Week 14 - Hanging with Friends

It was a fun week with lots of friends and training but ended with a stomach bug. Oh well.

Monday was the first business day of the month so Dana and I were in the office doing monthly reports, which went well. Dana skips lunch and leaves at 4:00 (she has kids in school/daycare) so I left at 4:30 so I wouldn't be so rushed with dinner before knitting. Good start to the week.

I was taking Thursday afternoon off for a Fremont run with Darla so after a remote day working with Dana, I started cleaning (nothing like having someone come over to motivate me to neatize and clean!) and then did my taxes. Productive day all around.

Wednesday was a campus day and I picked up donated cat food for Husker Cats on the way in. It was Dana time all morning then I thrifted at lunch. We had a long overdue FAC after work at Tico's, which means margueritas and nachos for me. It was fun hanging with work friends outside of work. I listened to the start of Survivor on my phone as I drove home and then settled in to watch the rest when I got home. I did a bit more cleaning and was ready for Darla.

I picked up grab & go lunches mid-morning and Darla arrived at noon. She wanted to meet my cats but they wanted no part of a stranger in the house. (Gansey was the only cat I've ever had who liked people.) We enjoyed our lunch then headed to Fremont. We both found things at Thriftology, which is a small thrift shop that used to be open on Saturdays but isn't anymore so I can't go on my regular Saturday Fremont runs. I filled a bag with fabric scraps at the quilt shop and then we meandered up Main Street, ending with a latte at the local coffee shop. From there it was Goodwill and Aldi. It was a lovely afternoon with Darla, who is one of my favorite people to hang with.

Unfortunately, I was up in the wee hours with digestive issues. There was clean up and a shower involved so it wasn't pretty. I took immodium that was WAY out of date and called in. I have trouble calling in sick but not when I have things leaving my body explosively. I napped and watched TV. The runs were fixed with the old drugs (time to add immodium to my shopping list) but I was still cramping on and off until the evening. It's always something.

I woke up feeling 100% on Saturday, which was a good thing because I had plans Saturday morning. Jennifer, who used to work in Accounting, was in town for a class at the satellite campus of the Southeast Community College so we met and shopped our way through downtown Wahoo. We went to the Senior Center Thrift Shop, where Barbara, who also worked in Accounting before retiring, was volunteering. It was old home week. We ended with lunch at Mocha C's, where I didn't get my regular grab and go choice. Shocking!

Since I was done with Jennifer in the early afternoon and my house was clean, I invited Lorri over for tea so we could catch up after her trip. We had a lovely chat and then I forced myself outside to prep and plant my early veg bed. We had rain due overnight so it'd be watered in. While I was completely unmotivated, I was glad I got it done and we did get a bit of rain. We were inches behind with precipitation last year and with almost no snow all winter, are inches behind this year already. I hope we don't have another droughty summer.

With all my social commitments over and my house as clean as it gets, Sunday was my usual chores and cooking. Knitting too, of course, and I finished my first challenge sock, which is the dreaded toe up method. They're going right into my gift bags when they're done. Toe up is loathsome so I need them out of my life. It was a relaxing end to a full week.

Week 13 - Welcoming My Replacement

The week started with another 4 hour zoom for the F&A proposal on Monday morning. It was supposed to be our last but we had 2 more hours on Tuesday and that was our last until the actual last one first thing Wednesday. The proposal was submitted later on Wednesday so it's finally done. My last F&A proposal - yay!

It was brutally cold at the beginning of the week and everyone bailed on knitting Monday night. I had to unlock Lorri's door for her cleaning lady to get in on Tuesday morning, when the windchills were crazy cold so I got a grab & go lunch since I was out in the cold. Perfectly warm spring weather was back by the end of the week - in like a lion out like a lamb. I took Rosie outside for the first time Thursday evening since it was warm enough. It was her first time outside so she was pretty timid but seemed to enjoy it.

Dana, my replacement, started on Friday. She's a lovely woman and I spent the morning doing financial 101 with her then the team went to Green Gateau for a welcome lunch. Lacey let us out at 3:00 for the Easter weekend so it was a short day. I went straight home for a cup of tea and time outside with Rosie. While they're not best buds yet, Goodie was more interested in playing with Rosie outside so that was good. The temp plummeted after supper so it'd be a chilly weekend.

I had a cozy, warm weekend inside. It was above freezing so I did laundry and hung it out but otherwise was inside on the phone with friends, knitting and streaming. I started some seeds and stayed up late to watch White Lotus. 

Sunday was turkey day. I was flying to Finland on Thanksgiving so thought I'd make a turkey over Christmas break but with my toe surgery, I never did. I was missing having a freezer full of turkey so Easter turkey it was. It was ready mid-afternoon so I tore it apart immediately and put the bones in the crockpot to make stock. I was still picking turkey at 10:00 pm.

All in all, it was a nice week. Dana seemed smart and nice and with her hire, my retirement was feeling more real. Rosie was OK being outside, which made her feel like a normal cat for me, and my freezer and fridge were full o turkey for the next week. All good.

