Week 25

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  It was another slow week with not too much going on so you'll see a lot of garden and cat pictures.  LOL!  We really need to get out more but that's hard to do with work schedules, Dr visits, and PT.  We do have some time off scheduled for next week, 4th of July week, so we're hoping to squeeze in more fun then.  It's crazy that we are almost to July and it still hasn't been warm enough to use our pool even just once this summer, but I hear the usual excessive heat for us is coming very soon.

Until then here are last week's pictures:

Day 170-Monday, 6/19/23

I was admiring these new blue blooms out back after work when I spied our resident lizard chilling on a rock.  I was supposed to be home today for Juneteenth but I was helping with a work training event that got schedule and confirmed with a bunch of international guests coming before they realized today is a holiday.  No worries, it turned out to be a fun event to be part of and I got free lunch plus an upcoming dinner for helping out.

Day 171- Tuesday, 6/20/23

It was a bit chilly out so I turned on the oven and made some chicken and potatoes for dinner to help warm us up from the inside out.  It is June, right?  Sure doesn't feel like it around here.

Day 172- Wednesday, 6/21/23

Wednesday at work I'm playing catch up on lab data entry and back at home Rusty is finally feeling more independent and being less clingy.  I found him curled up in my closet resting in his bed and not wanting to come out and greet me after work--also sign that it's a bit chilly still because he won't sleep here if it's too warm.

 

Day 173- Thursday, 6/22/23

Today is warmer-- my cactus and Rusty both like it.  It's good to see him playing on his own again instead of just following me around.

Day 174- Friday, 6/23/23

Our oleanders were trimmed way back in early spring and again with the house was being painted so they took awhile to bloom but are showing all their glory now.  Rusty says TGIF!  All his independent efforts this week wore him out so now he's up for a good Friday cuddle.

Day 175- Saturday, 6/24/23

I'm enjoying the slow start to my weekend in some new summer PJs which will be perfect when it warms up a bit more and I can lose the sweater.  The rest of the day I was cleaning house and focused a lot of attention on our office desk that was overrun by papers.  Thankfully I was able to throw away all the "explanation of benefits" related to John's lengthy hospital stay last year.  That finally got sorted out so I can wash my hands of it.  I swear the insurance company killed a whole grove of trees with the amount of unnecessary duplicated mail they sent us.  This space looks so much more calming and useable now.  I wish I had taken a before picture but got into a purging groove and forgot.

Day 176- Sunday, 6/25/23

We're enjoying some wine out back on this nice summer evening while John grills us some steaks.  It's great to have him helping out more and standing tall again.  I don't miss the chair at all!  The rest of my day was spent ordering stuff for our new bigger bed which should be coming soon.

That's it!  See you next week and I hope you enjoy your 4th of July!!

Week 24

Welcome back and happy Tuesday! Work has been super busy so not a whole lot else going on for me this week, but the weather has been nice and mild plus the week ended on a good note so all is well.

Here are last week's pictures:

Day 163- Monday, 6/12/23  

I feel like these crazy turkeys all over campus should be our mascot these days.  They are the now the first sign of life I see every morning at work.

Day 164- Tuesday, 6/13/23

Rusty is still a cuddle bug needing extra love because he's missing Justin.  He insists on sitting way up on me lately too instead of on my lap like usual and he's shedding like crazy in the summer heat so it's a bit hard on my eyes and nose.  Poor thing just follows me all around until I finally sit down so he can have his time.

Day 165- Wednesday, 6/14/23

It's nice to see my boys spending time in the kitchen and sending me photos of their creations. Tyler is practicing Eggs Benedict so he can make it for John on Father's Day and looks like he's doing great at it--not an easy thing to make.  Justin prefers baking and has made some cowboy cookies for him and his roommates-love his little emoji.

Day 166- Thursday, 6/15/23

The backyard lilies followed the front yard ones and finally started to bloom.  Honestly I'm surprised they survived and came back after last years extreme drought so I'm super happy to see them again.  No sign of poppies I seeded though.

Day 167- Friday, 6/16/23

Brandon is enjoying his summer free time while still looking for a summer job.  The whole apply only online thing is frustrating when there is usually no response or feedback at all and if you show up in person they don't want to talk to you even if you applied online already--sign of the times I guess.  It was easier face-to-face back in my day.  And, yes, Rusty is still at it.  He likes Fridays because I can relax sooner after work than I can on other days.  Today before he completely settled down he worked on making biscuits with his kitty kneading.

Day 168- Saturday, 6/17/23

We're out at a HUGE furniture showroom today looking for a new bedroom set.  We need to upgrade our mattress since the old one is not firm enough for John to turn as often as he needs to and we really need to change the size from a queen to a California King plus our current furniture is falling apart--clearly it's time. This place is so big we got a workout walking between the 2 huge buildings to see all the inventory and didn't bring John's chair so it was a bit much for him but he did great and had time to rest and recover while we got ordering, shipping and payment all set.  Everything will get delivered in about 2-3 weeks giving me just enough time to find new bedding and a larger rug.  Cha-ching!

Day 169- Sunday, 6/18/23

Happy Father's Day to this wonderful man!  He's great with the boys and we're so happy we still have him here to celebrate.  It's been 1 year since he return back home and 15 months since he was hospitalized. The boys worked together to make him breakfast.  Tyler had Brandon help with the Eggs Benedict and it was so yummy and turned out perfect!  He made it look easy but I know it's not.  Then we took in a movie and after ordered Chinese food for dinner.  Look at the "Learn Chinese" word on the back of John's fortune!  What are the odds he would pick the 1 out of 6 cookies we got that had that learning word today?!  We missed Justin but he was at least able to reach out and wish his dad a great day.

