It's nearly mid-October. The fall semester is halfway gone. Time really does go by faster as we get older. A little wrap up of last week feels in order:
That tutee who crashed his bicycle on the way to tutoring a couple of weeks ago? He's fine. He did go to the ER and was diagnosed with a mild concussion. It's not his first, and he knows he needs to be careful.
Bet five bucks he still rides to school without a helmet.
On the learn-something-new-every-day front, I learned that [mountain lions chirp] - sounding much like random bird calls. Who knew?
Now, when we're up at Helms Deep, I might feel less Snow Whitey about the friendly "birds" chirping
I offloaded all of those spare bicycle tubes we no longer have bicycle tires for. I advertised them on a local No-Buy group on face's book, and a woman pounced on them. I left them out for a porch pickup, and the woman pulled up in a vehicle with a 4-bike bike rack.
Looks like they went to a good home. Saved me a trip to the bike co-op.
Our 30-days of AI Ring descriptions expired. I'm no longer described as a child. Back to being a person.
On Saturday, we got together with Meego and Wolfgang for our monthly-or-so breakfast catch up. Always a good time. Went for a bike ride, and I got a flu shot. The day was complete.
A few weeks ago, I was at the college and came across Boss and a colleague talking in the hallway. It was from them that I learned that Dolly Parton had died.
Not gonna lie, when they saw me and said, "we were just talking about Dolly. Yeah, she died", my first thought was Dolly the cloned sheep. And I thought to myself *she was still alive??*. Coincidentally, I've learned that she, the sheep, was actually named after Dolly Parton because her DNA came from a mammary gland. There you go.
Anyway, the conversation then turned to an opening the colleague had in her department. K is an assistant director in recruiting and advising. She had an opening, which I actually already knew about because Sarge told me he was applying for it.
From this short conversation, I got the vibe that K was wanting me to apply. I do like K, and it would be nice to have her as a boss, but I'm just not interested in a full-time position at this "season of my life". Plus, I know Sarge is really hoping he gets the role.
The job description is nearly exactly that of one I applied for about 10 years ago at the university when we lived in Colorado Springs. At that time, it was very appealing. Needless to say, I didn't get that job. And now we're here, and I appreciate the part-time "season"
I've been doing some decluttering in little bits the past few weeks. Despite my ongoing efforts, I seem to always manage to come across something that has me saying, "why do we have this??"
Going through the stash of bicycle tubes, I found eight... count 'em, 8... that don't fit any bicycles in our possession. These things happen when you sell/offload 4 bicycles in the span of a couple of months.
This, to say I have a new bicycle. I'd been researching for a few months and had been riding the hand-me-up from Meego for nearly a year. The hand-me-up's been good, but it's starting to feel its age.
So I indulged, purchased from a nice local bike shop.
Last week, while I was at work in testing, a woman came in for some certification exam, I don't remember which.
I was getting her checked in, and at one point, I had to get a digital signature from her. She signed the pad, and I saw that she'd drawn a little cat face as part of her signature. She had an "i" in her name, the dot of the "i" was the cat's nose. I'll demonstrate via this dramatization:
One reason we collect signatures is to see that they match signatures on the required IDs. When I saw the cat face, I was about to comment to her that she should sign her name the same way she signed her ID. But lo and behold, I looked at her drivers license signature, and there it was. The cat face above the "i". That actually is her official signature. Why not?
It's my understanding that cursive is no longer taught in elementary school. I think my kids were taught cursive, but if so, they were of the last. Meego may not have made the cut. I know they learned keyboarding early on, whereas I took typing as an elective in high school.
When we collect signatures from people in their 20's and younger, the result is often a sloppy printed version of their name, as in this dramatization, using my non-dominant hand for accuracy:
I'm not saying it's wrong to no longer teach people cursive as there's very little use for it these days. Some things still require signatures, but maybe that's going away too. Some of the tests we give don't require signatures but rather fingerprints. I wonder, if I had to take a test that required a fingerprint, would it work? Our fingerprints wear down as we age and become less readable, so I'm told. Well, actually, I had to be fingerprinted multiple times in the recent past before I got a decent image, so I know first hand. Mine are on their way out.
