Week 27 - Quite a Turnaround

I was looking forward to a four day week and making lists of what I’d do every night so I wouldn’t be slamming for the cookout on Friday. The difference this year was I didn’t have a cleaning lady so had to worry about not only the usual cookout prep but cleaning the entire house too. It definitely needed a thorough cleaning and it’s not like I got anything done the previous weekend.

Sounds good, right? Well, I was walking to the ladies’ room on Monday morning and my knee blew. It was very bent and I couldn’t put any weight on it. A co-worker went to my car for my cane and I started making calls – Parking for a temp handicapped permit, my doctor for a shot (got a Wednesday afternoon appointment – not bad) and Belinda to have her husband feed my campus cats. All that done, I plowed ahead, ignoring my knee and keeping working. I contemplated not going to knitting but when Donna said I could use the lift to get into the club, I decided to go. I could sit at home not using my knee or sit with friends not using me knee. Easy decision.

I didn’t sleep much at all Monday night because every time I shifted in my sleep, I woke up because of the knee. I got up and tried to get ready for work but just couldn’t do it. Between the problematic knee and being so tired, I called in. Yes, I did. A rarity but I’m glad I did. I sat and knitted all morning, only getting up when I had to go. Well, at some point late morning, I got up and my knee wasn’t bent and I could put weight on it again! It wasn’t perfect but SO much better. At that point I started feeling guilty, completely dismissing the idea that staying home and off my knee is probably what fixed it. Oh well. That’s me.

I went back to work on Wednesday and left early for the doctor’s appointment. My knee was still better but with the cookout coming, I got the shot anyway. I woke up Thursday morning feeling great but still took it easy and didn’t do any cookout prep until Friday morning, when I was a veritable banshee. It was finally heating up so I got the outside stuff done early and then cleaned like I haven’t in decades. Luckily I tried to cook a burger on the grill for lunch because I was out of gas, which meant a run to the gas station, in a completely socially unacceptable outfit, mind you. I finished my short list and jumped in the shower, getting out just before people started arriving.

It was a gorgeous night and everyone seemed to have fun. The marinated sirloin kabobs I’d made were a big hit (much easier to deal with than steaks) and the corn on the cob was delicious – my first this year. Everyone brought yummy food to share and we all chatted around the table waiting for dark and the fireworks, with Anne, Andrea and I knitting, of course. Everyone left after the fireworks except Andrea, who stayed to help me clean up. By the time I went to bed at 1:00, just about everything was done. It was another successful 4^th of July party. Much better than last year when I was alone and covered in hives. : )

I was up at 6:30 on Saturday so was pretty tired. I finished cleaning up the kitchen and put away the outside chairs but didn’t do much else besides sit and knit until late afternoon. I made sausage and peppers for supper and a strata for breakfast then slogged through the refrigerator, prepping berries and making of a bag for Lori’s chickens of leftover corn, old berries, etc. Not much done by the end of the day but I could live with that.

Sunday was chores, which really only meant laundry because I’d spent all day Friday cleaning. But in prepping for Friday I’d also loaded up the spare room with lots of stuff from around the house, including filling my laundry basket with papers from the desk, which is notorious as my hot spot. I started going through those papers and before you know it, I’d continued on and didn’t stop until I’d gone through every paper on the desk. And I didn’t just pile them up but created files. I’ve had that file crate under my desk for at least ten years and have finally put it to use. Happy happy! Then having found my missing poster from Victory Garden of Tomorrow behind the desk, I framed it and hung it, which lead to hanging the print I’d bought in Ireland in the bathroom and another in the living room. I even dyed some yarn in the afternoon, inspired by my hanging impatiens. By the end of the day, I was feeling pretty good about things. My knee was twinging a bit so I spent the evening relaxing. I deserved it, don’t you think?

So, I’ve inspired myself to keep tackling some of the things I’ve been looking at for so long that they look normal but are really just out of place piles of crap. Know what I mean? Next up will be the shelf over the couch, which a year after having the floors redone is still full of breakables from all over the house that I moved there for safety reasons. I have until Labor Day to finish the spare room and there’s always the basement. If this heat and humidity sticks around, I’ll have plenty of inside time this summer. And if it does get cooler, there’s the garden. Either way I have plenty to do and can only hope I don’t lose my mojo. Please ask how I’m doing. That should help.