we drove out to the desert just to lie down beneath this bowl of stars

I had an insanely busy day, in ways that are unusual, so I shall recap. I got up early this morning because I had allergy shots at 8 am. I was apparently in trouble with my allergist because it had been over a month since I had managed to make it in. He wants me to come in every 2 days to catch up, which is a bit of a jhoke, considering:

1. I had always been told that I could never come in with less than 3 days of a gap, and

2. I am going to Denver next week. Luckily, my nurse thought this is all very funny and doesn't seem to think I'm actually in trouble. But I am going to get allergy shots again on Thursday, which is not really what I planned to do with my Thursday morning. 

After I got allergy shots, I went to the courthouse and voted, since I wanted to make sure my vote got in before my travels, in case anything happened. Then I went to Hy-Vee and bought six bottles of wine, which is also not what I usually do on a Tuesday morning. However, on Saturday I noticed that while the wine selection is usually abysmal, they had a Cabernet that was, for some reason, marked down from $55 to $22 a bottle. I had bought one bottle to try and really liked it, so I decided to go back and clear out some of their stock. I'd say they got a whole case, since there were still several bottles left, but I thought that six bottles was more than enough to make the cashier worry about me.

Then I came home and immediately jumped into my usual run of meetings. I was also doing laundry at the same time because of my aforementioned travels. During one of my meetings, I baked an entire package of bacon - it's a bit concerning that I'm still getting gorgeous tomatoes in late October, but I decided that I wanted another BLTA before the end of the season. I cooked the bacon, had a meeting with Emily, and then took advantage of a wee break in my schedule to make a couple of open-faced bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado sandwiches on some gluten-free bread. They were delicious, and I'll be sad to see the tomatoes go, but at some point, it should probably cool down, or I'll begin to wonder whether we're going to survive the coming decades.

Then I slept for a couple more hours before dashing out the door for the most unusual errand of the day. Yesterday, I happened to stumble across a meetup in Des Moines for a group related to startups and writing. This, as you can imagine because of my day job and my night job, seemed right up my alley, and so I decided on a whim to go. The meetup was located a block from the Drake Diner, which was infamous in my childhood for being the site of a shooting. It's funny that, in my mind, I still consider that to be an incredibly dangerous neighborhood even though I have lived in objectively far more dangerous places than some place that had a random restaurant shooting 30 years ago. You'll be pleased to know that I did not get shot, and the venue was actually super cool, so I would happily go back.

Anyway, the meetup was fun and worth going to. There were about 15 people there, but I had some really nice conversations with some people. I ended up sticking around to chat with a few after our event ended and an overlapping trivia night started. And then I drove home, got back in time to do a bit of tidying up, and realized that I really need to go to sleep if I have any hope of getting my job done tomorrow. Goodnight!

there's been a robbery

I had a pretty good day, despite the fact that I went to bed after one, and then woke up before seven and was only able to fitfully doze for an hour before giving up. I was not as productive as I intended to be today, but I helped [censored] with some stuff, changed my sheets, tidied up, did a bit of work, etc.

And in the afternoon, I went into town to get groceries, and made a v impromptu stop at the museum to see the new mastodon exhibit. I got a sneak peek while they were installing it, but the finished product is pretty cool - it's the best mastodon remains ever found in Iowa, with most of the skull and a bunch of other bones. The museum finally got it back from U of I, who had it for a couple of years to preserve and study it, and the display is very nice. 

Then I went to the grocery store, came home, messed around, and made beef and noodles and mashed potatoes for dinner for me and Mom and [censored]. And now I'm going to bed early because I did not get nearly enough sleep last night - goodnight!

lunation

No blog tonight - I did nothing of note beyond slogging, which I did excessively (including three hours tonight from nine to midnight). But I got done a swath of tasks that I couldn't put off any longer, and I won't have to work much this weekend as a result, which is a win. And I also did various tings around the house when wandering during my breaks - I did laundry, opened various packages, picked up some alterations, and brought in some pepper plants that I decided to save from tonight's frost.

