Sentence a Day 06.2025

 

Good morning, good evening, good night, my friends.  Thanks for joining me for Sentence a Day 06.2025 – a long-winded review of my June coming to you in one poorly punctuated, run-on sentence a day.  Another really good month that started with us on vacation and ended with us on staycation!!  Life is good.

Want to thank Marsha at Marsha in the Middle and my BFF Sharon for alerting me that my blog posts were not going out in emails.  I think I finally got it fixed tonight.  If you receive my blog via email, fingers crossed that this post comes through.  🤞🏽

Before We Jump In

 

As I have always said, I write these sentences as a way of keeping track of what all has happened and when.  It helps me to reflect on each day, and record the important things so I can keep them straight, if not in my mind, on ‘paper’ at least.  Kind of like journaling.  Do you journal?

Just a reminder:  Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After occasionally uses affiliate links which are usually italicized.  If you click or make a purchase from an italicized link provided I may receive a very small commission at no cost to you.  Thank you for your support.

And you can find where I link-up on this page.

Sentence a Day & Alphabet Soup

 

Every month I try very hard to get my SaD post together once the month is over, in order to make the What’s Been on Your Calendar?- WBOYC – link-up with Deb at Deb’s World, Sue who blogs at Women Living Well After 50, Donna from Retirement Reflections and Jo who can be found at And Anyways. The link-up opens on the last Friday of each month and is only open a few days.  So I am not always successful in joining the gals.

Hope to link up this post with for Jennifer’s Thankful Thursday series over at Overflowing with Thankfulness, too.  My OGT after each sentence is ‘one good thing’ – something I am especially thankful for.

Bienvendios, Junio

 

We are officially half-way through the year.  How in the world can that be?  Here’s what we did this month.

 

Gentle Start

• Welcome, June, thank you for bringing us summer!! We decided that after the emotional day yesterday, we would get up and be a little more leisurely in getting around; ate breakfast, packed a picnic and then headed out to Love Lake, a small lake with a long forgotten trail that finally disappears around its perimeter; every time we get in the car each of us guesses the number of deer we will see on that trip – it has been grand fun and we are over 50 deer sightings!!; the fellas tried to fish but the water was pretty rough and a storm came up so we headed back toward town; ate our picnic at home and watched KY in the College World Series, went back into Creede so the guys could get more lures and we could all get ice cream; the rest of the day and evening we watched TN baseball, puzzled, Valerie and Roby cooked a grand feast of steak, baked potatoes, veggies; the book club chose Where the Rivers Merge by Mary Aice Monrose for our June read;  at 8:00 we convened on the porch for the last deer count of the day; played a card game called “99” before turning in a little later than usual; 7,753 steps.  06.01.2025  OGT: counting deer, laughing

Sibling Love

• After breakfast, we decided to head into Creede to try to hike the Up and Over Trail, a moderately challenging 3 mile walk from one end of Creede and up and over the moutain to the other end of town but it turned out to be more of a climb than some of us were able to manage; we took a shortcut down and then walked through the shops, stopping again at Wander Off Broadway boutique where my brother and LeeAnn bought me the darling top I fell in love with on our first trip downtown last Friday; then we all popped into Spare Keg for a beer – I had the peanut butter stout because you know how I love PB; a shower came up just as we were headed back to the car and we all got pretty wet, especially Kevin who ran ahead to bring the car to the rest of us; home for hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill then we played a game where we each picked a gift bag and had to wear the wig that was inside our bag for the entire night; played Pictionary and “99” then off to bed; another delightful day; 8,254 steps.  OGT:  my brother and sister, their spouses and my PC

