NorcalGma2

NorcalGma2, 2 months ago to random

Ode to our new washer and dryer.
I know it seems silly to get excited about new appliances, but that is the direction my life is going.
My daughter pestered me for more than a year to replace our 25 year old Maytags. I kept saying, but they still work. She kept saying they still run, but they don't work very well.
Finally, she said they would buy us a new set as a gift. I was hesitant but caved. I didn't let them pay, but she made all of the arrangements.
She was so right. I am washing everything with enthusiasm. Instead of sounding like a semi backing up, the dryer sings to me when the load is dry. This is a happy thing.
I still had the manuals for the top of the line Maytags with the receipts attached. They cost just as much way back when as our new ones now.
I need to be less stubborn.

NorcalGma2, 6 months ago to animals

My husband always says, "Oh no", when I say this, but I have been thinking.
Every time someone toots a response to one of our Summer pictures with news or a story about their pet, I show him the photo and read the toot to my husband.
We both love seeing and reading about happy pets.
Summer loves whatever we love.
If you have a photo to share of your Summer, don't hesitate because it makes our day.
#DogsOfMastodon

NorcalGma2, 3 months ago to Bloomscrolling

It was a good day.
I accepted a remote part-time bookkeeping job and will brush up on my online QuickBooks. I realized the job expectations were low when I was asked if I knew how to use formulas in an Excel spreadsheet.
It was fun to spend time with our grandson, who is a pretty special person.
Feels like spring is right around the corner. Daffodils are blooming, and crocuses are close behind.
No more roses to toot as the bushes are pruned and bare. Our first yellow daffodil of 2024 is the best I can do.
#BloomScrolling

NorcalGma2, 8 months ago to random

Is there any good pet insurance out there? I bought Trupanion through State Farm.
I pay $60 a month, and they only applied the medication amount against our deductible for Summer's late night hospital visit.
When I called, they said they don't ever cover exams. They don't cover any wellness visits either. They considered our visit a wellness visit. Basically, they don't cover anything.
I am just checking because I am new at being a dog mom, and I probably bought the wrong thing.

NorcalGma2, 7 months ago to random

Summer and I lounged outside for as long as we could get a way with it.
Yesterday, I promised her I would bake peanut butter Summer Snacks. Since we shook on it, I had to follow through. She already ate the last batch. So inside we came.
Last time, someone asked for the recipe, so I included it with this toot. The recipe makes about 10 large cookies.
Summer napped while I baked.
Lucky dog.

Recipe for peanut butter dog cookies.
Fresh hot out of the oven peanut butter dog treats on a metal cooling rack on a green kitchen towel. Summer says these are tasty.

NorcalGma2, 7 months ago to random

Getting ready to leave Summer in charge for a few minutes while I motor to town. The grandkids asked for potato salad, so I spent my morning making it happen.
I bet I have made hundreds of pounds of this salad by now. Carrying on the family recipe will eventually fall to one of them.
I'm not sure who will get my egg slicer, though. Everyones favorite kitchen tool. One of the few items I saved from my mom's kitchen it has to be ancient. I have never seen one, just like it. The boys loved slicing the eggs first one way and then the other when they helped me cook. They will have to flip a coin when I am ready to pass it on.
Comfort food for the win.

Finished potato salad in a turquoise Tupperware bowl.

NorcalGma2, 7 months ago to random

My older sister moved away from Northern California as soon as she could get away.
I stayed.
My sister monitors FB for local goings on and keeps track of the kids we grew up with. It cracks me up when she thinks they all have perfect lives because they say so on FB.
Mastodon isn't FB. Thank goodness.
I can toot my successes and failures, and it doesn't matter either way. I don't have to pretend my family is perfect. I never go on vacation or do anything fancy. I lead the simple life that works for me. Yet I found community.
Somehow, some really good folks found their way here, and I found them. Yay!
The vast majority of my interactions are uplifting and kind. I even learn a thing or two.
The last time I was on Mastodon, I gave up too soon. This time, I want to stick around.
Here's a rainbow from a while ago, but it's a good one.
Thank you for creating a community out of thin air.

NorcalGma2, 3 months ago to random

Football season is over. Our team didn't make the big game.
Summer has decided to start training now in case she can help the Lions next year.
She is a fan.
Good morning, Mastodon.

