Around Here

    

The weather:::

It has been raining steadily for the last week with a few breaks here and there.  I was glad that the rain held off for my drive up to Sophia's on Wednesday but it poured almost all the way home on Saturday.  I am glad to be tucked up inside the house now.  Definitely will be taking the bus from the Park & Ride this week so I don't have to walk down the street, and back up again after work, in the rain.

On my reading pile:::.

I finished Jackie and Maria by Gill Paul and picked up another one of her books, Another Woman's Husband, which I am working through now.

On my TV:::

Watched one of the Hallmark Countdown to Christmas 2021 premieres and DVR'd the others so I'll catch up during the week.  Got up early on Black Friday to watch the final of The Great British Baking Show.

Checked off the list:::

I was away from the blog last week due to a pinky finger issue that resulted in an up to the elbow splint!  I went to Urgent Care with pain and swelling in my finger and I couldn't bend it at all.  Four hours later, the diagnosis was a probable flexor tendon sheath infection and I went home with antibiotics and the splint.  I developed a whole new sympathy for those who have only one arm or hand, the list of things that it was impossible to do is endless.  I was off Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving and ended up taking Monday through Wednesday off as well since I couldn't get onto the bus one-handed and my productivity at work would have been severely limited.  Thank goodness the splint came off Wednesday and I was able to drive up to Sophia's with both hands on the wheel.

Crafts Roundup:::

I took Friday the 19th off to participate in a weekend crop but the above put a stop to that.  I ended up just listening in and taking notes.  Thank goodness it was my left arm in the splint (I'm right-handed).  I just received an order from Creative Memories so I was able to add the pieces I was missing and call the 2012 Family Album completed.  On to 2013!

And in other news:::

Sophia and I had a lovely Thanksgiving and Black Friday together.  I got up to her apartment on Wednesday evening but she was at cow-sorting, a western-style equestrian activity that involves moving cows from one pen to another in order (they have number tags on their backs) at the local fairgrounds.  Spectra and I hung out until she got home.  On Thanksgiving Day, we woke up to a puddle of water in the bathroom which was quickly resolved by the maintenance man (pipe upstairs was loose and water had leaked through the exhaust fan).  Crisis averted.  I hate to think what would have happened if Sophia had been at our house, she could have returned to much wetter floors.  We put a turkey breast in the CrockPot and headed to the barn to take care of Bucky (he's on partial care so she has to clean his stall every day - the other two are on full care so someone else takes care of their stalls).  We came home and put up her tree and decorated and after this photo, I completely forgot to take any more!

It's a super skinny tree but looks great when it's fluffed and all the ornaments are on it.  We ate dinner, watched a Christmas movie, made a plan for Friday, and just relaxed.

We got a slow start on Friday morning (not at all like those 5:00am Black Fridays of the past) and meandered to Bath & Body Works, Verizon, Target, Hobby Lobby, and Home Goods.  It was a beautiful day (but windy hence my hair all askew).  Santa wasn't at the mall yet so Sophia posed at his front door!

Sophia asked for a new phone for Christmas so we got an iPhone 13 with a great trade-in on her old phone and took advantage of the amazing Black Friday deal on an Apple Watch ($50 instead of $329.99).  Interesting that the new phones don't come with a charger, you have to buy that separately since they are a different connection from the ones we have for the iPhones 8 and 10.  The new phones come with the cord, but not the charger.

After shopping, it was off to Tractor Supply to pick up feed and then to the barn to take care of Bucky.  Home for leftover turkey and fixings and then it was time to pack as I was leaving in the morning.  Sophia had a full day of schooling (she's working with a horse whose owner doesn't have time to ride him right now) and lessons.  As I mentioned earlier, it poured all the way home.

Time to head back to work tomorrow.  I'm cringing when I think of the amount of e-mail that will be in my Inbox but I'm sure it will make next week fly by.  26 days until Vic is home for Christmas!