Playin'

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" is a proverb that means without time off from work, a person becomes both bored and boring.  I used to say I work hard and I play hard.  Now I hardly work but I play a lot.  Ha ha ha
The September pool hours shortened by two per day, so the new shifts are 9-1 and 1-5.  This allows for more play time, except it is getting dark outside earlier.

Sunday 9/2 - Monita loves playing fetch.  It's her favorite thing.  She is over a year old now, but still very playful.


Shirley and I sat in a different pew at Church.  It is weird how it feels odd to be in an unusual area.

I ran to Food City for some salad and lunch/dinner supplies.  Next, I dropped in on Patty's to care for the cats.



After lunch here at home, I tried to stay productive to avoid taking a nap, because I had to be somewhere at 1:15.

I spent the afternoon with Mary, Sherri, and Annie.  Actually I left home a little after 1pm and didn't get home until just before 8pm.  We went to the Playhouse and watched a hilarious production of Boeing Boeing.  Then we moved on to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner and lots of chatting.  I had to 'break up' the party to get home to the dog and cats.


Monday 9/3 - was Labor Day, a yearly national public holiday or day of festivities held in honor of working people.  It pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers, who have collectively added to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

It was originally created by the labor movement in the late 19th century as a means of unifying union workers and to give laborers a reduction in work time - which means more time for playin'.  The labor movement has given workers lots of benefits over the years.



Unfortunately, Labor Day also marks the end of summer.  And I must say, this summer went way too fast.

My morning started as usual, here at my computer and gazing out the big sunroom windows.  But then the fun and festivities began.

Jan texted to say she and Polly were meeting at the barn in 30 minutes.  I immediately kicked it into gear, got dressed, walked the dog, and closed up the house and turned on the air.  I arrived at the barn by 8:30, just before my two saddle sisters.  Jan on Cash and Polly on Rio.

We started off riding across the street into the winter pasture which was newly plowed.  The day was already heating up so we tried to stick to the shade as much as possible.  

A photo moment, each of us taking a photo of the other two.

Our ride lasted almost two hours and we returned with sweaty horses which we proceeded to care for before turning back out into the pasture.  I had a fun time as usual with two of the many barn ladies I so enjoy.

I hurried home and scrambled to change, eat lunch, and walk the dog.  Then I was off to St. George where I was meeting these three ladies (Sherri, Connie, and Michelle) who had been paddle boarding.  We planned on more playin'.

Right off the bat, I discovered I couldn't do an employee comp pontoon rental because it was a holiday so we made some calls to see if folks were willing to pay to go out.  It was arranged for a 2:00 departure.  We had extra time so hung out at the beach and swam.  Connie's husband Chris took many of the photos.

Then we boarded our trusty vessel with Brian captaining the rig.  Once a marine, always a marine.

Margie was also on board, along with her mom.  And we set sail first to go see Margie's house from the water.  

The three ladies ready to cruise, look at the scenery, and catch some more rays. 

Brian brought some beers which several of us enjoyed.







The sun was hot, the air warm, and the water cool.  It was a perfect day to putter around on the lake and enjoy the scenery and fun company.

We four girls had a ball swimming and goofing around in the water and on the raft.  Chris joined us part of the time and thankfully the rest of the crew was patient with all of us as we were cooling off.

We had stretched our hour rental out a little extra and were thankful the marina guys didn't give us a hard time.

I got home with almost an hour of time to feed the critters, walk the dog, change clothes, pack a cooler, and head to Mirror Lake Blast, which was more of a bust than a blast.


The band was decent, good music, but all bluegrass and classic country; only two songs fast enough to dance to.  The 'dance floor' was empty just about the whole evening.  

I was home before 8pm, and somewhat intentionally fell asleep on the couch in the sunroom while reading.  I had the windows open, the fan on, and the night creatures serenading me.  I was later woken up by the dog barking at an intruder.  It was Joe, who unexpectedly arrived home at 2:30am, trying to get in the locked door.  He was driving home from Illinois and had planned to stop somewhere for the night.

Tuesday 9/4 - I was up at my normal time but Joe slept in.  I made enough noise at 8:45 to wake him before Pete the electrician arrived at 9am.  We were still trying to resolve a few electrical issues.  Joe and I aren't certain if it was due to old wires, bad wiring, the dehumidifier guys overloading the circuit they wired into, an error on Tony's part, or a combination of all four.  Well, I missed going to the gym because I was 'babysitting' the electrician while also helping him figure out what wires brought current to which outlets and light switches.  This photo is not of our crawl space, but a little like what we had going on.  Last visit, Pete had replaced some bad wiring and a few sockets, and found a pinched wire in some work Tony had done.  This time Pete put a new wire to the de-humidifier and added a few others to its circuit to take the load off of the one circuit that had too much draw on it.  We think the issue is resolved, but there is one disconnected mystery wire we never figured out what it had been to.

I had to rush to get to work by the earlier 1:00 time.  The pool was quite full, and I had many more come during my shift.  In fact, it was busy (fairly crowded) right up till the new 5pm closing time.  So it was 5:30 by the time I got all the trash out and restrooms cleaned.  I fed the feral cat, who has been seen around, the last several weeks.  

By the time I got to the gym to workout, there just wasn't ample time.  Since I was still in my swimsuit, I swam laps for 15 minutes and did water exercises for another 20.  

Popcorn, beer, and two episodes of Yellowstone with Joe, finished the evening.

Wednesday 9/5 - Stevie enjoying the sun that comes into the screened porch.  She is such a pretty girl.





