making the most of Monday
Tuesday, May. 31, 2005, 7:16 PM

An all-too rare meteorological phenomenon yesterday...a gorgeous, completely cloudless day in K-town. Warm--but not hot, sunny--but not humid...crystal-clear, stunning, and perfect. And I enjoyed it, savored it, and if I could have, I'd have folded it up, put it in my pocket, and saved it for later.

Up at 5:16 to throw on my sweats and grab the leash. Raji and I took another looong walk. And once home, I continued to be peppy and driven.

I emptied and cleaned the flowerpots from the front porch, then re-potted them with geraniums in hot pink and white. Then, I went around to the side of the house and re-cultivated my shade bed, since it turned back into concrete since the last time I did it. No fancy tools, either. Spade, hoe, and hands.

And then, I got down in there and set 48 impatiens. Raji kept me company from her "place up North" (a/k/a her kennel).

Still on a roll, I then went into the house and tore into the kitchen, doing up the previous evening's dirty dishes and scrubbing stove and counter. I greased the pan so Spouse could make his cinnamon rolls, and then, I made the coffee.

Yes...THEN, and only then, I had my coffee.

Hard to believe, but all that exercise, gardening, and housework was achieved BC.

After Spouse and I enjoyed our hot cinnamon rolls and superb coffee, we got cleaned up and went to do some errands. Wasp killer, a new hose reel, and rose food topped Spouse's list. Seems the wasps have nested in our shed.

More flowers topped mine. I got lovely yellow petunias for the table planter, as well as a pre-planted square planter with red geraniums and some viney stuff, and he got two more replacements for his deceased roses. We weren't gone long, because I think we both just wanted to be home enjoying the yard.

I set the new planter on the front porch, potted the petunias, scrubbed up the table, and hauled the umbrella and chairs out of the basement and set them up, so the patio set was in full summer mode (even if we don't actually have a patio). Spouse planted his roses and put his hose on the new reel, and by the time we were done, he was ready to take a ride on the Sportster.

And me? Why, I was ready to clean my car inside and out, naturally! So I drove down the street to the carwash, vacuumed it, had it washed and dried, and came home to finish detailing the interior and improve on the job the guys at the car wash had done.

And when I went into the house to get something to drink, I realized I really needed to buy a new 2-quart pitcher. The one I have is lime-green plastic, and probably about 30 years old. A "memento" of my mom's 1970s kitchen. So off I went to the Ghetto-Mart for inexpensive plasticware.

I should never go to the Family Dollar with more than $5 in my pocket.

I needed a 2-quart pitcher. They cost a dollar. So, boys and girls...how much did I spend? That's right! $12.66!

Yeah, I bought the 2-quart pitcher. And a 4-quart pitcher. And two plastic ashtrays for outside, where Spouse smokes his cigars. And a padlock for my gym locker.
And two more of the wonderful soup bowls .
And moth balls, which, per local wisdom, are supposed to drive the squirrels out of the attic.

In my own defense, that is a lot of stuff for $12.66. And I was pretty proud of myself for stopping there. Which lasted until I walked across the parking lot to the Osco and bought ANOTHER planter, this one a hanging basket of flowering vinca. (Hey--I have a shepherd's crook to consider! And it was on special for 6 bucks!)

When I got home, Spouse was merely bemused, as usual, at my lack of impulse-control in the dollar stores and getto-marts.

All those purchases made for another sinkful of dirties, so I grabbed a quick sandwich and then set to work doing the dishes. Again.

After I finished, I put in a load of laundry, then I joined Spouse in the backyard, for an interlude of actually enjoying all we'd accomplished. He sprawled in the swing, Raji at his feet, and I sat in a lawn chair, all of us just doing nothing but enjoying our perfect day.

Until it was time to cook dinner.

I did the baked potatoes, the garlic bread and the sweet corn, he grilled the steaks, and we heartily enjoyed the result.

Well, I enjoyed it until it was time to do dishes, again.

After I cleaned up the mess, and threw the wash in the dryer, we did something we haven't done in a very long time...we took a long ride in the car. We covered the lakeshore from one end to another, and he decided he wanted ice cream, so we went out to Culvers. Where my resolve was no match for "Star Spangled Berries"--strawberries and blueberries in frozen custard.

By then, it was time to come home and walk Raji, so I got her taken care of, and went out to sit on the porch awhile before bed. But when I found myself dozing off out there, I knew my perfectly lovely day was ended, and I hit the bed like a ton of bricks.

The punch in the gut I felt made me wonder how wives and other family members feel about such gestures as this. Do they feel that their loved one is being honored? Or do they feel that their loved one is being used as an antiwar propaganda device?

Sorry, but it bugs me. I'm anti-war, but respectful and appreciative of service people, and hate the thought of them being used. Especially when they aren't here to defend themselves, like Trace. I understand that these names count as important numbers in arguing against the war, but they also count as people.

Does Trudeau feel the loss of these people? Or merely the satisfaction of the "numbers" proving his point?

And found out that my testing environment was being contaminated by the people who were supposed to have turned the project over to us last week, but in fact have been changing shit continually since then. What kind of idiots feel that their paranoid control-freaking is worth wasting a large amount of money on a test cycle that they have totally negated by their meddling? Urgh!

Thank god there's the gym to work off my aggression.

Do not adjust your monitor. Those are the real numbers...I got a little carried away.