Week 49 - Dead Battery Blues

With Thanksgiving over except for leftovers, the week started in full blown Christmas mode. Unfortunately it ended with car troubles but there was lots of fun before that happened.

The first of the month is always a busy knitting day because I start new socks for the monthly challenge. I also have to tally all the socks knitted in my Socks from Stash group and so spend an hour or so with a spreadsheet. It was also the start of opening my advents and I had 2 yarny ones - one I bought cheap when a local yarn shop closed its storefront and another that I won from one of my favorite YouTubers. Starting the day with sock yarn is the best! I was also slamming to finish a gift I needed to give on Wednesday so grabbed a dirt cheap pizza courtesy of a Pizza Hut special and knitted on the gift hat at Monday Night Knitting. It was a good start to the week.

I went through a basket of clothes on Tuesday and pulled out all my handknitted Christmas socks. After finishing the hat, I was free to read in the sun in the front room and then used the last of the turkey to make turkey fried rice for supper, which was surprisingly good. Wednesday was going to be a busy day.

Wednesday started with a huge deposit for Friends of the Library from the holiday decor sale. I picked up donuts for my friend who had fallen on ice and was home recuperating from a concussion (!) and picked up a prescription (getting those cheap refills in my last month of COBRA insurance) before heading to my first Christmas celebrating - lunch with Dodie. We had a lovely lunch at Bison Witches (our lunch spot) and she loved her hat. She gave me a fabulous Christmas gift for someone who needs nothing - a 12 pound bag of King Arthur flour from Costco. Love it! I hit a couple of thrifts, dropped the donuts at Darla's then went south for Trader Joe's, Aldi and Stuff Creative Reuse before heading home. It was a fun day.

I was back in Lincoln Thursday morning for an awards luncheon for the Emeriti/Retirees Association, which was prime rib lunch. Yum! I went to my cousin Helen's to hang for the afternoon and got a few groceries on the way home. I had just enough time to scarf down some fried rice and head to book club at the library. I was ready for a few days at home after two busy days. Retiree life!

I got time at home but ended up working for 2 hours Friday morning with Cindy on some training she's developing. In my nightie. After a shower and lunch, I ran
Wahoo errands and spent some time reading in the sun, ending the day with pizza and beer. Next on the list was wrapping/packing stocking presents to meet my goal of shipping them all early next week.

I started Saturday with a long chat with Carolyn and then got busy wrapping, which didn't take any time at all. I made up a wreath and a festive pot for my side door but when I went out to run errands, my car battery was dead. I had already been offered a ride to the Saunders County Democrats dinner at the country club so planned to call AAA Monday morning for a jump. The dinner, which was a first for me having just changed from Independent to Democrat, was fun getting to meet some candidates and chatting with an old friend I hadn't seen in ages.

With no car, Sunday would be an inside day, which worked for me. I made a cozy lunch of grilled cheese and tomato soup then started cooking. I had banana bread in the oven and potato salad made plus a couple of boxes ready to ship when Andrea called. When she heard about my dead battery and said that she knew how to change a battery out, she came over with her tools. Now my car is ten years old and it was the original battery so it took some doing pulling the old one, during which Andrea dropped a nut, which didn't hit the ground. Thinking it was just for stability, we went to the farm store, which was having a battery sale but didn't have my size in stock so we headed to the only auto parts store open on a Sunday. $300 later, I had a new battery. Well, that nut wasn't just for stability so my car was dead. We went back to both stores looking for a nut but didn't know the right size so failed. Now I'd be calling for a tow on Monday. Damn! It was bitter cold during all this so I went inside chilled to the bone and dejected. Oh well. Andrea did come to the rescue, finding a schematic online that showed the part number and that it was an 8mm nut. I went to bed feeling hopeful that I could get the nut locally.

It was a busy week with lots of fun, holiday productivity and help from a friend. While it didn't end as planned, I appreciated that Andrea had the skills and wanted to help and it did end on a positive note. Now to get the nut and start shipping my gifts. Only when they're gone can I relax and enjoy the holiday season.