When it was time to take a real break, I made dinner - [censored] and I enjoyed a batch of Elmer's chili, which hit the spot since it's suddenly feeling like winter here. Okay, maybe not winter yet - but it will freeze tonight, and it was 85 last weekend, so this is a real rude awakening. It should warm up again later this weekend, but clearly summer is at an end.

But I have nothing else to report and really need to get some sleep - goodnight!

we could probably fix it if we clean it up all day

I have really fallen off the blogging wagon - partially because my days are somewhat boring, partially because I'm trying to stay off my laptop late at night, and I have gotten tired of blogging from my phone. But I just worked until 10:30, so while I'm still on a large keyboard, I shall fill you in.

I had Monday off for Indigenous Peoples Day, which was a welcome treat. I managed to stay quite busy, though - and I filled the house with the smell of pork, since I made carnitas in the slow cooker and then also made pork chile verde in the pressure cooker. A nine pound pork shoulder is arguably more pork than I can eat, but carnitas and pork chile verde both freeze well, so I shall have many porky meals in the future. Also, I made the chile verde almost entirely from ingredients from my garden - while I had to buy a white onion, I was able to do the rest with poblanos, anaheim peppers, jalapenos, and tomatillos from the garden. It turned out quite well, if I do say so myself, and I've enjoyed eating it this week.

On Tuesday, I had to get up early for an economic development board meeting, which was a rough way to have to start the shortened work week. Then I slogged all day before taking a brief walk around town to decompress. I'm sure I did other tings in the evening, but I can't remember them.

On Wednesday, I slogged all day (again), but I had a call with my friend Tanya at 11, which was a delight. I also had my library board meeting, which was a good way to get out of the house. Our meeting was accomplished pretty quickly, and then we helped the librarian move a v. large bookshelf - it went smoothly, but it was a ridiculous process. After, I talked to Sammi for half an hour, and then I ran to the grocery store. While I was in town, the local florist stuck a couple of roses in my driver's side door, so I took one to my mom, and hung out with her while she cooked and ate her supper. I declined to eat her food since I had so much pork at home, but it was nice to chat. Then I came home, ate pork, and wrote until past my bedtime.

Today, you guessed it - I slogged. I also went to city hall to take care of a water bill issue and talk to the city clerk about various tings. You probably also guessed that I ate more pork - chile verde for lunch and carnitas with a baked potato for dinner. I froze almost all the rest of it, so I can move on to other culinary delights. And I also had many meetings, then chatted with [censored] when he got home, and then worked for the last couple of hours.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

someone stole my shoes, but there's a couple of bananas and a bottle of booze

Apparently I have not blogged all week - this happens when my weeks are v. boring. I shall recap for posterity, such as it is:

- Wednesday, I had many meetings, which is true of most days. I then talked to Adit about work stuff while wandering around outside to take a bit of a break, and then I drove into town because the Vietnamese food truck was on the square. This was only the second time I've gotten them, but I was happy with this order - their pork skewers and shrimp skewers were excellent, and their pad thai and fried rice were pretty tasty (and, as far as I could tell, fairly gluten free except for the soy sauce). It took quite awhile for my food to be ready, but I spent that time chatting with various townsfolk who were also hanging out in the yard waiting for or eating their food, so it was a v. nice evening. And then I came home, ate, and welcomed [censored] back from his usual weekly jaunt.

- Thursday, I had many meetings, which is true of most days. I also had a city council meeting, which meant that I had to spend two hours talking to various townsfolk about various issues. I still have not been run out of town, so I think that means this is going well?

- Friday, I had many meetings, which is usually not true of Fridays but happened to be true of this one. I ended the day by making burrito bowls for me and [censored], which really hit the spot after not having them all summer. We ate the burrito bowls while watching last week's SNL, which was middling, and perhaps I did other stuff that I cannot remember.

