Week 45 - All About Elections

This week felt all about the election, mostly because I was working the polls. It was all over by Wednesday morning and normal life commenced but what a start.

I was working Yutan rural again and at training, we'd made a plan for food for the day. Lori was bringing sloppy joes and buns, someone else was on chips and dip and I was doing blondies. I made those on Monday but also decided to make an egg casserole in case anyone missed breakfast. Otherwise I worked on some emeriti/retirees data. Knitting was cancelled when people started bailing due to an impending storm, which of course held off so we could have gone. Oh well. I went to bed early because Tuesday was going to be a long day.

It was raining when I got on the road at 6:40. The tables and such were already set up the night before but we had ballots to sign starting at 7:00 and there was a line of voters waiting when we unlocked the doors at 8:00. It was super busy all day with more than 400 people voting, as compared to 128 for the primaries. We barely had time for bathroom breaks, never mind eating. We had one small lull after lunch but otherwise were busy all day until the last hour, when we had time to start breaking things down. The polls closed at 8:00 and I was on the road by 8:15. I got DQ on the way home and then turned on the TV to watch the returns. I went to bed feeling hopeful but, of course, western Nebraska screwed that up.

I woke up to find that once the western side of the state's votes had come in, our loathsome governor and senator, who have screwed the farmers constantly, had been reelected by those same farmers. Clearly Nebraska didn't get the memo that the rest of the country did. Oh well. I had left the day completely open to recuperate from my 14 hour day on Tuesday. I reclaimed the kitchen, did some streaming and knitting and ended the day with Survivor.

Thursday was a Lincoln day so, as usual, was jam packed. The reason for going was lunch with Dodie but I also had mail to pick up for the Emeriti/Retirees Association, hit some thrifts (nothing) then went grocery shopping all over town, starting a Whole Foods for parsnips. So expensive! I was home in time for tea and made breakfast for supper with French toast and bacon. I spent some time after supper trying to get Dude to come in (gave up and he came back eventually) and was dismayed to see Goodie coming from across the street and 4 or 5 houses down when I called her. Not cool. Now that it's dark early, I can't relax until all the cats are inside.

The weekend started Friday with a few local errands, a zoom with Cindy and some cooking - cabbage casserole and chili. I was happily basking in the sun on Saturday morning, which was the first sun we'd seen in days. It was HyVee's annual baking sale and I asked Andrea if she wanted to go. Unfortunately, she had to go first thing because once the morning dew was gone, she'd be helping her boyfriend with harvest. I begrudgingly left my morning sunshine and we headed to Fremont for HyVee and Aldi. I was home in time for a late lunch and my friend Ana from NYC called that afternoon, wanting to discuss the elections. I talked to my friend Deanne first thing on Sunday then did the cats. Connie called mid-afternoon and then I went to a coup supper at the Czech Presbyterian church with my friend Lorri, whose father was the pastor there when she was in high school. I ended the day with a shower and PBS - my favorite way to end the week.

So it was a good week, unless you count the bonehead Nebraska elections. At least I live in the blue dot so we elected a Democrat for congress. But I knew what I was getting into when I moved here so shouldn't complain. But seriously! On the positive side of things, I finished another pair of brown scrappy socks (I need to knit some bright ones now) and started knitting charity hats again to donate to Clinton School in Lincoln this Christmas. I'll count the hats as my acting locally to combat the idiocy of Nebraska citizens. Opps. That doesn't sound very positive. Working on it.

Week 44 - Dude and Socks

This week seemed to be very Dude and socks focused. I did get some other things done and had some social events, of course, and the weather cooperated with lots of fall temps, which made me happy.

As for Dude, he has been watching my other cats go in and out for a couple of months and has shot outside a few times but I've been able to catch him. My plan was to wait until we'd had a hard freeze to kill the fleas but since we have no freeze at all in the forecast through mid-November, I gave up and decided it was time to let him out. I started on Thursday when I went outside with him after supper. He explored the yard and didn't go far. I did the same on Friday and Saturday and by Sunday morning, I let him out on his own when I was on a zoom. We both survived and I think I'm done with outdoor orientation. He's happy to be going outside too.

