peace of mind

I have had a v. eventful few days. Work continues to be a slog, which is why I haven’t had the energy to post at the end of the day - but it’s a (mostly) fun slog, so I am not that resentful of the increased demands on my time.

So, let’s see what we missed (what you missed in reading + what I missed in documenting):

Thursday was my birthday (#neverforget), and I celebrated as soon as I woke up by having a funfetti cupcake instead of a granola bar with my coffee. I spent the day slogging through a variety of tings and also fielding texts from a variety of people - the advantage of a 9/11 birthday is that it is remembered by people even if they don’t have it on their calendars, so I feel like I hear from more people than average (and then feel guilty because I definitely don’t remember everyone else’s birthdays).

After I was done with work, my mom, [censored] and I went to Garden Grove to celebrate my birthday at one of the only restaurants around that was open. I always love their cheese curds and fried pickles even though they certainly are not gluten free; I also had a southern Iowa lemonade, and the bourbon made up for the fact that my burger wasn’t as good as it usually is. So, we had a nice birthday dinner, and I ended the day feeling very loved (especially because someone at work refused to add me to a 9-11pm meeting because it was my birthday, so I went to bed while everyone else slogged).

Friday was chaotic = I got up and went into town to get allergy shots, and then I slogged through more meetings than I like to have on Fridays. I also had to pack to leave for SF, which made things more chaotic. But since I was originally supposed to fly out Friday night, the fact that I didn’t leave until Saturday morning made it just a wee bit more manageable. So I got packed up, watered all my plants and gardens, organized things, and also made dinner - I baked some chicken breasts, cooked the last of a pack of bacon that was going to go bad before my return, sliced up some fresh tomatoes and some leftover mozzarella, and [censored] and I had a surprisingly delicious dinner (and I left him with leftovers, assuaging my guilt at also leaving him with plants to water).

Saturday, I flew to SF. My flight was at 9, which meant leaving home at 6…and I only left twenty minutes later than planned, which is luckily not a problem when flying out of Des Moines. I parked in the garage, walked straight through security with my carry-on, and had time for a glass of nerve-calming rosé at the bar before boarding on time. My flights were both smooth from a timing standpoint, but unfortunately I was banking on eating on the Denver->SF flight, and they didn’t end up offering any food because there was too much turbulence.

So I landed in SF early but starving. Since I didn’t have to pick up a checked bag, I grabbed a late lunch at a restaurant at the airport before taking an uber into the city. I checked into my hotel, fully unpacked, and then went to my absolute favorite mani/pedi place, were they cleaned up my hands and feet and made me feel ready to seize a week of girlbossing in the city of sin. After that was done, I came back to my hotel, took a much needed twenty-minute nap, put on fresh clothes, and rendezvoused for some much-needed family time.

Adit (no one calls him the cat), Chandlord, Claude and I met up at True Laurel for drinks (aka cacktales), and my boulevardier went a long way toward restoring me after my travels. Then we had dinner at Flour + Water, which has gotten v. good for gluten free. The four of us now arrange our seating by our joint dietary preferences - Claude and I avoid gluten and eat meat to compensate, while Adit and Chandlord are veg only but eat as much gluten as possible. We split all the veg/gluten free salads on the menus, and then Claude and I split an excellent gf pasta + some salmon. This might be my new fave gf pasta in the city, which is v exciting since a place called Flour + Water is not typically welcoming of our gf sensitivities.

We also (of course) ordered a bottle of wine + another couple of glasses after. This is sedate compared to the outings of our twenties and thirties, but still felt like going big given our advanced ages. We spent most of dinner playing a game we dubbed ‘Vibe Check’ - the person in the hotseat had to pick a number between 1-10, where 1 is worst and 10 is best. The other three then went around and asked category questions - e.g., if someone asked ‘Biblical characters’ (as Claude did of me), then the main person had to name something within that category that matched the number/ranking they were thinking of.

As it turns out, we know each other quite well - they got that I had picked a 4 (for reference: my biblical characters was Paul bc I acknowledge his role in promoting the church and writing great letters, but do not appreciate his misogyny or how judgy he was after his Damascus conversion - and Claude guessed exactly how I felt; my other answers were all similarly mid), and for the rest of our rounds we all got within 1 of the person’s number. As games go it was quite fun and not nearly as dangerous as games involving shots, so I would 100% recommend.

Sssanyway, after we finished dinner (with an excellent chocolate budino), we walked a few blocks to meet up with Michael, who is friends with Chandlord and Claude. We hung out in his lobby with him and his partner, and drank some truly atrocious canned Paloma drink (lukewarm 52-proof tequila and grapefruit is really not good, but I drank it anyway because I’m polite and also have no boundaries). We chatted about a variety of topics related to book bindings, house renovations, SF neighborhoods, etc., and it was all generally delightful.

