Raincharm’s Weblog

I am sharing pictures of the sisters yard/gardens from today. A little different from the tour we had just days ago. Separated by 500 miles (8 hours by car), the weather is similar.

Ours, on the other hand, has not changed.

Not much else to report. We walked for takeout from a Vietnamese restaurant about 10 blocks away. The short blocks. This particular restaurant opened a few years ago when we were in the middle of a remodel, living in an apartment across the street from the restaurant. We remember the grand opening, complete with costumed dancers.Grand opening blog

We held a sisterly zoom yesterday and the youngest gave us a tour of her garden. In bloom through just testing the weather.

So, here is my somewhat abbreviated version of the current garden.

Now, back to work!

Carl has been out and about. I have been working.

That is the essence of our lives, and especially mine right now. We are managing, and I am not sure if the weather is helping or hurting. It is gorgeous. A bit windy at times, but I am sure it is in the 60s this afternoon. I am on a work break, and plan to go back to try and complete the final 4 draft slides for a presentation on Monday. That may sound like I am ahead of the game, but it needs to be reviewed by my boss…..

I noticed this nice red area a few nights ago, just in time to read an article about such occurrences. The article suggested it was a good sign, showing the body at work. But wow, what wrinkles. I hadn’t had time to apply the spackle yet.

There have been a few walks along the way, but not enough given the weather. Signs of spring in Seattle.

We ordered tamales from Frelard Tamales and they were delivered today. Most are in the freezer, but I intend to steam a few to enjoy tonight. And they delivered flowers along with the food!

Speaking of which, it is time to start dinner. Carl does the bulk of the food prep, but I am up tonight.

Carl has been working in the backyard. I have been working.

So we are taking a break on the deck. 52 degrees (feels like 58). Nary a breeze, and lovely.

This few hour interlude will be my weekend. Work is far too demanding now for much more. The weekend provides time to catch up on the, “not the primary focus, tier one”, work. This is more individual customer centric, rather than policy based. Ah yes, customers.

I am actually okay with this. I know what moratoriums are like. Much more work than not. Been there, done that, and now experiencing PTSD.

In other news, we watched Under the Skin last night, starring Scarlett Johansson. I had not read much before, and it was a little off the beaten path. But I did find myself trying to puzzle out bits afterwards, so it did engage my brain.

Now for the mundane, yard waste and recycling to the curb. Garbage can wait.

Carl has been working in the backyard. I have been working.

So we are taking a break on the deck. 52 degrees (feels like 58). Nary a breeze, and lovely.

This few hour interlude will be my weekend. Work is far too demanding now for much more. The weekend provides time to catch up on the, “not the primary focus, tier one”, work. This is more individual customer centric, rather than policy based. Ah yes, customers.

I am actually okay with this. I know what moratoriums are like. Much more work than not. Been there, done that, and now experiencing PTSD.

In other news, we watched Under the Skin last night, starring Scarlett Johansson. I had not read much before, and it was a little off the beaten path. But I did find myself trying to puzzle out bits afterwards, so it did engage my brain.

Now for the mundane, yard waste and recycling to the curb. Garbage can wait.

Pictures of various celebrations running the gamut.

A rather tired day. Largely due to limited hours of sleep. A restless night, including the Easter Bunny delivery in the wee hours of the morning. And a long walk mid-morning. A very nice walk, and thankfully out and about before the tiredness really arrived.

Chilling now, watching soccer and generally relaxing.

And because sports, what a basketball game last night with Gonzaga pulling out the overtime win with a halfcourt bomb. We were bouncing between the Mariner and basketball games, with both being recorded. There was a huge cheer from the Mariners crowd, with no baseball play, so we bounced back to basketball to see for ourselves.

Fun game, and a hope for Gonzaga on Monday. I recall several years ago when they were a Cinderella team making a run. Maybe this year the shoe will fit.

Walkies too. Sore arms are our only side effect of note today. A beautiful spring day. Trees are in bloom, profusion of daffodils and tulips starting to show. I remember a year ago finding this time of year making staying at home enjoyable. Just getting out into the neighborhood so much more frequently. The lack of other social engagements and commuting opening up open hours of time. An upside to the pandemic. A good side effect.

We went out tonight. Twice, sort of. Are we becoming social butterflies?

The first outing this evening was for our first shot. Moderna as it turns out.

The second outing was to pick up some Indian food from the restaurant at the corner.

We have a walking date for Sunday morning. This will follow Carl’s turn as the Easter Bunny for his most recent kids. It’s been more than a year since he worked, but no reason to mess with tradition. Very socially distanced as the kids should still be in bed.

That gives us tomorrow to be general lazabouts, whether we should be or not. There are lots of things to do around here, but I feel like I need a vacation day.

I worked yesterday, the entire day. That is unusual for an opening day of baseball, but this holiday was just a bit different.

We did celebrate, and in trying to add some “normalcy” to the day, we gathered with our seatmates. We went to one house, but stayed in the backyard. And there was no sharing of food and libations. Of course the game didn’t start until 7 PM, so it was past our normal dinnertime. And masks make it harder to eat and drink.

We were expecting to listen to the radio, old style, but finally managed to get a game feed to an I-Pad, through some feed that is not standard. The video feed was ahead of the local radio feed, so we ended up listening to the Giants feed from the video. And of course the I-Pad’s battery died, and then the backup battery died, so we listened to the 10th inning on the radio.

We missed hearing and seeing a diving outfield catch in the top of the 10th to keep it tied, but did listen to the Giant’s pitcher walk in the winning Mariner run.

We didn’t get home until 11:00, and it is a tired morning, but a good tired. The Mariners are still tied for first, and weren’t postponed for either weather or Covid. And tonight we get shot number one.

The much-anticipated public hearing was last night. The presentation went pretty well. Then, in addition to the 5 written comments recieved there was exactly 1, count them, verbal comment provided. This is the one person who attends almost all of our meetings, almost always comments on something, and had also provided one of the five written comments. There were 15 non-employees in attendance, so that was good. It felt a bit like much ado, although it really is about something. And I feel like I am in recovery today.

We are eligible for the vaccine starting tomorrow, and just before noon today I snagged us appointments for our first shot on Friday evening. What a good employee, if I don’t feel good it will be over the weekend! I also pointed my carpooler (except for this last year) to the site, and his appointment is 20 minutes after ours. No, we are not carpooling.

I was giddy after getting them scheduled. We don’t know which vaccine either. Like opening a present.

I finished a book a few days ago, The Egyptologist, by Arthur Phillips. I enjoyed the story, although I figured out bits of it as I continued to read. I even went back and reread the beginning after I finished it, to see the set up knowing the end. What I can’t figure out is where the book came from. I pulled it off the shelf, figuring it was one of the kids from school days. Rey emphatically said it was not his, and I haven’t spoken with Ashlan. It is also possible it was gifted to me years ago, and got out of view. It happens.

I am currently reading a Sandra Brown mystery. What I would really like is for a warm afternoon to just sit outside and read. Maybe in another month.

And watching a bit of the March Madness. Not sure if Michigan is going to pull out a win against UCLA. And I doubt any of my Michigan family is watching this game since it’s 11:30 PM eastern.

And puzzling.