Week 52 - Another Covid Christmas

Well, it was another covid Christmas but I made the best of it and managed some fun.

Since we'd been given the extra 2 days added to break, a few of us were going into the office on Tuesday since we'd all be home on Wednesday and Cindy and I were hosting lunch. I had baked cookies on Sunday but was also taking a loaf of bread and cottage cheese dip so got those ready on Monday before taking some cookies to knitting. After that, I wrapped the presents I'd be taking to my work friends. I also got completely ready to be up and out on Tuesday, set my alarm and went to bed.

It did well getting to work at 8:00 (all that prep worked) and, as usual, it felt weird to be in the office and it was really my first full day working in the new office. If there'd been work going on. I'd sent an invite for coffee and a spit test for 9:30 but Starbuck's was closed so it was just spitting for the last test of the semester because why not? I spent the rest of the morning training a new employee so that I could say I'd gotten some work done and then it was time for lunch. There were only 8 of us in and it was great to sit around, chatting over yummy food. When we were pretty much all done eating, the Vice Chancellor popped in to say goodbye since he's leaving UNL for a new job. He was super chatty and was still the boss so we visited for another hour then told us we could leave early. Nice. I took a walk with Dodie, came back for half an hour and then was done for 11 glorious days.

My plan was to get a shingles shot on the way home and I'd made an appointment at Walgreen's but they wanted $130 for the shot and had a list of charges, which included a drug deductible. Well if I have to pay that much, you can bet your butt I'll do it in January so it counts towards 2022's deductible so I'd wasted precious time and headed straight home without grocery shopping, which had been the plan. Starting break was more important.

I had 3 days of leisure before Christmas. Glorious! I spent the mornings knitting in the sun with cats on my lap, did some final shopping, dyed some yarn and cooked a turkey dinner. I also sent pics of my angry incision to my doctor and they called me in a prescription. Yes, it could be infected and with the holiday weekend, we didn't want to take any chances. I picked up a few groceries at the local market after the pharmacy. 

It was so warm on Friday that I called Lori and suggested a walk with her dog at the lake so she came in from Omaha. After a lovely walk, we had tea on my deck and were perfectly comfortable until we lost the sun. I think it was in the low 60's. It was a lovely way to spend Christmas Eve. After she went home, I put together the turkey tetrazzini I'd take to Anne's on Christmas. I also finished my advent striped socks just in time to wear them on Christmas Day. Perfect.

I had 3 stockings to open from my sisters and Carolyn and they all did a great job. As usual, there was lots of Goodwill yarn, including some sock yarn, from Dottie. Yay! I made some calls to thank everyone and headed to Anne's. We ate the yummy tetrazzini (if I do say so myself) and then walked her friend's dog (the friend was out of town for Christmas) before renting Belfast. Great movie and it was nice to watch it while knitting in front of a fire. So a nice Christmas despite being in Nebraska because of covid. It's good to have friends.

I can't remember what I did on Sunday but there were some chats with friends, more knitting in the sun and eating some turkey for sure. I had made a list of possible projects for break but there'd be time for that next week. I hope you all had a nice Christmas.

Week 51 - Packages and Socks

It was another package day on Monday. My last package was picked up and four arrived. How's that for a great way to start a week? As if that wasn't enough, I got an email from Tracie of Grocery Girls (my favorite knitting podcast) saying I'd won a prize. I don't know what it will be but I'm sure it'll be fun.

One of the packages that arrived was the skein of advent sock yarn I'd ordered. Advent skeins are designed with 24 different colors so you can knit one stripe each day and have new socks by Christmas. But I bought mine late so figured I'd knit 2 stripes/day and have a pair by epiphany. Then I started knitting and was having so much fun that I decided to do 4/day to get them done by Christmas. By Saturday night the first sock was done. Yay! I also finished 3 other pairs of socks, including the Christmas socks I'd started on the cruise. That deserves another Yay!