Week 12 - Fun at Fiberpalooza

It was a much better week. Since I didn't end up bleeding, it almost had to be, right?

Work was the perfect amount of busy with projects between training, a Ripples zoom and a 3 hour F&A zoom to end the day Friday. I also had lunch with Dodie on Wednesday, which was my only day on campus for the week.

Thursday was the 4 year anniversary of the beginning of lockdown. Seems like yesterday. It was also the 4 week anniversary of Hazel's death. I'm still sad about that but Rosie is starting to settle in a bit more. Goodie is hissing less and starting to show some interest in playing, which Rosie is doing more of. Still a ways off but some progress.

The highlight of the week was Fiberpalooza - a fiber event in Winterset, Iowa. I missed it last year so told my friends I was absolutely going and asked who wanted to come with me. Anne, Rene and Andrea chimed in. Anne was driving in her much nicer car so Andrea and I drove down to Gretna to meet her and Rene and we drove from there. It's a small event in a junior high school but it was lots of fun. I showed restraint and only bought 3 skeins of sock yarn, a few mini skeins and a project bag made from 70's fabric. So fun!

There was a fiasco at the winding station though. Anne was having 2 skeins wound by one of the volunteers and the first one was fine but the second exploded off of the swift. It took 4 of us nearly 2 hours to untangle the mess. Anne was embarrassed for no reason and was a bit of a mess. We headed home on the scenic route, which was shorter but took about the same time as the interstate because of all the small towns. We stopped for ice cream in one of them, which was delish and a nice break. It was a fun day.

After such a busy Saturday, I had a relaxing day Sunday knitting, streaming and cooking a few things. It was a nice end to a decent week. Some spring weather would be nice. Hopefully some will get here soon.

Week 11 - A Cat Attack

No, not one of my cats. It was Andrea's psycho cat, Bajo.

Andrea left for a trip on Tuesday so I was on daily cat feeding duty. I went Wednesday before work and was still on campus by 8:00 (!) and went again before work Thursday, which was my 2nd day on campus. The attack happened on Friday. I was working from home so ran over mid morning and had to go onto the enclosed front porch for kitty litter to top off the box. Bajo followed me out there and I picked him up and chucked him back inside. A bit of a growl but no biggie. He scooted by me when I opened the kitchen door to leave and was waiting by the back door. When I tried to pick him up to throw him back into the kitchen, he attacked. It was SO fast and my fore arm was a bloody mess with a grazing bite along one side and a row of scratches along the other. I was bleeding like a stuck pig. I'll spare you the picture of the gore.

I went home and started cleaning it up. One wound on my hand bled for 2 hours and after consulting with my pharmacist cousin, I called my doctor to ask for a prescription for antibiotics. When you've had joint replacements, there's always concern that a cat bite will create an infection that will settle in your joints - knees for me. My doctor called in the Rx and I went to the pharmacy after work. It was Augmentin so I'd be had intestinal issues to look forward to.

On a nicer note, Thursday was Pi Day so to keep up my annual tradition, I made a small apple crumb pie to take to work, which was a hit with the few people who were in the office. Most people seem to do their 2nd day early in the week so there were only a few of us in. My reason for going in Thursday was Jessica, one of our old water aerobic instructors who we keep in touch with, was going to be in town and we were meeting at YiaYia's for a baby shower-ish thing. I had made cute baby socks for her and we'd all pitched in for a gift card because she and her partner are having twins so need double of everything. We had a great time and she loved the socks.

Saturday was spinning so I fed Bajo before heading to Fremont, keeping my distance for sure. It felt weird to be doing a Fremont run without Andrea, especially because it was the Estate Dispersal Store weekend. I didn't find anything there or at the Restore but found some brand new LLBean t-shirts at Goodwill before doing a huge stock up at Aldi. I was out of everything.

In an attempt to do something beyond chores and cooking on Sunday, I went downstairs after I made breakfast for lunch, which is a Sunday thing recently. I had hash with my eggs and that's as close as I got corned beef for St. Patrick's day but it'd do. Anyway, I made a cute project bag with a fat quarter I'd gotten at Dollar Tree. Cute, right?

Carolyn told me that eating a daily baked potato while on Augmentin would help minimize stomach issues so I set about cooking things to go with potatoes on Sunday. I was going with mashed potatoes but figured that'd work too. I made meatloaf, turkey casserole mix (2 small casseroles went into the freezer with stuffing on top but I kept a serving out to serve over potatoes lunch lady style), banana bread and Brussels sprouts. I has happy to be set for the coming week with food.

So quite a week. My arm was a mess and my intestines were still OK but Helen said the intestinal issues might take a couple of days to set in. I had high hopes that the potatoes would work but had already arranged to work from home on Monday instead of going in so I'd be closer to a bathroom. Wish me luck.

Week 10 - Finally Some Tears

Everyone says grief has its own time table and you never know when it will hit. It hit on Tuesday. Finally.

