remembering

It is a very sad thing when an event happens that sears itself into not only your memory, but the memory of a nation.

Countries and their citizens suffer through events like that. Our country has, perhaps because of its relative youth, a few of those events. In modern times:  Pearl Harbor. JFK's assassination. September 11.

We tend to know exactly what we were doing when tragedy strikes.

I was unloading the van after a trip to the grocery store. A simple mundane activity that I've done thousands of times, but that one time I'll never forget.

sticky mornings, begone!

Last week it was so pleasant to take the dog for his morning walk. It was cool. The sky was clear. The stars were out in full force. Lovely weather.

This week, not so much. It is sticky, muggy, overcast, and yucky.  We had a pop up shower yesterday just as my colleague and I were heading to Stein Mart to purchase something for her to wear to an academic conference she is attending in October. She has just started her PhD work in early modern literature at the local university. At this conference she will be presenting a paper and needed something spiffy to wear.

We found her an adorable kelly green jacket/blazer with big black buttons and a very cute black and white polka dot shell with a draped neckline to wear. She has some nice black trousers and some great shoes/belt to finish the outfit.  It was fun to shop for her and she got a great deal on the two pieces she bought. I think her bill was about $50. Score!

But, back to the weather.....the only good thing about the rain coming when it did yesterday was that our yard people had just sprayed the fertilizer so it was washed into the grass at the perfect time.

Looking at the forecast, I do see cooler temps ahead. I'm eager for jeans and sweaters to return. I keep seeing all these cute cool weather clothes being pinned on Pinterest and I'm still trying to get a few more wears out of my summer things. I need to do a purging of some of those tops at the end of this season. They've been in the rotation for a few years now and are starting to show their wear.

I  may have to go shopping for me and see what I can find on the clearance rack for next year!

Off we go...it is Tuesday. Yep. All. Day. Long.

reading

I've finished the three books I checked out from the library a few weeks back. I rather enjoyed all three of them, although I have to admit that I skimmed the second one in order to finish it. Just wasn't my cup of tea, but the story wasn't bad.

Susanna Kearsley's "The Firebird" was interesting, but moved quite slowly at times. It was the one I wound up skimming. The novel had two plots in it, the one in the present and then the one in the past that the psychic main characters could watch like a movie. The book just didn't have a lot of action.

The last book was a recent addition to the Ursula Blanchard mystery series. I love this series by Fiona Buckley and have been reading it for years. Ursula is a bastard sister to Elizabeth I and the queen's spy when covert things need to be done. She has an odd assortment of comrades to help her along the way. These books are always fun to read.

I'm finishing up some books I loaded on my Nook and in a moment of weakness I purchased two books for the Nook from the $2.99 and under section online at B&N.

So, that is how I spent my weekend. Lots of reading.

Monday, here you are again. Howdy.

the lunchroom

We have a fairly large breakroom at the office. The only thing it lacks is a stove, but it does have two microwaves, a full sink, and a full sized side-by-side fridge/freezer. It also has a very large table with seating for twelve.

I seldom eat in there. First, the chairs need to be cleaned. They are upholstered and frankly, gross. Also, I usually do some exercise on my lunch break, if I'm not out running errands, so I eat in my cubicle. Yesterday our boss walked with us, so when we got back, he wanted to eat in the kitchen instead of at our desks. Fine. I was happy to take a few extra minutes away from the abstracts I was setting to style.

While we were there, a rather random conversation came up about dream vacations. One gal said she wants to take her daughter to Greece. I mentioned a trip to England for me and the hubby.

Then a gal from another department said she doesn't have any dreams or goals, she just tries to get through each day.

WOW.

The room fell silent, that awkward "I don't know what to say to that" silence. The Greek vacation gal, began to ramble on again about her dream trip. Then a new crew of folks wandered in, the no dream/goal gal gathered her things and left.

My department talked about it once we were back in our area. Now, this woman is a bit nuts. She is very passive-aggressive and I've had her go a bit crazy on me twice in the two years I've been working there. Once over a frog video and once over who I sat with at lunch.

Yet even though we know she is a bit off, we all felt sad that she would say to a room full of people that she has no dreams or goals.

I've always had dreams, goals, hopes. They've changed over time, been adjusted and modified, but they are still there.

My boss said she could have just said that to have the exact effect she did. He thinks she is that nuts. Who knows, but it was a moment for me to think about my plans for the future and to recommit to them!

changing course

Over the past couple of months I've been taking one route for Duke's walk. We reverse it on alternating days, but it is a route we both enjoy. Lots of things for him to sniff, and a bit of a woodsy area for me to enjoy.

It is too dark now! The path isn't lit and my night vision sucks, so we have to change our ways.

He was quite confused yesterday when I didn't turn to head up the path and instead crossed the street and headed back down from where we had come from.

We are all creatures of habit. I read somewhere to that begin a new healthy habit you have to stay at it for 8 weeks. Two months. Hmmm.  I would suspect that is true. It may take longer for some. I do know I enjoy walking him for the 15-20 minutes each morning and when I missed a day last week, I felt out of sorts all day. Didn't quite have the energy I usually have.

We are settling into a new routine here at home now as well. The girls have been gone for over a month in the oldest's case and now 3 weeks in the middle kid's case.

A new normal has become a bit more comfortable.

no rest for the wicked

This was not a restful weekend, but we did TONS of things! The master bath is now repainted. A new valance has been hung. New towels were purchased. It looks pretty spiffy! That room is a pain in the butt to paint with five doorways and enough trim work to drive anyone insane.

But, it is complete now except for touching up some of the trim pieces that need a fresh coat of Swiss White.

Hubby fixed all three toilets, they were making weird noises. He replaced our mailbox. He fixed the front door and garage door deadbolts. And he smoked a Boston butt roast! Looks like we will have pulled pork for dinner tonight!

I did laundry, did a bit of grocery shopping, and even found a few minutes to read a book.

Last night we had a nice cookout/visit with the neighbors and some friends of theirs from church.

So, it is back to work for us today, but it is a short week. Not too bad.

roadtrippin'

We are going to sit down and figure out just when we will make road trips to visit the darling daughters this fall. Football schedules come into play as do Speech/Debate tournament schedules, our meager social life schedule, and my work schedule.

It is amazing to know that the weekends we have available are quite limited. We also have to figure out who will watch the dog as our neighbors travel on Fall Break and are not available for two weekends. We could try and hire a high school kid to stay with him for a long weekend. Hmmm. Things to ponder.

Hubby wants to do a big roadtrip visit and see both girls in one long weekend. We'd leave here on a Thursday after I finish work, head south to the oldest kid's school. Visit with her on Friday (she has a light schedule), then on Saturday mid-morning drive north to the middle kid's school. Stay there Saturday night and visit with her and then head home Sunday after breakfast. Sounds like a lot of time in the car, which is not my favorite thing.

I'm sure we will come up with a plan!

Happy Monday and Enjoy your Labor Day!