Week 18 - A Good Mix

Well, the week started with me finding water in my basement where the new wall met the old one after only .3" of rain on the weekend. The contractor was responsive and the week went up from there.

After texting a pic of the wet floor, I called Chris first thing Monday and he said it was normal but he'd come the next day to check. I worked for 45 minutes that morning with Cindy and then made strawberry/rhubarb pie to take to knitting. I also made a small one for Tim, my one time contractor who had checked out the wall and expressed concern with the grading. When I dropped it off he read me the riot act calling BS on water being "normal".

Chris came on Tuesday morning and said he'd extend the wall to the house where there's only a crawl space under the addition. He came on Friday morning and got it all done except for a small piece of a capstone because he ran out. He's also be coming back to paint the outside trim around the egress window. With zero rain in the forecast and drought conditions, it'll be awhile before it's tested but I'm happy with his willingness to extend the wall.

I had some fun with friends this week. On Tuesday, I went to Project Hail Mary in Omaha with Lori. Great movie and I did a much needed Aldi run on the way home before a Ripples zoom at 6:00. Lovely day. I went to campus on Thursday, planning to hit the Hort Club plant sale before meeting with the Emeriti-Retirees membership committee. Alas, when I got there at 9:15, the line to pay was already so long that there was no way I'd make my 10:00 meeting so I grabbed Darla and we went to the Union Starbuck's. After the meeting, I went to lunch with Dana and Cindy at Fattoush for yummy middle eastern food. I ended the week with an Omaha run with Andrea. I didn't need to go but did anyway. We hit Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and the library book sale. It was past lunch so we went to Brazen Head where we both ordered "chowder", which was just soup. $9 fail in my book. Oh well.

I did get some gardening done too. I put up the new fence I bought on Temu this winter, which took longer than I thought to put together, and then loaded it up with the forsythia branches I'd cut to give access to my backyard from the alley for the dirt removal. I was home early enough on Saturday that I prepped the raised bed where I plant early veg, which was late but the weather hadn't cooperated so it is what it is. I cleaned up the hog panels and the driveway sunflowers to get ready for planting pole beans there later. I planted the veg bed on Sunday, put all my overwintered plants outside and then grabbed my friend Lorri to do a flower buying run to Bomgaar's, which was fun.

In other things, I did the cats twice - Friday and my usual Sunday. I went to poll worker training on Wednesday night, which was honestly horribly done with no agenda and no direction on which of the many packets they were following. At least I met 2 women I'd be working with and they're poll working veterans so I can rely on them having learned very little that night.

The weather was all over the board - from high 80's to low 60's for the daily high temps. Also no rain so I was relying on sprinkling the dirt piles front and back plus my newly planted veg bed every single day. This became a problem when I did 3 loads of laundry on Saturday morning and hung most of it outside. Get a load of my birks when I was done.

I'd call that a good week. It had a nice mix of socializing,  getting things done and a better retaining wall which I hope will fix the seepage problem. Starting to garden is always fun. Now to see if I keep up with it this summer. Send good vibes please.

Week 17 - A Spring Cold

The week started well with a nice lunch in the park with my friend Lorri on Monday but then I woke up with a full blown cold on Tuesday. Claritin D rescued me from the crazy congestion and it's a good thing because I had lots to do.

A big front loader and dump truck arrived on Monday and got rid of the rest of both the front and back dirt piles. They made quick work of it but left a layer of packed clay that a power rake couldn't get through, which had been the contractor's plan. He was going to rent a power rake and charge me big bucks for the raking so I told him to skip it and called my lawn guy. Tim confirmed that the packed clay needed to be broken up by hand so despite feeling pretty crappy, I got out there first thing on Tuesday and raked the back myself. That involved swinging a rake over my head to get it to break through the crust and then yanking it back. I couldn't wait because I wanted the workers, who were busy building my retaining wall, to move the chunks I got up. I did the back on Tuesday and the front on Wednesday. They moved the dirt to the alley and it was ready for power raking.

Cam, who mows my lawn, came on Saturday and power raked then came back later right before it rained and seeded the front lawn. The back lawn had lots of grass coming through but the front didn't. Maybe that pile was there longer? No clue but I saved >$300 by having Cam do the work instead of the contrator. Nice.

