Week 43 - Last Busy Week

Like most of this month, this week was busy and ended with a mini road trip. All fun but after weeks with no downtime, also exhausting. I do hope this is my last busy week for awhile.

I took Helen to lunch for her birthday on Monday. I don't see enough of Helen so it was fun to catch up over Mexican food. I got DQ after knitting that night, which is always a treat. All this made for a nice start to the week.

Monday was also Boss' Day but since we wouldn't see Ben until Wednesday, I had volunteered to make Twix cookies, after learning last week that Twix was Ben's favorite candy bar. I'd found a recipe online and had bought a bag of Twix at Aldi so was good to go. My plan to make them at lunch on Tuesday was thwarted when I saw that the dough had to be chilled for at least 2 hours, which the recipe specifically said should not be skipped. I put the dough in the fridge and waited until after work. They were a total pain to form (should have formed them before chilling) and then the caramel made it hard to get them off the sheet. But it was only in the 40's so having the oven on felt good and I put homemade pizza in as soon as the cookies were done. Yum!

The cookies were a big hit on Wednesday and a bunch of us were going to Tico's for magueritas and nachos after work so I had that to look forward to. I decided to skip lunch, eating leftover pizza at my desk, so I could leave at 4:30 but that made the afternoon drag. My solution was a visit to Dodie in her new office, which broke up the afternoon nicely. Tico's was fun and with a belly full of nachos, I was home in time for Survivor. Another nice day.

I woke up Thursday feeling, as my mom would say, punk - low energy and mood. I wondered how I could call in but I don't do mental health days (I feel too guilty) so logged on at 8:00. It didn't take long for me to decide to use vacation time to take the afternoon off. Knowing that made it easier to get through the morning. After eating my weekly grab and go for lunch, I cleaned up all the pans from my cookie baking then headed downstairs to make some project bags. I had the idea to make Halloween project bags for my friends but the 1st one was a total hack job and I fixed all my problems with the 2nd bag but it wasn't big enough. Done with that. The afternoon was very restorative so worth the 4 hours of vacation time.

Friday was busy at work and the day flew by. When the clock struck 5:00, I put on my sneakers and headed to the lake, stopping for birdseed at Bomgaar's on the way. I downloaded a pedometer app (didn't know about iHealth) and spent the next 45 minutes walking across the jetty and back. Just shy of 2 miles and nearly 4k steps. Not bad and a great start to the weekend.

Saturday was a fun day. I picked Andrea up at 8:15 and we headed to Lori's in Omaha for a mini road trip with her and her cousin Michelle, who used to knit with us.After driving through Scooter's for coffee, we did the 3 hour ride to the Missouri Star Quilting Company in Hamilton, Missouri, arriving at noon. There are a dozen or so different shops, each one specializing in one type of fabric. We shopped the first few then went looking for lunch but every restaurant we tried was closed so we ended up at the only open one, which was a toy store/tea shop with a seriously limited menu. It was yummy and they brought our food out on multi level plates. We then finished the rest of the stores, which are an entire side of one block, with shops upstairs too. We finished right at 5:00 when they all closed. We'd all found fun things to buy and headed north towards Lori's, eating scones Lori had made in the car. I was home at 9:00, had a bowl of cereal and went to bed.

I slept until 8:00 on Sunday, which is late for me, and then had a relaxing day. The weather was nuts again - high 80's and very windy. I believe we broke a heat records set in the 1800's, so I spent the day hiding inside where it was cool. I talked to my sister, knitted, of course, and caught up on my blog while watching podcasts on YouTube. I cobbled together meals that didn't require the oven (too bad I just ate the last casseroles from the freezer) and settled in for an evening of PBS. 

So my month of weekend commitments is done and I'm happy about that. Everything I did was fun but I'm ready to hunker down and get some stuff done in the house. We have 2 more weeks before the clocks change (why are we still doing that?) so I plan to get more walks in after work. It's a nice way to end the day and I need the exercise. Here's hoping I actually do it because talk is cheap, right?

