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hobby hat trick
FEBRUARY 26, 2018, 8:13 P.M.
I had a quiet, restorative, and productive weekend, with Spouse at work and me keeping close to home. Fortunately, Spouse was kind enough to do the grocery shopping on his days off, so I didn't need to go out.
On Friday, I worked in the morning as usual and stopped at Meijer to pick up some sinus pills, and a couple of items I needed from the sewing notions counter.
In the afternoon, I dug out my beading supplies and went through them, because I had "Beader's Itch", and a project in mind.
Later in the afternoon, I ran B to the vet's office to get the cyst under his ear dealt with. He was supposed to see Dr. S, but Dr, C poached B's appointment right out from under her nose. They all want the B for a patient, since he's so laid back and friendly.
Doc said that it was just a fluid cyst, and he drained it with a needle and did a couple of slides. He checked the slides while we were there and said everything looked good. Clean bill of health otherwise--a couple small fatty deposits by his ribcage, but no other lumps. Everything else is looking good. The soreness around his mouth is the dog equivalent of chapped lips, and we should just put vaseline on it a couple times a day.
We do need to get the cyst sac taken out, but they are going to work up a package deal for us to have sedation dental, remove the sac, trim his nails, clean his ears, and express his glands all at the same time for one price. I will have to call this week to get that total.
So after $100 bucks for the visit and the cyst, and another $30 to refill his hydroxyzine, we were done and came home. I made baked pork chops, rice pilaf, and green beans for dinner, and over the supper dishes, we decided to take another crack at going out for a steak on Saturday.
On Saturday, I got up early after Spouse left for work, and made a real pot of coffee & some toast to get me rolling. Put fresh blankies on B's couch, and on the foot of my bed, for the dog. Then I went to work on the laundry, and over the course of the day did my work clothes, the towels, the whites/lights, and B's blankets.
Took a break after starting laundry, and called my dad for a chat. He is having his hernia surgery on Tuesday, but since his grandson was coaching a team in the playoffs, he was planning to go to Iowa for the game Saturday night, and if grandson's team won, he was going to re-schedule surgery and go to the State tournament! (this, after bitching for three months that he couldn't get the damned thing scheduled.)
We also had our usual conversation about how he can't believe how much everything costs where we live. He has a mental image of K-Town that's 40 years old, and his current frame of reference is boondocks pricing, so he just doesn't get it. I love him, but he ain't no city boy.
After the call, back to work. Emptied wastebaskets and took the trash out, scrubbed the bathroom sink and toilet, took the dish drainer apart for a good scrubbing with disinfectant cleaner, and scrubbed the countertop down. Kept the laundry going. Indulged my baking hobby and baked a batch of peanut butter cookies, then cleaned up the kitchen after.
Then I went in a nother direction, and spent some time on my pens. They were suffering from neglect, and the five I had inked got a sorely needed cleaning--soaked and flushed with pen wash and fresh water, then polished with a chamois and laid out to dry overnight.
At that point, it was past noon and I needed to shower and dress, so I took care of that and advanced the laundry again.
So as of 1:00 pm, I had most everything on my to-do list finished. Naturally, I took the opportunities afforded by a free afternoon, and I indulged in my THIRD hobby of the day (after baking and fountain pens). I started working on a beaded headband for my Auntie in Phoenix, who is wearing her hair longer these days and likes a nice headband to keep it off her face. After looking over the beads I have on hand, I decided on a simple ladder stitch, using some tiny Czech firepolish rondelles--alternating between electric blue and crystal clear.
They have a great sparkle, and the pattern I'm doing will create a nice openwork band across her white hair that will do the job and look pretty. (The underside will just be an elastic band.)
Once Spouse got home, we got freshened up and went out for dinner; successfully, this time. We each had a drink, soup, salad, and steak with baked potato, then stopped and filled my car up on the way home so I didn't have to go out on Sunday if I didn't care to.
Sunday, I kind of repeated myself. Got up early, made good coffee, anyway. Both the dog and I skipped breakfast. My IBS was giving me a hard time, and B's guts were doing the same to him, apparently--he threw up a couple times.
I checked the ballgame score online. Good news was, I found out my dad didn't have to change his surgery date, and my hometown was going to state. Bad news was, the season was over for my nephew's team.
Once I was done feeling crappy, I put myself to work. Stripped Spouse's bed and threw the bedding in the wash, then sprayed the mattress with febreeze and turned the fan on, to freshen things up a bit.
Did some more housework, then went back to the baking--bread, this time. I tried a King Arthur recipe for English Muffin Bread that sounded good and was super-easy to make.
I put it to rise and cleaned the mess up, then I finished up with the fountain pens; reassembling and putting away, and deciding who would get to come out to play this week (see details below).
One I had everything dealt with and the newly inked were nestled snugly in my pen roll, I threw the sheets in the dryer and washed a load of jeans and teeshirts, swept the kitchen, ran the vacuum, and finished making Spouse's bed up fresh.
I baked off the bread (came out very nice, BTW) and took a shower, threw on some clean sweats and my bedroom slippers, and relaxed in my recliner for a while, only getting up to advance the wash. I washed a third load--some throw rugs--but really kind of vegged out for the rest of the day, reading a book (see below) and working on my beading project.
Spouse and I decided on a simple dinner of scrambled eggs, a ham slice heated in the oven, and toast from the homemade English Muffin Bread, because we were feeling kind of droopy. quick dinner, easy cleanup, and then we both vegged on our phones in the evening. As I said--a quiet, restorative, and productive weekend. Very mellowing. I even slept pretty well Sunday night, which is practically unheard of these days. I dreamed about work, but every time I woke up I went back to sleep, which is a cause for rejoicing around here.
Tonight's dinner was quick and dirty--baked chicken breast and a tossed salad--because we had to go take care of the taxes. Glad that's out of the way. Refunds coming, so that's goodish news. I hate to pay too much, but it's preferable to paying too little, I suppose.
It took longer than I had anticipated; the tax lady is going through a lot of family stuff right now, and had just finished dealing with some thorny issues. She clearly needed to talk to somebody about it, so we stayed for almost an hour to let her blow off some steam.
Reading: "The Staying Guest" (1904), by Carolyn Wells.
A new book by this popular author, and written in her best and most interest-compelling style. Ladybird Lovell, the staying guest, is a quaint and startling but loving and lovable child, who comes unbidden into the home of her supposed aunts. How she wins her way is the story. —Boston Evening Transcript, 22 October 1904
Although I enjoyed this book, the title character got on my nerves. A LOT. Her behavior ranged from the slightly impish, to frankly psychopathic. Her Aunties may have been no picnic, but the child's behavior towards them (towards everyone, really) was tyrannical, to put it mildly. There were a couple of temper tantrums that were chilling. I thought she was only a marginally better character than L.T. Meade's Hollyhock, i.e. "THE WORST LITTLE GIRL IN ALL FICTION". Of course, once the whole thing played out, what I really wanted to do was dig up Ladybird's dead papa and punch him in the dick, but that's just me. Well, me and Carolyn Wells. It seems like she writes a lot of characters that make me want to punch them in the dick.
Listening: Echo and the Bunnymen, The Church, The Cure, The Psychedelic Furs
Inked Up: Pelikan Stola III inked with Waterman Tender Purple, Hero 616 with J. Herbin Larmes de Cassis, and Bexley 10th Anniversary with Pilot Iroshizuku Momiji. Not a typo--I'm giving the Conklin some time off. I do want to keep it to no more than three at a time inked up.
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