After the two days of heavy labor while fighting a cold, I spent a lot of time knitting (finished another sock WIP) and streaming over the rest of the week, talked to my sister and my friend one afternoon and did some baking and cooking. On Sunday I was up and out early to take care of the cats at the shelter and water my friend Lorri's seedlings so that I could cross that off and relax for the rest of the day. Then I got a text from my cousin asking if I'd seen her invite. I hadn't gotten a text (turns out she had texted my old cell) but she had invited me for supper. I hemmed and hawed but ended up going. Of course it was fun with great company and yummy food so a nice way to end the week.

Things were looking up for sure. The basement project was finally finished with the retaining wall done and the yard on the mend from the dirt piles. I was off the Claritin D by the weekend and was doing OK. I also had crew free mornings to look foward to. Or so I thought....

Week 16 - Heat and Workers

The weather was crazy again with 89 for the high on Monday, 80's on a few other days and finally a storm that dropped the temps to more normal spring highs. Between hunkering down in the house to avoid the ridiculous heat and the crews coming almost every day to do work in the yard, I wasn't outside much. 

I did some baking for the crews - banana bread one day, which one guy seemed to love, and chocolate chip cookies another day which no one ate. What? I gave them to the contractor when he stopped by at the end of the day.

Anne and I booked another river cruise trip for the fall, enticed by a free airfare deal. It was still pretty pricey so we've sworn off booking ahead and will look for last minute cheap trips going forward. This trip is mostly in Germany, which Anne has never been to. It'll be wonderful, I'm sure.

I went to a Emeriti/Retirees lunch on Tuesday and then went to Helen's to hang out. There was much laughter while we crafted, as usual, and this time I left earlier so I wasn't rushing to get to the library board meeting that night.

I had lab work and an appointment with my oncologist on Friday morning and so scheduled lunch with Dodie. I was hankering for a burger so we went to Ollie and Hobbes, which had a wonderful mini meal feature that had a small burger (who needs 6-8 ounces, which seems to be the norm here), fries and a drink for $9.50. It was delish and we chatted a long time after we finished. I then went to my friend Becky's for tea before I dropped some yarn at Stuff and picked up some groceries before heading home for the weekend.

The best thing about the weekend is no one would be working in my yard. Having to be dressed and presentable early every morning was getting old. Having a lovely morning sitting in my nightie on Saturday felt great. I did go to spinning Saturday afternoon but didn't make any other stops before heading back home. I was gifted a dozen eggs, which I didn't really need so boiled some up when I got home. But the best part of the weekend was putting my clothesline back up on Sunday and doing 3 loads of laundry, hanging most of it out. Otherwise I did some streaming and knitting, working on WIP (works in progress) socks since I'd finished these Keukenhof Gardens socks on Thursday. Can you see the tulips in the lace? I also made a cozy meal of chuck roast with tons of mushrooms, parsnips and carrots plus mashed potatoes and gravy. Good thing it was yummy because I'd be eating it several more times.

I have high hopes that the outside work will be done soon so I can get back to real life, which will include not getting dressed first thing in the mornings and being able to work outside in my yard without dodging work crews. I'm ready to get back to my normal life - the life of a retiree that is. : )

Week 15 - Heading Back Home

The cruise was over on Monday and we'd made what seemed like a good decision at the time to stay an extra day in Amsterdam afterwards. All we wanted was to get home but lesson learned for next time.

We had to be out of our cabins by 8:00 so after an early breakfast, we put our luggage out and went up to the lounge to wait until our 10:00 transfer to the airport. Our airport hotel ended up being a 15 minute uber ride from the terminal we were dropped off at. Considering that, we were not up for going back into Amsterdam. Luckily the Amsterdam Forest was right by the hotel so we headed over there for the day. It was Easter Monday so a holiday and there were lots of people and families enjoying the weather. We got lost getting back to the hotel so got many, many steps in before we found our way back. We ate sandwiches we'd made on the ship and watched some TV. We were both done and just wanted to get home.

