I woke up early (weird dream) on Monday so threw together a pasta bake for that night, finding this recipe that was vegetarian but with no veggies (yes, Rachael's that kind of vegetarian – yikes!) With that in the frig, everything was ready for Connie’s arrival when I left for work on Monday so I was feeling good. The week would be a whirlwind for sure but I was ready.
Helen was supposed to take me to lunch for my birthday but had ended up staying in Lincoln all weekend because of the storm so begged off. I went to Noodles for a salad to go and kept working. I’d spent a couple of hours teaching the newbie’s some SAP stuff and otherwise just kept plugging away for the rest of the day. Connie and Rachael got to my house before I did so had the pasta in the oven when I got home. We had a nice time catching up and stayed up too late chatting after Rachael left.
I had made arrangements to ride in with a neighbor so I could leave my car for Connie to bring to Lincoln later in the day. While this avoided two of us getting together at the same time, it did mean I had to be ready 20 minutes earlier than I’d normally leave but it was still good. Darla and I went to Panera’s for our fave salad and then Connie picked me up so we could head to the pool. When she said she’d brought her suit and wanted to swim, you could have knocked me over with a feather. Tuesday is the lamest class but it was fun to be swimming with Connie again since I originally started water aerobics with Connie before she left UNL. We nuked quiche when we got home and watched Big, again staying up late. But at least we could sleep in on Wednesday because I had taken the day off so we could play.
Yeah, right. I was wide awake at 5:30 and got up at 6:30 so I got some knitting time in before Connie got up. We were headed to Omaha but had to prep for the cleaning lady before we left. Connie had only been there since Monday night but her stuff was everywhere. We neatized after breakfast and I also had Connie help me clear out the high cupboards, with me on the step stool handing stuff down to her. When we left for Omaha, I had 2 boxes of mugs and kitchen stuff from the cupboards plus a bag of clothes and such. More stuff leaving my house - nice! We went to Penzey’s, Goodwill (scored a cashmere sweater for my blanket for 99 cents – yay!) and then went to lunch at Cheesecake Factory, where we split to small plates and our ever fave limoncella torte. It was all delicious and the perfect amount of food. Then it was on to Trader Joe’s and Aldi before heading to the theatre to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. I was bored to tears and fighting sleep but Connie liked it. After a stop at Target, we headed home for a snacky dinner and another movie – Hanna, which was interesting.
Thursday meant another early morning for me, lunch with Dodie and swimming with Connie. Rachael came for dinner again, which I hadn’t expected so we just had more of the pasta. We watched Limitless, which I’d watched when Carolyn was here but was happy to see again. Everyone loved it. Have you seen it? You should.
I got up even earlier on Friday so I could make some blueberry muffins as a thank you to Sarah for taking me to work every day. Connie was coming down to meet Layton and me for lunch at the Chinese buffet. Gordy would be arriving that night and Rachael and Connie were picking up Indian food to bring to Wahoo for supper so I was off the hook for cooking and drove straight home alone after work to set the table. When Gordy arrived, he started unloading the car and realized he had forgotten his guitar in Sioux Falls but Rachael and Connie arrived almost immediately so we sat down to an Indian feast, only discussing what to do after we ate.
Since Gordy had a performance in western Nebraska Saturday afternoon and so neede his guitar, I told him I'd take on the challenge of finding someone in Sioux Falls to drive it down, thinking it'd just be a matter of finding a college student who'd be willing to drive 7 hours for $100 + gas money. Easy, right? I certainly would have jumped at the chance when I was in college. I called Augustana College and Sioux Falls University (their public safety offices because who else had a 24 hour line?) but struck out. Then I called the Sioux Falls police. Nada. So I started cold calling churches. Still nothing. Rachael was mass texting her friends but no takers. It was getting late and no one was calling back so I called Nora, who has a niece up there. She tried her best too. At almost 11:00, my friend Donna said she'd do it, at which point the guilt set in. While she said she'd be happy to do it, I felt like I should do it before my 60+ year old friend but I was exhausted from days of staying up too late with Connie. I waited a bit more before finally giving up. I called Donna at 11:15 to take her up on her offer and then drove over there at 11:30 to give her the money. When I got back, Gordy and Connie had gone to bed but I was wide awake and didn't turn the light off until almost 2:00. Sheesh!
You'd think being up that late and knowing everything was resolved I'd have slept late Saturday morning. Not a chance. I was awake at my usual 5:30 and tried to read to fall back asleep but had no luck. I finally got up at 6:30 and made coffee, settling in to finish the Stephen King book I've been slogging through for months. I woke Connie and Gordy up at 8:00 and made bacon and eggs. They packed up and left ~11:00, leaving me to wait for the guitar delivery and then shlep it to Lincoln. In the lull between them leaving and Donna arriving, I took a shower and reclaimed the spare bedroom. I kept going with the caffeine so was not too tired, until the ride home from Lincoln that is. But all's well that end's well. Once I got home, I basically sat in a chair waiting for bedtime. I did manage to get some knitting done but that was about it. When I went to bed, the table was still covered with dishes from breakfast but I had Sunday to deal with all that. I just needed some sleep.
I slept like a rock for more than 8 hours but still woke up at 5:30. I can't seem to get past then with my eyes shut these days. I had a wonderfully productive yet relaxing day on Sunday, getting some (not all) of my chores done and making a yummy dinner while finishing my fun orange socks. I should have gone to bed early but Downton Abbey was on until 10:00 so I got another short night of sleep. But it's a new week and I'm striving for normal days and early nights. Wish me luck.
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