Mixed feelings...

 

😞I've decided to retire.  I'm really going to miss having a birds-eye view (from my office window) of sights like this water hazard on the golf course where the ducks and geese hang out.

😊I'm not going to miss sitting at the computer all day.

😞I'm going to miss my paycheck. 

😊I'm not going to miss the early bedtime.

😞I'm going to miss my boss.

😊I'm not going to miss being on hold for extended periods of every day.

     My last vacation was what got us thinking about it.  Two days into our Autumn vacation I tripped in Pennsylvania and did a face plant onto a  concrete driveway.  It left me with ten stitches in my forehead and a broken arm.  It happened to be my 65th birthday, and I spent it in an ambulance and an emergency room.  We then had a lovely trip straight back home to see a local specialist.  (I kid; I have almost no memory of the trip home thanks to the pain killers.)

    Life is too short.  We want to travel a bit more.  Carey wants to see more live baseball.  I want to complete more quilts.  

    So my job has been posted.  It's a long process, so it will still be a little while.  I think I'm looking forward to it.  Then I think maybe I'm not.

    I'm doing it, but it won't be a complete break (unlike my arm...har har).  I will be transitioning to part-time on an on-call basis.  I will still fill in occassionally when my replacement needs time off.

    I'm kind of at the point where I just want the waiting to be over, now that the decision has been made.

    Maybe I will get back to blogging regularly again.

Reaching out to Juhli...

 Hi Juhli,

I am having absolutely no luck commenting on your blog.  

But I have been thinking about you a lot recently and wanted to reach out.  I'm hoping you will see this.

I have been reading Elizabeth Strout's book Lucy By the Sea, and I wanted to recommend it in case you haven't read it.  I am enjoying it very much.  The main character is writing about Covid lockdown and talks about walking and eating seaside in the open air (I think those are what make me think of you).  Anyway, think you might enjoy it too.

All the best in your house search!

kathleen

Oh Christmas tree...and catching up...

 

We've been having a reading contest at work this year, so I just had to assemble a Christmas tree that fit the theme of the year.  

Carey brought all these books to the office for me from home.  I've constructed a smaller version for our home dining table a couple of times for prior Christmases.  This time I used an occasional table as the base; from floor to tip it stands about 5 1/2 feet tall.  Every morning when I open the office door, I expect to see that the table has collapsed under the weight, but so far, so good.

I'll kind of be sad when it's time to come down.

It's been a couple of months since I've written here.  It's been a crazy couple of months.

We went on vacation in late October, heading to the northeast.  We were in Pennsylvania on my birthday.  When we stopped to fill the car with gasoline, I got out to stretch my legs.  I tripped.  My head hit the pavement.  Ambulance trip to the hospital.  Nine stitches on forehead.  Broken left arm.  End of vacation.  Headed home with pain killers.  Missed a month of work.

The break was pretty simple...no surgery...I'm now doing physical therapy and am back at work.  Things like picking up the laptop and typing are much easier now.

The scar on my forehead is only noticeable if I point it out.  It curves right above my left eyebrow.

All told, I am very thankful that I got off as light as I did.  

Thankful, grateful, blessed...

 

I don't get great phone reception on my cell phone at the office, so today I was standing near the window to get better reception as I was speaking with Carey.  Very suddenly I saw smoke start near the highway, and very quickly it spread in the vacant lots around the QT convenience store which is across the highway from our office.

I started snapping photos, and in hardly any time at all, it looked like the building was on fire.  It wasn't, but the flames were rising high above the brush behind the store.

The firemen were on the scene almost immediately, and I thought they did an amazing job of getting it under control.

It is really, really dry in the area.  Feeling especially thankful for firemen today!

There's an app for that...

 Rudy has had an irritated tummy.  Don't ask me how we figured out why.  

Carey somehow narrowed down the culprit and spent time cutting back plants from hanging over the fence and dropping their fruit where Rudy can get to them and eat them.  He also has gone over the back yard with a fine tooth comb to remove any of the fruit that could be found.

I tried looking online to figure out what they were and if they were toxic, and didn't have a lot of luck.  Then I remembered hearing about apps that you can upload a plant photo and get an instant answer.  A quick search and download, and I had success.

Diospyros texana...Texas persimmon.  Not toxic per se, but the seeds can cause problems for dogs.  The fruit these bear on our property are about the size of a very large grape, but the seeds are quite a bit bigger than a grape seed and there are three per fruit.

The app I installed on my android phone is called LeafSnap.  I don't see myself needing this app often, but it was handy today, so I will probably keep it for any future needs.  I won't buy the paid version, since I don't see an ad in a once-in-a-while use being a big inconvenience to me.

Laborious Labor Day...

So I have gotten several things marked off my to-do list for this long weekend.  I've also done a few things that weren't on the list. But the A#1 thing I wanted to get done was to get my bathroom sink working again.  

