Home » Diary Home » Week of -2 January 2009

Photograph of Barbara Fritchman Thompson
Email Me
Barbara Fritchman Thompson Diary

Week of -2 January 2009

Latest Update: Sunday, 4 January 2009 4:00 p.m.


Monday, -2 January 2009

[Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week]

No update.


[Top]


Tuesday, -1 January 2009

[Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week]

I went in to work yesterday. With several secretaries in our group off I volunteered to go in to be available. It turns out we got in a box of client files plus one attorney needed some things around midday. I worked through lunch since I was leaving at 3pm.

After I changed into workout clothes Bob and I headed to the gym. Bob was taping Mary's Body Pump class at 4:30 to get certified. I rode the exercise bike for 20 minutes then went in the aerobics room to see if Mary had enough participants to make a full class. With the holidays she was not sure how many folks would show up. It has been several years since I did Body Pump so I decided to take the class even though she had seven or eight without me. There are several segments such as the lunges where I had to be careful due to my knee still not being 100% but overall I did pretty well. I went relatively light on the weights on the bar and free weight segments. Where they were on their hands and knees I sat on the step bench. While Bob did the filming Paul worked the audio equipment.

After the class we went to Paul and Mary's to start the video transfer to a VHS tape then we took off for dinner at Zoe's. Back to their house to make sure the video transfered. It was going on 9:30 when we got home.

I am off today through Thursday which is one of the reasons I decided to work yesterday. I decided it would be easier to go back Friday if I work Monday rather than be off nine or ten days then have to go in for one day. We get paid for a minimum amount of unused vacation time left over at the end of the year.

This morning I started working on the garage. I hauled off a load of cardboard, several bags of stuff to the Goodwill trailer and two bags of packing materials to the UPS store. Back home I pulled Bob's car out, swept the floor, put stuff away, cleaned up the workbench, etc. A good three hour project.

I had intended tomorrow to do a final pass on the lawn to get leaves. Instead, after a brief rest and lunch I cranked up the lawn vacuum to get the front which was covered mostly in pin oak leaves which are a pain to get up. By the time I got to the back I was getting pretty tired so I cranked up the mower to do it since it is self propelled.

Two reasons for doing it today. The first being the forecast for tomorrow is ugly, high of 50 by noon the temperatures falling with 20 to 30 mph winds. Not a good day to working the yard. The second is the city leave collection finally got to our neighborhood. I wanted to get the front done before they got to our street though I doubt they will get here this afternoon. It is hard to dump the lawn vacuum bag into the yard cart because it is so big. I would rather dump it on the curb.

I took a shower and crashed out on the couch for half an hour which is where I am heading when I finish up here. Grilling out steaks and chicken for dinner.

I am reading a new Ann Purser mystery Warning At One. Purser ran out of days of the week but continues her series featuring Lois Meade owner of a house cleaning service in a small English Village. Meade and her husband also own a rental house in a nearby Village. When one of their tenants is found murdered soon after one of the Meade's sons moves in, the police suspect Meade's son as the murderer.

[Top]


Wednesday, 0 January 2009

[Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week]

This morning I had some errands to run. Yesterday afternoon while I was out doing the yard Bob put on some more door handles and catches. This afternoon we did the big pantry door and the smaller one above. Before we started hanging doors I pulled the contact paper from the bottom on the pantry. Yuk! The previous owners had painted it at one time. I am not sure if the paint would not stay on or what happened but they covered it over with the same contact paper they used in the cabinets. And , of course, when I pulled up the contact paper what paint was remaining came off in some places. I will have to recover that mess with some new contact paper.

We have the two doors left over the fridge to hang and some catches. I have some touch up to do where we dinged a couple of places hanging the doors. I will wait until Bob solves the problem of some of the doors not closing all the way due to the hinges we used. He suggested using a router to slim them down a little. I will have to prime and paint those edges.

As promised we have windy day. 20 to 30 mph with 40 mph gusts. The city truck finally made it down our street picking up leaves.

No New Year's Eve plans for us. Most likely go to bed at my usual time to read and turn off the light before midnight.


[Top]


Thursday, 1 January 2009

[Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week]


Happy New Year and Happy 14th birthday to Duncan. Bob and I have been watching Battlestar Galactica a friend of ours loaned us. We have seen the 2003 mini series/movie and the first disk of the regular series. I am not a huge fan of this type of movie i.e. Firefly, Jerico, etc. but am willing to give them a try since Bob sits through many of my period movies and chick flicks for me. By the end of last night it had grown on me, the last two episodes being the best so far.

