Musings on a Small Life

Two words: polar vortex. 🥶   Derry's BRIEF outdoor whiffies yesterday afternoon:   I'm struggling to remember last week; every day is like the movie "Groundhog Day" when you're working from home (WFH).   Oh, I did leave the house on TWO days: Thursday for groceries at a nearby discount grocery store, and then on Saturday morning to Farm Boy for a few specialty/other grocery items. Such excitement! We'd had snow squalls on Friday and Saturday, so my walk along the path through the swamp on Saturday morning was lovely. I hadn't been there since the very beginning of January.  I've come to realize, while WFH, that most of my snapshot-taking was on the way to the office or at lunch time around campus. Without that, I've got nothing. LOL. Sunday morning I continued my pre-spring decluttering; my garage is almost bursting, one half with junk (to be picked up at some point) and the other half stuffed with donations. (I hope that some charity will be pick...

I certainly was lamenting having only a 2-day weekend this past week! I was ridiculously busy, mostly with house chores and a gazillion loads of laundry (taking curtains down, washing curtains, putting curtains up, washing blankets, washing cat stuff, my stuff, etc.) Plus a good deal of decluttering, as well as the usual running around. The one bright spot in the weekend (other than the weather, which was wonderful ) was a visit from out-of-town friends R & C on Sunday. We went to the City Greenhouse after lunch, my second (and final) trip for 2020. It was lovely the first Sunday I went, two weeks ago, but it was spectacular yesterday, with most of the flowers now in full bloom, or almost fully opened. Absolutely glorious. It also was very crowded, with quite a few people. I think everyone is getting a bit anxious for spring now! (Do click on the photos to enlarge them for better viewing! I should have gone into  floral design; flowers make me feel so happ...

The end of the week and weekend were not without adventure, one bothersome in a minor way and the others fun for me (pic-taking). Pic below from early Saturday morning. It was bitterly cold at the waterfront and the steam was rising from the warmer water. I nearly froze, even wearing thermal layers, and I didn't linger. Anyway, to back track....When I got home from work Friday afternoon I could hear my hot water tank running, not usual in and of itself. But then I heard it click off and come right back on. Uh oh. I went downstairs to check it out and saw the error code: Fortunately it's a rental from our utilities company, which is deliberate on my part. So I called their after-hours line and a short time later the on-duty tech came out to take a look. By that time the tank had shut off and the fellow did a cursory check (very cursory), left saying all seemed fine. Well, when the tank came on later in the evening, of course I got the error again, so I had to ...

It's another week closer to spring; woohoo! The second Sunday (this past Sunday) was even better at the greenhouse than the first, because the tulips were starting to bloom. My four days off were wonderful! Saturday was productive, Sunday was good company with friends Robin and Chuck (and the greenhouse visit), Monday I did almost nothing whatsoever except veg on the couch, and Tuesday was another busy, productive day. I could get used to a three-day work week (for full pay, of course -- lol). I think the boys appreciated having me home for an extra long weekend, though they slept most of it away. What else is there to do when it's minus gazillion out and the back space is covered in snow and ice? Derry did venture out as you can see, above, but not for long. Too cold! Nicki went out from time to time as well, but for even shorter periods. We're bracing for yet another round of ice pellets and freezing rain tonight and tomorrow morning, before it tu...