Food Prep And The Beach

Met up with Captain Bob and Carolyn walking Kimball and even patted their yappy little dogs, Hazel and Sophie (gawd!). After breakfast, Deb Mansfield called to wish me H.M.D. and we talked for a bit.  She's still involved in the Council for Seniors and I'm still glad I'm not, but it was nice to hear from her.
My brother, Jim, called to thank me for Therese's Mothers Day card. It was good to talk to him, but  disheartening to notice how slow and confused he seemed. He's 92, so I guess it's the usual thing, but it's hard for me to accept.
Went to Ralph's then home, where I reverted back to my mild housewife self and completed what seems even to me an impressive amount of food prep:
1. Scrubbed and cut two pounds of carrots . Combined them with cut up tangerines, added cinnamon, and put them in the slow cooker.
2. Made crystal pickles, which I haven't for years, but I came across the recipe again and it's so simple, I couldn't resist. It calls for "Kirby cucumbers," which I didn't find, but bought what were called "Persian pickles." I'm pretty sure they're the same thing, as they look alike; both are smaller variations of regular cucumbers. Sliced them with my mandolin, did the same with an onion, then put them in the fridge for two hours. Later, I put the salt, sugar and vinegar in and froze them. They make a nice side dish and I'll take some to Carolyn's in a few weeks.
3. Trimmed and sliced strawberries, some of which I had last night, along with...
4. ...watermelon, which I cut, then cut the edible part into chunks.
5. Pierced and softened in the microwave a large butternut squash, then discarded the seeds, pared and cut into chunks. I always complete the cooking when I'm about to eat it.
6. Brussels sprouts--trimmed and stored in fridge.
7. Mushrooms--my new fav; cut up and stir-fried in olive oil to go with my shrimp and carrots for dinner.
8. Had no chicken for my salad, so hard-boiled four eggs, reserving two for another day.
That was about it and damn, I needed to get out. Had lunch, then took off for town, but changed  my mind on the way. I knew it would be jammed--it always is on weekends and the day before Mothers Day--! So I strolled into Trader Joe's, also jammed, then drove down the beach and walked around a bit. Older son had been trying to video-call, but had missed me and I decided to try to get him. I was delighted to do so easily, parked at the beach, via something called "Duo" on my phone. Talked to him, adorable little K., and N. It still seems incredible to me.
On the beach, there were lots of teenagers playing volley ball and so on, the boys with hairless chests and the girls in teeny-weeny bikinis, but where in the hell were Elva Gruhler and Michael Keating and John Fessler and Peggy Hartman?  I'll have to look on a different beach, I guess.