I was 3.5 hours into a 4 hour zoom on our F&A project when I realized that Rosie was sleeping on the pillow on the file crate under my desk that was still there from when I was elevating after my foot surgery. While feeling good about her wanting to be so close to me, I headed to the bathroom. When Goodie came charging in because she wanted me to run the faucet in the tub, I realized Hazel wouldn't be coming in too and the tears started. I knew it was going to be bad but splashed water on my face and went back to the zoom, crying with the camera off and sound muted. I made it to the end and then completely lost it. I was sobbing in my chair and continued for the next hour. When I went back to my computer to finish my work day, it was with burning eyes and a fuzzy head.

I cried more over the course of the afternoon and evening but hopefully the numbness left with the tears. I had a quiet evening of knitting while watching knitting YouTubes but I could tell I'd be fragile for a bit yet. Better fragile than numb.

I'd worked on campus on Monday and was pretty much all alone in the office but had a lovely chat with Layton. As usual, I'd packed in stuff on Wednesday so had lunch with Lana, Cindy and Erica at Bison Witches and a movie after work - The Zone of Interest. Odd movie but worth seeing. Anyway, the fragility was still there because after making a snarky comment to Brook during our team meeting, I apologized to him after lunch and was instantly in tears. Of course he hadn't even registered the snark so I guess my apology wasn't necessary. It begs the question - why do men rule the world? So clueless.

I was presenting at BCUG (Business Community Users Group) on Thursday morning and was ridiculously nervous for being on a zoom talking about something I know like the back of my hand. Fragility again? I got my favorite grab & go lunch then did some mad neatizing after work and baked a banana cake for the birthday dinner I was hosting on Friday for Andrea and Lori.

Their birthdays are a week apart and we usually celebrate one night between them at BW's in Ashland but Andrea was going out of town so we were doing it sooner. Lori had made a hair appointment in Wahoo so it was Chinese at my house, which is the only local option for a vegan (Lori) and a devout Catholic (Andrea) on a Friday during Lent. I used 2 stray vacation hours (I like my vacation bank to be in full days) so was off work at 3:00. After I did some final cleaning, they arrived at 4:00. We knitted and chatted then enjoyed dinner and cake. My gift got a squeal out of Andrea, which has only happened once before. Who knew a yarn cake holder that goes on your wrist so you can walk and knit would be such a hit. Lori didn't even know what it was but Andrea was pleased enough for both of them.

With my house as clean as it ever gets, the weekend was my oyster. I know that some laundry got done and I talked to a few friends but otherwise can't tell you what I did all weekend. I didn't cook because I had leftover Chinese food. Hmm.... puttering. Yeah, that's the ticket. At least I can't blame my lack of ambition on numbness. That went away with the tears I had finally shed. I'll always miss Hazel and this quote from a book I'm reading (The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store - can't say I'd recommend it) sums it up exactly. 

"She was gone. Just like that. And the absence of her meant a thousand tomorrows empty of whatever promise they once had."

I read this in the wee hours Saturday night when I was awake thinking of Hazel and so had to read to shut my mind off. I cried into my pillow. 

Week 9 - Still Just Numb

It was a week. I went through it like a zombie, still numb about Hazel. I did all kinds of things but with limited enthusiasm. Still haven't broken through the shock.

I did cry for the first time on Monday. We were having spinning at Nan's in Fremont, postponed from her last minute cancel on Presidents' Day, and I'd volunteered to bring beer. I did a gas/beer run at lunch and then stopped at The Warehouse. When Cindy, the clerk I always chat with, asked me how I was, I told her about Hazel and shed a few tears. Those were really the first ones. I blew my nose and went right back to numb.

Work was busy, which was a good thing. It was a training week so I spent 2 afternoons on that plus there was another 4 hour zoom on the F&A project. Wednesday was my usual campus day and I had an impromptu lunch with Darla, who was taking the afternoon off, at HF Crave. I was back on campus Friday because I'd planned lunch with Helen. I made blondies before work and she made cheesy broccoli soup and cornbread. It was fun and made it worth coming in on a Friday, when I was pretty much alone in the office.

It was warm all week (80 on Monday, which broke the all time record) but still way too early for gardening and I wanted outside on the weekend. I started by breaking up the window that had been part of my old potting bench and getting that into the trash can then I started cutting weed trees that grew from the huge trees I had cut down early last year between my garage and my neighbor's fence. Many had resprouted and lots were on my neighbor's side of the fence so I cut from both sides, throwing everything over into my yard. After that, I was sweaty and tired so was inside for the rest of Saturday. Sunday was my typical chore day with some cooking and baking (cookies to take to knitting).

Rosie was getting no love from my cats, who were still full on hissing and growling, despite her trying to be friends. I was making an effort to give her some extra love because, truth be told, I wasn't feeling good about having gotten her. Goodie still seemed completely unaffected by Hazel being gone and wasn't giving Rosie the time of day. I took off Rosie's goofy color with the bell and flower and that felt right (I've never had collars on my cats). I know it'll just take time but it was going slower than I'd hoped and I was beginning to question the wisdom of having adopted her so soon.

