Status for Thursday...
Another eNewsletter went out this morning -- I was pleased with how it turned out.
I got a lot of festival website updates done today, too.
Marilyn and I were up in the middle of the night (3:00 - 4:00 a.m. plus) worrying over the heavy rains. Hector had promised to show up yesterday to do the yard and our GUTTERS, but he phoned at 7:00 p.m. to say he couldn't make it. Marilyn and I were very disappointed, frankly. In the past he's stated would could call on him day or night if we had an emergency -- and we certainly consider the risk of flooding fits that category. There was no way to call anyone else that late, so I had to count on his new 'promise' to be at the house by 10:00 a.m. -- with more heavy rain expected for the entire day (getting worse in the afternoon).
I called Hector first thing in the morning (before 8:00) -- he told me he'd be at the house in an hour.
Meanwhile I went out in the back yard to check things out. The tarp against the house covering the 'dangerous' patch of ground was a small swimming pool, but the ground wasn't too bad -- no real standing water that I saw. But in the corner where the fence meets the house we have a couple of over-grown roses. These had fallen over and appeared to me to be another water risk. So I got out clippers and spent around half an hour cutting them back. It was quite a job, out in the damp grass and rain... But it turned out well.
Back in the house, still in wet clothes, I was on the phone with Marilyn (heading back from Court judging to the office) at 10:45 with still no sign of Hector. (I actually had another business card in front of me, ready to call someone else if need be when Hector finally arrived!) I spent around fifteen minutes outside talking with him. He and his two guys were there working for around an hour and a half (plus). It was quite hard to concentrate on my work while they were on the roof and making loads of noise out in the yard.
I'd talked to sister Sue early on -- she was kind enough to agree to take me shopping for a few things right around noon. My goal is always to send each eNewsletter out just before noon (if possible). Two things made this difficult today: I'd left out a couple of items that needed to be included (nobody else had caught it -- I did last minute), plus Christie asked me to change out a sponsor logo just past noon (!!!). That meant making a new animation, which is no small fix. But I got both done and balanced my columns nicely, so all went well.
I had to dash to change and put on dry clothes, but was ready when Sue arrived, thankfully. She took me to Freddies, where I got a few things we needed. (Lots of cans of refried beans -- we love them and eat them often. A great way to get protein. Plus COFFEE, which I can't be out of right now...)
Home again, I fought some ants in my bathroom. Odd to be dealimg with them now, while we've got record low highs (yesterday's high was the lowest ever). Normally it's warm days that bring them out.
Henry must not have felt well today -- he stayed in his cat bed downstairs much of the day, poor thing. Colin was around me a lot, seeking attention -- I tried to give him some, but I was pretty busy.
I called and reached Lucy early today about the RV we use for the GFP Command Post (she and her husband Bill have been bringing it for us to use for years and years). Good to talk to her!
Later today I set the phone system at work for the weekend. Normally we're not open weekends, so phones are on for messages, but we're open the next three weekends, so I had to go in and set that up.
Around 5:00 p.m. I took my bike out in the rain (and rush hour traffic) so I could run an errand to my bike shop. When I got home I ran an errand to see Janet and Doug across the street and talked to them for around half an hour before hurrying back home to do more festival work...
I also did the garbage and recycling (including the cat boxes). I certainly had a lot of opportunities to get wet today. (smile)
I actually made spaghetti today and had that for dinner. (Marilyn had more Court judging tonight, which included dinner.)
I found some time to blog today, comment a bit at LJ, and write some personal emails I needed to get out. I spent ages going through work-related emails, as well...
I managed to get a small rose thorn in one finger -- it was quite painful! I didn't find it until Marilyn got home late today. (I had to dig it out with a needle and tweezers...)
I finally did laundry late tonight. I've needed to do that for days, so it was about time!
I feel like I'm forgetting things, but it's hard to keep track of it all. As Marilyn has always said, the more you do, the more you can do.
By the way, Marilyn's been doing a lot of TV and radio interviews this year. She's extremely good at it! I should share some of the links at some point. Janet and Doug had seen her on TV and were very excited about it when we talked...
Many friends plan to be at CityFair tomorrow night, rain or no rain. That impresses me, frankly. But we're not weather sissies here -- we can't afford to be. Or as Mom always said, we're not made of sugar, so we won't melt in the rain. (smile)
Well, I need to go do more laundry before bed. Tomorrow is a long, very busy day -- and it goes quite late (the fireworks start at 10:00 p.m.). So much to do Friday!
They're saying the worst of the rain will soon be behind us -- I certainly hope that's true...