Week in Review

 Violet took part in another hiking club event with her online school. Her supervising teacher is the hiking club leader, so it was nice for Vi to connect with her outside of the regular school meetings.

They walked Wednesday at the Placerita Waterfall Trail.

I dropped Violet off and then went a mile up the road to the nature center, where I read and enjoyed the view. There were even poppies! Love seeing them bloom.

On Thursday, Cora had her last full day of high school - really, her last full day of normal school ever, after 13 years! Goodness.

(She went to school Friday too, but only for the one after lunch class.)

Thursday was the last day of getting up early for an 8:30 start, bringing a lunch, staying all day. 

She took tea and her yearbook to get signatures.

The last school lunch I'll ever pack!

Not the greatest example, but there at least were apple slices and a homemade muffin. 

We all enjoyed flipping through her final high school yearbook.

The big senior - with the fancy photo and yearbook quote and everything.

I went out and met with friends Thursday night for dinner and drinks. A local (nice) place has a GREAT Happy Hour where you can eat and drink well for not a lot of cash.

We were celebrating two birthdays, so I organized the gifts and made two bouquets. Perhaps I've learned something from being around Mel and her weddings all these years.

Day In The Life - 2025

7 a.m. - I wake up, have coffee and a bite to eat, get ready to walk. Stace is already at work. Before leaving to walk, I make sure Violet is awake. 

Cora has her late day, so she doesn't need to wake up early. Every other day, she has a full day of classes (three long ones), and on the other days, she goes in at lunch time for her stagecraft class.

8:30 a.m. - I meet up with Tiffany and Melissa to walk the paseos.

9:30 - I come home and Winston and Evie are trying to get a huge cockroach that is on our porch, near the front door.


935 - Violet is concerned. "Can you get rid of it? Don't let him eat it, there's probably a parasite in it!"

9:40 -  I talk to Melanie, while I clean up my room. Violet is working on school assignments.

10 - I read my daily Bible devotion, wearing my new sheepskin slippers I got for Mother's Day.

10:10 - Winston gets the roach, and brings it up through the opening in the screen door!  No! I pick him up and carry him (and it, in his mouth) out front. THE ROACH FALLS INTO MY SLIPPER. Ugh.

10:15 - Violet and I leave for school. I drop her off as brunch is underway. I then head to Ralphs to do some grocery shopping. 

I've found that the Ralphs in Stevenson Ranch has the best markdown deals. I try to hit up the store when I can, and circle the perimeter (fresh produce, dairy and meat) and look for markdowns. 

11:20 - I get some great deals, but notice that one of the weekly specials on Chobani yogurt and creamer didn't come off. After talking to the cashier, we figured out that I chose the one flavor of creamer that wasn't included in the sale. Huh? They overrode the system to give me the deal.

11:40 - I get home, put the groceries away and make Cora some brunch. She is working on registering for a college acting class for the fall.

12:15 - Cora leaves for school, driving herself. I tidy up the house.

1 - I leave for Aldi to pick up a couple of things I didn't get at Ralphs. 

1:19 - I pick up Violet - she tells me about an odd online PE test she took that morning, with questions regarding the Munich bombing and the Jews and Palestinians.

1:25 - We get home. Winston is eating Cora's leftovers like a little dog. Violet greets him with enthusiasm. "Tiny! He's so tiny!"

1:45 - Violet makes herself a peanut butter sandwich, with homemade peanut butter, homemade bread and homemade nutella (put in an old jam jar).

1:50 - The grocery bags are by the door, ready to go back in the trunk, when I notice little guy making himself comfortable. Big guy is ALWAYS comfortable.

Violet works on schoolwork.

3:30 - Cora is home, after stopping at Circle K for a big, cheap soda - a new not-great habit she's developed since driving. She spots slightly chubby Evie in a weird position and states, "She can't be uncomfortable with that level of fat on her body!"

4 - The girls play video games and Vi draws on her iPad, while I thoroughly clean the cat water fountain, do my 10-minute strength workout, clean the recycling bin outside, read the newspaper, sweep the tile floors, and make the girls vacuum the living room rugs

5  - I start dinner, which will be a fancy salad. I hard boil eggs, clean the lettuce, chop tomatoes, and heat up some cooked chicken.

5:50  - Stace comes home and settles into his after-work routine: watching football highlights with a cup of tea.

6:30 - We eat dinner and chat about our days.

7 - I clean up the kitchen, and Stace brings in our new blinds for the playroom, to prepare to install them. The cats help.

8:15 - Girls are playing video games, while Stace sits outside prepping his homegrown onion harvest for pickling. He's excited to have home-picked onions. Meanwhile, I get my oatmeal cake ready to bake.