That's all folks.  See next week as we wrap up June.  Yikes, summer is slipping away already!

Week 23

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  Last week was a catch-up week.  I've been away a lot lately with travels to and from with the college kids and now it's time to get things done at home and work that had to be put on hold. It was not the most exciting week but still a good productive one and at least the weather has been very mild for this time of year which has been pleasant.

Here are last week's pictures:

 Day 156- Monday, 6/5/23

Somewhere in my travels I picked up a small shard of metal in my left rear tire that caused it to lose most of it's air while sitting all in the garage all weekend.  It was not the best way to start my week but it's all patched now and good to go.

Day 157- Tuesday, 6/6/23

I got this cute hand-painted candy bunny from a friend on her travels to Europe that was almost too pretty to eat--almost! :0)  Poor Rusty is super clingy this week missing Justin.  He really wishes the kid would just stay home.

Day 158- Wednesday, 6/7/23

Finally I noticed our lilies bloomed out front.  They usually bloom in May so they are a little late and I'm happy to see them back.  Later, after driving home from PT, John walks in like it's no big thing!  He's loving his independence which is great to see and frees up a lot of time for me.

Day 159- Thursday, 6/8/23

Being allowed to lick that tuna can clean helped cheer Rusty up.  He only gets to do this a few times a year so it's always a special treat when it happens.  It was tuna for lunch and tacos for dinner.  Brandon was happy to help with dinner prep.  He's a much better assistant than the cat who is a trip hazard always under foot in the kitchen.

 

Day 160- Friday, 6/9/23

 I'm loving the longer green season right now and I really should prune these leaf sprouts from the bottom of the tree but they make me smile so I'll keep them until the summer heat starts to fry them.  Out in that garage John is back at it with the tunes.  This was his normal Friday thing after work and he's looking to make it a regular Friday thing again.  This for sure was the one thing our neighbors missed seeing him do over the past year and the way they all knew something was up in the beginning because he wasn't out there playing his music anymore.

Day 161- Saturday, 6/10/23

 I meant to get my car washed last Saturday but that was when I discovered the flat tire so I had to wait until this Saturday.  It was so dusty and dirty plus covered with smashed bugs from my two road trips in May--looks WAY better now!  Otherwise today was all about house chores and catnaps.

Day 162- Sunday, 6/11/23

It was a beautiful day for a wine club pickup at a couple places locally and I found a wine I loved but have been missing for the past 10 years.  It went out of productions for awhile and then the winery moved locations but I just discovered that they are back and making this wine again--Yay! It's the perfect summer wine.

That's it for the week.  See again soon.

Week 22

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  Last week was pretty busy including a holiday, some sports, some travel, a lot of good food, and a fun hike.   

Take a look at how it went down:

 Day 149- Monday, 5/29/23

Time to BBQ for Memorial Day.  Sadly it was an dreary and windy day so not exactly our typical Memorial Day weather which meant no pool time.  But look at John!  The boys are pretty impressed at how well he gets around now and is standing and walking so much better.  He wanted to grill ribs and did a fine job of it!

 

Day 150- Tuesday 5/30/23

Tyler and Brandon decided to play some ball together today before Tyler headed to work and while Justin watched on.  It's been great to see them all together again this past week. After working up a sweat outside some ice-cream was in order.  We had left over brownies from yesterday to add in as well.

Day 151- Wednesday, 5/31/23

Well, it's almost June.  I had to take the June marker picture today since I won't be able to do it tomorrow.  Then in the afternoon John had new ultra sound done on his heart to see if things have changed at all.  It's been over a year now so hopefully there is some improvement.  We're still waiting on results. After that it was off to PT and then dinner out as a farewell to Justin who returns to Humboldt tomorrow.

Day 152- Thursday, 6/1/23

Long Day!  After driving up here for 6 hours we at least got to enjoy a nice hike through a place we've been wanting to go for years--Fern Canyon!  Some of Jurassic Park was filmed here and it's an amazing hike through the creak bed of fern lined canyon walls.  The pictures don't really do it justice especially since it's hard to capture the scale of it all.  That last hike picture kind of does with the tiny people caught in my shot near the left corner.  Afterwards we freshened up and went out for sushi.

 

Day 153- Friday, 6/2/23

John sent me picture of Rusty seeking him out for food this morning. I usually feed Rusty pretty early and everyone else gets up so much later so I'm sure he's super ready for breakfast and wasn't even afraid to approach the wheelchair to make his needs known.  LOL!  Now time for my long drive home through the cool redwoods and out into the hot valley.  I left Justin behind for the summer but will get to see him again for a week in August before school starts again for his last semester.  At the half way mark on my drive I had to stop for something refreshing to drink.  The temps are much warmer now than when I left.  It's 90 now just coming from a place in the high 60s!  A frozen coke along with shedding a few layers was just what I needed to do the home stretch right.

 

Day 154- Saturday, 6/3/23

 It's a nice summer day with a gentle breeze.  We are meeting friends here at Scribner's Bend for some lunch and a bit of wine tasting. 

 Day 155- Sunday, 6/4/23

Today is a lazy day prepping for the new work week and playing catch up on stuff.  Rusty was watching the birds fly outside while I put laundry away and then I did a little yard work.  I thought this rose bush out back had died in the intensive drought heat last summer but it looks much better this year and I really like the peach colored roses it puts out.

 

That's a wrap for a super full and exhausting week.  I'm still tired from it all.