1. Do your goals and dreams energize or exhaust you? Elaborate.

Really depends on the day. Yesterday, I was unable to really accomplish much, even though we did brew in the evening. I was feeling very stressed and it was due in part to me not doing stuff I needed to do! I will put off a task then stress about the fact it’s not getting done. BUT, if I am having a good day and can see the pathway to accomplishing goals (and dreams which, to me, are bigger and more long-term) I will feel like I can do just about anything. Today, I am feeling a little better, even though my car needed more work than I thought.

2. July 23rd is national lemon day. Are you a fan of this flavor? What’s a favorite dish or beverage you enjoy that calls for lemons?

Indeed, I love lemon stuff! I can’t think of anything specifically but if it is lemon flavored, I am there. Sometimes I will literally squeeze a lemon into my water.

3. “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade“…is this something you’re pretty good at managing? Have you had to do this recently? If so tell us about it. 

Not really, lol. Again, depends on my mood. Yesterday, I took my car in for a once-over because I only got it in March and while it has had an oil change, I wanted to see what I was dealing with. Sadly, it has quite a few issues, some more imminent than others. But I am taking care of the two big ones (timing belt and radiator) and I’ll deal with the others as needed. I am not happy – more like totally stressed – so yeah, I don’t typically make lemonade.

4. Something you love that is lemon yellow in color?

I’m sure I have a picture somewhere but there was a house in my old neighborhood that reminded me of where I grew up in south Florida and they had a lemon yellow door, which I found very charming.

5. How would you describe your attention to detail?

I feel like I am good at it when it comes to small written things or when people are acting weird/stupid. If we are talking about fashion or decorating details, I don’t pay much attention.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

As noted, stress is settling in this week. I can’t get motivated to do my online work, there’s stuff in the house that needs doing, it’s been rainy forever (which ok, not complaining because I think my pool has another leak and this helps), and that’s the other one: the possibility that the last patch in my pool liner isn’t holding. Though, that one may not be the worst because I can have them come out and fix what they put on in early June. There’s just a lot of little things annoying me. But as I said above, we did manage to brew a Japanese rice lager last night. Lately, it seems our numbers aren’t coming out right, i.e. the refractometer is indicating that we aren’t getting enough sugars to make enough alcohol. We have never had an issue with that before so it’s been frustrating. Well, we used the hydrometer instead last night and it seems we did just fine. It should come out pretty close to 5%, which is normal for a light lager. We shall see in about three weeks how it turned out; might take it to our September beer fest in Pensacola.

Speaking of Pensacola, my sister seems to have forgiven me, at least enough to speak to me again, so that’s good news. My parents leave tomorrow for a very long vacation in the UK. There’s going to Scotland, Ireland, and England, which has been on their bucket list forever. They’re coming through tomorrow on their way to Orlando, so at least I will see them before they head out. I don’t talk to my mom every day but maybe every 2-3 and it will be weird not being able to do so while they’re gone, other than texting. That will be especially sad as I go back to school; I tend to call on my way home because it’s the little bit of free time to talk that I have!

We are seeing the Odyssey on Friday and I am very torn on it. I have heard both good and bad things about it so I will try to go in as neutrally as I can. I guess you never really know. I heard terrible things about that new Mandalorian and Grogu movie but in the end, we liked it. It wasn’t amazing but it didn’t suck. Maybe I just see things differently, you know? Everyone is different!

Final thought, as many of my readers are older than I am. Did any ladies find that in peri/menopause, you had severe scalp buildup all of a sudden? If so, what did you do about it? Typical shampoos don’t seem to work. My GP suggested just going to Dermatology, as they do skin, nails, and hair, but I am reluctant to go to any doc who will just put me on some meds. If that’s the end solution, fine, but I’d like to look into other solutions first. TIA!