Random 5 for October 4 – Therapy, outdoor work, snakes, clothes, retail therapy

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Cooking therapy – This week I needed therapy. I made a few dishes that take more than four ingredients. I also ordered take-out. Everything in balance. I really need to make my scratch pizza again! Yum! Therapy in action.

You can do it, you can do it! – I haven’t yet winterized the pond. I can’t get my motor running on outdoor fall projects. I need a new battery for my body. The fish and frogs are happy because when I get in there, I will cut off the lily pads and trim back all the underwater plants. It takes away the cover that protects them from the local heron. I rig up a piece of chicken wire that will cover a small portion in the middle. Just enough so the heron can’t walk in or fish from the sides but not enough to limit the frogs from getting their bugs on the banks. The fish have some nice hidey holes to keep safe. I could use a hidey hole for myself sometimes.

No snakes please –This past spring when I cleaned the it there were two snakes enjoying the pond. I don’t like being in the pond with them. It’s like finding spiders when you are naked in the shower. They were harmless garter snakes but I have a phobia about them. I credit that to my upbringing with the nuns in school. Snakes are a bad omen – Garden of Eden and all that. I wonder if they had babies in there.

Time for another cleanout – I’ve been going through my clothes (again) to see what I can donate. It’s harder this year as I haven’t gone anywhere worth dressing up. I have a few worn out tee shirts that will go to the trash bin but I’m struggling with the rest. Anything that is uncomfortable hit the road immediately so I’m down to stuff that I like and fits. Maybe I’ll do a light once over for this year.

Not exactly this style but the same colors.

Some necessary retail therapy – My increased walking routine wears out sneakers. I rarely wear out shoes and sneakers take a few years but my beloved sneakers from last fall have an air conditioning hole at the toe. I bought two new pair and immediately took one back. I have narrow heels so the fit wasn’t right and my foot was slipping. When I took them back I did a walk-through (always a back idea at animal shelters and shoe stores) and picked up a pair of Merrells. They are often too wide for me but these were perfect. The colors are fun too – bright pink and a gray/brown taupe (prettier than they sound). Win-win (and I didn’t bring home another cat!).

So how was your week?

 

 

 

71 thoughts on “Random 5 for October 4 – Therapy, outdoor work, snakes, clothes, retail therapy”

  1. I was laughing with this line: “I made a few dishes that take more than four ingredients.” I’m lucky if I have that many all the time and my menu was really lame, so I got a crock pot. Now I have more ingredients than I’ve used in years (albeit canned items) and had to buy an electric can opener as I sprained my wrist using the old can opener. My feet have lived in walking shoes outside, Minnetonka moccasins inside … my feet have spread and just looking at my former flats and heels just makes me wince!

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  2. My week was busy outside, prefer to not do anything that involves snakes, baked a couple of times, would really appreciate your sharing a ‘new battery’ store if you find one, and It’s really interesting what clothes we have worn over the past seven months of hanging around. 🙂

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  3. Cute shoes! (Buy 2? – they change styles and fits so fast…..)
    “…I can’t get my motor running …” dragging fee a bit here, too…not quite ready to get into winterizing life…waaait let’s not let cooler, not humid fall slip by sooo fast.
    Are they taking donations there? Here that was pretty much suspended out of fear of spreading COVID – forget trying to get any sort of charity pick up for donations.Disaster/hurricane locations are asking people for once do not send clothing, blankets and not hard surfaces to storm victims.
    Sigh. What a year.
    (Keep an eye out for the snakes….you’d never get me into that water. You’re tough and brave)

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  4. Snakes – no.
    Pizza – yes.

    Shoe shopping is one of my favourites. Thanks for the reminder that I haven’t indulged myself in a long time and I’m probably due! With my feet issues, I have to shop in person and try them on … which of course has been inhibited by this year-from-hell.

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    • I am like that too. Fortunately I have a large DSW Shoe Warehouse Store near me so I can try them on. Sometimes I have to order if they don’t have the color I want or I need it slightly bigger but at least it gives me a good idea of the fit. Year from hell for sure!

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  5. I am a fan of Merrell shoes and recently bought a pair of their Glove style sneaks. They are the only shoe that hasn’t created blisters on my heels. I like their low profile. My week was a roller coaster but it was a fun ride. Now that that we have cooler temps I am happy! After moving all of our stuff, I’m thinking a bit of a clean out would be a good thing. I am hungry for pizza!

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    • You are all moved? Great! I like low profile sneakers. High backs rub. The ones I bought aren’t as low as the Glove style which is a barefoot shoe but they don’t have all that awful padding that makes them so bulky.