NorcalGma2, 21 days ago to random

I am supposed to get in thirty minutes of heart-pounding exercise three days a week. I still needed one more day, so I ran down to the wildlife refuge, and since the trail was flat, I walked as fast as I could in the loose gravel. Maybe it wasn't quite heart-pounding, but it was a couple of miles.
We will call it good enough.
I left Summer in charge of things at home.
A few photos from my walk.
#Marsh #WildlifeRefuge #Humboldt

Gold and deep red flowers on a large bush.
A large marsh pond with a hen duck and duckling and an egret in flight.

NorcalGma2, 4 months ago to random

I picked a random photo from my archive to post with this toot. There isn't very much color in our neck of the woods right now.
I do want to say again that I am thankful for this space. A place where I can belong without conforming to anyone's expectations but my own. A place where I don't worry about sending my composition to a proofreader. My daughter, who has been my savior, reading and making suggestions, when what I say really mattered like a speech in front of hundreds or the obituary of a loved one.
She had the benefit of a formal education and has always been gracious and helpful when my lack of learning limits my ability to communicate in a format that fits the occasion.
I write from my heart and sixty-five years of life experience. My last year of formal education was in the middle of junior high.
So this thank you is to everyone who looks beyond my limits and hears me anyway.

NorcalGma2, 6 months ago to random

Summer and I really love the time we spend playing on Mastodon, and we appreciate the friendly interactions with kind people every day.
Thank you to everyone who has made us feel welcome for the past year. You are the best of the best.
I realize that compared to most of the toots, I see, ours are light on substance, but the life we live is pretty simple. These daily ins and outs are the substance of our lives.
I do feel the weight of world happenings, but don't even begin to know how to process that publicly, so I don't. I send a wish for positive change every evening while we meditate when the sun sets.
Tonight's sunset barely shows through the oncoming storm.
Peace.

NorcalGma2, 3 months ago to random

For us, today was voting day.
We sit down together and talk about our options. Most often, we agree, but once in a great while, we vote differently. In this election, we were in sync.
I sent text messages to close friends and family to nudge and remind them that it is so easy to vote early.

NorcalGma2, 8 months ago to random

Time to stop talking about peach jam and get it done.
I had just enough ripe peaches and a couple of lemons, so no more excuses.
I don't own a food processor, so I sliced and diced and squished with a hand potato masher to attain the consistency I needed for a chunky peach jam.
I only made three and a half pints and will keep a pint.
The house smells like peach heaven.
Before cooking and after photos.

A half pint of hot peach jam.

NorcalGma2, 3 months ago to random

Summer was watching out the window, saying this place is for the birds. I didn't realize she was serious until I took a look for myself.
#BackyardBirds

NorcalGma2, 4 months ago to random

Tooting less for a couple of days.
My husband is struggling a little bit right now, so that is where my focus needs to be. I still scan my timeline but have no words when I don't get sleep, and I need to monitor my husband's well-being pretty closely.
I am unhappy with the VA and how much distress they bring to our little family.
Enough of that.
This photo represents an uphill climb from one of my favorite beaches.
Our dealings with the VA are an uphill climb, and like when I climb these stairs, I know we will get to where we need to be. We just have to keep pushing forward.
I need to convince my husband so he can sleep and have less anxiety. Summer is helping me on that front, and we will be ok.
It just might take a minute.

NorcalGma2, 3 months ago to random

Summer and I went outside to wait for the sunset and were surprised at how warm it was. We are so fortunate that most of our evening views are some level of lovely. Even the stormy skies.
The best thing about scrolling through my timeline is that there are gorgeous scenes everywhere, and I am thankful that people take the time to post the beauty in their part of the world. I might never see it otherwise.
Seeing the world through the eyes and lenses of others is a gift. Mastodon reminds me every day that there are kind people.
Even now.

NorcalGma2, 5 months ago to random

Summer and I talk. She mostly listens, but I feel like she understands.
It is kind of like Mastodon. Mostly listening happens, but there is always someone who understands.
Covid and my husband's health issues changed my life in so many ways. Not all of them were bad.
If I hadn't retired, we wouldn't have been able to make a home for Summer.
If I hadn't wanted to find reasonable humans to talk to and learn from, I wouldn't have signed up for Mastodon.
Thank you for being the reason I talk to our dog and take a million pictures of her and for being the humans that understand when another human reaches out looking for a friend or two.
It's true. You are the best.