Adit and Chandlord then went with Michael to the Stud (and later to Grubstake, which I’m very sad to have missed, but I couldn’t have survived until 1:30am PT / 3:30am CT after waking up at 5am CT). I walked Claudia back to her car, grabbed an uber from there, and then came to my hotel and fell asleep with the lights on because I was too tired to think.

Today was a great recovery day though. I woke up fairly early, grabbed coffee downstairs, and then chilled and ordered room service breakfast. I also ran over to Chandlord’s to get a set of keys from her - SF hotels are cheap this weekend but out of control this week, so I’m checking out tomorrow and staying with her. Then I came back to my hotel, showered, and walked to the Embarcadero…

…where I had lunch (don’t call it brunch) with John and Jess at Coqueta. I was in the mood for tapas and paella, which I never get in ye olde Iowa, and Coqueta delivered. My salt air margarita was perfect, and the paella was fantastic - and the patatas bravas (fried potatoes if you’re Iowan) were so good that we got a second order. It’s warm in the city right now, so we sat outside, and we people-watched and water-watched and caught up on life in general, and it was all a delight.

After we parted ways, I did basically nothing for a couple of hours (and finally gave up and took a proper nap). Then I grabbed a chai from the Yemeni coffee shop down the street, came back to my room, and wrote for a couple of hours. Eventually I realized I was finally hungry again, so I grabbed a burger and a glass of wine from the hotel bar. And now, I need to start unwinding so that I can hit the work slog hard tomorrow - goodnight!

and i'll spend all my tomorrows coming down

I made it back to ye olde Iowa without incident yesterday, although it felt like I was just barely escaping in time - I felt a baby earthquake while I was showering, and another big storm was headed in, so the fact that my flight was on time felt like a minor miracle. I was later getting to SFO than I like to be, so I was a bit rushed, but I had time for eggs and potatoes before boarding, which made being squished into coach (after failure to get an upgrade) a little more palatable. I also had a v. tasty salad in Denver, and then getting into Des Moines was a breeze.

I had intended to come straight home, but I had to go to West Des Moines to pick up a prescription, and Drewbaby texted me while I was in Denver to see if I wanted to get together. He moved to the Des Moines area recently, which is the first time since 1999 that all three of us ([censored], Drewbaby, and I] have lived in the same state. Since Drewbaby was six that year, we really don't have much experience being in the same place as adults. So, we met up for dinner, which was delightful, even if the service was absurdly slow (but the portions were huge, which meant I was able to have leftovers for lunch today rather than scrounging in my barren fridge).

When I got home last night, I stumbled around to unpack and unwind, and then slept for almost eleven hours. My mom stopped by briefly after I woke up, and then I scurried to get ready and get into town for a meeting regarding the mural event I'm getting involved in. Then I grabbed some groceries, came home, took care of a bunch of online tings, did some work for the mural project, etc. And I also made dinner - a new-to-me shrimp and broccoli stir fry that was adequately tasty and also adequately easy, and also gluten free and hopefully easy for my still-recovering-from-trip stomach.

Eventually, [censored] came home, so we talked for awhile and also watched some tv. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

don't ever compare me to the rest that'll all get sliced and diced

I had a lovely day, and it was definitely better than I deserved after last night's shenanigans. I woke up this morning not feeling #inittowinit for obvious reasons (see: several glasses of sauvignon blanc), but I rallied and went to Another Cafe to write for awhile. This was one of my favorite haunts back in the day, and it's comfortingly similar to how it used to be - the upper mezzanine is perfectly quiet in the morning, and it was a good place to force myself back into the story after an extended hiatus.

After that, I came back to Chandlord's, got ready, and walked over to my old nail salon, with a stop for a quick Korean spicy pork and rice bowl (perfection). The ladies at the salon waxed my brows and gave me a mani/pedi, thus turning me into a better groomed version of myself. It was good to see them all, and even better to get my nails looking spiffy, so I'm glad I was able to get in today before my social plans begin in earnest.

Then I came back to Chandlord's again, did some laundry, took a nap, etc. Eventually, I left to rendezvous with her (eventually), but I was feeling like I needed to write some more, so I ducked into a strange little bar on top of the Stockton tunnel to write in the relative quiet of their establishment. I nursed a boulevardier for as long as I could, but right after I ordered my second (having already been there over an hour), the bartender gave me a free shot because the people hanging out at the other end of the bar were all getting a free shot and he decided to include me despite the fact that I was entirely antisocial. So, my second drink turned into a second drink + a shot of fernet, which is really not what I wanted, but I went along with it because that's what happens with me and bartenders and free alcohol.

However, it was all worth it because I got some really excellent writing done at the bar, and I hope to continue that tomorrow. I left the last half of my second boulevardier at the bar and met up with Chandlord, where I was dismayed to discover that she had ordered me an old fashioned (luckily, it was also free), and I said farewell to one of her coworkers (since it was a farewell party, although I had never met the guy).

