“Stay close to any sounds that make you glad you are alive.” – Hafez

Hello again! I actually got my act together and wrote my blog post on time! I also have a couple ideas for some one-off posts, so I’ll scatter those throughout the coming weeks on non-Friday days. As far as weeks go…this was a pretty good one.

1. Catching up with old friends. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to see a high school friend who I haven’t seen, or talked to really, in about twenty years! She was visiting a mutual friend who I do see regularly and the three of us got together for some drinks and a stroll around town. It was so fun to hear everything that’s been going on in her life recently and to see that she is doing so well. A good blast from the past to be sure. Later in the week I also had a good phone catch-up with another long distance friend.
2. Taking care of nagging tasks. I crossed two of those annoying, nagging tasks off my list this week! You know, the ones that come with being an adult that you really just want to ignore? The first was taking my car to the tire shop. I’ve had a very slow leak in one of the tires and refilled it with air probably one more time than was responsible before taking it in. Turns out the tire needed to be replaced and luckily I had bought a warranty when I got the new set a couple years ago and the replacement was free! The other little nagging task was to file some mail and papers that have been stacking up in our office. Nothing important, but just stuff that shouldn’t be throw away just yet. I have a bad habit of adding to the pile rather than filing right away, so the stack was getting bigger and bigger. I finally set a 20 minute timer and told myself I’d get as much done in that time as I could. As is usually the case, it took much less time to go through everything than I had thought and now…no pile! At least until I bring in the mail tonight.
3. Afternoon thunderstorms. Colorado has a very dry climate, even in the summer. Humidity doesn’t really exist here. But this year we have gotten about 50% more rain on the front range than we usually do by this time of year. While my animals may disagree with me here, I love when an afternoon thunderstorm rolls in. First of all, it means my plants will be wet and happy without my daily watering. Second, there is just something so cozy about being inside while the tempest is raging outside. And third, it usually cools things down for the evening and makes my house just a little more comfortable for sleeping.
4. Loki. Guys, Disney has been hitting it out of the park with their Marvel series this summer. I loved WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and now Loki. It was a smart, funny, and heartwarming journey for one of our favorite antiheroes of the Avengers. And Tom Hiddleston does such a great job of playing the character! You can tell he really loves being in this role. Again, these might not be the best shows for you if you aren’t already an MCU fan and don’t have a working knowledge of the characters. But, also, what better time than now to get rolling on the whole franchise!
5. Roasting garlic and jalapeños. I made cheesy grits for a dinner one night this week and I added canned corn along with roasted garlic and jalapeños. I decided to try roasting them in my air fryer/toaster oven on just the bake setting and it worked! All in all, it was much faster from start to finish than if I had used my big oven. And it didn’t overheat my whole kitchen!