Week 42 - Fun in Fremont

This was supposed to be an off week without commitments but you know me - when something fun comes up, it's hard to say no. But the work week was pretty quiet and I made more progress in the house before my busy weekend.

Like I said, it was a quiet week. Work was extra quiet when we arrived to find that none of the accountants were in, having come in Monday instead. I had lunch at one of the dorms with Jennifer, who used to work in Accounting before they were sucked up by Central Administration and moved across campus. I got some yarn that I'd ordered awhile ago from the UK - gorgeous! The weather was crazy - back in the 80's and so windy once the fall temps came back that I had to hang my laundry in the basement for fear that it'd blow off the line. Sheesh!

My going through stuff mojo was still strong so I spent several evenings in the kitchen annd back room. I cleared off the chest under the side windows, inventoried the freezer (I'd done the basement freezer a few weeks ago but not upstairs) and made a dent in the crap that always collects on the bar. Not bad. Just a bit more to go through to finish the back room.

Saturday was the first ever Gallery Walk in downtown Fremont and Heidi, Andrea and I were going. Heidi was heading to Omaha afterwards so met us at the Restore, where Andrea bought a mid-century modern record/hifi cabinet and I found a few goodies. Then we headed to Main Street. There was a map of all the locations with art, some of which was paintings and such but some was musicians, and if you got 10 stamps on your map, you got a free drink. We had fun shopping all the stores, where I got some fabric scraps for my crumb quilt and quite a few stocking stuffers. Nice. We ate snacky things along the way - cookies, mini muffins, popcorn and such - but ended the day with a free beer at a brewery. We'd bumped into Nan and her husband so they joined us outside for beer in the sun. After a trip to Aldi, we headed home. I was starving and had nothing ready so ordered BK from the car for supper. 

I was up in the wee hours unable to sleep and with most of my chores already done, I was ready to veg on Sunday but that was not to be. We were having a killing frost overnight so I had to deal with my plants. I overwinter geraniums and lantana each year so had some decisions to make. I spent all afternoon setting up shelves, repotting plants and picking the last of my garden produce. I was also saving some geraniums from planters at the library so drove there to dig those up. I was exhausted by the end of the day but my plants were all safe inside and ready for winter.

I'm ready to hunker down myself. The weather has been all over the place lately but I have high hopes for a nice fall and some time at home. I only have one more event in October and then can be home for the long haul. Sounds great to me.

Week 41 - Stromsburg Spinning Retreat

It was a nice week with quite a bit of socializing during the week and then was capped off with our annual spinning retreat, which this year was at Spindle, Shuttle and Needle yarn shop and wool mill in Stromsburg. But before I get into Saturday, here's what went on during the week.

One of the things I found when sorting through my death pile last week was a stack of recipes that I intended to write into my keepers recipe binder, one of which was Firecracker Brownies. We'd had a brownie bake off in the office years ago and my old supervisor from my HR days had brought these, which were his mom's favorite brownie recipe. They didn't win but I thought they were the best entry so had asked for the recipe, which he gave me on paper. Ick. Anyway, when my friend Lorri asked me to come to lunch at her house on Tuesday, I offered to bake these. They were delish and we had a lovely lunch on the deck but it got me thinking. 

I worked with a woman named Lila at Brown and her brownie recipe has been my go to for decades. Since I wanted to compare them to the Firecracker Brownies, I made a pan Tuesday night and brought them both to work to have people do a taste test. Well, it was totally inconclusive with votes split pretty evenly. I left with a plan to combine the 2 recipes because I prefer using cocoa but also wanted less sugar. I'll share the results when I get to that.

Here's the recipe for Lila's Brownies if you want to try them.

2 squares baking choc

1/3 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

½ cup flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp vanilla

½ cup chopped walnuts

 

Put butter and chocolate into microwave to melt. Beat eggs into sugar until creamy. Add melted choc/butter and mix. Add in rest of ingredients and mix. Pour into greased 8x8” pan and bake 25 mins at 350.

