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Barbara Fritchman Thompson Diary Week of 4 November 2002 Latest Update: Sunday, 27 April 2003 08:39 |
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Monday, 4 November 2002 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| Yes, I am very happy this morning. I got the job I applied
for with the local law firm. They called me back on Friday while I was out
of town with the Trial. I called her back first thing this morning and was
offered the job. I start next Monday, the 11th. I will be working the
morning shift from 8 - 12 Monday thru Friday.
Yesterday was a busy day in the yard. After helping Bob blow out the gutters I vacuumed up leaves. I decided I might as well go ahead and mow while I was out there since I missed last week due to the rain. By the time I finished I was pretty much wasted to get anything else done for the day. I watched the Winston Cup race and caught up on a pile of stuff on my end table. Last night I visited Lenore and then off to bed early to read before turning off the light around 9:45. This morning I will do the house cleaning before running some errands and visiting with Lenore. With my schedule shift I will start going back to the gym in the evenings. I want to make the 6:15 Body Pump class tonight since I missed that class last week.
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Tuesday, 5 November 2002 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
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My day got off to a very early start. I woke up about 5 am and could not go back to sleep. I sort of rested and dozed finally deciding at 6:45 I might as well get up. I have to start getting up early next week anyway so I may as well get in the habit. We do not sleep all that late anyway but our normal getting up time is between 7 and 7:30. Sometimes on weekends we sleep in until 8 or so especially if we have been up late the night before observing. I finished the last Chris Norgren mystery by Aaron Elkins last night and started a new book from my to-be-read shelf. A Writer's House in Wales by Jan Morris combines a bit of Welsh history with a guided tour of an ancient home Trefan Morys Jan purchased in her native country of Wales. While this may sound boring believe me when I tell you Jan is a captivating story teller. As she takes you through the various portions of the house she delights readers with funny stories about each room. Along the way you will learn about Welsh social life and customs that are part of her life and heritage. I highly recommend this one. Election day. I will vote on my way over to visit Lenore later. This morning I need to pay some bills and change the linens on the bed. This afternoon after I visit with Lenore I will put in a couple of hours at SciWorks. More rain on the way today and tonight. We are gradually making a dent in the drought index. Have an enjoyable day.
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Wednesday, 6 November 2002 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| Gosh, Wednesday already. On tap for today we have Lenore
visit, grocery store and library. Bob has a dentist appointment this
afternoon. I have a desk full of things to do plus some organizing
downstairs before our WASL meeting tomorrow night. My office could also
use a bit of cleaning up as well.
We have more new neighbors. The house across the street finally sold about a month ago. Now, the house two doors down has sold and they new owners were moving in yesterday. That leaves the house beside us as the only one left empty. As you know, I normally do not discuss politics. We also have a new senator in Washington, the first female in the history for the state of NC, Elizabeth Dole. When Bob and I went to vote yesterday we had to stand in line. Not because of having so many voters that we had to wait on a voting machine. Because they had this woman looking up names in the voter registrar book that did not know her alphabet. At one point while twenty-five people stood in line not a single person was at a voting machine. Tax payers pay these people to work the poles, though some may be volunteers. However, we do not need a public demonstration of idiocy when we go to vote. What should have been a full fifteen minute process at our voting location turned into half an hour due to her incompetence. "Give me literacy or give me death"! Guess I ranted about that long enough. The sun is trying to come out. Should be a nice day weather wise.
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Thursday, 7 November 2002 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
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We had a very blustery day in the Hundred Acre Woods as Pooh would say. 12 mph winds with 20 to 30 mph gusts. Leaves were falling off the trees like snow. Everything is covered from the roof to the lawn and driveway. Friday will be leaf day for sure. I am off to play golf this morning for the last time during the week for awhile. When I worked full time before, Dad and I played on Sunday mornings but that was at our old course. Since I started working at home we have been playing the course near dad's house. I am sure George, the owner, will work with us. We will ask him what is the best time to come out on Sunday morning. We may have to start booking a starting time which most courses require for weekend play. On the way home I will stop at the craft store and visit Lenore. Tonight is supposed to be perfect viewing conditions. We decided to hold our monthly WSAL meeting at Bullington to take advantage of the first clear skies in about six weeks. We will have to eat an early dinner to get things organized and up to Bullington by dark. [Top] |
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Friday, 8 November 2002 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| Today is Lenore's birthday. When we asked her what she
would like for dinner as a treat she requested I fix her a toasted cheese
sandwich and homemade fries. Well, that is easy enough to manage. I told
her I would cook anything for her and she said that was always her
favorite meal when she lived with us.
