Week 47 - My Sore Thumb

As they say, getting old is not for the faint of heart. Who knew that saving my self from falling when I tripped while cleaning the garage a week before would cause problems this week.

I had noticed my thumb being sore the previous week but out of the blue, it got more painful on Monday, so much so that I struggled to knit at Monday Night Knitting. I didn't give it any thought until I woke up on Tuesday with my thumb throbbing and my entire hand swollen. Yikes! I called my hand doc but they couldn't get me in until the next Monday so I called my GP and made an appointment for later in the day.

Well, based on the location of the burning pain in my thumb, the doctor thought I might have broken my wrist! And the bone she suspected of being broken would require surgery to install a pin. Holy crap! After fitting me for a brace and handing me a prescription for ibuprofen 800's, she sent me off to X-ray. I wouldn't get the results until Wednesday morning so I went home to sit and not knit, which felt totally foreign. The good news was it wasn't broken so I just had to wear the brace, take the drugs and wait. I'll take it!

I was going to the JoJo Rabbit movie with Anne after work on Thursday so didn't have to face another night of not knitting. It was feeling much better by Thursday night (better living through chemistry) and on Friday I was able to not wear my brace at work, which made typing much easier. I went to another Merry Market, this time at the quilt museum, after work on Friday. I had hoped to find some cool stocking stuffers but just ended up buying fabric and a bit of yarn. Go figure. It was fun though. And I knitted a few rows when I got home and lived to tell. Clearly my thumb was on the mend.

Finally I had an entire weekend at home with minimal obligations. Yay! I had a deposit to do for Friends on Saturday morning and then stopped into Andrea's shop for a chat. When I left, I headed to SunMart to check out the turkeys. I didn't make one last year because I was leaving for Norway so soon after Thanksgiving so this year I'd be making one for sure. If I spent $25, I could get a bird for .47/pound but I wanted a small one. Boy did I score on the small bird - 8.5 pounds! In my attempt to spend the $25, I did something I rarely do (I'm a list maker and mostly buy sale items) and just roamed the aisles buying whatever. How old am I that that was fun? I got everything for Thanksgiving except Brussels sprouts, because they looked awful, which is often the case with produce in Wahoo. Oh well. Nearly done was good enough.

I had only been wearing my brace at night and had backed off some on the ibuprofen so tried some knitting on Saturday without a problem. After that success, I decided to do some yard work on Sunday. It was gorgeous out (high 50's and sunny) so I did the most important yard chore before snow flies - cutting down the perennial bed between the sidewalk and the street (called the parking here in Nebraska) so it doesn't act like a snow fence and cover my sidewalk in snow drifts. I got it all cut down and took one load to the city brush pile and threw the rest in my compost pile. It got chilly towards the end so I enjoyed a hot cup of tea afterwards. 

With only a three day work week coming up, I had decided to eat out of the freezer for dinners, making room to freeze some turkey leftovers. That made for a relaxing evening, which I'd earned after all my yard work. I went to bed in hopes that there wouldn't be thumb issues Monday morning. Time would tell.

Week 46 - Jam Packed Saturday

It was a quiet week. Good thing because the weekend was jam packed.

I finally finished my medical stuff, which was delayed from October. I had a fasting blood draw on Tuesday (overdue from my physical and holding up my meloxicam refill) and then went to the eye doctor after work. Done and done. Otherwise, the week was dead normal.

On Friday afternoon, we had a team building event - a tour of Innovation Campus' makers' space. It was very interesting and inspiring but over by 3:00. We all agreed we wouldn't go back to work so enjoyed adult beverages at The Mill and headed home early, which was the perfect start to the weekend. 

Saturday was busy all day. Lori was in town for a hair appointment and while we usually do lunch, Andrea and I had spinning that afternoon so we all met at Mocha C's for coffee and a pastry, after which we hit all the shops in Wahoo for Merry Market. It was fun to see all the shops decked out for Christmas and I managed to score a few stocking stuffers. When Lori headed to the hair salon, Helen and I went to Fremont. Originally the plan had been for Andrea to be working in the fields so we'd both be skipping spinning. But Andrea wasn't helping with harvest so Helen and I had fun at the Habitat Restore (she loved it, as I knew she would) then grabbed lunch and caught up. She then dropped me at spinning, where I met up with Andrea. Such coordination!

Spinning was fun and then more shopping. We had a blast at Staples buying all kinds of things in an attempt to hit $20 so Andrea could use a coupon. Between the clearance prices and Andrea's discount, we just kept adding more and more to the pile. Then we hit Goodwill (more fun stuff), Aldi and Menard's. I didn't get home until 8:00. It was a long but fun day and I filled some gaps in stockings.

Sunday was normal chore day, with a chunk of time spent putting away everything I'd bought. It was a treat to just be home and have time to get ready for the coming week. The end.

Week 45 - Conference and Furniture

It felt like a busy week. Well, maybe it was more different than busy. 