*side note: I'm not a criminal. People who work in public schools get fingerprinted. Recall my illustrious lunch lady career*
Maybe eventually, people will just have chips inserted at birth, doing away with any need for proof of identity. "Handwriting" will be an ancient word in anthropological archives
I think I'm still adjusting to daylight savings time. I'm not sleepy when I should be and morning comes too early. Hardships.
It's spring break all around here - the university, community college, and school district. No tutoring for me this week, so I told Boss in testing I was available if needed. To that, he said, "Yeah? Maybe I'll take Monday off, do something with my mom"
So I worked in place of Boss yesterday. The do-something-with-Mom turned out to be locating her tax documents. His mom is not young, and tends to forget things, but still lives on her own.
While visiting the in-laws in California, much of the conversations were about effects of aging. Stepmother-in-law told us that one of the tests for dementia is to have the patient draw an analog clock.
She was talking about a friend of theirs who failed his clock-drawing test. Later, I was curious as to the result of FIL's drawing. I'm not sure about dementia, but his memory does have noticeable gaps. FIL is an accomplished architect, so I'm sure there was a time he would've drawn an impeccably creative clock.
I mentioned this conversation yesterday to Party Girl, who concurred. "Oh yeah. My dad's clock was all over the place".
Now I feel like drawing clocks... just to make sure I'm still with us.
In other updates, we encountered the resident wild turkeys while on a coffee walk again. Only three were hanging out this time. Two males, strutting their stuff, and one seemingly totally uninterested female.
This guy couldn't get enough of himself. He was all, "look at how majestic I am!". Never mind that the nearby female was fully ignoring him. He begged me to snap a photo.
Once I complied, he raked me in again, "No no, make sure you get my good side as well!"
I've made it through this first week of winter break. There's more free time on my hands and I'm trying to use it wisely. A little recap
I had "The" talk with Boss. I've mentioned contemplating staying or going from the testing center. Pros and cons are pretty balanced, and every end-of-semester, I contemplate some more. Boss makes our work schedules a semester at a time, so it was time for another fresh calendar.
This semester, he's facing a few scheduling challenges from all us part-timers. As per usual, he asked for our availability for spring, and also to let him know our maximum and minimum number of preferred hours.
I listed my minimum preferred hours as "zero", which prompted a one-on-one. I explained that he should feel free to "take me off the schedule" if it's too much of a hassle for him to work around my tutoring schedule. The word "quit" was never uttered by either of us.
He said he didn't want me to q-word, but he's hiring a new person to fill some gaps, and wants to be able to offer a decent number of hours to the newb. He was actually quite relieved that I was happy to reduce my already meager hours.
So, bottom line, I'm scheduled for a whopping ONE shift per week plus the Saturday rotation in testing for spring semester. The best of both worlds, I feel. I'd originally thought I would need to work at least two shifts or nothing. More available hours for tutoring while still keeping my foot in the testing door, and I'm happy with that outcome.
We got together with Wolfgang and Meego yesterday for our monthly breakfast outing. There was a short wait list, so I gave the host my name and party of five. Duh, we're a party of four. I was either Freudian slipping missing Chaco, or my brain is mushy from the downtime.
Speaking of menopause brain *ahem*, coworker Party Girl was complaining about trying to find pants that fit.
"If they fit my waist, they're too big in the butt. If they fit my butt, they're too tight in the waist. It's this &%#! menopause body!"
We were working with Blossom and Kitty. I told her to stop scaring the young ones.
I just had a look at my Spotify Wrapped. I'm not a daily listener, but I have the free version of Spotify for listening to music and podcasts. At the end of the year, it provides a fun little slideshow of the past year's activity - hours listened, favorite artists, favorite genres, etc.
From those stats, it comes up with a "listening age", and this is what it calculated for me:
I'm an old soul?? Okay, what about the fact that I'M ACTUALLY 61 YEARS OLD.
