Week 20 - Desoto Bend Visit

The week started out super hot, which had me hunkered down, followed by 2 days of 50 mph winds. Crazy spring weather but there was lots of cooking and some fun to end the week.

It was 87 on Monday but I'd put the AC on on Sunday so the house was nice and cool. I finished watching The Pitt on Max (good show if you haven't seen it) and went to the library for knitting. I was the only one there at first so was working on the puzzle while I waited to see if anyone else would come. They did and joined me and Ana around the communal puzzle and worked on it until 7:45 before finally starting knitting. Ha!

Despite the heat, I decided to work on the messy corner in the garage on Tuesday morning. It was cool enough in there in the morning but I didn't finish so went out after lunch and by then it was broiling. I did finish it though and got right into the shower when I went in because I had a library board meeting so had to clean myself up and put on going out of the house clothes. At least it was done.

I had finally heard from the plumber that the contractor needed to look at my bathroom before he could give me a quote and he was coming at the end of the day on Wednesday so I did some cleaning before heading to the dentist at 2:00. The plumber came and I felt better about him than the contractor but still wasn't convinced he was the person to hire so after he left, I arranged for another contractor to come on Thursday late afternoon. The heat had broken overnight so I spent Thursday morning in the kitchen and had so much food that I invited Ana for lunch, which was fun. The new contractor came at 4:15 and no contest, he's the one I'll be hiring. He gave me a ballpark figure that was less than I thought it would be and said he have a quote to me soon.

Friday was my Lincoln day and I'd be having lunch at Helen's. I started downtown picking up book club books at the library commission, ran a few errands and spent the entire afternoon chatting with Helen and looking at her latest decorating projects and her garden. I stayed so long (nothing unusual there) that I gave up on any further errands, just stopping at HyVee for a few groceries before heading home.

Saturday was spinning and we were going to Desoto Bend National Wildlife Refuge for a program. In 1865, a supply boat had sunk in the Missouri River and was silted over for 100 years before it was found and excavated. Except for turning everything red, the silt had kept everything in fabulous condition, including fabric and knitted items. They were doing a special program for the spinners, pulling out items to display and asking us for any knowledge we could share on them. 

The wind had subsided after 2 crazy high wind days Thursday and Friday so a few of us decided that morning that we should bring a picnic for before the program. I packed up lunch for Andrea and me and we headed to Iowa, which was about an hour drive. Sure, the wind was less but it was still too windy to eat outside so we found a table inside. I did a quick buzz through of the museum, which is part wildlife and part displays of the things that were found on the boat - The Bertrand. The program included a power point that gave us the history of the sinking and then we got to get up close and personal with the textiles. We couldn't touch them but they had people with gloves who would turn things over and such when we needed to see more. It was fascinating.

On the way home, Andrea and I hit the Goodwill in Blair and then a Nebraska Passport stop in Bennington, where we got ice cream and a passport stamp. We then hit Aldi in Fremont and went home. It was a fun day. Sunday was my regular old chore day and some work on hoses, which are a project every year of fixing broken ends, finding the right attachments and snaking them under the deck to hook them up. That required a trip to the farm store for parts so of course I bought more flowers, which means there will be more container planting coming up.

So it was a good week. I had some bouts of productivity, made progress on hiring someone to gut my bathroom and ended the week with culture and friends. Hopefully the weather won't be so crazy for a few more weeks. Rain would be nice but not 90 degrees in mid-May please. Are the weather gods listening? Here's hoping