Rediscovering an Old Love

• Tuesday – and a fishing day – we ate breakfast then headed north toward South Fork and North Fork Falls; we hiked a half mile there and back to the southern falls tucked into a forrested area – beautiful; then up the road a bit more to the northern falls which were even more powerful and surrounded by rugged rock and mountains on one side, meadows on the other; next stop was the Continental Reservoir where PC caught two fish, one after the other as fast as he cast his line and threw them both back; we had a picnic lunch then headed Road Canyon Reservoir to fish a bit more but all 3 fellas struggled to catch anything, Paul caught one rainbow trout here but threw it back; went into Creede to shop for souvenirs for everyone to take home; enjoyed a delicious dinner at the picturesque Antlers restaurant on the banks of the Rio Grande where we had a front row seat to rafting fly fishermen going down the river; we started playing “99” when we got home but Lauren called and I hadn’t spoken with her for more than 5 minutes since we arrived in Colorado; I decided not to play cards any longer and went upstairs to talk with her; 9,218 steps.  06.03.2025 OGT:  Paul had fallen in love with fishing again, and he threw all of his fish back into the lakes

• Our last day in the Rockies; decided to spend most of the day doing laundry, gathering everything for the trip home; had leftovers for lunch in order to clean out the fridge; took 3 mile walk to the cemetery in Creede and wandered about it reading names and dates on the tombstones; I tried to publish my Sentence a Day post for May but kept running into issues with the Internet;  we shot Valerie and Roby’s pellet guns – fun, and I like the idea of a less-than lethal gun; back to Creede for a farewell beer at Spare Keg and then dinner at Old Miners Inn for pizza – PC and I split a small honey hog pizza; counted deer on the drive into town and home for a whopping 30 in total; finished packing up the food, cleaning the kitchen, played a last game of “99”; said our goodbyes to Valerie and Roby who were getting up before sunrise; and we all went to bed; what a pleasure this vacation was; 12,766 steps.  06.04.2025  OGT:  the mountains, the river and lakes, the stormy skies, the sunshine, the wildlife of the Rockies

Outside My Comfort Zone

• Up before 7:00 am but Valerie and Roby were on their way home before sunrise; loaded up the car; did a last walk through the house then we jumped in our car and Kevin and LeeAnn jumped in theirs and the vacation was over; felt like I had to drink in as much of the beauty as I could as we drove back into civilization; we had breakfast in Del Norte at Boogie’s then back on the road to Pilar, New Mexico where we had a white water rafting experience scheduled; I was kind of nervous about rafting because the guide had switched us from scenic rafting to race course rafting which sounded pretty scary but it was great fun – 2 class two rapids and 3 class three rapids, quartzite mountains on one side of the Rio Grande Gorge and basalt on the other; wore my swim shirt with hiking pants, then put on the splash jacket and pants the rafting guide provided; as we were preparing to get into the rafts a big rain storm came up complete with lightning, thunder and hail – not ideal weather for rafting but rafting we did, and it was thrilling!!, I felt alive and invigorated; afterward we drove to Albuquerque, both shivering with cold; ate dinner in the sunshine on the patio of Freddy’s then drove to Querque Hotel; we both took hot showers to warm up and called it an early night; 2,145 steps.  06.05.2025 OGT:  trying something new, challenging myself

Home, James

• We were so tired we slept all night without getting up once; had a bit of breakfast at the hotel then started on the last leg of our trip home; my lead foot and I drove from Albuquerque to El Paso and got us home before 1:00 pm; we unloaded the car and put away all of the groceries we had brough home from Creede; started a load of laundry to wash our rafting clothes; then went to Casita Linda for dinner; watched the Reds game until it was rained out; watched some of the Karen Read trial before climbing into our very own bed;  the kitties were happy to see ur, our yard was greener after the brief rain while we were gone; it’s good to be home; 6,481 steps. 06.06.2025  OGT:  safe travels for my brother, sister and me on our way home
• There’s no place like home – didn’t get up at all last night, slept so well in our bed; PC was off to baseball after breakfast and I worked on my second blog post about the activities on our cruise; unpacked our suitcase and put the clothes away; then got started organizing my scrapbook paper – what a huge job – but finally got it all sorted and put away; made cheesy chicken, brocooli and rice casserole for dinner; started work on my 4th of July fabric strip wreath for the front door; watched “Nonnas” on Netflix, a sweet story based on a quartet of cooking Italian grandmas; 4,413 steps.  06.07.2025  OGT:  being home, PC playing baseball again