We had weird weather on Wednesday but since it was in the 70's, as troublesome as that is, I took advantage of it and met Lorri in the park for lunch. The sun wasn't out so it wasn't exactly balmy but still warm enough and I do enjoy our lunches in the park - one good thing that came out of Covid. Say what? But lunch was the calm before the storm. Literally. I taught from 1:30-3:00 and shortly thereafter, the weather changed for the worse. Tornado sirens went off and I was in the basement with the cats. We never lost power and the storm was over in 5 minutes. The temp dropped 20 degrees and the sky was an ominous yellow but it was over. At least for us. I saw a few trees down in the neighborhood the next morning but poor Kentucky. And so close to Christmas.

I had my neck lump removal scheduled Thursday at 11:30 WAY down south in Lincoln. I had considered going into the office but didn't so headed to the dermatologist after our 10:00 zoom. The surgery was super quick and after the first 2 jabs, I didn't feel anything. I left just after noon, stopped at Aldi and and HyVee, where I scored a cheap turkey. Then it was on to Anne's to eat the Panera salad I'd picked up. After that yummy lunch, I helped Anne do the heel on another Christmas stocking. I'd helped her on the cruise but she needed help again, which I was glad to give. I had considered running more errands but instead headed home for a cup of tea as the sun went down. Nice.

Friday was Ben and Brook's last day since they were both taking Monday and Tuesday off. The day didn't drag, which is a good thing for a Friday and I had no commitments on the weekend so would be staying in and getting things done.

I had a big to do list but spent most of Saturday sitting in the sun knitting. Oh well. I made up for it on Sunday, getting a few chores done but mostly baking cookies while listening to Christmas music. Cindy and I are hosting lunch on Tuesday for the few people who are coming in and cookies and homemade bread are my contribution. I made peanut butter blossoms, brownies and almond fingers. I had a bit of a snafu with the first batch of brownies, stumped with figuring out the equivalent to "2 squares" of baking chocolate when they're not squares anymore. The first batch had half the chocolate so was super sweet and not chocolaty enough but the 2nd batch was fine. I ended the day watching Elf, which I'd never seen before. Totally cute.

I'm heading into a two day work week so made a list of potential projects to do over break. I had decided to cook the turkey on Wednesday instead of this weekend so that'll be a fun way to start my break. I'm excited for break, as always. I hope your Christmas prep is going well now that we're in the home stretch. Have a Merry Christmas.

Week 50 - More Christmas Prep

The week started with my packages being picked up and me making a batch of egg nog bread pudding to take to Monday Night Knitting and the Christmas prep just kept going.

I put up my tree Tuesday evening. It's the smallest (and most expensive) tree I've ever had but putting the ornaments on brought some of the branches down so it looked great when it was all done and I love the granny square tree skirt my sister made me. Of course I fiddled with the ornaments for the rest of the week until it was just perfect. I love my little tree!

I trained on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and in between, Wednesday was a busy day. Not only was I going to campus but I'd made plans to meet Darla for breakfast at 7:00 so had to get up at 5:30. Wow! We had a lovely time and the HyVee breakfast was so huge that I took enough for lunch in a to go box. That worked because I hadn't brought lunch and had errands to run, which included picking up yarn I'd ordered. I'd bought one skein in the Knit Lincoln series that was inspired by Architecture Hall on campus but then bought a coordinating skein when I got there. I couldn't resist. Isn't it pretty?

My mission at work was to finish moving to my new office, which took up most of my day so I didn't get monthly reports done until almost 5:00. But I was all moved in and could head home. I stopped at HyVee for some of the things I can't get at Aldi, including some fried chicken for dinner, which I'd been craving for a long time. I was happy to get into my jammies and watch Survivor while I ate.

It was a joy to be working from home again and the rest of the week flew by. I had one more pair of socks to get in the mail so that was my focus in non-work hours but I wasn't enjoying the knit. I had no plans on the weekend so would just power through.

I woke up to our first snow on Saturday morning, which was pretty and not enough to be a problem. I had 3" on my deck but my driveway was blown clear, which meant I didn't have to shovel to head to the Lutheran church for their cookie sale. I bought a pound of cookies and then was home for the duration. I spent the day knitting and streaming Star Trek Discovery. I finished the socks on Saturday then soaked them and hung them in the tub to dry. It was bright and sunny on Sunday so they finished drying outside. I packed them up and scheduled a pick up for Monday. It was my last package to ship so I was happy to be done with that. Now I could relax a bit and enjoy some no pressure knitting. 

