Our anniversary

Thursday

We got up after 9:30 EST which was about my normal time MST. I did not sleep well with the traffic rumbling down the highway all night. Finally as dawn crept in, I got drowsy but the hot flashes kicked in. Getting older sucks.

I got up to brush and swish and dress. Al and I went for a walk up and down Angarde 4 times. I did a quick check of e-mail. I put stuff from my suitcase in a drawer for easier access.

I called Faye and she said she'd come over to get me when she was done. I washed up and put on clean clothes. While Chris and Cecily were out, I hardboiled 6 eggs and read e-mail. I ate one of the eggs and it was pretty soft. I also had some jicama sticks. Chris and Cecily came home and soon Faye knocked on the door. After greetings and such, we went to her van. Then she saw Alfred picking up sticks and went to talk to him.

Then she drove me to Dad's house with me giving directions. We went inside and looked through books. She give me a stack of ones from Yvonne. I changed the outgoing message on my phone. She showed me pics from her mastectomy. They were pretty gorey.

Then we looked through Dad's Florida files. We talked about that and she called a lady who offered to buy the plot and Faye made a counteroffer. Then we searched all the piles of paper to find the deed, which we did. It had Mom's name still on it because apparently Dad wasn't able to find it.

We went through some jewelry and coins, not knowing if they were worth anything or not. Finally we went to my bank to deposit a check and to Dad's bank to do the same. Then we headed to the Damour's. Faye explained how to play Wordle. Due to traffic, we arrived just a few minutes late. Faye stayed to chat for a bit, then went home.

We got in Cecily's car and went to a steakhouse for our anniversary. Chris and I both got ribeye steaks, but one was large and flat and the other was smaller but thicker. The thicker one was still red inside. He pointed out that I did not fast yesterday, and it struck me that I totally forgot. Cecily just got a salad and could not finish it. However, she encouraged us to get a lava cake for dessert and ate her share of it. Then she went to the restroom and did not like what she saw, so we went out to the car to wait while she reported it to the manager.

When we got home, I started deleting e-mail. I texted with Michelle. Then I remembered my blog and wrote down some things about today. After posting to my blog, I watched The Highwire, then went to bed.

Peppermint water

Wednesday Chris woke me up when he got up several times in early morning. But each time he came back to bed, and we slept until after 9 (EST). I got up slowly because my back hurt.

Cecily did laundry. I sprayed peppermint water inside of the Oldsmobile and wiped the non-fabric parts. I opened the trunk and that looked immaculate. William had stuff in there. There were some paper towels in there so I used them to wipe the channels around the trunk, which were full of gunk. I left the windows open to air out the car.

I took a shower and got dressed. Cecily cut a piece of the fabric used to cover the old couch. We headed to the fabric store to get coordinating material, but halfway there, realized we didn't have the sample, so we went home again. Cecily said we didn't have time to go back.

She did another load of laundry. My shirt from last night had spots on it, and they were still there so I sprayed it, waited, then rinsed it out to get chicken drips out of it.

I ate one of the tomatoes I brought because it was getting soft. I texted to various family members the time of the reception, then started making lunch. William called to ask questions about the reception. I made two lettuce wraps for lunch. Chris sliced up part of the jicama. I ate it with avocado dip.

Chris and Al took the Oldsmobile to a shop to address the brake lights. I texted Myra about us going to visit her. Cecily watched the Food Channel while I tried to catch up on my blog. I read e-mail and Facebook notifications. I got a call from a company that sells a variety of products made in America and without toxic additives. She wanted me to become a member. I listened to the spiel, but said I wasn't ready to buy anything today. Later I looked up some products to see how they compared with the ones I buy already.

Then we gathered in the kitchen for supper. We had pork chops, apple crisp, salad, and baked potato. We chatted during supper and after. I read e-mail for awhile. Michele called, but then cut off quickly with “John needs me, I have to go.” I texted with Faye, then agreed to talk in the morning. I read a bunch of Telegram messages, trying to clear them out. Then I went to bed.

* This is an eagle in our back yard on Monday *

It needed a bath

Tuesday

Our plane was supposed to leave at 11:50pm, but it was delayed. First we waited in the airport, then boarded the plane and waited some more. Since our layover was listed as a hour, I thought we would miss our connecting flight. But somehow we landed in Atlanta on time and the gates were side by side. So we waited an hour to board our next flight. I pulled some stuff from my roll-on that I wished I had had during the last flight, a like sleep mask.

However, being in a new time zone, the daylight soon arrived and sleep would not come. So I read my book instead. The take-offs were fine but both landings were hard on my left ear. When we landed in Richmond, we headed to the nearest bathroom, but there was a line, so we walked to the next one for relief. Then we went to baggage claim and met Al and Cecily there. Chris claimed our suitcases and we walked out to the parking lot to find their car.

Al drove us back to his house. We brought our luggage in. We talked for a little while. Chris and Al went to get the Oldsmobile. Cecily had the food channel on and I tried to read my book, but got really sleepy. So I laid down.