Eventually, we escaped, and we tried to meet up with Adit, but it turned into a bit of a jhoke and we ended up at a v. weird restaurant that has a name like a taqueria and a menu on the door that promises pupusas, but instead they serve steak and pasta. And the steak is suspiciously cheap for SF - I had a thin-cut ribeye for $18, and it was good enough that it should have been more than that here. So maybe it's a front for something else, idk.

Adit did show up just in time to get some yogurt for dessert, and we talked until they closed, and then Adit drove me and Chandlord home. And now I need to sleep since I suddenly have three meal plans + a lot of writing to get done tomorrow - goodnight!

this light is contagious, go, go tell your neighbors

I've had a v. small town couple of days. Yesterday, I had a meeting about the mural project, which I'm pretty excited about - I think I have signed up for more than I would ideally like to do, but I also think it's pretty amazing that the county is getting 18 new/refurbished murals, so I'm #inittowinit. I also had dinner last night with Allie (my niece) and Chris (my soon-to-be nephew whose name I know with about 50% accuracy, but I like him more than that fact would indicate). We went to the Mexican restaurant in town, which I ate for four meals in the last seven days because I tend to have leftovers, and I'm sure the wait staff was surprised to see me with someone who wasn't [censored].

So, that was fun, and it was a good reminder that I am about to eat at a bunch of places where my alcohol bill alone will be more than my full meal bill here. #funfact I spent ~$50 in restaurants in February, so I would expect that most of my meals in SF/Seattle will exceed my monthly total in Iowa.

sssanyway. Yesterday I also spent some time saying farewell to my parents, although I saw them both today, so I guess yesterday doesn't count. Today, I met with someone about the mural stuff, then ran some errands, came home, ate leftover Mexican, and spent the afternoon packing. [censored] showed up early after taking the afternoon off, and my mom stopped by to get a tour of the plants that I need her to water while I'm gone. So, I packed with some low-grade interruptions, but I think I have most of what I need and can easily rectify anything I'm missing.

The reason [censored] came home early was to see the town play - tonight was the dress rehearsal, but it was open to the public, and since I couldn't go this weekend, we decided to go tonight. Dad went with us, while Mom went to a meeting that I skipped (and I saw someone else in the audience who skipped the meeting, but we agreed not to tell anyone we saw each other). Mom and Dad were in this play when it was first performed 41 years ago, and the town has done it several times since then - this was the fifth iteration. In a nice gesture, they read off the names of other people who have played each role in the previous iterations, which was a bittersweet trip down memory lane since there were a lot of names of people who have passed away (including my granddad).

So, the play was pretty entertaining - the play is an old Western, and they edited some of the gunslinging and replaced the guns with slingshots, but left in the questionable traitorous Native role (played by one of my high school classmates, who was definitely #inittowinit and told me after that I need to be in the play next year), so I'll give them an overall E for effort on the modernization. I'm glad I went, and I hope they keep the tradition alive, so we'll see.

Then, [censored] and I came home, sent Dad on his merry way, and watched a rather hilarious comedy podcast. And now I need to go to sleep - I am supposed to leave tomorrow, but I need to go to the airport early due to forecasted snow, and I still have some tings I need to do before I leave. Goodnight!

broken windows and broken tiles, frozen willows will go for miles

I got up this morning and engaged in a bunch of cleaning in my kitchen / living room in case a friend of [censored]'s stopped by - spoiler, the friend did not stop by, but I got a clean kitchen and mostly clean living room out of it, so it was still worthwhile. My renovated kitchen continues to be delightful, and I'm happy with how it turned out - and it's even better when it's freshly scrubbed / dusted / swept.

After that, I spent some time this afternoon sorting through tings in my bedroom and office so that I can do the final bit of organizing to make both of them feel finished. Even after that's over, there's still a final final stage in which I hang art and other items, but for now, the focus is on no longer having a random hodgepodge of stuff on the floor (which is hard, since my bedroom is absurdly shaped and is both probably larger than any two of my previous bedrooms combined + also has no storage space). I made progress, so we'll see what tomorrow holds.

Eventually, [censored] took me on a tour of [censored], which remains an alarming delight. It's best explored on days like today, when it's too cold for wasps, and also when the sun is still out so that it's too light for bats. We grabbed some postcards that are tangentially related to the volunteer project I'm working on, said hi to all of my childhood modes of transportation (my tricycle, two bikes, and a scooter), and skedaddled before we ran into any trouble.

Then we went to the parents' house, where my mom made an excellent roast. We then played Ticket to Ride, which my mom was determined to win; unfortunately, she lost to [censored] by about ten points, but she roundly beat my dad and I, so at least there's that.

