from olalla to the city lights

I have not blogged because I had nothing interesting to report - I spent the last couple of days working in an attempt to start really getting caught up on everything I've missed. I got some good stuff done today, and then promptly felt overwhelmed because I realized that it was still just the tip of the iceberg of what I need to get done. But at least I *did* get something done, so I'll take it.

Anyway, as I said, there is little to report from the last couple of days. [Censored] and I have been subsisting on various Mexican-adjacent foods - I made taco salads on Sunday night, which turned into making extra taco meat on Tuesday night to use up the other fillings, and then I thawed out some chicken taco meat that I'd prepped last month so that we could continue eating without me needing to cook. Last night was also watched the latest Mike Birbiglia comedy special, which was pretty great until we realized it was mostly about his dad having a stroke, which was really not the direction that either of us wanted our entertainment to go in. So we palate cleansed with some Stargate, and I went to bed a little sad.

Today, as I said, was somewhat productive, although it tapered off at the end. But I spent some quality time this evening journaling + brainstorming some writing stuff, so I'll take it. And now I need to sleep so that I can be in it to win it in the morning - goodnight!

rest your eyes and stay in the shade

I'm v tired and I suppose I should go to bed if I have any hope of getting work done tomorrow. I was pretty productive today, though. I woke up and spent some quality time writing this morning, which felt good. Then I showered, ate a sandwich, went to the grocery store, and embarked on my afternoon activities. This involved planting tings for several hours - [censored] had set up my raised garden beds yesterday, and I got the north one fully planted (three tomatoes, a tomatillo, five kinds of pepper, way more eggplant than I should have planted, and some basil and cilantro). We are also testing the 'Florida weave' method of supporting the tomatoes and peppers, which involves putting fence posts on either end of the garden and then holding the plants up with a figure-eights of twine weaving around them. We'll see how this goes, but I'm excited so far.

We'll also see how well AI does in planning a garden - I trained a Gemini agent by telling it I wanted it to act like a 'retired Extension director with extensive personal gardening experience', and also told it my zone, soil type, etc. It suggested what plants to put in each bed, and also told me I have too much zucchini, which I realized myself a little too late. It's been helpful so far in figuring out how to lay things out, so we'll see how it goes this summer.

In more earthy, less AI news, I also killed my first tomato worm of the season - it was just casually hanging out on one of my tomato plants before I even planted it. I assume it hitched a ride from the greenhouse, but its migration was for naught because I crushed it. This is perhaps the first of many, but I hope not.

After I planted the veggies, I took a break from the raised beds because I need more soil for the second one. Instead, I planted a couple of pots of petunias for the front, a dahlia for my balcony, and also the big railing planter that I keep on my balcony every summer. I still have more to plant this week, but I felt good about what I got done today. And I did it all while listening to a couple of audiobooks - first I started a book on consciousness, but I was having trouble focusing on it. So I switched to "Braiding Sweetgrass", which I've been meaning to read for ages, and so far it's excellent - it's by a botanist who is a member of the Potawatomi, and it's part memoir, part history, part plant/environment discussion.

When I was done planting, I cleaned up, took a shower, and then made dinner (somewhat reluctantly; if I were in Denver, I would have ordered thai takeout instead). Luckily it turned out v. well - I made pasta with sausage and swiss chard (and parmesan and lemon zest, no tomatoes), which is one of my faves. The chard came from the farmers' market yesterday, and it was pretty tasty, and [censored] and I both enjoyed it.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

dream on

I had a decent last couple of days. Yesterday I got up early and packed up before heading to the garmers market in downtown Des Moines. I was really surprised by how many vendors they had -- over 200, which meant there were a lot of people crammed into the city. But I got some plans for my garden and really enjoyed wandering around, so it was a good way to spend the morning.

Then I went to whole foods to stock up on stuff. I also went to Home Depot to get various things for my garden, and I stopped at Ellis Greenhouse for the same reason. I probably have more garden stuff than I need or want, but that's a problem for Future Sara.

After I got home yesterday, I spent the afternoon roasting tomatoes and then grilling steak for dinner with Mom and [censored]. I went to bed last night and intended to get up early today so that I could be productive, and I was partially successful. Surprisingly, I did get up pretty early for a weekend, but the productivity was marginal at best.

That said, I had an okay day. Since it was drizzling a bit this morning, I ended up going to Centerville so that I could pick up a few last things that I didn't have for my garden as well as get a few groceries. When I got back, [censored] and I ended up putting together two raised garden beds that he had picked up for me in Des Moines. And by "we" I mean [censored] did all of the work and I mostly stood around and supervised.

I ended the day by taking a shower, and then [censored] and I took a quick trip to the cemetery to see the way it looked with all the flags out for Memorial Day. When we got back I threw together the accoutrements for taco salad - I browned some hamburger and then chopped up romaine that I bought at the farmers market yesterday to go with some onion, tomato, a salsa/sour cream dressing, and various other tings. This went a long way toward restoring my energy. 

