It's Wednesday - A "Day Off" and Lots of This and That

It's Wednesday, the mid-day of the work week for most people. Of course, I work through Saturday, so I don't have a firm mid-point. Ideally, if all goes according to schedule, I have Sunday and Wednesday off, so today is a day to do some cooking, some housecleaning, and some work on some legal papers that should have been emailed to me yesterday afternoon. We'll see how efficient his legal office is when I open my emails later this morning. 

It's a Wednesday. That means it's a trash day, it's a 
recycling day (every other week), and the yard waste 
bucket needs to be brought to the curb as well (if it is 
full enough). I'll always have one bucket at the curb on 
a Wednesday, but at this time of the year, I'll often have 
all three in a row. 

Now, however, I'm seated at my desktop computer, looking at a crowded desk with one bill to pay prominently positioned. I have a new Denver Broncos emblem that Sharon sent as a "Thank You" gift to me. It's supposed to replace the rather sad sticker that Minnion has on the rear panel. Minnesota weather isn't friendly towards decals. The new emblem is slick! Getting the old emblem off ... well that will be the problem. I've tackled that before to replace stickers on Minnion in the past. Not easy! 

Sharon sent me a new Denver Broncos logo sticker 
for my car. It's very shiny! LOL I love it. My old 
sticker (also a gift from her) is showing its' age and the 
experiences of harsh winters. Time to upgrade! 

But I think I can spend some time actually doing something like that instead of cooking like a crazy person. Of course, I also have legal paperwork to review in my computer in-box, I need to shop for groceries, and I also need to make a quick stop by Target for two ridiculous things, but things that are needed. So it will be a full day, with some out and about and a bit of this and that. 

I've been in touch with this author and 
business owner for several years now. I 
firmly believe that hiring him to handle our 
store liquidation will be the best way for us 
to go. I'm almost finished with the book, then 
I'll lend it to DH. I thought I also had it in 
PDF format. I'll have to check to make sure. 

I took most of yesterday and a highlighter and went through the book on liquidating the inventory at the shop. I've wanted to hire this particular guy to run our End of Business Sale for more than a year, and DH may finally be on the same page. I'm almost finished with the book, then I'll turn it over to him and he can read it too. I think I might have an e-version of the book in my computer files. If so, I'll pull that up and start listening to it. I need this in my bones - need to know exactly what needs to be done without looking everything up. Getting out of business is a LOT more complicated than opening up a new venture. 

I'm always stressed these days, and swimming (or working 
out on the treadmill) is essential to not exploding - LOL. 
I do love my days in the pool - indoor or outdoor. We're back 
indoors again now - Winter is Coming! 

So, I'm off to the pool to work off some of this stress. At least my underwater audio book player seems to be OK again. I ordered a new one just in case, but I'll keep it in its' box when it arrives and only open it when my current player bites the dust. Yesterday's swim was BORING because my headphones weren't working properly - thus my new order and my second attempt at repowering my headset. All seems to be good now, though. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini. 

It Was Wonderful To Be Back at the State Fair - A Photo Blog

Sunday was a bit cold, a bit rainy, and a lot Fair - State Fair, that is! We bundled up in layers (DH didn't put on enough layers, he was cold and rather silly because he decided against a jacket). We grabbed umbrellas which I stashed in my backpack to be used as needed, and we headed for the Fairgrounds. We didn't leave quite as early as I wanted, but we still got a prime parking spot in the Transit Center lot near the entry gate. I dropped off my donations for the clothing charity (gathering essentials for the homeless) and after Chickie drove up, we met up with her and stood in line with our tickets. Here's a photo blog of our day and Sharon ... we REALLY missed you!!! 

When we walk through the entry in the summer, this 
area is filled with plants and flowers, a bright start to the 
day's activities. Now it's empty, waiting for the plants 
to come, and the flags were at half-staff for the Memorial 
Day Holiday. 

Here I am, all bundled up, next to Babe, the 
Blue Ox. If you're not familiar with the character, 
Google "Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox" 
for details. It's a part of Minnesota folk history. 
As you can tell (or not), I'm wearing a Denver 
Broncos sweatshirt and jacket, I also have a 
Broncos pin on my hat, and my backpack is 
a Broncos backpack. Oh, and that's a Loon 
peering up from behind my shoulder - the 
Loon is the state bird of Minnesota. 

Chickie saw this NUTS display next to the Grandstand,
and told me to stand there for a photo. Perhaps she was 
implying something? LOL

I decided to start my food out with something I knew
 would be good for me to eat - a grilled chicken breast 
sandwich without the bun. I put some mustard on 
the chicken and it was really good. Beautifully cooked. 

We were dealing with rain on and off throughout the 
day, but it really hit about 11:00 am or so. Good thing 
we all had our umbrellas! 