So I went through the week like a robot - feeling nothing and going through the paces. I'm still missing Hazel so much and send some love for her into the universe every night when I go to bed.  I'm ready for time to be healing some wounds already! 

Week 8 - Goodbye Hazel Babe

How has this happened again? How am I facing the death of another cat who I have to assume was hit by a car on my relatively quiet street? I cannot begin to comprehend the injustice of the universe that I'm dealing with this again.

When Gansey was hit and killed last summer, I fostered the litter of kittens to help me cope with the grief. With my other 2 cats being elderly, I kept two of them so they could be playmates and grow old together. It was a joy to watch them together and I looked forward to many years of them in my life.

I have always believed that cats are happier when they're allowed outdoors and other than when I lived in a 3rd floor apartment in Providence, my cats have always gone in and out. Because of Gansey being hit, I was careful to train Goodie and Hazel to stay in the backyard. I wouldn't even get the mail if they were outside lest they follow me out front. I thought they were safe and didn't worry about them being outside because they were always in the backyards of my house or my neighbor's and even when they ventured across the alley, they always came running when I called and always from behind the house.

It had been warm enough outside that I was able to leave the sliding door open so they could come and go all day. I was working from home on Thursday and realized mid-morning that I hadn't seen Hazel in awhile and Goodie was sleeping alone on the back of the chair. Thinking nothing of it, I called her from the back door. She always came but sometimes with a 5 minute delay but when she didn't come, I called again. Nothing. She had gotten locked in Cara's garage on Monday and was throwing herself at the door and meowing up a storm so I ventured over there but heard nothing. Then I turned to leave and saw her at the corner of Cara's house. She was dead and stiff with not a mark on her. OMG!

All I can think of is that she followed the neighborhood cat who was on my deck that morning when he left. I've often seen him cross behind Cara's house and then go across the street. That's the corner where I found Hazel. So what are the chances that in most likely the first time she ever ventured into the street that she'd be hit? I don't live on a busy street and while people do drive too fast sometimes, which anyone living on any street can say, there aren't many cars on my street. She must have been hit by someone heading to work in the dark. She must have only been clipped and had internal injuries. If that theory is correct, she was trying to get back home but didn't make it. Or for all I know, she was born with something wrong with her heart or an artery and died from that. I'll never know but she's gone and I'm devastated.

Hazel had personality plus. I have never had a cat that let me pet her belly but Hazel loved it. I could pick her up on her back and she would stretch her arms above her head and her legs full length so I could pet her. She would jump into the bathroom sink first thing each morning and after getting a drink, she'd look for me to pet her while I was on the toilet. I'd then watch her do yoga stretches with her back legs as she ambled to the kitchen for breakfast. And that face! I would literally say "that face" (with a funky accent) while I loved on her. She was a hunter and killed too many sparrow but nothing topped when she brought a garter snake in and dropped it at my feet while I was on a zoom. She would jump on my laptop keyboard when she wanted out and several times sent messages when she hit just the right keys, including one to the man who does my snow removal. If we communicate via messenger, you probably got a Hazel text too.

I buried her next to Gansey beside the garage and was absolutely numb. I never broke down like I did with Gansey and barely cried. Hazel and Goodie were inseparable and brought so much joy to my life. I'd never had siblings before and watching them was a blast. They were either running around and getting into things or sleeping in a cuddle pile with cuteness overload. My number one concern was Goodie, who had never had a day of her life without Hazel by her side.

The afternoon of the day she died, Goodie sat in the middle of the backyard looking around but otherwise seems unaffected. But Hazel was the instigator of the pair while Goodie is more food motivated (since day one) and prone to inactivity. I immediately got with Becky, who gave me Gansey and the litter I fostered, to see if she had another cat Goodie's age who was available. She had a little black cat, who was born the same month and was the last unadopted cat from last year. I told her to save her for me and I'd take her when I was ready.

I took some time off on Thursday but worked Friday and when faced with a weekend with no plans, which is normally a good thing, I invited myself on a Lincoln run with Andrea on Saturday. I was still numb and not thinking straight but somehow ended up getting Rosie - the little black cat - on Saturday afternoon. I literally had to go back and check messages to see whose idea it was and it was mine. Clearly I wasn't thinking straight and it was too soon for sure but she was in my house so I had to deal. 

She came from a house full of cats so was reaching through the carrier bars towards Pixel as soon as I put her down in the kitchen. I intended to segregate her in the bathroom for a few days but she was pawing under the door for Pixel as soon as I let her out. I gave up and let her loose immediately. Of course my cats are all hating her, hissing galore but that's normal. Rosie jumped right onto my bed that night, which meant Goodie and Pixel, who always slept at my feet along with Hazel, were not on the bed. While I hadn't been beating myself up about the circumstances of Hazel's death (a total fluke as far as I'm concerned), I beat myself up about bringing a new cat in so quickly, further impacting Goodie.