And now I need to go to bed - goodnight!

i can't wait 'til tomorrow while these thoughts they all leech from my head

I am ensconced in a bougie hotel room in Des Moines, because I desperately needed both alone time and fanciness and a change of scene. I had been planning to come to Des Moines for the afternoon for awhile, since I booked a haircut for today directly after my last haircut several months ago. But last night I decided to make it an overnight - coming up in the afternoon always rushes me to run errands and buy groceries, and I never have time to chill and explore. 

So I got up pretty early, did an interview for a candidate at work at the ungodly hour of 8am (I am v spoiled and believe starting meetings before ten -- or better, eleven -- is a violation of my human rights), and then sped to Des Moines. I then took another meeting from Starbucks before taking the rest of the day off (partially on my own volition, partially at the direction of my friend/HR boss lady, who actually texted me today on my personal phone to make sure I was following through on taking today off).

After that, I got a long overdue pedicure, then grabbed a salad and went to the salon to get my haircut (which turned out great). Then I washed my car, ran to Rrader Joe's, and drove downtown to check into my hotel. I also checked out a salvage store that I've wanted to explore, and it was awesome - four stories of incredible junk that was both v appealing and gave me PTSD flashbacks to all the other junk my family already has. It's a good thing I don't have room for a gigantic spinning wheel (unless I turn the place next door into a textile studio, which is not the dumbest idea I've had). But the store was well worth a visit. 

Then I went to the hotel, unpacked, and walked down the street to Centro, where I had a bougie early dinner with an Aperol spritz, scallops, and a glass of wine. Then I came back to the hotel and dozed, which might have been the end of me - but Katie called, so we talked for an hour, which was a delight.

After Katie woke me up, I rallied and went downstairs for another glass of wine, some fries, and some v quality time with my journal. I came up with some story topics, which made the price of the hotel room worth it, and it was v nice to have a solo hotel bar experience like I used to have when I traveled more. 

But now, I need to sleep so I can run all the errands tomorrow - goodnight!

i'm lookin' to help you find bliss, one day, one way, can't miss

I was not nearly as productive today as I had intended to be, and at this point I think this week is a wash. I woke up at a reasonable hour and did some journaling, which was good; I also made coffee, which was even better. And I did partake in several hours of meetings, in which I made several suggestions or decisions, so I wasn't entirely useless. But several of my afternoon meetings got canceled, and I was not feeling like picking up any of the myriad projects that I was working on in April and which I have semi-forgotten.

So, ultimately, I ended up calling it a day and doing some other personal tings. [Censored] got home at some point, and I made myself some huevos rancheros for a late dinner, since I had forgotten to eat. I also realized that I had forgotten to throw away the sour cream, which apparently expired on May 5 (don't tell [censored], who had some of it earlier this week). I realized this only after I had slathered it on my quesadilla, and since it was just slightly more sour than it usually is, I decided to roll with it. Given my preferences for food safety, you can use this to read between the lines on my mood!

Sssanyway, I ate my huevos rancheros, then talked to [censored] for awhile. And now I need to sleep so that I can get with my many and varied plans tomorrow - goodnight!

don't let the devil make you toss this letter

Today might have felt back to normal except noting really feels back to normal. I got up earlier than I wanted to do I could go get allergy shots - I reacted a bit, but not as bad as three weeks ago, so I'll take it. Then I came home and slogged excessively - I didn't actually get much done, but I participated in many meetings and started to get back up to speed.

My last meeting was cancelled, though, so I ran out to Mom's to pay a quick visit to her and Aunt Kathy, who came down for the day. Then I went into town for a library board meeting - we interviewed librarian candidates yesterday and today, which went well (and was reasonably fun).

Then I came home, tidied up, opened the many boxes of things I've ordered and but bothered to open the last couple of weeks, and generally chilled. I also ate some chickpea masala with rice that I'd frozen for a lazy day, and I'm happy to report it was pretty good reheated (if you have my palate instead of the palates of most people in my county).

And now, I'm going to bed - goodnight!

rollercoaster

I have v little to report. I went back to work today, and it rained like three inches and also hailed, which was a fitting complement to my mood. It was good to see (most of) my coworkers, but I was not feeling in it to win it. However, I did get my desk cleared off and had a few decent-enough meetings, so hopefully I can get back into the swing of things without too much drama.

I was going to scrounge for dinner and make [censored] scrounge too, but the weather got me in the mood for chili, and I managed to find one non-rotten onion in my pantry (the last few weeks were not big for onion usage, apparently, and so my stockpile went to waste). So after I was done working, I made chili, and then [censored] and I watched the last SNL of the season.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!