We ate breakfast at the hotel and took the shuttle to the airport. Only when we were ready to board did we see that we were not sitting together, probably because we booked our tickets separately so United didn't know we were traveling together. I sat next to a lovely woman from Chicago and we talked on and off for the whole flight on everything from politics to what we buy at Trader Joe's. I watched The Housemaid, which was very good. The chatting helped pass the time and our layover wasn't long in Chicago so it was a good day of flying. Darla picked me up and took me right home. We checked out the basement work and the dirt piles then she left. I let the cats out and started unpacking. I had to deal with the 3 litter boxes in the shower before I could take a shower and get to bed. It felt great to be in my own bed freshly showered and in and clean nightie with my cats all around me.

I'd been up almost 24 hours by the time I went to bed but still woke up at 3:30 and couldn't fall back asleep so got up at 5:00. I had taken some frozen milk out of the freezer so thoroughly enjoyed mini wheats and coffee for breakfast then started doing laundry. My contractor came and mentioned that they didn't have access to my backyard from the alley but I told him I was fine with cutting down some of the forsythia. He left and I got busy with the loppers. When that was done, so was I. I spent the afternoon cleaning up my 2 email accounts and waiting for bedtime.

There was a talk at the lake about mussels and crayfish on Thursday morning. Not the most interesting topic but the donut was yummy. I left for Lincoln afterwards to do some food shopping and take Darla to lunch to thank her for the airport taxi service. I started on my catch up to do list when I got home. I stayed up later and slept later on Friday so was pretty much over the jet lag. 

It was a good thing I wasn't up super early because I had to do a fasting blood draw Friday morning for my welcome to medicare physcial. I was at the lab at 7:30, went home for breakfast and was back for my appointment at 8:40. My lab results were the best I've had in years, which I credit all the walking and healthy food on the cruise for my LDL being normal. Yay! I stopped at the courthouse on the way home to pay my house taxes and fill out a poll worker form. When I got home, Chris was there to finish the last inside work - reattaching the electricals and removing the beams that he'd put up for the jacks that supported the house. I made more progress on my list and cooked tuna casserole and broccoli for supper. Normal food but not as healthy as I'd eaten on vacation. 

I had a low key weekend with lots of chatting on the phone, knitting, streaming adn doing a few more things from my to do list. I enjoyed doing some cooking and just being home. No matter how good vacation is, and this one was fabulous, it's always good to be home. Back to reality is a good thing. Now to get the basement project finished. Here's a pic of one of the dirt piles and the tarped trench on the east side. Hopefully it'll be done soon.

Week 14 - All Around Holland

We spent the entire week in The Netherlands, specifically South and North Holland. It was a week of "What pretty town are we in today?" I loved it.

We were in Veere on Monday. It had a cute little downtown and we did a bit of shopping, picking up their local pastry called bolus before heading back to the ship for lunch. I think there was an extra excursion that afternoon so two of the tour leaders took the people who didn't go on that on a nature walk. There was a windmill, of course, and beautiful flowers but there was also a cool dock thing to cross a creek that had to be pulled across with ropes. We had a talk on sea salt before dinner and sailed at 7:00 to the next stop.

Tuesday was windmills first thing in Kinderdijk. It has 17 windmills around a series of canals and is such an attraction that each boat can only stay 2 hours at their dock. We toured a windmill then did a boat trip around the canals and learned all about them. Foolish me thought they were for grinding grain when in fact they're actually for pumping water. Go figure. When our 2 hours was up, we sailed away to our next stop - Schoonhoven. After lunch, Rene took us on a walk around town. Not a tour with info just showing what was around. We found a wonderful yarn shop and had fun chatting with the owner and clerk. The owner bregrudgingly sold me a mini skein that she'd dyed and I bought yarn to match it so will make souvenir socks. We also bought yarn at a Bernina sewing store that I noticed had a bin of yarn on the sidewalk as we walked by. Anne found licorice in a grocery store too. It was a fun town and we enjoying the shopping. Then, you guessed it, it was back to the boat to hang in the lounge and then eat dinner.