And now, I should go to sleep (which is what I should have done two hours ago) - goodnight!

and all that's left is a version of events favorably framed for the sake of self-defense

I was having a case of the Mondays, but it was hard to stay in that mood when the weather was strangely gorgeous. It will go back to being miserable tomorrow, but today was almost sixty degrees and sunny. I took advantage of it by taking a long walk around town while listening to a couple of podcasts. Because it's mud season, and because the town has let most of the paved roads lapse into gravel, and because there are no longer sidewalks on most blocks, I mostly walked down the streets to avoid the mud on the edges. Luckily, I met very few cars, and only one dog that had decided to claim an entire block as its territory, so it was all good.

Other than my walk, the rest of my day was good too - I did some planning this morning while drinking coffee, and then I ran into town to meet with someone about this volunteer thing that I'm getting involved in. Then I came home, made an omelette, and talked to Caroline. Then, I procrastinated for awhile, took a nap, ate some lunch, and took a walk. I also did some journaling and laundry somewhere in there -- all v. exciting stuff.

Eventually, I went out to my parents' for dinner - since the weather was nice, my dad felt like grilling, and he made v. tasty barbecued chicken. He also bought me flowers for Valentine's Day, which was super sweet. And my mom made baked potatoes, which are almost as good as flowers in my book. So we chatted for awhile, and then I gave my dad a ride into town to pick up a car, and then I came home and folded laundry.

And, for the record, I forced myself to write for an hour tonight since I wasn't able to this morning - it felt like garbage, but I think I got some ideas for where this scene is headed, so I'll take it. And now, it's time for bed - goodnight!

i'd dress them wicked, i'd give them names

The flooring is all installed and I'm v. v. pleased with it (and also pleased that it's done). The installer will have to come back at some point to put in a trim piece that hadn't arrived at the store yet, but the kitchen, pantry, dining room, and bathroom are all done. And they all look great - I'm glad that it all looks good, because I was worried it would go horribly awry at the last minute if it turned out that I'd made the wrong choice based on the flooring samples.

Installation would have actually been done sooner, but I ended up feeding the installer (and [censored]) lunch, which added some long-winded (pun intended) tornado discussions to the mix. Still, we were done by 1:30 or so, and my house is almost done. Of course, Randy has to come back next week to finish the trim, and then there are myriad other projects that [censored] and I (and my dad, in some cases) have discussed - doors, patio / privacy fence, gazebo refresh, trees, install window treatments, basement storage overhaul, garage redesign, garage door openers, a possible remodel of my bathroom, finish redoing the prison bathroom in the basement, etc., etc., etc.

However, all of that is going to wait for awhile - I am really deeply eager to get into writing the book more steadily, and I also want to do some travel, so I need a break from house projects. Still, I'm glad that we did the kitchen / bath, since the space is so much more functional that it will make living here even better.

sssanyway, I took care of a variety of tings this morning and afternoon, and then my houseguests arrived - Aunt B and Uncle B came in from Colorado for "Christmas", and Aunt Kathy and Drewbaby are arriving tomorrow. Luckily, the flooring is done, but unluckily, there still isn't a toilet on the main floor of the house. However, so far so good. We had dinner at the Mexican restaurant in town, and it was delicious - and the staff was excited to see my dad, since he rarely goes in anymore and usually [censored] and I just pick up takeout. Then, my parents went home and the rest of us came to my house, where Aunt B and Uncle B got the tour of the latest house developments, and then we talked until relatively late. And now, I really should sleep so that I can make a million food items tomorrow - goodnight!

i'm telling lies to keep myself from hurting those around you

I've had a fairly nice and productive couple of days - today was a redo of part of the Christmas we were supposed to have last week, since Aunt Kathy, Drewbaby, and Sammie came down for the day. To feed this crew, I had volunteered to roast a pork butt....but due to my remodel + other activities, that meant roasting it overnight. I set up my probe thermometer on the counter and then set up a camera to look at the thermometer so that I could check it from my bedroom, but I still got up repeatedly throughout the night to check the camera (and, a couple of times, come downstairs to adjust the temps). The pork butt turned out pretty perfect, if I do say so myself, but I'm tired as a result of all my interrupted sleep.

However, it was worth it, since lunch (pulled pork + baked potato bar + a salad I like to make with greens/cranberries/pecans/apples/goat cheese) was delicious. We hung out most of the day, and it was a really delightful interlude in the midst of all of my remodeling.

After they headed back to the city, I caught a ride home with [censored], who then installed my kitchen sink (which is a huge win). I mostly spent the evening taking care of a bunch of small tasks that have been piling up in my inbox - I'm trying to start 2023 with a clean(er) slate, so I'm working my way through myriad tings that I've been ignoring.

