Monday, Monday

I've not posted pics for a while. I'm posting some Duane took at his sister's wedding in March 2007. This is Corona Del Mar beach - forget its exact title. It is just north of Crystal Cove. My sis loves this beach for the tide pools.

Other people are doing such touching tributes on their blogs. Memorial day has never had all that much significance in my life. If we had lived in the South longer (we lived there until i was 8) i think i would have had more affinity with the holiday. It is celebrated there (i think) much more than in other parts of the country, at least places i've lived. But i'm learning so much reading the other blogs.

We did some garage sale-ing today. We haven't this weekend, tho it is a "big" weekend for garage/yard sales in BB. But then . . . it is all summer long here. There are no restrictions on this in BB. (In Costa Mesa there was a law that you couldn't do more than 2, i think, a year.) Here, if someone wants to do it every day they can. There was one lady who ran a garage/yard sale continuously every weekend from the end of April or early May thru October for 27 years! She gave it up & went out of business last year.


We don't really need anything, & i don't want to clutter my house. Here's what we got (if i remember it all):

• A cute tin (i chose one out of about 20 she had) - 25 cents
• A glass container that matches ones i have - 50 cents (value $8)
• A package of new clothes pins - missing one - $1
• A pillow of microbeads - $2
• A cute box with a bear - $1
• A 5 gal gas container - $2
• A pair of camo pants for Duane - $10
• A pair of Western riding boots for me (just a little too big) - $25

I think that's all we got. My neighbor has been doing a garage sale off & on for a few weeks. He has an acoustic guitar for sale that i want very much, but he wants $200 for it. I don't know how to play guitar, but long ago i did play violin & i think i could learn easily. This one has a beautiful sound. But $200 is a lot of money for us.

BTW, i did Karaoke for the first time at the wedding the other day. I would not have volunteered, but did so at the request of the bride. I couldn't hear the music & know the result was truly awful. I was so disappointed.

Duane wants to join Search & Rescue. He probably will in July (we'll be away for the June meeting). The down side of this is that he will have a mandatory meeting one Monday a month. But Mondays we are usually already down the hill.

So we were looking at options on our way to the wedding (2 hour drive). Should he drive back up for that one meeting & then down on later Monday night or Tuesday morning (4 hour round trip)? Should we stay home for the one Monday a month? The problem with that option is that Duane would then want to be down the hill Tue/Wed/Thur. I NEVER like that option. I don't like being away from home one minute more than i have to. But staying home one day a month & not "making it up" violates his ethical code. I don't agree - he works whether he is here or there, but he has in his head that he has to be "on premises" so many days a week. I can't argue with what he considers an ethical obligation - tho i want to! It also screws with my schedule some as clients are used to me being there certain days & i wouldn't be able to make up the half day i would miss.

So, it then occurred to me that we could change the schedule. Instead of going down the hill Monday & being there Tuesday & coming home Wednesday, we could go down Tuesday, be there Wednesday, come home Thursday. This actually has a lot of desirable results.

• Duane could attend his monthly meeting without changing our work schedule at all
• I'd still have the same number of hours available for work, but in a better configuration
• Duane would be able to attend karate more easily
• We would be able to go to the Farmer's Market here in BB Tuesday mornings before leaving to go to work

Seems like there were more pluses as well.

Duane's dojo meets MWF & he tries to make the Monday meetings/practice. However, the first day he is on site at his work is crazy & it is often hard for him to leave in time. But by Tuesday evening things have settled down & he often has free time. If we switch the schedule by one day, the second day would be Wednesday, & he thinks he is more likely to make karate practice.

My office is closed T/Th mornings. I get a lot of things done Tuesday AM, but i often want to be doing things Wednesday AM right before we leave (groceries i don't want to sit more than 24 hours to get home). But i do have an obligation to work, if anyone wants to be seen. Usually i don't have anyone, evenings are a busier time for me as people want to be seen after work. So i've gotten in the habit of doing grocery shopping & other errands Wednesday AM, but if someone schedules it stresses me trying to get it all done.

Now, instead of working 3 half days, i'll work 1 half day (Tue) & 1 full day (Wed) & still have Thursday AM to get things done with no other conflicts. The only problem i see with this is before i had hours across 3 days. If we do this i'll only have hours across 2, but i will still have 2 evenings which are the most important.

Also, i LOVE the idea that we would be able to go to the Farmer's Market & support our local area & get fresh produce. Except on the rare occasions we were home for a week, it was never possible before.

So, i think we are going to do it. I'll talk to my work & see if there is a problem (don't expect it & they can't dictate hours to me as i'm a contractor, but thought it would be nice to talk to them first). I assume Duane will check with his boss as well. If we do start this, we will probably begin right after 4th of July, tho part of me wants to jump on it right away!

Happy, blessed Memorial Day everyone, as we remember loved ones gone, & all who work now & in the past, to protect our land. :)

116