Happy Father's Day

I made it a top priority for hubby and I to spend the day out this Father's Day. We haven't been out together in ages. First up, we went out for lunch at a new pizza joint that opened up here recently (I think last year?) The parking lot is always full. We always said we'd like to try it, each time we passed by. But we never did. Today we did. We had a regular 14 inch pizza ($15), a great big bowl (we shared this) of Greek Salad ($14). I had a cup of tea (free refills @$3)) to go with my meal. With tip and tax, it came to $38. Not too, too bad for a day/night out (considering we haven't been out together in years....but I think I said that already)

After lunch, we went to a local movie theater (independently owned) and price for a movie, before 6PM, for a senior citizen was $6. Still not bad! They had the recliner seats available and being the movie we were seeing was almost 3 hours long, we paid the extra $1.50 each and for a total of $15 my husband and I had an awesome Father's Day! BTW, the movie was terrific. We both enjoy Tom Cruise. Note: however, to fully enjoy Mission Impossible 8, you have to watch Mission Impossible 7, which is streaming for free on many channels (Prime Video for us). The beginning of the movie did a lot of flash back to MI7 which I thought was a time waster. But once the film got into the actual story line, it was very awesome.

The movie is about how AI can take over the nuclear armory of all the earth's nations. We used to laugh at preposterous things like that. But today, with the rapid expansion of AI, I didn't find the concept quite funny any more. Slight biblical undertones, protests, the rise of AI, the world on the cusp of World War III.......sound familiar? A definite go-see movie.

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Saturday Night Dinner

Chicken thighs seem to be all the rage right now. Many of the classic cooking shows I watch are now showing many, many new ways the inexpensive, chicken thigh (both boneless and skinless in addition to bone-in) can be prepared for either our lunch or dinner table. One of my current cooking show favorites is a YouTube entry called 'Allrecipes'. Many of their recipes are easy and super healthy.  Since my husband loves, loves, loves chicken thighs (he says they are very juicy and tender) one of the Allrecipes chicken thigh videos caught my eye.

Especially when I saw this delicious Asian concoction: Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs.

 

You can watch the video online by clicking here. Or if you have the time, you can watch the video right here on my blog. The episode has four chicken thigh recipes but it starts off with the Honey Garlic version.

I prepared my own Asian Honey Garlic chicken thighs, as per the Allrecipe instruction but I also included in our dinner menu a spinach salad (click here for that recipe) with homemade dressing. For dessert, a double scoop butter pecan, waffle ice cream cone. Hubby had vanilla.

Trust me. An Asian chicken thigh is in there, sitting on a bed of Jasmine rice.

DELISH!! 

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Community Senior Picnic

 Every early summer, our community, sponsors a Senior Outdoor Picnic. The first 400 seniors to respond get free admittance and from the looks of this years' attendance, we hit that number. I think there is a $6 (six dollar) charge if you are under 62 but everyone else is free. There's music, good food, good friends and the representatives (i.e. local politicians) let us seniors know about all the wonderful benefits we seniors get to enjoy in our community. Free rides to and from our medical appointments, free food, free transportation, free energy programs (i.e. heat and air conditioning) free home repairs (such as the installation of ramps for those elderly in a wheel chair who can no longer walk up their front home stairs). The list goes on and on. There are a lot of seniors in our neighborhood and I couldn't be happier. My husband and I have been going to these annual picnics for years. We always have a good time. We enjoy meeting our neighbors, making new friends and finding out what is new and available in our community.

It's just one of the many, many reasons why, hopefully, we will never, ever move away.

The event takes place on the fairgrounds under two tents.

There's always a 50/50 raffle. If you win, you get 50% of the money collected!

We meet our local police officials.

There are several booths open to talk about local opportunities.

Hubby with some of our newfound friends and neighbors.

Excellent entertainment & music!

Self-serve food: beef or turkey burgers, fresh salad, baked beans & watermelon.

Happy neighbors! Happy food!

As you can see, turn out was great!

Our neighborhood is home to so many retirees!!

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After Twenty-Three Years, Time For Some Home Maintenance.

 We moved into this brand new, custom-built home on June 1, 2002. That was twenty-two years ago! My oh my, how time flies! The first five years we lived here we put in bamboo flooring, built front, side and back decks, finished the second floor (two bedrooms and a full bathroom with French-styled claw tub!) and did tons of land clearing and landscaping (3.5 total acres, only 2 acres have been cleared. the rest is forest). Now, a simple walk around the home and we figured it is time to tackle some of the necessary upkeep.

The first two remodeling/upkeep we are tacking are our front and side doors. We did the side door first. It needed to be repaired and replaced as soon as possible due to some water intrusion. My husband normally does all the refurbishing himself but this time he hired the expertise of a contractor since hubby's door repair experience was minimal. The contractor charged $800 for the replacement work and hubby subbed as his assistant (another way to save money).  

Our side door originally was fashioned after an old farm door with lots of windows. We always felt that was a security risk because one of the window rows was so close to the doorhandles, all a criminal had to do was break the glass, slip his/her hand in and unlock and open the door. Not a good thing! We installed a door with higher windows, dead lock bolts and a security system.