And now, it's time for bed - goodnight!

keep me up until the body disagrees

Merry Christmas! I had a really lovely holiday, even if I did have to set my alarm for 7:15 to avoid keeping the family waiting for too long. We spent the morning engaged in our usual long, leisurely opening of gifts, which was really nice - I was happy with the gifts I gave and delighted with the gifts I received, so it all came together well. Among the gifts were several cookbooks, which I will put to good use, and a smart garden to grow herbs / veggies indoors, which I'm v. excited about. I also got the usual assortment of pen/ink, cookware, and other gifts, and the unusual addition of a rubber-band gun that's a replica of a James Bond handgun. So all in all, I'm excited to use all of it!

After we finished gifts, my mom made a delicious breakfast casserole and some muffins, which went very well with the equally delicious ambrosia that my dad made last night. Then we relaxed (and I snuck in a nap and a shower) before playing two games of Ticket to Ride. I can't remember who won, but I guess I had a good time. (jk, [censored] won both games, which was good for [censored] and annoying for everyone else)

After that, we hung out for awhile and had a v. tasty prime rib for dinner - it was far superior to the prime rib we usually get at the restaurant we occasionally go to for prime rib. Then, [censored] and I came back into town, and I took care of various tings until now.

And now, after a wonderful holiday (marred only by the fact that most of it was canceled), it's time for bed - goodnight!

can you take me higher? to a place where blind men see

Happy Thanksgiving! I had a v. lovely day, and it was nice to see family (and eat turkey). When I woke up this morning, I stumbled downstairs to take the cream cheese out of the fridge so it could warm up before being made into frosting, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that [censored] was already up and had pulled it out of the fridge for me. However, at this point I was fully awake, so I launched into doing Thanksgiving prep stuff.

For me, that mostly meant making a batch of pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. They turned out quite well, if I do say so myself - and this was in spite of my inattention, which meant I had to toss part of a batch because I accidentally added too much baking soda and couldn't rectify the mistake. I cleaned up as I baked, so the kitchen was in good shape by the end - and I also dusted and did some laundry and generally tidied up. [censored] was even more impactful, given the contribution of [censored]'s vacuuming skills, so the house looked pretty good by the time we had to leave to go to the parents' house.

When I got out there, Aunt Kathy and Drewbaby were already there. Kathy brought a pie and some rolls, both of which looked great and neither of which I can eat. But I didn't starve - my mom made a turkey, green bean casserole, corn casserole, deviled eggs, and gravy, and she conned me into making the mashed potatoes (which I am delighted to do, because it is a high honor and a lot of responsibility to make the Thanksgiving mashed potatoes). All in all, it was a v. tasty lunch, which is good since we have leftovers to get through the next few days.

We spent the rest of the afternoon / evening hanging out in various ways - we had some odd/hilarious conversations (including about crypto, which is everyone's favorite topic), watched some sports, etc. We also ate leftovers at some point. And eventually [censored] and I absconded with Aunt Kathy and Drewbaby and brought them back to my house, since they're crashing here tonight.

And now, I should sleep since I need to get up in the morning and make breakfast (and then do a million projects) - goodnight!

i had visions, i was in them, i was looking into the mirror

I had an excellent day in the mile high city, although I still have no regrets that I've decamped for lower altitudes. When I woke up this morning, I decided to give into to caution and get a covid test, since I was notified via my phone that I'd been exposed (on my birthday, of course, which is par for the course for 9/11 - never forget). So I used Uber Eats to order covid tests from a Walgreens, which arrived in record time. I was negative, as I expected/hoped, but at least I didn't feel like I was knowingly putting people I was seeing at risk.

sssanyway, after testing, I got some coffee and did a bit of work in the lobby. Then, I met up with Aunt B and Uncle B at Cherry Cricket, which is a bit of an institution in Cherry Creek - I'd never made it here because I rarely went out to eat in Cherry Creek before the pandemic, and I never went out here after. But we were able to grab a table on their nicely renovated patio, and we caught up over burgers and fries. We also walked around some home goods stores in the area, and it was a really nice couple of hours to catch up (and to give Aunt B an update on the family china that she foisted upon me, which is safely ensconced in my basement but may not be on display anytime soon - or at least until I buy some sort of china cabinet to store it in).

After we parted ways, I took a long nap, and then spent the afternoon working in the bar. I got some good ideas for my book, which were reinforced by Aunt B showing me some videos of her bees (editor's note: Aunt B stands for Aunt Becky, not Aunt Beekeeper, but both are valid), so I spent some time playing around with that and also ordering some books on folklore. And there's nothing I like better than writing in a hotel bar, so this was v. good for me.

Eventually, I put the laptop away and walked around the block (literally) to meet Kelly at Quality Italian. I kind of half ghosted Kelly when I left Denver, since we're no longer coworkers and so she didn't get an official notice of my departure. But the half ghosting was unintentional, and we made up for it with a long and leisurely dinner. Quality Italian's name sounds like it is an old school pasta joint in a strip mall, but it's actually quality - we had an excellent meal, including shrimp cocktail, and I had a steak and brussels sprouts to avoid overly gluten-ing myself (although I couldn't resist the bread, which was #worthit). Kelly had a lobster rigatoni where the lobster was seared at the table, which was a delight. And the waiter offered us tastes of the wine we were choosing, which basically netted us an extra half glass each, which felt like I was back in the game in terms of scoring free alcohol.

