Week 48 - Last Full Week

I started the week at the court house at 8:00 because I'd found my car registration renewal when I was slogging through paper the night before and my tags had expired 2 months ago! So I went to work late so I could cross that off. I lost hours of sleep worrying that my furnace was going to fail in the night (it didn't) so I left my door unlocked in hopes that the furnace repair people were available to see why there was a puddle under my furnace. Being a small town, they went in when I wasn't home and fixed it. Gotta love it! It was just a clogged tube so no biggie and they did a tune up while they were in there. Nice.

That was the start of my week and the rest was just as fun filled. 

I needed a better knitting needle for a hat I'd been struggling with and had a coupon for Yarn Charm so ran down there over lunch. Well, I had missed the lead in the email with the coupon because it was their last day open. I knew they were moving eventually but not that day. It took longer than I'd expected and yes, I bought more sock yarn, so I was late getting back to campus to pick Cindy up. We'd made plans to go to the newly reopened Ethiopian restaurant by campus so it was going to be a long lunch. The food was amazing but it was not quick so I seriously owe the taxpayers of Nebraska for an extra hour. I got back just in time to teach my reporting class and then dashed to the eye doctor to order my new glasses. I had a nice chat with Connie that night, who was full of talk about her wonderful new house. It was a lovely end to a full day.

Wednesday was getting rid of stuff day. I had filled the car on the weekend so dumped a car load of bags at the City Mission then recycled a ton of glass. I stopped at Joann's too and this time made it back in an hour. : )

I had lunch with Dodie on Thursday and then had book club after work. I swam Friday night and gathered my scrapbooking stuff for doing calendar pages at Nora's on Saturday. I'd actually lost sleep one night worrying over not being ready for scrapbooking. Do you think it might be some misplaced holiday/travel stress? Uh, yeah.

It was my last full weekend before I leave for Norway so I was determined to get as much done as possible. I was at Nora's at 9:00 with French pastries and brownies in hand. We absolutely slammed through the pages and even stopping for lunch, we were done by 1:30. I was happy about that because it was due to snow and I wanted to stop at Aldi, which I did and was home by 3:00. I immediately started putting the calendars together with the pictures I'd already printed up. I had to make them work so there were some not so matchy matchy pages but I had them done by 8:15. It was a long day of scrapbooking but the calendars were done so I was pleased.

It snowed all day on Sunday and despite needing to start wrapping, I decided I should use the last of my tomatoes to make a batch of chutney. I spent all morning peeling and chopping fruit and getting canning supplies out. It smelled great and I used up all kinds of fresh and dried fruit. After I got the kitchen cleaned up and the rest of the chores done, it was time to shovel. But before I did that, I washed the floors, washing myself out the back door so it could dry while I shoveled. 

I had thought the snow would be light but it was actually heavy and wet. We got about 6 inches but I went out before it was done so I wouldn't be shoveling in the dark. I went from the back door, across the deck, down the driveway and to the sidewalk. It wasn't too cold but I was exhausted and a sweaty mess when I was done. I took a shower and sat down to a cup of tea. My plan was to get up later and start wrapping but that didn't happen. I was done! That meant I'd be wrapping during the week so I could mail the stockings out before I left but it would have to work. I had no energy left to do anything. Just 6 more days until I fly. I'll make it.

Week 47 - Super Productive Break

Well, the week started out a bit rough but with 4 days off to end it, it turned around just fine. And I can't remember a time I was so productive day after day. All good.

Monday went just fine until after work. I went to the library for knitting but no one showed up. I knew Heidi wasn't going to be there but Drae was helping with harvest and had forgotten to call. Donna was staying home too. At least I got to pick up the money from the holiday sale to deposit later in the week and it was nice to be home early on a Monday night.

Fast forward to Tuesday morning. I'd slept well and was laying in bed listening to the radio for a bit when I felt something warm on my arm. Gansey had peed on me! I had just given her the last antibiotic for a UTI so it's hard to be mad at her. At least there was no blood in the pee. So I spent first thing Tuesday stripping my bed, doing laundry and hanging it all on the line before work. Sheesh! 

We were having a bout of lovely warm weather, which worked for hanging the sheets out and I knew I would be spending Thanksgiving outside doing yard work. I was hoping we'd get out early on Wednesday so just in case I did all my errands at lunch. I got gas, hit the bread store for rolls, went to Menard's for my deck Christmas tree and a poinsettia for Mary as an office warming since she'd moved in that morning, ordered a burger at Honest Abe's then ran into Super Saver to buy a few things, picked up the burger, met Anne at her car to offload some yarn, delivered the plant to Mary and was back at my desk in 1-1/4 hours. How's that for slamming through a lunch hour? 

Our new vice chancellor came in just before 3:00 and said he was surprised we were still there, adding that he couldn't tell us to leave but... We were all out the door within a minute of him leaving. After a quick stop at the library, I ran home and changed. It was warm enough that I worked in a t-shirt. I got the perennials in the parking cut down (I'd like to leave them but they act as a snow fence that piles snow on the sidewalk), undid the hoses and drained them then put up the deck tree. I was pretty pleased with my progress and had 4 more days to keep working.

I slept until 9:00 on Thanksgiving, which hosed my plan to make a nice breakfast. I had a bowl of Country Store, the cereal I bring back from the UK, so that felt special but was easy. My plan was to mow at some point but Carolyn made the point that I should mow early so I wouldn't be disturbing people's dinner. That was the kick in the butt I needed so I was done with the lawn, which I was just mowing to mulch the leaves, by noon. With that done, I threw a blackberry peach pie in the oven then started hanging laundry on the line to take advantage of another warm day. I then decided to repot all my African violets and pot up the rooted clippings Lori had given me months ago, which I did outside on the deck. With all that done, I made a small dinner with turkey thighs cooked over stuffing, baked sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts. I gave thanks for a wonderful day outside and with all the outside work done, made a list for the next 3 days.

I got busy inside on Friday, starting with cleaning out the chest under my kitchen window. From there I cleared the spool shelf by the door and then finished up the front room, storing all the yarn away and clearing the table. Each cleared surface spurred me on to do another. Now the plan was to go to Lori's for tea and knitting on Sunday after hitting World Market to finish my stocking shopping but the weather forecast wasn't looking good. I had to finish my shopping for sure so got in the car at 5:00 on Friday and headed to World Market, where I easily finished the stockings. I hit Aldi since I was right there and got home at 8:00, when I had a bowl of cereal and called it dinner. It had been another productive day.

I ran errands on Saturday - the bank, the eye doctor to pick out glasses, dropping pumpkins at Heidi's for her chickens and hitting Dollar General for, you guessed it, more totes. The forecast was turning out to be spot on. With blowing snow coming overnight and continuing all day Sunday, it was my last chance for outside work. Believe it or not, I still had perennials to plant so got those in the ground Saturday afternoon then headed down to the laundry room in search of my outdoor Christmas decorations. I started slogging through stuff and just kept going. 2 hours later, I'd neatzied the entire laundry room and had loaded the car with donations. The trash can was getting full too. Having found my decorations, I got all the outside stuff done - greens with balls and a bow on the front step and greens with fake poinsettias with lighted bells by the side door. I ate leftovers for supper and went to bed early, happy with another productive day. My list was mostly crossed off at this point but I had a few things left if the snow kept me home on Sunday.