On the sock front, it was the end of October so I had the usual month end admin to do for my Ravelry sock group. I also had a zoom meeting with the other 2 moderators to go over the 2027 challenges that had been voted on and decide which to put on which months. I had finished the first pair of my brown scrappy socks and with the new month, I had new challenge socks to cast on.  But the thing I swore I would never do happened this week - I dropped 6 pairs of socks at the gallery in downtown Wahoo to sell. Yes, I did that. I told her I wanted $25 for each pair, which only pays for the yarn and not the time it took to make them, which is at least 20 hours of knitting. I knit upwards of 40 pairs of socks each year and gift them liberally to family and friends but still have hundreds in my house. So it felt like it was time to give in and sell some. We'll see if they do sell. I need to stop in and see what she has them priced at.

Here are the non-sock, non-Dude things...

On Tuesday, I went to Omaha to see You Can See Everything with Lori. She had an appointment so we went to the latest matinee at 3:50. I had read the book for book club so was interested in the movie, which was good. I then started the Hulu mini series - The Dropout - and finished it by the end of the week. Enough about Elizabeth Holmes.

Wednesday was a soup food day at work, which are now few and far between because I was the one who used to plan them. I took cream cheese brownies, which I'd tried to make Halloweeny by dyeing the cream cheese filling orange but I couldn't get it very dark. They still went over well and were yummy. It was fun to see everyone and of course I filled the day with errands - picking up membership mail for the Emeriti/Retirees Association, meeting Anne to get my refund check for the cruise, which they'd sent to her for some reason, grocery shopping and going home via Baker's Candies in Greenwood for more of the extra dark chocolate peanut butter meltaways that they only have at Halloween. Worth the extra miles but Siri sent me on 6 miles of gravel roads to save a couple of miles. Siri fails again.

I was happy with Thursday being a bit warmer so went out to the east side again and cleared all the weeds in the ditch by the retaining wall. I filled the car again and drove the weeds to the city burn pile. Next up will be cutting and nuking weed trees but that will have to wait for a day without wind.

I ended the week with a couple of quiet days. I didn't hand out candy because most kids go to Boo in Wahoo at the fairgrounds the night before plus the weather was cold and damp on Halloween and there was a husker football game at 7:00. I figured no one would come so didn't even buy candy. Because it wasn't sunny on Sunday, the cats didn't wake me up at all so I got the extra hour of sleep, which never happens. I did the shelter cats that morning and got Chinese afterwards for lunch but felt so icky that I had to shower before I could eat. I spent the afternoon catching up with friends and ended with PBS, as usual.

So another good week is in the books. I'm loving being home and having cooler weather. I have more things to get done in the yard before snow flies and hopefully that won't be for awhile yet.

Week 43 - Lovely Autumn Week

I was so thrilled to finally get some fall weather. I did all kinds of things and never once ended up a sweaty mess. LOVE this season, which took its damn time getting here.

I headed outside on Monday to take advantage of the weather. I did laundry and hung it to dry then tackled my nasty bird feeders. I keep the seed in 2 galvanized buckets on the deck and for some reason the mixed seed always ends up wet and moldy while the sunflower seed is just fine. The feeders, which I hadn't filled all summer, were gross too. I emptied everything and scrubbed them out, leaving the bucket in the sun on the driveway and the feeders on the bench. After this disgusting job was done, I made my first pumpkin pie of the season to take to knitting. On the way to taking her camper to its winter storage, Andrea stopped at the library and gave the knitters a tour. It's a cute little teardrop trailer so was neat to see.

Tuesday was the rescheduled date for a program on the lake by Live Well Go Fish, which is a fishing excursion company that specializes in taking nursing home and hospice people out on the lake to fish. But before it started, I registered my car (I found the paperwork last week and it expired in September - oops!) and then dropped it at Ozzy's for the long overdue list from my 100,000 mile check up. I walked to Lorri's and she drove to the lake. Logistics done.