Okay, fine, whatever. I'm not bothered by the fact that my listening age matches my physical age. And hey, there was good music in the 80's!
But the previous slide before revealing my listening age?
"don't take this personally" - HA! Uhm, what're they tryna say?
In other news, I've been basking in slothfulness this week. No tutoring after the frenzy of finals week. At least I have testing center duty tomorrow and Friday to perk things up.
When a semester ends, we typically get inundated with EMTs and Paremedics who have just finished their programs and need to get their official certifications. If there was ever a good time to have a medical emergency at work, it's during the couple of weeks after a semester ends.
Our college has a program for paramedics/ first responders. They have an ambulance simulator that I've only ever seen from afar. But it looks like fun.
The students get in there and practice securing the patient and gurney, taking vitals, jotting notes, all while the "ambulance" simulates rushing through traffic. I'd love to go for a "ride".
But considering my advanced age, it's probably too much of a liability.
This was a shortened weekend for me as I worked yesterday - Saturday rotation time again. Another seemingly productive week down. Let's bullet.
I finished a novel this week - The Silent Patient. When I went to add it to my Goodreads, I strangeley saw that I'd already read it? Really? Apparently, in 2019. Well, it wasn't memorable the first go. And it even has a twisty, big reveal ending. Oh well, 4 stars.
It was pretty much what I expected. A lot of shoot-em-up, running around, heavy CGI, etc. But I won't say no to 2012 Colin Farrell.
Speaking of pastimes, it occurred to me, out of the blue this week, that I would probably enjoy bird watching. That made me feel old, where did that come from? *I know bird watching isn't just for old people, it just made me feel old to suddenly find it appealing*
Speaking of hobbies, our tutor bosses at work asked each of us math tutors to put together a "tutor bio". It should be 100 - 150 words and include our educational background, which campuses we support, etc.
I typed one up, and the word count was 50. *SIGH*. I mean, I said all the things. What more is there? They encouraged us to add "fun facts" about ourselves. Ugh.
The only maybe fun fact, if you would call it that, is that I've been a regular blogger for over 20 years, but I don't tell real life people about that.
I'm not saying anything about bird watching either.
Yay for Saturday! Sheesh, this was a busy week. I'm glad to have survived.
The students have all of next week off at the college. Testing is running through Wednesday, but my tutor schedule is happily empty.
Don't get me wrong, I do typically enjoy tutoring. But as can be expected, the students who sign up for tutoring are the ones who struggle, not only with the coursework, but with stress and anxiety in general, and I'm no therapist.
But really, it's kind of an odd mix. Some are older students who haven't been in a classroom for a while, so just need some extra guidance. Then there are the younger ones who were academically abandoned by the pandemic and other "systemic failures" during their high school years.
It's a bit of an old story here - I'm sure I blogged about it as I went through it. But in a nutshell, my degree is engineering, I was a happy engineer for several years, we had kids and I became a happy mom and former engineer, and I picked up tutoring along the way.
About 10 years ago, I enrolled in a program at the university that was a pathway for people with STEM degrees to become high school math and science teachers. Seemed like all paths led me in that direction, except...
I learned that I have NO desire to teach at a high school. I mean... the education classes I was taking felt lame to me, for lack of a better word. The atmosphere at the schools we observed didn't gel with me. I even took a non-teaching job at a "nice" high school and couldn't stand it more than one semester.
But hey, it's not them, it's me. I know! I do know wonderful teachers who love their jobs and their schools, and more power to 'em. It's just not my bag.
I shared that summary with one of my tutees this week after she asked me about it. She was enticing me to take on a next level class that I currently don't tutor, but she will be taking next semester.
"Do it, we need you!", she implored. Seems the only tutors for that course are retired instructors who only tutor online, while I'm okay meeting in person.
I'll probably do it. I'm reteaching the subject to myself to slough off the dust by Spring semester. As we talked, she asked if I'd ever want to teach a class at the college. People have asked me that before, and it seems like there's always openings for math teachers. But... ew. I enjoy tutoring. Teaching is a whole 'nother can of worms. It really has very little appeal to me.
