I would tell you what happened each and every day this past week--if I could remember.  I don't write every day in my journal, like I used too, so there is no going back to recall the days.

Monday--the guys that the park had come around and trim my big Maple trees, did a piss poor job.  They used one of those long poles with a saw on top and apparently, cut through branches that got caught up in lower branches.  They didn't climb up in the tree and lower the comes they cut--so for the past month, every time we have a slight breeze, these semi-cut branches, some 3" in diameter, fall on my lawn, driveway, roof, car!!!!!!!!!

Now, for the yard waste people to pick up branches, they HAVE to be cut into 4' long lengths, bundled together and tied in several places with strong twine.  Well--how do I, with no hand saw, cut through those 3" branches?  I don't.  I used my loppers to cut off all the side twigs and branches and managed to get them all bundled and then, ran out of twine.    Duct Tape is of course verbotten, as this stuff all has to be degradable.   I moved one twine tie around, down from the top and the other down towards the bottom of the huge bundle, put it out, and it was taken early Tuesday morning, along with a yard waste bag I had filled when I massacred my Forsythia bush.

Monday night I got a Face Book message from a friend that she had baked a ham and did I want her to save the ham bone and juice for me.  YES!!
====================
Tuesday--My appointment at the Food Bank and what did I find?  A bag full of clean and peeled vegetables--potatoes, onions, carrots AND one nice size cabbage.  Can we all say Boiled Dinner for Jude?

I wanted to work outside all afternoon, but, it rained.
==================
Wednesday--hotter than Hades and the humidity around 75%.  Not a good day for me to work outside, unless I want to die.  So, I finished up the genealogy and took it to the print shop to be bound.  Alas and alack--or should I say, as my world usually goes, their binding machine was broken and might not be fixed for a month.

Wait.  What?  I wanted to mail the genealogy on Friday.

"Oh, the UPS stores have that equipment.  They will do it for you."

So up to Howell to the UPS store.  Sorry, we only have the "comb" binding.  You know the plastic kind with rectangular holes and plastic tabs that go through and can break off?

So, I turn around and drive down to Brighton to that UPS store.  We don't have that kind of binding.

So, on the way home, I stopped at the print shop to tell them and the lady in there that usually does all my work for me said, "Well yes they do!  I'm going to call them right now!"  and she did and the Brighton UPS assured her they did have the "coil" binding.

By then, I was exhausted by the humidity so I just came home.

The blue baby afghan I was working on, for a baby boy, just wasn't working out.  I just couldn't get the pattern I had designed to fall into place with the right spacing.  I sat in my chair, frogging the whole thing --"frogging" = ripping out.  Rip it!  Rip it.

Then, like a bolt from the heavens, I got an idea.  Take the pattern I have--scan it, print out a million copies.  Take the words on it, cut them out and paste them in the space I want them to go over the words on the original patter.  AHA.

I'll be a darned.  It worked!  So, now I have started a new afghan, in pink, for a baby girl.  It seems to be moving along at a smooth pace with all letters/words correctly spaced.  I feel like a blinking, creative genius!!!
==========================
Thursday--it was 85 on Wednesday and 51 today.  I had my Old School Gal Pals luncheon to attend.  It was up the road a few miles at Bethie's new condo.  She and her husband have downsized from their home in the country to a condo in town.

Now, as luck or the grace of God had it, the Brighton UPS is right on the way to Bethie's!!    I stopped and spoke to the same guy as the day before, he apologized for confusing me, I apologized for my old, misunderstanding brain.  We confirmed how the book should be bound and he promised to do it perfectly and..."can you pick it up later today?"
"Well, yes I can.  I will be coming back by here just a bit after three this afternoon."

I left and had a nice drive up the service road that runs along the expressway--avoiding that race way/death trap all the way to Bethie's town.  Found her condo quite easily and what a beauty it is!!

It looks like it was made just for her!  Her hubs has an office at the front of the condo, she has her own office at the back with the patio/deck just outside.  Perfect!!!

They have a hillside view of colorful soft wood trees, pines and a lovely courtyard at the front door.  Bethie sees deer out her office or bedroom window all the time.

Their beautifully finished basement has more square footage than my place, so I announced to her and her husband that I would be moving in middle of next month and.........I would appreciate it if they could get their packing/moving boxes emptied and out of my way.  Her husband asked me if I wanted a bath with a tub or shower or both--I replied that I preferred a shower as I can't get down and up from a tub anymore.  Than he and I discussed on how we could get one of those--now required by law--dug out access windows.  It would give me a way out in case of fire and also bring some more light into my basement suite!!

As you can see, we had a nice gathering of the Old School Gal Pals.  As I've said before, we have known each other since Kindergarten/First grade, so there are no pretenses.  We all know of each other warts, we have seen each other's yearbooks and any scandalous thing any of us have done, will die with us.  Our lips are sealed!

You can see, we always dress in our finest for these luncheons.  Like I said, no pretenses--which includes no make-up, plastic surgery, or fake anything.  Some of these ladies are quite well-off, but you'd never know it.  

Beth is on the back left.  The one who talks too much is on the back right.  The one with slight dementia and exaggerates all her stories, is on the couch, 3rd from the left.  Sally, the one who's daughter just died from a brain tumor is sitting on my right.  Sandy--on my left, is so short and stout she couldn't sit back on the couch and ever have a chance of getting up, without having to call a wrecker with a winch!  So she is hanging on my knee for dear life and my left hand is behind her, holding her up and forward.

When we were done with the photo shoot, I got up grabbed on to Sandy's hands and Sally got behind her and we hauled her up from the couch!

Oh Lordy--we are quite a group!!!
========================
Friday--well that would be today.  41 degrees and expecting rain.  I got the genealogy book mailed out.  176 pages long, an inch thick and weighed 3# !!