This picture is for you, Sharon. While getting my chicken 
sandwich at Coasters, I looked across the street at the 
"Mighty Midway", which looked like this - a large tent 
with tables for people to sit at, and basically nothing else. 
Such a strange thing to look at after the many years of 
music, games and screams from riders at the carnival. 

The next thing I ate was NOT on my approved list, or any 
planned list on my part. It was a strawberry/rhubarb 
crisp with a gluten-free whole wheat crumble. It was 
outstanding - very sweet, but really enjoyable. It's probably 
a good portion of why I'm up 3-12 pounds today (the 
next thing I ate is probably the other reason), but I'm right
back to WildFit today and the weight will be
off in a few days. 

The Giant Eggroll on a stick was actually pretty tasty, but 
having now had one, I'm not sure I'd bother with it again. 
DH had one also, and he seemed to enjoy it, but I don't 
think either of us would bother to buy another one. 

After our rhubarb crisp, we were heading back towards the mini-donuts for DH when I heard people behind me squealing "There she is! It's the Broncos girl!" When I turned around, a young woman was beside herself, saying her brother was a HUGE Broncos fan and asking if she could take my photo. "Sure," I agreed as she called up her brother who was a bit younger than I and was wearing a CU Buffalos sweatshirt. They had seen me walking from my car, and had seen my Broncos Fangirl licence plate frame on Minion, and had hoped to run into me. And they did, at Dino's Gyros. We had a nice chat about Colorado and Broncos Country, then went our separate ways. I guess I'm a mini-celebrity and I've now had my 6-seconds of fame - LOL. 

My Monday was a bit more mundane but the day was lovely, sunny and warm, so we had drinks on the patio and DH grilled steaks for dinner. I guess we should have chosen tickets for Memorial Day, but that's OK. It might have been a dreary, cold and rainy day at the State Fair, but we were at the Fair! It made my heart sing to be back there again. 

Have an excellent day, I'll be back tomorrow. And, as always, please be kind and stay safe. 

 

Sunday Was Quiet and a Good Catch-up Day

Sunday was quiet. DH got the extension ladder out and cleaned the gutters on the south side of the house. Because he needs to have the ladder at full extension for this job and is also going up a flight of stairs with the ladder, it's always a two-person job just for safety's sake. It was cold and the wind was blowing, the leaves that had been cleared from the shorter end on Friday had filled in again, and by the time he finished, his hands were frozen through the gloves. He was going to go back out after the football game to put the garden decorations into the shed, but he was so chilled from the ladder, he forgot. I'll try to remind him to do that tomorrow after he votes. . 

There are homes in the Twin Cities that actually fly 
these Minnesota Vikings flags. We are NOT one of 
them. We are a house divided - he supports his 
Vikings, and I support my Broncos. 

The rest of the day was taken up with football, which was surprisingly rewarding since both his Minnesota Vikings and my Denver Broncos won their respective games. I managed to weave another five rows in my shawl, and DH, coming to look at my progress, said I had no idea how many times he had almost thrown the entire loom away. I said I had come close a couple of times too, but that I'm really loving how it's all coming together now. He thinks it will take my lifetime, I think I'll finish it sometime next year. 

If I was going to fly any football team flag, it 
would be this one - the Denver Broncos. I haven't 
lived in Denver since my late teens, but that doesn't 
change the fact that I'm a Broncos fan through and 
through. 

After a lovely dinner of tacos and rice, we settled in to watch "Star Trek Beyond" while having dessert. I just couldn't get into it and I was exhausted, so I called my day finished and went to sleep instead. Today I'm actually awake and pleased with my day ahead. I guess sleep can be a good thing. 

I love hardshell tacos (and softshell ones too). Seasoned 
meat with sour cream and lettuce, guacamole and taco 
sauce, and lots of cheese. So good! They're a bit messy 
because the shells always break, but I can usually manage 
pretty well and it's so darned tasty! 

I had a lovely catch-up email from my cousin/sister Missy waiting for me last night when I sat down at the computer for an hour. It was wonderful to read how she was doing and catch up a little bit. I finally had a chance to tell her about my cousin Miki's death earlier this year, as well as general talk about how she's keeping an eye on the Colorado fires (evacuation has been as close as 20 miles away from her), and that her daughter-in-law's father had just died unexpectedly from an accident at his home. Apparently he was young - only 49. What a tragedy. 

We had dessert while watching the movie. DH had 
his favorite iced carrot cake, and I had one of my 
favorite cupcakes - Almond Raspberry. So good!!!

So, that's my catch-up with all of you. I'm gearing up for another day at the shop and already looking forward to my Wednesday day off. DH will tackle raking for the remainder of this week on the days he's not working. We have a lot of leaves that came down in the windstorms over the weekend, and there's a LOT of raking to be done. I'm terrible with a rake, so I'm hoping to duck out from that task. (Unfair, I know, to leave it all on him, but I really HATE raking the leaves.) So, have an excellent day, be kind, stay safe, and please, wear your mask.