Week 21

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend.  It was much cooler and more windy than we would have liked but we where together as family to make the most of it even with out our traditional dip in the pool.  We've got a full house for a couple more days anyway and it's been fun to say the least. I'm looking forward to another road trip this time headed north to the big trees which never disappoints.

 Until then here are last week's pictures:

Day 142- Monday, 5/22/23

I started my work week off spending Monday on the microscope.  We had another onslaught of samples which meant a lot of slides to read and reports to get out.  Thankfully I also had a sample to run to another building so I was able to stretch my legs, soak up some sun, and say hello to a pair of ducks along the way.  These two have been hanging around for a few weeks together and I think they are a mating pair. They are also a lot more friendly than the wild turkeys hanging around.

Day 143- Tuesday, 5/23/23

It's nice on remote work days to be able to take breaks at home.  I can retreat to the backyard to smell the roses or play with Rusty to reset the mind.  Later this evening we watched a newly released to streaming movie.  It was very emotional but also very well done and had a good ending.  It's hard to go wrong with a Tom Hanks movie.

Day 144- Wednesday, 5/24/23

John gave me that framed sunset picture of the boys at the beach for Mother's Day and I was having a hard time finding a place for it at home (open concept houses don't have much wall space) so I brought it to work.  Makes me smile every time I see it here which means this spot was meant to be.  Back at home after dinner we watched the season finale of Survivor where YamYam won.  This group did really well and unlike past seasons it was hard to know who would be on top in the end.

Day 145- Thursday, 5/25/23

He's back!  I stayed late at work so I could wait for Justin's train arriving in Davis.  Right after I picked him up we picked up pizza at Woodstock's and celebrated his return with a family pizza party.  You can bet Rusty was super happy to see him again as well although he's always a little standoffish at first like he's mad that Justin was gone for so long but seems to getsover it quickly.

Day 146- Friday, 5/26/23

This was a nice treat for a Friday at work and a good way to end the work week--we got to attend a lunch talk by the Critter Fixer vets who are in town to also speak at the Vet School's commencement tonight.  They are very funny and have great personalities and outlooks on the profession with insight that most of us would not normally need to think about.  Dr. Ferguson was also hugging everyone on the way out and I got one of those hugs. Super cool! I need to check out their show.  I've seen it in passing while channel surfing but didn't really know the backstory until now.  Back at home the napping buddies are together again and have wasted no time enjoying a nice long snooze here and there.

Day 147- Saturday, 5/27/23

Justin and John have a favorite donut guy in town that they haven't seen in over a year since John first got sick so today Justin went with John to have a visit.  He did miss them and had thought John had retired or we had moved away or something. It was nice for them to reconnect but the visits will not be as frequent as they were in the past.  Donuts are not the best for his current health diet and this guy always gives John more than he asks or even pays for.  Later I spent some time out in the yard and noticed that we have ladybugs everywhere which I don't remember seeing before now.  It's a good thing they are here too because the aphids are also in full force so I need those ladybugs to help keep them in check.

Day 148- Sunday, 5/28/23

Today the guys were working out back.  Justin was replacing hanging lightbulbs that were out and clips that had busted while John and Brandon worked on replacing landscape lights.  They also cleaned up the grill and brought out the cushions for the patio furniture.  We're prepping for the holiday tomorrow so we can have a nice BBQ rib dinner after enjoying time in the pool providing it warms up a bit.

That's it!  Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you next week after a quick trip to Humboldt and back.

Week 20

Hello and welcome back!  Last week was pretty eventful with a lot of moving parts but that's ok.  It's nice to break out of a routine every once in awhile and now we have Brandon home for the summer and Justin will be visiting for a week soon.  They, for sure, will help to keep things interesting around here.  

Take a look at how last week went down:

Day 135- Monday, 5/15/23

It's rare for Rusty to sit here without a lap to sit on, but here he is looking all comfy in my seat without me.  LOL!  I think he's just waiting for me to settle down and join him.  I have a super busy week and will be away for 2 days so I'm running around trying to get things done before I leave and just can't relax yet.

 

Day 136- Tuesday, 5/16/23

I'm usually at home working remote Tuesdays but will be out Th/Fri so I need to get 5 days worth of lab work done in 3 days which means no remote work for me this week. It's a good thing I was  here too because we had a run on sample submissions today.  Sadly they were all from dead marine mammals that have taken a beating by protozoal infections due to the heavy runoff from land to sea with our rushing rivers and streams caused by all the snow melt happening right now.  The clinical histories on these submission forms are so sad--mostly females and young pups.