Easy Day

• My kind of peaceful Sunday; slept well, ate breakfast, worked on putting the sails over the pool then watering all of our plants with MiracleGro; two teen girls visiting our neighbor knocked on the door and asked if they could swim in our pool; what do you make of that? – we don’t know the girls at all, thank goodness we were on our way to the gym:  stairstepper and treadmill; lunch when we got home but my spinach salad didn’t taste good; watched the Reds baseball game then floated for over an hour on our mattresses in the pool – the water was chilly but bearable; I fixed bratwurst and hot dogs, this corn recipe and tater tots for dinner; worked on my 4th of July wreath, daydreamed about camping and boating and PC created 2 wish lists on Amazon for both; watched Oklahoma City Thunder play in the NBA finals then watched “The Chosen”, season 5, episode 1, 6,219 steps.  06.08.2025  OGT:  being home all day long – almost 

• And another great day…have I mentioned that I love to be at home?  Breakfast on the patio, made a to-do list for the week for the first time in awhile; got the laundry underway, changed the sheets on the bed, helped PC adjust the sails he put up over the pool yesterday; wrote on my DailyOm course and “To Our Children’s Children” family history questions; then it was gym time, stairstepper, ab weight machines, treadmill – I ran almost a mile; picked up Walmart order, I put the groceries away while PC worked more on the sails; ate lunch while watching the Karen Read retrial; worked on my 4th of July wreath; did some blog reading; swam a measly 10 laps but it is a start; floated while watching the Reds game; leftover chicken casserole for dinner; mowed the lawn while Paul used the weed eater; more blog reading while watching the news about the riots in California; 7,507 steps.  06.09.2025  OGT:  a day of work and pleasure

Pinch Me

• Okay, pinch me…3 really fabulous days in a row!!  PC went to baseball practice for the first time this season and then fished at the lake that borders park where the ball fields are; I enjoyed being home alone, sitting on the patio and writing to a prompt for our writing group tonight; ran a mile on the treadmill, getting up to 6 mph and completing my mile in 11.30 minutes which is not fast but is faster than I have run since I broke my heel; ran errands – carwash, library, Uptown Cheapskate, Walmart for plants and more red, white and blue fabric for my wreath; repotted all of my new plants in existing pots I had; planted more watermelon seeds in our raised garden; ate a spinach salad for a late lunch; read blog posts; when PC got home I worked on my wreath while he ate lunch then we got dressed to go to the outlet mall and writing group; it began to rain as we came across the mountain, even had pea-sized hail for a moment, thunder and lightning, too; bought some summer wallflower fragrances; writing was enjoyable but I did more playing with year-old Judy than discussing the writing lesson; glad to see puddles on the road in front of the house when we got home; 8,925 steps.  06.10.2025  OGT:  rain, rain, rain

Learning to Nurture ME

• It was a cool, clear morning after last night’s momentary rain; after breakfast, we meandered around in the yard checking out our plants and grass and trees, then spent a few minutes on our computers – I worked on my Tell Us About post; we planned to go to the gym at 11:00 but PC decided he needed to go to Hobby Lobby(!!) for more material to make his fishing lures; had McD’s for lunch, stopped at Nayda’s Bead Shop to ask her to fix a brooch with missing ‘gemstones’; stopped at Dollar Tree and the carwash then decided to skip the gym and come home; I scrapbooked with my sister for a bit; did my last life coaching session with Christie – feel like I have made good progress on nurturing myself more and allowing for me-time; fixed these Texas Roadhouse-copycat pork chops on the grill with pasta and hominy; watered the dryest areas of the backyard with the portable sprinkler for a few minutes; watched the NBA finals with my BFF Sharon’s beloved Thunder vs the Indiana Pacers – tough loss for OKC; worked on my wreath, finished my blog post; PC worked on a lure he made with a mold he created; watered the brown patches in our backyard; ready for bed; 5,148 steps.  06.11.2025  OGT: ‘graduating’ from my life coaching with Christie

