Cheer

General

These little marigolds represent all the flowers we planted in the back yard on Monday when we took a day off from work (and Lee even got paid for it!). Flowers tend to cheer me up, too, and the word "cheery" seems to be my word of the week. I used it every day in my tarot blog this week. No telling why, unless I am subliminally trying to keep my own spirits up.

It's getting harder and harder to keep plugging away, even though I can tell myself that one of the many positions I am up for will come through eventually (the recruiting company is still working on that interview for the good one--not out of it yet). I can also tell myself that Austin's Largest Employer will end the hiring freeze in the next week or two, then I can finally either get the job I interviewed for across the street from here or get another one in my own dept. (Noting that with the quality of projects assigned lately, that looks less and less appetizing.) I only have 40 hours left on the contract, so it's really coming down to the wire, though. Hard to believe it has been over 8 months already! And I got my big love prize from this job, anyway, so it will go down as a success, regardless.

What is going on? Last weekend was good. We really got a lot accomplished in the yard. Lee has been so industrious and patient, and it shows. You can walk ALL over the back yard now. What a guy! Here's a blow-by-blow of recent days:

Specific

Last Friday was a coffeehouse concert, the Austin Lounge Lizards. We coped with the crowds pretty well, and Lee pitched right in and helped with set-up and keeping food available on the break. My friend Janet showed up later, and that was a big bonus. She seems so happy in Arkansas—it’s weird to have both of us happy in relationships, for the first time since we have known each other. It’s just good to see good things happening to your friends. After the concert, we all went to Juniors, where a drunken softball dad with a blue and yellow face (local high school colors) tried to sell us gutters. I was in such a good mood that I found it VERY amusing.

Yes, I was in a really good mood most of the past week. Not sure why, either. I guess having Lee around and thinking positive has worked.

Saturday I did the usual knitting, but at least taught a different class. I got two people on their way to making cute cable bags and another one making a nice lace dishcloth. Woo. Jody didn’t show up again, so that was a bummer. It was a quiet Saturday, so I got to have some nice conversations, though. Always good to relax. After a bit of yard work, Lee and I went over to Bill and Carolyn’s, where we joined the rest of Trey Bone plus spouse, along with Janet VS and Craig F (minus spouses). Mostly it was a good time, though I have to be careful around some church folks, so was a bit guarded. We drank Bill’s home brewed beer and ate homemade pizza. That was quite fun. After everyone played darts, to Bill’s very specific rules, we had birthday cake for Lee. I had bought a black-and-white cake from the grocery store, and it was WAY better than we’d have expected! Paying extra for a “premium” cake means good frosting and better cake. People even had seconds.

Sunday was Lee’s actual birthday. Whew, we are the same age again! To celebrate, we skipped church and had our own fun. We took the Younger Boy with us for a day out, since his brother was off on his band trip to New York. We first saw every house Lee ever lived in within the Round Rock area. Then we went out to lunch at a good Chinese buffet (even the sushi was edible, and most buffet sushi is scary). That made YB’s day. After that we drove out into Hill Country and looked at redbud, plum and other blooming trees. We even saw a couple of very early bluebonnets. A little gift shop in Burnet called our names, so we stopped and found some gems amid the “interesting” overly Texas-themed items. We got a wooden wall plaque to put on the outside of the house (a floral pattern), a lovely mesquite chalice, and for me a lampwork beaded pendant. It turns out the lady at the shop makes beads. That was quite fun to look at—her work is lovely. After the buying frenzy, we drove out to Work Boy #2’s house, where we got to pet the horse and goats, and see two incredibly precious puppies they are fostering. One looks JUST like an ewok. Or a living teddy bear. Here's a link to his photo, at least while he is up for adoption... Mostly we were visiting to get some tea I ordered and show the YB all the WB’s toys—it’s action figure world over in rural Burnet County, like heaven for YB! Anyway, we had fun, then raced home to avoid rain storms.

Monday we did not go to work. That is to stretch out my work time, mainly. Also, we needed a break. So, the skies cleared enough that we could totally get rid of the contents of the mosquito factory known as my garden pond (the root ball to which was MIGHTY huge). We turned it into a planter, rearranged things on the patio and were mighty pleased with ourselves. Then Lee, YB and I went to the Home Depot and got a lot of plants, and a wine barrel to put flowers in. The barrel still smells like wine, which has made the back yard quite fragrant during the recent rains. We (mostly Lee) planted the flowers and hung my decorative plaque, and now it looks great in the yard. In addition to tomatoes and peppers for the former water garden, there are a lot of marigolds, which may not be happy in the shade, but they will be great for a while, anyway. I also got a bunch of begonias, knowing they will do fine (the one from previous years is coming back for a fourth year—not bad for an annual). Nicer plants will have to wait until I have a job!

Now, have we enjoyed those new plants? Not much, since it has rained all week. But, of course, the rain is very welcome. The work week has been pretty standard, the usual irritations, then resting a lot in the evenings. The Older Boy came back from his trip very late, so I spent Tuesday night worrying about him, but all was well. Just rain delays. We heard all about his trip last night, and I think he had enough fun to make it worth it. He really seemed to like seeing where Saturday Night Live is filmed.

Off to sit and wait for the phone to ring. It does ring, at least, so recruiters are out there recruiting for me. Go them. My dearest pal NJ got a “real” job this week, so I feel hope. She so deserves a good job after all that time at the Dysfunctional Nonprofit Organization! I’m thinking a lot about the stuff going on for so many of my friends, too. It’s a lot to think about, and I know positive thoughts help. I appreciate all of YOURS for the job stuff!