We were in Gronchem on Wednesday, which was the day you could take a trip to Rotterdam, which had been the plan in the tour documents but the leaders dissuaded us from going, saying that it was just a big modern city. Only a few people went. Anne and I enjoyed the walking tour in the morning and then there was a last minute mini excursion that afternoon to do a cheese tasting and tour another windmill. We did the cheese but skipped the windmill in favor of shopping. We found a small craft store that had some yarn (I pity purchased a single skein of 6 ply sock yarn) and I found my favorite Lion Bars at a discount store so was happy to add these to my cereal purchase. With my 2 European food faves found, I was thrilled. We had passed a cat on our morning walk so headed that way and found a bench to knit on. Anne left to go biking and I mosied towards the cat, who was still outside and came right to me for pets. Loved that. Hanging in the lounge and dinner followed. I was loving this trip!

Enkhuizen was Thursday's town and it was a chilly, dreary day. We did a walking tour, as usual, in the morning and after lunch, we took a ferry to a museum of Dutch life that was on a nearby peninsula. It was brutally cold out there with windy whipping around. Siri said it was 46 but when I asked for the feels like, it was 32. Yikes! We walked around a bit but it was just too cold to deal so we practically ran to the ferry and went back to the ship. Much better. Chatting in the lounge and some knitting warmed us up.

Grand Circle Tours and Overseas Adventure Travel are all about learning and discovery so Friday was our home visit. We broke up into groups of 6 and we went to a woman named Julie's house. She was lovely and gave us her take on life in The Netherlands while serving us coffee and Easter chocolates. She ended with a Dutch thing - alcoholic pudding served with whipped cream and fruit. We walked back to the ship and headed out.

We were sailing during the day so we could see the Naviduct. It's a lock that raises boats above a highway. Yes, you read that right. It was hard to get a picture that shows it but here's the best I could do, taking it from the top deck of the ship as we sailed over the highway. We sailed for the rest of the afternoon so there was an interesting tour of the galley and plenty of time in the lounge. With a beer most afternoons, I'd drunk more in a week than I normally drink in 6 months. There was wine with dinner most nights too. We docked near Amsterdam in Haarlem and had a talk about the Dutch royal family before dinner. 

Saturday was tulip day and there aren't sufficient words to describe it. We started at Annemieke's to hear about her youth program based around tulip farming and to pick some tulips of our own. Next stop was Keukenhof, which is an enormous tulip garden that is something to see. It was Easter weekend and so a mob scene but the flowers were worth it. The colors were breathtaking and absolutely everywhere. We spent the whole afternoon there and it was amazing. Here are a few pics. Because Sunday was Easter, we had the Captain's farewell dinner when we got back. It was a magical day.

We started Easter Sunday with a canal cruise in Amsterdam. I had expected most stores to be closed but that wasn't the case. The one I cared most about was Stephen & Penelope - Stephen West's yarn store. It was buzzing with customers and had lots of gorgeous yarn. I showed some restaint and only bought 3 skeins, 1 of which was a gift. We grabbed lunch in a cafe and then headed to the meeting point for the bus back to the ship. We had packing to do and had a lovely Easter lamb dinner and lots of chocolate everywhere. We had to say goodbyes to some of our friends who would be leaving for the airport in the wee hours. It was hard to believe the cruise was already over.

What a great week! I am a total convert to river cruising. You unpack once and settle in and then you wake up somewhere new every single day. You get to know people and have a great mix of seeing places (our average steps/day was 12,800) and relaxing. The food is all included and delicious. There's no down side to it and I can't wait to do another. Now to get through the next day when we'd be still here while everyone else was flying home. No extensions next time. : )

Week 13 - Stress then Cruising

Nothing's wrong with a week that ends in Europe. But before I got there, I had some drama to get through.

My basement wall project would be done while I was gone and on Monday morning, I got the estimate for the job and would have fallen over had I not been sitting. When we discussed it last summer, he told me it would be $17-18k but the estimate was >$30k! I called him immediately to express my dismay and he had no recollection of the earlier amount he'd given. He said he'd see what he could cut and with no recourse at this point since I was leaving in 3 days, I spent some time planting seeds and trying to put it out of my mind. I also pulled the final sock yarn to pack and went to knitting, where I vented about the price. 

