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

[freebird5825]

I did some minor house chores while Mr B did some checkbook reconciliation for a group he was recently elected as their Finance Officer. His opinion of the record keeping was...shall we say...colorful.

I watered the container garden, watched some Olympics, surfed a bit, harvested some fresh carrots and planted 2 more rows for late fall picking.

It is 93F outside, which is way above my "hot flash" tolerance threshold. Small change compared to other parts of the country today, but still hotter than Hades for me. I have both window AC units cranking and all fans on to get some cross room circulation.

I will get out later to deliver some 4x6 color portrait shots of 2 officers at one of the VFW posts we frequent. I also have photos of the parade in which I drove my Mustang as an honorary Color Guard member for a day. My passenger was the past Commander, unable to march due to bad knees.
Here are the guys performing the traditional gun salute.

 

[easysurfer]

Changed the cat litter box. Emptied out the old, put in new. Cats are happier.

Then was singing the song "Zip-It, Zip-It good" (Instead of Whip It...by Devo) as I had to do the chore of using the "Zip-It" device to clear up a very slow bathtub drain. Icky..but very effective way of shower drain busting.

 

[MBAustin]

After my usual Saturday breakfast (poached egg on whole wheat toast and coffee) I walked down the street to visit an estate sale (mother of a friend of mine who has moved into a retirement apartment) - every time I go to one of these it reminds me why I should NOT buy more "stuff".

DS agreed to help me get the two electrostatic precipitator units out of the attic electronic air cleaner so I could clean them, and then put them back (they are heavy and awkward for me to get down the folding attic stairs). Decided to change out the other air filters while I was at it. Then it was time for the weekly pond cleaning (I normally do it on Fridays but had a busy day yesterday). It was so hot that I actually enjoyed being in the pond, so I did some serious pruning on one of the marginal plants and scrubbed the rocks in the waterfall. After a shower and lunch, I sat down to watch some Olympics and start knitting a new prayer shawl (actually, I had started it last night but made a royal mess of it and had to rip it all out and start over). I'm going to grill some stuffed pork chops for dinner. I'm always happy when I can get through an entire Saturday without going someplace where all the w*rking folks are on Saturdays!

 

[antmary]

Just finished canning 28 pints of blackberry jam. DH picked the berries, and I got organic sugar from the coop. We strained out all the seeds. Maybe I'll sell it for say, $50.00 per jar

 

[Gumby]

Just finished canning 28 pints of blackberry jam. DH picked the berries, and I got organic sugar from the coop. We strained out all the seeds. Maybe I'll sell it for say, $50.00 per jar

That sounds like a lot of work, but I'm sure you'll really appreciate the taste of nice homemade jam this winter. I remember my grandmother canning vegetables and jam. She had a big pantry with shelves running from floor to ceiling, each one full of Ball jars.

 

[MichaelB]

Went to see the film "The Intouchables" yesterday. We saw the trailer late last year and were waiting the release, and it did not disappoint.

 

[MichaelB]

Just finished canning 28 pints of blackberry jam. DH picked the berries, and I got organic sugar from the coop. We strained out all the seeds. Maybe I'll sell it for say, $50.00 per jar

Yum. The first time I ate jam made by someone other than my mother was at college. My favorite was blueberry preserves. So good. She also grew her own tomatoes and canned tomato juice, which she used to make spaghetti sauce. What taste, and what memories.

 

[Walt34]

Went to DW's nephew's house to "help" his wife's parents babysit the kids. During dinner the little one, age 2, confided that she wants to be 6 like her sister. Reminded me of the poem "I wish I was six".

They're adding on to the deck on their townhouse and the older one was demonstrating mid-air spins jumping off the new stairs.

 

[NookWine-n-Tinker]

Conquered the Three Peak Challenge on the scooter. A ride up and down Mt. Hamilton, Mt. Diablo and Mt. Tamalpais. All in all about a 280 mile day by the time I made it out of SF and got back home. The Golden Gate bridge was so enshrouded in fog that you could not see the tops of the towers as we crossed. Definitely a bit saddle sore after a long day. Here is a pic from the top of each peak, and a picture of my ride.

nook

 

[Nords]

Morning workout, post-lunch nap, and afternoon electrical work in the guest bedroom. We've just about finished changing out all the 23-year-old electrical receptacles (and phone jacks and cable jacks) from putty to new white. I have a couple more left in the study (behind massive bookcases) but I'm just going to save those for a couple years until we renovate that room.

Getting ready for a Mainland trip next month. I have the plane tickets and some of the hotel rooms. Now I have to finish off the lodging and decide what to do about transportation.

I'll be visiting my Dad, and I've read that one of the best activities with Alzheimer's patients is a photo album (not a digital frame) with new family pictures. I'll get him caught up on our daughter and our home since his visit of early 2001. It's probably going to take me a couple weeks to get the photos printed, put in an album, and add the captions.

 

[MichaelB]

We are attending a wedding in September, so I broke out the suits and tried them on yesterday. Still have two from my working days. One must have been bought not long before I left, because it doesn't fit. Way too big - at least two inches in the waist. I put on a bit of weight (30 lbs) around then. The other suit, my favorite, dates back to pre-97, because that's when we moved and the suit was made in Caracas. Still fits and looks good and the tropical fabric will be great for that unbearable South Florida heat. Good thing men's formal and business wear is durable.

 

[MBAustin]

As I no longer value my morning 2-mile walk more than sleep, I got up at 6:45 and left the house at 7:30 for my first-Monday-of-every-other-month committee meeting for one of my volunteer assignments - about 90 miles away. Stopped on the way out of town to pick up 2 others also on the committee. Uneventful drive both ways, but when I got home at 5pm it felt like I had been at w*rk. Fortunately, it's only 6-7 times a year, so that probably isn't a bad reminder of what I've left behind. And I get to use a lot of my management skills in a totally new way which is sort of cool (DH likes me to have an outlet for them outside the home, if you get my drift).