- Saturday, I had no meetings, and yet somehow I managed to fill or squander the vast amount of excess time. I guess I did talk to Adit about something work-related for awhile, so it was almost like a meeting? But I also did various tings at my desk, procrastinated a bit, did a whole bunch of laundry, ate a couple of tomatoes that should not still be in season but are because it's 85 degrees here, messed around, and then went into town to get groceries. And then I made potatoes au gratin to go with the steaks I had thawed out to grill, and I also made some excellent onions and mushrooms to top the steak with. Mom came into town to join us, and so we had a v. tasty dinner.

- Today, I had no meetings, but I did spent a lot of time at my desk researching various tings. I also did some gardening - theoretically I should be cleaning up my gardens, but instead I harvested a bunch of tomatoes and peppers, and everything is still attempting to go strong (the eggplant is putting out more flowers than I saw all summer, the tomatillos are still attracting pollinators, the cucumber is trying to cucumber again, etc.). It will cool off by the end of the week, so we'll see what that does, but my semi-apocalyptic garden is hanging on in this unusual heat. Beyond gardening, I did various tings, wrote on my balcony for awhile, and then grilled hamburgers for me and [censored] (which turned out perfectly, if I do say so myself). We ate them with leftover potatoes while watching last night's SNL, which was surprisingly excellent. And then I came upstairs and read the first few chapters of FAMESICK, which I am enjoying so far.

And now, I need to go to bed - goodnight!

if i bring a little music, i could fit right in

I have been v. busy at work the last couple of days - this is what happens when I go to san francisco for a week and then take a few days off. I slogged relentlessly yesterday, including working later in the evening than I am accustomed to, and then I woke up this morning and did it again. By the time all my meetings were done around five, I was done too - so I examined my gardens, took a quick walk around town to unwind, came home, and ate leftovers for dinner (which were tasty).

Then I did a wee bit more work, watched a couple of youtube videos, and then decided to read the book for my work book club. We were reading PIRANESI, which I found quite strange - I'm not sure how I feel about it or what I want to say, but it was a nice way to spend the evening. Then I made the mistake of checking out Prime Day sales, which is how they get you. But now I have finished my perusings of various items and am going to go to bed - goodnight!

i won't trust my eyes until i make it to the other side

Sorry for not blogging all weekend - I thought I was mostly recovered from my illness, but I woke up Friday and ended up having a migraine, which really put a damper on my hoped-for day of productivity to catch up from being out. So I spent most of the day trying to avoid looking at screens (not helpful for my job), and then having meeting as soon as I was recovered enough for them. And then [censored] and I had to scrounge for dinner, but that was fine with me because I had a v. tasty baked potato and some carnitas from the freezer, so it could have been worse.

Yesterday I was really unproductive, sadly - but I did rally to get a few things done, and then I went out to Mom's, where I grilled brats to go with her delicious (as usual) potato salad and baked beans. The weather is lovely right now, so grilling season isn't over yet, but it felt like a good opportunity to use the brats before everything turns cold and bleak.

Today, I was productive enough to make up for the last couple of days of sloth; I mostly stayed off my phone, which always does wonders for the rest of my tasks. [Censored] and I took a tour of some of my holdings in an effort to determine what to prioritize this fall, and surprisingly this did not depress me, so I'm taking that as a good sign. Then I did a bunch of stuff around the house, including unpacking from my trip, tidying my room, and then cleaning my office (dusting, vacuuming, getting rid of various boxes, etc.). And I wrote a wee bit - not as much as I planned, but better than nothing.

At some point, I made supper - since I came through Des Moines on Wednesday, I was able to procure some swiss chard, and so I made the sausage and chard rigatoni that [censored] and I both like to a surprising degree. We ate that while watching the first two episodes of this season of Scrubs, which were pretty good. Then I cleaned up the kitchen, came upstairs, procrastinated for awhile, and then did an hour of day job work that I really should have done on Friday. And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

bury me in motion

I am back from my trip to Okoboji, and mostly recovered from my illness, although I wish I had taken today (and maybe tomorrow) off. I had a great conference despite being sick - it was a bit of a bummer because I skipped the optional evening dinners in the interest of getting more sleep (and avoiding making things worse by getting rained on all evening), and so I feel certain that I missed out on some serendipitous encounters that might have led to making friends. But it's also nice that I didn't fall asleep while driving home yesterday, and nice that I'm no longer hacking up my lungs regularly (just occasionally), so I think I made the practical choice.

