We had arranged for late checkout so after breakfast headed
to Arlington, which we could see from our hotel but it was 2 metro stops away.
Having walked so much the previous 2 days, we opted to take the tram around the
cemetery. The perfect weather was over, making it too hot to walk anyway.
We didn’t time our first stop well and missed the tram so waited 20 minutes in
the blazing sun at JFK’s memorial for the next one. Between that delay and one
for a funeral, we only had time for one more stop but it was worth going. We
got to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and
enjoyed the views before heading back for a lunch of leftovers, checkout and a
shuttle to the airport. It was another uneventful flight with Anne and I
knitting and Rene napping across the aisle. Our flight even got in 39 minutes
early so I was home and unpacked by 7:00. It was cold and rainy and since I’d
left my windows open, my house was cold. I turned on the heat and headed to
knitting while it warmed up. It had been a fabulous trip and I wanted to tell
my friends all about it. I took a shower and went to bed when I got home, ready
for the rest of my work week.
I spent the week trying to catch up – getting an oil change,
grocery shopping to restock, swimming and work. Friday was Spring Affair and
after missing the last 2 years, I had finally scored a plant informant
volunteer spot on Friday night. I left work at 3:30 to hit the pre-sale for
volunteers then went to HyVee for dinner with Lorri, which has been our
tradition. We were back to start our shifts at 6:00 but got assigned to a skunk
section – temperennials, which are perennials in more southern climes but not in
Nebraska. So not only did I know nothing about them but spent the entire night
telling people the plants wouldn’t survive our winters rather than sharing my
plant knowledge. I had so looked forward to it but it was pretty much a bust.
Then when I was 10 minutes from the end of my shift, the coordinator asked me
to walk the entire sun section and note which plants were sold out. Now when I
have 3 pages of 2 single spaced columns of botanical names, it’s not an easy
task. It picked up a bit when Lorri came over to help but it was still holding
me up from going home. I was exhausted.
My goal for Saturday was to stay in my PJ’s relaxing until
noon. Well, that didn’t work. My neighbor was at my back door at 9:00 on
Saturday asking if I’d be interested in hiring someone she knew from her
volunteer work at the local halfway house. He was looking to mow lawns and so I
told her I’d consider it and asked how to contact him. Not 10 minutes later,
Denny was at my front door and I still wasn’t dressed. I asked him to wait on
the deck and went in to get dressed and wash up. Grrrrrr… I talked to him
and agreed to give him a try. He’d be coming back at 1:00 to mow so since I was
dressed, I got busy with chores and eventually grabbed lunch. I showed him the
ropes and puttered in the yard while he mowed then worked on my garden beds for
another 2 hours while he did some clean up in the backyard. It was a long day
and not relaxing but it was done and he’d be coming back on Fridays to mow for
only $10 (my yard is small so takes less than half an hour to mow – lest you
think I’m gypping him.)
It ended up being a good thing I’d been outside on Saturday
because it was raining on Sunday. I spent the day inside doing more laundry,
prepping tons of produce (it was day 1 of a new rotation) and getting caught up
in the house. I also had plenty of time for knitting and catching up on
television so got the recharge time I desperately needed. Good thing because I’d
be facing a busy week at work and five full days. Yikes!
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