I ended the week on a slightly higher note. I'd invited Lori to come for Sunday lunch (Chinese), an open house at the newly renovated President's House on the abandoned college campus in Wahoo and then a walk at the lake. I choked up many a time but still hadn't really cried. I only had Hazel since last summer but she had a piece of my heart and it was going to take a LONG time to get over her. Thanks for listening. Here are some of my favorite pics of Hazel, many with her sister Goodie.

Always touching.

She loved stretching out.

The FACE!

I will miss her forever.

Week 7 - Fighting a Cold

It was a pretty uneventful week unless you count starting it with a cold. That impacted my week a bit.

I woke up Monday having dreamed of reconciling all night but dream reconciling so I was counting the embroidery motifs on a pair of inside out men's golf pants. Where does this stuff come from? The reconciling was because the week started with another 4 hours F&A zoom and some of my data wasn't reconciling. I had to keep muting and turning my camera off for coughing and nose blowing. I skipped knitting so as not to share my germs.

I woke up feeling even worse on Tuesday so took some sick time in the morning and then did Foundation reports in the afternoon. After making sure there would be a quorum, I skipped the library board meeting. Taking it easy helped because I woke up feeling quite a bit better on Wednesday morning.

I had crammed in the social events for Wednesday - lunch at Red Fox with Erica, the new Director of Accounting and a valentine's dinner with Anne and Rene in the dorms after work. Lunch, which was my first with Erica, was fun and it was good to catch up with Anne and Rene but the "valentine's dinner" was uninspired, the only special food being a few desserts.

I worked from home Thursday and the day went quickly between helping Cindy prep for a meeting, a Ripples zoom (professional development) at 2:00 and an IDM problem at the end of the day. I ran errands in town after work and was done for the day. 

I was working on campus on Friday and, as usual, had jammed in the social events. I started at Cook's Cafe at 7:00 a.m. for Darla's belated birthday breakfast (not too belated - her birthday was Sunday). At lunch, I was excited for a much postponed trip to the Chinese buffet with Layton. Alas, it was not as good as I remembered but lunch with Layton is always good. I took it for granted the first 20 years of Friday lunches before Covid. I thrifted a bit after work but found nothing. Time for the weekend!

The only thing on my calendar for the weekend was spinning in Fremont on Saturday. It was Back to Basics with the public invited so I baked some brownies to take. I made an effort to sit at different tables to chat with members, a few of whom I hadn't seen in awhile. We did a quick Goodwill and Aldi run before heading back home. It was a fun day.

Sunday was chores because there are always chores, right? The highlight of the day was it being warm enough to hang my sheets on the line. Not much else to say so here's a pic of my cute kittens. Enjoy.

Week 6 - Final Birthday Celebrations

It was another week that started with a 4 hour zoom and it ended with another zoom that went past 5:00. I did grab some sunshine during a late lunch between them and Nan brought cherry pie and ice cream to knitting for, you guessed it, more birthday treats. Heidi's chickens had started laying again so I got a dozen of good eggs for the first time in a long time. I started Tuesday morning with boiled eggs and bread and butter soldiers. Yum.

I did two days in a row on campus - Wednesday and Thursday after Layton rescheduled our Friday lunch. On Wednesday, Brook bought me a mocha for my birthday (it just keeps giving!) and then Cindy, Lana and I went out for lunch at Lila Mae's Southern Kitchen. Cindy billed it as for both our birthdays since we had never gone out for hers in January. The shrimp and grits were wonderful. I met Darla after work for thrifting and Dollar Tree. She gave me a cute teapot for my birthday. This was the end of the week of birthday stuff. Promise.

My work week was full of data problems and working late, including on Friday (!), trying to figure it all out. I finished another pair of socks from the previous year and started up on the final pair I had hopes of finishing by the 15th. Otherwise, the highlight of the rest of the work week was when the scab finally fell off my foot on Friday morning. It had been uncomfortable for 4+ weeks and now there'd be hope for wearing some normal shoes. Yay! The white chicken chili I'd put in the crockpot made for a delicious end to the work week.

It was the monthly sale at the Estate Dispersal Store. Heidi was coming along but didn't want to be out all day so we got an early start on Saturday. I picked Heidi and Andrea up at 7:30 and we were at the Restore at 8:00. We had fun and found a few treasures but I'd gotten the time wrong for when EDS opened so we went to Goodwill and Aldi then back there. I only bought a baking rack (I haven't found anything there in a while) and we were home before noon. I picked up BK after dropping them off and had the whole afternoon free. I had hoped to sew but it was cloudy and cold so not warm enough for the craft room. I spent the afternoon knitting and streaming. Shocking, I know.

I woke up with a dry throat in the wee hours on Sunday and by morning, it was clear I had a cold. It was a low energy day for sure. I talked to Ginny, Carolyn and Deanne and followed the sun, reading in the front room in the afternoon and even sitting in my desk chair by the bar when that was the only direct sun in the house. This is only my 2nd cold since the pandemic but only 2 months past the last one. I hope this isn't a trend.