Home Alone

• Whew, slept like the dead; as I wake up lately, I always feel like I have been deep underwatering and I am floating up to the surface – strange sensation; showers and breakfast then walked around the yard checking out everything; checked the banking then off to the gym: stairstepper, arm weight machines and treadmill – ran a mile, did 1.45 all together; home for lunch, worked on my Where Bloggers Live post – nothing like last minute; have almost finished my patriotic wreath; watched jury instructions for the Karen Read retrial; mixed together this Olive Garden copycat gnocchi soup (yes, soup in this heat!!); Paul went to batting practice, I checked out the directions for the flag craft I am doing with Tricia Robinson online; did the first drop-in visit for Roly and Omega, 2 sweet kitties we watched a month ago; ate dinner when PC got home; I worked on blogging, he worked on more new handmade lures; 5,724 steps.  06.12.2025  OGT:  having time at home alone, Paul developing a new hobby
• Fri-YAY.  Not sure where the week has gone.  Went to do our drop-in visit with the kitties then the gym after breakfast: elliptical, leg weight machines, treadmill; went to Lowe’s so PC could buy more supplies for lure-making, and I bought some plants to fill in, I hope, on one side of the patio out back; got my Where Bloggers Live post published;  fed all of the potted plants with MiracleGro; sowed more seeds in our raised garden: squash, watermelon, cilantro; scrapbooked with my sister on pictures from our brother’s wedding a year ago; leftovers for dinner; watched the Reds game; tired tonight; 8,727 steps.  06.13.2025  OGT:  the hope that is gardening

Weekendin’

• Baseball Saturday for PC; he was off at 8:00 am and I was off to do the kitty visit; PC called saying he had forgotten his water at home so I offered to take it to him at the ball park; walked around the lake while I was there; Lauren and family headed for Disneyland; home to work on blog posts; Paul was home by noon; I scrapbooked with my sister; we dressed up and went to Olive Garden for dinner – enjoyed every bite of my ziti and glasses of watermelon Moscato sangria; did our drop-in visit with the kitties; PC’s Father’s Day present arrived – this inflatable fishing boat; started watched “The Last of Us” on Max but it is not for us; 6,099 steps. 06.14.2025 OGT:  date night

Getting Hot

• Happy Father’s Day!!  Thankful for the father I had and my grandchildren’s fathers, and the loving grandfather that is my PC.  We planned to get up and go fishing at Ascarate Lake first thing in the morning, and we were out the door and at the lake before 8:00 am; we spent about 2 hours, PC fishing and trying out various lures he has made this past week while I took pictures of my fisherman and picked up trash all around the lake; we did our kitty drop-in visit with Roly and Omega then looked for a place to have breakfast but of course, there were crowds and waiting lists everywhere for Father’s Day; wound up eating breakfast burritoes at Taco Cabana; watched the Reds game then got in the pool; I swam 20 laps, then we floated for an hour or so; fixed homemade hamburgers on the grill for dinner; watered our newest tree which droops so quickly in this heat; watered the barest areas of the yard; we have new baby watermelon coming up in our raised garden beds, yay; 6,498 steps, 109*.  06.15.2025 OGT:  new plants in our garden
• Awake before 7:00 am, knew we had a busy day so we jumped right in; gathered laundry and got it started; fed kitties, enjoyed breakfast on the patio and did quiet time for the first time in awhile, enjoyed it; gym:  abs machines, 1.5 miles on elliptical, 1.5 on treadmill; took a water sample to Leslie’s Pools – yikes, our phosphates are off the charts, have a treatment plan to get things under control; across the mountain to the outlet mall for Bath and Body’s 75% off sale, scored a candle, several bath gels, PC got a body spray – yummy – Honorable and summer wallflower plug-ins; walked around the mall then split a taco pack at TacoTote but it didn’t taste good to me, our tummies are upset; Hobby Lobby for more lure-making stuff for Paul, and I bought gel medium for my online flag project that starts tomorrow; home to finish laundry, took a nap on the couch; meet-n-greet with a new couple and their Chihuahuas who we will be watching next week; cheese and crackers for dinner; headache, sour stomach – ready for bed at 8:00 pm, 12,222 steps; 108*.  06.16.2025 OGT:  quiet time on the patio to start the day