There was snow on the ground and 40 mph winds when I woke up at 8:00 - another day of sleeping late. I made PB&J French toast and bacon and sat down to CBS Sunday morning. Lori had emailed that the roads weren't too bad on her way to mass so I left a message for Andrea that maybe we should go. But as the morning progressed, I saw that I-80 was closed and the weather people were saying not to leave the house. When Drae called back at 11:30, we decided we'd brave the drive anyway so I got in the shower and got dressed. Then Lori called to say we shouldn't come. She'd gone down the road for gas and it was miserable. So now I'd be home after all so I'd tackle the last few things on my list. 

I had thoughts of making chutney but as the afternoon went on, I could see that that wouldn't happen. I headed back downstairs and did 2 more loads of laundry, some of which was stuff I'd uncovered when I'd been going through the laundry room. I also did some mending and ironing, went through some scrapbooking stuff to prepare for making calendar pages next Saturday and then I sorted all of my knitting needles, prompted by needing a size 5 and not being able to fine one. I put turkey stock on the stove and had more leftovers for dinner then settled in for the evening.

So how was that for maximizing my Thanksgiving break? I'm glad I declined Helen's invitation for dinner in favor of getting things done. With just one more full weekend before my trip, I'm feeling really good about things. I'm sure there will be some stress closer to leaving but not as much as if I hadn't been a machine these past four days. Life is good! I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving.

Week 46 - A Little Progress

I'd made my list last week and started Monday morning hitting the grocery store and Home Depot before work. How's that for starting out on the right foot? Before the week was over, I'd booked all the hotels for the trip, arranged meet ups with 2 friends in London and had bought a new winter coat for the trip. Checking things off.

Work was busy and I did tons of HR stuff, which is always appreciated by the accountants I work with. We had a food day on Tuesday for Luke, one of the accountants who is leaving for a job at Central Administration. Then I had a date with Darla that night for thrifting and dinner. I was celebrating because I sold a huge skein of yarn, big enough to knit a whole sweater, that Darla had found for $5 years ago when we were thrifting. I sold it for $50 so dinner was on me. We chatted long after were were done eating our Mexican food at Tico's. So much for my diet.

I made up for it on Thursday when out of the blue, I had a bout of intestinal distress. It came on me when I was at lunch with Dodie so I ran back to the office and took Imodium. The cramping didn't stop immediately but by mid-afternoon, I was doing better. Normally I would have gone home but we were going to Bohemian Rhapsody after work to celebrate Anne's birthday and I really wanted to go so toughed it out. I'm glad I did. The movie was wonderful and I even had some popcorn. Afterwards, we went to the Birkenstock store and I bought a pair of shearling birks to wear as slippers. After we split up, I ran to JC Penney and found a new winter coat, which was long overdue. I got home at 9:00, tired but happy to be feeling OK and to have crossed another item off my list.

I was 3 pounds down when I weighed myself Friday morning. Ha! Layton and I went to Chinese for lunch and I swam after work so was showered and ready for the weekend. I took Gansey to the vet first thing Saturday morning then popped into the hair salon to see Lori, who was only in town long enough for her hair appointment. When I got home I started sorting yarn. I had been buying totes at Dollar General with $5 off $25 coupons so was ready to go. I started sorting but stopped when I lost the light in the front room. I'd had all day Sunday to finish.

Sunday was the St. Wenz cookie sale, which Andrea always reminds me of, so I was up and out first thing to hit the sale before mass got out. With 2 dozen cookies in hand, I went home to finish the yarn. It took way longer than it should have and it wasn't all put away but since I don't have a cleaning lady, I could leave the bins all over the front room without a problem. The having to clean myself sucks but not having to pick up can be a good thing. 

I was pleased with what I'd gotten done but would be kicking it up a notch next week. With my Christmas deadline moved up 2 weeks, I had big plans for the 4 day Thanksgiving break. Four whole days - yee ha!

Week 45 - My November List

Having spent the previous weekend catching up from being away, I hit the road running, ready for a normal week. I was also ready to start chipping away at my November list, which was chock full of things to get done before my trip to Norway in December.

First up was offloading. I had culled a bunch of clothes when I switched out my summer for winter clothes so loaded bags into the car to drop at the Peoples City Mission, which I did over lunch on Tuesday. I also left a small bag of yarn hanging from Kate's side view mirror in the parking lot and gave Anne more yarn, some bought on the way home from Dottie's, at the pool on Wednesday. Getting rid of stuff feels SO good and it's even better when you make the recipient happy.

It was also election week and like the rest of the country, I was more than ready for it to be over. After voting on Tuesday, I planned to celebrate with pasta and wine so ran down to Trader Joe's at lunch on Monday to get some 3 buck chuck. With Nebraska polls open 8:00-8:00, I was voting after work so headed to the Presbyterian church directly from work. I had never seen such a line! Being Wahoo, I only had to wait 20 minutes and spent the time knitting, of course. Then it was home for pasta carbonara with leeks and big glass of wine. Yum! The results were disappointing, as usual in my red state, but at least the toxic ads were done.

I had knitting Monday night (just 2 of us), voted Tuesday, swam Wednesday, went to The Old Man and the Gun with Tammie after work on Thursday and swam again on Friday so it was a busy week. I was at the vet with Gansey (first thing off of my November list) at 9:30 Saturday morning and then drove through the bank on the way to meet Lorri for coffee to catch up. Then I picked up totes (yes, for yarn) at Dollar General before shopping some local merchants because it was Merry Market. While I didn't buy anything of note, it was pretty festive. The bone chilling cold (felt like single digit temps with the wind chill) actually helped. It felt good to get home and stay inside and warm for the rest of the weekend.

In addition to the usual chores, I had plans to cross off my next November item - evaluating stocking stuffers. Since I'll be leaving for my UK/Norway trip on December 9th and will fly directly to Rhode Island for Christmas, my Christmas deadlines are way sooner. In order to sort for stockings, I needed to slog through the spare room, hence the totes for yarn. I planned to do that Sunday afternoon, having done most of my chores by then, but Donna called asking to stop by with a knitting question. I was waiting to start and then she was later than she'd said so I was pretty short with her - so much so that Ed, her husband, could see my anxiety. I got her going and ushered them out the door so I could get busy and be "done" before I lost light.

I pulled a bunch of boxes and bags into the front room and started sorting yarn and craft supplies. With that done (but still all over the front room), I sorted the stocking stuffers for Carolyn and Ginny and was pleasantly surprised by how much I had. Ginny's easy and has plenty but Carolyn, who is much harder to buy for, has a decent amount. I will do some shopping this month to flesh that out. Doable so that was a relief.

I also started a rotation on Sunday, determined to lose 10 pounds before I leave for my trip. I made a big pot of cabbage soup in the morning and roasted a big pan of Brussels sprouts and carrots to go with baked chicken thighs for supper, which I'll eat all week. I will have some food obligations in the coming week but I'll just do what I can to make better choices and get right back to rotating. I MUST drop some poundage before my cruise and Christmas.

Isn't it amazing how motivated I can be by a deadline? It's always been the case for me and this time, it should keep my busy in November. Here's hoping I can stay on track.

Week 44 - Happily Heading Home

Such a better week! Dottie was doing SO much better and I had home to look forward to.

