I wish I could put into words just how ODD Friday was. Ash and I met for lunch at Maria Maria, which was really good. I walked my stairs in the afternoon (I have info on this new trend in my life in a Thursday 13 post I’ve yet to publish). He decided he’d have a drink and watch a movie but then, I started to feel bad that he’d be all alone until Isaac got home (Dakota and Ell were both at friends’ houses). Then Isaac got home and said he was going to a friend’s also. We both got a bit emotional about how, in what will probably feel like no time, we won’t have kids living at home at all. So with a heavy heart we hung up the phone around 4 and I reminded him I’d be home around 7.

But then, in some strange twist of fate, my boss let editors go home at 5 instead! He said he’d probably not be getting anything in late anyway so with that, I hightailed it out of here, stopping by Dakota’s friend’s house to drop off the rest of her sleepover stuff, since she’d gone there right from school. So I was home around 5:45, and Ash told me about some new emotional Italian movie he watched. I got a beer and we decided to watch Hot Shots! but we didn’t have much attention span. It was weird without any kids home. We ate bagels (which we never do) and then smoked half a cigar and went to bed! We were both pretty tired. Well, Ash fell asleep before 9, I got back up to make sure Isaac was indeed spending the night, then I too got in bed. Ash woke up at 11 feeling rested so he got up and then came back at 1. Meanwhile, I woke up at 4 am!

Let me tell you: I love being the first one up but not for that many hours. The house makes so many creeky sounds and creatures outside make sounds and it’s unnerving. Ash finally got up around 8/8:30 and it was then I decided to go for a run and then to the store for meal prep items for the weekend. The weird sleeping and all made me feel like my life was going off the rails so a run grounded me. I picked Dakota up from her sleepover around 11 and she had a game at 12:45. Before that, we knocked out one smaller house project: putting down more boards in the upper storage area/attic. This way, we can store bins up there easily. Once we got back from the game, everyone was home and I made guac and pollo con queso, which was fantastic. I know we watched movies but of course, I don’t remember them. Elliot worked at night and the other kids went to bed early, still tired from hanging out with friends.

Sunday, our plan was to do the other projects on our list: finish getting stepping stones for out back, since Dakota’s new friend down the way will be coming in from that back gate, putting Killz on the old water stains from our leaking roof in the sunroom (now fixed), and I repotted an aloe plant. We also put new dowels into this marathon medal rack that was pretty bogged down and finally fell off the wall. Funny thing is, we didn’t add any new medals; it just finally fell. So we drilled out the existing holes and glued in larger dowels. By then it was time to pop my lasagna (made Saturday) in the oven and then? Football all day. Both games disappointed me but we won’t talk about it. I don’t need that kind of negativity in my life.

So even though the weekend began in such a weird, unsettling way, it ended with much productivity. We even did the final project on our list: creating a way to train for a steinholding contest. Yes, we don’t plan to go to Germany until September 2025, but we are training now. We essentially took a large dowel, about 2 feet long, drilled a hole in the middle, and thread rope through, upon which a weight will be tied. You hold with both hands and roll it up and down. This builds the right muscles for holding a stein of beer. It’s going to be a lot of training but we can do it! Maybe this coming October, local places will hold contests and we can practice winning. LOL.

I decided that I’d try to fast today, like we used to. Because even though I have not changed much about my eating lately, I can’t seem to maintain my weight and I am not happy about it. At work, we literally have received so many fewer donuts/Chik-fil-a days/ candies this session that OF COURSE, the day I’m not eating, we have donuts in here. I’m just going to ignore them; I don’t need it and I mean, it’s JUST a donut, right?

***********

Today’s theme is songs inspired by fiction/non-fiction people or historical events. Let’s see now…

OK here’s the first one that came to mind, an Iron Maiden song based on an epic poem by Coleridge.

And while we’re at it, let’s throw this one in there: