Vacation Update
I am taking a brief rest from my labors, so I thought I'd post an update. Let's see.....I started cleaning out the spare room on Thursday, before heading off to work. Friday I continued for a few hours before showering up and packing up to head up to Dad's. Stopped on the way there to exchange one of the blinds I bought for his room. I accidentally picked up one that was too wide. Since I needed a new pair of shoes for work, I stopped and bought a pair at the Kohl's that was in the same plaza. Got to Dad's visited for a moment or two with him before taking Dogzilla on his first tour of the grounds, as it were. Dad and I visited some more and Dogzilla got walked a little more, and then Dad and I went to dinner with his Friday night crew, which consists of his cousin and her husband and another guy who's a family friend. Had a nice Italian dinner, and then went home to relax and walk Dogzilla. Between the time we got home and the time I was taking Dogzilla out for his 8 p.m. walk, there was a noticeable change in the air. It had cooled off significantly enough that I was glad I'd thought to bring a long-sleeved t-shirt and a fleece zip jacket.
Got up early on Saturday with Dogzilla, so I was ready in plenty of time to go meet my friend, Patty, for coffee. Unfortunately, Patty overslept and never made it on Saturday. Since she was only briefly in town for a niece's wedding, we agreed to meet at the airport on Sunday morning before her flight home to Tampa. That gave me a chance to pop into the Wal-Mart down the street and cruise around. I got the bright idea to get Dad a new window valance, shower curtain and bath rug for his birthday. Dad wouldn't get things that coordinated for himself, and even though I can't do a darn thing about the bathroom walls that either need re-papered or painted, I figured it would be nice to at least perk things up a bit in there with something new. I bought myself a pair of slippers to keep at Dad's for those late night trips outside with Dogzilla and, it being Wal-Mart where NASCAR is an all-year round marketing opportunity, I also got a Tony Stewart racing cap and t-shirt. While I was out and about, I also stopped at Border's to cruise the magazines (only emerging with 3 cooking magazines. I AM incorrigible!), and pop into Shisler's Cheese House to use the gift certificate that my niece, Katie, got me for Christmas. Then it was home to trot Dogzilla around and spoil him with treats.
In the late afternoon, Dad and I went to a party that a friend of my brother's boss was throwing. My brother, Mark, and his friend, also Mark, were doing the barbecuing for the party. Mark's buddy Mark has one of those $20,000 professional smoker rigs with a wood firebox and a propane furnace. They were doing chicken, ribs and pulled pork for the party. And the 8th Army besides! People were bringing covered dishes to go with everything, so there was a ton of good food and plenty of beer, wine, soft drinks and coffee to wash it all down with. The party was an outdoor affair, and the day was sunny but cool. I was glad I'd thought to stick a pair of gloves in my jacket pockets. Helped keep my hands from getting cold holding my beer! We'd ridden up to the party with Mark's ex-in-laws, Pat and Don, so no worries about drinking and driving, not that I drink that much anyhow. The guy hosting the party collects and restores International Harvester/Farm All tractors and equipment, and he had several on display. Plus the combines and other equipment to match. And my brother says it was only the tip of the iceberg of the man's collection. It was impressive, though. Got to visit my my brother's friend and his wife and their kids, too. I hadn't seen Cheryl or the kids in ages, so it was a nice time. I will always remember Cheryl, as she was one of the first people to show up at the house with food after Mom died. She put together a big cold cut & cheese platter and brought buns and big container of potato salad, and I thought it proved to be among the smartest things to bring in the situation. God bless everyone that brought casseroles and such, but it was usually too much trouble to have to think about heating them up and setting them out. Grieving people just can't cope, y'know? But anyone can make a sandwich and scoop out some potato salad to wash down with yet another cup of coffee.
Saturday evening I mostly just read, watched TV and trotted Dogzilla around. I was up early with him on Sunday, too, which was good. I managed to make coffee, get him fed and walked, and even read a little of the Sunday paper before heading to the airport to see Patty and send her off. We had a nice visit. There's something about having a chance for face-to-face time with people who've known you for 30 years! We had a chance to catch up before she had to go stand in line at the security gate.
Sunday afternoon, I made dinner and then went with Dad to check out in-car GPS systems (Don had one and Dad is now fascinated by them) and cruise Bed, Bath and Beyond. I resisted the urge to buy anything else, though. We went back home and flipped back and forth between the Browns-Bengals game and the NASCAR race before it was time for me to head home. I picked what will probably be the last of the tomatoes for me from Dad's garden. Showered and fell asleep very early last night. I think I was asleep by 8:30! Slept like the dead until about 3 this morning, at which time I was wide awake. So I got up and finished with the shredding and sorting of mail (it is now down to one teensy pile of assorted envelopes that I'll get to in a bit), dusted the ceiling fan and a lot of other things with the Swiffer, and made a grocery list. Then about 8:30, I actually went to the grocery!