Quiet Starts

• Started today like yesterday, so peaceful to be on the patio in the cool(ish) morning to do my quiet time and guess what??  yesterday I found 3 pennies and a dime – I have shared before that I believe God puts pennies in my path to let me know He is with me; we dove right into cleaning the upstairs after breakfast; it had been awhile, actually hadn’t done much up there since we finished spring cleaning; vacuumed, dusted, cleaned the bathroom, put all the laundry away and put in my new summer scent plug-ins; at noon we went to the gym, leg day – 25 minutes on leg weight machines, stairstepper and treadmill; then over to Lauren’s to pick up a box of Hello Fresh that was delivered today (they are on vacay) and picked up my brooch that was repaired and dropped off my mom’s graduation aquamarine ring to have a prong repaired; home to visit with my sister on the phone while I started work on my flag; swam and floated while watching the Reds; shrimp, fish sticks, potato salad and baked beans for dinner; read blog posts all night while watching “The Chosen” Season 5, episodes 1 & 2; 8,653 steps, 107*.  06.17.2025 OGT: God’s messages to me, clean upstairs
• Breakfast on the patio, watered all of the potted plants; renewed my yeast – need to make bread, maybe that can be a summer goal?; browned meat for dinner then we started cleaning the downstairs: cleaned the kitchen, bathroom, dusted all of the furniture; cleaned the leather; put a new message on my board: ‘Happy Fourth of July or Exploding Christmas’, finished a scrapbook page with my sister; worked on my flag – I like it so far; floated in the pool while watching the first innings of the Reds game then in to finish the Hello Fresh dinner – it was so good; desperate to find something new to watch on TV, tried “The Nickel Boys”, a movie but it was very disjointed; started reading “Long Way Down” by Jason Reynolds as recommended by my friend Donna; 5,466 steps; 106*.  06.18.2025  OGT:  clean house from top to bottom

Cultivating Green

• Happy Juneteenth!!  An important day in Texas and America’s history.  So looking forward to my patio time these mornings; today we ate breakfast inside and started working in the yard (before it became sweltering); I cleaned up the ‘monkey grass’ I brought from my childhood home in Tennessee, it was out of control; the vibration plate Brennyn sent us arrived and it may be a great thing, have you heard of them?; we planted some purslane and a new hibiscus, then swam and floated in the pool while watching the morning Reds game; this afternoon was busy with gym: stairstepper, treadmill, arm weight machines; stop at Lowe’s to buy a replacement butterfly bush (2 of ours bit the bullet this week); did a drop-in visit with the 5 kitties: Papaya, Nacho, Boogie, Lulu and Pi; scrapbooked with my sister but didn’t get anything done; leftovers for dinner; started a new series, “Department Q” on Netflix – verdict is still out on it; 7,276 steps; 103*.  06.19.2025 OGT:  tending to the garden