We did go up to Bullington last night leaving around 5 pm so we could up there before dark. I fixed sandwiches for us to eat once we got up there and set up. In addition to Bob and I we had Bonnie, Steve, Paul, and Tom join us. It was calm which makes it great for being out in the cold temperatures but awful because you get a lot of dew. By 9:30 everything was covered with water. I bagged a couple of Messier objects for my binocular list and my first object from the Caldwell list, the Double Cluster. Around 10 we started packing everything up. I am going over to the library this morning to try and finish up one project I was working on for them. This afternoon I am going to tackle the downstairs carpet to see if I can get some of the stains up from spills and dog accidents. I started the second book in the Gideon Oliver series by Aaron Elkins, Murder In the Queens' Arms. Gideon and his new bride whom you met in the first book are honeymooning in London. While in the neighborhood Gideon drops in on a old friend at a nearby dig. He finds that things are not running very smoothly especially when a body is discovered among the bones and artifacts. What was a honeymoon soon turns into a busman's holiday for Gideon. Have a great day and a wonderful weekend. [Top] |
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Saturday, 9 November 2002 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| Lenore enjoyed her birthday dinner despite the fact she has
come down with a pretty bad cold. We visited with her for about two hours
last night. By the time we got back home I "was" pooped. After a full day of
cleaning and cooking dinner to take over to the nursing home it had been a
pretty full day for me.
[Editor's note: Bob always reads my page before he publishes to check for mistakes, etc. per my request. This morning he was laughing so hard he almost fell off the couch. He said you have a typo on your page. However, he was laughing so hard he could not tell me what it was so I came over to his monitor and read it for myself. I had left out the "was" from the sentence above. I will let you read it for yourself for your laugh of the day.] I worked on the downstairs carpet yesterday afternoon. While I waited on it to dry so I could vacuum I went outside and vacuumed up leaves in the back yard and off the driveway. When I finished up out there I came back in to see how the carpet looks. It could use another round of cleaning but looks better than it did. This morning I will do the nursing home visit. This afternoon Bob needs to blow leaves out of the gutters and I will finish the yard. Grilled steaks for dinner tonight, a nice easy meal. Lots to do so I best get at it.
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[Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| I bought my Sears leaf vacuum back in late February. I used
it a couple of times to get leaves up in late spring and once this summer.
When I went to use it several weeks ago it would not start. I hauled it
down to the Sears service center to have it checked out. They kept it for
about 10 days before returning it with a note saying they cleaned the carburetor
and it starts and runs fine.
Well, it still was hard to start cold and once it got hot it would not crank, period. Each time you empty the bag the engine automatically shuts off. After two or three bag loads it refused to crank. Yesterday Bob blew out the gutters and started blowing the leaves from the natural area into the drive so I could vacuum them up. I started out at the street to work back to him. As usual, two runs, no start. Bob and our neighbor Jim blew those leaves to the street. I took the blower and finished blowing the remaining large pile of leaves on one side of the lawn to the street, all the while stewing about my new vacuum not working when I needed it to. I had Bob help me load the vacuum in the car and I took off for Sears, the store, not the service center. I expected a major hassle from them to either give me a refund or a new machine. Boy was I surprised. At the loading dock/customer service area I scanned my sales slip in the computer as a return. A man came out to help me unload the old one and wheel it to the lawn and garden department of the store. A very nice salesman asked me what the problem was. After I explained, he asked if I would like another one in exchange. After some brief paperwork, about twenty minutes later, I was on the way home with a brand new vacuum. I am very impressed with the way Sears treated me and I left the store as one very satisfied customer. Back home Bob helped me unload the new one and assemble it. We cranked her up, I started vacuuming the lawn, and an hour later as finished. It cranked first time, every time after a bag load. Now that I have a fully functioning machine vacuuming is far less time consuming and easier than blowing especially when it is windy like it was yesterday. After dinner last night I put on some classical music and hit the couch for a full evening of rest. House cleaning this morning. I have the usual pile of stuff on my desk that needs my attention. The NASCAR race from Phoenix does not start until 2:30 on the east coast.
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