Week 32 - Biding My Time

I usually get on a plane to Rhode Island the day after the books close but this year, I had a week to wait. I'm not sure how that worked out because John and I had the beach house starting on VJ Day weekend (yes, RI still celebrates victory over Japan) but I had time to kill before I'd fly out on Friday.

The week didn't drag. I had work to catch up on now that fiscal year end was done and Mary asked me for lots of data. I had lunch with Dodie on Wednesday and did the final carryforward entry that was truly the end of FY23 work. I offloaded some work to Brook on Thursday and called work done.

On the non-work front, I got some sewing done when Monday Night Knitting was cancelled, making a cute strawberry project bag for a make along with one of the podcasters I watch and I switched up the pattern on my monthly challenge socks. Add a couple of library meetings on Tuesday after work and doing laundry to put directly into my suitcase and I was ready to go.

I had a direct flight leaving Omaha after lunch and stopping in DC before going on to RI. My flight was delayed so I had extra time at home and the flight was completely uneventful, getting in just a bit late. Matt picked me up and I ate delicious leftover pasta for a late supper. Our tiny house rental started the next day.

John picked me up late morning and we went, with Matt and Carolyn, to The Crow's Nest for lunch. It's my favorite place for fried clams but it changed hands and isn't as good anymore. Bummer. We split up from there and John and I headed to Trader Joe's for groceries then hit Stop & Shop too (a normal market), getting to our tiny house right at 3:00.

So, the tiny house. John and I have rented the same cottage for the past three years but it had been sold and we were told the new owner would be living there so not renting. We wanted to stay in the same village and be on the water, which left us renting the tiny house 4 doors down from our old cottage. We started unloading the car when Erica, the woman 2 doors down from out old cottage and the tiny house, came running over to say hello. We were shocked when she told us that our cottage had been empty all summer with only a couple of weeks with people in it. OMG! We were going to be crammed into the tiny house for no reason at all. Oh well.

The tiny house had a full size bathroom and kitchen but only one bedroom and a loft bed. The plan was for one of us to sleep on the "futon" instead of braving the ladder to the loft, which was definitely the right decision. Until John tried to sleep on the futon, which was actually something homemade and not comfortable to sit on never mind to sleep on. After one miserable night on that, we needed a different solution.

We woke up to rain on Sunday so after a relaxing morning, we drove to Wakefield (the closest town) in search of a full size blow up mattress to put on the futon. We failed on that quest so John blew up the queen sized one he'd brought. The problem with that was that when it was put on the futon, it was only ~3" from the kitchen sink, which meant I was trapped in my bedroom. Good thing I don't usually get up in the night. We put the air mattress on top of the loft bed during the day to get it out of the way. There was also a ledge above the kitchen appliances that was handy for suitcases and such. This picture is from the bathroom. Not bad.

We picked up wraps on the way home and called that a late lunch/early dinner and enjoyed an evening of streaming. We were making the best of our tiny house, which actually wasn't horrible but just a bit cramped. The next door neighbors helped us set up our table and umbrella outside, brought us vegetables from their garden and were absolutely lovely. It might not be our perfect cottage but it would still be a good week.

Week 31 - Goodbye to Kittens

Back in June when I agreed to foster the kittens, I said they had to be gone before I left for Rhode Island so this was my last week with all 5. I had plenty of quality time with them between the blazing heat and fiscal year end keeping me inside the house.

I was still in the thick of fiscal year end meetings but Monday was the day for the "big spreadsheet", which takes upward of 4 hours to create and I have to be meticulous as all get out. Not a bad way to start the week because Monday flew but there was a formula problem that I had to fix on Tuesday. Still, this was much better than the problems with it last fiscal year end.

I prepped a huge box of yarn for Dottie after work on Tuesday and reclaimed the front room a bit, which felt great. Dropping the box at UPS before work on Wednesday felt great too. The day was busy with meeting prep and I waited to leave for lunch until Mary had gone into a meeting. First stop was UNL's Passport Office, where they took my picture and helped with my renewal despite me not having an appointment. I then went in search of a post office to mail it from only to be thwarted by Siri sending me to a closed location, traffic preventing me from getting to another and then waiting in line for 20 minutes when I finally found one. Sheesh! But it's all sent so should be back in plenty of time for my late November trip. Swimming after work was lovely and when I got home at 8:00, I enjoyed a bowl of cereal (supper of champions!) while watching The Grocery Girls - my favorite knitting YouTubers.

Thursday at 5:00 was the end of fiscal year 2023 so after prepping for the final meetings, I was happy to end the day with a box of yarn arriving from Facebook Marketplace and a video chat with Anne, who was calling late from Italy because she couldn't fall asleep.