The program was great. I had never been out on the lake and thoroughly enjoyed it. The company, which is a 501c3, provides a wonderful service, including lots of patriotic stuff. Here's a wonderful picture of Lorri on the lake. Lorri dropped me home and I went right to a Genealogy Over Lunch zoom on a program called Filles du Roi, which sent marriageable woman from France to Quebec in the late 1600's to increase the population of French Canada. Very interesting. With both programs done, I went back outside and finished the feeders and hung them up. Now for the birds to remember they're here. I'm looking forward to some BirdBuddy footage. I enjoyed walking back to Ozzy's to pick up my car, which was just over a mile so not bad, especially in the gorgeous weather.

I was home all day on Wednesday and got busy outside. I always have a few weedy sunflowers growing in my yard but the east side, which was bare soil after the retaining wall was built, was a total mess. I cut them all down and the few others growing elsewhere and took a carload to the city burn pile. That done, I went inside to shower and get ready for poll training that night. As usual, it was a complete disaster - no introduction of who was speaking and didn't go over the information in our packets and so it immediately devolved into people chatting amongst themselves and a few questions from the trainees. Worst training I've ever been to, just like it was in April for the primaries. At least it was over early.

When I heard that my new friend, LoriG, was going to be in town on Thursday, I suggested lunch at  Chip's for their burger special - 2 burgers with sides for $15. She was ready early so we got there at 11:00. The plan had been to sit and chat for hours but she wasn't able to register the car she'd just bought from her aunt so had to go back home (15 miles away) and back to town again to get it done. She was antsy and we didn't linger over lunch, which meant I was able to hit the program at the museum on Saunders County veterans who fought in 19th century wars. It was interesting but I need to volunteer to help with the powerpoints, which are totally wrong. I ran Wahoo errands before heading home.

I got both covid and flu shots at the clinic on Friday morning and then made a beeline to Fremont for a grocery run. I hit a couple of thrifts too and was home in time for lunch. That done, I was ready for some down time in case I was feeling punk after my shots. My mom always called feeling under the weather as "punk" and a friend googled it when I said it and it is legit old school slang. But I digress....

I had plenty of knitting and streaming planned. When I finished my challenge socks earlier in the week, I'd pulled all my brown sock yarn scraps because I bought brown pants to wear this winter and have almost no brown socks. I got busy with the first pair and they flew off the needles. I'm not sure if I truly felt anything beyond sore arms but I happily knitted Saturday away and watched the entire new season of The Diplomat. It was a lovely day.

I talked to my friend Dee on Sunday morning and then went out to plant the tulip bulbs that had arrived from Holland. I planted them where I'll be able to see them from my comfy chair next spring. It didn't take long and I took a shower after I was done and then I washed my bedspread and hung it out. That was enough productivity to justify sitting on my butt knitting and streaming for the rest of the day, ending with PBS as usual.

I call that a good week with the perfect amount of productivity, three different learning opportunities and getting my car repairs and vaccines crossed off my list. The fall weather was the icing on the cake and I have high hopes that it'll last awhile.

Week 42 - End of Heat

The week started with a 92 degree day. In mid-October! But hopefully that was the last hot day until spring. With that done (hopefully), it was a nice week of fall weather and lots of fun times

I did laundry and hung it out first thing Monday to take advantage of the hot day. I made the ultimate no bake treat - rice krispies squares - to take to knitting and then went down to my craft room for knitting/streaming to escape the heat. I went upstairs to make a cup of tea and was thrilled that a front had come through and the temp had plummeted. Hopefully the fall weather would stick.

I was heading to Omaha to go to The Social Reckoning with Lori but had to take care of the shelter cats and get my glasses fixed (a lens had popped out at knitting) before the 11:00 movie. It had gotten mixed reviews but we both loved it and it sparked a parking lot discussion afterwards. I drove directly to Fremont for a wills and trusts thing I'd signed up for. It was, of course, a sales presentation. I hit Aldi before heading home and ended the night with a library board meeting. It was a long day.

I had 2 days at home before being out and about again so made a big to do list and started crossing things off. With the lovely 60 degree weather, I did some work outside and got lots of chores done. I also ran Wahoo errands and finished my first challenge sock. Love a day like that! With rain in the forecast on Thursday, I parked my car in the driveway Wednesday night and then went outside in the rain and washed my car first thing Thursday. I didn't take long and was easy. A hot shower and fresh clothes fixed me up and then I baked peanut butter cookies before a Ripples zoom then had a tea break zoom with Cindy before heading to the vet to pick up drugs for Goodie's snot nose. I thoroughly enjoyed my 2 days at home with the perfect mix of productivity and fun.

