what did you do today? (2008-2015) (closed)

[EastWest Gal]

Molto cool! I'm in the process of teaching myself to almost be able to play flute, so I can add it to the large collection of instruments I can almost play. I've always been drawn to the bass genre of any instrument. Bass guitar, bari and bass sax, contra bass clarinet are all in my repertoire of poorly played instruments. I like to feel the notes in my belly when I play. I'm going to have to look for some bass flute videos. It looks like it could be difficult to hold, but I'm sure there's a trick to it.

There is a crutch that rests on your thigh and under flute. Makes it a piece of cake!


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[M Paquette]

Spring is early, and the last (and only) rain this year was sufficient to germinate every weed seed in the yard. So, weeding. Then more weeding. Oh, and I also weeded.

With a double Advil chaser, of course.

This afternoon I'm on my back, head inside the kitchen cabinets, measuring and making notes on all the failed bits. The cabinets are the finest 28 year old contractor-grade particleboard, with (now very brittle) plastic 'glides' and moving parts. Everything is failing. The bottoms are disintegrating, the hinges are rusted through, and the glides don't glide. The Formica top is busily delaminating.

I actually have a large sum set aside for a complete kitchen rehab, but DW has decided that would be too disruptive. It falls to me then to keep the kitchen usable while trying to patch over the failing bits. I am sorely tempted to just shrug and say "Gosh, I can't figure out how to fix this!", and let it disintegrate.

 

[Walt34]

Gym day & minor grocery run with DW, enjoyed 48° F weather. Sadly, it will not last and the icy grip of winter descends upon us again tomorrow. But at least we have a good start on melting the snow.

Found out TT had all the state tax forms needed so I finished that and it's ready to snail-mail. Not paying the fee for e-filing.

 

[splitwdw]

Shoveling snow this morning and then the sun came out to help.

MichaelB, I am impressed by all the men on this forum that can cook. It's one of the few areas that my husband does not excel.

 

[Meadbh]

MichaelB, I am impressed by all the men on this forum that can cook. It's one of the few areas that my husband does not excel.

Yabbut....most of them are ER and have time to putter around in the kitchen. IIRC your DH is still w*rking. You never know!

I am a woman and I have become quite interested in cooking after ER. This morning I chopped up the sugar pumpkins I bought in the Fall and made pumpkin purée and roasted garlic pumpkin seeds. Time consuming, but so fun!

 

[W2R]

It was warmer today, with temperatures in the mid 70's (F) so I enjoyed spending the day in shorts, a light top, and sandals. Frank and I went out to lunch. Even though I didn't eat much, after I dropped him off and came home I accidently took a nap in my easy chair. I fell so soundly asleep that when I awakened, I didn't know where I was or if it was day or night. I did know that I am retired, though, and so I knew that it didn't matter.

 

[NW-Bound]

I built several trellises in preparation for the snap peas that are coming up.

I bought cedar fencing boards that are 6' long x 6" wide, then ripped them into square sticks to build the trellis. It turned out that each 6' x 3' trellis cost me only $7, and I spaced the sticks at 6" spacing. This makes it a lot sturdier than the ready-made trellis at Home Depot that is made with 12" spacing, and they want $14 for a flimsy 6' x 2' one.

I also took care to staple the sticks front-to-back and also back-to-front at each junction. Even with a pneumatic stapler and a power saw, it took me 3 hours to build 3 trellises. I am not done, and will build several more tomorrow.

 

[aja8888]

Early church then meet stepdaughter and boyfriend for breakfast. Worked on taxes for a bit. Walked the dog and noticed the cold front coming in.

Generally goofed off for the afternoon except for cleaning up my workbench and opening a box that was unopened from our move to this house in 11/2013. The box was full of electrical wire, tools, old auto bulbs, a new fog light assembly, a tube of CV joint grease, some bags of fasteners and nut plates. I suppose I really have not missed this stuff in the last 14 months. Sorted it and stored it appropriately until such time as I need an item.

 

[splitwdw]

Yabbut....most of them are ER and have time to putter around in the kitchen. IIRC your DH is still w*rking. You never know!

I am a woman and I have become quite interested in cooking after ER. This morning I chopped up the sugar pumpkins I bought in the Fall and made pumpkin purée and roasted garlic pumpkin seeds. Time consuming, but so fun!

Don't think he'll ever take an interest but he has many others things he enjoys like wood carving, wood turning, creates tools for my metal and enamel work, drawing, working on our cars. He's one of those people that can pick up something for the first time and do it like he's been doing it forever. He watched me making Viking knit chain and made one without any instruction from me.
Don't think I've ever heard of garlic pumpkin seeds. Can they be bought?

