Week 44 - Halloween and Stress

It was a relatively quiet week with lots of data crunching at work followed with a productive weekend but my stress level was creeping up with every passing day.

We started the week buying plane tickets to fly from Helsinki to Riga. Why you ask? Because after pretty much demanding a detailed itinerary from our tour company because our trip had been taken off the website and I needed to know when we were getting back to London so I could book a hotel, I saw why it had been taken down. When they finally sent one, it was with an apology and a 100 pound refund because they'd screwed up. This is a knitting and Christmas markets tour in Latvia and Estonia but they'd scheduled the trip before one of the markets started so had to flip the cities and we'd only be doing one market instead of two. I wasn't too upset about missing a market but we were flying into Helsinki and taking a ferry across the Baltic Sea to Tallinn but now the trip was starting in Riga. You can't take a ferry from Helsinki to Riga so we had to cancel the ferry tickets and buy a flight. Not cool and little did we know that was just the beginning of the trip drama.

On a happier note, Tuesday was Halloween and a campus day. I was going to Anne's after work for pizza and to help her with the heel on a Christmas stocking she was knitting for her great niece. I was there all evening and the door only rang 4-5 times with trick or treaters. It was bitter cold but still. Kids just don't go door to door anymore but the pizza was yummy and I knitted the heel for her so Anne was happy plus I left with some snickers. Happy Halloween to me.

On Wednesday, I had a nice lunch with Darla, who was on vacation for the week, at Stauffer's Cafe and Pie Shop. I had dropped my car next door at Jiffy Lube for an oil change while we enjoyed hot beef sandwiches and pie for lunch. I managed to stay awake all afternoon after that big lunch then went straight home for a bowl of cereal for a light supper and Survivor.

The rest of the work week was all data all the time. I was still on Teams with Janae at 6:45 on Thursday evening working on space. At least that made the time flew by and it was time for the weekend.

I had a moment of panic thinking I only had 2 weekends before my trip but then looked at a calendar and saw that I had 3. Despite that realization, I headed outside and did the one yard work chore that must be done before winter - cutting down the perennials between the sidewalk and the street. I leave the brush up all winter everywhere but the ones in the parking because that acts like a snow fence and drops feet of snow on the sidewalk. Despite it only being a couple of feet wide, it took trips to the city burn pile before it was clear. I was happy to finish and head inside for a shower and tea with my friend Lorri, who was coming with scones. We had a nice catch up and I was happy to have my outdoor must do crossed off my list. 

The clocks went back but my cats didn't get the memo so I was up early. After a nice Sunday morning knitting in the sun, I got dressed and headed to the high school for the Project Close Up turkey dinner. After enjoying that, I headed back outside. I emptied all my containers into my veg beds and put the pots away, cleaning up the driveway and deck too. By the time I was done, everything looked much better and ready for the winter. If I did nothing more outside, I'd be good to go, which felt great. Winter is coming!

Week 43 - First Hard Freeze

It was indeed a much better work week - darn good thing! On the home front, we were getting our first freeze of the season, which is later than normal and going to be a hard free but we started the week in the 80's. Freaky weather but good for getting the kittens acclimated to going outside and the warm weather coincided with my WFH (working from home) days.

Work was much better. It was a training week but both of my classes were small, both in the number of people signed up and the even fewer people who actually showed up. I had lots of data prep to keep me busy ahead of a 4 hour working zoom with the F&A consultant on Thursday. My 2nd campus day was Friday because it was the service awards lunch and I was getting my 25 year award - an insulated coffee mug chosen because it's useful and would last.

The freeze, which was coming overnight on Friday, meant that I had things to do. Since Friday's weather was cold and windy, I got busy on Thursday over lunch and after work. I had to bring in all the plants I'd be overwintering and pick the squash and any last produce from my garden. I just put the plants anywhere then headed next door to pick the squash in my neighbor's yard because my vines had jumped the fence. They were enormous and so heavy that I had to lift each one over the fence and drop it on my side. When I was back on my side and moving the squash inside, one was so big and awkward that I dropped it and it split. What to do?