9:30 - Oatmeal cake is done! I get coffee prepped for the morning, get me and Cora our nightly supplements and get ready for bed. Stace is watching YouTube shorts and a Paul Whitewick show on English history.

Another normal day done! 

I know this wasn't an exciting day. 

But when I look back at these Day in the Life posts over the past 18 years, they bring back such strong memories. And even though the girls are so grown up now, I know the future is coming when I'll look back even at this time period, with them both still at home and a presence in our daily lives, with fondness. 

So, that is why I'm seeking to remember some of these mundane details, of life in May 2025 with two teens, three cats and a fabulous husband.

Tidbits

After returning from taking Sue and Gord to LAX, we stopped at a woman's house to buy a desk off Facebook Marketplace for Violet's room. She'd been looking for a while, and this dark darling with the upper shelf for extra plants fit her style ideas.

Here's the other side of her new and improved room, with a darker grey accent wall on the left side.

After getting the desk, Stace and Vi dropped me off at Dinorah's house, where we had dinner with Sue. It was great catching up - so much to chat about, with our kids all graduating soon. They were all in the same kindergarten class, so we've all known each other over a dozen years.

On Saturday, Stace and I took Vi to Old Town Newhall, where the artists association had planned a special Art Walk event, with various businesses displaying art and offering deals and snacks. 

I forgot to get decent photos until we were at our last stop! But it was a fun event. 

Speaking of art, we saw two plays over the weekend, too. We went with Colleen to see an original comedy at The Main on Friday night, and on Saturday night, Stace and I went to see The Crucible at Canyon High. It was impressive! I'd never seen it, but had heard of it; it's about the Salem Witch Trials.

On Sunday, Stace and Violet filled up some PE hours with a very long bike ride, and Stace used our new Blackstone griddle/grill to make dinner. Our friends Liz and Max redid their backyard and didn't need this lovely appliance anymore, so we were the beneficiaries.  

Last Hurrahs

 We have reached the last few days of Sue and Gord's time with us in SClarita.

They had a shopping day on Monday, and used the bus system to get around town. 

Stace, Vi and I went to Quigley Canyon for a sunset walk. 

It was glorious!

We took a little stroll at Bridgeport and saw dozens of turtles.

We went to Castaic and took a lovely evening "golden hour" stroll, and picked up L.A. Indian food to take home.

On their last night with us, we played Jackbox games together - hilarity ensued.

We got to celebrate Sue's birthday together, in person! 

We went out for breakfast at the Way Station Cafe in old Newhall, and then went into some boutiques. Violet, with her funny schedule, go to go with us for the meal, and Stace easily drove her the mile or so to school.

In the evening, went to Handel's Ice Cream for a birthday treat.

We were thankful my dad volunteered to come over and take a few photos of us.

And we're grateful for the time we all spent together this time around.

Mother's Day

Sunday was Mother's Day, and Sue and Gord came with us to church.
 

Love being her mom! And Cora's mom! Cora was home asleep, after her closing night of Percy and the cast party. (This was the first cast party I didn't pick her up from at BJs - so weird! This time, she was the one giving rides home.)

We took Sue and Gord to Santa Barbara for the afternoon. 

First, we stopped in Ventura and did some shopping on Main Street.

After getting bento boxes at Violet's favorite Japanese place at the marina, we found an artisan ice cream place near downtown that was giving away ice cream to moms. Perfect! 

It was a lovely Mother's Day!

Percy Fan Club

 It's hard to express how proud I am of my girl. This musical was exhausting - she was on stage basically the entire time, and battled through feeling sick throughout. 

But no one in the audience would have known it - she sounded great, and her emotions came through in every song. Percy goes through a lot of emotions, too.

For her high school acting finale, it was great for Cora to have all four grandparents in the theater.

We had quite a crowd, especially on Opening Night. 

The lighting is awful in the auditorium, but the lobby is very loud and chaotic after shows, so it's best to stay where it's quieter.

Kindergarten teacher and mom friends! Mrs. Hawthorne has come to most of Cora's shows...

...as have Jen and Sue. I have such good, supportive friends! Colleen and family have also made most of her shows, and are in the above pic.

JT and Kelly and their families came out, as well - it was a great show for their children. 

Cora's friend Michael, who she plays D&D with, has come to all of her shows, too.

(Cora is underdressed because she was overheated at the end of the show, singing and dancing for hours under the hot lights.)

Vaughn and Anna have also seen most of her shows.

Mackenzie (Luke), Rowan (Annabeth) and Lucas (Mr. D), after the final show. Sad these four won't be on stage performing together again! How can Cora be finished with high school theatre?

Here's the cast board I made.