Part of that is likely because... I turned a ripe 60 years old this week. *ock, my bones*. Ain't got no time nor patience for BS. Teachers put up with a lot of BS, while tutors show up, wearing halos.
In true old lady form, here's a coupla pics of a cat. Wolfgang's cat Maisey, whom I've visited daily this past week while on food duty.
I'm happy to make it to 60. Let it be known, I have no desire to do 60 more.
Okay, holiday season is over. Time to get on with the business of getting through the winter.
The break was nice, but I was ready to get back to work yesterday. As it was, we only gave four, count 'em FOUR tests the whole day. And it was only for two people because one guy did three tests. Talk about easing back into it.
Boss had closed a bunch of things down, however, "just in case", so it was expected. I'm off today, but the schedule looks to be back to normal now.
New Year's Eve and day were non-events here. I think I was in bed by 9pm on Sunday. Plus, Magnum was down with Man Flu. Now, a few days later, it appears that I've contracted it as well. It feels like... a head cold.
Anyway, I "worked" with Sarge and Boss yesterday. We did a bit of tidying and updating things with all that free time. In discussing our New Year's reveling, theirs was as boring as mine. I mentioned my start of "The Great Declutter of 2024", and Sarge talked of painting his basement. Party animals, I tellya.
We did talk of "the old days" when we could go into work the following morning after a night of drinking. In my younger days, I'd worked at a hotel restaurant. Some mornings, the sight of the empty booze bottles from the bar the night before could make things a bit rough. Sarge told us that he'd worked on a garbage truck for a while and recalled collecting garbage while hungover. Ugh, yeah, that would've definitely been worse.
Now, here we are, cleaning house and painting basements. Did our younger selves see this coming?
We had our little white elephant gift exchange at work yesterday - ended up just being five of us as Triple-D was sick, and Star and Kitty had other obligations. I was surprisingly content with what I ended up with - a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle, kitchen sponges, and a dental grab bag - HA!
With these work gift exchanges, we try to do them without anyone having to purchase anything. I learned that the jigsaw had been gifted to Party Girl's dad, who has dementia and can do a 60-piece puzzle, tops. I suspect that she did purchase the kitchen sponges - they are new and in the shape of cat faces. The dental grab bag came from Work Study, who informed us that the college's dental assistant program had given them out for Halloween. Who knew?
As to why I ended up with gifts from two people, it's a roundabout story, but suffice to say that I almost ended up with that Zombie book that I brought after things had made the rounds. But Sarge actually wanted the book and traded up to get it. So all's well that ends well, and I don't have to buy toothpaste or floss for a while.
In other happy news, I went running this morning. My foot had been on the fritz for about a month and a half, but had gotten to feeling better, so I rejoined the weirdos this morning. It did okay, but in the meantime, I had contacted a local physical therapy office that specializes in running injuries.
They're offering a $49 special with full analysis/diagnostics, plus they're office is really close to our house. So I made an appointment for next week, and they sent me a questionnaire which asked typical questions like, "what hurts", "what makes it better/ worse", "what have I tried doing for it", etc... And it also asked something like, "What are my goals from therapy and how meaningful will it be for me to reach them?"
As for goals, I just want to be able to go for regular runs again and make a decent showing at a handful of races - 5K, 10K realm - each year, blah blah... But meaningful? I had to think. I mean, I'm nearly 60 years old. I'd like to be able to leave other 60-year-old women in the dust, but I'm pretty sure I've passed my peak. I came up with something for the meaningful question (all fields had to be filled in), but I realized I could find meaning in other activities if push comes to shove.
I'm off work today, and we're closed all next week. I guess I'll start searching for some meaningful things to occupy my time.
Some of my high school classmates are planning a reunion - our 40th already, yeesh. I have no desire to attend. I mean, I like most of those people, have fond memories and all, but yeah... no.
Most of all, the reunion would take place in my hometown, which is about a 4-hour road trip away. My parents have both passed away, and I have no family in town anymore.