My friend Cindy was coming to Wahoo to pick apples and I'd declined to help her when she asked. But I knew that Cindy would cook the broken squash rather than waste food so I headed her way. She had already picked a bunch but I joined her and between the 2 of us, we filled all her boxes, stopping only when it got too dark to see. We then went out for burritos at the other Mexican restaurant in town, which is smaller and not as gussied up but, come to find out, has WAY better food. Plus the portions were so big that I took half of mine home for another meal. All that for <$10. I know where I'll be going for Mexican food from now on. What a nice night considering I'd originally opted out of the apple picking. And my broken squash found a good home too. : )                                         

Service awards coincides with the all university picnic but that has degenerated barely more than a bag lunch - a pulled pork sandwich with a bag of chips and a bagged cookie. Gas station food. But we had fun with the photo booth (I do work with the best people!) and before you know it it was time to head home, stopping for groceries on the way home. I was ready for the weekend.

After a nice chat with Carolyn Saturday morning followed by some knitting in the sun that beams through my slider, I decided after lunch to do the dreaded STOP class so my speeding ticket wouldn't be on my record. It said it took 4 hours but I started at 12:45 and didn't finish until after 6:30. I took the bare minimum of breaks so the 4 hours was a definite lie. And if you haven't had the pleasure of taking an online STOP class, it requires constant screen interaction so there's no walking away. There's also a test at the end and if you don't get 80%, you have to do the whole class over. I paid attention and got it done. That's one dead Saturday.

As for Sunday, since I'd only brought the plants in but hadn't situated them, I brought in the baker's rack and spent some time getting the plants in their winter spots. I also did some cleaning and cooking and had some wine with supper. I tried to watch Hocus Pocus because I'd never seen it and felt like I was missing something. Nope. It must be a nostalgia thing for people who saw it as a child because I barely got through an hour and called it good, happily switching to PBS for the rest of the night. I'll find some way to cope with the loss. : )

Week 42 - Bad Work Week

Am I getting old, out of shape and overweight or just completely sick of work? Not sure but I'm finding it takes all of my energy to get through the work week and all I want to do is crash all weekend. Anyone with me on this?

It didn't help that I started the week with a campus day. While I don't like doing 2 days in a row, with Wednesday being our anchor day (everyone's in the office), not doing 2 days in a row means working a Monday or Friday on campus, neither of which appeals. Yup, might just be sick of work. 

The reason to be in on Monday was a free lunch in the dorms for staff appreciation so the whole team went for lunch. It was a perfect fall day so a nice walk. I left work a few minutes early to mail a HUGE box of acrylic yarn to my sister but there was someone at UPS trying to mail a package to Africa without a full address. I was held up so long there that supper was a banana in the car on the way to knitting. To end the night, Hazel peed on bed. Right in front of me, I think taking exception to the boxes which I'd neglected to change on the weekend. I ran out to get litter just before the stores closed, changed the boxes, remade my bed and was so keyed up that I had to take Benadryl at 11:00 because I couldn't sleep. Not an auspicious start to the week.

Thankfully, Tuesday was a quieter day. I had all the bedding to wash and hang out, worked on grad allocations all afternoon and had chicken parm for supper before heading to the library for a board meeting.

Wednesday was campus again and absolutely crazy busy. I had a long zoom in the morning to start the huge F&A process, had a meeting with the Vice Chancellor about Husker Cats, which went long do I didn't get a lunch break. I had my car loaded up with stuff to drop off all over town and was dreading doing it during 5:00 traffic but told myself to buck up and do it. After dropping everything off, I hit Aldi. The icing on the cake? I got a speeding ticket on the way home. I was on a paved road north of Lincoln that's my shortcut to get to the highway when I leave Aldi, came over a hill and there was a cop. Total speed trap since it's farm land with no houses. $124 or STOP class. DAMN! Thursday had to be better, right?