Week 49 - All About Christmas

 I woke up Monday and cancelled my Christmas trip ticket before breakfast. I had already made the decision to stay home and safe for Christmas so it was time to cancel. With that done, I was ready for re-entry to work and to start plugging away at the Christmas to do list I'd made on Sunday.

I made it through my first day back at work and took an at home covid test at 5:00 (48 hours from leaving the airport), which came back negative so I was good to go to knitting. Yay! Now to get going on Christmas.

First up was shopping in downtown Wahoo when I went to get my grab and go lunch on Tuesday. I found a few things for Carolyn and bought a few groceries at The Warehouse, which would get me through to the weekend when I could grocery shop. Nice. I trained all afternoon so the day went quickly. I normally cook on Tuesday nights but with minimal groceries in the house, I ate some baked ziti from the freezer. I had thought I'd thawed eggplant parm so was disappointed but survived.

Wednesday was my first one back on campus but it started with a cortisone shot in my thumb. I was at the ortho at 8:30, dropped the charity hats I'd knitted on a friend's porch to include with the donations for the elementary school his department adopts every year, dropped books at the Library Commission and was at work shortly after 9:00 for a get together for one of the accountants who was leaving UNL. It was great to see people in person and then it was on to our 10:00 team zoom. Shortly after, it was time to pick Dodie up for lunch at Cracker Barrel. I'd parked at a meter all morning and so parked in a garage for the afternoon. I spent the afternoon doing monthly reports, finishing right at the end of the day, when I drove my boss to his car to offload the circular saw from my garage that I was gifting him. Then it was on to Menard's, where Darla was meeting me to help me pick out my trees. I had sticker shock but got my trees - one for the deck and one for outside - plus a wreath and a gorgeous poinsettia. We spent so long chatting in the parking lot that I skipped grocery shopping in favor of getting home in time for Survivor. How's that for crossing things off?

It was unseasonably warm on Thursday so I put up my deck tree over lunch after getting back from doing a huge cash deposit from the Friends of the Library holiday decoration sale. I only managed to get it up but the decorating only took 5 minutes at 5:00 because it's just a single string of white lights and red bows. My deck tree brings me joy and will stay up long past winter. I ate the rest of the ziti and headed to the library for book club at 6:30. We had a good discussion and then chatted on the sidewalk so I got home later than I'd planned but you have to take advantage of the warmer weather while it's here.

I was determined to finish my shopping on Friday so started work early and worked through lunch so Andrea and I could leave for Omaha at 3:30. We started at Trader Joe's then went to World Market, where my goal was to fill in the gaps on Carolyn's stocking. I did great there, so much so that we skipped 5 Below. I wanted to hit Dollar Tree for some Christmas picks for my outdoor pots but couldn't find the one I'd looked up online (obviously not well) so we went to Aldi. I did a big stock up since I'd cleared my food out before my cruise and hadn't shopped since. We were home just after 8:00 and I was happy to be done with my Christmas shopping.

My goal for the weekend was wrapping, packing and shipping my stocking boxes. I briefly considered slamming through it to get at least one in Saturday's mail but I talked myself down from that idiocy so I could enjoy it. After a couple of catch up phone calls in the morning, I headed to the library in hopes of finding the fake Christmas flower picks I'd failed to get. It was a bag sale so I found a few picks and then a few other festive things to fill my bag. I used the picks and cuttings from both of my trees to make pots for the front and side doors. After lunch, I blazed up some Christmas tunes and wrapped one lot of presents. Then I finished my sister's mittens, which were the last knitting for stockings. I might have done more but my neighbor who fosters kittens invited me over for some kitten fun, which was a wonderful way to end the day. 