Dottie had been using the calf machine less and less but called the doctor Monday morning and got the OK to not use it at all. She also got a prescription for tramadol to have something between an opioide and Advil. I had also gotten my cane out of the car so she had the walker downstairs and the cane upstairs, which made her more mobile and set her up to be alone once I left. Things were looking up! She had PT on Monday and Tuesday (to get 2 in before I left) and we had some fun sorting yarn and streaming. Her neighbor came over for a visit and we chatted for hours. She even went to the museum to do some research one afternoon (Thomas dropped her off and I picked her up so had some time on my own.) See? Looking up.

On Tuesday, I took advantage of the last trip to Michigan City to hit the beach. It was a beautiful day so I enjoyed sitting and knitting with Starbuck's. I spent some time later looking up the Goodwills on the way home so I'd have places to stop along the way.

I had the opposite problem heading home than coming - I had to leave late enough to miss Chicago traffic so Wednesday would be a long day. After saying goodbye, I was on the road ~9:30 and did indeed time it right so the traffic was fine. I had 3 Goodwills mapped out so stopped at those along the way then in Davenport. I didn't find much but it was fun to have places to stop. After Davenport, I pretty much drove straight through except for a rest stop or 2 and a gas stop. I got home just after 8:00 so missed Halloween nicely. I unpacked and went to bed early because I was working on Thursday.

The work week flew by (a 2 day week will do that) and after water aerobics on Friday, I was home for the weekend. I so felt the need catch up. Hmmm... I wonder why? Anyway, I had a nice weekend at home doing chores and cooking. I celebrated fall with a pot of homemade baked beans, baked a squash while the oven was on so long and then made pie to take to knitting. By the end of the weekend I was feeling restored and ready to face a full work week. Dottie was still doing better everyday and would be seeing the surgeon on Monday so I felt good about having helped on that front. Back to reality now.

Week 43 - Heading to Dottie

It was finally the week for Dottie's knee replacement, which was scheduled for Wednesday so I'd be driving there on Thursday. That left me with a 3 day work week, which you'd think would be a breeze but not so much.

It wasn't looking horribly stressful but I was doing allocations and there were lots of problems. I also had training scheduled both Monday and Tuesday afternoons, which cut into my productivity. I did manage a nice lunch with Darla on Tuesday but by Wednesday morning I was stressed.

Pie didn't come in Monday night and Tuesday morning I saw that her mouth was stuck open again. She didn't come in Tuesday night so between that and worrying about my sister and the trip, I didn't sleep well at all. I did manage to get Pie's mouth shut Wednesday before work - big relief! Once I got to work, I was slamming to get allocations done so they weren't left for Nora when I was gone. I was waiting for an update from my brother-in-law but wasn't getting a call so had nagging worry on that front. At one point Nora came over and was going on and on about something or other and I had to tell her that if I didn't get some time to concentrate and get allocations done I might cry. She left me alone to get them done, which I did, and then I called my nephew and heard that Dottie was OK. With all that resolved, my stress melted away but that left me exhausted. Nora had said I could leave early so I worked through lunch to get a few last things done and left at 3:00. 

Having that extra time was lovely. My plan was to be on the road by 6:30 on Thursday so I would be through Chicago before rush hour, which meant I needed to get to bed early. I packed over the course of the evening and got the car loaded before heading to bed. I even got Pie to come inside, which she rarely does, so I was all set for my early departure.

It was pitch black and raining Thursday morning so I ate a quick breakfast, filled my thermos and loaded the last stuff into the car. I was ready to go but thought I'd left my jacket in the house. Well, when I opened the door to get it, Pie shot outside. Damn! There'd be no catching her so I put some food on the deck, put a jar of extra food in the grill and headed out. Lorri was taking care of the inside cats but that wouldn't require daily trips so I'd call my neighbor when I got to Indiana to have her feed Pie everyday. Sheesh!

The drive was uneventful. I drove out of the rain (it was behind me all the way, I'm sure) and other than stopping for gas and potty breaks at rest stops, I drove straight through. I listened to NPR through most of Iowa then put in the book on tape I'd bought for the ride - Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. It's not his best book but still kept me engaged for hours. I got to Dottie's at 3:30. 

Dottie was sitting in a chair in her nightie with a machine hooked up to her legs that was supposed to prevent blood clots. There was also an ice thing involved. She did not look happy. We ordered Chinese and she ate in her chair. They all go to bed early (Mike works in eastern time so has to be on the road super early since he has an hour drive and loses an hour) so we headed upstairs not long after dinner. I'd wisely brought my laptop so sat on my bed streaming and knitting until my bedtime. I was looking forward to a good night's sleep. Ha!

I had been asleep for about 2 hours when I heard my sister calling for help. I went into her bedroom to find her on her butt on the floor. Her husband was nowhere to be found. She couldn't get up so had to scooch on her butt ~20 feet to the stairs to stand up. That was hard to watch. Hard that time and hard 2 hours later when she slid out of bed again. This time she was still half on the bed when I got in there but I couldn't pull her up and she wasn't putting her feet under her at all. It happened a 3rd time but Mike was up by then so he took charge. Clearly something had to change if I was going to get any sleep.

We had a talk in the morning. Now I had a 4 hour orientation before my surgery but she clearly had gotten no information before hers. I gave her the details of what they'd done and why it wouldn't be a problem to put weight on her new knee and why she was swollen and bruised. I think that helped a lot, as did taking a shower and getting dressed. She was still cranky as all get out about the machine on her legs but I couldn't help with that. We had a pleasant day sitting in the sun and watching TV then she sat at the table for dinner. Progress. She had decided not to wear the machine to bed so there were no incidents in the night. I slept great.

Dottie's first PT was Friday afternoon, which was also her first time leaving home since her surgery. Her PT was 20 minutes away in Michigan City so I dropped her off and hit the Aldi next door then explored Michigan City a bit. It being her first session, it was only an hour and she was exhausted (rightly so) so we went straight home. I made dinner and it was another early bedtime for everyone while I streamed and knitted in bed. 

Dottie was getting markedly better with each passing day and the rest of the weekend was pleasant. I needed a couple of things at the market so headed out and hit the Ollie's next door, which is very like RI's Job Lot. Since I had my car, I bought quite a bit, even a little metal garden table. After some lunch, Dottie had a mailing to get out for her preservation group so we spent the afternoon stuffing envelopes for hours. Seeing her do normal things was nice and we got it done and ready to drop at the post office.

Otherwise, the weekend didn't feel much different from mine at home except I was doing her chores instead of mine. With 3 people, there was 3 times the laundry (6 loads!) and lots and lots of cooking. She had planned to cook some food ahead but said she'd overestimated her ability to function when she couldn't take drugs the week before her surgery so hadn't done much prep. One of Mike's clients had given him a HUGE cabbage so I made it my mission to use it up. I made cabbage casserole and 2 batches of cranberry cole slaw plus corn chowder, tortilla casserole and pork chops, that last being their style rather than mine. 

Anyway, I was super busy getting everything done but still had time to knit so it was all good. Seeing the improvement in Dottie's mood and ability to move was the icing on the cake. Plus I only had 2 more days of sister duty before I'd drive home on Wednesday for another short work week. I was looking forward to being home.

