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Barbara
Fritchman Thompson Diary
Week
of 21 August 2006
Latest Update: Sunday, 27 August 2006 4:00 p.m.
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Monday, 21
August
2006
It
was a very hectic and busy Monday for me. My boss is at one of our
other offices this week and Drew was out sick. Things were pretty calm
and normal until about 11:30 when e-mails started flying along with a
multitude of phone calls, all needing assistance from the record center.
As I mentioned yesterday I was starting the newest Stephanie Plum, Twelve Sharp. I am sure I mentioned
this before but will say it again. Evanovich's books are just too
unpredictably funny to read while eating, drinking, or in public...or
all three. You never know when she will have Stephanie come out with
some absurd comment or get into another hilarious situation. This one
has a bit of a different twist to the others with her helping Ranger
locate an abducted child. The weird part of the story is the bad guy
has taken on Ranger's manner of dress and looks to fool people into
thinking he is Ranger.
While a lot of her readers are getting tired of her waffling between
making up her mind to marry Joe Morelli or have an affair with Ranger,
it does not bother me all that much. In this book they cross each
others paths close enough to cause physical damage to either one of
them. My honest opinion is that she will end the series soon and
resolve the situation one way or the other.
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Tuesday, 22
August 2006
It was another busy day at work with me
holding down the fort by myself although it was not nearly has hectic
as it was yesterday. I did manage to get a couple of small things done
and continued mounting a frontal attack on the stacks of boxes I am
working through.
I finished up the Stephanie Plum last night. Today at lunch I started
the most recent Susan Albert book in her Beatrix Potter series, The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood.
As I said before, if you like animal characters mixed mixed into
the plot with adults and a little mystery you will love this series.
For one thing, they are so relaxing to read. While I love the fast
paced Evanovichs' and dark Victorian Anne Perry's this brings a welcome
change of light, airy, and relaxed pace while keeping the plot moving.
Albert uses the real life of Beatrix Potter intermixed with the fiction
aspect of her being a sleuth of village mysteries. Her characters are
very British with her description of the village and surrounding
countryside making you feel you are there in person.
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Wednesday, 23
August 2006
Yes, this has turned into the week from Hell
at work. Thankfully Drew was back today otherwise I would have never
made it by myself. First thing this morning Drew and I had to deliver
approximately 35 boxes of a case to a floor upstairs from the record
center. Half an hour later I had a call from one of the secretaries
upstairs. I file room had to be packed up and moved ASAP to make room
for another attorney to move in.
I took boxes and hand truck up and started boxing up files to bring
down to the record center working until lunch time. After lunch I had
just gone back up to start on the file room when it was time to go get
the 35 boxes upstairs, bring them back down and take the remaining 25
boxes up in their place. I made this swap in two truck loads while Drew
as doing the regular afternoon delivery and pick ups. In the meantime
the same secretary that has me boxing up a file room found 50 boxes of
another case in the attorney move that needed to go down to the file
room. Drew and I headed back up with two trucks to get those boxes in
two trips. I then went back up to the file room to continue boxing up
files finally finishing up around 4:30. All in all I guess I moved
approximately 300 boxes today most of them four or more times.
Off the shelf, on the cart, off the cart, in the room, on the cart and
back on the shelf. The boxed up ones only got moved three times. These
boxes weigh anywhere from 20 pounds to 50.
We were supposed to go up to Fancy Gap tonight to observe then drive
home around 1am so I can go to work tomorrow. The conditions are
favorable for good observing but I called Bob at lunch and told him
there was no way I could do that tonight after the day/ week I have had.
Tomorrow Drew and I have to get the second load of 25 boxes and bring
them back down to the record center. I have a small file room remaining
to box up tomorrow and then a big one. I may wait to do the big next
week depending how the week goes. That one is not ASAP thankfully.
I threw steaks on the grill for dinner then Bob cleaned up the kitchen
while I walked the dogs. Time to hit the couch and rest up for
tomorrow. Man am I glad I put the bagger on the mower or I would have
to mow tonight on top of everything else.
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Thursday, 24 August 2006
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No update.
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Friday, 25
August 2006
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Whew, I made it Friday. What a week this has
been. Thursday morning was pretty much a repeat of Wednesday
until early afternoon when things finally settled down.
We did go up to Fancy Gap last night for a short observing session. The
conditions were not great but we did manage to get a few objects on our
lists that we needed. Bob and I both started fading around midnight
when conditions had sort of deteriorated anyway and we had run out of
areas to work. The constellations up high enough to work had bad sky
conditions.
We got home and in bed around 1 am and up at the usual 7 am time to
work. Had my week not been so physically and mentally tiring I would
not have felt all that tire today from last night. By late afternoon I
was dragging. At least I had an "at desk" project today which helped.
I picked up Bob after work for a quick library, dinner, and grocery
store trip. I can guarantee it will be early to bed tonight. Conditions
are to be pretty good tonight but I am just too tired.
[Top]
Saturday, 26
August 2006
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Although I went to bed at 8:45 I did manage
to stay awake reading for 45 minutes before I turned out the light. I
slept in this morning until around 8:30 feeling much rested after the
long week.
After the usual reading the paper and bowl of cereal I took off for a
quick trip to Lowe's Home Center to pick up new outside lights for the
front porch and house numbers for the front door. The lights we have
now are just old and crappy looking with all the face lifting we are
doing. I went from brass to black metal this time and a little smaller
in size. The old house numbers were nailed to the roof over the porch.
Obviously those had to come down when they put up the siding. I wanted
to get the large brass stick on numbers to put in the center of the
wood front door. We do have a full length glass front storm door. But,
before I we do that I had to first paint the front door.
Yep, that's what I did as soon as I got back home from Lowe's. That
took all of half an hour from set up to finish.
By now the grass was good and dry. I set the mower down one notch since
I was catching it. Each time I take off one blade and put on another
one I always have to alternate blade sharpened at the mower store I
pass on the way home from work. That first cut with a newly sharpened
blade really makes the grass look nice. We are now back into
dry/drought conditions again. My front yard is starting to brown up as
well as several placed in the back.
After I finished mowing I took a short lunch break and checked my
mail then went back out to edge and sweep up. Bob walked down to take a
look at Kim's computer while I finished up in the yard then I walked
down to visit for awhile too. Even though it's close to 90 degrees
today the humidity is only 37% making it really nice working outside.
The dogs have now had their baths and are air drying. They don't like
the hair dryer so I gave up on that a long time ago. With the warm
temperatures they will dry in a couple of hours.
[Top]
Sunday, 27
August 2006
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Dad is feeling better but still now up to
playing golf yet. Instead, I did the weekly house cleaning chores
before taking off to their house for lunch. I arrived around 10:30 to
give me time to do any minor yard chores. We have the yard service
doing the mowing. I dug up the old tomato plants, put the stakes and
cages away and swept up the sidewalk. They dad needed the dead flowers
and leaves cut from the geranium pots on the steps that go up to the
back yard. While we were standing there talking he said he wanted the
landscape timbers taken up from around the little bed by the shed. I
took those up to the very back and threw them along the fence behind
the shrubs.
Afterward I sat inside and cooled off until Frances arrived. Back home
I took a shower then ironed a basket full of work pants and shirts
before sitting down here for the usual Sunday clearing of the desk,
backlog of e-mail, paying bills, etc. I am also working in the Friends
fall newsletter.
Last night I finished reading the Beatrix Potter book and started
another Dana Stabenow, A Fine and
Bitter Snow.
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Copyright
© 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 by
Barbara
Fritchman
Thompson. All Rights Reserved.