I might have dozed off, but still felt 'out of it' when I got up. The others were eating lunch. Cecily washed some romaine lettuce. I used it to wrap lunchmeat and cheese, and ate two of those. Chris laid down and went to sleep. I called the place Al gets his hair cut and made an appointment.

It was so soon, that I had to wake Chris up to take me. Chris and I went to get a haircut, and shop for avocado dip and pomegranate. We did not find a pomegranate, but I got a jicama to go with the dip.

When we got back, they were home. The Oldsmobile looked like a derelict and smelled even worse. The inside was covered with baking soda that I had sprinkled last year. I vacuumed it out. It hadn't done it's job. Then Al and I washed the outside. A surprising amount of dirt came off, and the wash water was black.

Inside, Chris and Cecily were making supper. I laid down for a bit, then read my book until given the 5 minute warning. But it was more than 5 minutes until we sat down. We had chicken catchatori (sp?) and brussels sprouts, and salad. I got spots on my shirt. Cecily made rice noodles for me, and regular noodles for the others.

After supper, Cecily went to bed. The rest of us talked for awhile, and then Chris went to bed. Then Al and I chatted until 10, which was only 8 MST. I pulled the blinds and went to bed.

The never-ending night

Monday

I was already awake at 5 when Chris' alarm went off and he got up to work out with the colonel. I ruminated until he came back to shower, around 7:30. I got up after he left. I tried to parse supplements, but wasn't sure how: not wanting to take everything with me, and yet be prepared for when we get back. I dithered for awhile, then took only the essentials, but it ended up looking like more than that. I packed some vitamin patches.

I listened to Mike Adams, then went to Housing to drop off extra key to a house already inspected. I went to Chris' office to see Revonna, but she wasn't in. Chris gave me an envelop to mail, so I went to the post office, dropped it in, and picked up our mail. Then I filled out a vacation slip to hold the mail while we're gone. I went home and watered all the plants and a few gopher holes. No gophers came out. The thumb that got bit yesterday was warm and tight, but not discolored. Even though I washed it and put h2o2 on it at the time, it wasn't enough, so today I tried vitamin C and essential oil.

There were no mice in the trap, and, as I discovered, no peanutbutter either. I don't know where it went, so I got some more and spread it around. Later I found that it melted in the sun and dripped to the bottom.

Charity stopped by to pick up my car keys. She's going to change the oil next week. I made and ate breakfast. I read e-mail, then Faye called. We talked for more than an hour. After we hung up, I put on walking shoes and went to the school. I walked with Diane and Jenni. After our mile, we said our goodbyes and I went back to Chris' office to find Revonna. But she wasn't there, so I drove to her house. I didn't want to disturb her, but she was outside so I gave her the small dishes and we talked for a little bit. Then I went home.

I put some drops of peppermint oil in water and sprayed my engine, hoping to keep the mice out. The gopher stake was still squeeking every 30 seconds on the dash. I placed a suitcase on the bed and started packing. I used my packing list. I also added some small hot peppers for Patrick and some green tomatoes for Cecily. Chris came home from work. He made himself supper and put the rest in the freezer. I put stuff in the dishwasher and he ran it. I ate some pickled eggs from last year, and fruit. I also picked some greens from the tower garden and had a small salad.

I read e-mail. I texted with Michelle, who is on vacation. I took a milk jar to Michelle's house and left it by the door. I read a few articles from e-mail and made an order to PatchMD. We hard boiled all the eggs in the fridge. I put my laptop to sleep and packed it and all the cords. Chris moved our luggage to his car. Then we headed out, stopping once to make sure I had my ID.

I tried to sleep as the book on CD played. We arrived at the airport at 10. I was tired, but grateful that all I had to do was follow Chris. It was a long walk from parking to the terminal. We stopped at the bathrooms, then went to check-in. Being Pre-Check, it was a short line, and went quickly. I did not have to take off my shoes or unpack my laptop.

When we reached the gate, I got out my laptop to post to my blog, knowing this was going to be a very long night.

Where's the music coming from?

Sunday

I got up to check the new mouse trap. There were no mice. I brushed and swished. I got a text from Tonja that she was too sick to water the plants. I read e-mail, I went through the cosmetics bag to see if I had everything for the trip.

Chris gave me a coconut oil massage, He took a shower and then I did the same. He washed the sheets.

I made and ate breakfast, then I got dressed, took trombone and snack to the chapel. I talked to the chaplain until time for church. Only two others came. We had praise music played through the sound system. The chaplain gave his sermon, then I played three hymns on my trombone. Then we chatted a bit. I told them I would be gone for 2 weeks. And we went home.

I read articles all afternoon. A tab started playing and I could not find it to shut it off. I had to reboot. I skipped going to the gym because neither Diane nor Michelle was available to change out the weights for me. I washed my church dress and all the bathing suits and towels.

