Weekend Trips and Changes

Hello all - I hope if you live in the U.S., you had an enjoyable Memorial Day weekend - and if you don't live here, I hope you had a great weekend that was not a holiday. 

We had a lovely trip to West Virginia. We didn't run into any real traffic on our way, and it was a lovely, sunny, cool day to travel. We lucked out with that same weather on Saturday and Sunday as well, which made it perfect for porch-sitting (our fave thing when we are there) as well as our various outings with my sister, brother-in-law, niece Amanda, and her husband Patrick. There were lots of laughs, good eats, lots to drink, and it felt like we were there for a nice long time.

Coming home on Monday, we really didn't run into much traffic either, and fortunately, even though we drove through some rain showers, the serious rain didn't happen until we were on our very last leg of the trip, on roads we know. Still not a lot of traffic there, just fortunately everyone slowing down since it was raining hard enough to make it difficult to see very well. But we made it home safe and sound, much to the pleasure of the kitties, who made friends with the cat sitter but were glad to see us.

As a matter of fact, even Esme made friends with the cat sitter! The service we use has them send us photos from each visit. In one of the photos, Esme was sitting on the arm of a chair in the living room, right nexts to Brian the cat-sitter! It drove The Tim nuts, since she is still scared of him. But Brian is very soft-spoken, so I think that was the difference. The Tim said he was glad we didn't stay longer, because the next picture probably would have shown Esme tap-dancing on Brian's lap! 😂

The changes referenced above relate to my employment status. I am currently unemployed, as of Tuesday. I mentioned a while back that things were getting a bit difficult at the yarn store. On top of that, there are several medical things I have to take care of this summer (nothing life-threatening or overly serious), and it has become impossible to find someone to cover/switch shifts with me if my appointments are on days I'm supposed to work. I have no control over medical scheduling, and even when I've asked them not to schedule me on certain days, when those are the only days available or when certain things are done, I have no choice. So there was that. Also, as of April, my hours were cut by a whole day. I was no longer working on Sundays, which to be honest, was my favorite day to be there. 

And frankly, if the medical things didn't get in the way, I'm not sure how much longer I would have lasted. A new person was hired to be an intermediate level supervisor, and I worked with her every day I was there. She is nice enough, but one of those people who gets super-hyper-focused on something and drives it into the ground. It was making me NUTS, and there were a few times I didn't appreciate things she said about me or my work ethic. 

So here I am at 68 years old, hoping to find another part-time job. Ugh. I've been applying for a while - the yarn shop pay was very low - but nothing has been happening. I get it to some degree, but for a part-time job, I would think you might want an older person who is less likely to jump ship quickly. Of course, that is my own, very self-serving opinion ... 

I did have a really good interview a couple of weeks ago, and thought I had a good shot at the job, but then .... they hired someone else. Oh well. I'm giving myself a couple of weeks to try and decompress and get organized (unless someone wants to hire me tomorrow, LOL), and then I'll look into volunteering, so that I have a requirement to leave the house from time to time.

And that's the latest from here. I have been knitting, and have a good start on all of my projects. Last week, I did in fact get to start my Emotional Support Chicken (good timing!). 

Here is the first part of the back - I have actually finished both parts of the back and they are currently blocking so that I can seam them together before moving on to the rest of it. It was fun to do, and I'm hoping that the rest of it will be as much fun. I have started my Anker Tee and a pair of socks as well, so even though I have no photos, I'm enjoying those projects. 

And of course I've been reading a lot. I have loaded up on some "summer" reads and also am waiting for some books I have on hold at the library to make their way to my name on the list.

And oh - remember the portable leaf blower that The Tim ordered and I mentioned couple of posts back - well, it's supposed to be delivered today. So we'll see a) how portable it really is, and b) how quiet it is. Supposedly it is both of those, but often my definition and their definitions are not the same, you know?