Week 23 - Heat is Here

As far as the new normal goes, it was a pretty average week but with a few high points. High points these days have become simple things that involve leaving the house and seeing actual people. Here are my stories... dum dum dum (do you get the reference?)

Heat had set in but it had been so cold for so long that the bugs weren't out yet. When Heidi offered to host Monday Night Knitting in her yard, we all agreed. It was warm but not unpleasant and I got to see actual people in person. That's a joyful thing these days.

Another joyful thing was my first haircut in months at 8:30 Tuesday morning. I had requested the first appointment of the day but Jay did one better and I was in the chair before they opened. Since I had been sporting a Covid mullet since trimming my bangs myself, it felt WONDERFUL to have summer short hair again. I felt like a new woman.

Maybe that new woman feeling was why I got dressed Wednesday morning and was walking within 10 minutes of getting up. Yes, I was walking my neighborhood at 6:05 a.m. It was going to be another scorcher so first thing in the morning was the only option. I was stiff as all get out at first but limbered up after a bit and didn't hate it. I have to get more exercise and this was a first step. Literally. I was home, showered and back in my nightie by 7:00 for breakfast while watching CBS This Morning. Nice.

On another happy note, I'd sold a bunch of yarn (shipped it out on Monday) so used the money to buy more yarn. I had asked the buyer if she'd buy it for me, which wouldn't break my yarn diet, but she wasn't comfortable doing that so I used the money she paid to buy some myself figuring I was still OK. While looking at yarn for sale on Ravelry, I found 2 listings for yarn that was free if I paid shipping. Score! I got some bamboo sock yarn from one listing and a big bunch of leftovers (my favorite yarn score for use in monster socks) that I'll share with the Monday Night Knitters next time we do a monster sock swap. 

It would be great to say this is where I stopped but I did buy one more skein of sock yarn so I guess my cold sheeping (a yarn diet) was broken but I'll call it a lapse and not completely blown. At least I made it 5 months without buying yarn, which is saying something because my 2 exemptions - travel and thrift store yarn - have been non-existent for months. The yarn I bought was enabled by the Grocery Girls podcast, which had been my go to streaming for the past few weeks at least. These Canadian sisters have been my surrogate friends during lock down and even more so since it's been too hot to be outside. in the 90's and humid all week. Blech!

I had a fun day on Saturday. I headed to Lincoln with a list of errands. I needed a new hinge for one of my kitchen cabinet doors, which I failed to get at the hardware store so had to brave Lowe's, had a list for HyVee (groceries) and between those I hung out at Anne's. She had made scones so I brought my tea and we chatted and knitted for a few hours, which was a treat. I even popped into Goodwill on the way to HyVee (my last stop) and scored some yarn for my sister. It was still hotter than Hades but despite that, I went home and mowed. In the dress I'd been wearing all day. I was dripping with sweat and stayed hot for 30 minutes after showering but it was done. I was ready for Sunday inside.

Despite being in AC and cool enough to cook, I did absolutely no cooking all week. I had lunches sorted but after eating pasta Monday and Tuesday for supper, I lost all interest in cooking so ate absolute crap for dinner for the rest of the week. I'm talking cheese and crackers, cocoa krispies and chips and salsa. Not good! So I spent Sunday like I did when I was going into work - doing chores. I did all my laundry, cleaned up the kitchen, cleared out the fridge and did some cooking. I made cheesy baked cauliflower with crab cakes for dinners, cuke salad to go with ham sammies for lunches and made banana bread to share. This would be enough to break the cycle of eating crap and I had some to share with Andrea.

So all in all, a good week and I felt prepared for a good week to come. The heat was supposed to break mid-week and I was looking forward to that. It's the little things these days. Now to get busy getting more exercise. : )