NorcalGma2, 4 months ago to random

It is funny how we decide certain dates are beginnings or endings, but they really aren't, either.
Now that I am old, I feel like there are enough endings without adding any extras, but I'm not in charge of such things.
This is my last sunset photo of 2023, and it's a beauty.
For those of you using tomorrow as a springboard with resolutions leading to happiness and perfection, I wish you luck.
For me, it serves as a reminder to be thankful we made it through another year in one piece. Mostly.
Happy New Year, Mastodon friends.
#Sunset

NorcalGma2, 3 months ago to animals

Summer has no time for fences.
Places to go and people to hug.
Happy dog.
#DogsOfMastodon

NorcalGma2, 5 months ago to random

Since I have to drive to town tomorrow to distribute peanut butter cookies, I thought I should bake some apple pies too.
So I made a five inch for a friend that lives alone, an eight inch for a treat for my husband when he gets home and a nine inch for my grandsons.
My grandson says apple pie is hype.
I think that means he is looking forward to it.
The house smells super wonderful.

Eight inch apple pie with vent holes cut in the shape of hearts. Pie is on potholders on a blue kitchen towel.
Nine inch apple pie with vent holes cut in the shape of hearts. Pie is on potholders on a blue kitchen towel.

NorcalGma2, 3 months ago to random

Yesterday, my grandson played me a song he found on YouTube. It wasn't new to me as I remembered it from my youth. The song sung by Tennessee Ernie Ford was Sixteen Tons. It is interesting that the kids are unearthing folk songs recorded before I was born.
The lyrics prompted a talk about the subject matter. My grandson thought company towns were related to coal mining. I informed him that at least three company towns were operating in Humboldt when I was a kid. I also pointed out that one was recently added to the registry of historic places. I explained that the lumber and agriculture industries found that business model very appealing. It certainly gave the companies maximum control over workers and their families.
I suggested a field trip to visit the towns that I know about here and to make sure the kids are informed about a business practice that I hear is coming back around again.
It is good to have an understanding of such things and how company towns can be used to exploit workers.

NorcalGma2, 5 months ago to random

Lots of folks know I gave up sugar 12 days ago. I cut way back on caffeine and then quit entirely 4 days ago.
The results have been pretty amazing.
After a year of some pretty intense and constant abdominal pain, I am about 95% pain-free.
A couple of side effects.
I lost 6 pounds, and my blood pressure has dropped significantly. It might be getting too low.
I see my primary care provider Thursday and am still trying to get in to see a specialist, but woo wee, this has worked out as well as I could have hoped.
Thank you to everyone for all the good food and drink recommendations and encouragement.
It worked.

NorcalGma2, 5 months ago to random

Today is day nine of no sugar and day one of no caffeine. I do miss my coffee but had a lovely peach herbal tea that did nothing to stave off a pretty horrible headache.
I decided that a walk and some cold clear air were in order.
Off I went to the local wildlife refuge, which lived up to its name today.
I did take a few photos to on my walk.

The beginning of the trail is covered with fallen brown leaves. There are trees and bushes on both sides of the trail, which is bordered with very green grass.
A mossy tree right next to the trail.

NorcalGma2, 6 months ago to random

I think I might have worked Summer too hard. We gardened up a storm, and now she is tuckered out.
Of the twelve rose bushes in front of the house, we got ten ready for winter.
At least we finished before the rain that should start any minute.
While we were in the garden, I also observed that hummingbirds eat apples. They buzzed around us, devouring the apples we left on the tree. Who knew?
Physical labor followed by a nap.
Summer has the right idea.

NorcalGma2, 1 month ago to animals

Summer gave me a pleading look and said, "Please, please, can we run down to the beach?"
Since the muffins were out of the oven and we all needed a walk, we launched out of the driveway into the drizzle.
This time, we headed to the bay for a change of scenery. It was clear we were the only people dog walking in the rain. We had the whole beach to ourselves except for a few ducks and brant.
I included one photo of the strip of land between the Pacific Ocean and Humboldt Bay.
We stayed on the bay side for our walk. The rest of the photos are of the happiest dog I've seen all week.
When we got home, Summer walked upstairs and stood in the shower until I got there. She knows the drill.
#Summer #DogsOfMastodon

Golden Labrador retriever standing next to the bay. It was one of the few times she stood still.
Golden Labrador retriever retrieving her driftwood stick. She was running toward the camera through shallow water.