Wednesday: Baby Blankets and Sunflowers

Remember this baby blanket I crocheted, earlier?  Today, I decided it was time to give it to my supervisor.  Her baby shower will be held in August, but I am not planning to attend it. 

Crocheted Baby Blanket

But first, I needed to make a card to go with it:

Baby Gift Card

I used stencils to draw and cut out the bottle and bib.

Once the card was made and the blanket wrapped in some tissue paper and inserted into a bag, it was time to leave for work.  Our staff meeting was a brown bag meeting, scheduled for 12 noon.  Towards the end of the meeting, they brought out a cake and we celebrated my retirement.  Afterwards, I was given the rest of the cake to bring home!

The blanket was well-received and my immediate supervisor recalled how I had given a blanket when his daughter was born, too.  There are several colleagues and former colleagues who've received knitted and crocheted items from me, over the years.

I had a productive day at the office.  I am glad I took the opportunity to sort through and declutter much of my stuff prior to the move.  All I was left with are one box of files to go into storage and my current project files.  Today, I decluttered a bit more.  I don't keep a lot of personal items at the office.  The few items I do have - a flower pot holding my pens and pencils, an award I received, my name plates (I've two - an old one and a newer one), two small painted wooden boxes that were gifts to me from former colleagues, my coffee mug which was also a gift from a colleague - I will bring home, a few items at a time.  Today, I brought home the award and one name plate.  I am not quite sure what I'll do with them, except keep them as mementos of my working days!

However, should I decide that retirement is not for me, then, I have had a possible job offer!  At my supervisor's suggestion, someone gave me his business card and asked me to give him a call if I feel like working, again!  That was totally unexpected! 

Flowers from a Friend

When I got home, I found a long brown box on my doorstep!  Inside, I found a bouquet of sunflowers!  They had been sent by one of my friends to celebrate completing 35 years of service and my retirement!  I stuck them in a vase, just to get them in some water; but sunflowers don't need a lot of arranging to look nice.  I must remember to put them in the other room and close the door during the night to keep Dancer from getting to them.

I've had a very relaxed evening.  The one productive thing I did was give Dancer his flea medicine.  And I video chatted with my daughter, of course. 

Today, I am grateful for:
- Cake and well wishes at the office
- Flowers from a friend
- A possible job offer, should I decide retirement is not for me!
- A relaxed evening at home
- A cooler day

How was your Wednesday? 

Tuesday: Winding Down

Today, I went to the office and managed to get most of the work done on another of my projects.  Then, I called the different consultants I work with on my projects to let them know that this will be my last week at the office.  I have one or two more projects to work on, tomorrow, but that shouldn't take all day.  I am setting aside Thursday and Friday to clean my cubicle and tie up a few loose ends. 

My supervisor came up to see me and he has persuaded me that I need to be taken out to lunch, after all.  I had said I didn't want to do anything to celebrate my retirement, but, today he said that several of my colleagues really, really want to do something and that it is a heart-felt wish (his words).  Put like that, it seemed churlish to continue to refuse.  So, we will go out to lunch on Thursday, to a nearby Vietnamese vegan restaurant. 

It still doesn't seem real to me, perhaps because I will be going on vacation first and haven't even put in the official papers, yet!  In my mind, I am not really retiring until the end of September, or even, the first week in October. 

I was tired when I came home and fell asleep on the sofa while my tea was steeping!  By the time I woke up, the tea was cold, so I had to warm it up, again!

Then, I settled down to sew my sari blouse.  I sewed on the bias binding to the waist and hemmed it; then, sewed on the facings to the front opening and sewed that down, too.  The blouse is almost done - I just have to try it on one last time and sew the fasteners (hooks and eyes).  Except, I will make loops for the hooks, instead of sewing on the eyes.  Then, I need to turn my attention to the underskirt.  I gave my daughter my blue satin underskirt, since it has a drawstring waist, so she can adjust it.  I will take my mother's blue underskirt, which has a fitted waistband - I will need to unpick the waistband and alter it to fit me.  A well-fitting underskirt is necessary because the sari will be tucked into it, at the waist, to keep it held in place!

Friend R called in the evening and I had a nice chat with her and I responded to another friend's email.  Later, I video chatted with my daughter and condoled with my friend's daughter as my friend passed away from cancer, this weekend.   

Today, I am grateful for:
- A safe drive to and from the office
- A good day at the office
- A drive through the park on the way to and from the office
- Another cooler day
- Friends

How was your Tuesday? 

Productive Monday & July Grocery Shopping Week 3

Today, I woke up at 9:00 a.m. when the alarm went off, but I stayed in bed for another 30 minutes, or so.  Then, I had a cup of coffee, responded to blog comments, put away the washed dishes from yesterday, and ran a couple of errands.