Nope. I got an email first thing and realized I'd completely screwed something up at work. It required lots of work for several people and had me slamming until 2:00. I felt bad for causing so much extra work for others and was pretty upset with myself for a stupid mistake. I had a Ripples zoom at 2:00 and just barely made it. I calmed down over the course of that hour. I made a yummy supper of steak and mashed potatoes then ended the day taking Goodie outside for the first time. I stayed out with her for 30 minutes or so and she did well, not venturing very far from the deck. At least the day ended well.

Friday was some better, with a couple of frustrating computer problems in the morning but I dug in on F&A data in the afternoon so it flew. I took both Goodie and Hazel out after work then had a nice supper before settling in for good Friday TV (I'm watching several things that have new episodes on Fridays.) It was the weekend at last. Good riddance to the work week.

Saturday was out spinning retreat at Camp Fontanelle, which is about 40 miles north of Wahoo. It was a gorgeous day and with all meals included, I was on the road at 7:00 and eating breakfast at 8:00. I did the morning class, which was making a pin from zippers and felted wool. I did not participate in the afternoon fiber blending class so sat outside in the sun knitting socks. I did duck out for a Fremont run for Aldi and a huge free frapuccino from Starbuck's. That meant I could head directly home after supper, which was nice. It was a lovely day and I was home by 7:00.

After a LONG week, I was ready to crash on Sunday. I talked to my sister (Dottie not Ginny!) and Deanne in the morning then made a to do list. I had a lovely day interspersing chores between streaming and knitting, ending with some cooking. I made an apple pie to take to knitting then a small quiche from the leftover dough with broccoli on the side. There may have been some wine with dinner and then it was PBS and knitting all night. 

The weekend went a long way towards offsetting my icky work week. I had the door open on Sunday and the kittens were in and out all day long. I checked on them many, many times but they were always somewhere in the backyard and always came when I called them. They're good girls and continue to bring me joy. Despite my less than stellar week, I can still say life is good! Hopefully next week will be better.

Week 41 - Kittens Got Spayed

The focus of the week was the kittens being spayed on Thursday. Since Gansey was spayed before I got her, I hadn't gone through spaying since Tot 12 or more years ago and had no memory of the details so was a touch worried, of course.

I worked on campus Tuesday (pretty much alone in the office) but went to lunch with Darla at Noodles, which was a treat - both the company and the food. Finding a praying mantis and spider in my car afterwards was not so fun but is what I get for hauling yard waste in my car. I hit Aldi on the way home for my stuff and Andrea's (she'd given me a full list) and just had time to put my groceries away before a Gro Big Red zoom event on fall gardening at 7:00. Talk about a full day!

Wednesday was our anchor day when everyone comes in so working in the office meant seeing people, going for coffee, having lunch with Dodie and a work event at The Scarlet Hotel after work. We were celebrating a belated welcome Erica (the new accounting director) and goodbye to Allan, our computer tech who was going to Athletics. It was a lovely time on their rooftop deck and I left in just enough time to get home for Survivor.

The girls were going in first thing Thursday so no food for any of the cats from bedtime Wednesday. I was waiting at the vet for them to open at 8:00 and then kept busy all day, which was easy because it was Foundation reports day. I called at 2:00 and they were doing fine. It was going to be a quiet evening without them but at least I wouldn't be worrying. Right before bed, Tot brought in a mouse and promptly dropped it in the front room. It disappeared and I had no choice but to go to bed with it loose somewhere in my house. : (

I woke up to find Tot parked in front of the linen closet so I jammed a towel under that door to keep the mouse in and sat down to breakfast. Shortly thereafter, Tot brought in another mouse! I was able to corner it in the kitchen so grabbed the dish towel and took it outside. Then I emptied the floor of the linen closet and got that one outside too. I shut the slider with Tot outside - done with the mice thing! I got dressed and was at the vet when they opened to pick up the girls. Goodie was cranky and hissing at her sister but they settled down pretty quickly and slept the day away. They were still dumpy but beginning to perk up by the end of the day. 

