Week 29

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  I hope everyone is staying cool as can be. We're still heatwaving in triple digits here.  Last week was a quiet uneventful week.  No one really wants to do much in the heat except stay indoors although looks like this week will be pretty busy with a lot of appointments.. We're also still waiting on our new bed set delivery hoping at least some of the order will be delivered end of the week.  Apparently the bed and night stands are in Sacramento while the dressers are somewhere in route for another few weeks.  At this point we'll take what we can get for now and at least enjoy the bed while we wait for the lesser important dressers.

Here's a look at the pictures from last week:

Day 198- Monday, 7/17/23

It was a cloudy start to the week which helped reduce the intensity of the sun but also made it more humid so overall feel was still HOT! We are not used to humidity here so it hits extra hard when it actually happens.  Back at home Rusty was dealing well, laid back, and just cool as a can be while enjoying the evening delta breeze blowing through the house.  He hasn't sat like this in awhile with his little armrest. Cracks me up every time.

Day 199- Tuesday, 7/18/23

One of Brandon's jobs from me this week was to sort through all the Pokémon cards we had laying around and find out if any of them are worth anything. Challenge accepted. He found an app that would scan them and tell the value.  The ones in the sleeve sheet are worth the most. The first is over $80! The others in the 3 stacks are worth from 10 cents to $5.00 ea.  He's got $200+ worth of cards there so a nice haul if can figure out where to sell them.  It was a fun treasure hunt type of job that he enjoyed.   Meanwhile in Humboldt, Justin is living his best summer life.  Working when he can and enjoying his time there when he's free.  He made another cake for another friend's birthday that was a Better Than Sex Cake--rich chocolate cake, caramel, toffee, and whipped topping.  Apparently it was a huge hit.  I'm so happy to see him having a great summer with good friends.  Honestly he's going to hate graduating in Dec and having to leave. Who knows?  He may even stay and find a good wildlife job there.

Day 200- Wednesday, 7/19/23

Our neighbors shared some of their summer crop bounty with us so John made some bruschetta today and it turned out great--Yum!

Day 201- Thursday, 7/20/23

I have our new bedding all washed and ready to go.  We were hoping the new bed set would be delivered this weekend but looks like maybe next week with the dressers delayed and not coming until 3 weeks after.  Ugh! At least there are these two to keep me smiling--Brandon likes to play videos for Rusty to watch and it's quite comical.  He really is intrigued.  Brandon says the are videos of mice running around.  LOL!  Poor deprived indoor cat that never sees any real action.

Day 202- Friday, 7/21/23

TGIF!  What a work week! I am exhausted trying to balance work and home duties and so happy the weekend is here.  It's time to put my feet up and relax with my kitty boy who is also happy to finally see me sit still for a change. I recorded this new HGTV show called Revealed where the designer focuses on making a home reflect your roots and heritage--love how she does that is such a special way.  So far the end results have brought tears to my eyes with each episode. 

Day 203- Saturday, 7/22/23

Time for some fun--dinner and a movie with my guy.  We saw the new Mission Impossible flick which did not disappoint.  Turns out most people there were seeing the new Barbie movie.  The theater was packed of people dressed in pink.  I think I'll wait for it to stream.  Afterwards we tried a pizza place that has been in Sacramento for over 75 years!  There was also a cool painted mural on the building next door and I noticed as we were driving through the city streets that were so many more new murals to help brighten the city up and add interest.  They were all so cool and interesting.

Day 204- Sunday, 7/23/23

Today I worked inside upstairs and outside in the yard  while trying to avoid the sun and heat.  Upstairs while cleaning out the boys things I found "Joe" which is a doll John's dad made out of scraps of his own clothes for Tyler when he was a baby.  It's something Tyler should have to pass on to his own children someday so I set it aside to keep it safe from the great purge.  Outside I found a nice garden spider by our shed that is helping control the mosquitos around here.  We used to have a lot of these at out 1st house in Woodland but not so many here so I was happy to see this one.  They look creepy but are actually very helpful.  Then I was checking in on the pool which I have noticed is not maintaining it's water level well so this mean there is something wrong with the autofill--it's always something!  I'll have the pool guys check on it this week.  Also it's sad that it's been too hot even to be in the pool lately which seems crazy but until the sun goes does it's really unbearable to be anywhere outside even in the water with this heat.  Triple digits all week--ugh!

That's it.  Crazy to think it will be August when I see you all again--August for sure will be very full and eventful.  My head is spinning just thinking about it.