So, needless to say, this was all delightful. We caught up on all sorts of life and work topics, and continued the convo over a final drink at my hotel bar, and are now seriously considering a work trip to Europe together next year. And that, of course, would be right up my alley, so we shall see.

But now, I need to unwind and go to bed - goodnight!

if you've got the inclination i have got the crime

I did a bunch of house stuff today, which was a good use of time, but I'm starting to feel the itch to write more seriously / consistently. However, I'm still unpacking - so today I continued organizing and moving tings around the house. I also spent quite a bit of time prepping some cobb salads for the week - I love them, but they're a little labor intensive. But since I can't get one doordash'd to my house, occasionally I have to expend the effort to make them myself.

At some point, my mom showed up to check out the paint job in my bedroom (which does look great, I must say). Then I finished cleaning my kitchen, took a shower, and greeted [censored], who gave me a tour of [censored]. as evening rolled up, we went out to the parents' house for dinner, where we had brats and baked beans and potatoes like any good midwesterner. Tonight was the first night in months that I felt a little bit of a chill, and I'm not sure how I feel about that - but winter is inevitable, so I supposed I can't complain.

After supper, my niece and her fiancé came over to visit - I hadn't seen Allie and Chris for awhile (since Christmas, maybe??), so it was great that they were around this weekend. We ended up going to the old soda fountain in town (which is run by volunteers, and is a restoration of the old soda fountain I used to go to when I was a kid), and it was a delight to hang out. I got a coke float, which is not what my go-to order was at the soda fountain as a kid - I usually got cherry cokes, or lemon cokes, or vanilla shakes. But it was tasty and brought back memories, so I'll take it.

Then we came back to my place and gave them the tour of my gigantic bedrooms / tiny bathrooms. Allie declared that I'm too bougie for this town, which is probably true. And we Hanseled-and-Greteled them into doing some manual labor here - and by that I mean we lured children to an isolated house with the promise of treats/ice cream, and then got them to lift a [censored] for [censored]. But it all worked out and my homeowners policy won't have to pay for any injury claims, so I feel good about that.

And now, I really need to sleep so that I can continue my unpacking extravaganza tomorrow - goodnight!

i would choke on the rind

Happy 4th of July! I was not at all independent from slogging today - but my slog was self-directed and aimed at painting my office in Iowa, so I can't really complain. I spent most of the morning finishing the preparatory masking efforts, and then I took a break in the early afternoon to go to the local museum with my dad to see a program about the history of trains in the area. It was put on by a guy who seems to be a little younger than me and is writing a book on the history of some of Iowa's ghost towns (I think), which ties into railroads because many ghost towns were either caused by the railroad showing up in places that sucked people away from early settlements, or were caused by the railroad leaving. My town in Iowa is obviously not a ghost town, but it definitely suffered massively from the railroad changing (there is still a railroad, but no passengers and no Y-connector to the other railroad that used to go through the area and is now plowed under).

sssanyway, the talk was interesting, although perhaps too high level for a) my dad, who knows a lot about railroads, and b) me, who knows a lot about history in general. After the talk was over, my dad dropped me at my house (and bought me a coke float for the six-minute ride), and then I finished the painting prep. [censored] was kind enough to do some massive assistance on this project - not much on the prep side, but [censored] sprayed the entire first coat in the room. Since my a/c isn't working super well (tanks Marvin) and it's 95 degrees here, the room we were painting felt like an oven after I'd sealed it all in plastic - but we persevered, and I think it will look great. I did a second coat in most areas after dinner, so we'll see how it looks in the morning.

Eventually, we paused to have dinner with the parents, which was delish. And now, I desperately need to sleep if I'm going to run errands + paint the ceiling in the office tomorrow - goodnight!

i'm on a hovercraft to paris with my former best friend

The family reunion is over, and if I ignore the fact that we now have to spend two days driving back to Iowa, it was all pretty great. We started this morning off v. similarly to yesterday morning - I got ready and had breakfast in the hotel restaurant, which was totally adequate for a free hotel breakfast. Then, [censored] and Drewbaby and I drove out to the ranch together, with a v. necessary stop at Starbucks to fortify ourselves for the long drive through miles of scrub and rocks.

