The weather was the star of this week and drove much of what
I spent my time on. The polar vortex was a gift from Mother Nature – no humidity
and highs in the 70’s all week, which meant cool nights too so I opened the
windows and slept great. We got a solid week of this and I took advantage of
it.
Early in the week I decided I needed to take some time off
to work in the yard and Wednesday was the best day. I had to reschedule a
training session I’d scheduled for that afternoon and once that was done, I
just had to decide between a full and half day. The dermatologist made that
decision.
I had my first ever dermatologist appointment on Tuesday
afternoon. While I wanted a full body review for all my moles and bumps (thanks
Grandma!), it was more about getting established as a patient for the next time
my eczema flares up. I pointed out a spot on my back that I wanted them to look
and a callous on my palm. I was floored when he said they could cut them right
then so out came the needles and within a couple of minutes I was band aided
and good to go. But I couldn’t swim that night so I decided on a half day
Wednesday (it’d be too chilly to work first thing and by going to work, it
ensured I’d not dink the morning away) and headed home to start.
I started in the front, cutting and nuking all the weed
trees in the parking (the Nebraska word for the strip between the sidewalk and
street.) When that was done, I cut down the huge weed trees (they’d been there
a few years so were 2-3” in diameter) by the garage. Since I only have a
pruning saw, this took some time so I was ready for a shower and dinner once I
was done. It was a good start.
I had meant to water my veg beds before work on Wednesday
morning but completely spaced. Lorri to the rescue! She went over and turned
the sprinkler on so the soil would be soft and it’s be easy to weed when I got
home. The neighborhood kid I’d hired to clean the gutters was almost done when
I got home and was done by the time I’d eaten lunch. Then I started weeding. Unfortunately
the sprinkler had broken and so hadn’t been oscillating. I did the two wet beds
then put a different sprinkler on the other 2 beds and went out front to trim
some lower branches on my crabapple that were interfering with mowing. Again just
a pruning saw so hard word. I turned off the sprinkler and took a break while
the worst of the water dripped off then weeded the last two beds, revealing my
first crop of wax beans. Yay!
After a tea and knitting break, I headed in to do some
cooking. First on the list was a pie for Ed – strawberry rhubarb. I made a big
one for him, a small one for me and a quiche with the extra crust. I steamed up
the beans and had already hulled all the strawberries so I just kept going and
cleaned out the frig. After eating some quiche and beans for dinner (yum!), I delivered
the pie and a huge bag of chicken food, getting home just in time to shower
before sitting down at 8:00 to watch Extant. What a wonderfully productive
afternoon off. All vacation time should be so satisfying.
Thursday was Nora’s last day before being off for a week so
we needed some catch up time before she left. But I was scheduled at East
Campus all afternoon for a custom training – two classes in one afternoon. My
plan was to go as fast as possible so I could get back before 5:00. Well,
despite being very specific that I needed a conference room with a computer
that could project on the wall and get to SAP, the room they’d booked didn’t
even have a computer. The laptop they brought in (I could have brought one
myself!) was so old it couldn’t do SAP. After trying and failing in another
room, I gave up and headed back to the office. It was a good thing, giving me
plenty of time with Nora and I was done in time to swim. All good.
Friday was over in a flash as I dealt with all the emails
Nora and Mary, who was also out, had sent overnight. I took an afternoon break
to get a frapuccino because my Starbuck’s was closing at 5:00 for renovations so
it’d be my last for awhile. I was supposed to meet Anne at a new thrift shop
after work but she bailed so I went alone. It’s in an old Catholic school in a
nice neighborhood but is a step down from the other thrifts in town. I did
score a couple of skeins of good yarn for $1.00 each and then got a couple more
at Goodwill on the way home. Nice way to end the work week.
Saturday was the last day before the heat and humidity was coming
back. While I’d planned to spend it in the yard, when Darla suggested meeting
for breakfast, I jumped at the chance. We met at 8:40 at Cook’s Café, which is
where Connie and I used to eat after the farmers’ market. They have the best
sausage. Yum. It was great to catch up (I miss my Darla fact time) then we did
a bit of shopping but split up before noon. I was home by 1:00 but felt drained
and sat in a chair for most of the afternoon, only getting up to neatize the
house and do some dishes after tea time. Oh well. I did manage to get a bit
done outside just at dark but at least the kitchen was picked up.
Sunday was blazing hot and humid. I spent the day inside,
venturing out only to hang sheets on the line. I finally did some cooking. I
can’t tell you what I’ve been eating this summer but it feels like I haven’t
had a hardy meal in ages. I made my turkey dinner casserole and ate that with
cranberry sauce and the last of the beans. It tasted SO good and now I have
more to eat all week. It’s going to be a hot one and I’ll be inside for sure.
Maybe with dinner ready to go I’ll get more done downstairs? I live in hope.
Stay cool.
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