Many Blessings

• Friday that felt like a Saturday. We planned to get up and climb McKelligon Canyon but got a slow start out of bed, then PC had a mess trying to get the serial numbers for his Father’s Day inflatable boat and the motor he bought for it; both are from Amazon and neither came with paperwork needed to register them with the Texas Parks and Wildlife so he emailed, called, chatted and texted with folks trying to get some help, if we can’t get the serial numbers, the TPWD can inspect the boat and motor and issue serial numbers – what a mess!!; we messed around on our computers for a bit then it was time to do our first of 3 kitty drop-in visits; we have new customers this week and next!!; visited Biscuit, then new kitties Kashi and Kiwi, then around the town to the westside to write with the Let’s Write members – worked on my DailyOm memoir questions and drank a pistachio mocha something or other; stopped at the outlet mall to try to find Gingham Hero in a body spray for Bren to give Mustafa – no luck, but did buy one that has similar ingredient/notes; Facetimed with Bren and Dec and Dec said he loves me!!; did our drop-in visit with Boogie, et al then home for grilled cheese sammies; watched the Reds; and the last half of “True Grit” with Hailee Steinfeld – such clever lines, such a sweet story; did a lot of blog reading tonight, and tried to organize my books on my 52 Weeks Book Challenge graphic…seem to be thinking well tonight; 4,673 steps; 105*.  06.20.2025  OGT:  opportunities

Another Weekendin’

• PC was up, dressed and off to his ball game before 9:00 am; I did a few things around the house, made these chicken enchiladas, did some blog reading and writing then my first kitty drop-in visit at 11:00; came home and started painting the stars on my flag project, enjoyed this project because it was easy and the directions were straightforward and it was almost free!!; U.S. bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities, now what happens??; at 1:00 pm, PC called to say he was going to have lunch with the ball team so I did the second kitty drop-in visit; when Paul got home we floated for a bit in the pool until time to pick up groceries and do our third kitty visit of the day; both of us felt pretty queasy all day but ate the enchiladas and lived to tell about it; watched more of “Department Q” before bed, 3,696 steps – barely moved; 103*.  07.21.2025  OGT:  creating
• Sunday, decided to make a good breakfast, blueberry pancakes and sausage; ran to Lowe’s for more lure-making stuff; then the Dollar Tree for even more lure-making stuff and I bought 4th of July paper plates and napkins, did our kitty drop-in visit; had planned to go to the gym then but changed our minds and came back home; watched the Reds game; frozen pizzas for lunch; PC watched TV and I scrapbooked with my sister for a bit then we had our second drop-in visit then stopped by the gym for a quick work out just stair stepper and treadmill; came home and both of us still felt sick so I made macaroni and cheese for dinner, which hit the spot; watched the NBA championship game between OKC Thunder and the Indiana Pacers, OKC won; dragging lately with whatever is going on with our tummies – probably this heat doesn’t help; 5,717 steps; 100*.  07.22.2025  OGT:  homemade mac-n-cheese

Grump

• Set the alarm to get up earlier; felt like I was off all day, fighting technology, answering endless texts, tired of dealing with all of that stuff; got laundry started then we went to do our first visit with 2 pups, Moira and Stevie, who were terrified of us and refused for 30 minutes to go outside to potty but we finally won them over; got gas, took our pool water to Leslie’s, picked up muriatic acid at Lowe’s – we seem to be there daily; home to work on laundry and iron; salad for lunch; changed the sheets on the bed, more ironing; published my summer bucket list post; off to the gym: arm weight machines, stairstepper and 1.95 on the treadmill; did our last drop-in with the 5 kitties in our neighborhood; made a Hello Fresh spicy maple chicken meal with green beans and sweet potatoes for dinner, was very good; dosed the pool with chemicals during the day – all of the heat and wind, dirt and leaves have our phosphates sky-high; watched the Reds game then the next episodes of season 5 of “The Chosen;” 9,712 steps; 100*.  06.23.2025  OGT:  ran over a mile today

Diappointed Again

• Hoped and prayed for rain all night, every time I rolled over – nothing; we ate breakfast, fed the kitties then walked up McKelligon Canyon, enjoying the overcast skies and cool breeze – completed 4 miles in a little less than an hour, I always pick up trash when we walk or hike, trying to pick up at least 3 pieces a day wherever I go, loaded up on beer cans this morning; ran to Walmart for prune juice, yup, prune juice and shoe strings; did our drop-in visit with Moira and Stevie, who were a little warmer toward us but still had to be carried outside so they would use the bathroom; peanut butter for lunch; worked on my writing for our writing group assignment; scrapbooked with Valerie, showered and dressed for writing in my new to and Old Navy green denim; Denise fixed tacos for dinner, after we ate and visited, we shared our writing, and I read the piece I wrote last week at the coffee shop; DQ ice cream on the way home; lightning, clouds all around but not a drop of rain; continued prayers for rain tonight; 12,211 steps; 83*.  06.24.2025  OGT:  hiking, cooler weather, hope for rain, our writing group