So my birthday was over for another year. I celebrated plenty, right? Here's to another year of fun. By next next birthday, I'll be retired. : )

Week 5 - My Birthday Week

My birthday was Thursday but I celebrated for days. As it should be.

The work week started with a 4 hour zoom on the F&A project and included 2 afternoons of training and a mess with monthly reports but ended with a water main break that meant I got to work from home on Friday instead of driving in. On the sole day I did go in (Wednesday, when everyone goes in), I maximized my birthday celebrations.

Cindy bought me a mocha at Starbuck's then I had lunch at Tico's with Anne and Rene. I had gloppy nachos, of course. After work was supper at Helen's for stroganoff and delicious chocolate cake from scratch. I left with a quarter of the cake so had more to enjoy. On my actual birthday, Thursday, Lorri and I had burgers for lunch at Chip's in Wahoo. It being the 1st of the month, I happily knitted on my new monthly challenge socks. It was a nice birthday, so far, but there was more to come.

Saturday was my birthday Omaha run with Andrea and Lori. We met at Vidlak's for my fave chicken fried steak breakfast. With full bellies, we headed to Imagiknit for some birthday discount yarn shopping. Between that and the yarn presents, I had a big pile of yarn, including a fun advent that came in a globe that I can reuse for scraps. Nice. I picked up donuts at Winchell's on the way to Lori's for tea and knitting. After hitting Walmart on the way home, I called it a lovely day and kept on knitting. Sunday was more knitting between chores because even birthdays don't stop laundry. I finished my first challenge sock and pulled out some old socks projects to finish before the 15th - the deadline for WIPs in my Socks from Stash group on Ravelry.

Great week, right? I have such wonderful friends and they made my birthday special. But it wasn't over yet. I had one more celebration to come so had that to look forward to. Yay!

Week 4 - Having Some Fun

This week was all about having fun around work. And I had lots of fun.

After working the morning at home Tuesday morning, I left for Lincoln to have lunch with my cousin. I wanted to eat at her house instead of a restaurant and had suggested grilled cheese and tomato soup, which she made. Delish and it's always fun to hang with Helen. From there I went to the foot doctor for the last time. Done with that! Now for the swelling to go down. I had arranged to stop at Rene's to pick something up and when she offered to make tea, I said yes and put in 2 hours of vacation time. We then called Anne and she came over, which saved me a trip to her house later. We had a lovely afternoon. It was a taste of what retirement will be. I hope.

Wednesday was a campus day, which I made the most of. Lana, Cindy and I went to Olive Garden for soup, salad and breadsticks lunch, which was delish. After working all afternoon, I left a bit early to meet Dodie at Costco. I needed a couple of things but the attraction was pizza and ice cream dinner, which is a bit of a tradition for us. We would have stayed longer but a 2 year old was pitching a fit at the next table so we got outa Dodge.

I worked from home the rest of the week and got a long overdue haircut Thursday morning. I put a pot roast on and had book club that night. I did have a snafu on my meds. With my meds still stuck in the mail, I had to have my doctor call in a 7 day prescription for 2 of my meds. Of course my new insurance denied to cover them because they'd just filled the ones stuck in the mail. They wanted $22 for 14 pills of old school meds - nothing new and fancy. Highway robbery but what choice did I have?

Friday was uneventful and it was time for the weekend. I had no plans outside of the house and my big plan was to go through the upstairs freezer and defrost the downstairs freezer. I got the upstairs freezer done but when the sun finally came out after lunch on Saturday after 10 days of gloom, I couldn't face being downstairs in the dark so instead I repotted some plants in the sun in my front room. It was lovely. 

I neatized Sunday morning in case Lorri stopped after church (she didn't) so the house was a bit cleaner than usual. The plan was still defrosting and I had borrowed a single burner from Rene so I could boil water for the basement freezer defrost and not have to go up and down the stairs. With the sun shining, I still couldn't face the basement so boiled the water upstairs and went up and down the stairs for a couple of hours. The freezer was done and that felt great. Meanwhile, I sat in the sun in the front room and read while drinking tea. I'd call that a nice Sunday afternoon. I finished the day finishing a pair of socks from early 2023 and watching PBS.

So all in all, it was a good week. Work was uneventful, I was done with the foot doc and I was productive at home. Add the fun, which I'll continue to include everywhere I can. Life is good!

Week 3 - Brutal Polar Vortex

Four day work weeks are the best but I'm looking forward to being retired when Monday holidays don't mean much. Just one more - Memorial Day - before I'm done with work. 6.5 months to go.

Ben was back from his Thailand trip so I had queries for him to start the week on Tuesday. I begged off going to campus on Wednesday since it'd be too cold for my open toes. My foot was still too swollen for shoes, even sneakers. I had a 4 hour zoom on the F&A project on Thursday morning so made eggs for breakfast since lunch would be late. Nothing else worth a mention on the work front.