Anyway, yesterday's morning sessions were both great, and I left feeling v. inspired by everything I heard. Then I drove home, which felt like it took forever, but I listened to some podcasts to try to keep myself entertained. I also stopped for groceries (and to eat some late lunch from the prepared foods bar) at Whole Foods in Des Moines, grabbed some gluten free bread in Indianola, and got home in time to unpack my car before going out to Mom's to have dinner with her and Aunt Dee. Aunt Dee came up to visit for a couple of days, but I wouldn't have seen her if I skipped dinner last night - so I'm glad I braved the v. muddy roads to hang out. It has rained a tremendous amount here this week (and month), and there's water everywhere, so the gravel was treacherous - but Mom's vegetable beef soup was #worthit.

Today, I was more in it to win it than I expected to be, but less in it to win it than I needed to be to actually get caught up. However, I did various day job tasks, ate some leftover soup and another grilled cheese for lunch, and then worked the rest of the day (with a long chat with Adit and Emily sprinkled in there to get me through). Tonight, I made a stew with chickpeas, coconut milk, turmeric, and swiss chard; it's something I used to make during the pandemic, and it was a v. viral recipe back in 2020, but I don't make it often now since 1) it reminds me of the pandemic and 2) [censored] has no interest in eating it. But it turned out well, and I read a book while it simmered (instead of scrolling my phone), so I feel v. smug about that.

And now I need to sleep - goodnight!

that's evolution

No blog tonight - I had an excellent day, but tomorrow's sessions start 30min earlier than they have been, and I also have to pack and check out of my hotel, so I need to go to bed immediately. Goodnight!

I keep showing you doors

I had an excellent first day at my writing conference. I got off to a slow start because I’m still feeling sick and didn’t get enough sleep, but I made it to the event before the first session, and I even had time to grab cold brew on the way, so I’m counting it as a win.

Almost all of my sessions today were great, and I sloughed off the less great last session by going out to an early dinner to revive myself. And now I’m going to go to bed (after already having taken a nap) in an attempt to recoup some sleep - goodnight!

must have seen too much in the blotted ink

I am in Okoboji, in some ways despite my better judgment - I woke up this morning still feeling pretty ill, but I knew that would turn into feeling sorry for myself if I stayed home and skipped the retreat. So I puttered around the garden and dealt with a lot of very wet things, took care of some things around the house, packed up, and left around one.

My drive was long but uneventful - Okoboji is on the other end of the state from me, so I saw a lot of (fairly similar-looking) countryside. It's been one of the wettest Septembers on record and no one seems to be harvesting, so traffic was fairly light, and I got into Okoboji a little after 6:30 (after a stop at Starbucks, and then pulling through five or six different gas stations around northwest Iowa before finding one that sold premium fuel for my Audi). I was starving after I checked in, so I went down the street to have dinner at a place I went to last year. My burger was v. tasty, and I was getting some decent work done when I was interrupted by the kind of guy who does not take any hints that you are not interested in having a conversation. Parts of it were entertaining (especially making eye contact with some of the staff + talking to another guest as he was walking out, all of whom seem to be long-suffering as a result of this guy), but I eventually absconded to my hotel so I could unpack and do some writing before bed.

And now I must sleep immediately since things start too early tomorrow - goodnight!

tell all the magazines i'm a celebrity

So, I did end up getting quite sick, which has been a brutal thing to carry back with me from an otherwise-great trip to San Francisco. I made it through Thursday morning's packing + checking out of the hotel sprint, and I even made time to run to a nearby Walgreens to get some cold medicine (although the pharmacy itself wasn't open yet, so I had to make do with what I could get in the regular aisles, which turned out to not be enough - although getting a bunch of travel packs of kleenex and some cough drops was v. helpful). Then I went to the office, where I had several meetings before heading to the airport.