 

[Meadbh]

Don't think I've ever heard of garlic pumpkin seeds. Can they be bought?

I have no idea. I got the idea from the Toasted Pumpkin Seeds here

All About Pumpkins - Quick and Easy Pumpkin Recipes

and I added Garlic Chips because I like garlic.

 

[ls99]

Spring is early, and the last (and only) rain this year was sufficient to germinate every weed seed in the yard. So, weeding. Then more weeding. Oh, and I also weeded.

With a double Advil chaser, of course.

This afternoon I'm on my back, head inside the kitchen cabinets, measuring and making notes on all the failed bits. The cabinets are the finest 28 year old contractor-grade particleboard, with (now very brittle) plastic 'glides' and moving parts. Everything is failing. The bottoms are disintegrating, the hinges are rusted through, and the glides don't glide. The Formica top is busily delaminating.

I actually have a large sum set aside for a complete kitchen rehab, but DW has decided that would be too disruptive. It falls to me then to keep the kitchen usable while trying to patch over the failing bits. I am sorely tempted to just shrug and say "Gosh, I can't figure out how to fix this!", and let it disintegrate.

That's the ticket! Creative incompetence.

 

[FIREd]

Perfect weather for a day at the beach! I walked a few miles barefoot in the sand, my doc said it was a good exercise to keep the plantar fasciitis at bay. We had a picnic and worked on our tan for a while.


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[seraphim]

Oh thanks FIRE'd - I dug the truck out of the snow...


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[freebird5825]

It was very cold and windy today, so my gardening buddy was not able to remove excess snow from the roof for me. So we decided to install brackets for some 4 foot grow lights in my indoor greenhouse room. He gave me some heirloom seeds that he and his late father had saved over the years. He and his father were partners in gardening for decades, so I feel honored to be invited to continue that. I'm in charge of doing a few trial runs to make sure the seeds are still viable. I am starting more seeds than what I will need, so my buddy will get the extras.
It's great to have someone who is into the plant growing as much as I am.

Mr B continues to do Legion treasurer tasks, taxes for clients, and study for his IRS authorized agent exam. I am amazed at how he can keep up with all that. But that is his nature to keep mentally busy while I occupy my brain with simpler stuff.

I am still eating soft foods due to 2 wobbling teeth, one of which becomes quite painful if I chew on that side of my mouth. I have to be very creative to figure out ways to eat nutritious foods that require little chewing. Breakfast was Boost. Lunch today was half an avocado (the big type) with ranch dressing, roasted sliced tomatoes, and 3 fresh kiwi fruits. Dinner was a huge bowl of mashed pumpkin, cottage cheese and chocolate ice cream with a side of PB for dessert. Yummy !

 

[Bamaman]

We're in a stopover between Hawaii and home--in San Francisco.

We went to Pier 39 for lunch, drove around the city and generally enjoyed a beautiful day.

We fly home tomorrow for what we hope is the last cold spell in an unpleasant February.

Next February, we expect to leave home for the month--and go somewhere warm.

 

[splitwdw]

I'm in charge of doing a few trial runs to make sure the seeds are still viable. I am starting more seeds than what I will need, so my buddy will get the extras.

If you just want to see if the seeds are viable, take 10 seeds, dampen (not dripping wet) a paper towel, fold towel in half, spread seeds out on one half of the towel and fold other half of towel over seeds, place in plastic bag. Keep bag somewhere it's in the low 70's. Check to see if any have sprouted in 7-10 days. This will give you a percentage of how viable your seeds are. You can plant in starter pots any that have sprouted. Saves you the time of potting up seeds and then wondering if anything is growing in the first 7-10 days. If you are checking different seeds make sure you label the bag and date started.

 

[freebird5825]

If you just want to see if the seeds are viable, take 10 seeds, dampen (not dripping wet) a paper towel, fold towel in half, spread seeds out on one half of the towel and fold other half of towel over seeds, place in plastic bag. Keep bag somewhere it's in the low 70's. Check to see if any have sprouted in 7-10 days. This will give you a percentage of how viable your seeds are. You can plant in starter pots any that have sprouted. Saves you the time of potting up seeds and then wondering if anything is growing in the first 7-10 days. If you are checking different seeds make sure you label the bag and date started.

I thought about doing that, but then I'd have to keep checking that the paper towel is still wet. I use clear plastic 16 oz beer cups half filled with dirt and cover them with plastic with 2 holes poked to avoid rotting the seeds. If nothing comes up, I just throw more seeds in.
A lot of these tomato seeds are a mystery. My buddy forgot to label them. The good news is he grew nothing but heirloom seeds and does a great job storing them. The first round of seeds is already up.
It's -15F so I have nothing better to do but plant mystery tomato seeds and wait...