After the brownie taste test, I had a nice lunch with Dodie at Bison Witches, which is going to be our new lunch place. Yay! I heard from Honda that my rebate was approved and then went to Aldi after work. I went home for Survivor and enjoyed tetrazzini, which was my last casserole from the freezer, with wine for supper. It was all delish but I don't know if it was too much rich food in one day or what but I was up in the wee hours puking. : (

On that note, let's move onto spinning. Since I was going to Stromsburg for the retreat, I decided that I should take the sheep fleece I had in the basement and have it spun. I had gotten it years ago from one of the ITS programmers I worked with whose dad was a meat sheep farmer who had no use for the fleeces. I had prepped some of it years ago and it was worthy of spinning but I have no plans to spin anytime soon so called the mill owner to ask about options. When I found out she could blend it with nylon so I could use it to knit socks, I was in. I was afraid of what I'd find but when I pulled the bag out from under the basement stairs but it was fine. I spent lunch hour on Friday sorting the poopy bits out and ended up with a big bag of yarn to drop off. It won't be ready until February but I'm excited to get it. I'll have fun dyeing it with Kool Aid for sure.

The actual retreat was fun. Janet came to my house and Andrea picked us up. We stopped for coffee at a wonderful, little coffee shop in Osceola and got to Stromsburg right at 10:00. Other spinners were late so we were delayed getting started dyeing but I spent that time choosing yarn, sock of course, to buy from her shop. We did a bunch of dyeing using all different techniques, walked down the block for a yummy lunch at the cafe (burger and tots - my fave) then went back for a tour of the mill. After a stop at the grocery store on the square, which has all kinds of fun Swedish items, we headed home. It was a long day but fun and look at the fabulous yarn I dyed!

Sunday was a catch up day of chores and cooking plus some knitting on my cousin's birthday socks. I'd been on the lookout for a baker's rack to use in front of my slider this winter for overwintering my plants and starting seeds. I found one on Facebook, contacted the seller and drove to Cedar Bluffs to pick it up. It was perfect and even folded up. The trip there and back only took an hour so didn't take too big of a chunk out of my day. Totally worth it

Fun week! Baking, yarn, friends... all good. And I have several pounds of yarn to look forward to this winter. Maybe it'll be ready to make it a birthday trip to Stromsburg but that's a long way off. I hope you are all enjoying the cooler weather as much as I am. Happy fall.

Week 40 - Goodbye Death Pile

Am I the only one with a death pile? What I mean by that is a stack of paperwork and such that is long overdue for dealing with yet sits untouched. Well I had a doozie of a death pile, that was a mix of current stuff and ancient. And now it's ALL DONE.

There were some big deal items in there - the Honda rebate for my bum transmission in spring 2021 that I'd never submitted and a year's worth of medical bills to get reimbursed for from my flex account. Dealing with both of those meant $3k more in my checking account. But there were also lots of little things including a URI sticker I'd had since 1994 that is now on my car window and a couple of articles I'd clipped when I still living in RI (I've been in Nebraska since 1996) that I sent to a friend. Those are just examples but there was lots more. I plugged away at the pile and when I mailed a package at lunch on Friday, it was officially done. It was a huge relief and a load off my mind. Yes, I know I am an idiot for letting that stuff wait so long. Oh well.

The week started with skipping knitting on Monday to go to a tax meeting at the school, which was prompted by the fact that my house taxes will be 40% higher this year based on a higher valuation and a tax hike. Well it was a complete waste of time because the budgets that caused the increase were already submitted and the various presenters didn't answer any questions so it was just taxpayers complaining to people who offered nothing. I feel bad for the people who will be hurting because of the higher taxes, which is the last thing anyone needs in this economy.

But the week got better from there. Before tackling the death pile, I had a nice time at work on Wednesday at the all employee picnic after the service awards. The weather was gorgeous and I saw all kinds of people I hadn't seen in ages. After work, I went to Cindy's to teach her husband to knit, which he took to immediately. I hung out with Cindy and had a nice supper and chat after Dave left for choir. 