Week 28

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  The heat here has been a bit much but it is typical for us this time of year to have several days in the triple digits.  I know a lot of places across country are experiencing the same thing.  We'll get through this but I am a bit afraid for future years if this trending continues.  Global warming is no joke!  At least we found good ways to keep cool as you will see below.

Here are last week's pictures:

Day 191- Monday, 7/10/23

It's not a bad way to start the week with a pretty sunrise right out front as I head off to work and then to pass some sunset-colored flowers on my walk to the car leaving for the day.  Cheerful eye candy for sure.

Day 192- Tuesday, 7/11/23

This is my go-to cool summer lunch of choice when it's hot out.  After lunch Brandon helped me load up and haul out 12 bags of clothes we're donating to Goodwill.  Since he's still had no luck finding a summer job we're paying him to help with a lot of home projects and closet clean outs are among them--2 closets down and 3 more to go.

Day 193- Wednesday, 7/12/23

Wednesday at work it was already hot out when I got here at 6am and then when I walked out to get coffee at 8 it was too hot for my sweater and I really felt like getting an ice coffee but our lab and building are freezing with the A/C so a hot drink turned out to be the better way to go.  As soon as I got back to my desk to work on clinical reports that sweater also went right back on.  I'm all for A/C but does it always have to be set soooo cold?  

Day 194- Thursday, 7/13/23

I just got home from work and this is how I found these two dealing with the triple-digit heat.  Apparently it's too hot to do anything but sleep.  There is no PT on Thursdays so it really is the best day to nap.

Day 195- Friday, 7/14/23

TGIF! I'm amazed how well the campus plants with flowers are holding up in the heat because mine at home are definitely looking more stressed.  The created nature walking-path from the buildings to the far-out parking lot helps make trekking in the heat to your car at least a bit more pleasant with these pretty plants. Back at home, once the sun started to set, I joined Brandon out by the pool to chill for a bit.  This is his favorite way to cool off and get some hoop time in as well.

Day 196- Saturday, 7/15/23

Today was a chore and house project day.  Brandon was up early while it was still ok to be outside working on cleaning up the front of the house.  Apparently birds and spiders like decorating our newly painted exterior.  Inside we still have no new bed delivered but while we wait we continue to get ready so I did get a new larger rug to fit under the larger bed coming soon.  Thankfully I found the same rug we currently have in the larger size needed because this rug works perfect for pulling together all the colors we have in the room and will also work great with the new bedding.  Plus I love this rug and really wasn't ready to part with it especially since I wasn't finding any better alternatives.

Day 197- Sunday, 7/16/23

BBQ, pool, and root beer floats--a great way to still have fun in the heat and spend good quality time together to wrap up the week.

That's it.  I hope everyone else is finding ways to beat the heat and still enjoy life. Keep cool out there!

Week 27

Welcome back and happy Tuesday!  I had a good week off mostly just getting things done around the house that needed to be done.  Not really a fun vacation but very productive at least and some good time spent with family. We were hoping our bedroom set would be delivered last week but it looks like it will be the end of this current week instead so I'm hoping for a Saturday delivery to avoid taking even more time off from work.  We'll see.

Until then here are last week's pictures:

Day 184- Monday 7/3/23

The Lily of the Nile flowers out front always bloom around the 1st week in July which is perfect because they remind me of exploding fireworks.  Tyler was working an extra shift on Sunday and will be working tomorrow on the 4th so we had our Sunday/4th of July BBQ dinner today complete with s'mores for dessert. It's nice to have that flexibility since I'm not working this week.

Day 185- Tuesday, 7/4/23

Happy Independence Day!  It's just the 3 of us this year but we still made the most of it.  Brandon helped me make our traditional lemon, berry flag cake while John made us some red, white and blue drinks.  Brandon's was a mocktail with the best color layering. Later we joined the neighbors on the street for small-scale, safe and sane fireworks.  Our new neighbors next door brought out a ladder to set theirs on making them seem more grand--brilliant idea!

Day 186- Wednesday, 7/5/23

Kitty boy turned 11 years old this week so Brandon and I pick out some special treats and a couple new string toys for him.  He was very happy with the treats and played for over an hour with his new toys. Also while I've been home for this week I've been able to make my way through the 1st season of Yellowjackets which did not disappoint.  It's like Lord of the Flies but with a girls soccer team past and present.

Day 187- Thursday, 7/6/23

After getting a lot of chores done this morning we treated ourselves to some fun by taking in the new Indiana Jones movie and enjoy dinner out at Chevy's on the river.  You can see a peek-a-boo view of the Sacramento River to the right.  It was very pleasant out and a good way to end the day.