I went to bed around 10 to read. The fireworks had already started in the area. Malcolm only made it down the sidewalk to the street before the first booms went off. Back to the house he fled as fast as he could with Bob holding on tight to his leash. Duncan jumped once but was not at all concerned. Back in the house Duncan went on to bed while Malcolm paced from the bedroom into our bathroom into and out of the shower then jumping up on me in the bed. This went on for half an hour before he finally came up and laid down on the bed along my back. When Bob came back to bed Malcolm continued to lay between the two of us panting from fear. Around 11:15 I gave Malcolm one of his calming pills the vet gave us to try for traveling. He did settle down until midnight. From then until 1am he just paced around some and jumped up on the bed several times. He did not bark nor was overly excited. Not sure if the pill helped or not.

Sometime this morning around 8:30 or so I heard Bob get up. I did not hear Malcolm's usual  mad barking at the door to go out. I snoozed off and on until almost nine. Bob said Malcolm did not move when he got up and had not been out yet. He has spent most of the day in a rather calm state getting excited only when I took him downstairs to go out back to play. I guess between the pill and his busy night he was exhausted this morning. I think we have a case of "This is your OCD Border Collie, This is your OCD Border Collie on drugs. I prefer his normal behavior except when we travel in the car.

I have all the Christmas decorations boxed up and ready to go downstairs. Once we get boxes out of the way Bob will help me haul the tree out to the curb to be picked up by the city to be ground up into mulch. It is a beautiful sunny but chilly day for our first day of the New Year.




[Top]


Friday 2 January 2009

[Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week]


Back to work today for a Monday/Friday. I was very busy all day. At one point I had three or four things going at one time with several things waiting for me to finish up on Monday morning.

We had rain/freezing rain/sleet/snow in the area this morning depending on where you live. Several of our commuters from the northern counties reported the roads, or mainly the bridges on the interstate, had iced up causing a lot of wrecks. I travel surface streets both going and coming home.  Bob called me early this afternoon to report sleet falling at our house. By this afternoon all the wet stuff had moved out leaving just cold temperatures.

[Top]


Saturday, 3 January 2009

[Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week]


It took most of the day to deep clean the den. Since we live in that room it gets the worst of the dog hair, food crumbs, dust, etc. Periodically during the year I slide the couch and love seat out to vacuum. If I didn't it would get really gross. Today I moved end/side tables, the tv stand, vacuumed the walls, cleaned the pictures hanging on the walls, etc. With This End Up furniture you really cannot dust other than to run a cloth over it. Everything comes off the tables for a good clean with the lemon oil and I do the arms of the sofa and love seat. This afternoon I did the other rooms then took a break before cleaning the living room of pine needles from the tree. The only room left to deep clean is my office which I cannot do until I get all the stuff I store in here to put out the Christmas decorations.

While I did the cleaning Bob ran a load of the floor rugs we use in the den and bathroom to Duncan soft places to lay down and get up skid free. He cannot get up from the hardwood by himself due his back legs not being strong enough to lift him. Instead he bangs is front legs and paws on the floor to scoot himself up against something to try to get himself stood up. Most of the time he is in the middle of the floor. Poor Bob spends most of the day picking him up from the floor to get him to go to a rug to lay down.  Duncan is wonderful, loyal old dog but hearing that constant thrashing on the floor gets old after awhile. Kerry used to do the same thing.

And of course I had to take Malcolm out back to play. He pesters me constantly when I am home regardless of how many walks he gets.

[Top]


Sunday, 4 January 2009

[Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week]


I ran a couple of errands this morning on my over to my folks house for a visit and lunch. That's about it for me for today. I've been sitting here at the computer this afternoon catching up on mail, paying bills, and doing a couple of on-line orders.

My folks are doing fine. Dad's knee continues to get better. Mine is about the same, about 80% recovered. I am still able to put a full weight stride on it as yet.

The dawned cloudy with off and on drizzle.

Bob and I both forgot to renew the three month time on my old cell phone. I've had it for years. All I use it for is emergencies or if I need to call Bob while I am out. It had hours and hours of rolled over air time that I would have never used up. It was also limited in coverage. Rather than start over again Bob ordered me a new phone with a better plan and hopefully easier to maintain. He will probably talk about on his page for tomorrow.



[Top]


Copyright © 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 by Barbara Fritchman Thompson. All Rights Reserved.