I went to the pharmacy, first, to pick up my medication refill.  I had a $5 Extra Care Bucks coupon, so I used that towards the purchase of some black knee highs and a box of corn flakes ($1.99; free after coupon).  Then, I went to the dollar store, that is next to the pharmacy, to buy some bananas ($.49/lb. = $.42), a packet of cookies ($1.00), and two boxes of cake mix (@$1.00):

July 16 Groceries

My grocery total came to $3.42. 

July Grocery Budget = $100 - $3.78 over-spent in June = $96.22
Spent to date = $27.21 + $6.49 + $3.42  = $37.12
Balance left in July grocery budget = $96.22 - $37.12 = $59.10

I also bought two air fresheners from the dollar store.  

After I came home, I had a banana and a cold cuts sandwich for brunch.  Then, I sat down to continue sewing my sari blouse.  Today, I added the sleeves and sewed the neckline.  Then, I tried a short-cut and sewed the bottom hem by folding the fabric as one would a regular hem, but that didn't work out, so I had to unpick it.  Tomorrow, I will cut out a bias binding and sew it down to make the hem.

Later in the evening, I watered the front garden and took the large trash cans to the curb for pick up, tomorrow morning.  Dinner was rice, with okra cooked with ground beef, lentil curry, and pappadum.  After dinner, I video chatted with my daughter.

I will water the indoor plants and clean the litter box before I go to bed.

Today, I am grateful for:

- Being able to get yet another drama-free refill!

- Getting some shopping done

- Coupons

- A cooler day

- Making progress with my sewing

How was your Monday?  Did you have a good day?

Sunday: Monthly Prayer Gatherings and Wedding Cakes

The group text was sent out earlier in the month by a friend of mine, "Ladies, are you free on the 15th for a little lunch, Rosary, and help box up the wedding cake?"  This friend is the lady who leads the monthly Rosary; the prayer group began when she was having difficulty conceiving and now, we were being asked to help with the wedding cake for her older daughter!  What a blessing!  I responded, "Only if we get to sample the cake!" and she replied, "Yes!"  LOL!

This morning, I put away the dried laundry from yesterday and loaded the dishwasher to run it later.  Then, I picked up friend R and came home to wait for friend F and cousin P.  I was giving them a ride to the rosary gathering and helping with the wedding cake.  We left a few minutes after 11:30 a.m. and arrived at the prayer gathering a little after 12:30 p.m. 

The Sri Lankan custom is to serve pieces of individually wrapped and/or boxed cake to the guests at weddings.  This is the wedding cake my friend was referring to in her text.  There is usually a big, fancy, tiered cake, as well, which is cut by the bridal couple, but pieces of the individually wrapped/boxed cake are also served to each guest.  Usually, these small cakes are pieces of "rich cake", which is a fruit cake with a marzipan topping, very similar to Christmas cake.  However, my friend's daughter doesn't like rich cake (neither does my daughter), so my friend made Love Cake (which, as many of you know is my daughter's favorite cake, too).

So, after the Rosary was recited and lunch was eaten, we all gathered at the big dining table to process the cake.  My friend had made three huge trays of love cake, earlier.  Today, she cut the pieces; each tray made 100 pieces, I believe.  Each square piece of cake was individually wrapped in pre-cut pieces of cellophane-like plastic my friend had purchased, inserted into a small plastic bag (meant to keep the cake from drying out) and sealed, and then, inserted into small square boxes which had been hand stamped by one of the ladies, along with a bag of candied almonds.  We had an assembly line going - two of us wrapping the cake, two others inserting them into the bags, another one assembling the boxes, someone else putting the cake and almonds into the boxes, another one taking the finished boxes to another table, and so on.  We stopped after the first two hundred and fifty pieces were assembled to have a break for tea and coffee (and to sample the cake - all the edges that were trimmed off!)

It was 4:30 p.m. by then and I was starting to get tired and I had an hour-long drive home.  So, I, and my cousin and friends who rode with me, took our leave and set off.  There were still three other ladies who stayed back to help my friend with the rest of the cake.  I dropped friend R off at her apartment and came home, and friend F, who had parked her car at my house drove off and my cousin P, who lives across the street from me, walked back to her house.  I called my daughter, returned my neighbor T's call, and took a 3-hour nap!  I was so tired! 

As a result, I didn't go to the pharmacy to pick up my medication refill that was ready, didn't water the front garden, or sew the sari blouse!  I am glad I have tomorrow off from work - I will go to the pharmacy, water the front garden, and sew my blouse, tomorrow.  I am now running the dishwasher and will wash my tea cups and a few other items by hand.

