Working on some projects

I had  hoped to get up about 4:30 but thanks to the room darkening shades and comfort of my bed I slept in until 5:30 am.  Breakfast will have to wait for  a while as I need to get ahead of the heat for today's mission.

I backed out the car and moved the motorcycle to have access to all the under deck storage drawers.  Since the drawer behind the cat cage and partially blocked by the motorcycle is basically unreachable, this is where the stuff that we never look at but want to keep "just in case" will be stored.  This is scrap wood and metal, mesh fencing, various odds and ends.

The other drawers are mostly storage of seasonal items, seat cushions, etc.  I kept the one drawer that is somewhat accessible by just moving the car back a bit for the folding chairs, tables, etc.  This involved a lot of hustling to and fro and guzzling lots of water.

Once done I swept the driveway, pulled out the dead plants and cleaned up the mess that generated put everything back in place.  I removed the deck couch (just the metal frame) from the deck and put it outside so the bikes had a place to be for now. At this point the heat was intense enough I retreated back inside.

First thing was to start the first of three loads of laundry and get all those new sheets & towels washed. While those were going I started to tackle the replacement of the hardware in the bedroom.

I got the bookshelf set up with the printer on it and Alexa kept me company by playing the songs I requested as I boogied about the room doing my chores. 

The kitchen sink was full of dirty dishes, so that needed to be tackled before I could do much else.  Yes, honey, I really miss your handling that job.  I couldn't figure what was wrong.  I kept stacking them in the sink but they were there the next morning.

In between the physical chores I did things like posting the patio door blinds to be given away and made calls to find out more about tai chi classes and the such.  I signed up for a Pilates class on Saturday before I left Minnesota, so that's in place.  I still have a lot of these kinds of calls to do, but that's a nice diversion when my body demands to sit down.

Lunch today was popcorn at the movie.  I needed to take a break and even though I was pretty grubby looking with my shorts & dirty shirt, hair stuck up on top of my head, I washed my face and headed out.  I figure I'm sitting in a dark theater anyway and I didn't have time to shower and change.  I went to see "Yesterday" and it was a nice reprieve from my labor.

When I got back home I continued working on the laundry and hardware.  Lots  of stuff is getting put into the storage area in the rear of the house and that's going to be a major chore to sort and clean.  But already I have several items for the Boutique.  That's what we call the area next to the dumpster where you put the nicer things for people to scavenge. 

I put my new yellow tablecloth on the table to enjoy.  Now I need a nice center piece.

I found my DVD and tai chi video, so I'll work on that this weekend and decide if I want to take classes or just do my own thing in my little haven.  I still haven't done the smudging ceremony of the house to clear the energy or meditated yet, but I really feel a need to have my house organized  and clean first.

The bathroom has a nasty odor in it and I can't even blame Left Brain for it.  So I plugged in my new essential oil diffuser using the orange oil to see if that helps.  After doing the Reiki session in Minnesota I find myself wanting to burn incense and things again.  The smell bothers Left Brain so this is my time to enjoy it while  I'm alone.

It feels so good to not be playing my stupid games nonstop, although I do indulge in them for a short period each day.  I find I listen more to my music and seldom turn the TV on.

Once the hectic cleaning and sorting is done I will start to experiment more with some cooking.  Right now I feel too busy to bother eating, which is a wonderful feeling not to be obsessing with the food.  I really do feel some of this is due to the Reiki session and opening the chakras.  I feel calmer and so much more focused.

My only disappointment today was that I had signed up to attend a free event in our ballroom, a patriotic event performance, but it was 5:00 PM and I had just sat down with my salad and had so much writing I wanted to accomplish.  I just didn't feel like going.  I had to assess my real feelings ...was I just avoiding having to "show up" or was not going a better use of my time.  I decided that pursuing my blogging and responding to the sweet email George sent me (yes, an email from my cat...but I think Left Brain helped with the typing) was more important and in line with my mission.

