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.
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