MONDAY

It was time to come home from Woodstock. Too soon. Boo. We stopped for breakfast on the way home, saw the spaceships, some good signs and buildings…and got home just in time to get to the gas station before running out of gas.

TUESDAY

Back to work. Apparently there was an earthquake while I was at work cuz I came home to

Miraculously the mirror, lamp, and two vases were all unbroken. Only the couple of Christmas ornaments headed to the donation center didn’t make it. Yay. Saves me a trip.

Lookit me with the silver linings!

WEDNESDAY

How does this happen? I always have a collection of shoes around me.

Today was the dreaded annual physical. With the “well, you know, your weight” doctor, no matter what issue I was asking about last year (bone spurs, hearing issues, kidney stone, ingrown toenail, etc). But I set boundaries with myself before I went in, and I had one goal: to get the Wellbutrin prescription renewed for another year. Last time I saw him he said “well, we’ll see,” whether or not I would be “allowed” to continue. Like, THERE’S a question – you have something that is LIFE-CHANGING for me, that took me from literally, a lifetime of anxiety and sadness and overwhelm and despair, and making me feel like I could BREATHE …and you would consider taking that AWAY from me? Oh Hell No.

So that was The Goal and I just nodded and uh-huh-ed my way through the question and answer portion of the exam. And to his credit, I think he might finally be realizing I have no intention of doing most of what he tells me (there’s a lot of “I recommend going to see xyz specialist cuz you just never know” even when there is absolutely no evidence of that issue, or even pre-evidence or anything). Read the room, doc. Pick your battles. I’ll call the urologist he recommended as mine is no longer doing in-hospital lithotripsies. But I’m not going to the dermatologist Just In Case. Or getting a flu-shot. Or any of the other six business cards he handed me on my way out.

Once he handed me off to the…I don’t know what their titles are – I don’t think they’re nurses. Physician’s assistants? Anyway, they give you the cup to pee in and take the blood samples and do the ekg…but when she got to the “blow in the plastic tube for an interminable period of time” test, I said no thank you. She was like, wait, what? “It’s part of the physical!” That’s okay, I said. I’ll pass. “But the doctor wanted the metabolism test!” SPOILER ALERT: My metabolism is slow. AND they charge $75 extra for that test! The physical is supposed to be free but this a $75 add-on that they don’t tell you about up-front and that really pissed me off last year when I realized it. So.

I got my prescription renewed and good news, I DON’T have to go back in two weeks, he can just give me all my lab results in a tele-appointment (thank you, Covid, for forcing people to try these efficient methods and learning they are not the devil’s work). 

THURSDAY

In the office all day. The days are a confusing blur.

Sometimes I am a squirrel.

FRIDAY

Work from home. Weird limbo time. Work schedule changing again. 

If I had a nickel for every time I said “hey Janey” as I step around this shoebox on the floor…I’d have a good .20 by now. It’s much darker in real life.

SATURDAY

Because I did not do the shoot I’d intended last week in Woodstock because clean sheets, air conditioning, and catlessness made bed just too hard to get out of in the morning, I HAD to go this morning. To a less desirable location, in a sunnier spot, far away. dumb dumb dumb. Dumb. Anyway. At least it got me up and out early. Ish. And in productive mode so hopefully for once I’ll get my week’s blogs written on the weekend and then can have some downtime in the afternoons after work. Doesn’t THAT sound like a good plan!? We shall see.

SUNDAY

A dear friend lost her brother to cancer earlier this week and today was the wake. I made myself fancy by wearing a dress with a waistband.

Then went to late lunch/early dinner with another friend. It was our first time eating inside a restaurant since early March. They had outdoor seating but it was stiflingly humid…so we took a peek inside, where the air conditioning was blasting and only like 4 tables were filled in the entire place and they were all well-spaced out. So we took the leap.

I had like 3 bites of my ginormous Caesar salad but ate ALL my waffle fries. This diner has THE BEST waffle fries. It’s really the reason we go there. I brought the salad home and it will be lunch for like the next 2 days.

MONDAY

Back to work in the office. That was one fast weekend! We have a tropical storm warning for tomorrow afternoon into Wednesday morning so I need to get out before work tomorrow and move the plants back up against the house. Oh, Saturday’s exciting news that I forgot to share – AIR CONDITIONER IS IN. Thank goodness. But I had to move plants away from the window to give Mr. room to work. Is anyone more in the path of Hurricane Isasisashis?

Okay, thoughts? I’m looking at these three dresses for (early) fall and I’m really on the fence. They’re all within $10 of one another…the third one is polyester and maybe seems too “dreamy/fancy” for work? The first two are rayon, one of my happy fabrics. Any opinions (no, Jodie, I am not getting all three)?

Angie Floral Midi Dress

BP/Nordstrom Long Sleeve Frill Cuff Dress

BP. Frill Cuff Long Sleeve Dress, Main, color, BLACK BETSY ROSE FLORAL

H&M Chiffon Floral Dress

H&M+ Chiffon Dress - Black/floral - | H&M US 1

WHAT I’M READING

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff. This has been on my list for a long time. Expectations were high. It failed to live up to them. The premise of the story was a good one – a secret all-women corps in France near the end of WWII, who were supposed to be code senders for the Americans (and English?) to help them try and stop the German troops. I don’t want to give more of the story away, but my issue with it was…this is a serious subject but too many significant details were taken too lightly. Single woman whose husband had abandoned her and their young daughter, working in France to send money home to aunt who was caring for daughter. A stranger approaches her “do you want to (essentially) be a spy in the war doing something you have no training for and oh by the way you can’t say goodbye to your beloved daughter whose already been abandoned by her father” Sure! And off she goes. Then there’s a couple flimsy romances that spring up out of nowhere. Day One: “Oh, he’s a fiend and a brute.” Day Two: “I love him.” And another single woman in NY just HAPPENS to see a suitcase stuck under some chairs at Grand Central Station so she does what anyone would do (note: sarcasm), she OPENS the suitcase, takes out photographs of 10 women, and leaves with them. Then spends the next…days? Weeks? Book time, who knows..obsessed with The Mystery of the Photographs. Very Nancy Drew.

Those things bugged me and caused no end of eye rolls. But it was a good story…told, other than those silly issues above, well.

A couple years ago I read The Orphan’s Tale by the same author and really liked it.

The Essay written by John Lewis in his final days and published on the day of his funeral, July 30, 2020. It is definitely worth a read.

The final, beautiful paragraph:

“When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.”

WHAT I’M WATCHING

A short, touching, animated video…”My Boyfriend Died of COVID-19.”

A cute (if you’re willing to suspend belief…which I am usually NOT, but…it looked cute…and it was) movie on Hulu called Palm Springs with Adam Samberg. The trailer thumbnail is not a good representation of the movie.

WHAT I’M LISTENING TO

Our friend Julia’s podcast, “Audio Postcard.” She interviews a different guest each show, who talks about an area they love – the pros and cons, the appeal, etc. If you’re planning to travel (someday) or move to a different part of the country, this is a great way to get a feel for an area without having to actually go there!

 

 

NPR’s This American Life did a charming story about amusement parks called…wait for it…Amusement Park. It’s a feel-good, funny, bittersweet story. Worth a listen.

And that be it! There was just a HUGE boomer outside that made me jump! It’s time to turn off, plug in, and get in bed.

This post contains affiliate links, which means that I may receive a small commission if you buy something as a result of clicking that link, at no extra cost to you. I appreciate you shopping through my links.