Painting

 I started painting all my cabinet doors and drawers in the kitchen. I had purchased the above paint to freshen up my front door and realized it would work on my kitchen cabinets/cupboards. I only purchased a quart at the time because I was only thinking of the door.  I bought two more cans of the quart size because I like handling the smaller can. My cabinets/cupboards had begun to show little chips and I realized (horror of horrors) that at one previous time, the owner of the house had painted their kitchen turquoise blue. All those little nicks (and some surface cracking) are getting covered up nicely with this paint. It's a slow process but as they say - "I've got nowhere to go and all day to get there."   

I've kept in touch with some friends I worked with back in the 80's and 90's and we met for dinner last night. All but me live in the same vicinity. I live about 40 minutes away. We've been meeting for so long we know pretty much everything about each other. The past two years another from the workplace has been joining us so she gets to tell all her stories. She was busy raising her family before. The birthday girl chooses the restaurant. She chose the same Asian place as last year. Our next birthday get together is in April That birthday girl usually chooses Italian.

The group skips March (nobody born that month).  I'm so glad, though. My family has 11 March birthdays. Two of them are extended family members. We are meeting at a winery this year in the middle of the month. For some reason we get together this month to celebrate (but not any of the other months).  LOL - whatever.

My brother and sisters have all stopped smoking. The three (out of 8) who did smoke. The one brother didn't even start to smoke until he was 50.  I see less of the vaping than I used to. Or I should say "smell less" because that is the part that gets me. The smells.  Even though my migraines have all but dissipated, I still get annoyed by strong odors.

I meet up with another group of former co-workers once a month. They are ladies I worked with at the Educational office. There were about 10 of us but after Covid, we only have a regular 6 - 8 that show up. All but one is retired and she works only part time. A new one came last month and it was SO nice to catch up with her. I send out the invites and while dining, we choose the next restaurant and date.  We used to drive a lot farther than we do these days. With good weather, we may venture out more as we tire of the places close to home.

I make certain to keep up with the get togethers as my family has a tendency to shut ourselves off from the world and gather only with family. We have a large family so that keeps us hopping. Through therapy and reading I realize that it is very important to do this - for mental health. Large families who get together often are probably fine for getting their socialization. Especially as members marry or change partners (bringing in fresh people to get to know) and have children. And sprinkle in a friend or two here and there.

I only read two books in January. Getting a slow start this year. I think this was due to me watching a marathon of "Call the Midwife".  I've caught up to the current season so I'll probably read more. I discovered that the actor Gene Hackman wrote a couple of novels. I am going to give them a go. And puzzles (not jigsaw). Crosswords, kryptograms...etc.. I get the variety puzzle books and I'll go through and do all my favorites first. Alphabet Plus, Codeword, Syl" La-cros'tic, Crostics, and Flower Power.