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Summer break
Aug. 7th, 2023 08:22 amI just got back from the first half of my summer vacation. I had a few days off before my departure, which I used to clean and dog-proof the house as much as I could. I also had blackberries and rhubarb to freeze, a sink full of crabapples to turn into sauce, and the sour cherry harvest, which was more abundant than I had estimated. I ended up working on putting up fruits until 2am, and I had to leave the house at 3am to make my early morning flight. By the time of the departure, I had been awake for 24 hours straight. I dozed on the plane, but economy is never very relaxing.
When I got off the plane, I knew I was not wearing my glasses, but I thought I had put them in a pocket of my purse while waiting in the airport, so I wasn't too concerned. After my parents picked me up, though, I searched through my purse and couldn't find them anywhere. I had to spend the entire vacation with no glasses, which wasn't too terrible, since I only need them for seeing at a distance. I knew I would have to get another pair for driving when I returned home, though.
Surprise happy ending: On my first day going back to work, I found the glasses zipped into the pocket of my jacket. The temperature was in the 50s when I left home at 3am in the Bay Area, but it was 80+ the entire time I was in the Midwest, so I never put my jacket on while I was there, which was why I didn't find them.
Anyway, I started off by attending the Ann Arbor Art Fair, where I spent a considerable amount of money. I purchased two prints and an original multimedia (mostly oil) abstract piece that will be great in my living room. I left the larger pieces with my parents, who will be driving to stay with me over the winter and can bring them in the car.
I spent several days visiting friends and playing board games, which was great fun. After that, I stayed with one of my brothers while preparing to attend a wedding, in which I would be a bridesmaid. I played quite a lot of Diablo 4 on my new Steam deck.
My mom came to my house with me, as we were offered a chance to stay in Hawaii at my uncle's house while he's away on a cruise. We'll head there together next week. As soon as we got home, I tried to heat something for supper in the microwave, and the microwave died. It was fine while I entered the cook time, but as soon as I pressed the start button it went dark. I reset the breaker in the circuit box, but that had no effect, and I tried plugging it into a different outlet, which also did nothing. I was able to order a new one, but it won't be delivered until Wednesday. Curiously, I was just reading a blog post about kitchen gadgets and how the one "fad" appliance that has stuck around longest has been the microwave, even though most people only use it to reheat coffee. I use mine for WAY more than that. Living without one, even for a few days, is quite inconvenient.
I love my appliances. When I heard that the company behind the Instant Pot filed for bankruptcy, I bought a second (larger) one immediately. I've had my 3qt unit since before the pandemic, and I use it all the time. I didn't want to risk that breaking and not being able to get a replacement. My juicer was invaluable for preserving all my cherries. There's no way I would have been able to pit them all between 12am (when I finished the applesauce and could start on them) and 2am. My multipurpose toaster oven has almost entirely replaced my gas oven. My Vitamix is probably going on 8 years old and I use it nearly every day. So when I read responses to that blog post where people were denigrating the appliances like, "I can do all the things it does with a regular pot on my stove!" I just shake my head. Sure, you can cook on the stove. But you can't cook on the stove and then leave the burner on while ALSO taking the dogs out for a 2 mile walk or running to the store or weeding the garden or whatever other tasks need to be accomplished away from the stove.
There's not enough time in the day for everything as it is. Anything that saves me time is valuable.
We're getting new uniforms at work. They announced the change back in January, but nothing was available for purchase at the time. They finally updated the ordering site with the new items (since our yearly purchasing period ends this month), but they say it could be up to a 5 month wait to get the order. I was able to order the new shirts and insignia, but frustratingly the website bugged out every time I tried to add the pants to my shopping cart. Hopefully that gets fixed in the next couple of weeks.
I'm looking forward to spending a week on Oahu. I'll be taking my good camera, so I'm hoping to get some nice pictures.
When I got off the plane, I knew I was not wearing my glasses, but I thought I had put them in a pocket of my purse while waiting in the airport, so I wasn't too concerned. After my parents picked me up, though, I searched through my purse and couldn't find them anywhere. I had to spend the entire vacation with no glasses, which wasn't too terrible, since I only need them for seeing at a distance. I knew I would have to get another pair for driving when I returned home, though.
Surprise happy ending: On my first day going back to work, I found the glasses zipped into the pocket of my jacket. The temperature was in the 50s when I left home at 3am in the Bay Area, but it was 80+ the entire time I was in the Midwest, so I never put my jacket on while I was there, which was why I didn't find them.
Anyway, I started off by attending the Ann Arbor Art Fair, where I spent a considerable amount of money. I purchased two prints and an original multimedia (mostly oil) abstract piece that will be great in my living room. I left the larger pieces with my parents, who will be driving to stay with me over the winter and can bring them in the car.
I spent several days visiting friends and playing board games, which was great fun. After that, I stayed with one of my brothers while preparing to attend a wedding, in which I would be a bridesmaid. I played quite a lot of Diablo 4 on my new Steam deck.
My mom came to my house with me, as we were offered a chance to stay in Hawaii at my uncle's house while he's away on a cruise. We'll head there together next week. As soon as we got home, I tried to heat something for supper in the microwave, and the microwave died. It was fine while I entered the cook time, but as soon as I pressed the start button it went dark. I reset the breaker in the circuit box, but that had no effect, and I tried plugging it into a different outlet, which also did nothing. I was able to order a new one, but it won't be delivered until Wednesday. Curiously, I was just reading a blog post about kitchen gadgets and how the one "fad" appliance that has stuck around longest has been the microwave, even though most people only use it to reheat coffee. I use mine for WAY more than that. Living without one, even for a few days, is quite inconvenient.
I love my appliances. When I heard that the company behind the Instant Pot filed for bankruptcy, I bought a second (larger) one immediately. I've had my 3qt unit since before the pandemic, and I use it all the time. I didn't want to risk that breaking and not being able to get a replacement. My juicer was invaluable for preserving all my cherries. There's no way I would have been able to pit them all between 12am (when I finished the applesauce and could start on them) and 2am. My multipurpose toaster oven has almost entirely replaced my gas oven. My Vitamix is probably going on 8 years old and I use it nearly every day. So when I read responses to that blog post where people were denigrating the appliances like, "I can do all the things it does with a regular pot on my stove!" I just shake my head. Sure, you can cook on the stove. But you can't cook on the stove and then leave the burner on while ALSO taking the dogs out for a 2 mile walk or running to the store or weeding the garden or whatever other tasks need to be accomplished away from the stove.
There's not enough time in the day for everything as it is. Anything that saves me time is valuable.
We're getting new uniforms at work. They announced the change back in January, but nothing was available for purchase at the time. They finally updated the ordering site with the new items (since our yearly purchasing period ends this month), but they say it could be up to a 5 month wait to get the order. I was able to order the new shirts and insignia, but frustratingly the website bugged out every time I tried to add the pants to my shopping cart. Hopefully that gets fixed in the next couple of weeks.
I'm looking forward to spending a week on Oahu. I'll be taking my good camera, so I'm hoping to get some nice pictures.