When we got out to the ranch, we were there fairly early, so I snuck away to a lounger by a small pool and hid from everyone so I could write for a little bit. My mom joined me there, so we had a nice catch-up before the sun got too hot. Then, everyone had lunch, followed by an afternoon of lazing about, playing more dominoes (I won this time, after spending more time strategizing and less time drinking than I did yesterday), etc. We took a break to go tour David and Melissa's house, which used to be Wendell's house - it's 'near' the reunion site, but back along the crazy long ranch road, so getting there took a bit of time. But it was nice to see how they've updated it - they have an amazing infinity pool and outdoor kitchen overlooking the ranch, and it was almost enough to convince me that I should make a lot of money and move to Texas (but that is almost certainly not the plan).

Dinner was excellent - my dad and Aunt B catered it from a barbecue place in town, and it was one of the best barbecues I've had. The brisket was great, although I was almost more into the sausage (that's what she said), and the potato salad and cole slaw were surprisingly excellent. And then we made our long, slow round of goodbyes, which also included hellos to people I didn't get a chance to talk to, as well as a rather entertaining intro to David's neighbor, who was v. excited about me and where I work even though I am not a celebrity for that (or, arguably, if I am a celebrity, it's for my writing career and not my tech career, but this guy is more into SEO than sexytimes, so I guess to each his own).

sssanyway, eventually we'd said all our hellos/goodbyes, and [censored]/Drewbaby/I drove back to town. This time others had cleared the path for us, so we only saw a few javelinas and a ton of deer. I left the reunion feeling like I would want to come again (since I always love it), although I probably would rather fly and not drive all the way to/from Iowa ever again. Hopefully, Future Sara remembers this and plans accordingly. And now, I should sleep so that we can begin our epic drive north tomorrow - goodnight!

and the thunder rolled

Day one of the reunion was a smashing success - although any reunion day in which we find the ranch on the first try without taking any wrong turns or hitting any animals is a good day. [Censored], Drewbaby, and I had breakfast at the hotel (and my parents joined us as soon as they were ready), and then we hit up a liquor store and a Starbucks before going out to the ranch. The ranch continued to be a trek to get to, since the 'driveway' is several miles long through a lot of hills and scrub and aforementioned animals.

However, we got out there with no issue, and spent the day hanging out. We've sadly lost a lot of people in the past few years since I was last at the reunion, but it's good that the people who came are still gathering. We had lunch, and hung out, and I introduced some people to aperol spritzes. Drewbaby and I also played an hours-long dominoes game with Julia (one of the last two remaining in my grandfather's generation), her son/daughter-in-law, and Lois (a cousin younger than me, despite the name). It's a little unclear who won due to some scoring irregularities, but it was a fun way to spend the afternoon.

There's really nothing else to report - I continued hanging out and chatting with various relatives, and then David made dinner (pork loin, salad, watermelon, baked beans, green beans, etc). And then [censored] did a masterful job of getting us out of the ranch in the dark without hitting any of the animals in our path - we saw a porcupine, multiple small and large javelinas, more deer than I can remember (including one with a very nice rack), a jackrabbit, a raccoon, a bighorn sheep, and possibly some other things that were missed in the dark.

And now, I need to sleep so we can repeat the fun tomorrow - goodnight!

it's getting repetitive, swallow a sedative

I'm sitting in a hotel room in Chickasha, OK, which you probably cannot guess how to pronounce (hint - the Y is invisible). Typically, I would fly to the family reunion as it's impossibly far from everywhere, but my family is caravaning for multiple reasons (health, difference in needs for rooms, 3/4 of us get carsick and therefore can't ride in backseats), and having me as a passenger who could be a driver is a helpful thing.

So, I spent the morning getting ready, packing, foam rolling in anticipation for the drive, etc. [Censored] and I left my house around 11:30, which was later than we had planned - but [censored] is an excellent driver with a need for speed, so we made good time. [Censored] also definitely enjoyed my color commentary about all the tings we passed (mostly dead trees, with some occasional interesting billboards and a lot of cows). We pulled into Chickasha around 7:45 or so, where my parents were already checked into their hotel - and the four of us went to Braum's, which is a Kansas/Oklahoma fast food chain with a dairy/ice cream component. My shake was pretty tasty, so Braum's lives up to its reputation.

Then [censored] and I checked into our hotel, and I did a bit of stuff and am now getting ready for bed. Texas awaits tomorrow - goodnight!

my heart keeps beating like a hammer

I had a nice Sunday in ye olde Iowa. When I woke up, I made myself some iced coffee and then wrote for awhile, which was an excellent way to start the day - it was only thirty or so minutes of actual writing, but it was fun, so I'll take it. Then I talked to [censored] for awhile, took a shower, and talked to [censored] some more. We should have gone to our parents' house about an hour earlier than we did, but we got sidetracked discussing what could be done in the garage to better organize it. Home improvement is one of our favorite Sunday topics because it ticks all the boxes: daydreaming/grandiose visions, planning without accomplishing anything, examining multiple possible solutions, and ultimately falling into despair / Sunday Scaries at everything that needs to get done. The garage is not the biggest priority ever, but we need to put some thought into it since it's basically the main entrance to the house (everyone comes in through the back door through the garage, since the front door is basically a figurehead and is inaccessible in most circumstances).

sssanyway, we eventually went to my parents' house (after a stop at [censored], where we examined ancient relics and were interrupted by a kind neighbor who no doubt wanted to see the ancient relics too). Aunt Kathy came down for the day, so we hung out and told stories. Mom made baked beans and potato salad, and Dad grilled some brats, and it was all quite lovely. At some point, I absconded with Aunt Kathy and brought her into town to see the latest improvements to my place - she came down in February to help me paint some closets, but she hadn't seen the new carpet or the other tings that have been painted since then, or my new and much improved couch.

