04/6/2020

The San Joaquin Mountains were socked in with dark, brooding clouds today. Rain was threatening all day but didn’t do more than mist us a few times. Tuesday and Wednesday look promising for a good down pour through out the day. Guess I will be looking for some indoor projects the next two days.

So here is how day eighteen of our sheltering in place went:

• Wally and I slept in because, well we were just exhausted I guess. I think this stay at home order is turning us into cats but without the superior grooming habits.

• I didn’t take any new pictures again today except the one of my buns… NO, I wouldn’t do that to you…Hamburger buns. So now that we have that cleared up…you are going to get some more random pictures that make me happy.

• Used Zoom to call into a Board Meeting….yawn, maybe I should say bored meeting.

• Donned my fancy face gaiter and took a bicycle ride with my friend Kristen. We rode about 8 miles which honestly didn’t burn the calories I consumed drinking wine tonight. I will just have to try harder tomorrow.

• I had a hamburger craving but no hamburger buns. Normally, a quick trip to any number of nearby grocery stores or a visit to any number of great local restaurants would have solved that dilemma. Fast forward to the sci-fi movie life we are all living, I decided to just make the damn buns. I love to cook, a recipe is a suggestion of how something should be made, ingredients can be substituted, spices can be increased. Being unable to follow a recipe as it is written makes me a very poor baker. I decided that using some whole wheat flour would make these hamburger buns more healthy…OXYMORON.. hamburgers aren’t healthy what was I thinking! So what I ended up with were these anemic “buns” that look like a wasps nest. I even did an egg wash on the top…Well, I actually should have put it on when I put them in the oven, not in the last three minutes of baking. Yes, that is a glass of wine in the background.

• There was no cocktail hour today…somehow the day got all monkey’ed up, I forgot to eat lunch so an early dinner was more important than a cocktail. But I did open another bottle of wine while I was getting everything ready sooo technically??? You decide.

• Wally grilled burgers which I served on the anemic wasp nest looking buns. He should get husband of the year award, for many reasons but today it was for eating his delicious hamburger on a homemade bun with enthusiasm.

• The fridge is full of possibilities, the cilantro is still viable so maybe some Baja Fish Tacos for dinner tomorrow… we’ll see!

• Worked on this blog post and sifted through photos to find a few that brought a smile to my face.

Day eighteen was mellow and uneventful … we just stayed at home.

04/5/2020

It was another warm, breezy day here in the Coachella Valley. Admittedly, I slept in later than usual after staying up until 1:30 am the night before. I will also admit to having not one but two edibles before I crawled in bed. As a long time sleep challenged person, I have found cannabis edibles to be just what I need for a good nights sleep. Wished these little gems had been legal in my working days when it was very common for me to lay in bed, wide awake but exhausted, my body desperately needing sleep but my brain unable to turn off. Not sure why I took the second one before I went to bed except I just didn’t want to think anymore. These were a new to me brand and I am here to tell you that I may have had a creepy dream and remember yelling NO to the person/thing that was pulling me under the bed. It’s hard to yell in your sleep but being an over achiever, I got out a really good NO… Wally confirmed that was so! Yelling woke me up and on the trip to the bathroom in those wee hours of the morning I also remember thinking I might have been a high as a kite. Only one gummie tonite…

So here is how day seventeen of our sheltering in place went:

• Wally and I walked the resort but avoided the golf course today since my allergies have been relentless. I am so fortunate to be allergic to grass and palm tree pollen, go figure!

• I didn’t take any new pictures today except one of our lunch so you are going to get some random picture that make me happy.

• Shopped in the fridge and used the last of the rotisserie chicken to make a curried chicken salad for lunch. The recipe in the link is a good basic starter but I lightened the recipe by substituting non-fat greek yogurt, lemon juice and just a bit of light mayo for the heavy mayo and wine this recipe calls for. The curried chicken is served over a bed of lettuce. I also garnished with chopped cashews and a chiffonade of fresh basil.

• We both puttered around outside. Wally worked on a few of his projects. Sunday is fertilizer day for all our new plants so I gave them their weekly dose of miracle grow. The only new plant that looks like hell is my had to have, Madagascar Palm. It looks terrible, like leafless spiny elephant trunks. It has new growth so I am hopeful but honestly don’t know if it needs more water, less water, a trip to the dump??? All of the leaves have fallen off and it doesn’t seem to like the wind…CRAPOLA…hoping it stops being such a prima donna and gets with the program.

• I used Instacart to arrange a Ralphs grocery store delivery for myself and Kristen on Wednesday and a Costco order for next Sunday. With my Paprika 3 App, menu planning and creating a shopping list for a week is a snap. Still on TP to be had here in the US…come on people really.

• Had our cocktail on the patio…neighbors from across the golf course wandered over and we had a nice chat across the wall.

• Wally fixed a five spice shrimp, broccoli and pepper stir fry served over rice ramen noodles. He is our stir fry chef…I just prepped the veggies and drank wine.

• The fridge is full of possibilities but starting to thin out. I have a big burger craving and may make some hamburger buns tomorrow… we’ll see!

• Worked on this blog post and sifted through photos to find a few that brought a smile to my face.

Day seventeen was mellow And uneventful … we just stayed at home.