Step Up and Show Up

Once again this week there were three Ethel AARP challenges waiting in my inbox on Sunday. The Week Four theme was 'Step Up and Show Up', and focused on engaging with the community. The challenges were to [One] plan a trip or excursion to somewhere I'd never been, [Two] introduce myself to someone new, and [Optional] register for an AARP class or event.

Thanks to my weekend trip I didn't get around to checking my email until late in the day, but by then I had already fulfilled the first two challenges

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[One] Out of town trips by definition lead to places I've never been, and after Sunday I can cross seeing a game in the San Francisco Giant's stadium off my list. I know some people make an effort to visit Major League Baseball stadiums. I'm not one of them, but if an opportunity falls into my lap I'll take it.

[Two] I actually introduced myself to people on two different occasions.

• On Sunday morning when I was at the park I observed an Oriental woman who looked to be about my age doing stretching exercises. Eventually she started doing some impressive spinning jump kicks.

When I followed one of the grands over to that area I complimented the woman on her athleticism. She told me the move was called a butterfly kick, and came from kung fu. At that point her phone rang and I moved away. Five minutes later she came over to where I was standing and struck up a conversation. I learned that she lived alone and came to the park every day to exercise because she enjoyed the people and interactions. 

 

Public Domain Vectors

• At Son Brian's party there were several people I didn't know. I made sure to introduce myself and find out how they knew the birthday boy. 

[Optional] St. Louis AARP used to have a robust network of in-person events, but when I looked on the website I couldn't find anything. I guess once again I'll be passing on the optional activity this week.

Five years ago: Who Doesn't Like Stickers?

Forty Trips Around The Sun

Son Brian's birthday was at the beginning of the month, but in order to fit everyone's schedule the party took place this past weekend. It was a great one.

Hubby Tony, Son Donald, and I flew to San Jose on Friday. Non stop flights are extremely rare, so we went into San Diego and then waited for the connecting flight. This was our first time to take Southwest since they transitioned to assigned seats. I was a little concerned, but the process went smoothly. The biggest issue was people trying to stuff their suitcases into the overhead bins to save the checking fee. Because our trip was only for a long weekend I chose not to bring a big suitcase, which didn't contribute to the problem.

Brian and Nicole's house doesn't have enough sleeping space for three guests, so after picking up a rental car we drove to a nearby hotel, where we had reserved a room for the weekend. It was also the same hotel that Son Tony and family stayed at on Saturday night.

Saturday was filled with family time. Errands were run, games were played, and crafts constructed. We got to see Grandson Jay play baseball (sadly, Grandson Ell's game got cancelled). Everyone came back together for dinner. Tony Jr's family left shortly after eating so the kids could get to bed. Tony, Donald, and I left after book reading time. Later that night all three brothers met at a restaurant near the hotel for drinks and conversation.

Sunday morning we met Tony, DIL Ie, and their family for breakfast at the hotel, then went to a nearby the park. When it was time, we drove over to the birthday boy's house and got ready to caravan to the main event.

San Francisco Giants

The party was held at Oracle Park in San Francisco, where Nicole had purchased a suite for the Giants baseball game versus the Miami Marlins. The guests were a combination of family, friends, and work associates. Some I knew and some I enjoyed meeting. The game got off to a slow start, but in the end the Giants won by 3 runs.

After the seventh inning stretch Tony, Ie, and the kids left for their ninety-minute drive home. We stayed around for a while after the game talking, but left when I realized I wasn't feeling well from too much junk food. When we met back up at Brian's house for dinner the salad I ordered from a nearby restaurant was just what I needed. 

Monday morning Tony, Donald, and I opened up the hotel breakfast buffet at 6 AM. After breakfast we returned the car, then walked across the street to the airport terminal. Security went well, and there was almost an hour to kill before the flight boarded. Tony and I took the opportunity to "talk" with José , the AI powered robot. He did a good job of answering my question about where in the terminal I could find an ATM for my bank. When Tony asked him "Do You Know the Way to San Jose"? (AKA the Burt Bacharach song sung by Dionne Warwick) the bot just shook his head. If he had eyes I bet he would have rolled them 😁.

This time we flew into Austin. We already had a longish layover, but thanks to strong storms in St. Louis our connecting flight left about two hours late. Instead of getting home at 7 PM we rolled in just in time to feed Smokey Joe his last meal of the day.

Five years ago: Not Yet Approachable

A Poem For Earth Day

Picryl

 

“The Way Through the Woods”

 Rudyard Kipling

 

They shut the road through the woods

Seventy years ago.

Weather and rain have undone it again,

And now you would never know

There was once a road through the woods

Before they planted the trees.