Answered Prayers

• Awoke at 4:00 am to quite the rain storm complete with thunder and lightning which lasted well over an hour; out of bed, dressed and out the door to take my car to have a dealership oil change, tire rotation, and a hose changed out per recall; we ate sweet bread and I drank coffee, they have the best coffee at the car dealer; then we were off across town to the lake to launch the Pauly Wog but a rain kicked up and we decided to postpone the maiden voyage for a nicer day; walked around the lake, PC cast his rod every 10 or 15 feet; but no bites; back toward home to grab a few things at our neighborhood Walmart then to do our drop-in visit with Moira and Stevie, Moira was sick and not very eager to go outside or go to the bathroom – we spent about 45 minutes trying to coax her; off to the gym next:  leg weight machines, elliptical, treadmill; PC wanted Taco Bell for lunch so we did; back across the mountain to get my car; home to fold laundry and put it away; watched a new trial; leftovers for dinner while watching the Reds game; watched an episode of “The Chosen” season 5; read blog posts; 10, 546 steps; 87*.  06.25.2025  OGT:  cool morning, walk around the lake, drizzle

Home Alone, Part 2

• PC was up and out the door to go fish before 7:00 am; I enjoyed sitting on the patio for over an hour, then ran a mile on the treadmill in the garage; showered, made the bed and headed over the mountain to pick up my babies to spend the day; sat at the table visiting with Lauren for a few minutes while she fixed the girls’ hair; both girls had so much to tell me about their trip to Disneyland; back over the mountain to our house where we put on makeup and played shop with the wigs we had taken to Colorado; had hot dogs for lunch then off to see the movie “Elio” as the girls had learned about it at Disneyland – it was a little far-fetched but had a good message; back home for more ‘shop’ until time to take the girls to the top of the mountain to meet Lauren to go home; ate leftover enchiladas for dinner; watched “Preppy Party” murder trial on YouTube til bedtime; 8,202 steps; 89*.  06.26.2025  OGT:  being with my baby girls

• Fri-Yay that felt like a Satur-Yay.  We were confused about what day of the week it was.  Breakfast and then off to gym first thing: ab weight machines, stairstepper, treadmill – not used to this humidity, and we were soaked from our workout; home to clean the pool filters together; then I fixed this beef and broccoli dish for dinner; worked on a grocery order for my MIL; paid bills; put together the consideration list for my online book club to vote from for our July book of the month; baked lemon bars; we floated in our frigid pool water after I struggled to swim some laps in my wet suit, watched the Reds game on the outside TV until time to eat; watched some of the “Preppy Party” murder trial on YouTube and the news, for a change, before bed; 6,814 steps; 92*.  06.27.2025  OGT:  easy day

Sabado y Domingo

• Busy Saturday; fixed a good breakfast with eggs, bacon in the oven – have you tried that??, half a bagel and a Clementine; PC had a ballgame at 1:00 pm but left to stretch at the gym first; I picked up the many, many magnolia leaves our tree has shed – praying it is going to hang in there while listening to Horse; did a Supernatural workout for the first time in weeks; scrapbooked with my sister working on pictures from Kevin and LeeAnn’s wedding last June; PC got home from his game and was hit in the head/ear by a pitch; thank goodness, he had on a batting helmet but his ear and jaw are very red and slightly swollen – I was worried about the possibility of a concussion; showered and dressed for the Chihuahua game, met Lauren and the girls at the train station, had great seats in the shade, lovely evening, slight breeze, Chihuahua win and terrific fireworks after; home and in bed by 11:00 pm, tired girl;  6,694 steps; 96*.  06.28.2025  OGT:  being born in America, living in America, celebrating America’s bday a little early with those I love