Week 42 - I've Had Better

This was not a banner week. It was filled with things that didn't go quite right, including some work stress that had me wide awake one night. A nice weekend salvaged it though.

On Monday night, I got stood up at knitting. Most of the regulars have stopped coming but Andrea and I are always there. I knew Heidi (the other regular) wasn't coming but Andrea didn't show either. After I'd been knitting alone for half an hour, I called her and she was home sick. Damn! Hopefully next time she'll call and let me know. It was nice to be home by 7:00 but it would have been nicer to not have gone.

Tuesday was my rescheduled doctor's appointment so I started the day with a fasting blood draw at the new student health center. It was fall break so the place was deserted but it was under new management so took way too long. Not only did I have to fill out all kinds of paperwork but they wouldn't submit it to my insurance so I had to pay. It was still much cheaper than my doctor would charge but the 10 minutes and done of the old health center is no more.

The good thing about Tuesday was my new doctor. They finally hired a woman and I happily scheduled with her in hopes that I'd like her. I was thrilled with her! How often can you say that? She was reasonable, nice and thorough. She even called me back herself after my appointment and left me voice mail instead of asking me to call back. Hallelujah! It was nice to be home early too. Little did I know I'd need my rest.

Some crap percolated at work on Wednesday and I stewed on it all night instead of sleeping. We had a team meeting on Thursday morning and worked things out but sheesh! If only I could stop the middle of the night stewing. Probably won't happen. I thrifted at lunch and then got busy with allocations, which took all day on Friday and kept the time flying.

Despite it being my last weekend before leaving for Indiana, I had agreed to go to an auction with Andrea on Saturday. There was nothing I wanted but auctions are always entertaining. I chatted with my cousin's brother-in-law, who I haven't seen in years, Andrea got the spinning wheel she wanted and I only spent $3. Afterwards we went to Goodwill, where I dropped the entire box less the single item I wanted for one of the lots I won, and then had sushi. It was mid afternoon so it messed up dinner but I had a light Saturday snack supper and called it good. 

Sunday was chore day, which included getting things ready to be gone. Get a load of the stack of yarn I'd be delivering to Dottie! It's a year's worth of thrift shop finds and 2 boxes from Anne. I'd be driving to Dottie's on Thursday so had a few extra things on my list. I made good progress and felt good about my day by the time I sat down to PBS. Just work days to go.

Week 41 - Kearney and Home

Another busy week followed by a weekend at home. I should have only had a 2.5 day workweek but that didn't quite work out.

I had done something I've never tried before and scheduled all my October health appointments in the same afternoon. I should have had a mammogram at 1:30 on Tuesday, my physical at 2:00, eye doctor at 5:15 and the dentist Wednesday at 8:00. I was pretty proud of myself. Then when I got home late Monday after a talk at The Sheldon Museum (yes, I skipped knitting in favor of swimming and a talk by 2 photographers who take pics of abandoned things, which ended up being boring, alas...), there was a message on my answering machine saying the doctor wouldn't be in on Tuesday. I left this practice once before because they wouldn't stop calling my home number, which means I get the message when they're closed, but this time they assured me they would see the note saying to call at work. Nope! I saw red because this messed up all my plans. Needless to say, I was pissed off.

I called first thing the next morning and had them remove my home phone from my record. I was able to reschedule the mammo and physical for the following Tuesday so cancelled my afternoon of sick leave and just left 30 minutes early to hit the eye doc. I went home dilated and with all the resulting funkiness but it was a dreary day so that helped. Since I was leaving the next morning for 3 days, I threw some clothes into a bag and went to bed, figuring I had time the next morning to finish up, which I did. I was at the dentist at 8:00, ready for the day and the conference in Kearney.

For the first time, I was going to the Higher Ed User Conference, which is an SAP conference for University of Nebraska and State College users - not end users but administrative office users. I was driving with Anne and staying in her room so there was zero cost for my department beyond the $25 conference fee. I switched parking tags with Cindy so I could leave my car in the garage for the duration and Anne and I headed to water aerobics then hit Arby's for chicken fingers to eat on the road. I was driving so Anne could watch volleyball on her tablet. We got there in under 2 hours with the new 75 mph on I-80.<2 and="" checked="" font="" go.="" hours="" in="" ready="" to="" were="">

I had low expectations for the conference but was pleasantly surprised by how much I learned, even from sessions on one of the things I train on. Of course I was knitting under the table and finished the socks I'd started at last week's conference. 

The highlight of my day Thursday was meeting my old friend Maria, who I hadn't seen in 9 years. She picked me up and we went to a burger restaurant across from my hotel where we talked for hours. It was wonderful to catch up and we parted with promises not to wait solong before we see each other again. We could both drive and hour and meet in the middle so I'm hoping that actually happens.

Our plan for Friday was to skip the last session and leave at 3:30. That would have had me home by 6:00 but right before I left on Wednesday, Cheryl had called with an offer of free symphony tickets so I was meeting Andrea in Lincoln for that. Anne drove back so I could knit (fair is fair) and we were in Lincoln at 5:30. Drae and I used free spaghetti coupons I've been carrying around for years for dinner at Fazolli's, which was actually quite tasty. We got to campus just in time and thoroughly enjoyed the Night at the Opera themed concert, which featured 2 soloists. They sang my favorite aria - The Flower Duet by Delibes. I first heard it in the 80's cult vampire movie The Hunger. Love it! They also did Barber of Seville, which I love from Rabbit of Seville - the best cartoon ever. After a lovely evening, it was great to get home. I unpacked and went to bed.

A whole weekend at home - heaven! I spent some time outside in the 60 degree weather on Saturday doing fall clean up. I changed my flag, cut all the sunflowers down, pruned my crabapple so trick or treaters can walk on the sidewalk and picked all my veggies in anticipation of a hard freeze on Sunday. I knew it was going to snow a bit before the freeze but I wasn't expecting the 3" we got. The odd thing was the snow piled up but the air was above freezing so the impatiens in this picture weren't turning to mush. While the snow flew, I had a lovely day cleaning up the house house, knitting and catching up on TV. 

My house is almost back to good and I have one more weekend at home before my last trip of the month to help my sister after her knee replacement. I am so looking forward to being home for the entire month of November but shouldn't wish away this month. Is anyone singing the Elton John song now? : )

Week 40 - Back on Track

It felt SO good to be home and back to some routine! I had a whole week ahead of me with nothing but work and home. Bliss!

Despite only having missed half a day on Friday, I was totally in catch up mode on Monday. It didn't help that I would be out of the office all day Tuesday and Wednesday morning at the Women in IT conference. The sessions were good on Tuesday and I even got to leave Lincoln early so was home at 5:00. I can't say I got anything productive done but enjoyed just being home. The morning keynote and session on Wednesday were fabulous and I left totally inspired. Swimming Wednesday night felt great. I went to The Wife with Tammie on Thursday night and had a nice lunch with Layton on Friday. All good. But nothing would feel as good as being home ALL WEEKEND.

My house looked like a bomb went off. I had six loads of laundry to do and needed to neatize everything. Cleaning needed to happen too but with nowhere I had to be, I was able to plug away at it all day on Saturday without stressing. John even came by to mow so that was done. By the time I went to bed, all of the laundry was done and I had flannel sheets on the bed because fall had finally arrived. The dishes were all done too so I was ready for a relaxing Sunday.

