Monday, September 25, 2017

Week 38 - Done with Vietnam

This week was pretty normal during the days but I went home every night to Vietnam – both on PBS and the book I was reading for book club. It was a lot to take in and lead to some disturbed sleep. Let’s talk about the happy stuff first.

I had a lovely catch up dinner with Anne and Rene on Thursday night. I see Anne once a week at swimming but haven’t seen Rene since spring because she quit swimming as a protest, which went unnoticed and has only hurt her. Anyway…. The food at Cheddar’s is mediocre at best but they let us use 2 coupons for a free appetizer and free desert so at least it was cheap. There was no rush for us to leave the table so we talked for a couple of hours. I got home just in time to watch the auction of 30+ skeins of someone’s leftover sock yarn that I’d bid on and ultimately won, despite being sniped in the last seconds. It was to no avail since my proxy bid was for much higher so for $33 + shipping (almost exactly what I won at the state fair), I got all this. I’m super excited and can’t wait for it to arrive.

It was homecoming weekend on campus so there was no swimming Friday, which meant I could go straight home. Nice. I had a big to do list for the weekend and had high hopes for productivity. But then there was Vietnam. Luckily I’d finished my book club book (Death Zones and Darling Spies about a Nebraska woman who was a war correspondent there for 7 years in the 60’s) mid-week but I absolutely could not stop myself from watching PBS. I was able to stream the entire series so after a couple of nights of watching the broadcasted episodes, I found myself streaming it instead and watching multiple episodes each night. By the time I went to bed on Friday, I only had 2 episodes left. I was determined to watch them on Saturday so I could move on to happier things. Because the more I learned, the more disgusted I got.

So after starting the morning with more Vietnam, I headed out for errands. My coffee pot had died during the week and I’d bought a replacement at the thrifts, only to have it be too tall to fit under my cabinets. I then attempted to buy another but it too was too tall. Sheesh! So with measurements in hand, I went to the little hardware store in Wahoo and paid $36 for a Black & Decker. After hitting the market, the bakery and the bank, I went home for lunch and more Vietnam. I did hit pause several times to get my kitchen cleaned up and finally finished watching just after 4:00.

It was more disgusting with every passing minute but I was glad I watched it. I was too young to remember any of it but do recall the whole family being worried because my cousin David’s draft number was up just as Nixon was withdrawing the troops. Luckily he never went but I have a friend whose brother was killed there. It makes me want to call my Auntie Margaret, the last family member of that generation, and pick her brain about it all. Anyway, I was happy to be able to move on from watching it all.

I had big plans for Sunday but struggled to get motivated.  I did manage to get the laundry done and dishes put away but any attempts at tackling a major project fell flat. I did do a bit of yarn organization, which usually is fun, but didn’t manage much by the end of the day. I had also planned to clear out and organize the refrigerator and freezer. Neither of those things happened either. Oh well.

With only 2 more weekends before I’m off for Ireland, I cannot let another weekend slip away. Not only do I need to finish clearing the spare room and the dining room table, I need to get cooking to stock the freezer for when I’m home after my knee surgery in November. I will have one weekend at home between Ireland and surgery but I’m sure that’ll be busy enough without adding anything else. So, productivity will have to rule the day until I head to the emerald isle. I live in hope.


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