 

Day 137- Wednesday, 5/17/23

After work today I had a drip system leak that needed fixed and really couldn't wait any longer because of the excessive heat these days.  Otherwise the yard is looking so much better than last year so I want to stay on top of things and keep it that way.  Back inside for dinner I made bacon wrapped pork and mac & cheese with shell pasta.  We've been eating left over pizza from Mother's Day the past couple days so I figured I'd cook a real meal that will leave good leftovers for John while I'm out of town starting tomorrow.

 

 

Day 138- Thursday, 5/18/23

I'm in LA helping this kid move out of the dorms.  Hats off to a successful freshman. Now he's ready to come home for the summer and eager to leave dorm life behind him.  Next year he'll be in an off-campus apartment at Alight with his own private room.  We toured the place this afternoon and he's super excited about the change.

 

 Day 139- Friday, 5/19/23

I'm back in the car headed home but at least this time I've got a co-pilot for the 7hr very boring drive.  As usual our loft becomes a dorm stuff dumping ground once we get home.  I'll get him to sort it all with me later.  Speaking of later, seeing those lights on his room again just before I head to bed is everything.

 

 

Day 140- Saturday, 5/20/23

John's SCI-FIT physical therapy place put on a fundraising event to help raise money for all the things insurance doesn't cover when your adapting to or trying to live life with a physical disability and trust me it's a lot so every little bit helps.  The tickets were given to us by one of his trainers and it was a fun event with a great inspirational speaker.  Everyone we usually see in workout clothes at PT cleans up so nice! 😄

 

Day 141- Sunday, 5/21/23 

Time for some movie fun with Brandon.  We were going to wait and see this newly released Marvel movie when Justin comes home next week but found out he's already seen it-- no surprise!  After the movie I made chicken wings for Sunday dinner as Brandon requested for his first home-cooked meal.

That's all for now.  We'll see you next week as we welcome another college kid home.

Week 19

Welcome back and happy Tuesday! I hope all the mother's out there had a good Mother's Day weekend.  Sadly I only had 1 kid home but the other two touched base and we all made the most of it.  At least I'm headed to LA to bring Brandon home in a couple days so we'll get to see him soon and then Justin the week after.  Looking forward to a full house again.

Until then, here are last week's pictures:

Day 128- Monday, 5/8/23

John drove himself to and from PT for the first time so now moving forward I get some of my afternoons back.  Rusty and I enjoyed just chilling after I got home from work and catching up on a few shows.

Day 129- Tuesday, 5/9/23

The painters are here and doing mostly prep and repair work today so actual painting can start tomorrow.  In other news the final season of Firefly Lane recently dropped on Netflix and I was able to finish it this week.  It was pretty emotional but very well done.

Day 130- Wednesday, 5/10/23

The main painting on the front and a couple side walls were done today.  It's pretty noisy and messy around here with all this work but at least they'll be done by Friday.

Day 131- Thursday, 5/11/23

After PT today John took me out to dinner at a local place he used to frequent that I have never been to before (The Kicking Mule).  They have good pub food and specialize in Mule drinks.  When we got home we checked out the painting progress on the back side of the house.  Pretty much all that is left is more trim work, the front door and the shutters so for sure it will be done tomorrow!

Day 132- Friday, 5/12/23

It's done--here's a before and after.  The colors are all the same but fresher and brighter plus no more stucco cracks or lines.  Today is also Justin's last day of finals and he's had a pretty crazy, stressful but also fun week but is sad a lot of his best friends are graduating.  One more semester for him!  He cracks me up.

Day 133- Saturday, 5/13/23

It's been awhile but we finally were able to have a fun and fancy dinner out with the Wong's.  John and I have been to Morton's many times but this was their first time so it was nice to introduce them to a new place and be able to catch up.

Day 134- Sunday, 5/14/23

Happy Mother's Day!  Each of my wonderful boys reached out to me in their own special way today.  Justin wrote a message in the sand on a beach near him, Brandon wrote me a nice note with re-imagined drawings of our pets like he did when he was 10, and Tyler lives close enough to visit so he made breakfast and dinner for me.  John also helped spoil me and Lupe was here to help celebrate during dinner. I'm a lucky lady and sure love my family.

That's it!  See you next week.