I've recently realized that the (many) volunteer hours I spend do come with a payback - it just doesn't have $$ attached to it. To me, that's the wonderful aspect of being FI - I get what I need - doing something useful to others - and not what I don't.

 

[FIREd]

Walked downtown this morning - went to Crate and Barrel to see if I could replace a wine glass that was broken during the move. Had lunch at a wonderful tea lounge in Buena Yerba Gardens. Spent some time lounging in the shade of the gardens (the weather was fantastic) and walked back home.

 

[NookWine-n-Tinker]

Today is my birthday, so DW and I drove up to San Francisco to have brunch at the Cliff House. Kind of a touristy place, but having driven by on many occasions, on 2 wheels and 4, I wanted to give it a shot. Today was a Chamber of Commerce day in SF, with sunny skies, warm temperatures, no fog and only a light breeze. Absolutely gorgeous!

After a nice meal and a Bloody Mary, we drove up toward the Golden Gate Bridge to take in the views. Totally different than on Saturday when it was cold and foggy.

On the way home we stopped to pick up a Roederer Brut and some little fruit tarts, in lieu of a fattening cake.

A nice quiet day - just the way I like it!

Here are some pics.

nook

 

[Notmuchlonger]

Nice day Nook! Just enjoyed a great day of walking and signed our new lease for another year at our present place. Made fresh pizza dough and grilled it. The simple things in life give great enjoyment.

 

[MichaelB]

DW and I went to hear Carillon Bells last night at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

 

[W2R]

We had an early lunch today and called it a day, since neither of us got much sleep last night. It is as dark as night out right now, gusty winds are ramping up, and it is just beginning to rain. Thunderstorms are poised to envelop us, but I am safe and cozy at home waiting for them.

The older I get, the less I mind stormy days. I would hate to think that I had experienced my last stormy day. I love the electricity in the air, the anticipatory feeling, the energy of the winds, and the cleansing rain.

 

[ripper1]

We had an early lunch today and called it a day, since neither of us got much sleep last night. It is as dark as night out right now, gusty winds are ramping up, and it is just beginning to rain. Thunderstorms are poised to envelop us, but I am safe and cozy at home waiting for them.

The older I get, the less I mind stormy days. I would hate to think that I had experienced my last stormy day. I love the electricity in the air, the anticipatory feeling, the energy of the winds, and the cleansing rain.

Well said. You should be a writer.

 

[Nodak]

I absolutely love a good big thunderstorm.

 

[Nords]

Our daughter's back at college so we spent most of the day catching up on e-mail, blogging, and other bloggers. We also put the [-]college laundry storage center[/-] guest bedroom back together and packed up a box of things to mail to her.

I also tried to replace two 23-year-old Price-Pfister shower handles with a generic equivalent. It worked, but they're crappy and I should probably start shopping for the real (expensive) replacement Price-Pfister handles.

Last night spouse saw a rat climbing our papaya tree to munch on our (still unripe) crop. I'll have to bait a cage trap tonight (peanut butter, not papaya) and practice a little catch & release. Between the rodents and the mejiros it's a wonder that we humans get a taste...

The older I get, the less I mind stormy days. I would hate to think that I had experienced my last stormy day. I love the electricity in the air, the anticipatory feeling, the energy of the winds, and the cleansing rain.

As long as it's not inspired by a CAT5 hurricane, I'm good with a storm too!

 

[W2R]

As long as it's not inspired by a CAT5 hurricane, I'm good with a storm too!

Oh, most definitely! Floods kind of ruin the moment, too... But just a nice, noisy thunderstorm is a lot of fun.

It kind of fizzled. Oh well. With my luck, probably it will occur tonight, just as I start to drift off to sleep.

Oh, and Ripper1, thanks. I sent you a "thanks" note too.

 

[nvestysly]

DW and I along with several other RVers are building a house in Iron Mountain, MI.

Check out Habitat for Humanity RV Care-A-Vanners for more information.

 

[ohyes]

Yesterday would have been the day i would have reported back to work, so Sunday evening i was downright giddy with joy.

DH and i have been sleeping until 8AM every morning, which amazes me. I have gotten up between 5:30 and 6:00 AM for 30 years, even in the summers. My mind has somehow re-clocked itself.

We grocery shopped after coffee/breakfast (5% discount on Tuesdays for 55+ at Kroger) After putting groceries away, i picked up an ex-coworker whose DH was killed in an accident right after school let out in May. Her school was buzzing with administrators and teachers getting ready. The scene was most familiar, but i was not missing being part of it! We had lunch/visited and that was very nice.

Then, headed to the gym, did a little yard work (It is FINALLY in the 90's here instead of the 100's, though there is still a serious drought).

Puttered around the house, pretending to clean and straighten. At 5PM i attended a committee meeting for a downtown American Cancer Society fundraiser that takes place later this month. DH and i then met friends for beer and pizza (salad for me).

Retirement is great. Absolutely great.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Switched my cell service to Virgin Mobile thanks to this thread: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/upgrading-cell-phones-on-verizon-62101.html

 

[Walt34]

The older I get, the less I mind stormy days. I would hate to think that I had experienced my last stormy day. I love the electricity in the air, the anticipatory feeling, the energy of the winds, and the cleansing rain.

DW had one of the better ideas when we had the house in WV built, and that was the screened-in porch on the back. It's a great place to watch heavy rain and thunderstorms staying dry at the same time. Unless the winds are high of course.