The airport was easy peasy, and I grabbed a decent salad for lunch before taking a meeting from the boarding area and another meeting on my phone while boarding continued (I hate to be that person, but I was off the phone before the door closed, so c'est la vie). If I hadn't had to fly, perhaps I would have recovered more easily - but taking off and landing twice on Thursday did a number on my ears. They didn't pop on the first landing very easily, and they barely popped on the second, so I was in an unfortunate bit of pain by the time we hit the ground in Des Moines. It was also midnight in Iowa, and so I was really not in the best shape.

So I spent the night in Des Moines (which I had already planned), but it wasn't enough sleep to save me. In the morning I grabbed some real drug-filled Sudafed, ran the one errand that I couldn't cancel, had a late lunch at Green Olive, and holed up at a Starbucks for awhile to take some meetings that I couldn't skip before driving home. When I got home, I chatted with [censored] for a bit (although I didn't want to get him sick), and I ate some gluten free kraft mac and cheese before retiring to my room.

My sleep was suspect last night, but I woke up at nine thinking that I was over the worst of it - until I went downstairs, said hi to [censored], and realized my ears are still jacked up. I then spent most of the day lounging and feeling sorry for myself - it doesn't help that it's rather dreary and rainy, nor does it help that my ears are still plugged. I did do a wee bit of writing and other tasks at my desk in the morning, and I did a load of laundry and changed my sheets, so it could be worse. And [censored] very kindly picked up Mexican despite typically hating to go inside to pick up food, so I v. much appreciated having some real food (although the 9-month-old chili made with ground turkey and white beans and green chiles that I found in the freezer for lunch was better than you might have guessed).

And now I need to go to bed - I'm supposed to leave tomorrow to drive to a writing conference in Okoboji, but tbd on whether I'll feel well enough to go. Goodnight!

so caught up in you

I had a reasonably good day, although I fear I might be getting sick - which often happens after these team super spreader events, but I hope I'm wrong. I woke up at 6:30 and spent the morning working from the hotel - first catching up on some work while drinking coffee in the lobby, and then taking three hours of video calls from my room. Somewhere in there, I ordered a gluten free bagel with salmon and cream cheese on doordash, and it went a long way to sustain me. 

I thought about staying in my room and resting the rest of the afternoon, but I convinced myself that I was just experiencing allergies and so ubered to the office. Sadly this did not make me feel better. So I ended up cancelling my dinner plans tonight, which was a real bummer, and doing a bunch of work instead (a bummer that I'm used to).

But now I need to sleep and hopefully stave off whatever is lurking - goodnight!

all my worst nights are the best times

I had a v nice day in the city of sin. I got up early enough to get some work done while also drinking coffee and showering and washing some pants in the sink, and I still made it to the office by 8:30. I took a waymo to the office so I could work on my laptop while the robot drove, and I had a pretty entertaining conversation with some dude through my half open passenger window at a stoplight, so that was a real highlight. 

At the office, I worked some more, grabbed a coffee and some gluten free banana bread with Martha, and then went to the north bay to do a site visit for an event next year. We had lunch at the main restaurant on site, which was fantastic, and then we got a tour of the hotel so we could get a vibe check in advance of setting our agenda. I think it will be a v nice time, and I'm excited to go back for more than just a couple of hours. 

Then we came back to the city, dropped our stuff at the hotel, and met the rest of the team for happy hour at spark social (an outdoor area with food trucks etc). For most of us this evolved into dinner at rooh, which I always love; the food was excellent, as were the two bottles of wine some of us split, as was the company (I sat next to Geoff, Emre, Trevor, Timothy, and Ali, and it was all v hilarious). I also realized that I should be writing a book because I can probably convince my coworkers to buy several thousand copies if I play my cards right. And I would have kept going, but everyone was losing steam, and I suddenly realized that if we didn't leave immediately we would get screwed by the ending of the Giants game, so I bounced abruptly. 

