Day One-hundred-and-forty-nine: Domestic Day on steroids

This morning has been just like I dreamed it would be, a nightmare of work but without the horrible feelings or ending.  Right off I did the dishes.  I started unloading the dishwasher only to realize that I had not in fact run it yet.  So, I quickly put back the things I had already taken out and added what I could.  Then, while really running it, I hand washed the remaining.

While they were drying I mowed the back yard, but only in one direction rather than cross-hatched like I normally do, and put my kitchen garbage and the clippings in the compost, along with the shredded newspaper and compromising documents.  Since I had noticed that the agapantha blossoms were all now seed stalks, I decided to cut them off and stuffed them in the green bin.  (Another reason never to take the compost from the recycling yard and agapantha seeds aren't likely to be the worst seeds in it.)  By this time it had started to drizzle but I decided to go ahead and vacuum out the Prius' deck.  It held off the serious rain until I had done so.  As I forgot to water down the compost, with its covering of paper, it is fortunate that I also did not put the cover on.  Now the rain is watering it down.  Hopefully I will remember to put the cover on before I leave.

Next I went inside and did the syrup for ginger bread and made two dozen vegan chocolate cupcakes.  Of course this required additional dish washing because I needed the mixing bowls and measuring spoons later today.

After a quick lunch of salad, a mix of the Fresh Herb Salad, green onion, garbanzo beans, radishes, and my flax oil apple vinegar vinaigrette, I took off for Whole Foods and REI.  After mailing the last of the Christmas Letters for which I had addresses, I remembered that I didn't have anything to hang the flyer with.  So, I turned around and went back to my house for the push pins.  Whole Foods approved its posting.  I almost wish I had a hammer.  It was not a cork board but one of those wood chip ply boards.  I also bought stuff from Whole Foods.

Then to REI for my Trekker Sleeping Pad and if I had stopped stopping there, I would have been home much sooner.  Instead I went to Macy's looking for a memory foam cushion.  They didn't have one but I did get a memory foam pillow on sale with a 20% discount on top of that and a 15% discount, if I used my Macy's card.  I didn't have my Macy's card and thought the card that Marilyn had was her card.  When I entered her SSN, there was no card.  (Yes, I still remember it.)  When I entered mine, it found one.  I don't know whether they have the right address or not.  I'm sure Marilyn didn't use her Macy's card since we moved.

As I was leaving Macy's my oldest daughter called to ask me to get some MandMs and a can of Fosters for the grilled beer turkey they are making tomorrow.  I went to Costco for them.  I'm glad I called back to find out which kind or I would have only bought Peanut M&Ms.  Since they wanted Plain MandMs, I got both, after I found them.  I had to walk all over Costco and ask a couple of people, unsuccessfully, before I found them.  However, I did find Beano.  A vegan diet that is heavy in legumes should use a lot of Beano.  The alternative isn't pretty.  Of course, MandM's and Beano aren't all that I bought.

Since Costco didn't have Fosters, Australian for beer, I stopped at Safeway.  There again I bought more than what I stopped for.

Finally back at home I mix up the Gingerbread and set the timer for 30 minutes.  While the Gingerbread was cooking, I completed the flyers by attaching the card holders.  I plan on giving my daughters a few, leaving me with nine or ten for posting across the country and in Columbus.  After I finished the flyers I realized that my timer should have gone off.  I hadn't started it.  The Gingerbread was done.  It may be dry but it doesn't appear to be burned.  Then I mixed up the whole wheat olive bread and whole wheat bread that I am baking tomorrow morning.

Some where in all of this, I fixed and ate my dinner.  Surprise, surprise, this leaves me with a kitchen of dirty dishes full circle back to this morning.

Still to go tonight, after this posting, I will vacuum the floors, which will require a decent amount of picking up, and clean off my HP laptop.  Today has been quite fulfilling, possibly the most so in my Life after Layoff.

Day Seventy-three: Memories and tears

Since the family was together for my son's wedding, we all walked to Marilyn's favorite spot and had a final memorial. I read the messages she and I worked on before she couldn't interact anymore (or sign anything). There was one message for all of her children, with a paragraph directed to each child. There was a separate message for my marrying son. Then I read some of the memories I had already written. We all cried freely.

On the walk up we talked about her "run and rest" walking style. We also found the bench the park service was suggesting as the memorial bench. Now if the park service would get back to us, we can make that happen.

On the walk down, after a companionable silence for much of the first part, we started talking about the future, the immediate future. Did my son have time to go on the shopping trip to Costco for food? He did. In fact, he had time also to get some burritos with us, and eat them.

Then he left to pick up his tux. My daughters left to get a pedicure and I fought off sleep. It seemed the thing to do since my head intercepted the hatch back being rapidly closed by my son after all the groceries we had just stowed. I was attempting to make one last adjustment. One final adjustment may be a lesson in my Life after Layoff, layoff the extra stuff and get to it.

Since I was up until 2:00 this morning, I am going to bed now.

Day Sixty-seven: Pick up and put away is now hide

I woke up today to reality. I was going to pick up things and put them away but I have run out of time. From this moment forward, I will be hiding things in my junk room, the garage, and in the storage shed. This means that I needed to get some more boxes to hide things in. For this I have an errand to Costco. I don't want to buy anymore boxes from the UPS Store. They really cost. So, I saved $3.50 a box. I only had to buy ten of them. Of course, the rum and beer for my guests, the year's supply of trash bags, the two half gallons of juice because they came packaged together, ... Not to mention that the store was further away. (I was also able to get gas though.)

I also woke up in the dark. I was up before 5:00 AM. I had the bread doing the second rise by 5:30 AM and my breakfast eaten by 6:00. Then I moved a few things around, boxes to the garage, baked the bread, and cleaned up the kitchen. It started out a long day.

Some time ago I sent out an email to my family saying that I felt better, and I probably did. Today though I really feel better. I don't know what it is. Maybe I'm getting sick.

Well, I used half of them. I packed everything lying around loose. I packed the slides that I scanned and have yet to scan. I packed miscellaneous items loosely even to use that much. I also threw away, well, recycled, all my magazines. If I had a reading rack in the bathroom, it would have been a good place to put them. It's good to see the floor again. It's good to get the tops of furniture pieces cleared off. It's good to get rid of dust. I should have guests more often.

Entertaining, a new facet in my Life after Layoff.