rhymes with rhyme














navigation
current
archives
links page
profile















slight improvement
July 16, 2018, 6:15 P.M.

You may read this and think this post is a lot more positive than last week's. It is, because I am working on being more positive. A clear case of "fake it till you make it", but I am nothing if not a high-functioning chronic depressive.

Got my hair cut and brows waxed on Wednesday after work. That was closer to the wedding date than I wanted to do, but I had to work with the available time slots on my schedule and the stylist's.

Our concrete slab was poured first thing Friday morning (Seriously. Spouse texted me that they were done by 7:45.), so it looked good for being able to proceed with our plans to put the shed up over the weekend, if the weather cooperated.

I came home from work on Friday, and tackled the laundry, took the B for his laser treatment at 2:30, and squeezed in both a swim and a nap before Spouse got home. (After about FIVE HOURS of vacumming, and a week's filtering, it is the sparkling and pristine pool it should be.) We ran over to Tommy's Diner for dinner.I had a cup of chicken-rice soup and a small julienne salad, he had a breaded veal cutlet dinner, which he inhaled--he was famished.

I went for another quick swim after dinner, because I'd left the solar cover off and we were supposed to get some storms overnight. So I had a dip and pulled the cover back on. After getting it clean, I didn't want a bunch of crap blowing in, or the cover blowing away.

Didn't get the storms, anyway. Barely got enough rain to know we got any. Came in and puttered around in my room for a while, digging out shoes and purse for the wedding.

Saturday, the weather was shitty in the morning--intermittent light rain with heat & humidity. But it cleared off by mid-afternoon and it was very nice for swimming by early evening.

We waited for the concrete guy to come by and get paid, and once that was done, we ran errands. Grocery store, Costco, gas, the menswear store for Spouse to get new swim trunks, and a stop at Batteries +. I can't get my good Bulova watch open to change the battery, Spouse can't do it, and Batteries + couldn't do it either.

If I'd known I wasn't going to be able to replace the battery, I wouldn't have picked a watch for my work anniversary gift back in 2011 (15 years). I maxed the battery out by always pulling the stem when I put it back in its box, but even that can only keep the battery good for so long. I will probably see if I can get it replaced at the one remaining independant jeweler in town. I know from previous experience that the chain jeweler doesn't change a watch battery unless you bought the watch there. I really miss having a jeweler I know and trust. If Herbert's can't do it, I guess that's it for the Bulova.

We chilled on Saturday afternoon; I fussed with my pens and read while he napped, and did a little prep for the dinner he was planning for Sunday.

Saturday dinner was kind of odd--baked potato, some nuke-n-eat chicken sandwiches we picked up cheap at Costco ($6.49/dzn), and a tossed salad. The sandwiches turned out to be pretty good.

We ate fairly early, and I went for a swim after the dishes were done. I left the cover off overnight, since the water was 92 and I really wanted it to cool down a few degrees.

When I came in, I threw on my nightie and went looking for a pair of cheap sunglasses I thought I had in the bottom of the china cabinet. Never found them, but ended up spending about 90 minutes going through the whole cupboard and throwing away a 13-gallon trash bag full of old crap we didn't need or care about anymore. This keeps happening to me lately--I was searching for a missing earring on Friday night and ended up spending a chunk of my evening going through pretty much every jewelry box I have. (A LOT.) I guess it is just time for some of that kind of thing. (I never did find my other sapphire & diamond earring, though!)

I didn't get much regular housework done this weekend. Some minor vacuuming and cleaning in the kitchen. The mood is right--I'm not feeling very sentimental these days. That's always a good time to clean.

Sunday--I did breakfast, for a change. I cooked up bacon crumbles, and home fries, then dumped them into a Pyrex dish and poured scrambled eggs over the top and baked it. I put sharp cheddar on one half, for myself. Spouse made the toast, and we enjoyed a good, robust breakfast to prepare for our day of hard labor. After breakfast, I did the dishes and threw on some old clothes while Spouse ran to the gas station to fill up his car, then to Lowe's for concrete anchors.

Once he got home, Spouse and I spent the next six hours or so outside in the sun and heat, assembling our new shed. We have some finish work to do, but it is up and the doors are on it. Those Rubbermaid sheds are a lot of work! Especially for two middle-aged people who aren't in the best of condition. But we persevered until we A) got to a reasonable stopping point, and B) started to get seriously faint. We did our usual good job of working together, with no fights or lost tempers. He didn't even argue when I forced him to drink water.

Once we had hit our wall, we came in, showered, had a snack, and rested awhile in the cool, dim house. We had an early dinner. Spouse made cube steaks that were seasoned and breaded in toasted panko breadcrumbs and baked in the oven, and we made mashed potatoes, gravy and carrots to go with. Very stodgy-sounding for a hot day--but we were ravenous after our strenuous adventures in shed-building.

Once again, I did the dishes and hit the pool. It got down to about 87, which was much more comfortable. I was mostly floating, just to rest and relax. Then I tucked it in for the night and came in, climbed into my nightie, and had an ice cream cone (black cherry on a sugar cone) before doing my usual prep routine.

If this entry is rambling and disorganized, part of the blame goes to the dog. B. is getting into a habit of wanting to go out at some point almost every night, and he knows if he comes to me, he can wake me and get me to let him out. So my sleep has been rather more broken recently. Even more broken than before, I mean. If he could just wait as long as I can, it would be helpful, because if I'm up anyway with my bladder, I could easily accommodate his as well. But he tends to either be earlier, around 11:30, or later, after I've already been up and back down. And even if I take my cue from him and make myself go at 11:30--my traitorous, middle-aged bladder STILL gets me up at three. (Or at 15 minutes to alarm clock, which is another dirty trick it uses to do me out of sleep.) I hate to short the poor guy on water in the evenings, since he's already in his crate all day, but I may have to. I did quit giving him chilled water, since he tends to gulp down the whole bowl when it is cold. I wonder if he is getting a bit of dry mouth from the Trazodone?



Reading: Actually started and finished "Fair Harbor" (1922), by Joseph Crosby Lincoln. Now reading "The Wonderful Bed" (1912), by Gertrude Knevels.

Listening: Semisonic, Jackson Browne, The Cure, Kings of Leon

Inked Up: A couple of ink changes, but the same four pens from last week. Pilot Vanishing Point med. with a refilled cartridge--the VP is turning out to be something of a fire-hose, so I went for one of my driest inks: J. Herbin Lierre Sauvage (Wild Ivy Green). Still wettish. The Bexley 10th is another fire-hose, so I'm trying J. Herbin Larmes de Cassis (Blackcurrant Tears) in that. Sheaffer 100 Purple Patterns, fine nib, with Waterman's tender Purple, Conklin Duragraph with Private Reserve Copper Burst.

recede - proceed

hosted by DiaryLand.com