So all in all, it was a nice and relaxing afternoon, and it was nice to see Aunt Kathy (especially since she's the only person in the family who wisely decided not to spend 30+ hours driving to and from Texas later this week - other than Drewbaby, who isn't driving but still has a not-pleasant schedule of flying / driving). After she left, I watched some TV with my dad (a reality show called Auction Kings, which is better than many other tings he could have been watching, so I'll take it) and then came back to my house. I spent the evening getting my pantry fully reorganized + taking care of various tasks, and I feel good about what I got done.

And now, I need to go to sleep before it gets any later - goodnight!

i lost my head in san francisco, waiting for the fog to roll out

I don't have much to report today - I mostly wanted to spend it sitting on my new couch, but I didn't allow myself to be completely indulgent. Instead, I scrubbed down my pantry to finish the painting prep, and I also painted the ceiling. This was probably all slower than it needed to be since I took frequent breaks (I didn't *really* want to be painting, but I want to finish before I head back to Colorado, so I decided I needed to get cracking). But the ceiling turned out well, and I have all my supplies out for the next phase, so hopefully the rest of it goes smoothly.

I also spent various points of the day hanging out with [censored], and I talked to Drewbaby, so that was all good. And for supper, I went out to my parents' house and tried a new recipe for shrimp alfredo. My dad seems to do better with fish / shrimp instead of meat these days due to his taste buds, and this recipe seemed to be a winner - I think we all enjoyed it, and it was v. easy to make. I roasted some green beans to go with it, and all in all it was a tasty dinner. And we only saw one skunk show up while we were eating, and he didn't stick around for long (and the cats didn't care that he was there, nor did he care that the cats were there, so I guess harmony prevails).

Eventually, I came back into my house and lounged while watching some YouTube videos with [censored]. And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

we're running with the shadows of the night

I had a much better day today, probably because there was no time for the Sunday Scaries to sneak in. I slept until nine, then messed around my house, trimmed my bangs, showered, etc. And then I drove south to hang out with Aunt Becky for a few hours. In the beforetimes, Easter was a holiday we typically celebrated at Uncle Mark and Aunt Kathy's, but since neither Aunt B nor I were in Iowa this weekend, we had lunch instead. We hung out in the kitchen for a few hours and caught up on many things, and Uncle B grilled the hamburgers that Aunt B had prepped, and it was all quite tasty.

Eventually, I drove home, and I talked to [censored] most of the way. Then, I talked to my parents for almost an hour and a half - I was actually supposed to be in Iowa this weekend, but life (aka work) got in the way, and I'm not going until next weekend. And then, I quickly got ready and met Katie at the Alamo Drafthouse - we finally saw 'The Lost City', which is basically required watching in Romancelandia. I thought it was excellent - it upheld/played with romance tropes really well, and Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock are a delight. Also, Daniel Radcliffe excels at acting crazy. And since this was my first movie-going experience in over two years, doing it at Alamo (where I can get a gluten free pizza and a glass of wine delivered to my seat during the move) was an especially nice way to do it.

Sadly, the fun times had to end after the movie was over, so Katie and I parted ways. And now I need to go to sleep so that I can get some work done tomorrow - goodnight!

baby i don't need no dollar bills to have fun tonight

I got over eight hours of sleep last night, which was a miracle - and of course, when my alarm went off, my body still wanted even more sleep. But I somehow managed to rally, and that enabled me to work all day - I was pretty productive, even with a break for some leftover chili.

I had put a nice bottle of chardonnay in the fridge with the intention of roasting some salmon and sipping wine while watching the ISU game tonight. However, as I was finishing up work, Aunt B texted me to say that she and Uncle B were downtown at a Cyclones watch party. So, on a whim, I decided to join them. This was definitely not how I had intended to spend my night, but I'm glad I went - I hadn't seen Aunt B in ages, so we caught up in breaks between the games. Both the ISU men's and women's teams were playing tonight, and unfortunately both of them lost - but I scored some chicken tendies and a lot of wine, so it was a worthwhile excursion.

After the game, Aunt B and Uncle B dropped me off at my house. And now I should go to bed - I have several errands to run tomorrow, which means I can't stay up late and get up late. Goodnight!