The Emeriti/Retirees group had a tour of the Innovation Campus greenhouses on Tuesday morning and I had invited my friend Lorri. It was very interesting and then we went to Green Gateau for my very belated birthday lunch. We even split a piece of my favorite cake. Yum! I dropped her home and started loading my piles into my suitcase. I just had one more load of laundry to do on Wednesday and I'd be done packing.

l slept badly so was pretty tired Wednesday morning but only had the single load of laundry to do and the final cat prep - loading up big food/water bowls and setting up many litter boxes (3 in the normal basement spot and 3 in the shower upstairs in case they were too freaked to go downstairs with all the construction noise). When I went down to put the laundry in the dryer, the laundry room was flooded and the storage room where they'd be starting work was too. Apparently my main sewer line was blocked. The local plumber was no help so I called my contractor and he said he'd get his snake to try to clear it. I went to the library to pee and found the plumber who was working on the sink in the new conference room outside in the parking lot rifling through his van. I asked if he could come to my house if the contractor couldn't get it snaked and he said to call the office and request him. Fast forward to the afternoon when my contractor's 25 foot snake hadn't worked and this guy came out with his industrial snake machine and got it cleared. With that, the mega stress that had been ratcheting up with each passing minute evaporated. That done I finished my final trip prep and even had time to knit and watch Survivor. Sheesh! Not what I needed the day before leaving.

There's not much to say about Thursday. Lorri and Bob (same Lorri as Tuesday) came early to take me to the airport and the travel, which was through Chicago, was uneventful except for me tripping on my way up the aisle (idiot man had his elbow into the aisle and it caught my carry on) and being saved by passengers with kleenex and a band aid as my right forearm dripped blood. I barely slept on the flight and we faced 2.5 hours in line at passport control in Brussels then were wisked to the bus for a drive to Antwerp. We boarded the ship and the trip officially began! 

We unpacked then had an orientation of the ship and a bit of the local area before we headed out in search of the first yarn shop of the trip. On the way there we found a grocery store that had my favorite Kellogg's Country Store cereal, which is only available in Europe and hard to find so I was very pleased already. We found the yarn shop and I bought a single skein of pink yarn that they dyed themselves (solid so nothing special) and then it was back to the ship for dinner and early bedtime. Exhaustion had set in but we'd sleep well for sure.

Saturday brought our first green group walking tour with our leader Rene, who was full of info and a lovely man. Anne and I opted to stay in town after the tour and walked around enjoying Antwerp. I bought a cherry beer that Rene had recommended and gave it to the bartender to chill for enjoyment later that day. We set sail at 5:00 for Ghent and had our official welcome dinner, which wasn't over until almost 9:00 so we went right back to the cabin and went to bed early again.

We woke up in Ghent but were docked outside the city so had to take a bus to the city center for our walking tour. It was marathon day so the city was very crowded and we had to dart through runners several times to cross streets. We had a local guide for this tour and when it was done, we stayed in town again, grabbing a pastry and coffee to call lunch. Anne and I then took a canal cruise of the downtown before taking the bus back to the ship. We decided to take out e-bikes, which were available on the ship, to cruise around. Now I haven't been on any bike in years (decades maybe) and it didn't go well. I wiped out on gravel covered cobble stones almost immediately and then shortly after decided it wasn't for me and turned to go back to the ship. Well, when you stop pedaling, the motor kicks in and I ended up driving into a stone bridge by the ship. Fellow passengers helped me up and I walked the bike back. Done with that! I took a shower and changed then went up to the lounge. We had a talk on Belgium today and then another yummy dinner.

While falling off the bike (I had a skinned and bruised right knee and a big welt on the back of the other calf) wasn't the way I would have chosen to end the week, it was still a good one. We had already met some fun people that we'd be eating every meal with for the rest of the trip and was enjoying everything about being onboard. River cruising is wonderful and we had another week of it ahead. Yay!

Week 12 - Getting Stuff Done

It was the last full week before my trip so I had lots to get done but I didn't have many free days so had to keep focused. But first it was time to book a trip for next year.

Anne and I have been trying to get together for a trip with some Canadian knitting friends since covid killed our May 2020 Baltic knitting cruise. We had our eye on an April 2027 knitting tour in Denmark by the Irish Tourist Board. Presale, which we'd signed up for, was on Monday and Janice and I decided they would probably be sending the email when they opened at 9:00 am. Well that's 4:00 am our time so alarms were set. When I still hadn't gotten the email by 4:30, I called Dublin only to find out they were sending it at 2:00 pm their time, which was a much more reasonable time for their American travelers. I went back to bed and got the trip booked later. Yay! 