I was taking Helen out to lunch for her birthday on Friday and had to do the shelter cats that morning, of course. I dropped some cookies for Darla on the way to Helen's then we had a nice lunch at Green Gateau (yum!) before going back to her house for cake (Italian cream cake we got to go) and gifts. I'd found the cutest vintage ceramic bookends with horses, which she loved. I had a 3:00 appointment on campus to pick up my laptop then went to Anne's to pick up the bulbs we'd ordered last spring that had arrived from Holland. I also gifted her the volleyball socks I'd knitted for her. On the way home I did round 1 of taking care of Sarah's cats. I was easier than I thought giving the kittens their meds.

I was back doing cats Saturday morning then was off to my spinning group's annual retreat, which was in Wahoo this year so very convenient. I didn't do the morning class so happily knitted socks. Surprise! Lunch was from my favorite cafe and the afternoon class was fun. I got pizza for supper and enjoyed it with a beer before doing Sarah's cats again. I was late to the party but enjoyed Remarkably Bright Creatures. 

When I went to do Sarah's cats on Sunday morning, they'd absolutely trashed the room. Both lamps had been knocked off the table (one would need some attention) and their food was all over the floor. Sheesh! I cleaned up up the best I could with some wipes and texted Sarah about the mess. I had a nice day of chores and relaxing and ended it with a nice dinner from the freezer of cheese and cranberry stuffed chicken breasts and some brioche stuffing, both of which were Aldi impulse purchases. I needed to use up more freezer finds to make some room.

Another good week of retirement with a nice mix of days out with friends and days in with enough productivity to be able to enjoy the relaxation between getting things done. The fall weather held after Monday's front and that made me SO happy. I'm looking forward to getting some yard work done now that fall weather is finally here. Life is good!

Week 41 - Heat and Cats

I was all excited about fall weather last week so was not happy when summer came blazing back. From Tuesday on it was in the high 80's and by the weekend, it hit the 90's. I was determined not to turn on the AC so had lots of plans outside the house where I could enjoy the AC of others and if I was home, the house was shut up and I was either under fans or in the basement.

Monday was the last day in the 70's so I did my laundry, as usual, but also did some cooking so I wouldn't have to cook in the coming heat. I made sausage and peppers (still harvesting tons of banana pepper from my driveway pots), cranberry coleslaw and corn chowder. I didn't have a can of creamed corn in my pantry so had to run to the local market where I had to pay $1.99 for a can of corn! The market in Wahoo is outrageously expensive, which is what happens when there's only one market. I ended the day at Monday Night Knitting, where we started outside for an hour but were driven inside at dusk when the bugs came out.

I ran Wahoo errands early on Tuesday, enticed by $5 t-shirts for sale at the storefront that has wholesale t-shirts but no retail. I found 2 100% cotton ones and was home in time to do some baking while it was still cool - chocolate chip cookies, which didn't come out great when I made a quarter batch and it had too much egg, and banana bread. I talked to my friend Janice, who was the recipient of one of my paper products I'd mailed the precious week - a girl scout calendar that she was in from the 70's - and then went downstairs where it was cooler. That night I went to my first mahjong at the library and sat with 3 seasoned players. They were very nice and helped me when I had questions. I won the 2nd game! That felt great and I'll keep going for sure.

I went to lunch at Acapulco, the mediocre Mexican restaurant in Wahoo, on Wednesday with my new Lori friend (she's the 3rd) and we were there chatting for 3 hours! I ran to the library and bank on the way home and then talked to my sister until Cam came to mow and I had to run out and move hoses. It was a fun day enjoying the AC elsewhere.

There was more of that on Thursday. I had to do the cats at the shelter and then headed to Lincoln for lunch at Cook's Cafe with Becky. I had pancakes and sausage links (the best in Lincoln) for lunch and then went to East Campus for an emeriti/retirees board meeting. I hit one thrift and Stuff afterwards but found nothing. I blasted the AC in the car and drove home happy.

