennis game for the week was in Davis and was the first game all week where it was pleasant enough out to enjoy watching. Plus Brandon and his tennis partner had an really long and intense doubles match that they ended up winning in a tie breaker set.  What a good game!  He's really come a long way this season which is great to see since he hasn't played tennis at all in the past couple years.  I love seeing how comfortable he feels on the court which is something that was lacking in basketball and largely coach related.  He really does like basketball more but is happier and more confident playing on the tennis team so I'm glad he decided to make the switch.

Day 142- Saturday, 5/22/21

Today I got caught up on chores and then we crossed the bridge into the big city to have dinner out with the Wongs.  Yay!  We haven't seen them in well over a year so it was great to get out and enjoy a meal together.  We ate in midtown at this really good Vietnam restaurant and can't wait to do it again.

Day 143- Sunday, 5/23/21

For Sunday family dinner we tried the outdoor pizza oven again with modifications and things went so much better this time around.  Sadly, Tyler was working out of town and couldn't join us but we'll for sure be doing it again sometime soon where he can join.  Yummy fresh-made pizza paired with a good Rose' makes for an excellent end to the week.

That's it!  Check back next week for more good times.

Week 19

Welcome back and happy Tuesday.  What a busy week but well worth it because now we have Justin back for the summer.  This year, after watching others for so many years, I decided to take part in Ali Edwards' "Week in the Life" project which happened during the dates of this week's post.  Warning--there are way more pictures than I normally share and so many more that I took, but I enjoyed the challenge and am glad I did it.  My goal was to try and capture morning, noon, and night of each day with all the different characters involved. Of course it also just so happened to involve a trip to Humboldt as I collected Justin but that's ok because I'm glad he could be included and rearranging life to support college kids is very much part of our story right now.

Here we go!  Enjoy the ride looking at last week's pictures:

Day 130- Monday, 5/10/21

I'm using this week for a "Week in the Life" project playing along with Ali Edwards hoping to capture moments from everyday sun up to sun down.  This morning started with a nice calm sunrise.  At work they are pushing through new ID cards for door access to buildings but used really old pictures (like 15yrs old), and even though we have the new cards in hand they are not activated yet and don't have real dates for that so we have to carry both the old and the new for the next month until it's all sorted out.  After work I enjoyed a nice lunch at home, fed Bella dinner for Brandon who is at tennis practice, and eventually relaxed after dinner on the couch watching a new episode of  The Handmaid's Tale while enjoying some dessert.

Day 131- Tuesday, 5/11/21

Rusty is my morning bud and eager to be fed first thing even before sunup.  He's lucky I'm an early morning person. I worked from home today so I was able to catch a glimpse of Brandon while he was eating lunch in his pjs--the life of a teenager doing high school from home because of the pandemic.  At least being on the tennis team gets him up and out each day.  They had a home game today, and I was able to watch him play.  Thank goodness for this umbrella because the sun was blazing hot and there was no shade where the parents get to socially-distance sit away from the players. Thankfully John had a nice cold drink waiting for me when I got home for the evening.

Day 132- Wednesday, 5/12/21

I'm back on campus to work in the lab today but first up is my weekly required COVID test.  In the afternoon, back at home, this is what life is like with an older dog.  She's got a lot of meds on hand to help with her arthritis as well as the regular preventative stuff.  Today she needed to take her monthly dose of Heartgard to prevent heartworms and doesn't mind at all because it's a chewable and liver flavored.  Later, I was fixing dinner while watching the evening news like I always try to do.  It was another super hot day so I found Rusty trying to deal on the stairs as I headed up to pack for a trip.  It's time to go north and help move Justin home from college for the summer. 

Day 133- Thursday, 5/13/21

Before heading out on my road trip to Humboldt I spied Brandon eating some cereal for breakfast in his hoodie.  We had all the windows open to enjoy the delta breeze last night so it was a bit chilly in the house at first.  I spent a good part of my day in the car enjoying my scenic 6 hr drive, and I'm so thankful for navigation systems built into cars these days.  I know the way by heart now but like to see how far I still have to go and like to find things to explore along the way.  I had a little time to kill before checking into the hotel and being able to meet up with Justin so I took a small side trip into historic Ferndale to check out their Victorian village and pick up some handmade chocolates I've heard good things about.  What a cute little town!  Then once Justin was done with work and a couple finals we went on a nice hike together along the coast and then had dinner at The Jam in Arcata.  He has 2 more finals to finish hopefully tonight and then we'll move him out of his dorm in the morning.

Day 134- Friday, 5/14/21

I'm on the Humboldt State campus this morning helping Justin pack up his dorm room.  He had a bunch already done, but it still always seems like a lot and took us a couple hours. After my car was packed to the brim we headed to the Eureka Sequoia Park Zoo to have some fun.  We wanted to try out their brand new tree canopy walk that was open to residents only today for the first time, but there was a delay in the opening so I guess we'll try again in the fall at move-in for new school year.  Regardless, we still enjoyed our time there and look forward to coming back.  After that, we had lunch at In-N-Out and then went down by the waterfront to explore Old Town Eureka where we discovered their Victorian area with some impressive houses and buildings.  You'd never know from the main drag through town that these are here so I'm glad we explored a bit and found them.  Finally we were able to make our way a bit south and check into a different hotel for the night.  Justin had a few more problems on his very last final to finish there before we could retire for the night and as you can it wiped him out.  I don't think he's really slept much this past week but that's as expected with college finals week. At least now he has a relaxing summer ahead with some good job options that require no homework or test.

Day 135- Saturday, 5/15/21

Time to head home, but we're taking the scenic route and enjoying the road trip ahead in this beautiful area.  First stop of course was Starbucks to help us kick the morning off right.  Then just outside of Fortuna where we stayed is a Rock Museum we always wanted to stop at but never did until now.  What an impressive collection they have!  Worth a stop if you are ever up in the area.  Next up was the Avenue of Giants drive winding through many redwood state parks and at the end of the 30 mile scenic alternative route was this amazing roadside grill with it's own special tree attraction.  We found it while up here for spring break, but Justin wasn't with us then, and I knew he would love it so I planned for us to have lunch here.  He's a huge fan and I'm sure now it will be a regular stop for us on these trips.  Time to get back on the road in our stuffed car with shakes in hand.  Finally, we made it home just in time for dinner and unpacked all the dorm belongings in our loft area until we can go through things and reorganize for next year. Not pictured, since I couldn't be there, was Brandon getting his 2nd vaccine today. Now our whole family is fully vaccinated which makes me super happy.

Day 136- Sunday, 5/16/21

First order of business today is a haircut for Justin. He refuses to get one while away and usually resists even once he's home, but this time he was ready and willing. Afterwards I got a picture of him with some macarons he made for me as a late Mother's Day gift. Not sure where he found the time to do this just before we left Humboldt but super impressed that he even tried and that they turned out great--not an easy dessert to make.  After laundry was done and some other chores were taken care of I had time to finish my wooden turtle puzzle just before helping John prep for Sunday dinner.  He's grilling hamburgers and hot dogs and Tyler along with his girlfriend brought dessert.  It was great to meet her. Lupe is super sweet and I like seeing him with her.  He really tried hard to make sure she was comfortable and got to experience everything he loves about coming home.  They did a great job working together making this cake for us too.  What a perfect way to end the week with a full house and full hearts.

That's it!  See you next week for a more chill week.