I did some celebrating Friday to mark the end of the year, taking Chinese to Lorri's for lunch and then I made a fake frapuccino (from an Aldi's mix) instead of tea that afternoon. Anne video chatted again so I got to hear more about Italy. Nice end to a busy work week.

Rene was coming to play with kittens on Saturday so I got up and started cleaning. I don't do major cleaning but there's nothing like someone coming over to get me to do the bathroom and floors. I had bought Wahoo wieners (the hot dogs made by the local locker plant) so we had a yummy lunch and lots of kitten fun. It was my last full day with them all so I took lots of picture and gave them some extra love. 

Sunday was the day for Becky to pick them up. While I'd enjoyed having them and they helped me get over Gansey, I'll admit that they were a handful as they got bigger and more comfortable in my house. Becky came and took all their accouterments before I got them in 2 carriers and into her car, which was easy peasy. She thanked me profusely and was off. I immediately started reclaiming my back room. If felt good to have everything in order and clean but it was SO quiet. As much as they could be pests, I'd be missing them for sure. Hazel and Goodie were my 2 foster fails though so I'd be picking them up after my vacation and would be adopting them. Tot and Pixel wouldn't be happy but at least it would only be 2.

Between fiscal year end being mostly done and the kittens being gone, my life was super calm. Now to prepare for my annual beach week, which is usually right after the books close but was delayed a week this year. Just 4 more work days and I'd be Rhode Island bound. Yay!

Week 30 - Yarn and Ribbons

The week started with a big rain storm at 4:30 Monday morning (yes, I had more water in the basement but not as much as last time) and it went downhill from there. By the end of the week the actual temp was hovering around 100 with the feels like temp of 113 on Friday. Have a mentioned how much I hate summer in Nebraska? But there were some high points despite the weather. 

I dropped my fair entries off before knitting on Monday. I had the colorwork hat, 4 pairs of socks (there's a limit of 5 small knitted things) and a sewn project bag to fill the 6th tag on the entry form. I went to check ribbons right after work on Tuesday and I'd missed best in county by 1, getting reserve best of county. Bummer but I'll keep trying and have already decided on my show stopper for next year.

I was on campus Wednesday as usual and did my regular thrifting at lunch. There's a shop I rarely go to because they rarely have yarn. It's called Cause for Paws and, you guessed it, benefits animal charities, which is close to my heart. I was driving by and pulled in on a whim and totally scored tons of good quality yarn. They had a a huge basket up front loaded with yarn and I went through every skein. I got hundreds of dollars of yarn for on $1.99/skein. Score! And when I got home, the box of sock yarn that I'd bought from Facebook Marketplace was there so it was a crazy yarn day, which is the best kind of day. The picture is of the unlabeled sock yarn, which I bleach tested to make sure they had nylon, which they all did. Oh the socks I will knit!

I got a fiscal year end reprieve so didn't have to work on campus on Thursday. I had planned to go to a movie after work with Tammie but cancelled that, which ended up being a good thing because Tammie spent the afternoon at the dentist and was under the weather from that. I was busy all day prepping reports for closing meetings and spent the entire evening stashing my yarn on Ravelry, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

After a frustrating Friday that started with my internet being down (Windstream fixed it when I called) and continued with computer problems on and off all day, I ended the day with a zoom call that went until 5:30 and then I had to work until 6:00 to follow up from the zoom. There was definitely a beer when I was finally done.

Saturday was a total veg day and other than talking to Carolyn, I did nothing but hole up inside. We did get some rain and the temp dropped to the mid 80's so that was a treat. I was perusing Facebook Marketplace and found a bunch of acrylic yarn for my sister that was cheap and in Omaha. I messaged the woman, who ended up living right near my friend Lori so I called and invited myself to her house to knit on her patio. Sunday was all set before bedtime.

After my favorite CBS Sunday Morning and some knitting, I headed to the fairgrounds to pick up my entries. I went through the BK drive thru and ate on my way to Omaha. The woman sold me a ginormous tote of yarn and 2 big garbage bags so my backseat was jammed full. I then went to Lori's and we went through the yarn quickly before sitting down to knit. She took some bright skeins for the neighbor girls she'd taught to knit. We had a lovely afternoon on her back patio, watching storm clouds pile up to the west as we knitted. I drove through torrential rain on the way home but it didn't last long.

So what a fun, yarn filled week! The first week of closing meetings always flies by and since this is my 21st fiscal year end, it's not as stressful as in early years. Since I only have one more year end before I retire, I did some extra documenting. And the rain was a nice bonus. By end of the week, we were no longer in extreme drought but only severe. Hopefully the rain will keep coming.

