What afforded you some small pleasure today?
I sat on my deck, noticing that the swamp maples are starting to turn scarlet and also watching Milo trying to eat a small white butterfly. Then I found this advice that Woodrow Wilson’s father passed on to him: “When you frame a sentence, shoot with a single bullet and hit that one thing only.”
Observing members:
0
Composing members:
0
74 Answers
I ate a big choco icecream. Enjoyed every bit of it!
Something I’d been stressed about has resolved favorably, and they put extra fresh garlic on the pizza tonight, and the calamari was very crispy and had only the ringlets!
A bit of karma involving a former employee.
An exciting business expansion was confirmed today.
The look on my son’s face when I brought home Grand Theft Auto 5. :0)
I just looked at @rojo’s lurve and it was 11111.
My partner came home earlier and was able to snuggle with me for 15 minutes when no one was home and before we had to get all the kids. It was glorious. Watching Criminal Minds also gave me some pleasure as I never get to relax, lately.
The kittens meowing at each other while they wrestle.
Frodo barking and growling at his reflection in the doorway.
Took my dog to the dog park.
Rode my bike around the neighbourhood, and discovered someone building a veggie stand at the end of their driveway. Stopped to chat and learned they’re a few weeks from their harvest.
I’m a month away from garden fresh salad. Yum.
Finally met that special someone…
Skipping my morning walk and sleeping an extra hour, and later in the day hearing from an old friend and co-worker (via LinkedIn) for the first time in at least 13 years.
I identified three new wild edibles today: sasparilla, butternut, and evening primrose.
As in oenothera? It’s edible? I have acres of the stuff, although no longer blooming. How do you prep and eat it?
@wildpotato: Have you spotted the purslane that grows everywhere?
Seeing my Mom. As many of you know, she has advanced Alzheimer’s Disease. This cruel condition is like a slot machine; you just never know what you’ll get.
Yesterday, I spent 2 hours with her, and she was a confused and difficult mess. All she did was complain about her $6,200-per-month luxury apartment and guilt-trip me because I can’t move her into my home.
Today, I brought her a clean mattress pad and bedlinens. She said, “Let’s each take a side of the bed, and we can finish in just a few minutes.” We made the bed together in perfect teamwork, and she was 100% alert and capable. She did a beautiful job. It was a wonderful thing.
Finished filling out all of the paperwork that I can at this stage of my application process :) The stack was a little intimidating, but I’m that much closer to employment!
Taking my first cup of coffee out in the yard on this early fall morning and sitting under the cherry tree while it’s yellowing leaves fluttered in the wind and my Siamese cat frisked about under the oak and pine trees on the hillside at 7:05 a.m.
@gailcalled Yes, oenothera biennis. All parts of the plant are edible. Right now the bits to harvest are the flowers and flower buds of the second-year plants – good for salads, mostly – and the roots of the first-year rosettes (the first picture here). These can be used just like you would any root vegetable. Evening primrose is actually most well known for its oil, which must be extracted from the seeds and is good for PMS symptoms – but it takes a lot of work and a lot of seeds.
I haven’t seen purslane around, but I will keep my eyes open. I have seen a ton of lamb’s quarters and jewelweed, though. It’s funny how extremely varied the plants can be even just a few miles away.
One of the perks of working for WDW is that certain roles get complimentary tickets to different special events throughout the year and today I got to go to the Halloween party at the Magic Kingdom with a few of my co-workers and it was amazing! The fireworks were some of the best I’ve ever seen and the parade was beyond cool. However, the best part is that we got to do some trick-or-treating and we each came home with at least 10 pounds of candy (my shoulders are sore from hauling the heavy bag around for so many hours, but it was so worth it).
Cleavage ogling, tits a pleasure.
@wildpotato: I have accidental new rosettes of oenothera growing on pots on my deck that are designated for tomato plants, and reseeded dill and cilantro.
Jewelweed? You can eat jewelweed? I have swaths of it in my stream bed margins. I heard it was good for rubbing over poison ivy or nettle skin irritation.
Today; I slipped on a new hairball but did not go down for the count.
I did not receive 10 lbs. of free candy.
The contractor came when he said; my financial advisor called when he promised; my new glasses arrived two days early and I have one last ripe tomato to harvest before tonight’s frost.
Frodo peed and pooped in the appointed part of the yard. You did say small pleasures!
You have an appointed part of the yard? That is one well-trained doggie. Wait until Milo’s indoctrination troops arrive in their Stealth outfits and reprogram him.
My cat “Myles” pushed out a window screen last night and was gone, out cruising around the area until 7a.m. this morning. I am exhausted from waking up every hour and looking for him. *^$%damn neighborhoods, I couldn’t call him above a raspy whisper so as not to disturb the neighbors. Now he is fast asleep on my bed, worn out and content and I am happy he is home. You can take the cat out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the cat.
^^^ On the rare (mercifully) occasions that Milo does slip out after dark, I now leave one door open a crack and forget about it. I used to freak out and make myself nuts and exhausted also.
Now I notice that he does wander in after several hours, usually by 11:00, looking for food and heat. I do find odd scabs and little bald spots, but, so be it.
@gailcalled Yes, jewelweed is edible – specifically the seeds inside the bean-like seedpods. They are early-to-perfect for harvest right now in my patch. Just grab the seedpod lightly in a sort of caged fingers grasp and it will pop open, then sort out the usually two or three seeds from the casing (which will curl up tightly in three or so sections) and inner pith. They are deliciously nutty when ripe, kind of like walnuts, and fun to gather because the seedpods fly apart so readily. I always munch on some when I walk my dog these days. You’re correct that jewelweed is also useful for poison ivy and other skin irritation. For that you take the whole plant, boil it and make a poultice or use the liquid to make soothing ice cubes – the helpful bit is in the stems and leaves. In the field you can also just slice a stem open and rub it on.
