I've had my first cold-weather cold. I could have picked it up anywhere, but I suspect it was the system-wide work meeting I went to last Monday with a couple of hundred other people. I was pretty miserable for a while, but I am on the tail end of it now. Perhaps the hardest part of the whole malady was not going to work for a couple of days. I could have functioned and done what I needed to do at work so it was hard to stay away. But I have finally learned that it is not being fair to my co-workers if I show up sick with something that I can spread to them. And maybe I would have been fooling myself to think that I could have functioned just fine, because I did more daytime sleeping than I ever remember doing while I was home those couple of days.
Last weekend, I acted on impulse and bought a bag of 50 tulip bulbs from Costco. My thinking went something like this. The picture is so pretty on the bag. And I love tulips in the spring. And we don't have any. And it won't take that long to plant them. And the price is good. So into the basket they went. However, there was one detail I forgot about when I was convincing myself that I just had to have them. I didn't have any beds with the right sunlight to plant them in. I was so proud of myself that I got down to business and prepared a new planting spot. But then there was a second problem that reared it's ugly head. The bulbs needed to be planted 6 inches deep and every inch I dug was filled with rocks, some big, some little, but all spade stopping size. I enlisted Ward's help and with a total of 4 man-hours, we planted 39 bulbs. I'm not sure where the other 11 will go, but by golly, the ones that are already planted better come up next spring and be beautiful just like the picture on the bag she says with a sneer instead a twinkle in her eye. It may take another couple of days before I get back to appreciating the time I spent in nature planting some of her wonders. :)
Recently on vacation, Ward and I visited Glade Creek Mill in Babcock State Park in West Virginia. The mill and its surroundings create a very photogenic scene and have been photographed many times. I was happy on this visit that I finally got to take my own picture of it. Lili of Creative Savv suggested that it would make a good jigsaw puzzle and I agreed. I thought it would make a perfect gift for Ward for Christmas since he loves to work puzzles. I have done this before with other pictures we have taken and found that if you get more than a 100 or so pieces, it can be very expensive. Anyway, as I was researching "homemade" puzzles both on the internet and in our puzzle supply, guess what I found? A 1000 piece puzzle of the Glade Creek Mill. I don't remember having it, but in my defense, Ward is in charge of what is in our puzzle inventory. So I don't think I need to make another puzzle of that scene. I'll cross that one off my list of To Do's before Christmas. Now what am I going to replace that idea with? Think. Think. Think. Nope, I've got nothing.
Last night we had a few family and friends over to celebrate my sister's birthday. It was fairly low key with help from several directions. However, I think was the biggest help to me, was Theo. Because I have been staying away from the kitchen while I've been sick, I told him what we had planned so far and he took care of everything including the shopping and preparing. And for that I am thankful.
Being thankful seems like a good place to end, until next time...