I had a conference on Tuesday and Wednesday but it was in Lincoln near campus so you'd think it wouldn't be disruptive but it was. It was the Women Advance IT Conference and it was good with good speakers and breakout sessions. I even reconnected with someone I worked with decades ago at Brown, which was fun. She overheard when I was talking to one of the keynote speakers who was from Rhode Island. I got to Wahoo at 5:15 on Tuesday night and was able to buy some Wahoo Wieners at the Locker. Nice.

The conference was over at 3:45 on Wednesday but I stayed to hear the university's new president speak. He won't technically be the president for 30 days but I wanted to hear him speak. Another Rhode Islander! What are the chances? I introduced myself afterwards and we talked RI for a minute. I was there long enough that it was too late to swim. Oh well. I'm looking for any excuse to skip these days.

There is construction in downtown Lincoln that has the road between campus and the highway closed and it took me 30 minutes to go 4 blocks so I started going out towards the end of the day and moving my car to the other side of campus, which is still only a block from my office but allows me to leave heading north and bypass the blocked road. It should only be for one more week. Hopefully.

I finally made some progress on getting new insurance. My old Horace Mann agent, who no longer works for them, emailed so I got some quotes. I will be saving 40% on both my house and car with Progressive. The only thing I need to do is decide what to do about the latest ding in my hatch before I switch. Now to get an estimate. Still, it's progress and I'm looking forward to not having Horace Mann anymore. Sad, after 40+ years with them. Oh well.

I finally was getting my weekend with no plans so ran all my errands after swimming on Friday (yes, I went and with a better attitude than last week) and headed home. I had a lovely morning on Saturday sitting in the sun and knitting then hit the garage. It was almost 70 degrees and my goal was to get the desk out of the back of the garage so Hoot and Sadie's (the local chalk painting shop) could pick it up. It was blocked in by all kinds of crap so I had some slogging to do. I filled my trash can with junk and reorganized a bit but got the desk out and cleaned up a bit. I also added a ladder that I'd bought there and never used and a bulletin board. When I was done in the garage (thwarted by the full garbage can), I planted some bulbs and 2 perennials I'd bought in April (so typical for me) and then drained the hoses and put them away for the winter. With all that done, I took a shower and felt great with my progress, especially because the weather was due to change drastically on Sunday.

Sunday was my typical chore day but Lorri was coming over at 2:00 for tea and a catch up. I did my laundry and had some hanging on the line before I headed to the high school for take out turkey dinner from their annual Project Close Up dinner. As usual, it was enough food for multiple meals. Lorri and I were enjoying stollen bread pudding (made with the last stollen I had from last Christmas) and tea when she jumped up and said it was 4:20 and she had to go. I couldn't believe we'd chatted so long and it ends up we hadn't. She'd forgotten to set her watch back so when I realized the real time, I got busy in the front room. I added an end table to the Hoot and Sadie's pile and moved the yarn wardrobe and my yarn tree so the room looks much better. Nice!

By mid-afternoon, the weather had changed to cold, damp and windy so I ended up having to dry the clothes that I'd left on the line too long. Oh well. I didn't do any cooking since I had so much turkey dinner and Wahoo Wieners to a few suppers so I could fill in from the freezer. The weather was going to be brutal for the coming week so I'd be holing up. It's too early but I have hope for some moderation. Having bailed on Thanksgiving at Connie's, I hope to get more done outside over those 4 days. Wish me luck.

Week 44 - Better Each Day

It's never a good thing when you start the week with a hinky stomach. Yup, my stomach was off on Monday morning and I sat in my chair wondering if I should call in. Not a chance. Until something jettisons itself out of my body, I just feel too guilty so I got dressed and went to work.

My stomach felt fine by mid-morning, just in time for the email from Connie saying her conference had been cancelled due to the wildfires. So after all the drama over the tiny house, we wouldn't be going anyway. Of course I'd just bought my ticket to Rhode Island for Christmas the night before so my $350 Southwest credit will have to go for another trip. I got a full refund on the Alcatraz tickets too, no questions asked. Connie had to fight with AirBnB but got a full refund from them too. Oddly, I wasn't upset at all about not going. These days I just want to be home.

On another down note, Pie's mouth was stuck open again. I thought I had gotten it shut on Tuesday night and I may have but it was open again on Wednesday. I got it shut after work when snow drove her inside but was worried that it would start happening more often. As of this writing 10 days later, she's been fine. Aging isn't easy on cats or humans.

I was super conflicted about Halloween. I went home Tuesday night and trimmed the crabapple where it blocked the sidewalk but had no intention of trimming by my front door. The tree is still in recovery mode from the insane pruning of the wheel chair man a few years ago so I'd decided not to do Halloween because the kids wouldn't be able to get to my front step for candy. But as the week wore on, I just couldn't do it. On Thursday I came up with the plan to sit in the driveway with a fire in my firepit and hand out candy from there. I ran to Walgreens at lunch and bought 4 bags of candy and was set up in my driveway by 6:30 with a fire, candy, knitting and an adult beverage. It was pretty darn cold so people appreciated the fire and it kept me toasty until I went inside at 8:00. I had about 25 kids, which was probably down due to the cold. Regardless, I'm glad I participated and this might be my new Halloween plan.