It was raw and raining on Sunday so I started cooking. I was thwarted in making pancakes so settled for French toast with 45 calorie break (not the best) and bacon for breakfast. It was the roast beef dinner in Colon that I usually go to with Lorri but when I hadn't heard back from her, I went alone and took it to go. It was enough for a big lunch and 2 more meals, which was all I'd need for the coming week. Then I started baking - banana bread with chocolate covered raisins and nuts then cookies with a toll house base (heavy on the brown sugar) with blueberry jammy bits, lemon chips and nuts. I put some aside for my next trip - Kearney with Anne for an SAP conference at the end of the week. I ended the day with a messy kitchen but it was worth it to heat up the house and have some yummy food after so much eating out. I got lots of knitting done too, of course. I was enjoying just being home so much. Just 2 more trips to go this month. I'll make it.

Week 39 - Connie in Chicago

Anne and I got up early and enjoyed chatting with Black Hills bound people in the hotel breakfast room before heading to Brown Sheep. I was like a kid in a candy store and bought WAY too much yarn. Go figure. But here's my litany - I don't drink, smoke or do drugs. I buy too much sock yarn and can live with that. My friends and family seem happy with my sock knitting addiction so I'll call it good. Since I had driven all day Sunday, Anne drove us home on Monday so I got to knit, you guessed it, socks! We got to Lincoln ~5:00 and I was home ~6:00. I skipped knitting in favor of unpacking and getting ready for work on Tuesday. 

My short work week was jam packed. Tuesday was service awards, where I got my 20 year award, which was an engraved wooden box. I must have picked it but didn't remember. I trained one afternoon, had several meetings, went to the ortho doc for my still funky thumb (I strained the cords and have early trigger finger - nothing to be done but I was relieved it wasn't something more serious), got my hair cut and had book club. After all that, I threw some clothes into a carry on and headed to work on Friday ready for the next adventure.

Since Connie and I had so little time when I was in her area, I was flying to Chicago on Friday afternoon. Connie had been there at a conference all week and had extended her trip by a day so we could play in Chicagoland. Not Chicago but the burbs - Naperville to be exact. Luckily I had asked an online friend for things to do there so we had lots to keep us busy. After taking a $50+ cab ride to spare Connie driving in rush hour traffic, we hit Granite City, which was right by the hotel, for mac and cheese spaetzle, salad and bread pudding. We split them all and it was delish and just the right amount.

We opted for breakfast at Starbuck's instead of the hotel and then checked out downtown Naperville on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, downtown is basically a mall with zero authenticity so we walked along the river and even rented a paddle boat. We walked around town a bit more, asking clerks and random people on the street if there was a cute town nearby. When we didn't get any firm ideas, we just picked a road and headed down it in search of real. We found a plaza with a Trader Joe's, which Connie doesn't have in SD so she had a ball. We bought stuff for a hotel picnic and then went across to an old mom and pop restaurant called Colonial Inn. I ordered chicken and waffles, which were delicious. I was congratulating myself on our choice only to find it on my friend's list of things to do and places to eat in Naperville. She even recommended the chicken fingers. Subliminal messages maybe? I had read the list a month ago but had no recall of specifics. : )

Having found real life on the road we chose, we kept going on it to see what we'd find. We stopped at a farm stand and bought gourds. Yes, we'd be flying home with gourds. Ha! Then when we saw an Ikea, Connie lit up! She'd never been in one so we stopped because I'm always up for Ikea. I bought 2 jars of lingonberry jam for Natasha since they were out when I hit Ikea in Minneapolis this spring and a few other things. It wasn't until we were back in the hotel that I realized I couldn't carry the jam on so would have to check my bag. Good thing I was flying Southwest. We had a hotel picnic with our Trader Joe's goodies and watched The Phantom Thread. Odd movie that I can't recommend but it was on HBO and started right as we turned the TV on. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I went down for coffee Sunday morning and brought it back to the room where we had lunch leftovers for breakfast before heading to Morton Arboretum. We had fun walking around taking pictures and enjoying nature plus I got a couple of nice pins in the gift shop. We started on a 2nd walk but it started to sprinkle so we packed it in and pointed the car towards Midway. We stopped at Panera for a salad and shopped a bit but I could see Connie getting more nervous with every passing minute. She is not a confident big city driver and had to drop me at Midway then drive to O'Hare to return her car and catch her flight. Since we were getting close to the airport and not finding anything fun on the way, I told her to drop me early and be on her way. I sat and knitted at the gate for almost 3 hours but that was fine. The flight was uneventful as was the drive home and I was in my house at 10:00 so I pretty much went right to bed. It had been a fun weekend but I was exhausted and looking forward to being home and getting back to normal. If only!

Week 38 - Thumb and Wedding

What a week! It started with 100 degree weather (OK, 94 but it felt like 100 with the heat index) in late September and ended with a wonderful trip to the Black Hills for Amanda's wedding. In between was my thumb.

You've heard be talk about The Warehouse, the funky little store in Wahoo where I often get deals on produce and such. Well Cindy had asked me to keep my eyes open for Naked Juice when shopping and on Tuesday evening I found lots. I was on my cell asking her what flavors she'd like at $1/quart when the owner came over and started wheeling and dealing. I bought her 3 cases of various juices for $9 total. He loaded them in my car and I went home to reorganize my fridge to fit them all in overnight. In a normal September, I could have left them in the car but it was too damn hot. Anyway, fast forward to the next morning when I got my biggest book bag and loaded it all up to take to work. It was heavy but I drove to the loading dock and someone took it in for me so I wouldn't have to walk with it.

When I was at UAAD at lunch, I noticed that my right thumb knuckle was odd. It didn't hurt but when I bent it, there was a click. I forced myself to stop playing with it and only later did the swelling begin. I iced it all day on Thursday and kept it straight. It wasn't horribly painful but I didn't have time for it since I was leaving first thing Friday for Amanda's wedding. It's always something!

I was at Anne's house on the south side of Lincoln at 7:00 on Friday morning, packed and ready to go for Amanda's viking themed wedding in Hill City. We picked up Rene and were on our way. Rene drove the whole way there - 11 hours. We stopped for lunch in a small town cafe then got Dairy Queen and stopped at Carhenge in Alliance. It was a straight shot north from there to Hill City and we got there early enough that we could do a Rushmore drive by before the dinner that night, which was a cook out at Amanda's friends house right next to the wedding venue. It was chilly and we were tired so we didn't stay very long, opting to head back to the hotel. We got to the market at 8:00 just as they closed so we ate the snacks we'd brought and chilled in the room. Saturday would be a busy day.

I had called Connie earlier in the week to give her an out on meeting us on Saturday. I'd be seeing her in Chicago next weekend and since she was flying out super early on Sunday, not having to drive 4 hours to see me took the stress out of her Saturday so she did opt out. This left us free as birds in the Black Hills until the weeding at 4:00. Add the hour time difference and we were ready to go early. With no ideas of where to go from Anne and Rene, I offered to drive and show them the stuff I like to do in the Hills. 