Viola':

Our front door is next. That door has absolutely NO windows, so it was very dark in the interior entranceway since there was no light coming in. We're replacing it with the same kind of side door, plus a little deck work (hubby's replacing some of the boards that rotted out) deadbolts and a full security camera system. Both these new fangled doors don't need storm doors as they are air tight and block out the cold (and heat) effectively. Another savings! Contractor is still charging us the same $800. We bought both doors from Lowe's ($600 each) and used their free, no fee, 6 month payment payback plan. We're keeping the door colors the same. I am really looking forward to having some sunlight grace my interior entranceway! Finally! We're going to re-sell both doors at either a yard sale or through MarketPlace. Maybe donate them. We don't throw anything away anymore. What we don't need anymore, there is surely someone else who does. Grand total to repair and replace front and side doors (including primer, paint, locks and some parts) an easy $3,000 (before tariffs). Gulp. Add in another $300 for security and you can see why home maintenance is a many, splendid, expensive thing!

My husband and I walked around our home's exterior and interior and made a list of the projects that need to be updated and done. We prioritized what we want to accomplish (and afford) this year. We've got some update interior painting to do, a bit of spackling. Some floor molding needs another coat of paint. Once the new front door is installed I'm considering having our bamboo floors buffed and polished. The wear and tear those poor bamboo panels have endured over these past twenty-three years (two grandkids, three dogs) clearly show their age. They need a little bit of tender loving care. Next year, first thing on that list is replacing some of the floor boards on our back deck. Over the summer, I spend most of my time on the back deck, reading a book, under an umbrella. Some of the boards warped. I just want those replaced. Hubby wants to replace the entire floor of the back deck. We'll see. Funds permitting. 

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Going Back To Italy To Say Goodbye To My Family.

 My sister and I are planning a trip back to Italy, back to the homeland of our father, so that I can see my Italian family one last time and say goodbye to them. Our father is from a small Italian fishing seaport village along the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Why he ever left there and came to America is a puzzlement to me still to this day. My Italian Aunt and Uncle have since passed but I still remain friends and in touch with all my Italian cousins. The last time I saw everyone was in 2007. They are very excited that my sister and I will once again be returning. It will be a happy time. But it will also be a sad time. They all know that I have cancer and my days on this earth are numbered.

We're planning to go sometime in September. The weather will still be good. We will be staying at the home of my father. He left his half share of the Italian property to his sister, who in turn my cousins  inherited upon my uncle's death. They turned the home into a classic AirBNB and let my sister and I know it is available to us whenever we decide to go.

I'm seeing my oncologist this month who in turn will be running tests to see if I am still in remission. I am also seeing my breast surgeon in August who will also run her own tests to make sure I am cancer free. The only hesitation I have in booking this return trip to Italy would be if my cancer comes back. I will have to start chemo infusions again and I don't think I could survive a two-three week international trip once I start undergoing cancer treatments again. I'll probably book the trip anyway BUT take out insurance if for some reason I may have to either postpone, reschedule or cancel the trip altogether.

It is written in my will that upon my death I am to be cremated and my ashes are to be spread in the Adriatic Sea of the village of my father. I first came to this town when I was 16 years old. My parents sent me there for the summer and I spent the most enchanting adventure there in Italy, with my aunt (Zia Elsa) and my amazing Italian cousins (Stephano, Rafaella and Laura). Again, I ask myself, why did my father ever leave this gorgeous place?

Once the summer is officially over in August, the village quiets down and the beaches are endless.

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Rain. Rain. Go Away.

We haven't had a dry weekend here, in upstate New York, since November 2024!!

Yes, you are correct. The weather in New York State has been particularly gloomy over the past few months, with many areas struggling to have a dry weekend since November 2024. The last dry weekend for some major locations like Syracuse, Albany, and Saranac Lake was November 16-17, 2024. This means that the last few months have been characterized by a significant amount of rain or snow, impacting weekend activities. 

Our community pool has been open for two weeks already and no one has been there once due to this never ending rain! What's a person to do? 

This is my view from my office window. This is what I look at most of the time. Pouring rain!

Other than going to the movies, I am so tempted to just hop on a plane and head towards the sun. Any sun. Any where. The only thing appreciating this rain is my lawn and my garden. Everything is so green. But I'm craving yellow. Oh well.

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Garden Update June 6, 2025

 Here's a status report on my little vegetable (and fruit) garden. Not everything grew from seed. My tomatoes just came up BUT they will never be ready for a late August or early September harvest. So I had to buy two beefsteak tomato and two San Marzano tomato startlings to add to the garden so that we'll have tomatoes in time. The seedlings are barely visible. Next year I will start those in May, inside my house, in containers.

Ditto for my eggplant and green/red peppers. The seedlings are up BUT they will never come to harvest in time. I bought two eggplant startlings and two green/red pepper startlings (in addition to what I already planted.

The cucumber and zucchini are doing really well! As is the spinach and mesclun salad mix (in oval plant base). The peas and the green beans are doing super well (in the white planter pots against the fence, to be used as a trellis for the climbing plants). 

The peach tree is doing super well also. BUT if hubby doesn't cover the tree with the netting I purchased, I'm afraid my peach tree will meet the same demise as last summer: the squirrels and the birds ate every last peach! Hopefully, he can get to it this week.

The peach tree must have over 100 peaches on it!

Here's a close up of the little darlings.

As you can see, we are going to have lots of peaches this year.

In the front are 4 beefsteak tomatoes. In the back are 2 San Marzano. In the center is basil and parsley.

This raised bed contains cucumbers and zucchini.

In the front is the eggplant. In the back are the green peppers.

Center contains baby spinach. Circumference is mesclun salad leaves.

Long shot of garden. White planters along back fence are peas and green beans.

In the front wooden planters are pollinators I started from seed. Another full view of our peach tree.

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