@Coloma Is your father, by chance, named Euell Gibbons?
I’m surprised you haven;t mentioned pinecones. lol
Several Moonflower buds have been teasing me all week and I’m enjoying every minute of it. I thought tonight would be the night…
Maybe they will bloom tomorrow?
They will bloom about two hours after you allow yourself to fall asleep. (Ask me how I know.)
@jonsblond I have tried to grow Moonflowers for years and they never make it. The seeds rot or come up sickly and deformed. Do you have a secret you’d like to share?
I would soak them first, but they never made it. It is one of my remaining goals in life, to grow a Moonflower vine. haha
I was looking out the window at breakfast and saw this little squirrel trying to play with this bigger squirrel and I’ll be darned if he didn’t do a back flip over the bigger squirrel. It was the most awesome cool thing.
@Coloma I wish I had a secret that would help you. Maybe you need our good Midwestern soil? I’ve made the mistake of trying to mix moonflowers and morning glories together and I always end up with only morning glories when I do that. That’s too bad they won’t grow on the same trellis.
Right this minute, Venus is a solitary beacon in the sky as the sky darkens but the stars do not yet appear.I am sitting in my living room and admiring it. If I turn my 7×35 binoculars on it, I see Saturn in the field of vision, above and to the right of Venus. A good reason for anyone to rush outside.
^^^Take them both outside right now,.
Jay left after supper but Frodo and I will be making one last trip outside soon.
The rosy glow of the sunset has now disappeared so it’s still nice but not quite as Turneresque.
I have a rough few days sooo…my pleasure of the afternoon was stopping by my favorite mexican restaurant and cantina and having 2, icey cold, Corona lites witha big basket of chips and salsa. Of course, in my attemot to zen out on the beautiful patio by the fountain with morning glories spilling over the stone walls I just had to be the vivtim of cheesy pick up line if the century.
“Sooo..I haven’t seen you around here before.” Dear god, is there no haven. lol
Nearly every day for the past week or so, somebody I see now and then but don’t know well (e.g., a bank teller, a tech in the ophthalmologist’s office, a club member) has remarked that I’ve lost weight. I’m thinking it must be noticeable.
^^ Have you? If “yes,” then bravo.
Yesterday my occupational therapist told me it was time to learn to cook while on a walker. She had me make a grilled cheese sandwich, with squishy white Wonder bBread, a square of oddly colored American cheese and butter too hard to spread, on an electric stove, in a non-stick pan…none of which I have used, made or eaten in 20 years.
My visiting friend, who had not had time for lunch, saw it and scarfed it down, calling it delicious.
I got an A+. Here
@gailcalled Hey…I’d eat that sandwich, looks pretty good to me. Will you whip up a salad on the side and a dill pickle too? lol
My simple pleasure of the day ( which is just beginning at 8.am. here in sunny californi ) was sitting by my little garden with coffee on this breezy, beautiful morning. The best part of waking up is Folgers in my cup and heading outside, first thing, to soak up the peace of morning before I launch into another day.
My “small pleasure” was a reassuring meeting with my accountant and financial planner.
You know, I feel like it was a good thing, actually?
A mocha Frappe from McDonald’s
Mmmmm….the last of my yellow and zucchini squash, lightly stir fried with S&P, butter, and seasonings. Oh man….I am a now sadly squashless til next year. :-(
Getting my lawyer on the sam page as I about something with the divorce.
And Frodo and friends.
The Red Wings beat the Bruins. Woohoo!!
I’d be happy if the Sabres could pull off a win tonight, too. For @adirondackwannabe
I realized that I am walkiing indoors most of the time without the cane and can easily go up and down the stairs a dozen times a day. With the cane I was able to stroll around part of my lawn and woods and enjoy the sun and autumn leaves.
If someone invented a nail file four inches longer than the ones on the market, I could actually file my toe nails on the operated leg.
Picturing @gailcalled filling her toenails with my floor scraper filing blade.
^^^. How long is it? It may be worth patenting. Probably cheaper than stretchig my arms.
That is not to say that I am pain-free. Please keep in mind that I expect to be whining and complaining for some time to come.
Visiting physical therapist on her way here to make an evaluation of me and the house and the staff (MIlo seems to be spending too much time grooming; he doesn’t really understand what “care giver” means.) I believe that she can also trace her family tree back to the founders of the Spanish Inquisition.
The unseasonably balmy weather is holding. That is a gift; it means I don’t have to use the stupid gadget to try to put socks on.
Frodo here: If Milo needs an assistant in the nudnik department, I can hop on the train!
fMilo here: Forget the train. I’ll gas up the Lear Jet. Gail doesn’t need that slush fund for anything important.
I think we know who the “Alpha dog” in that pack would be but Frodo would be a willing conscript.
Tell him to pack his dancing shoes, top hat and tails. We’ll put on the Ritz. Gail won’t mind left-over chilit for the third day in a row, I am sure.
Frodo here: My bags are packed! She leaves me alone while she goes to “work!”
I’ve been out looking at the stars tonight and thinking of you. That has given me great pleasure. Goodnight, my good and wonderful friend.
Answer this question 
Composing members:
0