We headed north to what I was familiar with from all my trips with Connie, starting with Chubby Chipmunk for truffles in Deadwood. We got there before they opened so went to the Lead Visitors' Center, from which I called Connie, who said we should head her way. After looking around there, we got some Chubbies and then went to Connie's. Despite telling her I'd keep in touch, I didn't call until we were in her driveway. My bad. She got dressed and we headed to the harvest festival in downtown Spearfish, after which we had a lovely lunch. After dropping Connie back home, we drove up Spearfish Canyon, which is one of my favorite places, and even waded at Roughlock Falls. Heaven! 

We had a long drive back and took a wrong turn after stopping for gas so ended up rushing to get ready for the wedding and got there right at 4:00. It was a viking wedding so there were people dressed in chain mail, furs and such. It was a wonderful ceremony with two people who clearly love each other. I was so happy to have been included. Our viking attire was more cartoon than authentic. Oh well. We left before dark so we could see to walk back to the car, which was across a muddy ravine from the wedding field.

Rene had to be at the Rapid City airport late morning on Sunday so we got an early start and went to Sylvan Lake for a walk. It was harder on my knee (still not recovered from the jogging incident) but it was gorgeous. We drove towards the airport via Custer State Park, where we saw all kinds of animals and different terrain than we'd seen in the northern hills. We dropped Rene a bit early because there was nothing to do around the airport and Anne and I headed south.

We had booked a hotel in Scottsbluff so headed in that direction. We were on the lookout for High Plains Homestead, which a friend of Anne's had mentioned but when we found the sign, it meant driving 18 miles out of the way on gravel roads. When we couldn't get cell reception to make sure they were open, we opted to skip it. We went instead to Fort Robinson, which was underwhelming. Despite paying to get into the park, we would have had to pay again for each museum so we walked through one building that was free and then drove the scenic loop. Of course they'd moved the bison to winter fields the day before. Oh well. We stopped at a drive in for a late lunch (there we 2 in Crawford and those were the only restaurants) then kept south, getting to Scottsbluff in the evening. We went to bed looking forward to Brown Sheep in the morning. It had been a whirlwind weekend but home was a day away.

Week 37 - Under the Weather

Well, the week started out normally but by Monday afternoon I was getting snotty. I immediately started Zicam and airborne, hoping it was nothing. I was OK at knitting but barely slept so called in on Tuesday. That's a rare occurrence but I'm glad I didn't fight it. While I could have worked, it was nice to stay home and give into the cold. But it wasn't horrible. Maybe everything I took Monday helped. I went to work Wednesday still pretty droopy but by mid-afternoon, I'd turned a corner and was feeling much better. I actually got stuff done too.

Between my knee still not being 100% and the lingering cold, I didn't go to Fit & Fueled on Thursday. Layton and I had an in depth discussion of racism at lunch on Friday and then I swam, in anticipation of a low key weekend. Low key was an understatement. I spent most of the weekend sitting, knitting and blowing my nose. As colds go, it wasn't a bad one but it still left me dragging so the weekend was just what I needed. Luckily I had no commitments because the rest of the month would be super busy. Time to get healthy!

Week 36 - Done with Jogging

A Monday holiday is always a wonderful start to a week. I drove to Lincoln even on a day off but it was for fun with Darla - Operation Finale and some shopping. There was no knitting with the library closed for the holiday but I knitted at home because that's what I always do.

The four day week flew by with a movie at The Ross on Tuesday night and then my annual trip to Seward after work on Wednesday to pick up fair entries. I hit my usual stalls at the farmers' market and then stopped at Erica's on the way home, which will be a new tradition I think. Erica moved near Seward so only rarely makes the 25 mile trip to Monday Night Knitting so it was great to see her and get a tour of her in progress renovations. I ate caramel corn in the car on the way home so called it dinner. Good thing Wednesday was fun.

Fit & Fueled's Thursday morning workout was outside with stations spaced along the track to stop and do. So what did I decided to do? Jog. Yes, jog between a couple of the stations. Now it was an old lady, barely a jog jog but I wanted to test my new knee and see how it did. Well it did just fine but not my real knee. It didn't start hurting until I was back in my office but damn was it sore! I was clutching walls as I walked and cancelled lunch with Dodie and headed straight home after work. Stupid! I guess you never know until you try but I never thought I'd be so down and out from jogging 1/4 of a lap a couple of times. Sheesh!

I did swim on Friday, which helped, and the knee got better every day. I had a low key weekend, laying low inside playing with yarn and getting some housework done. On that front, I'm still considering getting another cleaning lady because I do a crap job and am not enjoying how cleaning is cutting into my free time on the weekends. My house is getting dirtier and dirtier with every passing week but I'm managing to keep the clutter at bay at least. I got outside on Sunday and did some weeding. I ended the weekend washing floors. See? Not fun. Oh well.

Week 35 - End of Summer

Well, a week that starts with being stood up for breakfast first thing Monday can only get better, right? It actually wasn’t that bad. I did have to be on the road by 6:30 but that’s normal on Tuesdays and Thursdays so not that hard. But the minute I drove up to the restaurant my usual 5 minutes late and didn’t see Darla’s car (she’s always early), I knew she’d forgotten. After sitting in the parking lot for a few minutes and failing to get in touch with her, I ordered takeout and was grocery shopping by 7:30. With that out of the way, I had an easier rest of the day because I wouldn’t have to deal with after work crowds. How’s that for looking on the bright side?

One impulse buy from my early morning shopping was a gorgeous mum for $5 so when I got an email from Lorri Tuesday morning saying she was looking for volunteers to spruce up the Hansen House gardens, I said I would get 2 mums for the planters out front so headed back to Super Saver for 2 more. I picked up a trowel for <$1 at The Warehouse and planted the mums on the way home Tuesday night. Done! Fall like weather had finally arrived so it was actually pleasant.

On the getting things done front, Anne and I bought our tickets for our Norway trip in December, I scheduled a mammogram and 2 doctor’s appointments all for the same October afternoon (to save on sick leave) and I got a long overdue pedicure over lunch on Wednesday. Then the end of the work week was fun.

UNL had a kick off for a new campaign – In Our Grit Our Glory. This started with a big presentation for staff, that was standing room only, and then a free hotdog lunch behind the union. They had DJ’s and free t-shirts and Dairy Store ice cream, which was all fun and full of energy. The perfect fall weather was the icing on the cake. Then when I got back to the office, I found an envelope on my desk that had come through campus mail. I opened it to find the clothesline hanger clips that I’d lost when my neighbor’s tree took out my clothesline. I had been too cheap to $25 for them on ebay since they’re only ~$5 in the UK. Darla had bought them for me! How nice was that?

There was more nice from Darla, who I met for lunch on Friday at Tico’s (local Mexican restaurant) since Layton had taken the day off. We had a lovely lunch where I ate too many gloppy nachos (so worth the calories though) and then she insisted on paying for having forgotten me on Monday. It wasn’t necessary but she wouldn’t let me pay. Despite my overfull stomach, the afternoon didn’t crawl and I was swimming and heading home for the long weekend in no time.

With rain due Saturday evening, I got busy first thing Saturday morning and did all my laundry and most of my chores. John came and mowed that afternoon so most of my to do’s for the weekend were out of the way. The first Huskers football game was scheduled for 7:00 and the whole state was crazy excited about the new coach, Scott Frost. I, of course, couldn’t care less but it was sad when the front with the monster storms came through right as the game started and after hours of pouring rain, they changed the delay to a cancel. I was happily streaming Netflix though so wasn’t bothered. I had plans for Monday but nothing on Sunday, which is usually my chore day, so went to bed Saturday night unsure of what I’d do Sunday.