Day 188- Friday, 7/7/23

Working our way through closets, cupboards, and drawers was one of our main goals this week especially since we need to take care of this prepping for the new bedroom furniture coming soon.  I should have taken a before picture but trust me this looks so much better and I was able to get rid of and donate a lot of stuff.  It feels good to purge every now and then.  In other news Justin up at Humboldt was enjoying a quiet evening on campus after work and posted these pictures. We sure missed having him around for the 4th but will get to see him in early August so only about a month away.

Day 189- Saturday, 7/8/23

More milestones were met this week.  Our stand-alone island in the kitchen was moved out over the past year to make room for John's wheelchair but since he's not really using the chair much anymore we were able to put the island back.  It's very functional and I have missed it a lot so I'm super happy it's back especially since it also means John is still improving and needing less accommodations.  He's also transitioning from the fore-arm crutches to a single cane and often times walks without anything for short distances between close stopping points.  All this physical muscle and mobility improvement is amazing and great, but the ultrasound a few weeks ago showed very little heart improvement so we are still waiting on a transplant.  The good news is we can use the waiting time to continue to help him get stronger and more mobile which will make his recovery from transplant surgery easier and more successful.

Day 190- Sunday, 7/9/23

With leftover blueberries from the 4th of July cake John made muffins for us this morning which was a yummy treat. Later Brandon wanted to make mac and cheese for the first time to practice for when he needs to cook for himself in an apartment next school year.  He found his own recipe, did the shopping for ingredients and pulled the dish together like a pro only having to ask a couple questions.  It turned out and tasted great.  Next he wants to challenge Tyler to a mac and cheese cookoff with impartial judges.  Go get 'em kid!  I'm not sure why he has a Halloween shirt on in July though--LOL!

That ends another week.  I can feel it already--July will be over before we know it.

Week 26

Happy 4th of July! And welcome to my usual Tuesday post. Summer finally hit hard this past week and thankfully it has cooled off a bit for the holiday.  The pool is also now officially open and been in use as you will see.  I have this week off but it's just a staycation since there is a lot to do at home that I can never seem to catch up on.

At any rate, take a look at last week:

Day 177- Monday, 6/26/23

I just got home from work and Rusty is waiting for me to take off my shoes and move to the couch where he can get his mom fix.  I like how the sun in filtering in behind him making that cute shadow on floor.

Day 178- Tuesday, 6/27/23

I don't usually eat breakfast on weekdays when I work on campus because I have such an early start but on remote days the slower and later start allows for that.  This is still my favorite go to cereal.

Day 179- Wednesday, 6/28/23

Wednesday at work while running between buildings I stopped in the shade for a bit right by this cute squirrel.  There are so many new younger squirrels on campus right now and they are way nicer than the turkeys.  Later, back at home, we went out to pick up our fireworks for next week.

Day 180- Thursday, 6/29/23

In the lab toady I received some Texas mule samples for an EPM project we are working on.  There was no warning that the were coming so I was not expecting them and we usually only receive serum so these blood samples needed some extra processing before I could store them until they can be run after next week.  Summer is always super busty for juggling research work with clinical samples but things will slow down once school starts again in Sept.  Today was also the start of our heat wave. Buckle up!  It's going to be hot. 🔥

Day 181- Friday, 6/30/23

This was full and long Friday but TGIF!!  I had to stay late at work for an RX One Health Capstone Project presentation event.  At least the presentations were fantastic and dinner was included.  Then back at home Brandon was the first to use the pool for the year and it was very refreshing in the heat.  For our Friday night movie we finally were able to watch the best picture Oscar winner streaming without having to pay.  It was good but also very strange and a bit crazy to keep up with.

Day 182- Saturday, 7/1/23

Welcome to July!  We always have watermelon in July which is a perfect summer treat.  This evening we attended a birthday/graduation party for some friends held at this cute barn venue near some Napa vineyards.  It was great to see so many people we haven't seen in awhile and without planning this bunch of the guys showed up wearing the same color shirts that also happened to match the table cloths inside where the food was and the napkins at the tables--lol!  It was a fun night and it felt good to get out.

Day 183- Sunday, 7/2/23

John smoked some salmon fillets for us today and then spent some time in the pool with Brandon.  They played some ball and then he even swam for a bit.  It's been almost 2 years since he's been in the pool.  Last year he didn't even want to try and go outside to sit by it so it's great to see him enjoying it again.

That's all for now.  I hope everyone is having a fun and safe 4th of July surrounded by friends and family.  Well be lighting those fireworks tonight. 🎇