The town itself has become pretty depressing to me, actually. I enjoyed growing up there, but I hear it's pretty much gone to the pot shops, and the population has diminished further. I've heard of attempts at gentrification, to attract artists and turn it into the "new Santa Fe", but don't know how well that's going.
I was sort of "peer pressured" into joining the class facebook page although I don't really use facebook much at all - it's for old people, heh. But now I'm learning about classmates who have passed away. A lot can happen in 40 years.
My hometown was small, and my graduating class was about 120 kids. Naturally, there were different cliques as happens in high school. And with small towns, everybody knows everybody's business. So I had the friends I hung out with most, but I knew "of" all my other classmates.
I realize that the ones I'd care to catch up with if I were to attend the reunion are the ones I didn't hang out with much back in the olden days - get to know them a little better now, maybe? Would they care to catch up with me?
Happy February. Did the groundhog see his shadow, or was there a big balloon covering the sun?
Whatever, I'm happy that the temps warmed up, and the sun has visited, and all this snow and ice and crap that's been around for a few weeks is slowly leaving. Yes, I like having four seasons, but snow and ice don't normally stick around very long here between storms, we're spoiled that way.
I did this month's Tortoise & Hare race with the running club this morning, a 5-miler. Not too chilly or windy, so a nice day of it. Icy in spots, but I managed to remain upright and make it across the finish. I'm still not up to my pre-covid pace, but it's fun nonetheless.
Speaking of getting older *ahem*, I visited a new gym yesterday. Magnum and I decided to leave the gym we'd been members of and get city rec passes instead. The passes give us access to various recreation facilities around town including three workout gyms. So happens, the one closest to our house is at the local Senior Center.
Okay, fine.
I will add that the Senior Center is not JUST for old folks. 18 years and up is the age limit, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that I was not the youngest person using the gym. As for the basketball court - that place seems to be all-pickleball-all-the-time. Pickleball? Anyone?
And speaking of younger folks, I mentioned last week that the tutoring center at the college is low on math tutors for the number of requests, so they'd asked me if I'd take on a calculus group. I said, "sure, why not?", but I've mainly been a one-on-one tutor and wasn't sure how effective a group (turns out, there are 4 students in my group) sesh would be.
But hey, our first session was actually quite fun, I can dig this group stuff. They all came with their anxieties and questions and likely picked up a few skills they wouldn't have otherwise thought to work on.
In addition, I have two one-on-one tutees, so the semester is off to a nice start. All pleasant "kids".
I'll wrap up this weekly rundown with a pic of my new water bottle, tea mug for scale.
It's pretty. It's insulated. It was essentially free-to-me. It has a screw-on-flip lid - which seems a bit of overkill - but it's what all the kids are into these days, I guess.
And so... the holiday week comes to a close. We woke to grey skies and a fresh dusting of wet snow/slush. Maybe Mother Nature herself is reluctant to rush back to the rat race.
It makes for nice running weather, though, and I enjoyed a quiet morning slog along the creek once again. I thought I'd give some blog homage to the ducks since the geese typically hog the glory, but this pair didn't seem too willing.
A nice week it was, what with Thanksgiving and all. Sadly, Meego missed the festivities here as he is dealing with the annoying-virus-but-not-COVID that is currently worming its way through the community. He decided to keep his contagion to himself, while we four remainders did our thing.
Additionally, Magnum and I had birthdays this week. No fanfare to be had, just acknowledgement that we each survived yet another year.
Speaking of aging, race results eventually came in for that Thanksgiving day run. I learned that the mayor is the same age as me, and we both made decent showings for our old lady age division. Until next year, Mrs. Mayor!
And speaking of birthdays, I must give a shout out to my friend and PEO sis, Maxine, who turned 101 this week! Still going strong! She's been on the earth a long time and has seen some stuff!
Her family appropriately threw a 101 Dalmatians birthday party for her, but know that she is no Cruella!
Personally, I have no real desire to live to be 101. What year is appropriate for Hello Kitty?
My mid- to late- 80s mother-in-law and her husband came to visit last weekend. The drive from their home is about 135 miles. It can be an uneventful two to two and a half hour drive, but involves interstate driving through Denver along with traffic congestion, construction zones, and mishaps along the way.