Long Live the Very Tired and Sore But Content Queen

Book review

A little backtracking here.  I want to tell you about the book I read recently. I started it in Minnesota and finished it on the airplane and it was yellow highlighter worthy.  

It's called "The Choice...Embrace the Impossible" and was written by Dr Edith Eva Eger.  She was a trained ballet dancer and gymnast who was sent to Auschwitz where both of her parents were immediately murdered.  She learned how to transform her life instead of letting the horrors she experienced define it.  

Take a look on You Tube to find the Super Soul Sunday interview with Oprah and experience her.  This interview gives a wonderful recounting of her life. She is a delight and an inspiration.

Long Live the Queen of Good Books

Day one of The Plan - June 27

Thursday was my first day to start to tackle my new plan.  I woke at 5:30 am and hit the ground running.  The day started with two slices of Ezekial Bread with cashew butter for breakfast.  I spent the morning doing some cleaning - scraping cat fur off their cat tree and vacuuming the main area.  The Arizona room will have to wait since I'll be living mostly in the main part of the house.  Partly because it's cooler in here but mainly just because I love this area.

I dragged one of the recliners into the Arizona room for now as I decided to just have one recliner in the main area.  When we watch TV together we're in the Arizona room and I want this area to just be more "my space". The bookshelf is in this room now for the printer and other electronic gadgets to keep as much open space on the kitchen counter as possible.

Then it was off to the stores to do some shopping!

First stop was Lowe's where I asked for an appointment to get an estimate on replacing the carpet on our deck with composite material.  I looked at the choices while at the store and fell in love with a lovely gray Trex.  This color won't show the dust and dirt as much as a dark floor would and will look great when the house is painted gray.

Then I bought my drapery rods for the patio door and the large window in the Arizona room.  The blinds will be offered up to anyone that wants them and drapes with large grommets will take their place.  This will make it easier to open and close the windows instead of the pull vertical blinds.

Then I went to Home Depot to browse and bought a glass door knob for my pantry door.  I'm on a mission to eradicate all the brassy gold from my house.  I found some brushed nickel hardware for the bedroom cabinets and drawers as well.  It was so much cheaper to buy the contractor package since I needed quite a few.  During my cleaning spree in the storage area I found some silver hinges and have just enough for what I want to do in the bedroom.

 I picked up some paint samples to see what the dining room hutch might look like painted a deep turquoise color.  The colors in this room seem to be predominately turquoise and buttercup yellow.  I love the jewel tones and these colors create my "happy place".

Then it was off to Ross, one of my favorite haunts that Sandy Stack introduced me to.  I found some drapery panels with the large grommets that I think will work nicely.  Also picked up some more plastic kitchen bins because they are so handy in the cupboards and fridge.  I just LOVE to organize!

I found a larger kitchen utensil bin since mine was pretty crowded.  Much nicer!  I also scored some pretty turquoise sheets and bath towels...just because they were pretty.

Then just for fun I bought a spiral curling iron and some foam rollers to play with now that my hair is getting longer.

Well, since Bed Bath & Beyond is right next door it just made sense to go on in.  

I picked up two 18" plastic turntables for the weird corner cabinet and they just fit.  Now the vinegar are on one level and the oils on another.  

There was room left over for our Yeti cups, prep bowls, measuring cups, etc.

By now it was getting close to 1:30 and I was hungry so I meandered down the line to Panera where I indulged in my favorite new soup..the Summer Corn Chowder.  It is SO good.  I tried making it before I left Minnesota and Left Brain liked it, but it just wasn't right for me.  I've located a recipe online that looks closer to what it should be.  Yes, Left Brain, I think was the cilantro we were tasting.  I'll be experimenting down here.  They also had a ten vegetable soup that I need to try since we are newly founded vegetarians.