Today, I am grateful for:
- Being able to help my friend with boxing up her daughter's wedding cake
- Being able to attend the monthly prayer gathering
- A safe drive there and back! 
- Being able to give rides to my cousin and friends
- Naps!

How was your Sunday? 

Saturday: Out to Lunch and Sari Blouses

I set the alarm for 9:00 a.m. because I wanted to get started on sewing my sari blouse, but I didn't actually get up until 9:45 a.m. and even then, I spent some time having my coffee, checking emails, replying to blog comments, and watching a couple of sewing shows on TV.  Aunt T called and I had a long conversation with her (she was alone and bored and wanted to talk; I owe her a visit, too!)

Finally, around 11:00 a.m., I decided to stop procrastinating!  Even so, I gave the sari blouse that the shop had given me when I bought the sari, one last try, even though it was a different fabric than the sari (but the color was close enough).  The sleeves were too tight, and I couldn't even put it on, so I unpicked the sleeve seams to let them out.  Sari blouses are often make with the opening in the front, but this blouse had the opening at the back, which is kind of awkward when you try to fasten the hooks by yourself!  The front of the blouse seemed OK, but the back of the blouse was too small, leaving a gap of about 4 inches between the edges!  I could have done something to fix it - perhaps sewn bands of fabric between the two edges and made it look as if it was designed to have that gap - had the blouse been of the same fabric as the sari.  I might still do something like that so I could use that blouse for another sari, but that's another project for another day.

So, there was nothing else to do but sew a sari blouse.  Which wouldn't be a problem if I had a paper pattern for one.  But I don't have a paper pattern, so I made a sort of pattern, using an old sari blouse.  I say "a sort of pattern" because don't know how to draft a proper bodice pattern, with dart marks, etc.  Instead, I drew around the sari blouse and added a couple of inches here and there for darts and seams.  Then, I cut out the pieces and used them to cut out the fabric. 

I am using a gold lame (there should be an accent over the e) fabric that my mother had bought, which was in the fabric stash, but I am lining it with white broadcloth (which I also have in the stash), because the fabric is a bit see-through!  I got the pieces cut out and then, it was time to get ready to go out to lunch with friend R, since it was her birthday.

We went to a family diner type of restaurant we've been to before and like.  I treated her to lunch and we sat and chatted for a bit.  Then, I dropped her off at her apartment, put gas to the car ($3.45/gallon; I put $40 worth of gas and filled up), and came home.  It was 96F outside, at 4:30 p.m., today. 

After I came home, I changed out the dust sheets on the family room sofas and did two loads of laundry.  I thought I might take a nap, but someone else had the same idea and beat me to it:

Cat Naps!

So I went back to sewing my sari blouse.  First, I sewed the lining to the lame fabric and that went very well.  Then, I worked on the darts.  I had a bit of trouble getting them to come out evenly but, eventually, I managed to get them sewn.  My blouse has the opening in the front and things don't have to be perfect because the portion of the sari that goes over the shoulder will cover the front of the blouse, but I do want the blouse to fit properly!  I also don't have a dressmaker's dummy, so trying on clothes and making adjustments to them is a bit challenging.  I want to adjust the neckline to make it a little wider and deeper, but, it was getting late and I was getting tired, so I stopped sewing.  I tend to make mistakes when I am tired and I don't want to mess up the whole blouse because I cut too wide or too deep!  At first, I thought I'll make a sleeveless blouse, but now, I am thinking I'll sew short sleeves, as well. 

After that, I put water to the backyard, had leftovers from lunch for dinner, and video chatted with my daughter.  Cousin P called to confirm that I was going to the prayer gathering tomorrow and we had a bit of a chat, as well.   

It is 1:00 a.m., now and finally, the house has cooled down to 80F. 

Today, I am grateful for:
- The fabric stash!
- My friend R and being able to celebrate her birthday with her
- Being able to enjoy lunch out
- Being able to sew myself a sari blouse ($50-$60 to have one custom sewn)
- Cooling off in the evenings.

How was your Saturday?  What are your plans for Sunday?

On Friday the 13th: The Countdown Begins!

Today, I went to the office in the morning and found that the office elves had been busy at work, decorating my cubicle:

One more week to go!

I had a fairly productive morning - I have been requested to print out and compile a folder of emails relating to a project I worked on; while I do that, I am taking the opportunity to go through 4,000+ saved emails and labeling them with project names as needed (some have been labeled, earlier, but a few hadn't been labeled) and deleting others that contain dated information ("new" letterheads from 2010 aren't that "new" anymore!)  and are no longer pertinent (no one will be interested in emails certifying that I completed my annual commuter survey in 2015 or my Fire Safety training earlier this year, once I am retired).  As for the countdown, I will work until next Friday, then go on vacation until the end of summer.  I won't hand in the retirement papers until sometime in August.  I might also go in to the office, a day here or a day there, between the end of next week and the beginning of my official retirement, to finish up some things.

