Bits and Pieces

 * February is one very cold month. We are past the days of sub zero temperatures/wind chills. (Rachel and I took a winter walk one frigid Sunday afternoon.) Possibly a March blizzard, because that normally happens, and then we can begin to hope for warmer days and increasing sunshine.

* My new job has been going well. I'm settling in, I think, although there are still days when I feel strangely out of place. I felt like that on Monday a little while before my boss told me, "You're a rock star!" I also saw a few familiar customer faces and found a friend's daughter smiling at me through the drive up window. It's been a good change.

* This month marks 43 years since my brother's passing, and today is the 12th anniversary of my mom's graduation to heaven's shore. Time doesn't slow down at all. It just keep gaining momentum. It really is a long strange trip...

* I had some fun felting a sleeping mouse a couple of weeks ago. I put it to bed in a piece of China on a ball of upholstery stuffing. It makes me smile but I haven't bothered to make him any friends. (I have an ample supply of upholstery fuzz due to having my new loveseat repaired... More mice are sure to arrive in the future and they'll all have soft nests.)

* I am headed out of town tomorrow. Going out to breakfast with my sisters, and then on to Connecticut overnight. I'll be back again on Sunday. A rather whirlwind trip. Maybe I'll take a picture or two. 

Transfer

It's been a rough couple of months at work. I haven't worked a full week since the first one in December, This week I was scheduled for just 9 hours, but have been assured "it's nothing personal." Okay. Well, thanks a lot, I guess... I've been tossing applications out into the atmosphere for several weeks. A couple weeks ago I found an area Dunkin looking for a team member and decided to apply. LOL! (All the area Dunkins save one or two are owned by the same three individuals, a brother and sister, and her husband.) Well, I got a response and Monday I transferred to one that will give me more hours and a more regular schedule. I'm exhausted. Ha ha! Partly from working, and partly from getting so little sleep over the weekend because there wasn't a whole lot of communication throughout the process. On Thursday I was transferring to 4 Corners and on Friday I was told Rt 250 in Penfield. Nobody wanted to confirm the location with me and so I got up at 5am Monday hoping to be accepted at the new store. So far so good. I think I'm going to like it.

We've been getting some terribly cold weather. Not quite as cold as Minnesota, but Minnesota like. Frigid. Unbearable, unless one is a Minnesotan. Speaking of Minnesota, I am so proud of them. 

Pippy, my cat has been naughty lately. last week he peed on my bed twice. One night I was up doing laundry at 10:30pm. Two loads, with steam coming out of my ears... And then again two days later.  I'd even bought him a littler box. He didn't like the first one. The litter was too fancy... And the second one I brought in a little too late. Waaahhh! Needless to say, he was banished to the garage during the cold snap and did use the box out there. Hannah build him a nice little insulated box to sleep in, and I took him to the vet on Monday afternoon. He does not have a urinary tract infection, but he did have a check up and got caught up on his vaccines. I'm watching him like a hawk lately and can scarcely wait for the next cold spell. Here's hoping he just uses the box.

Also, my sister and I went out for a winter walk on Sunday afternoon. The walk through the woods was amazing, the temperature was brutal down at the lake, and it was just what I needed. 

Because

 I am tired.

Kickin' It In the Goal

The little calendar/planner I bought last year is coming in handy. With my hours at work drastically reduced (I have just 11 this week, down from 37 1/2 from May through November), I have purposed to set simple weekly goals. Things like "update my resume," "fill out an application," and "deposit all the cash hidden in mugs on my dresser."

I saw my primary care physician yesterday and can check my "not so yearly" physical off my list. I made Dr. M. happy by keeping up with the dentist, the eye doctor, and having had the shingles vaccine. I also accepted the flu shot. I could see him smiling behind the mask. Tomorrow I'll have the "not so yearly" mammogram, and next week the DEXO scan that measures bone density. Add a visit to my favorite chiropractor and an allergy shot and who has time for work? 

I've had two interviews this month. One at Panera Bread last week, which I thought went well, but the only response I received was an email saying "Thank you for taking the time to complete your application with Panera Bread. We truly appreciate your interest in joining our team and the effort you put into the interview process..." 

Yesterday morning I had a phone interview with Wegmans, the fabulous, local grocery store. They ask all kinds of prying questions and afterward I just wanted to cry. I can do the job and do it well, but I'm not good at interviews and I can't lie when they ask hard questions.  Dunkin has me scheduled for 15 hours next week so it's taking me two weeks to make less than I previously earned in one. Tonight I'll be filling out the paper Hobby Lobby application I picked up a few weeks back.

I spent Sunday with my friend Ruth who helped me figure out how to put a boarder on an afghan I started back in September of 2015. I'm feeling accomplished even if it did take ten years to finish. Ha ha!

Maybe tomorrow I will start weeding through my clothing collection I have enough clothes to dress several women, as long as they wash them weekly. (They will need extra underwear though.) I'm not necessarily a clothes horse, but I could definitely whittle down my supply. That's all for now as I'd prefer not to mention the chaos that is currently overtaking my eldest son's former home state and the city of several good friends. My heart is broken.