• Sleeping so deeply and rarely getting up more than once a night; we lounged in bed with the kitties for a bit before jumping into this Sunday; PC offered to take me to breakfast and we got right in at iHOP for their senior 2x2x2 breakfast deal; home to mow the grass (me) and Paul used the weed eater; I fed all of the flowering and potted plants with Miracle Gro and plant food – after our one hour-long rain on Tuesday everything looks so green and spry and healthy; and we have new sprigs of plants in our raised garden beds; we cooled off watching the Reds game inside, then I swam laps and we both floated for over an hour on our mattresses in the pool; I fixed WW taco salad for dinner – it is so quick and a good way to get in some green veggies; Supernatural workout; did a lot of computer work – deleted May photos 2020-2024; deleted and updated a half dozen old blog posts; worked on my Sentence a Day post all while watching “The Chosen” season 5, last 3 episodes; 5,298 steps; 90*.  06.29.2025  OGT:  accomplishing little tasks, seeing the fruits of our labors
• Adios, June, thank you for being a kind and gentle month.  Woke up 4 times last night, each time after a crazy dream – in one, my parents were getting a divorce!!; breakfast and quiet time on the patio; brushed the pool, swept up the awful debris from the neighbor’s trees that litter our deck and yard; took a water sample to Leslie’s, our phosphates are so high because of the junk those trees drop; went to the gym on our way home:  arms, stairstepper and treadmill 1.25 miles; lunch during which I spilled a whole lot of watermelon juice all over the kitchen – time to vacuum and mop; baked a banana bread using Sharon’s recipe, so good!!; tried to scrapbook but Purrsnickitty would not leave me alone, kept climbing on my craft desk and laying on my scrapbook pages so I gave up; we were going to swim and float but the sun went behind the clouds and a sprinkle came up so we ate dinner instead – leftovers; watched the Reds lose and a clip on YouTube about the Kohberger plea deal, how hard for those families but finally they will have closure; the members of my book club selected The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly; 7,447 steps; 91*.  06.30.2025 OGT:  banana bread

 

I could get used to these good months, one after another, all in a row.  Almost makes me scared to see what July might bring!!  But I am going to believe that it will be the best month yet.

 

1 Second Each Day

 

Here’s a quick video review of June in pictures.

 

2025 Word of the Year (WOTY)

 

You may remember my word of the year is nurture.  And I originally planned to try to nurture a little better those I love most.  But somewhere early in the year, I realized that in order for me to love others better, I need to love myself better first.  And I have been!!  Here are some of the ways:

Late this past winter or maybe early spring, I begun working with my friend Christie at So What? Now What? for a 30-minute life counseling sessions every two weeks.  This was been a great way to nurture myself.  And I am proud to say I have ‘graduated.’  At least for now!!

With Christie’s help, I learned how to make time for myself in every day.  How to prioritize what has to be done over what can wait til tomorrow.  And how to ask loved ones for what I need as far as having a little time to myself.  Which has been different now that PC is retired and home so much more of the time.

Some of the things I have done this month to nurture myself include:

• allowing myself to feel the sorted emotions around sprinkling my parents’ ashes in Colorado
• getting back to quiet time on the patio first thing in the morning
• enjoying little projects in the yard – that sunshine is good stuff
• easing into running again
• swimming
• scrapbooking
• writing
• preparing easy meals

I hope to write the third installment about our Alaskan cruise this week and then I want to share our trip to Colorado with you.

Your Turn

 

Overall, I would give our June an 8.5.  It was even a bit better than April and May, and they were darn good.

Hope whatever you are up to this week, you find a little ME time (YOU time) to do the things you like doing best.  Thank you for poppin’ round!!

Hugs and kisses,