So Sunday was a leisurely morning of watching TV and knitting in my jammies. When Lorri stopped by after church, it was nearly noon and I wasn’t dressed. But she invited me to tea at her house at 3:00 so I took a shower and made myself presentable. We had a lovely time catching up over tea and cookies then walked around her garden. My empty day was salvaged and I was ready for some fun on Labor Day. Gotta love a long weekend.

Week 34 - Ribbons and Sushi

It was a good week health wise. I was doing well on my rotation. I lost 6 pounds in the first few days – mostly water I’m sure but I’ll take it. I even managed to do OK at a food day. I brought a big salad and ate that and some pulled pork and only had 2 tiny sweets. All good. I was back in the groove of Fit & Fueled too. Having to be at the gym just after 7:00 is killer and the TRX session on Thursday was brutal, leaving me sore but in a good way. Progress. It’s all about progress.

I had entered some knitting (6 pairs of socks and a cowl) in the state fair for only the 2^nd time and must have hit refresh a hundred times on Friday (the first day of the fair) waiting for them to post the results. The finally did in late afternoon. While I didn’t win the best socks in the state, beaten out by Nan from my spinning group who entered a gorgeous pair of socks knitted with her handspun yarn, I did get ribbons on everything, including one first. I was pretty happy with that because unlike in the county fair, not everything gets a ribbon at state – only the top 5 entries in each category. My friend Jill always sends me great pictures and this year was no exception. : )

With a week long bout of rain in the forecast, I got up early Saturday and did my laundry so I could get it out on the line on the last dry day. With that done early, I was looking for something to do when I got an email from Jerry (the man we met after spinning last month who was clearing out the house next to the library) saying he was prepping for the final sale and if Andrea or I wanted the sewing machines, we could pick them up before the sale. Andrea was up for a Fremont run so we headed up there at dinner time. Andrea loaded up a couple of sewing machines and then we went out for sushi. Yes, sushi in Fremont, Nebraska. I was completely skeptical but the online reviews were good so we gave it a try. OMG! The sushi was AMAZING! We got 2 – 1 basic and 1 super fancy. Both were delish. It was  so good that I think it will replace tots at Todd’s after spinning. Shocking!

With all my chores done on Saturday, I spent Sunday cooking and knitting/streaming. It was a nice, relaxing way to end the week.

Week 33 - Stress and Vegging

It was a weird week. Still no swimming, cancelled lunches and then a friend in the ER lead to stressful times.

I spent Monday lunch looking for instant polenta in Lincoln. I tried HyVee, Whole Foods and Fresh Thyme and no one had it. I’m going to have to look farther afield I guess. I last bought it at Whole Foods in Omaha, which is bigger than Lincoln’s store so there’s hope. But did I remember to check when I was in Omaha on Saturday? Nope. Grits will have to do in the meantime. Not the same though.

Darla had to cancel lunch on Tuesday so I thrifted with Cindy that day and ended up having lunch with Darla on Thursday instead. But between the two days was stress galore. Carolyn had thrown out her back and it was so bad that they called 911 and she was taken to Rhode Island Hospital by ambulance Tuesday night. I had a tough time sleeping that night and was up at 5:00 then spent Wednesday messaging back and forth with her – me at work and Carolyn on her phone from the ER. They never ended up admitting her so when she went home late Wednesday afternoon, my worry level went down. I decided on the way home that I needed beer, a hotdog and chips for supper so stopped twice in Wahoo and enjoyed a relaxing evening at home. The rest of the work week was uneventful. Yay!

Saturday was hanging in Omaha with Lori so on Friday night I got busy and loaded up the car with donations for Goodwill so I’d be ready to go in the morning. We met at First Watch for breakfast, timing it so we’d be done right at 10:00 when Penzey’s opened. From there I went to Goodwill to offload and then met Lori at The Omaha Antique Center, where she wanted another look at some end tables. Good thing the back of my car was empty because they fit right in when she bought them. We then went home and arranged her living room before sitting down to knit. We went out for Burger King in the early afternoon because Lori’s vegan and they have a good veggie burger. I chose a bacon double cheeseburger. Ha! I hit Aldi on the way home so was all ready for my usual chore day on Sunday. I was starting a rotation so did some cooking – sugar free jello, steamed broccoli and grilled chicken. Boring but it felt good to get back to healthy eating and, at the same time, take eating decisions off the table. When it’s only 600 calories, I know exactly what I’m eating. Exactly. And I’d be back in the pool and starting my Tuesday/Thursday Fit & Fueled classes in the mornings so it was all looking up.

Week 32 - Ridiculous Tree Drama

The end of closing meetings was in sight! There were only the last few and then fiscal year 18 would be done. I was more than ready. The last meeting was scheduled for Tuesday and then that night I'd be celebrating with friends.

Jessica, who used to teach Water Zumba (a wonderful class) before she got her PhD and left Lincoln for a faculty job in upstate New York, was back in town and so we were going out to dinner. The group was a mix of water aerobics people and people from her morning classes but we all are UNL old timers and knew each other. We went to Honest Abe's Burgers and Freedoms so the food was as good as the company. I left happy with a full belly and went home to be productive. Unfortunately when you're still doing chores at 10:00 pm, falling asleep is not easy. My goal was to be ready to veg the second I got home on Wednesday so it was worth it. 

With no water aerobics and being done watering at Lorri's, I happily drove straight home Wednesday. The plan was to make zucchini pasta to enjoy with the wine that was chilling in the fridge while streaming and knitting, of course. And then I drove into my garage. I looked out the window and saw this.

That is one of the branches from my neighbor's enormous tree, which has been slowly dying for years because she thought it needed a tidy stone wall around it filled with rocks. The branch had glanced off her car and brought down my clothesline and phone line. Despite being on the ground, the phone and internet were still working, which I considered a minor miracle. Mike from across the alley came over with his chain saw and Cara and I carted the wood to her defunct rose bed (wood walled and filled with rocks. Gee, I wonder why the roses died?) By the time I got in the house, I was sweating bullets and it was almost 7:00. After talking to the phone company about reattaching my line, I took a shower and ate a bowl of cereal for dinner. The pasta would have to wait. NOT the evening I'd planned.

Of course no one called from the phone company and when I called them on Thursday afternoon, they told me someone would be there Friday between 8:00 and 6:00 and I'd need to be there. I went round and round on this and they put a note on my account that I wouldn't be home until 4:00 but they couldn't guarantee they wouldn't come sooner. I'd done as much as I could and after a soul sucking meeting on Thursday afternoon, I went home to my pasta and wine. At last! It was absolutely delicious.

Friday was more drama with the phone company. When I called in the morning they said he would be there at 10:00. That was at 9:30 and I was 30 miles away. I told them to have the tech call me before he went so I could drive home. Of course he called from my driveway but he was completely reasonable, as opposed to all three of the customer service people I spoke to. Not only did he fix it without me being there - in 10 minutes no less! - he gave me his direct phone number so I could bypass customer service if I had any other issues. Hallelujah! With that settled, I happily went to lunch with Layton and sailed through the rest of the day.

