Week 31 - The County Fair

This was my big week at work – the busiest of my year. I was up at Monday morning at 5:30 running reports from home, was at my desk before 8:00 (shocking!) and ran reports all day long. I worked through lunch and only stopped for bathroom breaks, then stopped home just long enough to grab my knitting and was off to the library. Knitting was fun but by the time I got home, I was spent. All I managed to get done was to pull projects for the fair and fill out my entry tickets. I was hoping for a good night’s sleep but Pixel didn’t come in, which was not normal and so a bit worrisome. When I went to check on her at midnight, she was up on the garage roof – her safe place when she’s running from one of the many neighborhood cats she’s afraid of. Of course, I was outside in my nightie trying to coax her down. I succeeded but lost a bit of sleep so was tired the next morning. 

Tuesday was another full day of prepping for meetings. I walked to Panera for a salad to go at lunch and left right after the 3:30 meeting with the Help Desk staff because I was headed to the fair for my annual volunteering at the 4H veggie check in table. I got there at 5:30 and stayed until 8:00 so it was another long day. 

By Wednesday the week’s non-stop pace, compounded by hot flashes, was beginning to take a toll. I was able to take a lunch and met Darla at the dorms for cafeteria food. Time with Darla is always restorative for me but not enough clearly. When I got an email saying that no one would be getting a parking space across the street (with a BS excuse about waiting for another department to relocate), I teared up. It felt like the last straw and that my 15 years meant nothing, never mind that I was having knee problems so needed the spot. I had a meeting at the Parking Office that distracted me so I made it through the day, leaving promptly at 5:00 to head to the fair to see what ribbons I’d won. I had planned to pop in for 5 minutes then go home and enjoy a nice dinner while watching my new Netflix dvd. Well, after checking my stuff (I won best of lot in every lot I entered – yay!), I saw that Lori had won best in county so I called her and waited for her and Michelle to arrive. They convinced me to stay and have dinner at the fair with them. Stupid! By 7:30, dinner was nowhere in sight and I was exhausted, with my knee twinging with every step. I went home and had cheerios. I should have stuck to my original plan.

Thursday started out stressful with me trying to slam together 5 years of data but, of course, I had problems. I didn’t get it done on time for Mary’s meeting and so beat myself up a bit but once I got over that the day got better. I had a nice lunch with Dodie and was even able to take a knitting break mid-afternoon. With no plans after work, I pulled out some yarn and dyed some for a project Carolyn was planning. She’d asked me to check my sock yarn scraps but I didn’t find any the right color so happily dyed the evening away. Then it started pouring and we got 2” of much needed rain. The day was getting better and better. And the next day was Friday. 

It was another nice day. I was in the home stretch on meeting prep, had a nice lunch with Layton and then stopped for groceries on the way home. Other than some fair obligations, the weekend was my own. Couldn’t wait. 

The weekend was over in a flash. I went to the bag sale on Saturday morning (just one bag but some fun stuff) and then stopped at Andrea’s shop to offload clothes for her before heading home to clean up the kitchen. I got it done and had some dinner before heading back to the fair. I was sitting at the library’s table in the commercial building, which basically means I knitted and talked to people. I sold a few books too. Lorri came at 9:00 and we took down our stuff and loaded it in my car. Just one more fair activity to go. 

With the kitchen all clean, Sunday was going to be a cooking and chores day but other than laundry, I didn’t get much done. I just could not muster the energy so sat and knitted for big chunks of time. At 5:30 I had to go back to the fair for the last time to pick up exhibits – mine, Andrea’s and Lori’s. There was a big line and my arms were loaded down but I got it all and there was no point in us all going. I got $19 in prize money, which will be just enough for a nice dinner out with my fellow knitters. There was more sitting and knitting when I got home but it was all good. Just two more days before fiscal year end is over and I was well rested and ready. That’s something at least.