And now it's time for bed - goodnight!

I thought you were gonna catch me

No blog tonight - I was up and slogging by sevenish (with free coffee in the lobby), and I worked straight through until 4:30 (including a site visit to a place where we're having an event next year, which went well despite some backseat driving on my part when a teammate drove us to the location (although my backseat driving was perhaps warranted?)).

Then I took a break to sneak out and get a mani/pedi at my favorite nail place. It was long overdue, since my last nail salon visit was when I came here in July and snuck away to see them on that trip. Then I lured Chandlord here so that we could grab Thai food across the street from my hotel. We properly caught up and debriefed on seeing each other yesterday, which was great. Then I came back to my hotel and worked until I started involuntarily falling asleep, so it's time for bed. Goodnight!

i love the way we synchronize

I've had a v nice weekend and now I'm enveloped in San Francisco's fog, which is a good way to end my Sunday. On Friday I slogged all day and much more diligently than I wanted to, and then Mom and [censored] and I went to Seymour for steak (partially because Mom likes it, partially because I didn't feel like cooking). We saw our usual staff + a bonus baby, and we also went to the cemetery to pick up floral saddles before the end of the season, so that was all quite nice. 

Yesterday, I got up fairly early for a Saturday, made coffee, and did some desk work. Then I ran out to the barn to see Mom (the barn was open this weekend for the Iowa Barn Association fall tour) before running back into town to catch the parade. It was the town celebration this weekend, and as an elected public servant I felt I should be there. The parade lasted approximately eight minutes, and then [censored] and I talked to various people about various things (but mostly the gas station). [Censored] got a tenderloin from the fire department - I heard later that they sold like 260 tenderloins - while I deferred to my gluten issues and got a baked potato loaded with pulled pork from the (only) food truck.

All in all, I was pretty impressed with the turnout and organization - they also managed to pull off a car show that had close to forty cars, which was impressive for a first effort. Unfortunately the weather was not very cooperative, but there was no rain for the parade, so it was all good. 

Then [censored] and I walked home and I spent the afternoon procrastinating and attempting to force myself to pack. I also made dinner (taco salad), and just as we were eating, the weather radio went off - and we decided to put my car in the garage, which required moving a bunch of stuff, which was too bad.

But we survived the night, and after watching some TV and cleaning things up,I spent the rest of the evening packing. Today was more of the same - I packed, did a bunch of gardening and tidying etc, and then drove to the airport. 

Now I'm falling asleep, but I should add that I'm currently safe in SF afterì me to only be ten minutes late to family dinner. Dinner was accomplishedat Clementina with Adit, Claude, and Vidya, and it was quite nice. 

And now I must sleep immediately - goodnight!

a hundred good stories makes me interesting at parties

I have been slogging, quite diligently, so week, which makes me start to believe a crash is imminent because I rarely string this many highly productive days together. Yesterday I slogged, and then I talked to Tanya (whom I haven't talked to in months), and it was good to talk to her since in many ways we have very similar lives. Then I slogged all day before meeting Bonita for a margarita - we were supposed to meet Brenda too, but she's busy installing the mastodon exhibit at the museum. When I got home last night, I procrastinated, ate takeout from the Mexican place, and talked to [censored].

Today was a relentless slog too - but I signed off at six, sat on my balcony with some wine, and then made a mid (but okay) dinner of chicken breasts and sweet corn. Then, [censored] and I watched Conan's podcast with Taylor Tomlinson, which was quite excellent and thought provoking. And now I must go to sleep - goodnight!

take me to your best friend's house, going 'round this roundabout

I have nothing to report - I've been pretty locked in at work the last couple of days, which is convenient since it's been rainy and generally unpleasant outside, but I've been too busy to mourn the passing of summer. Not that summer is actually over - my tomatoes are still going, and when there was a break in the rain yesterday it was 77 degrees, so I was able to sit on my balcony for an hour after work. But still, the weather is a harbinger for how I will feel when fall properly arrives, and I'm not exactly looking forward to being seasonally depressed.

