How is it Friday again, so soon!???
This time last year, as of today, I was having a semi-breakdown, because our mover flaked on us. A year ago tomorrow the wonderful guys at Sullivan Movers (courtesy of Ranier) saved our bacon! How is it that it's been a year already?
?
Oh, well. It's been, I have to say, the happiest year of my life, overall.
After the absolute freaking insanity of managing the move itself, its been pleasant, low-key, and entertaining. People warned me that I'd miss working. No. Not really. I miss the extra income. And I miss having something ongoing that is hypothetically "productive" to do, a bit. But the overall "worklife" thing? Nawww. Not one iota. No more office politics. No more special snowflake professors who think they are immune to regulations (and, occasionally, the law!). No more entitled students who demand what they have not earned. No more, gee, we decided to change this process for the 18th time, even though you have had to work late to get it geared up to be just what we asked for. Nope. And I really do like being able to get up when I feel like it, or be up late reading if I feel like it. Life is GOOD!
1) It is a sea of daffodils in the sun everywhere outside. Just got back from hitching on the bus over to Great Western Retail Park for B&Q, B&M, Pets@Home, and Sainsburys. Decided, on a whim, to have some KFC, since it was right there. The chicken was very nice. It's been at least a year since I've had a coke, though, and had forgotten how very sweet it is! Oy!
2) B&Q had cheap outdoor camp chairs on for 10 pounds each, so now I have two. There's a bench out back, in our communal garden, that looks like splinter central. So, between the two new chairs and a Navajo blanket on the bench, the Daughter can now have her friends over and sit outside with them in the sun, if she wishes. We can also now (once I source some good charcoal) take our Weber mini-kettle grill that we brought over at the last minute (space left in the shipping crate) and do some smokey BBQ, and be able to sit out there comfortably while it cooks. Just need to get a metal bucket for the ashes and am gonna fire ol' Max up. (That's it's name. Max Weber. Kinda an inside joke.) Chicken and steak. I wonder if salmon is good on a bbq?
3) Daughter has a job interview right about now. She is exhausted from her stuff yesterday, and is back doing it again today, but is schlepping over on her lunch break to interview. Not the best timing for the interview, but she's keen on that job (a good, part-time one near our place) so fingers are crossed for her.
4) Amazingly, I was able to stuff the crocheted blanket that I keep over the back of the couch into our washer and it washed (sorta) and then dried (sorta). And is now hanging out back on the line in the sun. Not enough pollen to worry about too much now, and it's the only way it's going to get properly dry, so yea! that there is sun and a slight breeze out today!
5) The cayenne peppers that have been slow to grow in my little kitchen garden have decided that it's time to ramp up. The plants are noticeably larger today than they were on Wednesday, when I last watered them. The nematodes added to the soil have almost completely eliminated the issue with those nasty little scairid flies that came in with the compost.
The cilantro has bolted, the basil is looking a little peaky, and the rocket has, well, rocketed. I didn't expect it all to grow. it did.
