early Sunday morning
2004-05-16, 5:51 a.m.

Early. Before coffee early. But I promised myself I was going to treat this as I would my paper journals, so here goes.

I'm on a vaccuuming strike around here, holding out for better equipment. I thought about it yesterday morning, and decided I didn't want the pain that comes from running Big Blue round the carpets. It was lovely of my b-i-l to give me a machine to tide me over till I got a new one, but he got rid of the damn thing because it was heavy and cumbersome and damned hard to shove, and he's a strapping and muscular moose. So here am I two years later, still having to spend my Sundays recovering from the physical strain of this thing. Why? Because as long as I have one, and it runs, why on earth would I need to buy a new one? It must be noted that the Spouse might possibly vacuum, once or twice a year, if he absolutely must, but I do it every week. Until now. Now, I shall studiously ignore the floor. Much as he did the lawn when he wanted a new mower even though the old one hadn't died yet.

It is no longer before coffee early. It is during coffee early.

I am writing this in the small hours of a Sunday while Spouse is taking his brother and mother to the airport for their flight to Nevada. They tried strenuously to get him to go on their little vacation with them, to the point where She Who Must Be Ignored called up and chatted pleasantly with me! At that point, I had no idea that the devious in-laws were up to anything, so I was quite shocked to hear from the evil, nasty, old bitch someone with whom I do not speak. As soon as Spouse came home he told me what was going on, and a light bulb went on. She is never nice without a reason.

I actually got to witness, firsthand, her pressure tactics. She called his cell phone five times after he walked in the door...eight or nine times in less than an hour was, I believe, the final tally. It wasn't till Spouse finally convinced her that he simply couldn't get a flight that she gave up. Now he A.)didn't want to go, B.)couldn't get time off at such short notice, and C.)couldn't really afford it, but those were not good enough reasons for the old bat. Only the physical impossibility of getting him there got her to lay off.

Well, I did 6 loads of laundry yesterday, and got the house looking better as well...carpets aside, of course. Today I really need to do a good grocery-shop. Spouse came home from the duck ranch and did all the yard work yesterday, so we are technically off the hook, chore-wise. He'll probably give his car a loving wash, and he's planning a turkey-fry for dinner. Personally, ugh. I don't care for fried turkey. But he enjoys it so, I put up with it. It is only a couple of times a year. As for me I would really like to fiddle with me beads; try some new patterns and techniques, tidy my work-box, etc.

Funny how I can have as much fun just fussing about with my beads as I can actually making something. And I managed to watch about two-thirds of my new DVD set yesterday, so I would like to finish it. It is quite charming and funny. I love Wodehouse.

4:59 pm

Well, today wasn't quite the laid back day I was hoping for. Spouse got home at about 7:45 from the airport run, and we went to the diner for breakfast. Pancakes with raspberries on top for me--the omelet special didn't strike my fancy. Then off for shopping. WallyWorld, for household necessities and some summer tops and pants for me, then Menard's, where I found out my baby has a Nixon streak...he bought a shredder. I can't complain; it just makes good sense nowadays, and it was only ten bucks. I found the perfect pots for the miniature roses, the right size, the saucers are built in, and glazed to match the birdbath. Next stop, best Buy, where Spouse bought a movie, "The Cooler", and I comparison shopped vacuum cleaners. Grocery store, produce market, and home.

Home to a flurry of activity. After I got all the purchases put away, I kicked it in gear and made potato salad, macaroni salad and coleslaw, plus I sliced up a big bowl of lovely strawberries. It was a lot of work, but we'll have the salads to eat off of for several nights, making weekday dinners easier to cope with this week. It is such a lovely day (sunny breezy, and low seventies), Spouse, Raji and I spent awhile in the backyard. He had his hammock, Raji had her dog run, and I sat at the patio table--beading. Working on two-strand twist of strung teardrops in a mix of blues and greens. Nice and relaxing.

I lucked out at Wally's. I got three cute little summer tops, in blue, magenta, and a chartreuse green that matches my new necklace perfectly! Plus, they had the White Stag drawstring pants I love. Of course they didn't have any black or blue left in my size, but I got a new pair of khaki, and a nice sage green. It is ever thus...I never get shirts AND pants that match at any one store. But I'll get what I need eventually.

"I have a plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel." ~ Sir Edmund Blackadder