I had a much-rescheduled (originally scheduled in June!) doctor's appointment this afternoon.  So, I took the afternoon off and went to the doctor's appointment.  It was a routine check up/follow up and my blood pressure and blood sugar readings were good, but my weight had gone up and neither the doctor, nor I, are happy about that!  I also updated her on all the other medical appointments I've had since I last saw her in March and she ordered some blood tests to see how my iron levels are after taking the iron supplements and all the various other things she checks me for on a routine basis,  I have a follow-up appointment with her in August, to see what the blood test results are, etc.  It is my goal to lose 5 lbs. between now and that appointment.

I mentioned to her that I was retiring from work and she immediately told me that staying home after retirement is not an option!  I am to get involved with an activity or two and she recommended I get a dog (as having one would require daily walks, etc.)  I told her that Dancer might have something to say about us having a dog!  LOL!

After the doctor's appointment, I went to the pharmacy to pick up a refill that was ready (for my inhaler).  Then, I stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few items:

July 13 Groceries

I needed milk ($1.99 for 1/2 gallon) and bananas (@$.59/lb).  I bought just three bananas, only, because bananas ripen very fast in this heat (97F, today) and I don't like bananas when they are very ripe. The bagels were reduced to $.99 (sell by date of 7/16), and since I had given the rest of the previous package of bagels to daughter to take back with her, I bought this package, for me.  The green leaves nestled between the bananas and the bagels are some broccoli leaves for Dancer.  I had put them in the same bag as the bananas and told the cashier they were for my cat.  She wanted to take them out of the bag to weigh the bananas, but I said it was OK to weigh the bananas with the broccoli leaves (there were only about 3 or 4 small leaves).

Oh, but where is Dancer?  For those who like to play, "Spot the Dancer":

"Hurry up and finish taking your photos, Mummy, so I can have a broccoli leaf."

7/13 Grocery Receipt

I spent a total of $3.56.  I will consider this as my July Week 2, Part 2, as it is more of a top-up grocery shopping than a full shopping trip.

July Grocery Budget = $100 - $3.78 over-spent in June = $96.22
Spent to date = $27.21 + $6.49 + $3.56 = $37.26
Balance left in July grocery budget = $96.22 - $37.26 = $58.96

I have finally finished the leftovers from last week, when daughter was visiting!  I need to do some cooking this weekend.  A smoked sausage stir fry and a fish curry using canned mackerel, perhaps, with some vegetables to go with them. 

Friend M had called and left a message saying he's not feeling well and would not be able to do the garden, today.  I hope he's OK and can rest over the weekend, although I know that Saturdays are his busy days.  Working outdoors in this heat is very taxing and not good for anybody.

The evening was filled with phone calls!  Aunt C, cousins P and N, and friends F and R!   Later, I video chatted with daughter.

The phone calls kept me busy.  I didn't vacuum or do laundry.  But, I did comb Dancer, again, and this time, he let me. 

Today, I am grateful for:
- My colleagues who decorated my cubicle for me as a surprise
- A good visit with the doctor
- A safe drive to the office and clinic and back
- Phone calls with family and friends
- A relaxed evening

Well, I only got a couple of things crossed off my To Do list, today, but that's OK.  I'll work on it over the weekend.

Saturday's To Do List:
- Cut out and start sewing my sari blouse!
- Do the dishes
- Go out for an early dinner with friend R
- Water the garden and indoor plants
- Laundry
- Catch up on the undone items from the To Do list!

How was your Friday the 13th?  Did you have a good day?  What are your plans for the weekend?

Office Elves!

I went to the office this morning and discovered that the office elves had been busy!

On top of the cubicle walls

There were streamers hanging from the ceiling and a banner on the outside of the cubicle walls, but I forgot to take pictures of them.

On my coat rack

There were also stickers, all over the cubicle - on the outside and inside of the wall panels, and

On the computer monitor

On the locker

For a moment, I thought they had the date wrong and thought that today was my last day, not next Friday!  Then, I thought maybe they wanted me gone sooner!   But, I've been assured that they just wanted me to enjoy the decorations all next week, instead of just the last day. 

These "elves" go out of their way every year to cheer up our offices during various holidays.  They spoil the rest of us with candy and doughnuts and various treats throughout the year.  They, and the rest of my colleagues, have done much to make it easier for me to do my work over the past 35 years.  They have been a big blessing in my life and I am so grateful to have known them and for their many acts of kindness.  I know I am going to miss them all.