I hate to admit, I did not follow the Olympics this go. Nor Soccer, football to most. My heart was just not in it. So I continued my usual streaming alternatives from Amazon, to Neflix, Hulu and more and here’s my first list of film recommends: More on film recommends next week. Meanwhile what films do you recommend?
While a hectic weekend, I did find an hour’s time to settle on plants for the challenging garden I am aiming to create from sandy soil, hills and coastal foggy summer days. Someone said start Jasmine, Bougainvillea and New Zealand Flax might just do the trick. So far lavender and Japanese dwarf Maple are hanging tough. Also potted Gardenia, where I control the soil and nutrients. Next up – paint dingy fence or not. Thought for the day – how to decide what is misinformation and what’s the best advise online for plant how to. May I ask – What is your garden regret?
Do you miss it? Or have you been able to hang out in your favorite cafe for a while now? I suppose that depends on which part of the world you pin yourself. Then again, I suppose restaurants offering outdoor meal seating has sort of been the new cafe scene here in the states. I just hope they don’t get rid of them once it is very safe, or safer than today, to eat indoors. But I do miss it – sidewalk cafes in Paris, Rome, and other small towns and villages around the globe with mismatched tables and chairs, colorful uniformity and all variations of a place where you can simply sit and soak up the day while people watching. What is your favorite outdoor cafe scene?
I love the idea of lazy Sundays. Although life hardly allows for such a wonderful concept with all the errands and other responsibilities taking up too much time in our lives. But still, there is no harm in imaging being lounged on a recline, on a terrace overlooking a body of water somewhere along the coastal villages in Greece or Italy or on a hammock in a tropical destination, just to name a few. Because just maybe…the universe is paying attention…
I have been stuck on rotation lately, pretty much making the same meals every week. Too busy at work for sure, and not enough time to get as creative as I’d like for dinner. Also my craving has been off – mostly stress eating. So, tonight I am going for this awesome twist on tacos and naturally I feel the need to share. Disclaimer: Full photo and recipe credit here
Aiming for a positive day…
As I stood in front of the cashier at Trader Joe’s (national chain grocery store) yesterday waiting for him to scan my groceries, he asked how my day was going. I was used to the question. It is one all of the friendly TJ cashiers ask. I told him it was fine. He then noticed the bouquet of flowers in my cart, and asked if they were for me or a gift for someone else. I told him it was a little of both. Some for my home-office desk (a ritual I started when we were only allowed to shop for essentials), and the rest for my mother. He then asked what line of work I was in. I told him. And he told me he was laid off last year, but was glad to be working again. One topic led to the next, and somehow we ended up exchanging opinions about the toll the pandemic has had on society and the eagerness to get back to ‘whatever normal was’. He asked if I was …
Recently I had my backyard cleaned down to a blank canvas. But since we live on a hill, near the coast, with nothing but sand all around, I am having trouble crafting the dream garden – a cross between all of the garden ideas I have pinned below: I probably should have planned better
On a hectic remote work day it is always wonderful to stumble upon a handful of distractions to take the edge off or give you a nice break from the mundane. And since the pandemic, we’re mostly flocking to the outdoors, I figured sharing is a good thing…hope you enjoy.
Considering that traveling is part of my DNA, I had a difficult time functioning at the beginning of the lockdown. By June of 2020 I decided that day trips were the short term cure for my wanderlust. So every weekend, we set out to an outdoor destination, carefully planned of course, with masks and gloves and all things necessary to keep us protected and homemade lunch in tow. We spent the days mostly walking (like we do everywhere we travel), and taking photographs of places which we thought were the perfect reminder of our favorite destinations. We rediscovered bits of Europe throughout the wine region, an hour’s drive from San Francisco and spent our days reminiscing about our past travels. Although the wineries were closed, we stopped at every villa which reminded us of Italy, French Chateau style architecture housing the sparkling wine, and even the Spanish Colonial and the German ones too, and snapped photos as if we were actually somewhere else. Some other days were spent in a park on a bench by …
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