Anyway, yesterday was a whole bunch of work, and then I said goodbye to [censored], and then I sat on my balcony before eating some leftover steak + a baked potato and generally chilling the rest of the evening. Today was more of the same - I got up early and did some writing, then slogged all day. I took a break in the early evening to have a chat with Heather (aka dear respected madam), whom I hadn't talked to in ages, and so it was nice to catch up. Then I ate a leftover hamburger with two ears of sweet corn (yay), scrolled a bit, and then managed to pry myself off the internet and write for an hour, which felt great.

And now, I need to go to bed to see if I can repeat the same feats tomorrow or if I am destined to crash - goodnight!

crop top and a bandolier, swinging from a chandelier

I had a fairly decent weekend, all in all. Yesterday I woke up in Des Moines, grabbed breakfast from the cafe downstairs, and drank coffee in the lobby while working on various tings until it was time to check out. Then I drove to the Michaels store in West Des Moines to find some decorative paper - I'm on a bit of a kick of making my own planner inserts since I can't find one that is perfect for all my needs, and I wanted some paper for the covers. After completing that errand successfully, I drove south, stopped at the Starbucks in Indianola and did some journaling, grabbed some steaks at Fareway, and drove home.

When I got here, I unloaded my car, relaxed a bit, took a quick nap, and then helped Mom water the planters in town (for what is likely the last time this year). Then I made dinner for Mom and [censored] to celebrate my birthday - I was going to make them take me out, but my place of employment sent me a gluten free pie for my birthday (that arrived mostly thawed because UPS doesn't deliver here on Thursdays) and so I decided to cook so we could eat pie after. Cooking was about as easy as it gets, since I just grilled ribeyes and boiled some of the last of this year's sweet corn - and the pie (a mixed berry with a nice crumble-type top) was v. tasty with vanilla ice cream.

After Mom left, [censored] and I watched the rest of the Cy-Hawk game. Iowa State lost almost all their players last year after our head coach left, so we knew almost no one on the field - but it appears we have a surprisingly good quarterback, so we'll see how the season goes. Unfortunately the Cyclones lost right at the end, but it was closer than might have been expected given how the roster turned over, so I'll take it.

Today I meant to be in it to win it, but I spent too much time lying in bed scrolling on my phone. Then I made coffee, talked to [censored], did various tings around my room, did some hurried harvesting of my garden, and then generally had trouble getting into anything the rest of the afternoon because it started raining and really didn't let up. However, I did write for awhile (while sitting at my desk instead of on my chaise, shocker). And then I ran to town to get groceries, came home, and grilled burgers and hot dogs + made some caprese salad for dinner. The burgers turned out perfectly, if I do say so myself, and [censored] and I ate them (+ more pie) while watching 'Stuart Fails to Save the Universe' and some clips from various Conan podcasts.

And now I need to unwind so that I can go to bed at a reasonable hour - goodnight!

victim of luck

Happy birthday to me! I had an excellent day, thanks for asking - I took it off from work, and I spent the morning puttering around and doing some tings that have been lingering on my to do list for a long time. Thus accomplished, I showered, ate some peanut butter, and drove to Des Moines. 

My destination was the Lexus dealership, where I test drove a couple of cars - zee Audi is still going strong, but it's eight years old, and it's hitting the age and mileage for increasingly expensive repairs (and I'm also starting to hanker for something new). So I drove a couple of options, which were both great, and also both different enough that I need to sleep on it before deciding. 

To do the sleeping, I decided to stay in Des Moines - I was in the mood for a nice evening out, so I checked into a hotel, and then had a long and delicious meal (including one of the best pork chops I've ever had, and a flourless chocolate cake because why not). The bartenders were entertaining, I did some good journaling, and the bar was empty enough that I didn't feel too rude texting various people and talking to Chandlord when she called. 

But now I need to sleep - goodnight!