It is underneath the coppice and heath

And the thin anemones.

Only the keeper sees

That, where the ring-dove broods,

And the badgers roll at ease,

There was once a road through the woods.

 

Yet, if you enter the wood

Of a summer evening late,

When the night-air cools on the trout-ringed pools

Where the otter whistles his mate,

(They fear not men in the woods,

Because they see so few.)

You will hear the beat of a horse's feet,

And the swish of a skirt in the dew,

Steadily cantering through

The misty solitudes,

As though they perfectly knew

The old lost road through the woods...

But there is no road through the woods.

Five years ago: Jefferson Barracks

Another Challenge Concluded

Remember my experiment with cooking lupini beans? I am happy to announce it was a success.

Ready to enjoy

After soaking, cooking, and changing the water in the beans twice a day for an entire week, yesterday I completed the final step- a salt water brine soak.

This morning I tried a bean. Then I tried another. They were firm, and had a chewy texture almost like edamame. The brine lent just enough salt. I asked Hubby Tony to try one. Again, he went for a second, and we agreed that we liked them.

So now what? In the Mediterranean area lupini beans are eaten as a snack. They're high in protein and fiber, and low in fat and carbohydrates. My experiment will keep for one week refrigerated, or can be frozen for up to three months. That's good to know, because the pound of dried beans I started with expanded to halfway fill a three-quart bowl. It will take some time to get through them.

In other news, this week's Spring Forward challenges were:

• Start reading a new book. Later in the week I have an event coming up that will require a lot of sitting, so before then I need to load a couple of light summer reads onto my tablet. Any suggestions?

• Plant a favorite herb or flower. I was sorry to have to pass on this one for now. Before moving into the condo I used to have a lot of plants Now the sunlight on the deck is too strong for shade-loving plants and not strong enough for sun lovers, and the cats like to nibble on anything I grow inside so I don't.

• (The bonus challenge was to play a game in the AARP Games Center. I looked at what was available and decided that none of them were better than the games I already play, so I will pass on this one.)

Five years ago: A Happy Coincidence

Yikes!

On Thursday I got a text from the company that issued the charge card I use the most. It asked me if I had made a recent purchase at a restaurant I haven't eaten at in months. Instead of replying to that text, I went to the company's website and found out that there were actually six purchases I hadn't made. One of the charges was in my area, and the others scattered around the country. My account had been hacked.

Stockvault

I couldn't click the button to say I didn't recognize the transactions fast enough. The company let me know they were cancelling the old card immediately and would send me a new one. They assured me I wouldn't be responsible for any of the unauthorized charges.

I spent the rest of the afternoon remembering all the companies that had the card on file for automatic purchases and giving them the new card number.

I will be so glad when the promised nondescript envelope with my new card shows up the middle of next week, but until then I've had to cobble a plan together. So far I've accidentally used my bank debit card  once (fortunately, the account had enough money in it to cover the transaction), and the other times I've pulled out a secondary card.

Five years ago today: Go Away!

Goose Intimidation

It's the middle of Canadian Goose mating season here, and the birds can be aggressive and territorial.

Hubby Tony and I were walking home from the grocery store yesterday when I saw a pair of geese. The female was on top of a retaining wall (where I assume there was a nest). The male was keeping watch on the sidewalk below her. I was walking on the other side of the two-lane entrance to the strip mall, but after I snapped the photo the male still hissed at me.

After passing the pair I stopped paying attention, so when I rounded the corner at the street I almost ran into the second pair of geese standing on the sidewalk. Once again I got hissed at, and the male started toward me. I had to quickly step out of the way.

Five years ago: Take Me Out To The (Daytime) Ball Game

Some Challenges Started And Some Achieved

I had two Spring Forward challengesthis week and a bonus activity waiting for me in my Inbox yesterday. The challenges were try a new recipe from another culture (or order takeout from a place I haven't tried before) and try an online stretch, dance, or yoga video. The bonus activity was to clean out a junk drawer or closet.

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I am an adventurous cook and eater, and there isn't much I haven't tried before, but I decided to finally tackle preparing the lupini beans I bought a couple of years ago at a local Italian grocery store.

The reason I never got around to cooking them is that when I got them home found out that unless they're prepared in a specific manner the beans are bitter and toxic due to alkaloids. The elaborate preparation involves soaking for 24 hours / cooking on the stove for 60-90 minutes / rinsing with water / putting in the refrigerator for 5-7 days and changing the water a couple of times a day / soaking for 24 hours in a salt brine.

So far I have soaked and cooked. More will be revealed on this project.