On Sunday, I wrapped and packed the rest of the stocking stuff, having to go out again to buy a battery for my scale. By the end of the day, my boxes were ready and I had a pick up scheduled for Monday. My inside tree was up but not decorated but I was feeling good about my progress. I hope your holiday prep is going well and that you find some joy in getting ready. With the heat was off for me, I plan to enjoy the rest of the holiday season. Ho ho ho!

Week 48 - A Thanksgiving Cruise

What to say about a week of relaxation interspersed with adventures in ports?

I'll start with the ship time. We found a spot on deck 3 (Promenade) where we plunked ourselves in deck chairs and knitted the days away, leaving only to eat. And eat. And eat! We mostly ate at the informal buffet (you'd point and staff would dish the food) but did get breakfast a few times and dinner twice in the fancy main dining room. We also partook of afternoon tea several times. We did do walk the promenade deck a couple of times (4 laps was a mile) to break up the knitting. In the evenings, we watched movies in our cabin. Yesterday (the Beatles themed movie) and lots of period dramas. There was knitting and snacking during the movies, of course.

We got to San Juan at dinner time on Monday so ate early and then were off the ship. We walked around and checked out the Christmas lights, planning our next day as we went. We found a smoothie stand so enjoyed pina colada smoothies before hitting Marshall's for a straw hat for me. Our last stop was Walgreen's to replenish our M&M's. 

We hadn't booked an excursion so hit the tourist office first thing Tuesday and then set out on our own. We went to the closest fort and then walked to the other one. It was SO hot and humid. We stopped along the way to sit in the shade and drink water. We opted not to go inside the 2nd fort, despite our ticket from the first fort being good there too, because it was just too hot and the walk up to it was long. We checked out the cathedral then went back to our smoothie stand to cool down before heading outside the wall to walk along the water. Surprisingly there was some shade on that walk but we were still exhausted and depleted after so much time in the sun so we headed back to the ship for a swim. It felt wonderful! After sitting by the pool knitting (and I had the one and only drink I had on the ship - a blended strawberry daiquiri) it was time for a shower and dinner. It was a lovely day.

Wednesday was St. Thomas and we'd booked an excursion to Magens Bay beach via a mountaintop where we could take pics. We had 2 hours on the beach so did some walking, quite a bit of swimming and I sat in the shade happily knitting. After nipping back to the ship to change, we headed back out and did some shopping. The grocery store was a bust - no different than at home - but Anne bought some Crocs and we got another smoothie before going back just before sailing time. 

Thursday was another ship day for Thanksgiving. After another relaxing day, someone mentioned that the main dining room, where were were planning to eat dinner despite having to dress up (sea days are gala dress nights), didn't have mashed potatoes. That being Anne's favorite food, we decided to eat at the buffet. Along with said mashed potatoes, they did serve turkey and stuffing but it wasn't how I wanted it so there will be a homemade turkey dinner in the near future chez moi.

Friday was our last day and we were going to a private island for more beach time. Having already gotten plenty of sun, I found a chaise in the shade while Anne sat in the sun. We went a bit early for the huge BBQ they put on and it's a good thing we did because it started spitting rain as we got back to the beach. This is what it looks like when sand sticks to raindrops on your skin. By the time we got to the tender to go back to the ship, it was pouring. So it was a short beach day but we still had fun and it was nice to take a warm shower and get into dry clothes. It was our last night on the ship. How did that happen? We packed, put our suitcases outside for pick up and went to bed.

We had gotten the latest time available to get off the ship but even so, we were off just after 9:00 and ubered to the airport. Since our flight wasn't due to leave until 6:10 pm, we decided it was worth every penny to pay and extra $150 each to take a morning flight, which was even direct with no plane change in DC. Perfect! We were boarding group C so sat apart for the first leg but sat together with an empty middle seat for the 2nd. We stopped at HyVee to buy milk and an at home Covid test for me and I was in my house before I would have even left Florida. Totally worth the money!

I unpacked Sunday, did laundry and generally caught up. With that done, I went right into Christmas mode and started making lists. The cruise was fun but it felt great to be home too and I had a busy week ahead. Time to get holiday ready with Christmas in less than a month. Ho ho ho!