I watered the plants outside. While trying to wash the dirt back into a hole, a gopher came out. I grabbed him and hit him with a rock, but not before he bit me. I squeezed as much blood out as possible, and washed it with soap and water. I also squirted hydrogen peroxide on it. I texted Jenni to see if she could water my plants. Then I went to the garden. I couldn't resist sneaking potatoes out of the ground. It was like finding buried treasure. When I got home, Jenni came over. I showed her how to water the plants. We talked about this and that. She gave me some spice blends. I gave her the key to our house plus the keys to the swap shop. I knew she would like that.

After she left, I ate the rest of the steak. I sopped up some of the steak seasonings with cheese squares. I worked on my blog. I made tea and played my trombone. I asked Chris when we were leaving tomorrow and he said 8:30pm because our flight is at 11:50. Yikes! I'm going to be sleep-walking through the airport.

We watched two episodes of Firefly. We dressed the bed with clean sheets. I folded the swim towels and put them away. I listened to a podcast, then went to bed.

The 5K walk/run

Saturday

I did not sleep well due to hot flashes. At some point, I realized Chris was not in bed, so I must have been sleeping. I heard the 7:30 alarm go off. I got up, had some probiotic, filled the empty water jugs, got dressed, then brushed and swished.

When I went to look up today's project, I had no internet connection. I plugged my cable into the modem, but then it wanted to finish rebooting. I filled a water bottle with water and lemon juice. Chris called at 8:30 to see if I was coming.

I packed my fanny pack and drove to the site on Stark Road. There was a sign “Parking” and pointing to the left, but there was no road to the parking lot there and I didn't want to drive off-road, so I went up to the normal entrance and came back to the parking lot. Chris flagged me down and gave me a number to wear. At nine there was a short safety briefing and prayer. Then all the 5K'ers headed out. It was the same route as last year. Chris talked to John the whole way. Sometimes I was in front of them and sometimes behind, but we three crossed the finish line at the same time. We were dead last, but I consider it a public service since no one else wanted to be last.

I chatted with a few people and ate small oranges. I talked to the MWR director and she invited me to attend their next planning meeting. Chris had to stay, but I drove home.

I stopped at the post office and got the mail, which consisted of two boxes. One held the new mouse trap and the other held supplements. I took a shower, then made and ate breakfast. I watched a documentary. Chris came home for lunch.

I emptied my trunk and put together stuff for the class and we took it to the chapel. Chris left, and I started setting up. Tonja arrived. She needed an iron so I went home and got one. I gave her the key to the chapel so she can hold the next sewing class in two weeks. Diane showed up to make a pumpkin. She did a toilet paper roll one, and Tonja sewed a stuffed one. We discussed end times and Revelations. Diane left early and then Tonja and I packed up. I gave her one of the machines and a bag of fabric for the next class.

When I got home, Chris took the remaining machine out of my trunk. I read e-mail for awhile, then put on my bathing suit. I took the large clock and went to the pool. There were 3 lifeguards and two bathers. I got in the pool and warmed up, then swam for almost an hour. Heather got in and we talked about what improvements we want for next year.

I got out just before 6, toweled off and went home. I wanted meat and cooked vegetables, so we went to the commissary and got steak and a bag of frozen veggies. I cooked the veggies while Chris cooked the steak. I ate while watching more of the documentary, then worked on my blog. Sadly I ate most of a bag of pistachios while watching.

I made tea and we watched two episodes of Firefly. I continued the documentary, then went to bed.

Shopping and cleaning

Friday

We slept in. I got up first. I got myself ready, then went to the company house to put the sheets in the washing machine. It took longer than usual to round up the sheets and towels. Some were dingy so I soaked them in the kitchen sink. I also put toilet bowl cleaner in the bathrooms.

Then I went home. I read e-mail. I unlocked the swap shop for Jenni. Chris and I got into a discussion about me asking how many episodes were on the DVD. Then it was time to go back. I put the sheets in the dryer and the towels in the washer. I went to the garden and everything was mostly fine. When I got home, I made cheese squares and read articles.

At noon, I went back again, to put the towels in the dryer. I texted Jamie about meeting at 4. I made and ate breakfast. I waited while Chris checked on something, then we went to Tooele. We shopped at Luckey's and Melanie's, then went home, getting back around 3:45.

I ate some crispy edges of the cheese squares, then went to the company house to clean. Jamie was there already, working in the bathrooms. We dressed the beds, then I cleaned the kitchen. I dusted, vacuumed the floors and mopped. We left at 6. I paid Jamie for helping me and she went home. I too, went home, and made a salad from what I found outdoors and in the fridge.

I listened to a podcast on excess deaths. They were much higher in 2021 than in 2020. Then I worked on my blog. I made tea and we watched one episode of Pickard and one of Firefly. Then I put together an order from Vital Choice to use points that expire but they expired before I finished the order. Still, I was able to get a discount.

Then my computer stopped working so I went to bed.