On the way home from my shopping excursion I stopped at Fry's to pick up a few things to tide me over.  I got some precut watermelon chunks, some salad kits, bananas and onion bagels.  The chopped Greek salad kit was my supper that night and it was amazing.

By the time nightfall came my body was aching and sore.  I manged to crawl to the hot tub and pool about 8:30 and soaked for an hour while chatting with some of the ladies there.

I went to bed about 9:30 so I could get an early start the next day, but I hurt so much I couldn't sleep.  So I got back up, took two Aleve (I usually just take one) and read until it started to kick in.  I guess I kind of over did it.  But the results were nice.

Long Live the Achy Breaky Queen

Back to Sweet Home Arizona

I've left the rainy days of Minnesota behind and am back to the dry heat of Arizona. I loved seeing everyone while there and being able to attend Emily's graduation but it's time to resume my journey of self exploration.

Thanks to my gracious and kind neighbors I was picked up at the airport at 10:20 PM and taken to my house which had lights on to greet me, was cooled off, water turned on and golf cart plugged in.  You don't get any better neighbors than this!

Two years ago when I spent the summer in Arizona alone I learned so much about myself and now I want to continue that development.


I will have six weeks to indulge in my desires in trying to become the person I want to be.  I believe it's never too late to find out who you want to be when you grow up.

This will involve a great deal of book reading on trying to heal the early wounds inflicted by the lack of affection from my mother, which my daughter (the therapist) tells me creates some of the deepest trauma wiring in the body.

My friend, the warrior woman vampire slayer

For preparation on my journey I went to see a spiritual intuitive recommended by a friend of mine .  It's quite an experience to have someone who knows nothing about you pick up on what's happened in your life.  She has assigned Arch Angel Michael & Sarah to me in addition to Mother Mary. Even though I am Jewish, this last addition to my guides sounded very comforting.  Maybe it was the lack of a mother that it's hard to believe someone named Mother Mary could love me.  I returned to her for a Reiki healing session to open my chakras...so look out!

My daughter has worked with me on this issue.  I know intellectually I am loved, but I can't seem to incorporate this into my being.  I need to learn to let go of the horrible things my mother has said to me over the years in her explanation of how I ruined her life (her words).

For too long I have conveniently been able to to blame Left Brain for all the things I have not done because he did not share the same interests.  So, it's put up or shut up time.  I need to ascertain the fact that he's not the one holding me back.  I fear it's really me...but this will make that certain.  For too long I have dulled myself in playing video games while I sit and eat, reading while I sit and eat, watching TV while I sit and eat, going to movies to escape reality and eat.  Hmmm....there seems to be theme here that may be the cause of my weight problem.

I have six weeks to explore learning to dance, attending concerts, developing some sort of physical discipline....yoga, tai chi, Pilates, walking, who knows what it will be.  

My other goals include:

Writing daily in my blog about each day...kind of a journal to myself and to any one who wants to follow along.

Learning to embrace a daily habit of meditation...something very difficult for someone my Rabbi has nicknamed Squirrel due to my inattentiveness.

Getting my 10,000 steps a day in each day.

Playing pickleball as much as possible - that's a given.

Continuing my exploration into learning how to cook in my new vegan-vegetarian lifestyle to create healthy and yet tasty foods.  I have to move past this irrational fear of new things and just get in the kitchen and try it.  Thankfully there are some people I know that I may be able to tap into for lessons.

Having my annual physical to see if any of the dietary changes have changed numbers for my cholesterol and other things.  My weight continues to stay too high and I need direction on how to lose weight.

Finding a massage therapist who can incorporate Reiki in the sessions.

Doing massages on others to re-develop my intuitiveness that has been dormant or stifled, not sure which.  I need to get "back in touch" so to speak.

Taking some dance classes and dancing somewhere at least once a week.

Strengthening some  of the relationships with women that I value.

Whew.  I'm a bit tired from just thinking about all of that.  But this is my goal...wish me luck.