Carey hasn't questioned why I haven't been using the sink on "my" side of the bathroom.  It wasn't a big change, as "his" sink is the one with the drawers next to it, so that's where we keep the toothbrushes and toothpaste, so it just got to be a habit to use it more often.  The only thing I really use "my" sink for is while I am getting ready for work in the morning, and I have just gotten used to it being more trouble than it was worth to use it.

So after getting the countertop cleaned off yesterday, I tested the sink, and it sprayed me and across the counter I had just cleared.  Ugh!  So I say to Carey, the sink just sprayed across the counter; I think it just needs the screen cleaned.  He says, ok, I'll get to it.

Now I am the first to admit that I am COMPLETELY spoiled by his jump-into-action ways.  I have never had to nag in our entire marriage, as he is a firm believer in the do-it-now principle.  (Opposites DO attract.)

But this time he didn't.

No sweat.  I could wait.  But I really couldn't put any of the countertop items back until I knew that he wouldn't just need me to move them again as he worked.  So this morning, I say, do you think you will work on the faucett today?  He says, I don't know, I have to go get parts, and I don't know what it's going to take or if I can find them.  

I said, I don't think it is going to need that at all.  And in his most patronizing tone, he said, 'You don't understand.'

Truly, I didn't really understand the problem, as most times I just soak the screen aerator in vinegar, and it get's rid of the mineral build up and can be put right back on.  Plus it really pisses me off when he talks MAN SPEAK to me.  So rather than disturb him further, I went to the sink and tried to remove the aerator myself.  It was truly calcified on with the mineral build up, so I couldn't budge it barehanded.  

I turn to my stash of tools that I keep in the laundry room, and pick out a couple of wrenches and a pair of pliers to try...neither of which worked.  So I turned to something I absolutely KNEW would work.  I used the wrench to smack the aerator.  I knew that would work because A) it would either knock the minerals loose enough to be able to twist it off; or B) Carey would hear me and run in there to stop me...which he did.

What are you doing? he says.  I'm trying to get the screen off to soak it in vinegar.  He said, Why?  I said, Because that is what the problem is.  

That's it?  he says.  Yes, I say.  Oh, he says, I thought you were talking about the hot-water handle on the bathtub.

Huh?

At NO time did I say 'hot,' 'water,' 'handle,' or 'BATHTUB!'  

MEN!  

Oh, well.  The aerator is now soaking in vinegar.

That's a wrap...

 

Yes, that's a wrap too, but I was talking about the week ending and a three-day weekend ahead!  YAY!  

We've had some rain recently, so the temperatures have been a little lower.  Both were very  welcome!

It's time to start getting ready for my annual performance review.  

Do you hear crickets too?  That's about how I feel about reviews.  The only good thing is that it will be done before I leave on vacation, so I can enjoy being away without it hanging over my head.  And it's not like my boss is an ogre, it's more that I hate the forced self assessment leading up to it.  :(

I have not felt the least bit frugal lately.  I have been doing some research about a budgetary issue that is coming up.  Hoping we make the right choice.

Carey has been very frugal, as he has finished painting the house exterior all on his own, except for some dormer windows that need special skills and equipment to replace some wood decay and paint.  We can't seem to find a tradesman who will call us back, so we are stuck just waiting and asking people if they have any recommendations..  While he waits for a callback, he is ready to get started painting the front and side doors, and I think I have decided on a color.  Excited to see how it turns out.

The house STILL has a bit of skunky odor, but for the most part it is gone.  Last night I dreamed Rudy had another close encounter of the skunky kind.  Woke up very relieved to know it was just a bad dream.  :)

I had my annual doctor visit this week.  I LOVE my doctor.  I have been seeing her since about 2006.  She spends so much time with her patients.  You never feel like you are in a revolving door, or just another chart.  

Work has been somewhat busy.  Yesterday I felt like I had a productive day without a lot of phones to answer and distractions.  I was able to get a project ready to go out next week without the pressure of having it filling up time right up till the last day.  I love that feeling.

So that's about it for my week.  I am SO excited about the extra day off this weekend!  No big plans, just hanging around the house.  Carey and Jared are going to a minor league baseball game tomorrow, so I'll have the house to myself (unusual these days).  

I hope to:  

• wash clothes
• make a large batch of baked oatmeal and individually wrap to stock the freezer with work breakfasts also made brownies for Sunday family supper
• dust
• clean and organize my bathroom vanity and drawers
• clean off the kitchen and dining room tables
• make some cards and get them ready to mail
• go through craft supplies to organize and/or donate
• and read a little

That doesn't sound like much does it?

The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is Upending Who We Are by Libby Copeland

This is what I'm currently reading.  Pretty interesting!  About the trend of so many of us getting our DNA tested.  I admit that I have had mine done...out of curiousity.  Have you had yours tested and had any interesting or unexpected results?