Despite the Halloween success and a nice lunch with Layton at Cracker Barrel, where he rarely agrees to eat, I was cranky as all get out by the end of the day Friday. I went to swimming but with a super crappy attitude, venting to Carol about all the ways I hate swimming, which I do. She vowed to turn my mood around and she did. I apologized at the end of class. After a quick Aldi run, I was home for the weekend.

This was the weekend I'd been looking forward to just being home but Helen, my cousin who I seldom see, had asked if I wanted to go to a Christmas market in a nearby small town. I immediately agreed and we met there at 10:00. The plan had been to shop then have lunch at the local restaurant, which I've been dying to try, but it was a game day and with the game at 2:00, the restaurant was packed for a Husker party. Nope! After buying nothing and failing on lunch, we stopped at gift shop out in the country (nothing there either) before heading to my house. After catching up, we went to Mocha C's for chicken salad croissants. Helen knows the owners so they chatted away well past closing. By the time I got home, the day was shot. I did manage to finish the dishes though so had Sunday yet to get things done.

I've had a daunting to do list since getting back from my trip and haven't managed to make a dent. So Sunday I started slogging through the spare room. I have entire wardrobes for 20 pounds less than what I weigh now and 20 pounds less than that. The piles of clothes were out of control so I shuffled some yarn to free up 2 medium sized totes and started culling. I was cut throat but got it down to 2 totes – one for each size. It will be a start if I lose weight again and is now a manageable amount. I loaded 4 enormous bags of clothes into the car and then brought in plant stands and got the plants I'd brought in to overwinter all situated, which felt good. It was a good way to end the week after its less than ideal start. I'll take it!

Week 43 - Some Iowa Fun

It was a good week with bouts of productivity, Taco Tuesday, a yarn score and some travel fun on the weekend.

I started the week with a marathon of getting things done over lunch on Monday. I hit UPS to ship another box of yarn to my sister, dropped all the peanut butter UAAD members had donated at the food bank, got gas and went to the bread store. In an hour. Can I get a hallelujah? And the productivity kept up during the week, with me full on adulting by chipping away each night at my pre-cleaning lady neatizing so I wasn't slamming the night before. Nice.

A bunch of us from work went out for Taco Tuesday on, duh!, Tuesday. We usually do our FAC on Thursdays but since we were going to a new taco place by campus, we did Tuesday. It was fun to hang out with work friends outside of work. We should do it more often.

On the yarn front, I continue to sell yarn. A lot of yarn. I don't know if it's the cooler weather or what but I'm shipping 3-4 packages per week. And since my PayPal balance was over $150, I decided it was time to buy some yarn. I know, I don't NEED it but I got a great deal on someone's sock yarn leftovers. Unfortunately they're coming from Lithuania so it'll be awhile before they arrive. I didn't notice that when I bought them.

I am struggling with swimming these days. I really hate going. I hate the pool, which is too shallow, cold and we only have one lane to work in. I hate that I don't have a locker so have to schlepp all my stuff. I just hate it all. I did go Wednesday but could not bear going on Friday. When we decided to leave at 4:45, that was reason enough to skip. It was nice being home by 5:30.

Saturday was a Des Moines run with Andrea, who had bought something on Goodwill auctions that needed to be picked up. That was in the northwest suburbs and our other destination was West Elm (downtown) so I'd mapped out some thrift shops on the way. We hit Goodwill first to pick up the quilt frame and found a few things there but the other thrifts weren't really thrifts at all. Little did I know that our route was through Des Moines' ritzy neighborhood so the things I'd found were super fancy full of soul-less cast off furniture donated by rich people who redecorate constantly. Ick! From there we hit a skanky and overpriced Salvation Army before finding another Goodwill by chance, where we found more good stuff. So much for all my internet research.

But I had a personal recommendation for lunch at Zombie Burger, which was conveniently right across from West Elm. We put in our names (they'd text when our table was ready) and I got the stocking stuffers I was after at West Elm and then did some other stocking stuffer shopping in the nearby shops. I especially liked Raytown. Our late lunch was delish - deep fried Brussels sprouts, garlic and blue cheese fries and a burger, all of which we split. We shopped a bit more but then headed home, getting to Omaha in time to hit Trader Joe's and Aldi. It was a fun day that also felt productive. Nice.

After such a long Saturday, I holed up on Sunday, which is always lovely even if it is just chores and getting ready for the coming week. No projects got done but there'd be other weekends for that. I'm just hoping for one that's warm enough to make a dent in my garage. With the wackadoo fall we've had, it's looking iffy but I live in hope.