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Barbara Fritchman Thompson Diary

Week of 26 April 2004

Latest Update: Sunday, 02 May 2004 16:32

Monday, 26 April 2004

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In between all this I need to get groceries, cook meals for us, and give the dogs their requisite amount of attention. 

Today I took off from work 1.5 hours early to run errands before my haircut. I needed to go to Sears to pick up vacuum cleaner bags and a filter for Bob's smoke sucker. I also stopped by the shoe store where I normally buy my high top sneakers. They no longer carry the two brands I can wear. Bah! And of course, I did all this in the pouring down rain, which we need. Things had gotten really dry around here again. Although we knocked of 30" from the four year deficit last year we are already in the hole again for this year. 

I am reading the second book in the travel mystery series by Maddy Hunter, Top O' the Mournin'. I loaned the first book in the series to my sister last year, Alpine For You. In it, Emily Andrew lands herself a job planning tours for a senior citizens group in Iowa after accompanying her grandmother on a tour of Switzerland. Emily has a tendency to find and/or stumble over dead bodies, get herself caught in all kinds of embarrassing situations, and eventually solves the murder. In the 2nd book, Emily and her grandmother are off to Ireland staying in what appears to be a haunted castle. Dead bodies began to show up not long after they arrive, Emily has the traveler from hell in her group, as well as the tour director. All Emily is supposed to do is make sure her Iowan contingent meets the bus on time, and take care of any other personal needs. On this trip, her boyfriend she met last year in Switzerland, has joined the trip so they can be with each other. To Emily's surprise, her ex-husband, gay and now a transvestite, is also on the tour.

Frances has already read this second book and eagerly awaits the third one due out next month. Not being much of a reader, she has found she enjoys the lighter cozy mysteries to read on the bus trips when she goes along with Al. Having been on many bus trips in my life, I find Hunter's situations, travelers, and adventures all to real...except for the murder part, thank goodness.

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Tuesday, 27 April 2004

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Wednesday, 28 April 2004

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As predicted, yesterday was work and then work. I got home around 4:45, fixed dinner,  then hit the office around 6:30 to check mail and work. I put in about two hours last night on my article finally knocking off about 8:45. By the time we got in some ball playing and walked the dogs for last time out it was 9:30. I did get a few chapters read before turning off the light.

Tonight, I picked up takeout from a little Cafe/Deli across the street from our building. Pizza, subs, sandwiches, etc. The ladies that work in the cubes next to us said the food was good. I ordered a stromboli and a calzone, walked across the street to pick it up then around the corner to the parking deck. Nice and handy and the food was good. I had to be at the library by 5:30 to work on setting up the book sale. With all the volunteers we were finished by 8pm.  Time to check my mail and get this evening under wraps before it gets much later.

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Thursday, 29 April 2004

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No update

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Friday, 30 April 2004

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Saturday, 1 May 2004

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I picked up Chinese take out after making a quick stop at the library to check on something and picking up a few items at the grocery store. We had a wonderful evening of good food, wine, and conversation. By the time we got home, walked the dogs, and gave them some playtime it was almost 10:30. I went to bed, turned off the light and promptly fell asleep.

This morning it was drugstore and gym. When I left the gym it had started a light but steady drizzle. One of the things I wanted to get done today was hose off the lawn mower and the leaf vacuum. The lawn mower gets so clogged grass underneath the deck in the spring time I have to hose/scrape it out at least once. The leaf vacuum I had just never got around to hosing off after the last time I used it and did not want it stored all summer long covered in leaf dirt.

Since I was soaking wet anyway from aerobics it did not matter that it was raining fairly steadily while I stood outside hosing off the machinery. Before taking my shower I also cleaned out the edger deck and replaced the blade in it. 

This afternoon I have to be at the library for the 3-5 book sale shift. I missed reading e-mails yesterday so I have to get caught up on that. The dogs have been brushed and I have washed a small load of special stuff in the wash. 

Looks like most of today will be rain/storms. Hope you have a great weekend.  

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Sunday, 2 May 2004

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I called dad and told him we should try to get some more of his yard work done rather than take a chance getting rained out at golf. His neighbor has been mowing his lawn for him but told him this week he had too much other stuff to do and could no longer do it. Dad felt like he was ready to mow even if he had to do the front one day and the back the next.

I got over there around 8am. He wanted me to turn the little garden where he puts his tomato plans and add some peat moss. Then I replaced the one wood edger with the little plastic decorative ones we moved from the front last week. He had a rotten edger on the other side of the garden I replace with the one I removed. Although it was wet his mower cuts good enough to mow anyway. I told him to fire up the mower and try mowing the back yard, which is flat while I was around. While he did that I dug weeds and grass from his side beds along the steps. We also dug up some old bulbs he had in a place in the yard and refilled those spots with sod and grass.

He did well mowing, finishing the back and the small hill and flat area by the house. I did the side yard and the front for him. About the time we were getting finished with that Frances and Al stopped by on the way back into town from a trip. We put dads tomato plants and flowers in the turned bed then took a break for lunch, After lunch he put flowers in planters and pot while I set them back in place. I guess we finished up around 1:30. I came home and cleaned the bathrooms and gave the house a quick vacuum before taking my shower.

I spent the next hour or so "resting" while sitting at my PC checking e-mail and writing up a book review. By the way, it never did rain although at times the sky turned dark. The sun came out periodically as it is now. 

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