At home, one of the neighborhood cats made a path through the snow to get to my back door and that was it for my cats being limited to the deck. I went out and shoveled the deck a bit so they had access to the yard and driveway. They still mostly stayed in because the cold was brutal but had a bit further to roam when they did go out. It was too cold for me to go out so I rescheduled my Friday haircut to next week when it would be warmer. On Friday morning, I found a frozen sparrow under my birdfeeder. Yes, it was that cold. Poor baby. I did brave the cold once mid-week because I was getting really low on food and had no snacks. A quick trip to The Warehouse fixed that. We got more snow at the end of the week but I crammed my foot into a sneaker, bundled up and shoveled my driveway. It took 20 minutes and I survived.

I was having to get creative with the food I had on hand so started the weekend with eggnog pancakes and bacon for supper Friday night. I finished up the eggnog making eggnog bread with dried cranberries and walnuts on Saturday. I also made a loaf of whole wheat while the oven was on. Sadly, I had to dry my sheets in the dryer on Saturday but spent some time in the laundry room while I was down there, neatizing and bringing up my amaryllis bulbs.

Sunday was a big day. It was in the 20's so I was heading to Omaha. My fridge was bare so it was stock up time. After picking up bagels at Bruegger's, I started at Trader Joe's, which was a mob scene. Everyone was out now that it was warmer. I then went to Lori's for a few hours of knitting and drinking tea before heading to Aldi, where I spent $120! That's a lot for me, especially at Aldi, but now my fridge was full. Yay!

Hopefully we won't have such drastically cold weather again this winter but that's probably wishful thinking. If we do, I'll be more able to go out in it. My foot is getting better everyday and I have my last appointment with the doc coming up. After this week, normal winter temps will feel downright balmy. I'll take it.

Week 2 - So Much Snow!

It was a snowy week. Lots of snow. UNL started and ended the week with snow days and we had a 2 hour delay on Tuesday, which is the first I can remember in my nearly 26 years at UNL.

The deal with snow days is that anyone who works from home is supposed to work but I'm here to tell you that I didn't get a single work email on Monday. It snowed all day and the wind was blowing so the drifts were CRAZY and we got a 2 hour delay on Tuesday morning. My snow guys came at noon on Tuesday to plow me out because I had a library board meeting that night.

When I saw the forecast for more snow on Wednesday morning news, I immediately emailed my doctor's office to see if I could move up my Friday morning appointment to get the pins out. They called right away and had a cancellation for 2:00 so I took it. I was having lunch with my cousin at the steakhouse in Wahoo so after chatting and eating yummy burgers, I headed to Lincoln. As the PA said, pulling out the pins was no big deal. It didn't hurt at all. However, the skin under the 2 week old steristrips was nasty so after she cleaned it up, she said she'd call in an antibiotic. I put on a sneaker and walked out the door. It felt good but strange to be walking flat.

From there I completely overdid it, running every single errand I hadn't been able to run for weeks. I hit a couple of thrift shops (found nothing but it felt great to be thrifting), the grocery store, where I only bought produce because my foot was already pretty sore, then the farm store for birdseed and the pharmacy. I got there just after 5:00 and there was no Rx waiting for me. It was too late to call the doctor so off I went without the drugs.

Needless to say, my foot was super sore when I woke up on Thursday morning. I went right back into the boot and when the doctor's office called to say they had now called in the Rx, I was dreading putting a shoe on to go out. My friend Lorri offered to pick the meds up and after originally saying no, I called her back and accepted. I had a couple of things I had to do before the big chill that would come overnight so needed to save walking for that. That afternoon, I loaded up my birdseed buckets on the deck, emptied the trash and changed the litter boxes. That was plenty on my sore foot. I read the PA's report on the patient portal and saw that I was supposed to transition out of the boot. Go figure.

It was snowing when I woke up on Friday and it was due to snow and blow all day so UNL called another snow day. I had plenty to do with it being Foundation reports day and I made some banana bread at lunch. With my boot on, I shoveled a path to the birdfeeders and after work I took my first barefoot shower in more than a month. Lovely!

It was still snowing on Saturday morning and there were 4 foot drifts on my deck. The high temp was due to be -1 and the windchill was about -30. My snow guys came and did my driveway, sidewalk and path to my front door in less than 10 minutes - 1 on the ATV, 1 with the snowblower and 1 shoveling. I gave them a loaf of banana bread and was thrilled not to have to deal with any of it. I had soaked beans first thing in the morning so made Boston baked beans with Aldi wieners (they sell them for Octoberfest every year and I stock up) and cornbread. It was all about having the oven on for hours. On Sunday, I finally made the turkey thighs over stuffing that I had planned to make the weekend between my trip and my surgery as my Thanksgiving replacement but hadn't gotten to. I roasted some of the squash from my garden this summer but it was so tasteless that it went right into the compost along with the pot full that wasn't worth steaming. Oh well.