Now this was my 3rd weekend with absolutely no plans and while staying home and getting stuff done is normally my favorite thing, I was feeling the need to do something. Unfortunately everyone was busy. EVERYONE. So I did spend the entire weekend at home, managing to get quite a few things done, but I wasn't happy about it. At least I finished organizing the yarn and got that all put away but even streaming some good stuff (LBJ and The Glass Castle) while knitting didn't make me happy. At least I had managed to make plans for the following weekend so wouldn't face another one at home. I was going into the next week with fiscal year done, a fridge full of yummy food and my house in decent shape. Not all bad but I was glad the week was done.

Week 31 - Just Getting Through

There isn't much to say about this week. With fiscal year end meetings in full swing, I was focused on just getting through. I was feeding cats at my feeder and covering for the Union feeder in the mornings. I was watering not only for my friend Lorri but my neighbor so had double duty after work and it was the last week of water aerobics before 2 weeks off so I was trying to swim. Book club was Thursday night too so add that in. I think I only swam once but with the days crammed full, from morning until night, it was go go go!

With no plans for the weekend, I started slogging through the spare room. I had been looking at the sparseness of my closet and thinking I had more summer shirts but since I couldn't put my finger on a specific one that was missing, I hadn't given it any attention. Well, in pulling things out of the spare room, which was really about organizing my new yarn acquisitions, I found an Ikea bag full of clothes. It was a mix of summer and winter things plus some pants that don't fit so clearly I must have folded them up and stored them last fall when I was clearing the spare room so my sister could sleep there after my knee surgery. I went through the bag and found 12 more summer shirts that fit, which I hung right up to wear in the last weeks of this summer. I also culled some for donation. All good.

The yarn ended up in bins all over my front room. While I haven't been enjoying having to clean my own house, it was nice that I could leave the bins out and not have to worry about putting everything away so the cleaning lady could clean. It also meant I couldn't vacuum so since I couldn't do all the floors, I didn't do any. How that for rationalization? All in all, it was a nice weekend with the perfect mix of productivity and relaxation so I was recharged and ready for the upcoming super busy week. That's what weekends are for these days so no complaints. Just another week and a half of fiscal year end to get through.

Week 30 - Fair and Year-end

This was the beginning of the busiest weeks of my work year, prepping for fiscal year end closing meetings. This always coincides with the county fair so is a double whammy. Adding to that was my decision to enter food in the fair, which was a first for me and brought on by a new limit on my sock entries. For the first time, you could only have 5 entries in any one category and since there's only one category for small knitted items, I had to choose wisely on knitting and would enter some baked goods to round out my entries. As usual, the goal was to earn enough ribbon money for lunch out.

I'd thawed blackberries so got up first thing Monday and baked a blackberry pie. Entries were Tuesday but I wanted to take the rest of the pie to knitting (you only enter a quarter of the pie) so made it early. It was tart but still yummy according to my taste testers. I got up Tuesday morning and made zucchini chocolate muffins with lemon chips. Normally I use peanut butter chips and would again because the lemon flavor was lost, leaving just a shot of yellow sweetness in the muffins. I brought the extra of those to work and they all got eaten, of course.

Mary was out of town for the first two days of the week so the first closing meeting wasn't until Thursday, which meant my prepping was not stressful this year. Good thing because Tuesday was a long day. I picked up a salad for lunch on the way to work in the morning and then ate a PB&J sandwich, made with the leftover baguette from lunch, in the car on the way home. I dashed inside to pick up my pie and muffins and headed to the fair for 4H vegetable check in, which I do every year as master gardener volunteer hours. Andrea picked up my food and dropped it off for judging, which she does for me every year. It takes a village.

Wednesday was ribbon night so after swimming, I drove straight to the fair to check out my stuff. I won best of lot for a pair of my socks - not the ones I thought would win but lovely ones none the less. I got one red on a pair of socks (it ended up being because I had worn them and there was a slightly felted spot at the toe) and on my muffins (no comments on food so I have no idea why) and all the rest blues. Nice! I went home to relax because closing meetings would be starting on Thursday.

The rest of the week went well with the meetings but when I was getting ready for bed on Thursday, I noticed some red in my eye. Well, when I looked sideways, it was clear that a blood vessel had burst in my eye. That had never happened to me before and freaked me out a little but it was at the side of my eye so not super visible. It faded over time. Good thing.

The heat had broken so I spent a bunch of time outside. First up was weeding the veg beds and then I kept going around the deck and even got some of the big bed done. I got the kitchen cleaned up, which of course lead to cooking up a storm. I had beets I'd roasted that needed using so made quinoa with sauteed chard (from my garden) and beets that I topped with grilled steak come dinner time. I also made summer chopped salad (my own recipe - scroll down if you're interested) and then made a beet salad with some grain mix from Aldi. I even made cabbage and sweet potatoes that went into the freezer. It's always nice to go into the work week with a fridge full of healthy food. 

When I was done with all that cooking, I went out again and mulched all around the deck with the mulch I'd bought weeks ago that was still sitting in a pile by the alley. When I was done, I went in for yummy dinner and then Lorri and her sister, who I met last summer in Portland, came over for a visit. It was a perfect weekend and I was thrilled with the cooler weather (finally!) that let me spend time outside. I was ready for my busy week too. Yay!

Summer Chopped Salad

1 cuke, peeled, seeded, cubed

1 zucchini, cubed

2 paste tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup chopped sweet onion

4 strips crisply fried bacon, crumbled

~1/4 cup of your salad dressing of choice

Put cuke in colander and sprinkle liberally with salt.  Let stand 30 minutes then rinse and pat dry.  Combine in bowl with remaining vegetables, drizzle with salad dressing, toss and top with bacon.  Wonderful served cold as either a side dish or light lunch - YUM!

Week 29 - Routine Weeks Rule

There was no easing into things when I got back to work. Monday was allocation day so that sucked up my entire first day, which wasn't all bad. I also had a custom training on Wednesday for three new business managers and a procurement meeting on Thursday that went so over time that I missed my lunch with Dodie at Panera. Well I did make it there but she'd given up and was already eating when I arrived. Next time I'll know just to cancel. Hopefully there won't be a next time for that meeting though since it was odd as all get out.

Other than working and swimming, my goal for the week was catching up and getting rid of stuff. I brought lemon meringue pie to Monday Night Knitting. Nice start to the week, right? Then I got my oil changed over lunch one day and ended the week unloading a trunk load of stuff at one of the City Mission's drop boxes on the way to Aldi, where I stocked up on groceries. Once I got home on Friday, I was in for the weekend because it was time to catch up there too.

I spent a bunch of time outside since the heat had broken and it was gorgeous. I did major clean up of the driveway and deck, which made a huge difference. It's amazing what your eye ceases to notice when junk has been sitting around for a long time. I also got the entire vegetable garden weeded and then weeded the perennial bed that goes all around the deck. It was just too gorgeous to not be outside!

That said, I cleaned the house on Sunday, which was long overdue. Not everything but my short list - floors (sweep, swiffer, vacuum/wash) and the bathroom plus a general neatize. I did a bunch of cooking too - roasted beets, cabbage/sweet potato/sausage casserole and cucumber salad, all of which meant I'd have food ready to go for the coming week. It also cleaned out my fridge. It was just nice to be home, as always. A routine week is always nice after being away. Happy summer!