With that done, I spent the morning knitting in the sun and did some laundry. That afternoon, I went through a huge tote of my mom's pictures from trips she took. I went through hundreds (maybe thousands?) of pictures and only kept the ones with her, her sister (my Aunt Dot) or my dad, finding what might be the last picture of my parents together (sorry for the bad glare but I will make copies for my sisters). 98% of the pics went into the trash. Cross that off my list. Knitting didn't happen again between people being sick or busy.

Tuesday was a Helen and Debbie day and of course I ran some errands on the way to her house and on the way home. Helen made a full corned beef and cabbage lunch and we sat at the kitchen table crocheting and chatting all afternoon. I had scored some yarn at Goodwill in the morning and then hit another Goodwill on the way home. Besides yarn, one of the things I always look for is 100% cotton knit nighties and dresses, which are rare these days. Well, They had 6 or 7 Land's End nighties that looked brand new for $9 each. I picked one short sleeved and 2 long and since it was senior citizen discount day, they were only $7.20 each. Score! I then stopped at HyVee for a few groceries and picked up their fried chicken meal for supper at home. It was a super fun day.

I was home Wednesday so made a to do list and started crossing things off. I also wound all the sock yarn that Anne had found for me at an estate sale and got out my bleach and tested it all. All but one had nylon, which makes them sock yarn in my knitting world. Yay! I finished my challenge socks, cleared out the tea cupboard over the store (I'd ordered a huge box of my fave Tetley's British Blend that would arrive shortly) and made a cup of tea. It was 80 degrees so I didn't last long outside. I ended the day talking to my friend Cornelia. It was another good day.

Thursday started at 9:00 with a talk at the lake so I picked up Lorri and enjoyed the talk on NRD education programs. I had just enough time afterwards to pack a lunch and head to Lincoln for the Emeriti/Retirees Association lunch, which was a panel from Backyard Farmer (a local program on PBS about gardening), which was great. Afterwards, I had a meeting with Don and Al about taking over the membership committee duties. That was long but I was home in time for tea, which I had inside because it was now 83 degrees. In the middle of March!

Friday was supposed to be another busy day. I had an appointment with the cancer doc and had scheduled lunch afterwards with Dodie. She was sick so had cancelled and then when I got to the cancer center, they told me I had the date wrong and it was in mid-April. I was pissed and blame the awful outlook calendar app on my phone. To make my 3rd trip to Lincoln in a week worth something I went to Trader Joe's for lavendar dryer bags and spent $47. I then went to HyVee for their $.99 sale, where I picked up a slice of pizza for lunch. I picked up a pain au raisin at my fave bakery - Le Quartier - and headed home. I did stop at the post prom garage sale but bought nothing. It was now 88 degrees so I spent the afternoon inside with the house shut up. I refuse to put the AC on when a few days ago we had a blizzard. Sheesh!

Saturday was spinning in Fremont and Andrea was not going. I hit the Restore before the meeting and found $7 worth of goodies (love that store) and after the meeting I went to an antique store I'd heard about. I bought nothing. It was 99 degrees! I went home to my nicely cool house and did movie night, watching Eleanor the Great (good) and the Peaky Blinders movie (disappointing) and went to bed.

The heat broke overnight and with my trip just 5 days away, I made a pre-trip list and got busy. I was in the middle of things when the contractor who will be doing my basement while I'm gone came by with the guy who would be doing the dirt work. He had his 3 year old with him and he needed to use the bathroom. When he came out I asked him if he'd washed his hands because he clearly hadn't and he said, "It's ok. I didn't touch my penis." What a hoot! His dad just rolled his eyes and off they went. I had been making piles of things to pack and tried on all my long sleeved knit shirts to decide what to pack. PBS filled the rest of the night and like that, the week was over.

So it was a busy week with a good mix of social stuff and productivity. The weather was absolutely ridiculous but I made it through without resorting to AC so I'll call that a win. I would be leaving Thursday and had made enough of a dent in my pre-trip list that I wouldn't be stressed next week. Another win. Just 5 days until I'm heading to Belgium and The Netherlands on a river cruise. Can't wait.