Long Live the Queen of Over Achievement

Okay....we are now ovo-lacto

We gave it a good fight, but there's only so much we can take without the addition of dairy and some eggs.  So after a month of being strict vegan we've decided to allow dairy and eggs back into our diets.

I can deal with the animal rights issues with this, especially since I only purchase eggs that show the chickens are allowed access to the outdoors and not stuck in cages.

This has made it much easier to cook.  The Daiya brand of cheese was okay, but it's not like the real thing.  

Broccoli just is so much better with cheese involved.

Long Live the Queen

Chalkfest and Panera

I arrived in Minnesota in time to take in Chalkfest.  Artists from all over the nation come to prepare these works of art on Main Street in Maple Grove and Arbor Lakes MN.

Things were going well until the first sprinkles started to hit.
My friends and I darted into Panera for cover and for some lunch.  Let's just say this was not an original idea and finding a spot to sit was difficult.

Due to the high volume of people placing orders we chose this opportunity to try loading the Panera app so we could order from our table.  

This proved to be more difficult than I thought and I finally sought help from one of the nice young men that work there.

I tried to order several different soups and it showed it was not available.  Grrrrr!  He zeroed in on the problem right away.  I was trying to send my meal to a table in Mesa AZ.

Oooops.  Once I rectified that and got into the "correct state of mind" it went quite smoothly.

Long Live the Queen of Technology

Meatless Mondays

And Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays...well, you get the idea.  Yup.  We decided to go vegan.

Left Brain and I watched a couple of documentaries in early May and it changed our lives.  The first one we saw was called "What the Health" and the second was "Forks Over Knives".


When they pointed out the health benefits and weight loss we looked at each other and could see we were both thinking the same thing.

I've always been uncomfortable with the way the big corporate farms treat the animals, so letting go of eating meat really appealed to me.

When you get into the harmful effects of raising so much beef and what it does to the planet as well as the horrible lives these animals live and how it ends...the idea of vegan living was more and more appealing.  Plus I'd be able to be kosher again.  Ding ding ding...we have a winner!

How hard could it be, right?  Well, let me tell you....it's hard.

We totally ignored the advice of easing into this in a four week span of time and jumped right in full force.  It's the way we roll.  Not wise, but that's us.

The new gold standard for what ever new recipe I'd try became "well, that wasn't horrible".  For every time that was uttered there were several more "I simply cannot eat that!"

Many attempted recipes trying to make friends with our new foods ended up being unceremoniously dumped in the trash.  That was hard because often I'd spent a considerable amount of time (and money) working to fix that meal.

Salads were the only thing that seemed to be tasty, but I don't want to see the rest of my life as one big never ending salad bar.

I'm embracing (or at least trying) to eat foods that I never would have dreamed of buying.  I had a thing against black beans before, but slowly they are becoming my friends.  Especially after learning you need to rinse them thoroughly before using them.  Chickpeas are another ...they seem to be in almost every sort of meal as well as a snack.

I'm learning (the hard and expensive way) which garden burgers are at least somewhat tasty and which are pure crap.

I've even attempted cooking tofu...that shows you how desperate I've gotten.  Haven't mastered that yet.

You'll lose weight! That was the rallying cry that really caught my attention.  I'm the only person on the planet eating a plant based diet and gaining weight.  I suppose that's because sugar is also a plant I seem to be eating more of that in a frenzied attempt to find something tasty.

We did find we enjoyed falafels in pita bread, that was a relief.

I figured we'd never eat out again, but I'm learning that many restaurants have a vegan option, something McDonald's still hasn't gotten on board with yet.

The thing I'm really missing is eggs.  Sometimes I just want some eggs and hashbrowns.  There is an egg replacement you can buy, but it's only good for baking. Perhaps it's time to consider ourselves ovo-lacto instead of strict vegans.  That allows the use of milk and dairy.  I could live with that much easier.

We may have to alter our plans.

Long Live the Queen of Green