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  8. You’ve been busy this week. You may not have winterized the pond yet, but thinking about it is the first step. That’s what I tell myself when I think about weeding out the clothes I no longer need and taking my summer clothes downstairs and bring the winter clothes up.

    I’m doing some cooking therapy right now. It should be done in five minutes. I hope it’s good.

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  11. Hopefully one of these days it will cool down here enough to make scratch pizzas… yummers! I really need to get rid of more stuff out of my closet that I’m just never going to wear again. It’s hard when the items are still in great shape, but better let someone else enjoy them before they are completely out of style.

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    • That’s the problem I have! What I have left from my working days is both classic and fits well. I did wear one of the jackets a few years back for a wedding. It turned out that the planned outfit wasn’t warm enough for the day. So hard to give good stuff up….until the lapel or whatever goes out of style!

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  13. I too am doing simple meals……..and even found some good frozen stuff (Chinese) that we REALLY like…..I just have little interest in anything “complicated” ! I got some Merrells at Kittery Trading Post in Maine a few years ago on vacation and LOVE LOVE LOVE them. The pond project sounds a little bit daunting especially when you mention the “S” word (snakes). EEEEK!

    Hugs, Pam

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  15. Shoe shopping is hard during quarantine! My sneakers wore out and the model was discontinued. I tried a different model and had to send it back.

    Motivation is hard. Especially cleaning, when no one is ever coming over to my house!

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  18. On Friday we had a baby black snake slithering around our yard. I suppose he was looking for a hole for the winter. Sadly, this week we saw our last hummingbird. I wore out my third treadmill this week, so it’s probably time I get some new tennis shoes, too.

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    • You have a lot of black snakes hanging around. We have 4 sunflower/niger feeders out and for a month, we went through a lot of seed. It’s starting to slack off. I’m assuming that means the ones that go farther south have left us.

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  19. We made homemade pizza on Friday night ~> FABULOUS! The dough spread easily (from room temp and straight from the fridge ~ necessary when I decided to do two pies instead of one) and was a delicious base for both pies. I topped one pie with basil pesto, zucchini, sliced tomato, and mozzarella and the other with spaghetti sauce, mozzarellas and peppers. Both pies are YUMMY and we have leftovers! YAY!!!

    Like you, my wardrobe is slimmer pickings for the donation pile since I’ve donated so much over the years . . . but there are still a few things to go. BTW: Goodwill will accept clean but worn out clothing for recycling. I usually put all the “rag muffins” in a separate bag and let them know to toss it on the recycling pile. A few times a year, the pile is baled up and shipped out.

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  20. With the weather being a bit more temperate (no more 90’s….thank goodness), I’m hoping to tackle an out of control garage. My roommate is a packrat and has completely taken over the garage with all manner of crap. I’m hoping he’ll get rid of a fair share of it otherwise he’ll need to rent warehouse space. I’m through being his personal storage unit.

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  22. I have narrow feet so thanks for the tip about Merrells. I am forever having difficulties when it comes to shoes. I’ve been giving clothes to Goodwill, too. I’m finished with many styles, having given myself permission to never wear a suit again.

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  23. This past week was wonderful – especially the weather! I have been trying to declutter and my closet is always one of the biggest challenges. I have been in a no nonsense mood lately so it would be an ideal time to sort through my clothes. A little cooking therapy is always a good thing. As far as snakes ~ a rather longish black snake slithered across the deck of our little shed in our backyard (much to the delight of my husband) making its way to the wooded area of our backyard. I was mortified, but thankful it was headed away from and not towards our home.

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  24. My week was crazy, and my job is really tough right now, but that being said, I would like to recommend Adidas Ultra Boosts. My feet are narrow and these are the best fitting sneakers I have ever owned. It doesn’t matter how far I run or walk. They are not cheap, but they are worth it!

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  25. Your comment about spiders in the shower…yesterday I got undressed to get in the shower, opened the curtain, and there was a dead mouse! We haven’t had mice for a couple years or so…sorry to see them back, and especially when I’m naked and ready to shower.

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    • You feel more vulnerable when you are naked even if the object is not threatening. We battle mice even with 4 cats. Haven’t had any inside for about 3 months now. I consider that a win! We use both plug in repellents and an outdoor spray around the foundation. We have no idea how they get in.

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      • Mice are crafty little creatures and they love a warm home versus the cold outside. We’ve gone a couple years without them, but I guess our vacation from mice is over.

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