Week 29 - Happy with Socializing

This week had some social events that I was more than ready for after the previous week being so quiet. 

We had rain on Monday morning and then again on Tuesday. Having been in extreme drought for so long, it feels special every time it rains. And 2 days in a row! Such excitement.

We had knitting on Monday night and I worked on socks, as usual. I was slamming on my colorwork hat so I could get it prepped to enter in the county fair but I have to concentrate so that isn't for social knitting. This hat is gorgeous, if I do say myself, and I was hoping it might get best of county, which I've never won. I spent evenings working the charts and finally got it done on the weekend.

As usual, I worked on campus on Wednesday and swam afterwards. I took Dodie for a late birthday lunch at Green Gateau, which was delish. I didn't swim on Thursday because I had book club and then I was done for the week.

I had one use or lose vacation day to use so had scheduled an Omaha day with my cousin Helen. She was having work done on her car so I met her at the shop and then we went out for breakfast at our new favorite place. From there we went yarn shopping at Imagiknit, which is always fun (I bought sock yarn, of course) then we did some thrifting. We went to New Life Thrift, which is way east in Omaha and used to be one of my favorite thrift shops. We didn't get much at all but it was fun. After I dropped Helen back at the repair shop, I was tired but forced myself to hit Aldi and get gas on my way out of town. I dug in on my hat when I got home and finished it Saturday morning. I blocked it twice to get the brim to stop rolling but was very pleased with the finished product.

Sunday was the long awaited Oppenheimer. We had tickets for early afternoon and were going to swim beforehand. It was hot swimming at noon and I got quite a bit of sun. From there we ate lunch on a bench on campus and then went to the movie. We'd sprung for the ultra theatre and it was great. The sound system was like old Dolby so you could feel the sound in your chest. Love that! It was a good movie and I went food shopping at HyVee, getting all the things Aldi doesn't carry, on the way home. I settled in for a night of PBS and called the week done.

So it was good week with some cousin fun and a good movie. I finished my hat and it was ready for the fair (drop off is Monday night). Fiscal year end closing meetings would start next week so it was good to end on a high note. All good.

Week 28 - A Quiet Week

It was a very quiet week, which worked for me. Lots of same old same old but with kittens. : )

Knitting was cancelled on Monday night because most everyone was busy. I wasn't too bothered because I had a library board meeting so would be there Tuesday night. With swimming on Wednesday and Thursday, that was plenty of evening stuff.

I had lunch with Cindy Harris from the Law College on Wednesday. The invite was meant for Cindy Miesbach but when Cindy Harris accepted, I went with it. We had done water aerobics together for years so it was good to catch up at YiaYia's over pizza. Thursday was my 2nd campus day so I made the most of it and thrifted with Cindy at lunch and then we got ice cream at the dairy store on East Campus. I reluctantly swam, guilted into it by Anne. At least the next day was Friday.

We had a big rain storm first thing Friday and I got some water in my basement but it was otherwise uneventful and the weekend was here. We had Christmas in July for spinning so I wrapped a pair of socks and made spam buns, inspired by some foot long hotdog rolls I got at The Warehouse, and Andrea and I headed to Fremont. Our lunch was fun and then we hit the Estate Dispersal Store (bought nothing) then Goodwill and Aldi. 

The highlight of the week was Anne coming up on Sunday for kitten play time. She had fun taking pics of the cuties. Becky had sent a Chewy package with the litter I needed but included some new toys too. I've included a video of them playing with the 3 tier green ball toy. If the kittens were awake, the sounds was constant.

So an easy and quiet week with the calm before the fiscal year end storm at work and lots of fun with the kittens. Good times.

Week 27 - Zero Productivity Days

With it being the last month where I'd be at max vacation, I took Monday off so started off with day 3 of a 4 day weekend. Nice.

I had plans with Anne and Rene on Monday, starting with using guest passes to do water aerobics at Rene's gym then eating lunch at Rene's before going to Asteroid City. But when Anne had to make an emergency vet appointment, it all fell through except the movie, which we'd already bought tickets for. That was fine by me. I went downstairs and finished the last squares for my crumb quilt. Now all I have to do it sew them together and get them to the quilter. Asteroid City was a typical Wes Anderson movie so quirky and fun but Anne wasn't impressed. I hit Aldi before heading home for an evening of crazy fireworks all over the neighborhood. Just one more day before that's done. Can't wait.

Luckily, I slept late on Tuesday and had a nice, relaxing day. Andrea stopped by but it was otherwise quiet. Evening storms had nixed fireworks all over eastern Nebraska (worked for me) but when the skies cleared at 10:00, they started up in the neighborhood again. My new neighbors across the street must have spent hundreds. Such a waste but don't get me going on that.