A few weeks ago, step-father-in-law had an incident that helped him come to the realization that he probably shouldn't drive anymore, so now MIL is the sole driver. I'm not necessarily convinced she should be behind the wheel, but it's the lesser of two evils. And they have an SUV with all kinds of sensors and control systems, so we keep our mouths shut. They seem to do fine as long as they are in familiar surroundings during daytime.
They made it up here just fine and attended Meego's graduation with us, Chaco in the role of chauffeur. After the grad ceremony, we gathered with other families at The Lake House - Meego and his roommates' college rental house. The house is a typical college rental house on a typical college rental house street and nowhere near any lake that I know of.
Not surprisingly, MIL and SFIL were ready to turn in while the grad bash was in full swing. I walked with them to their car and asked if they could make their way back to the hotel okay. It wasn't far away, about 3 miles.
"SFIL says he knows from his phone", MIL replied.
They typically don't use GPS, so I saw this as a sign that they're finally ready to embrace the technology. So with that, I saw them off with confidence, adding that it was still light out so, no worries!
They did eventually make it to the hotel. About an hour and a half later? It was good and dark by then. SFIL rehashed their adventure for us the next day - about how it was too dark to see any street signs, how they often didn't know which direction they were going, etc. I'm sure they were exhausted by the time they made it to bed, but I'm glad they weren't in an accident.
Coming home from work on Monday, traffic was light in the area since the high school had the day off for some reason. Good thing, because just beyond the high school is this 4-way-stop intersection where I turn left to head home.
There was no one behind me, and I eased myself to the left turn lane and approached the intersection. A cute Miata convertible approached from the right, totally blew through the stop sign, then turned left into oncoming traffic. Oncoming traffic = me and Daisy, my commuter bicycle.
Cue bike cam footage:
We managed to avoid each other, as the driver seemed to realize her mistake. But strangely, she swerved around me by pulling further to the left?
Thankfully, there wasn't much traffic around, and we easily avoided one another. As she went by, I noticed she was an older woman - 70's maybe? The Miata had dealer plates, so a new acquisition?
I thought maybe she was meaning to pull into the cul de sac on her left and was cutting corners by driving down the wrong side of the road, but she actually continued down the left side, all the while, going upstream like a salmon.
She went over the crest of the hill and beyond toward the high school, never to be seen by me again.
Thanksgiving day has come and gone. I'm thankful for much, and I'm grateful to have today off from work as well. No shopping on the agenda!
All the "kids" were here for our simple festivities. I feel I need to have another term for them than "kids", but it'll have to do for now. I cooked the traditional foods, but certainly no pressure since it was just the five of us.
So we ate, walked the dogs. Wolfgang brought some games over, and we played two of them. Board gaming has made a thriving comeback as of late, and he's got a nice collection. These newer games are creative and imaginative, and I'm glad it's a popular pastime.
Earlier in the day, I did the local turkey trot, aptly named "Fort Collins Thanksgiving Day Run". Four miles around downtown. It was my first time doing it, and it was much fun - a popular local race that was cancelled last year for obvious reasons.
The morning was chilly but sunny and very nice conditions for the event. I heard there were over 3,000 participants, and the atmosphere was one of buoyant gratitude to be able to do these things safely again. I personally hadn't been part of a mass start like that since 2019.
Came across this clip later on instagram and thought it looked like right where I'd started from. Then yep, watching the clip I realized camera-person had been right behind me.
I'm thankful I survived it and am happy with my finish time, ending up 3rd place for my gender/age category.
All in all, a very good day.
And we have leftover pie. Anyone want leftover pie?
Happy Thanksgiving week to us 'mericans. I, for one, am looking forward to the short work week. Was it just me or were people acting a little weird last week? I theorize it was that beaver moon lunar eclipse going on up there and messing with us.
Since I work in a testing center, anxiety is common, but sheesh. We had a couple of people actually break down and not finish their exams. I feel quite bad for them and hope they're doing better. Another tester aptly earned the nickname "Mean Woman" with her strange and brusque manners. All that was missing was another helicopter mom losing it. Had to be that moon.