 

[rodi]

Not so much what I did today - but what I did this past weekend.

Flew up to Bellingham WA to visit my BFF. Stayed up too late on Friday drinking wine and catching up.
Saturday BFF and her husband propose taking bikes to downtown Bellingham for a brew tour that was going on. Sounded great. It was great except I hadn't used toeclips in more than a decade (my mountain bike has regular pedals) and I fell a few times while trying to pull my foot out. I have some nice bruises and a skinned knee - but we also had a great day.
Sunday BFF and her DH hosted an oscar viewing party with homemade pizzas, I made chicken taquitos, and some really good homemade pasta.
Yesterday, before flying home, BFF and I took a long walk out to Clarks point to look over the Chuckanut Bay and all the islands.

Today I'm back to reality - but I did start the day with a nice walk on the beach with the pooch.

 

[braumeister]

Saturday BFF and her husband propose taking bikes to downtown Bellingham for a brew tour that was going on. Sounded great. It was great except I hadn't used toeclips in more than a decade (my mountain bike has regular pedals) and I fell a few times while trying to pull my foot out. I have some nice bruises and a skinned knee - but we also had a great day.

Probably worth it. The Chuckanut brewpub in Bellingham is one of the best in the world, IMHO. Fabulous beers.

 

[aja8888]

Ahhh, Bellingham...brings back memories of visiting the old ARCO refinery north of there back in the day... Nice town and area!

Today I attended the ROMEO breakfast at the local Burger King. The group told stories, many of which were told before, but for some attendees, it was like new stuff.

Its' cool here today (+36 F this morning) and I decided to work on my taxes.

 

[Sea Kayaker]

Not so much what I did today - but what I did this past weekend.

Flew up to Bellingham WA to visit my BFF. Stayed up too late on Friday drinking wine and catching up.
Saturday BFF and her husband propose taking bikes to downtown Bellingham for a brew tour that was going on. Sounded great. It was great except I hadn't used toeclips in more than a decade (my mountain bike has regular pedals) and I fell a few times while trying to pull my foot out. I have some nice bruises and a skinned knee - but we also had a great day.
Sunday BFF and her DH hosted an oscar viewing party with homemade pizzas, I made chicken taquitos, and some really good homemade pasta.
Yesterday, before flying home, BFF and I took a long walk out to Clarks point to look over the Chuckanut Bay and all the islands.

Today I'm back to reality - but I did start the day with a nice walk on the beach with the pooch.

That sounds like a wonderful visit. I've always meant to take our kayaks across the border and do some paddling in the Chuckanut area...I'll put that on my to-do list for this Summer perhaps.

Rodi, as you gazed westward over the various islands in the distance, my own little island was one of them - pretty much due west of Chuckanut Bay.

And it looks like you got out just before the return of the rain.

 

[Walt34]

Gym day, then stopped and got a pizza on the way back before stopping at the estate attorney's office, then went home. We are now up-to-date on our wills, POA, and health care directives.

 

[Lisa99]

found out at annual physical that I'm pre-diabetic. Diagnosis really got my attention and explains the way I'm been feeling (thought it was just about getting older). My A1C was 6.0 which isn't terrible in the context of full diabetes but it's not a result that I was happy with.

Doc didn't suggest meds or even a diet change... just nonchalantly said "oh, based on your tests you're pre-diabetic" then moved on to the next topic. (I'm changing docs)

I took it upon myself to buy a blood glucose monitor to see how different foods affect me. A sandwich with 2 slices of thin 'light' bread (about 30 carbs total) sent my BG to 195 in the first hour!

Last Monday I started a very low carb, high fat (but low saturated fat), moderate protein diet. The name of the diet is goofy (Diabetes Miracle diet) but it's designed by a nutritionist who has Type 2 diabetes which I found appealing. It doesn't allow any food that has more than 5 net carbs / meal.

I've been checking my BG religiously and my BG hasn't gone over 105 at any meal since changing my diet and this morning my fasting glucose was 84 (lowest it's been since starting to test).

The great thing is I'm not hungry and the food tastes good. I don't miss the sugar or carbs since if I would have kept up the way I was eating it would have led to full blown diabetes... I've also lost about 15 pounds so am feeling better all the way around.

 

[Meadbh]

Last Monday I started a very low carb, high fat (but low saturated fat), moderate protein diet.

....

I've also lost about 15 pounds so am feeling better all the way around.

You've lost 15 pounds since last Monday? Congratulations!

 

[Lisa99]

You've lost 15 pounds since last Monday? Congratulations!

Nope

I actually started watching my diet about a month ago after my doc appt, but once I realized my blood sugar wasn't even close to in control I switched my diet again last Monday.