On that cat front, despite Tot standing guard beside the barricades, the kittens had figured out how to get around them (chair to printer to desk and around the screens) so I'd taken them down and they had free range of the house. I was a bit worried about that when I went to work on Wednesday and since it was cold and cloudy so not condusive to swimming, I skipped lunch and left work early. They had done fine and other than knocking over a plant, it wasn't bad. Pixel and Tot were still pretty put out but I also noticed them reclaiming some of the places Gansey had made her own. Gansey was a bully to them so they may not be missing her at all. Still, I spent Wednesday night listening to an audio book on my bed and loving on them. Trying to make up for the kittens with some quality time.

The rest of the week was uneventful. I count vacation days as campus days (my own idea that my boss didn't balk at) so I worked from home Thursday and Friday. I was perfectly busy at work, puttered outside at lunch picking up branches that came down in the storm and cooked some taco meat for the freezer and yummy dinner. Friday was taken up with a new report so went quickly plus it was raining again (how long will it take of normal rainfall before it stops feeling special?) so I enjoyed a full pot of tea that afternoon. Then with Hoopla finally fixed, I watched The Detectorists movie. If you've never seen that show, it's one of my absolute all time faves.

It was another quiet weekend, which I could get used to. I did do chores, a bit of yard work and took a load to the burn pile but otherwise, you guessed it, it was more streaming, knitting and playing with kittens. They have 2 speeds - full on and full off. The full on are getting longer and crazier and they're growing fast.

So the kittens were doing their job of distracting me and it's been 3 weeks so I can think about Gansey without tearing up. Progress.

Week 26 - Distracted by Kittens

I was still mired in grief for Gansey but I also had 5 kittens in the house. I had high hopes that they'd be a good distraction and would help me move on.

The kittens came to me with snot noses but on Monday, Hazel was really croupy and seemed dumpy so I made an appointment and took her to the vet that afternoon. They gave me pink liquid antibiotics - enough to dose them all should any others get worse. Within a few days, I was dosing them all, which had me covered in pink goo and changing my clothes with every dose. But they all seemed to be getting better so worth it.

It was a gorgeous day on Monday so we ended up knitting at Nan's cabin on the Platte instead of inside at the library. It was lovely. Tuesday was busy work day and we were having a food day on Wednesday so I made pasta salad after work and took out a pie crust from the freezer, which I prompty forgot about until I was getting ready for bed. I threw a quiche in the oven and stayed up late until it was done. The alarm would be a rude awakening.

Since I would be gone for 13 hours and didn't trust the kittens in the backroom, I decided that they'd be better off in the bathroom than in their playpen. I started grabbing them and got 4 pretty easily but Willow, the most skittish of the bunch, had me chasing her for 20 minutes. I was dripping with sweat so splashed water on my face and got in the car, where I blasted the AC on max all the way to work.

Work was hard with people giving me their condolences but I managed to hold it together pretty well until I saw the counselor who I'd talked to last week, who was inivited to the food day. I had to leave the room and pull myself together then went back to talk to her about anything but Gansey. I did some thrifting before swimming and was happy to get home to let the kittens back into the backroom. They were unscathed but I wouldn't be putting them in the bathroom again.

I had a dentist appointment at 11:15 on Thursday so didn't drive into work until after that, which meant the kittens would be unsupervised for 8 hours. I left them in the backroom and they did just fine so I left them out all night. I was done with the stinky playpen thing and it would be going outside soon.

As usual, not going into work on Friday was a treat. I ran errands at lunch, including picking up a personal pan pizza at Pizza Hut for lunch, and I took the playpen down and arranged the kitten paraphenalia around the backroom after work. I had a brief bit of panic when I couldn't find Pixel at bedtime but she was back sleeping on the deck when I got up an hour later. Things are still raw but the kittens were doing a good job of distracting me. 

I woke up to rain on Saturday and spent the entire day in my nightie while chatting with friends then streaming, knitting and playing with the kittens, of course. I discovered that dubbed foreign shows were perfect for when I was knitting and I watched a Danish police procedural called The Chestnut Man. I did something I rarely do and went to bed in the same nightie I'd woken up in. My shower first thing Sunday felt great and although I got dressed, I did more of the same on Sunday with the bare minimum of chores thrown in.

So the kittens were doing a good job of distracting me and it had been almost 2 weeks without Gansey so I was coming to terms with it. My other cats were less than enthused and I felt a bit guilty to have sprung these kittens on them when they were getting used to no Gansey but it will all work out eventually. In the meantime - kittens!