Friday's adventure was driving to Council Bluffs with my cousin to pick up something from an estate sale. On the way to Lincoln, I could hear something flapping as I drove so I called TO Haas where I get my tires and asked if they could balance my tires and reattach the plastic engine shield, which I suspected was the flapping. It was right on the way out of town so they worked on it and had it done before we got back. $300 and 2 new tires later. Bummer. As for the estate sale, I found some fun linens, including this rick rack beauty (not sure what it is but look at the work!), and spent $7. We had lunch on the way home then I hung out at Helen's chatting until 6:00. At least the heat wasn't holding so it was cooler as soon as the sun went down. Another day not in my hot house.

The weekend was here and the highs both days was 92. I did the trick a heating guy told me and put the furnace fan on, which pulled cool basement air upstairs. That cooled it down a bit. I talked to friends, got pizza for supper on Saturday. I did the shelter cats first thing on Sunday and ended the day at my neighbor Sarah's for supper and cat orientation. I've taken care of her elderly kitties before, one that requires meds morning and night, but this time I also had to do meds twice a day for the 5 kittens she's fostering. They were totally cute and didn't mind getting the meds so it wouldn't be hard. She was only going away for a weekend wedding so it would only be 4 times.

So that was my week of enjoying other people's AC. I made it through with strategic closing up of the house during the day and opening windows at night. I also had lots of fun with friends. Much as I hate the heat, especially in October (!), I survived and wasn't too cranky. I wonder if the people I spent time with would agree? : )

Week 40 - Friends and Rain

I had lots of fun with friends this week, did some power streaming on my last 2 days with Acorn and got some things crossed off my list too plus learned mahjong. Sounds like a good week to me.

Aside from chores on Monday, I finally got my Fidelity account unlocked after someone tried to hack it this summer. That was a long process so I was happy to have that settled. Andrea and I were alone at knitting but we had fun and she gifted me a skein of yarn for checking on her cat while she was away, which was nothing and I only saw him once on the last day but gift yarn is always nice.

After knitting and streaming for most of Tuesday (my last day with Acorn), I headed to Lincoln for lunch at Olive Garden with my work friends on Wednesday. It was a dreary day with impending rain so soup, salad and breadsticks was perfect. I did a quick Aldi run and bought a pastry to go with my tea before heading home. I captured this picture of Dude trying to play with Goodie and Goodie tolerating it. The rain started falling that evening.

We got 4" of rain overnight and yes, I had a bit of water in my basement. Nothing that required more than a single bath towel and running the dehumidifier but still not fun. Some came in on the new east wall but very little and I chalk it up to the huge subsiding of the soil they put by the new retaining wall, which has dropped 2 feet in some places. The contractor said he'd be back this fall to put more fill in (it's in a pile on the alley). I got more on the driveway side. I think getting 4" of rain in one overnight is more than my basement can deal with. 

I was heading back to Lincoln on Friday, starting with a routine 9:00 appointment at the oncologist. I had changed it to first thing so I could be at UNL's annual service awards lunch to work the Emeriti/Retirees Association table. I'm not sure why this is considered a good event for the ERA when most of the people getting awards are youngsters getting a 5 or 10 year award. Regardless, I had fun. I saw all kinds of friends and got more hugs in 2 hours than I normally get in a year. It was a blast. I had already gotten gas and picked up mums and another pumpkin at Menard's between the doctor and the lunch so was able to head right home. I had failed with my first choice of yarn for socks on Thursday, which was the 1st of the month so tallying and new challenge socks, so cast on something completely different when I get home and made tuna casserole for supper. Yum!

While I usually stay home on the weekends, I didn't have far to go on Saturday morning. I had signed up to learn mahjong at the library with a new group. I had never even seen a board but have a couple of friends who play and love it so I gave it a try. It was harder than I thought but I liked it and we were there from open to close - 9:30 to 1:00. There were 6 of us learning and we all planned to go to the first meeting next week. Something else to add to my retirement fun.