I spent the weekend slogging through my bedroom. I had baskets of clothes that had been on a chair since I washed them a the beginning of lockdown. Yes, 2.5 years ago. I went through the basket, most of my drawers and the closet, ending up with 2 bags of clothes for friends and 2 big bags of donations. I dropped those off in the Peoples City Mission drop box on the way to Colon (yes, that's the name of a town in my county) on Sunday for takeout of their annual roast beef dinner. I spent the afternoon finishing up chores and then knitting this cute candy corn hat that will go in my donation pile.

So all in all, it was a banner week for getting rid of stuff and getting things done. One of my mottos in life is "Gone is Good" and this week was filled with that. I need a few more of these spurts of energy to finishing sorting through the rest of the house. 2 rooms done and 2 to go. Upstairs that is. I'm saving the spare bedroom for Thanksgiving break so next up will be the family room. Wish me luck.

Week 39 - Connie's Birthday Trip

What a difference a week makes! I was a mess the previous week and had to face a few more hot days and the queen's funeral but everything got better on Wednesday.

I got up early on Monday to watch the funeral but not early enough. I guess I did my time math wrong because by the time I tuned in, the service was over and they were on the streets. I watched for a bit but gave up well before work started at 8:00. I thought I'd see some of the service at some point but never did find it. Oh well.

It was 101 degrees on Tuesday and we broke a record. As you know, I'm SO over the heat and wrote this summer off but breaking that record broke the heat too.

We woke up Wednesday to actual fall weather. At last! Since I had the AC on until then, I baked a banana cake for work and frosted it Wednesday morning before driving in. I also fed all of the feeding stations (Anne had asked me to cover hers) so was a bit late. Nothing new there. I had lunch with Layton and Steve at the Chinese buffet that was one of our standbys pre-Covid. I thrifted after work and found a bunch of yarn for Dottie then went home to the Survivor premiere. Now that's a good day on all counts. Yay!

I normally go to Connie's house in the Black Hills for her birthday every year but with her daughter and her family living with her, we had a plan B to meet in Sioux Falls, which is the only city roughly in the middle. It's a longer drive for Connie so I was only taking Friday afternoon off and we'd meet ~3:00. I had an audio book ready to go and hit the road right at noon, arriving on schedule and just a bit before Connie.

On my flight home from Rhode Island in August, I watched an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and they did Sioux Falls so we planned to hit several of those. Connie was starving after her drive so we went to an early dinner at Urban Chislic. It was delicious and a nice start to the weekend. Ice cream at a local dairy shop finished off our night.

After a lackluster hotel breakfast Saturday morning, we walked to Starbuck's for good coffee then headed to downtown Sioux Falls for shopping. It was fun going into all the shops, which I haven't done in years, and I found a few stocking stuffers. We wanted to eat at Bread & Circus for lunch and were told it was walkable but what a LONG walk. We shared 2 sandwiches - chicken (delish) and tuna melt (not so much) - and fries, which were delish. We then walked all the way back to the car, stopping at a couple of shops so it didn't seem as long. Then we headed to Falls Park, where we got our feet in the river. I ended up with a muddy butt but it was totally worth it. We ended the day with an Ethiopian meal and antiquing. Lovely.

Since Connie would lose an hour driving home (she lives in mountain time) and had a longer drive, we were leaving pretty early on Sunday. But first we went to Look's Marketplace for a yummy breakfast then hit Aldi before heading back to the hotel to check out. I was on the road before 11:00 and home at 2:00. This left me time to unpack, do laundry and even catch up on the last Ken Burn's holocaust episode. 

It was a wonderful end to a great week. Cooler weather at last and a fun weekend with Connie. It doesn't get better than that. And despite having been all over Sioux Falls and in some beautiful locations, we took the only selfie of the weekend in the hotel parking lot. It's a great picture of great friends so the background is irrelevant. : ) 

Week 38 - Hot and Cranky

The title says it all. The weather was blazing hot and I had to put the AC back on in September! Nope. Add that to finding out the Chancellor had nixed shutting our building down for the HVAC redo and I was super cranky.

