Almost Open Season

We are almost back to our new normal. Today, the stores and churches can reopen, but with guidelines for personal spacing and occupancy. The stores should be okay, since they are never full unless it's Black Friday. The churches are out of my realm- I don't attend church, so I don't know how crowded it gets. I did get an order of dry cleaning done, which was nice, but I am still waiting on the cobbler.

So let's look at some outfits. Back on May 11th,

It was hot this day, so I wore a chiffon top from Express and some track pants. I have purchased a few of these pairs lately, because I guess they are in style. These are from Old Navy. They have pockets in the back.

The next day, May 12th, I needed to look nice, but I don't remember why. The brand is North Style, which I have never heard of, but it's a nice dress.

On top, I wore a really nice bespoke jacket that I got at a thrift shop. It's a Korean brand and it's a beautiful bright blue well tailored piece.

The next day, I wore a polyester dress from H&M. It's burnt orange with gold hardware.

It gave me a chance to wear these Nine West shoes. They are orange, brown, and yellow. I have the same pair in black, grey and burgundy.

On top, a beautiful uncut corduroy jacket from Amber Sun.

On May 15th, I wore a very old dress from Victoria's Secret. Remember them ? Anyway, this is a beautiful crocheted dress. I had the perfect shoes to go with them, but I killed them. So I found the same pair on EBay and repurchased them.

Let's go back to May 18th, when I wore a thrifted dress, but I don't remember where I got it. It's a knit wraparound style.

On top, I wore a suede jacket from SHE by Sherri Bodell. I have had it for at least 20 years, and it still spruces stuff up.

On May 19th, I wore a dress from Worthington that I got at a thrift shop in another city, I think Washington DC.. It has bell sleeves that are also pleated.

My chain necklace is from Paparazzi Accessories, and it cost a whole dollar. Every time I wear it, I get so many compliments.

Last outfit - another pair of track pants. These are navy blue with green and white stripes. On top, a draped top and a navy and white warm up jacket.

A chain link belt and a pair of Gucci shoes complete the outfit.

Let's move on to other stuff. What have I been cooking?? Yum !!

Monterey chicken - boneless breast, breaded and fried, topped with sour cream and avocado slices. On the side, rice pilaf with corn and black beans.

This recipe was advertised as "the best pork chops ever". It was true. They are pan fried, with spices and broth and butter. Then you make a roux and add more spices and broth to make gravy. I served it with butter browned new potatoes and three bean salad.

Chicken Kiev - breasts coated with buttermilk and corn flakes, then stuffed with swiss cheese. On top, slices of ham (they can also be stuffed inside with the cheese). Rice pilaf with white beans and peas and sauteed peppers completed the dish.

Wedge salad on steroids - use Gordon Ramsey's recipe. I made homemade vinaigrette, and then put a pool of that and ranch on the plate. Then iceberg lettuce, tomato, bacon, red onion, hard cooked eggs, gorgonzola cheese and croutons. Julienne beets on the side, along with more dressing.


My Birchbox came - such a pretty box !!

Inside, from top to bottom:

1) Number 4 Thermal Styling Spray
2) Kate Somerville Skincare Exfolikate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment
3) Oribe Split End Seal
4) Nest Fragrance Wisteria Bleu Eau de Parfum
5) ModelCo Instant Brows Pencil
6) Lawless Beauty Soft Matte Lipstick in Romeo


Ipsy quickly followed. The bag looks like rainbow sherbet.

Inside, from top to bottom:
1) Soroci Spotlight Eye cream
2) Purlisse Matcha Green Tea and Lemon Detoxifying Charcoal Mask
3) The Balm Autobalm Pic Perf shadow
4) Benefit Roller Lash Mascara
5) Catherine Malandrino Special Moments de Serenite Eau de Parfum

On Mother's Day, my grandkids brought over some gifts. Joseph made me a pull-out card.

And they got me some delicate roses.

Red, pink, white and green!!

We have also been getting some love as hospital employees who have had to keep going on during COVID. The neighbors posted this sign:

And at work, this sign appeared:

If you take a closer look, you can see that it is made of the names of every one of the employees at our hospital.

There I am !!

I also got a couple of new cactuses:

The pink cup is actually a wine tumbler that says "Fur Mama".

And we used to have a desk in our home office. It was a repository for all manner of junk:

So I got rid of it and replaced it with two large black bookcases.

Doc loves his antique book collection and now it looks great in there.

Today, we went and visited Doc's parents for a couple of hours, and then took Pandi on a walk and got Hawaiian BBQ for lunch. I had Loco Moco - rice with a hamburger patty, gravy and a fried egg on top. Delicious!!

Little Pan was tired after her exciting morning. Now I will work out and then watch the Lorena Bobbitt special movie on TV. Then back to the grind. Happy Memorial Day !!!

These Dreams Go On When I Close My Eyes, Every Second of the Night, I Live Another Life

The band Heart said it best. I actually have PTSD from the Coronavirus, and I am not kidding. Every night, my dreams are either centered around Coronavirus or have that as a weird inject. For example, last night I had this dream where I was in a stadium at a major sporting event and the game was like football, only it had letters that had to do with corona and how far the ball moved. I have been telling Doc every morning that once again, I had a corona dream, and he said that this is a hallmark of PTSD. He has told me that I have woken him by yelling and crying "COVID !! No COVID !!".  So how do those poor people on the front lines stand it? I am just over worked and continually stressed (personally and professionally) but I don't even go near the patients. I just hope that I get over this, because it is here to stay, and I need to deal. Ugh.