My plan was to stay close to home for the weekend to keep my eye on the kittens. I did run to the farm store for some birdseed but otherwise hunkered down. It was a rainy, cool weekend so I made homemade baked beans, which had the oven on for hours. Other than that, it was chores, streaming and knitting while giving some extra love to the kittens. I also found a bunch of squash in my neighbor's yard where the vine had grown through the fence. They are even bigger than the ones I found on my side of the fence. Anyone local need squash? : )

It was a lovely weekend to end the busy week. With the kittens vaccinated and spayed, next step will be letting them outside and getting them used to that before it gets too cold out. Should be fun.

Week 40 - Sunflowers and Squash

With the new month came new weather (it was in the mid 90's the last week of September - crazy!) and with that came yard work. To some that's drudgery but i get great satisfaction from it.

I still had the AC on on Monday but I was able to turn it off and open windows on Tuesday. Yay! We had big storms that evening and I couldn't find Pixel after the thunder and lightening stopped. I went to bed worried and got up several times - calling her, checking the yard and street (thinking of Gansey), in my nightie of course. After a couple of hours of this, I found her happily sleeping in her favorite chair in the front room. Huge relief but sheesh! It took a dose of benadryl to get me to sleep after all that adrenalin. 

I was exhausted on Wednesday morning and it was a campus day. I was getting ready on auto pilot and while not thinking, I opened the damaged hatch of my car. Immediate panic set in but when I was able to get it shut easily, I was super happy. With the ability to use my trunk, I could now use my car as a pick up truck and take stuff to the city's burn pile. I was ridiculously excited about this.

After a full day of F&A at work and a reprieve for going in on Friday (I flat out asked my boss if I could work from home and he said yes!), I was ready for the weekend.

First up was cutting down sunflowers, which volunteered a few years ago and are all over my yard. I started in the parking and it looked SO much better with those huge stalks gone (the flowers had already faded) and that filled the back of my car. I drove the first load with my hatch open and stalks hanging 10 feet behind the car. When I got done with that load, I started cutting the ones by my driveway and garage then went to the east side of the house. I finished that load with prickers stuck all over my clothes but powered through and got it done. I also found a some ready to pick squash by the garage, which was a bonus. I went in for a much needed shower and called my work day done. 

I spent Sunday inside and cleaned out my fridge, making a batch of applesauce with the random apples in my crisper then made applesauce bread. I ended the day making an old fave from my college days - chicken a la king over ramen. Yum! It was a nice ending to a productive weekend and the cool weather was a balm for my soul. Next up for a cool weekend will be cooking one of the huge cushaw squashes I found.

Week 39 - Big Beef Weekend

It was a pretty average week, which felt great after my drama filled previous week.

I started the week with a recorded interview with Progressive, which is my insurance company. They agreed that it was not my fault and gave me contact info for the insurance company of the guy who hit me (apparently it's my job to contact them?) I started emailing, leaving messages and finally got some traction when I got an email saying the person I was trying to get was away but the backup team would help. Which they did. After leaving messages all week, they handled it all on Friday afternoon so I ended the day with some resolution. The body shop had what they needed to order parts and I scheduled to have it repaired while I'm in Europe. Yay - progress!

Work was super busy with a new project for Budget that had me awake in the wee hours trying to figure out the logic for some data I was struggling to pull. After work on Wednesday I went to my cousin Helen's new house in Lincoln for a tour and visit. It's gorgeous and a total departure from their house at the farm. I worked on campus on Friday because I'd scheduled lunch with Layton and Steve a month ago so we could take Steve to our old fave lunch place, which is only open for lunch on Fridays since Covid. It's a biker bar with great burgers so Steve was happy. I hit Aldi and headed home, happy for the weekend.

I love a weekend at home and got a few chores done and pulled a bunch of yarn for an Omaha school teacher who was teaching her home room kids to crochet and boxed up another huge box of yarn for my sister in the process. Otherwise, the highlight of the weekend was going to Colon for their annual roast beef dinner. After eating some for lunch, I still had enough for another dinner and a lunch. Gotta love the fall church dinners around here. Next up will be the Project Close Up turkey dinner at the high school.

Here's a picture of my older cats, Tot and Pixel. Time to give them some picture love since it's been all kitten pics for quite some time now. : )

Week 38 - Sioux Falls Fiasco

What a week! Not only was it blazing hot but I had drama galore. Sheesh!

