It will be a short week this week (my birthday week). I’m posting early on Thursday morning so I won’t miss a week during my hike. I feel like I never ever get enough accomplished, so I thought I would jot down at least one event each day to remind me that I did actually do something. Because let’s face it; I’m retired (or Voluntarily Unemployed), and sometimes I end up sitting on the couch watching TV.

Sunday:
It was quiet this morning, the best time to experiment in the kitchen. My next door neighbor’s welcome gift was a much appreciated bag of veggies from her garden. Sweet cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, 2 varieties of kale and 2 eggplants. Most everything was devoured in the first 48 hours, but I’m not a huge eggplant fan. I am a fan of baba ghanoush, and so I tried a mini batch. I didn’t even have Tahini, but I had a jar of sesame seeds and olive oil and so I made fresh tahini, then roasted the eggplant in the broiler and… I made a pretty darn good batch of baba ghanoush. I found both recipes on the “Minimalist Baker” blog. Although this is the first recipe I tried from the site, I am tempted to try more.

Long story about moving furniture: We moved a queen sized bed frame from San Antonio, but gave the mattress & box spring away. We had a queen mattress in the Condo in Seattle on a platform bed, and we gave the platform bed frame away. So we ended up with a traditional bed frame and mattress, but short one box spring. Who would think that a simple little bit of wood and cloth would cost so much? And then how do you get it in your car? “Hello Amazon”, can you please deliver a box spring? Yes, you can buy a box spring on Amazon. However, there is a catch; it requires assembly. “Hello Amazon”, I need to order a cordless drill (because I can’t find mine in the garage full of boxes), and “Hello Amazon” I also cannot find the screwdriver bits for the drill. I think this project only took 3 Amazon orders before we were able to start. Today I am ready. I drag the pieces up to the second story and, with a bit of supervision from my sweet husband, I assemble the box spring. We carry it into the bedroom, onto the frame and FINALLY I am able to put the bed together (mattress pad, sheets, blanket, etc…) This is a good thing since we are expecting a guest soon. Then I was forced to vacuum the whole upstairs to make sure the splinters from the box spring didn’t find their way to the bottom of a bare foot (or paw). Vacuuming leads to cleaning and laundry…

Monday:
We are going to the state fair today. It is my birthday treat, but my husband is not happy. He isn’t happy about the 1.5 hour drive, all of the money you spend on parking, entrance, stupid things you would not have bought if you didn’t go… nor does he really like the state fair. You see, I like to wander through the animal barns, and he doesn’t like the smell. I like to look at the winning vegetables, flowers and wood working exhibits, and he considers that mundane. I like to eat weird fried combinations; he sticks to food he knows he likes. Needless to say, he was not impressed with the drive or the day. I did get my favorite fair treats; something fried (butter this time) and something sweet (a fresh hot scone with strawberry jam). And I enjoyed myself. Oh – and what was the first thing we did when we walked into the vendor barn? Hubby bought a flag pole – he and been looking for them for a long time. So the fair was not a total waste of day after all.

Tuesday:
I spent most of today at the vet. Sometimes living on an island is a pain in the @$$. I had to leave the house at about 10:05am to catch the 10:20 ferry to make an 11:30 appointment at the Seattle Vet office, which requires city driving through construction, buses, pedestrians who are not looking, and the new $(&&% Seattle bike lanes. Once there, I have to wait for the results of a blood test to see if Bailey’s meds need to change, which means sitting in the waiting room (forced reading time, except that the receptionist is very chatty, so I got to know her a little too well). I was back home by 2:40pm which made it just under a 5 hour round trip. There goes the day! other than reading, eating, laundry and bills, I got nothing done.

Wednesday:
I have a goal of opening 2 boxes per day, so that sooner or later I’ll be able to actually use all of the rooms in the house and park at least one car in the 2 car garage. Unfortunately, I think that goal may be a little lofty. Sometimes you open a box and groan when you realize what the contents are. Today the first box I opened had framed pictures that I’m not ready to place and then all of the trinkets I had on a book shelf in my laundry room. The new house doesn’t have bookshelves… and I just don’t know what to do with this junk that I refuse to throw away, even though I do NOTHING with it, ever. I’m hovering between closing the box or throwing it all in the goodwill pile. I did get my guest bed/bath put together! Wayne helped me put the shower curtain up and now I am ready for guests!

Thursday:
I’m starting to realize that posting my accomplishments is rather boring!  Maybe posting once a week is a bad idea.  I think I’ll stick to hikes, so I’ll catch up with you all next week with the pictures and posts from the Humphrey’s Peak Hike!