So let's get back to happier things - Doc, my little house, my dogs, and my love of fashion. Way back on April 16th, this is what I wore.

These are very old Express knit pants, with a pink jacket and a green chiffon blouse. I created this outfit so that I could wear a Gucci scarf that I ordered for my birthday. It came about a month later. It's huge, like all Gucci scarves.

The next day was panther day - black slacks, a black velvet top with a leopard collar, and black booties. Grrr.

That weekend, as I was running, I saw this very intrepid squirrel try to get food out of the bird feeder.  He succeeded, and apparently likes to eat upside down.

He must have cleaned that feeder out, because the people who live in this house have not filled it up again. They are really nice old hippies.


On Monday, April 20th, I was too tired to iron, so I wore a knit dress from Taylor with a jacket from Bob Mackie Wearable Art. I look okay, but I was a mess inside. I have worked every day for at least a month, even on my "days off". It has been relentless.

The next day, the Fountain Valley Police and Fire came by the hospital to visit and share camaraderie with us here at the hospital. I wore a pale gray satin tunic and a snakeskin print skirt. There were a lot of handsome firefighters and officers, but we all had masks on and had to stay 6 feet apart. That's okay, because all I can do is look anyway. My days of being cute enough for young men are long gone, boo. That's okay - my eyes still work.

This is a beautiful cactus flower in the neighbor's yard.

Speaking of cactus, I got two more little buddies to replace the ones that died. Yes, I am such a horrible gardener that I actually can kill cactus.

One of the ladies in our office gave me these beautiful hyacinths.

I also took the opportunity to refresh the front porch and the clump.

Above, a hot pink geranium, and below, a yellow daisy.

The porch is looking refreshed.

The famous Dutch door and the front porch.

The front yard clump also got spruced up, but it is so established that I just need to trim and fertilize it.

These beautiful flowers came from my front and back yards.

On April 24th, we began our heat wave. I wore one of the coolest dresses I own, a silk number by Bar III. I got these Michael Kors sandals at the after Christmas sales. They are great. I destroyed my tan wedge sandals from last summer, so I got replacements while the gettin' was good.

Then I spruced up the back yard. Most of the plants back there are mature, so they just need trimming and the occasional fertilizing.

I did cave in and get some flowers from Pavilions one day while I was out getting some necessities. They made me happy for $4.99.

Pandi is indeed a little princess. Her latest gig is to find the sun spot that comes through the top of the Dutch door and lay in it. She is adorable.

On April 27th, I wore one of my favorite dresses from Ivanka Trump. The devil is in the details - that little side drape with the gold zipper makes all the difference. Beside that, the material is very soft.

Our neighborhood cat, Gray Kitty, makes her appearance every day as she takes a short cut under my car. She goes up the street to get the food that one of the neighbors leaves out for her, and then goes down the street to the house without a dog, where she hangs out.

On April 28th, I wore a really cool skirt that I got at JC Penney several years ago . It is orange and navy and has zippers down both sides. On top, a white T shirt and a navy St John jacket. It is the same style as my black/pewter one, but it is navy with gold studs. I will take a close up of it later.

On April 29th, it was about 85 degrees at the beach. So I wore a muumuu from Bar III that I got in Fort Lauderdale a while ago. The shoes are Kenneth Cole. I have destroyed them - it is amazing how hard I am on my shoes. I have a bag full that are waiting to go to the cobbler when he reopens.

On April 30th, I wore a raw silk dress of unknown provenance. On top, the St John jacket again, because it gets cold at the office when the air conditioning is turned up because of the heat.

Then it got cooler again, so I wore a polyester kimono-inspired dress and black tights.

Then it got hot again, so I wore a beautiful botanical print tank from the American Cancer Society Discovery shop. I tried several different jackets and pants, and ended up with plain black slacks and an off white jacket from Theory.

On Wednesday, May 6th, I wore another one of my favorite and most comfortable outfits. The brown slacks are from Slinky Brand, and the tank top and swing jacket are from Antthony Designs. This set is embellished with beautiful sparkly sequins and the knit fabric is very soft.  I looked nice and was completely comfortable.

On Thursday, May 7th, I wore some very old peach colored jeans and a peach print swing tank. It was in the mid eighties here at the beach. I was very comfy and cool.

Well, this weekend is Mother's Day. Many months ago, I got tickets to Shen Yun. I was going to take my MIL, Mimi, but it was cancelled. I was offered another set of tickets for April 2021, but I opted for the refund. It was over $200, so I will decide again later. I have not seen my in-laws or my grandkids since January. So instead of Shen Yun, they wanted KFC, and a chocolate cake. We will leave the meal on their porch.

Let's hope that this ends soon, or I can come to terms with it. The last epidemic (Ebola) and the one before that (H1N1) didn't affect me as much as this. I guess it's because Ebola never really got here and H1N1 was at the start of my epidemiology career, and I had a lot more support then.

I have ordered a few things ( in order to stimulate the economy, yeah right) so when they arrive, I will do a quarantine fashion roundup. Stay tuned !!!