This week will be better if only because it's shortened.
In other news, I had a birthday. Coworkers broke out in song and presented cake during a break in anxiety riddled activity. When asked what I was doing for my birthday, I truthfully explained, "nothing really".
Magnum's birthday is later this week. Then there's Thanksgiving. We just lump the three together.
Honestly, I don't really remember any birthday celebrations since I turned 21. Seems that's the last biggie: Okay, we can drink legally now. No need to keep counting. That year, I also celebrated with coworkers.
We went out after work (I was a quality inspector at a big corporation), quite late since we worked 2nd shift. I had my first legal drink in a bar, but didn't get trashed. Actually, by that point in my life, I'd drunk enough illegally that getting trashed wasn't big on my agenda. But it was a good time.
My coworkers now are a nice bunch too. One gifted me a cashmere sweater set - no, not for my birthday. That would be a bit much! She'd been trying to sell the set on ebay, but no takers, and she said she'd rather give it to me than donate it to Goodwill, so okay. It just happened to coincide with my birthday.
It's too small for her now, and her advice, in hindsight, to me was to wear it a lot rather than save it for special times. Now, this woman is not necessarily "fat", but she has very large boobs. I honestly think they are not original equipment. They're a bit too... "solid" looking in their largeness. She would tell me if I asked, but I haven't felt a need.
Bottom line, I got a new-to-me cashmere sweater set. No goats were harmed in the making.
Happy Labor Day! Celebrating the "workin' man" today. To me, it's the unofficial end of summer. I was out laboring in what currently passes as our "landscape". Suffice to say that we're tearing it down in order to build it up.
My in-laws, namely Magnum's dad and stepmother, had been visiting since midweek. They saw some sights around Fort Collins, mainly with Magnum, for a few days, then we got together in Boulder last night with more family to celebrate the FIL's 87th birthday. A nice, rather posh, bash it was.
On Saturday, we met up at the university's flower trial garden. Meego and Wolfgang, as well as Magnum's brother joined us. Lotsa flowers (pronounced 'flares' in redneck-speak). It was a beautiful morning for it. Some pics:
There were plenty of bees around, and I am allergic, but they couldn't care less about me or other humans with all that lovely flower nectar to be had.
Then yesterday, off to Boulder. Magnum and I attended and met in school at CU Boulder. I've got many fond memories of the place but haven't been back much. It was nice to visit, although the locale we were at was quite changed. I wouldn't mind living there again, but these days, housing prices are quite ridiculous. We could afford the back of a van maybe.
Dinner was at a swanky hotel. (Lucky) Thirteen of us altogether. I think FIL had a nice birthday, and I enjoyed visiting with the extended family. Hadn't seen the stepmother-in-law's daughter and her family since the FIL's 70th birthday bash. Magnum's bro and sis and our kids helped round out the baker's dozen.
We've gotten together many times over the years. FIL used to tear up the ski slopes. Now he walks with a cane. Was it really that long ago that Magnum and I, along with Magnum's siblings and stepsister, would travel to these meetups as college kids? Now, we're the ones with the kids in college and beyond.
I went to my referral with the skin doctor regarding my "changing nevus" and was beckoned from the waiting area by a girl who looked to be about 16 years old. She told me she was a physician assistant.
Then the good doctor arrived. She didn't look much older than the PA. Okay, I don't necessarily feel old, just everyone else seems so young!
Anyway, she looked at the mole and declared it harmless. I think she gave yet another name for it, which I've since forgotten, and said it's common to get these as we age. "...and you don't have to be very old to get one", she added, probably to be nice.
She said they often show up in high-friction areas, and that makes sense, as this mole/nevus/old-person mark is on my shoulder where the strap of my purse or backpack lays. It was a very relaxed - almost boring - consult, unlike the internet search that told me I was abnormal and doomed.
And that was that, I was in and out nice and quickly. She offered to remove the mole if I wanted, but I said I'd just keep it (and the removal fee).