There were a few bright spots though. I still don't like going in on Wednesdays but the only benefit is seeing people, which I did in spades. I had a lovely lunch with Dodie at the new bagel shop by campus and then met Darla at Goodwill after work. I didn't find any yarn but chatting our way through the store was fun. After a stop at Aldi, I went home for the new season of Handmaid's Tale. But the best thing was it was going to be cooler overnight so I was able to open the windows before bed.

I was working on the new course fee process at work and after having to reverse the first load, I got it done on Friday morning. I celebrated with a thrift run to the Senior Center Thrift Store over lunch, where I scored a bunch of vintage fabric and linens. I continued celebrating with wine and chips at 5:00 then watched the first episode of the new season of The Great British Baking Show, which is one of my favorite shows. The weather may not be cooperating but at least the new fall TV is starting. Shetland started this week too.

There was a slight chance of rain in the forecast for the wee hours Saturday but I woke up at 3:00 a.m. to pouring rain and it was almost 1/2" by the time it ended. We need every drop we can get. Saturday was spinning at Danielle's and she was serving us lunch. It was a fun time and Andrea needed something in Fremont so we drove there for Goodwill, Aldi and Staples. I found a new laptop to replace my ancient Windows 8 one. They didn't have it in stock but gave me the info to order. The icing on the cake was going to Todd's in Cedar Bluffs to split a burger for dinner. Of course there was Vanilla Bean Blonde beer to go with it and tots. Yum!

My plan for Sunday was to reclaim my front room but before that, I headed to St. John's in Weston for a to go chicken/ham dinner. I'd never been to St. John's but as is typical with church dinners, there was enough for several meals. The front room wasn't in horrible shape and I got it all put right after lunch. It felt good to have it done and then I divvied up all the food and put the chicken bones in the crockpot to make some stock. You've got to love the fall church dinners in Nebraska.

So the week wasn't a total loss but the hot weather seems unending and there's some even hotter weather coming next week. Cooler weather has to get here eventually, right? Here's a picture of my front room, all shiny and bright. At least there's that.

Week 37 - Goodbye Queen Elizabeth

Monday was a holiday and Heidi hosted knitting in her yard, which was lovely. But the blazing hot weather was really getting me down. I was also still not over my yeast infection so things were not all good.

I tried to get a doctor's appointment on Tuesday but the phone lines were so busy that I couldn't get through. The nurse called me back and the earliest they could get me in was Thursday. I thought I'd go crazy by then so ran to the pharmacy where I bought the last Monistat kit in Wahoo. Luckily this 3rd round of meds finally did the trick so I cancelled my appointment and called it done. About time!

On Wednesday, the team all dressed drab in gray shirts and black pants just to poke me for a comment I'd made the previous week. Team work? The good news was we were told there was a good chance that the HVAC in our building was going to be completely replaced and we wouldn't have access to the building for 3 to 6 months starting in January. Hallelujah! That was great new and if they said 3-6, it'd be 6-9 for sure so I was stoked. Now for it to actually happen.

Thursday was a sad day after hearing about the queen. I was a big fan and spent the entire night glued to the TV watching the coverage. I cast on a pair of tribute socks to honor her because socks are what I do. The color isn't accurate in the picture (it's bright yellow) but you get the idea.

After several days in the 90's, a front came through Friday afternoon and finally brought some fall weather. And to top that, I woke up to rain Saturday morning. We're in extreme drought in Nebraska and this was only the 3rd rain since spring. I was thrilled. I was outside weeding as soon as it stopped and did some more on Sunday, which was a top ten day. I took a carload of brush to the city burn pile. Add that to the wood I'd taken to Heidi's burn pile on Monday night... gone is good. 

I hope this is the beginning of cooler weather and some progress in the yard. This summer was awful and I'm ready for fall in a BIG way. Here's hoping...