Weekend Update

Trying to think of title for this post.  Once I typed it, I remembered Saturday Night Live.  Back in the day there was a segment on Saturday Night Live called Weekend Update with Jane Curtain and Chevy Chase.  Yes, back in the day on Saturday Night Live started for me in the summer of 1974.  It's been a long time since I watched Saturday Night Live.  Believe it or not, I can't stay up that late anymore.  I use to be a night owl until I hit my 50s.  Now, sleep is very precious to me.  In my 20s I survived without sleep.  Who needed sleep?  I could party all night, shower, and go to work when the sun came up.  Not every night, maybe two nights a week.  Ahh, those were the days!  In my 30s, I needed maybe four to five hours.  In my 40s, I needed at least six hours of sleep to function.  Once I hit my 50s, it was the full 8 hours I need to feel human.  When I was in my 20s, I worked with a woman who was in her late 40s (then).  She said as you get older, you require less sleep.  It never worked that way for me, how about you?


I got off track there for a bit, still with me?  John is a "let's get it all done during the weekend" kinda guy, there's always a project he wants done.  John is also a NASCAR fan and Washington Redskins fanatic (that's more than a fan).  Both NASCAR and football are usually televised on Sundays for those who don't follow one or both.  The Redskins play Monday night, NASCAR was this afternoon.  One of the features he was sure our (new) TV we got last April has was the picture-in-picture feature just for the times when they're scheduled at the same time.   He can watch both at the same time on one TV.  His world is wonderful, right?


I know when the weekend rolls around, John has a project for us to do.  Before John starts with his grand plans for my help, I let him know I had plans of my own for Saturday morning after the Walking Group.  Fairfax County, where we live, offers free shredding events for residents.  This Saturday was such an event.


I set my alarm for 6:30am on Friday night in anticipation of the Walking Group, although rain was forecast.  There was no posting on the website about meeting at the mall to walk, which they have posted before when rain or extreme heat is expected.  It was drizzling again when the alarm went off at 6:30am for the Saturday Morning Walking Group.  I shut off the alarm at and rolled over.  I got up around 8am and had my coffee and watched the weather to see if the drizzle was going to break.


I still had the shredding event to get to.  I keep old bills, pay stubs, invoices, etc in a large box.  We have a shredder.  However, since I throw everything in the box and have for years, I would probably burn up the motor of the shredder if I decided to shred everything in the box.  I decided the shred event was the best bet.  I emptied the box into a clean white kitchen size trash bag, threw the bag in the trunk of my car and headed out to the shredding event about 9:30am.  The drizzling had stopped.  I'd never been to the place where this event was being held, about five miles from my home, but I found it. 

When I pulled in, there were five cars ahead of me.   They had guys with the yellow reflective jackets wheeling those large recycle bins up to cars where they would dump the documents for shredding into the large recycle bin.

This event was well organized, I was impressed.  There were lots of employees from the shredding company there to help people who needed it.

Heading back home after making my shred deposit, I see another sign in the medium strip.  Getting closer, I see the County Fall Festival is next weekend.  I would love to go, but it means battling the crowds.  I find as I get older, I don't like crowds much.  I know John wouldn't want to go.  Years ago, we use to battle the crowds and spend too much money on junk we didn't need.  In this economy, with me not working, probably best we stay home anyway.

I arrived back home about 10am.  John wants to visit his Mom (that means I go too).  She took a nasty fall about 10 days ago at her house.  She has a multi-level deck and she missed a step going down the stairs.  She went down on her knees, stomach, hands, and hit the side of her face on a lawn chair.  She is 78 years old.  We wanted to take her to the doctor, she wouldn't go.  She said nothing was broken, she could walk, everything moved, just a bit slower.  Her legs, hands and face were badly bruised and swollen.  We asked if there was anything she needed, anything we could pick up before we headed over.  She said John's brother, Mark, had been by one day this week after work and picked up everything she wanted.  We visited for a couple of hours.


Back home again about 2:30, the sky was darkening again, threatening rain, John had hoped to get the lawn mowed.  It was about 4pm when the sun poked out a bit.  He felt this was his opportunity.  The forecast was chance of rain through next Wednesday.  He went for it and paid for it.  John has a touch of arthritis in his legs.  When it rains or there's a chance of rain, he is in pain with his legs.  He got the lawn mowed, it never rained Saturday afternoon.  Today was miserable for him, it was overcast again with an 80% chance of rain today.  It rained this morning, nothing after that.  He sat on the couch in front of the TV most of the day telling me how bad his left leg hurts.  I hope this rain and chance of rain moves out soon, we're going on ten days of rain and drizzle, eight inches of rain so far this month.


Oh the message I left for the mortgage company to call me back...as I guessed, they never called.  I called again on Friday and got a human.  "Jade" confirmed our fax was received.  So, as far was we know, they have all the paperwork they've asked for.  What we need to know is how much money we'll need at closing next Friday.  They still don't have that number as of Friday (closing is next Friday, 9/30).  My mission this week is to call and get the answer to that question.  I have two other missions.  Inquire as to the cost of First Alert or similar system for his mother.  If she falls again, she can call for help since she lives alone.  Also, she has a ranch home with a basement.  Her laundry room is in the basement.  She is willing to have a chair glide installed for her safety instead of using the stairs.  I must inquire as to installation,  cost, etc.  I'm all ears on suggestions!