I had a zoom first thing on Sunday with the other 2 moderators of my sock group on Ravelry - Lia in Germany and Jenna from Minnesota - to discuss planning for the process of choosing monthly challenges for 2027. I then went through the tedious process of setting up my new firestick and antenna then decided to wait to flip my mattress, which I try to do at the change of seasons. Then at 2:30 I decided to do it after all. While this may sound easy, I pulled off all the linens and put them on to wash then took off the mattress and box spring. There were dust bunnies the size of an actual bunny under the bed, which lead to sweeping, swiffering, washing and then putting it all back together. Luckily the linens did dry outside before it got dark but sheesh! That was a busier Sunday afternoon/evening than I usually have these days.

Another lovely week of retirement. I like weeks like this with a nice mix of being home and out and about. I saw lots of friends, learned something completely new  and had some knitting fun, of course. And I didn't need AC so the weather is starting to feel like fall. I'll take it.

Week 39 - A Huge Relief

The week was dominated by paper, fun with friends and my first ever UNL volleyball game. But keep reading for the best part of the week.

Awhile ago, my cousin asked me to look for a recipe for her and after going through 2 boxes of recipes in the basement and not finding it, I kicked myself for not throwing most of that paper out while I was looking. So I started the week going through paper. All the paper in my house - not kidding. I filled 2 recycle bins and needed Tuesday morning to finish. I kept very little of what I went through. I do have a stack that needs shredding or I can burn it next time I have a fire in my driveway.

Having gone through all that, Wednesday was a clean up day. I went to the post office with 2 paper things I'd found that I was mailing out to friends and ran Wahoo errands while I was out. I vacuumed the back room, where I'd done the sorting, because there was dust and schmutz everywhere from all that paper. I ended the day going to a banquet at Southeast Community College with Lorri, which was delicious.

Thursday was a mini road trip day with Darla. After going to the Rotella factory to buy bread, we had fun in Bellevue at some new to us thrifts. The place we wanted to get a burger at, which was actually how the idea of going to Bellevue started, was not open that day so we asked for a recommendation for a local restaurant for lunch and were sent to The Special. It was like stepping back in time with original wooden booths, a fancy carved bar and delicious food. We hit Aldi on the way home and then Darla went through some of my old work clothes and took some. It was a wonderful day with Darla and it ended with book club at the library.

But the best part of the day that left me smiling incessantly was that we got a call from Grand Circle Travel and they cancelled the cruise!!!! I had called them Monday to ask for the actual itinerary and was told it was what they had sent. When I told her that on Facebook customers were reporting being put in hotels and bussed because the rivers were so dry that they weren't navigable, she put me on hold and came back to say she had no information to share. What? Anne and I had planned to call Friday to cancel, which would have cost us each $600 because we'd be using our travel insurance, so having them cancel on Thursday was the best thing ever. Not knowing whether the cruise was happening or not was stressful and constantly on my mind so it was a huge load off. Every cent I get back will go right to our knitting trip to Denmark next April. I can't express how happy I am to have this resolved.

The event on Friday was I was going to my first ever UNL volleyball game with Anne. She's a huge fan and has season tickets but had an extra and no one better to take. She has it down to a science, which required us to get there 2 hours early so we get primo free parking. I grabbed a hotdog for supper and then we knitted as the venue filled up. It was interesting to see the enthusiasm of thousands of fans but as someone who doesn't enjoy sports, I crossed it off my list and will not be going again. Hopefully Anne was happy that I used her extra ticket.

With that done, I was home for the weekend. I had done a 30 day free Acorn subscription, which was ending soon so happily spent the weekend knitting and watching Acorn between doing chores. I was also dropping Peacock so watched Pressure Saturday night. I did have to do the cats on Sunday morning then hit the farm store for birdseed, pumpkins and some mousie toys for Dude. Otherwise, it was reading and knitting all afternoon and PBS in the evening. Another nice weekend at home.

So despite the productivity of going through all that paper and having a fun day with Darla, nothing can eclipse the joy of having the cruise cancelled by them. It really was a constant stressor and Anne didn't help vacillating between still wanting to go, even without me, and definitely wanting to cancel. I accused her of being a total flake about it while we were at volleyball and she agreed that she had been, which made the cancellation even more opportune. Hopefully there will be fall weather in October so I can get some yard work done when I would have been cruising.