Five Favorites For This Friday

 

OK, it was kind of hard to come up with five good things about the past week, mostly because it was so hot every single day all day and night that everyone in our house was miserable. Plus I got sick, which did not help the overall vibe.

But there are always some good things, so I just needed to find them. Here you go.

1. This podcast. I came across Renee's podcast about a year ago, and granted, not every single episode is one that I watch, but in general, I really enjoy it and get a charge out of her. She lives in Kentucky with her husband, and has two adult daughters. She is so crazy about her family and her two sweet dogs, and it's funny because I think she would be fun to hang with - while at the same times suspecting we would not really get along that well in real life. 😂

2. My walks. It's been really hard to get moving this week, but I've forced myself to go out between 5 and 6 a.m. every single day this week, even if it's for a shorter than usual walk. And even though I've seriously had to force myself to do it, or do it out of guilt, once I'm out and walking, and once I get home, I'm so glad I left the house. And for most of this week, it's been the only time I've left the house! Wednesday was the best walk because I got to pet 8 dogs. Eight!

3. Ordering a new refrigerator. Yes, ordering it. Because that's the fun part. Emptying the old one and moving stuff to the new one is another story, as is paying for said refrigerator. But the ordering is full of anticipation. We've been lucky - our current fridge is 30 years old and we have never had a single issue, or had to call for service, etc. But it is falling apart, and we figured rather than continue to tempt fate, we'd take the active step. As when we shopped around for a new front door, we were surprised at the cost of refrigerators - because when you didn't buy one for so long, prices do tend to go up! It will arrive next Friday, so we don't even have to wait that long until it's here.

4. Chocolate chip brioche bread toast. I've had this with my breakfast this week three times. The Tim found the loaf at a Lidl store in New Jersey, and bought it for us to try. It's been a big hit.

5. My current book. 

This is such a good read, and entertaining to boot. My mother spent summers during her childhood in Chicago, where her aunt, uncle, and cousin lived. Her stories from those days were always great, and some of them seemed ridiculously fantastical. This book covers a time period just before her childhood, but a lot of the same places, people, and well, practices, were involved. And having lived in Chicago myself as a child for a few years as well as an adult, I love the stories and the history as well. This is one of those non-fiction books that is so readable and enjoyable, you might forget that it's all based on real things!

So there you go - I did find five good things, and I have to say, finding those were fun. I'm starting to recover from being sick, and it has just (barely) started to rain here, so maybe myself and the plants and flowers will at least get a break for today. Because they have been predicting worse heat and humidity next week (is that even possible? Won't we all just explode?), and it's one of those weeks when I have some kind of appt every single day. So that will be a challenge.

I hope wherever you are, and whatever weather conditions are happening, that you can round up five things for yourself that made you happy. Have a good weekend, however you manage to do that, and I'll check in next week.