I bought things like parsnips and butternut squash and peppers for stuffing with barley. I bought lots of apples, for eating and baking into apple crisp. I'm planning on sorting out some boxes of junk, too, before I take a little afternoon nap, too. I really feel like I am making serious progress here, though, at getting things organized and cleaned up. I can put books back into the bookshelves in the spare room and the bed is actually relatively accessible, too! Yippee!!!
I am accomplishing exactly what I wanted to get done with time off, which feels very good!
Got up early on Saturday with Dogzilla, so I was ready in plenty of time to go meet my friend, Patty, for coffee. Unfortunately, Patty overslept and never made it on Saturday. Since she was only briefly in town for a niece's wedding, we agreed to meet at the airport on Sunday morning before her flight home to Tampa. That gave me a chance to pop into the Wal-Mart down the street and cruise around. I got the bright idea to get Dad a new window valance, shower curtain and bath rug for his birthday. Dad wouldn't get things that coordinated for himself, and even though I can't do a darn thing about the bathroom walls that either need re-papered or painted, I figured it would be nice to at least perk things up a bit in there with something new. I bought myself a pair of slippers to keep at Dad's for those late night trips outside with Dogzilla and, it being Wal-Mart where NASCAR is an all-year round marketing opportunity, I also got a Tony Stewart racing cap and t-shirt. While I was out and about, I also stopped at Border's to cruise the magazines (only emerging with 3 cooking magazines. I AM incorrigible!), and pop into Shisler's Cheese House to use the gift certificate that my niece, Katie, got me for Christmas. Then it was home to trot Dogzilla around and spoil him with treats.
In the late afternoon, Dad and I went to a party that a friend of my brother's boss was throwing. My brother, Mark, and his friend, also Mark, were doing the barbecuing for the party. Mark's buddy Mark has one of those $20,000 professional smoker rigs with a wood firebox and a propane furnace. They were doing chicken, ribs and pulled pork for the party. And the 8th Army besides! People were bringing covered dishes to go with everything, so there was a ton of good food and plenty of beer, wine, soft drinks and coffee to wash it all down with. The party was an outdoor affair, and the day was sunny but cool. I was glad I'd thought to stick a pair of gloves in my jacket pockets. Helped keep my hands from getting cold holding my beer! We'd ridden up to the party with Mark's ex-in-laws, Pat and Don, so no worries about drinking and driving, not that I drink that much anyhow. The guy hosting the party collects and restores International Harvester/Farm All tractors and equipment, and he had several on display. Plus the combines and other equipment to match. And my brother says it was only the tip of the iceberg of the man's collection. It was impressive, though. Got to visit my my brother's friend and his wife and their kids, too. I hadn't seen Cheryl or the kids in ages, so it was a nice time. I will always remember Cheryl, as she was one of the first people to show up at the house with food after Mom died. She put together a big cold cut & cheese platter and brought buns and big container of potato salad, and I thought it proved to be among the smartest things to bring in the situation. God bless everyone that brought casseroles and such, but it was usually too much trouble to have to think about heating them up and setting them out. Grieving people just can't cope, y'know? But anyone can make a sandwich and scoop out some potato salad to wash down with yet another cup of coffee.
Saturday evening I mostly just read, watched TV and trotted Dogzilla around. I was up early with him on Sunday, too, which was good. I managed to make coffee, get him fed and walked, and even read a little of the Sunday paper before heading to the airport to see Patty and send her off. We had a nice visit. There's something about having a chance for face-to-face time with people who've known you for 30 years! We had a chance to catch up before she had to go stand in line at the security gate.
Sunday afternoon, I made dinner and then went with Dad to check out in-car GPS systems (Don had one and Dad is now fascinated by them) and cruise Bed, Bath and Beyond. I resisted the urge to buy anything else, though. We went back home and flipped back and forth between the Browns-Bengals game and the NASCAR race before it was time for me to head home. I picked what will probably be the last of the tomatoes for me from Dad's garden. Showered and fell asleep very early last night. I think I was asleep by 8:30! Slept like the dead until about 3 this morning, at which time I was wide awake. So I got up and finished with the shredding and sorting of mail (it is now down to one teensy pile of assorted envelopes that I'll get to in a bit), dusted the ceiling fan and a lot of other things with the Swiffer, and made a grocery list. Then about 8:30, I actually went to the grocery!
I bought things like parsnips and butternut squash and peppers for stuffing with barley. I bought lots of apples, for eating and baking into apple crisp. I'm planning on sorting out some boxes of junk, too, before I take a little afternoon nap, too. I really feel like I am making serious progress here, though, at getting things organized and cleaned up. I can put books back into the bookshelves in the spare room and the bed is actually relatively accessible, too! Yippee!!!
I am accomplishing exactly what I wanted to get done with time off, which feels very good!
posted by Mel at 10:21 AM
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