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The vast majority of days I meet my 10,000 step goal, and I go to the gym four times a week for a group class, so I really didn't feel the need to add anything. However, in the spirit of trying new things I took a look at the YMCA app and discovered they had a pretty robust selection of on demand videos. I picked a spinal mobility stretch, which was just challenging enough

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And finally, the bonus challenge was just what I needed to get around to posting the pile of things in my office to the Buy Nothing Facebook group this afternoon and make a pile of old tax papers from three years ago that I can shred on April 15th.

Five years ago today: Taking Care Of Business...And More

I Admire An Optomist

A funny from a friend....

Jacob considers himself to be one of the lucky ones because he's the only one of his family to have survived two years in a Nazi concentration camp. He's now nearing 90 and his only remaining joy is the lottery, which he's been playing for years without success. But then he wins a big one, a prize of $10 million.

Dreamstime

A journalist calls on him for a story.

Jacob tells him, "As I'm the only one in my family to have survived the concentration camps, this has helped me decide how to make use of my large win. I've decided to donate $5 million to the Save the Children Fund, $3 million to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, $750,000 to the Jewish Museum, $750,000 to Hadassah Hospital, and $500,000 to be shared amongst my friends. I'm also thinking of donating $1 to the Nazi Party from my winnings."

The journalist is surprised. "But Jacob, how can you think of donating even $1 to the Nazi party after everything that's happened to you and your family?"

Jacob rolls up his sleeve, points to his arm and replies, "It's only fair. They gave me the winning numbers."

Free SVG

Five years ago today: Time To Sleep

Poor Guy!

On my post two days ago about No Housekeeping Day jj left a comment asking if part of my free time included extra lap time for Foster Cat Smokey Joe. Sadly, the answer to her question was no.

Since he came to live with us last November Smokey Joe has been treated for parasites, fleas, fungus, and worms-some of them more than once. His positive Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) status means that his immune system is weak, making him susceptible to infections and secondary skin issues.

For example, at the beginning of the year Hubby Tony and I found several bald patches on the cat's skin. After a couple of trips to the vet and a couple of medicines everything healed up. But the issue came back. This time thick scabs covered the bald patches; when one of the scabs fell off there was an angry red sore underneath.

So on Tuesday, once again the cat made a trip to his least favorite place. The vet examined him and let us know we should restart the medicated wipes and shampoo we had discontinued. She also said that if the problem continued she would suggest a veterinary dermatologist. (Who knew there was such a thing?)

PhyloPic

When Smokey Joe finally made it home he seemed happy to be in his space, but even though Tony was sitting on the couch the cat took his sweet time jumping up on his lap. However, once he was there he didn't want to leave. My turn for a lap cat came after dinner, when Smokey Joe curled up and didn't leave until it was time for me to go to bed and for him to eat.

First Challenges Accomplished

If you remember, this week I was given three Spring Forward challenges.

The first was to try a new type of drink or snack I haven't tasted before. I had fun walking through an international grocery store and looking at how many of the items were new to me. In the end I got a canned Soursop Drink and a bag of Scampi Flavour Fries.

I have heard of soursop before, and may have even seen it at the Asian market I frequent, but had no idea what it tasted like. The internet told me that the flavor could be likened to a blend of strawberry, pineapple, and coconut or banana, with a slight citrus tang. The drink I purchased contained 25 percent juice (listed second in the ingredient list, behind water but before sugar). When I got home I followed the suggestion on the can to shake it well to blend the flavors. I normally don't drink things with added sugar, so this one was very sweet to me, but overall I liked it. Based on my experience I would even consider buying soursop fruit.

Google told me the scampi fries was "a mainstay of British pubs". The bag said it was a "scampi and lemon flavour cereal snack", with an ingredients list that started with sunflower oil (so I knew they wouldn't be diet friendly). Other ingredients listed included wheat breadcrumbs, maize, and seasonings. The pillow-shaped pieces were delicious, with a slightly fishy, lemony taste. I was going to save a couple for Hubby Tony but ended up eating the whole bag myself.

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The second challenge was to reach out to a friend I haven't heard from in months. I started by going through the contacts on my phone (and got temporarily distracted from my task by deleting a handful of names I didn't recognize) but eventually chose to text a woman I had met through one of my daughter-in-laws. I think I've seen her once since Brian and Nicole moved to California in 2014, but this week our series of back and forth texts caught both of us up.

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The third, bonus challenge was to start a gratitude journal. I have done this on and off over the years, but for some reason this time I've had trouble remembering to write down things I'm grateful for. Tomorrow's outcome may be different, though. In the meantime, I am enjoying hearing the birds chirping outside when I wake up a couple of minutes early and think about what I'm thankful for. 

Five years ago today: Botheration!