I started the week waiting for an email from the feds saying I was approved for Global Entry and could schedule an interview. Anne was scheduled in Sioux Falls on Tuesday and was hoping I could go along with her and her friend, Beth. I kept refreshing my gmail account - nothing. When I finally logged onto the Global Entry website, it said I was ready for an interview. Of course, by the time I did that (I never did get an email, btw) there were no Sioux Falls appointments left on Tuesday. After scheduling for Wednesday evening in Des Moines, I decided Wednesday during the day would be better for driving so I rescheduled to then and would be driving alone.

I was supposed to meet Connie in Sioux Falls on the weekend at the end of her business trip but I called her to see when she'd be arriving. It worked out because my appointment was at 11:45 and she'd be arriving around 3:00. We could hang out Wednesday night instead of on the weekend. Yay! I could easily kill a few hours (local yarn shop!) so was feeling better about missing driving with Anne. I put in vacation time for all day Wednesday and Thursday morning and called it good.

I was on the road first thing Wednesday and had Siri giving me directions. But as I reached Sioux Falls, Siri went silent. I'd looked at a map (old school, I know) before heading out so took the exit I thought was right. Well, it was one exit too soon and I had only gone a few blocks when I stopped because someone in front of me was turning left. The man behind me did not stop and rear ended the hell out of my car. OMG! I had a number for Customs in Sioux Falls so called them to say I wasn't going to make my appointment. It wasn't the right office but he said he'd call the Global Entry people and let them know, telling me to head there as soon as I could. 

The guy who hit me took total responsibility for it - I only looked down for a second! - when the cop finally arrived. I headed to the airport 30 minutes later with an accident report in hand. When I walked into the bougie private terminal where they do the interviews, they knew all about me and were super concerned. They took me right away despite there being people already waiting and really didn't interview me at all, just saying the required blurb and taking my fingerprints. From there I went to the Honda dealership for them to check my car out (drivable, which the tow truck driver who towed the other guy's totaled car had thought too) and got a Starbuck's. I didn't have enough time for yarn shopping so went right to Connie's hotel, where I knitted in the parking lot for a half hour until she arrived.

Connie had a working meeting at 5:00 but was otherwise free so we headed downtown for a late lunch. When we got back, the woman she was meant to work with said she was in the lobby and had already started so we sat at a table in the lobby. Connie worked and I knitted. When we were done, we went to the bar in the hotel for a drink. We were still there at 10:00! As people from her work arrived, they joined us so I got to meet all her co-workers (who had all heard lots about me apparently) and a wonderful woman from their board who was super interesting. It was a fun night. For the record, I only had 1 Guinness in all that time. Totally missed opportunity, I know.

I didn't sleep well at all but we got up for breakfast early because Connie had to be at an event at 8:30. I was on the road by 8:00 and it started pouring rain as soon as I hit the highway. It was torrential and so was a white knuckle drive for the first bit but it let up when I got to Sioux City. I had hit a big detour on the way up so was taking a different route home, which took me down I-29 in Iowa. I'd scoped out a yarn shop in Sergeant Bluffs and was there at opening time. I was ready to buy some pity yarn, feeling sorry for myself after being rear ended. I found some lovely yarn and the owner was fun and had great style. I even took pictures of the furniture in her bathroom. It was a nice interlude and I was back on the road. It took longer to get home that way so I drove through Pizza Hut and got home just in time to login for work at 1:00. I was tired but had my interview done, had spent time with Connie and had some new yarn. All that helped with the whole accident thing

I hadn't planned to go to campus on Friday but when I called the body shop, they had time to do an estimate so I drove to Lincoln at lunch, got the estimate and worked in the office that afternoon. I then hit two regular markets on the way home, which is a nice change from Aldi. I headed home fully stocked and ready for a relaxing weekend at home.

And that's what I had. I didn't leave the house all weekend and even found time on Sunday afternoon to tinker with my sock machine. I cranked two sock tubes that are ridiculously loose but I was happy with my first try. After the week I'd had, I needed some happy. Now to get the insurance sorted and the car fixed. Wish me luck.