Some people believe that birthmarks or moles we're born with are signs of trauma from our past lives. Well, first you have to believe in reincarnation. Ya think? Maybe?
Who knows? I have a large birthmark that covers most of one side of the upper portion of my back. I forget which side it's on as I don't see it often. I was oblivious to it until a doctor pointed it out to me when I was a teenager getting a sports physical.
I have another on my lower left leg. Show-and-Tell time, see it?
I remember often pondering the mark while in the bathtub as a little kid. But I certainly never had any past-life revelations.
If I were to make up a past life story? Civil war injury to my leg? Eventually killed me.
As for the big mark on my back... Gored by a wooly mammoth? Or something stupid like worked or smoked myself to lung cancer oblivion?
Birthmarks. Got any? What's your (made up or otherwise) story?
I gifted myself this cutesy teapot this week. It's the teapot I didn't know I needed.
It holds about 28 fluid ounces. Comes with a trivet and basket infuser insert. It's cast iron with a ceramic finish on the inside, so tea stays hot for a good long time and I can reheat it on the stove.
Really, it's the bomb. I drink tea daily, and now with this, I may just give up coffee.
HAHAHA!... just kidding.
But still.
I included my glasses for scale and contrast. Contrast because I'm not as happy with my glasses as with the awesome teapot.
Supposedly, the top of my lenses are for distance vision, the middle sweet spot is for arms-length to middle distance, and the bottom portion is for close up.
I think they work okay for distance vision, but it's a literal pain in the neck going for the arms length and closer. Why can't I just have the eyes of my youth that worked for everything? Is that so much to ask??
I have an old pair of prescription glasses from about 10 years ago that are better for when I'm on my computer, like now. I'm thinking I'll bring these old glasses to work with me until I get an eye exam, for which I'm overdue, and ask for some single-vision lenses.
The college president announced that, as of July 1st, we will no longer require masks be worn in campus buildings. I don't plan to wear a mask anymore, and our boss said he probably won't either.
I think one of my coworkers is a little pensive about germs, but the rest of us are ready to free our faces and work with other freed faces - coworkers and customers alike. No more this:
.
Onto the next - clear glasses that only get fogged from my delightful hot tea.
Honestly, I'm embarrassed to admit this since I just got that fake tooth replaced and was all, "Oooh, this one's so much better! I'm gonna fer sher take good care of it forever..."
Part of the thing's allure is that it's nice and tiny compared to that whole-mouth appliance thing I had previously.
Long story short, it almost went out with the weekly trash. I painstakingly rummaged through food scraps, coffee grounds, etc. and happily found it. I now have tooth cases throughout the house in addition to my mouth!
Also this week, I finished reading My Dark Vanessa. I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5. It told a difficult and sad story well enough. I usually enjoy these "forbidden relationship" novels for the psychological study. Indecent, for example, was a fave and probably the reason My Dark Vanessa showed up in my recommendations. But it was challenging to get through - blech, dark, and creepy. Don't know if I would recommend it. Now I'm reading something fluffy and light for contrast.
I've been lost on and off all week as to what day it is since my work schedule has changed. It's all good though, I'll get the hang of it. So far, I enjoy the new position - more taking care of the young people who take care of the old people rather than taking care of the old people myself.
Admittedly, geriatrics is not necessarily an interest of mine. I can't imagine that anyone wants to end up in a nursing home, but there they are. More often than not, I feel relieved for them when they pass away. And it will only be a day or two until someone else takes their slot. It's most difficult for those who have a full grasp of their situation, which they thankfully, sometimes forget
So it's nice to see these caring younger workers handling it all so well.
And speaking of young people, we swung by Wolfgang's yesterday for some cat-sitting instructions for an upcoming fun trip of his. He was convalescing after his second hit of COVID vaccine. Achy, blah, with a headache. From my small sampling, I've observed that younger people in general seem to have more side effects than older from the vaccine, whether Pfizer or Moderna. My reaction was noticeable, but mild. Yay for being in my 50's.
Happy May. I plan to watch The Kentucky Derby later.