But look who comes and has to spoil the relaxing moment.  Just after this third photo, Monita bit Stevie, and they got in a tuff.  I never am sure if they are playin' or fightin'.






After doing some household chores and a little project, I met neighbor Carole and Rosemary at Ladies Club.  We socialized over a glass of wine and after the business meeting, enjoyed a great salad for the meal.

I hit Food City on the way home from Ladies Club, made a quick change into my swimsuit, packed my cooler and swim bag and headed to the pool for the Wednesday Wet and Wild party.

We all enjoyed sharing appetizers, sipping our drinks, and going for a dip in the pool.  I love how everybody has such a good time together.

The 5:00 closing time had us hustling to get out of the pool area on time.  I came home, fed the critters, changed into walking clothes, and headed up Library Trail to hit one of the Hiking Marathon Trails.  This was my first of the month to get the 26.2  miles completed.

Walking down #18 fairway to the 17th green by Turtle pond, Maggie and I frightened this Blue Heron, who circled around as he gained height to fly to a different waterhole.

Joe was at his poker game, so I read before bed, which didn't last very long.  My stomach was a little un-settled and I didn't want Joe waking me when he got home, so I took a pain sleep aid and was out cold all night.

Thursday 9/6 - It dawned on me, before dawn, what the unconnected wire in the crawl space might be for... the upstairs bathroom outlet that Tony had replaced.  So up I went to check it out, and sure enough, there was no power.  UGH!  I thought we were done with the electrician.

Monita tends to hang out with me wherever I am, which is usually in my new, beautiful sunroom.

It turns out, the nightlight that I used to check the outlet was acting goofy.  I had checked it in two other outlets and it worked.  However, when I went up with a different nightlight to double check, the bathroom outlet worked fine.  I am glad I checked it again before calling the electrician back.

I worked my 9-1 shift and then stayed at the pool another 90 minutes, hanging out with Patty who had come to swim and sun.

Joe and I had planned to hike together when he got done golfing, but a storm was in the forecast, and with thunder in the distance, we decided not to chance it.

So, I got busy out in the yard.  I planted two small bushes and a mum in back and did some weeding.






These surprise lilies had popped up in my flower beds over night.  

Joe and I took Brian out to dinner at the Pizza Pasta place at the Village Mall.  Again I overate and had a bit of a stomachache.  A short walk helped.

Friday 9/7 - After Joe and I each visited the Lutheran Church garage sale across the street, we loaded up Maggie and drove to Glastowbury Point to walk that new hiking trail.  After that one mile jaunt we went to Overlook trail and did that two mile, more strenuous hike.  Maggie enjoyed swimming in Daddy's creek to cool off.






I pushed the pace during the hike because I needed to get to the barn for the vet.  As it turned out, we would have had plenty of time to hike another trail.

I retrieved Amiga from the pasture at 10:30, gave her a quick brushing, and then sat on her bareback while she grazed out front.  A little later Patty arrived and got Zorro ready to see Dr. Perry.  And then we both waited and waited.

I let Patty go ahead of Amiga and I because I was so thankful she had come to help with him.  Seen here, she is leading him (in his drugged state) into the stall where the work would be done.

First, Zorro got his mouth washed out real well.  They can have pockets of food between their gum and cheek, which Zorro did.

Then Dr. Perry worked at floating Zorro's teeth.  Basically he files down the sharp points that form as the horses teeth wear.

Then Zorro got his sheath cleaned while Patty looked on to see how it is done.  She was even brave enough to give it a try herself.  

After the rabies shot, Zorro was done and then it was Amiga's turn.  Patty walked Zorro, helping the sedation to wear off.  Thirty minutes later, I was doing the same thing with Amiga.  While walking her, I took this photo of Patty helping Ambrie with the bush hog.

Patty had put Zorro in a stall, so after walking Amiga for awhile, we checked on him and he looked ready to join the gelding herd. 

Amiga was still quite drugged and I think Zorro was sympathizing with her, and maybe even encouraging her.

I put her in the cross ties, turned Zorro out, walked Amiga some more, and finally released her into the field of mares.  

It was 2:30 when I sat down on the screened porch to have lunch.  I read and took a short nap and then went back out to water the sun scorched plants in back.  After dinner, Joe watched TV and I read in bed, but didn't last long.

Saturday 9/8 - The first two hours of my day were leisurely as usual; dog walk, two cups of tea, e-mail, Facebook, and blogging.

Then Joe and I headed over to Ken and Linnea's where our two kayaks have been since early July, and we took them out for a 'spin' around Lake Canterbury.  

Once home, I watered all the plantings in the front flower beds, giving them some fertilizer while I was at it.





Then I was off to Dorchester pool to work 1-5.  It was a beautiful day but only three customers were at the pool when I relieved Mike.  I ended up having eighteen people come through the gate during my shift.







Dorry the cat (named after our pool) came by late in the afternoon and laid sunning until I fed her.  She showed up with five kittens the afternoon before, when MJ was working, but was by herself this time.  After eating all the food, she headed off into the woods from whence she came.
 




I rushed home after work, showered and was ready to go to Spikes Sports Bar and Grill with Joe.  We met Patty and probably two dozen Hawkeye fans (some whom have lived in Iowa most their lives) and watched the second half of the game with them.  It was a lot of fun to be cheering together.  The owner of Spikes is from Iowa and will be playin' the broadcasts of the Hawkeye games all season long.  More fun will be had.  

I didn't get to the barn or dance enough this week, but enjoyed other forms of playin'.