Besides all the cooking, I chatted with my sister and several friends and was so over knitting that I pulled out a crocheted afghan I'd started during lockdown and started working on that. Yes, crocheting. That's how much knitting I've done while streaming in the weeks since my surgery. And with the bitter cold temps in the forecast for the next week, there would be yet more inside time coming up. Winter in Nebraska. Just 2 months until spring. : )

Week 1 - Happy New Year

I've heard that how you start you year is how it will go. Well I started with a day off, making an apple pie and having tea in the sun with friends. I'll take it!

Tuesday was back to work and reality. I'd worked so little in the past 6 weeks that I was at a loss for what to do. I started with monthly reports, which took care of Tuesday, but then had one of the accountants who was in the office send me a pic of the to do list on my desk. Nothing. Before my trip and the week between my trip and surgery I'd been slamming on data for the F&A proposal so with that mostly done, it was time to get back to my normal work. With my new boss out, I was left with documenting the F&A databases. And with so many people extending break, I wasn't getting user emails either. It was a slow work week.

With frigid weather in the forecast for next week, I was keenly aware of trying to take advantage of the final warmer days. I was making a pot of sausage/potato soup and had some chard from the freezer but went out to my garden and was able to pick fresh chard from my veg beds. Fabulous! The soup was delicious too and totally hit the spot. Then on the weekend, I did a load of sheets and hung them on the line. It was sunny when I put them out but clouds set in, as forecast, so they weren't dry at the end of the day. I draped them all over the house, hoping that they'd still have the wonderful dried outside smell. It would be the last time for that in a long time.

Not much else was going on at home either. Sitting at my desk for work was uncomfortable so I spent evenings sitting with my foot up and icing. I did run errands in town on Thursday and picked up a burger and chips from a local restaurant, which I'd been wanting all week, on Friday. Delish! I had some fun kool aid dyeing sock blanks on the weekend and chatted with friends, plus knitting and streaming, of course. Story of my life.

So it's a good thing the week started with fun because the rest of the week was pretty mundane. And with the frigid weather coming, I don't think there will be much beyond more knitting and streaming. Happy 2024!

2024 - Just One Word

I struggled with the word for 2024 because it'll be a big year for me with lots of changes. I'm retiring in August - yay!

I thought about Less as the word for the year but I could hear Paul from Ripples saying that I need to focus on positive things not less of the negative things. I was thinking Less because I need less stuff in my life (time for a big purge and now that I can donate things to Becky to sell at her Stuff for Strays garage sales, I'm more motivated to go through things) and I'll be working less but that didn't seem like a good enough word. After thinking about switching it to More (more culling things, more organizing what's left, more exercise, etc. - thinking of the positive things), I decided on this:

Reset

My entire life will be getting a huge reset when I stop working. With the limited energy that comes with aging, I will no longer be spending most of it on my job. I plan to focus on what brings me joy and have started a to do list for post retirement. So reset it is. Happy 2024.

Week 52 - My Boring Break

Having moved up Christmas due to weather, the week starting with Christmas Day was uneventful. There was lots of streaming and knitting with my foot up and iced but there were a few bright spots.

After opening my stocking boxes from my sisters on Christmas morning, I had leftover lasagna for lunch and watched Die Hard while, you guessed it, knitting and streaming. I finished my advent socks (you knit a stripe each day in December) but couldn't wear them yet. I had no Christmas dinner plans but did pull a yummy dinner together thanks to Aldi stuff in my freezer. I had creamed scallops and shrimp over pasta and a yummy tart along with Winking Owl wine. Not bad for freezer diving.

Over the course of the week, I did attempt to do a few chores in between all the streaming. I did manage to go through the cupboards to see what I needed, prompted by not finding a can of tomato paste last week when I made the lasagna. Otherwise, the high points were going to Lorri's for tea on Thursday and chatting with friends. This included Lori, who invited herself over for tea on New Year's Day, which upped the chore list but I had plenty of days to do a few here and there. The floors were the absolute priority as well as clearing some surfaces.

But the best thing that happened was when I went to Lincoln on Friday to get my stitches out. That meant the bandages were also gone. Yay! I left with steristrips over the incisions, a brace to keep my big toe in place and a gauzy cover so people wouldn't see the beads on the tips of 2 toes. Icky, trust me. From there I met Darla at Cook's Cafe for the best sausages and breakfast in town. The company was great too. With full bellies, we went to Aldi (more walking than I'd done in ages) and then I headed home. It had felt good to be out in public and it's always great to see Darla but it was time to put my foot up. Having tired of streaming, I started listening to our book club book - Dear Mrs. Bird. That felt different and nice.

I only left the house again on Sunday because I needed to buy long men's socks to cover the beads without touching them. I also picked up a few things at The Warehouse. That was it for New Year's Eve celebration for me. I had zero interest in staying up until midnight so went to bed early to read in my toasty bed, heated up with my electric mattress pad.

So, not much to report. Streaming, knitting and icing with a bit of socializing towards the end of the week. But stitch removal still wins. I hope you all had a more interesting Christmas and New Year's.