Slacker

**WARNING** **This turned out much longer than anticipated.**

The last three days have been a blessing and a curse in my mind. I have had a wonderful time with family but I have not been super productive or persistent with my walking. I did not work Fri or Sat. and I only worked 5.5 hrs today. Not good for the pay check but fantastic for the social life.

Friday I spent quite a bit of time with my hubby. I thoroughly enjoyed that because we don't get to see each other a lot because of our day vs. night working schedules. To be honest I don't remember a whole lot of what I did Friday but I don't remember any stress, arguments or wishing I was at work either. I do remember we went to dinner at the Grand Central Restaurant in Owego and then visited his mom for a couple hours after that.

Saturday I spent almost the entire day with my mom and sister. We went to the Rhubarb festival at the Montezuma Winery, which was at the corner of 89 & 20/5 at the north end of Cayuga Lake. Although the festival itself was a let down for us it wasn't all bad. There were some amazing classic cars there and the band was good. My sister took pictures of many of the cars so maybe I can get her to send me some. When looking at the flier for the festival we anticipated more rhubarb oriented foods, festivities, vendors etc. At the festival the only rhubarb oriented festivity was a rhubarb stalk toss and we didn't get there early enough to participate but we did get to watch it. That was kind of amusing especially seeing so many different ways to try and throw a rhubarb stalk the farthest. The food although not bad was mostly prepackages/processed foods. The only thing made on site was the rhubarb chili which wasn't bad at all and I am not nor have I ever been a chili fan. There were pies and jams but they were all factory processed. There was no place to buy fresh rhubarb which kind of surprised us. They did have their rhubarb wine at a discount and I liked that muy mucho. As far as festivals go, it's more of a fun local gathering not the kind of festival you drive for 30+ miles to attend.

I think our own experiences and expectations were the worst let down. Along the line of experiences, Mom & I drove about 45 minutes to Cortland to pick up Tasha and then 45 minutes to the festival. So that time was good for conversation but bad to stiff joints. On top of the drive time my Jeep started having issues on the way to Tasha's place so we stopped in Apalachin, called Marilyn to come get us, take us back to Mom's house, get her Jeep and start again. The car trouble was not overly bothersome to me but what was more frustrating for me was we decided to have Marilyn follow me driving my Jeep back to Mom's and the whole drive back nothing happened. None of the skipping, sputtering or noises happened the whole way back. I guess that's not necessarily bad but when you are trying to diagnose it makes it very difficult.

I guess one bonus to the weekend is that after I was home Saturday evening RJ & I burned some of the wood we had out front in a little campfire. I was nice and relaxing for me and I was super stoked because I have been wanting to burn that wood for a long time now. If it hadn't rained today I would definitely have burned more tonight. Maybe tomorrow instead if it doesn't rain.

On the walking note I originally intended on talking about, I have been such a horrible slacker! I thought about walking Friday and Saturday and just didn't do it. I was hoping to be able to walk today but it rained in the morning and I took a long nap after work. Now I just don't feel like it. I think I will get on the Wii Fit instead; I haven't done that in a long time. I will probably look like a fish out of water but it will be fun. I hope tomorrow is nice because I am looking forward to walking around Owego.

Firebird

Today has been a fairly uneventful day. I worked this morning, went for my walk, went home, had lunch, ran some errands and have been getting caught up with online stuff and things at the house.

I know last time I posted I talked about ankle issues with walking on crowned roads. I think I may have found a reasonable solution. After I work I walk from Price Chopper (that's where I work) down front street to the light closest to the railroad tracks and then go around the block to Main St and walk Main St. back to Price Chopper. I haven't driven it yet to know how far it is exactly. I think it is a little less than what I have been doing but my ankles don't hurt when I'm done and I seem to be walking faster the whole time. My ankles definitely appreciate the sidewalk. I think on my days off I will call Tara and see when she is available. Then maybe her and I can walk together. I guess I should have put that as a response to her comment. I think I am still really bad at this blogging thing...

Yesterday, on top of taking my walk I also helped my parents rake up a field of grass. I am thinking it was almost 1.5 acres. My dad mowed it the day before and then my mom wind rowed it before I got there. She and I raked the rows into piles which, in my wussiness, gave me a blister on my hand. Then my mom & dad forked the piles into the truck while I drove the truck. It was kind of fun. I hadn't done that kind of work since I was 13 or 14. It felt good to be productive and physically active at the same time. I think I better call them this afternoon to see when and what they are doing next for the garden. I also need to get my flowers planted. I bought the seeds; I better put them on the ground.

The other thing I have been thinking about lately has been my Firebird. I got it from Becky & Paul as a birthday present but I think it was convenient and got it out of their yard. Don't get me wrong it was a fabulous present because I've wanted it ever since I saw it in the jungle of a side yard. I haven't had the money to do so but I want to get it running and looking good again. I spent some time today looking up mechanical parts and interior parts. It needs the whole interior replaced because it has become that deteriorated and covered with stuff. Part of the problem is that all the seals leak and let a lot of water inside. I guess with this car I am not sure where to start first. I don't want to tear it down to the frame and start from scratch because I tend to get overwhelmed when projects start that way but it may be the best way to go in this case. Maybe I should start with a tarp because I don't have any place to keep it out of the weather and at least that would help keep it covered.