Eyebrows Part Deux

She had to be escorted through the store by her counselor, but she did leave the bookstore with textbooks in hand, PAID FOR, by the way. Pretty boring, but this was funny: she asked if she could buy a DRINK while she was here (drinks were her favorite sticky-fingers item - she stole a drink three different times). Ryan was her cashier and enjoyed every second of her presence.

This weekend Hubby and I had a lovely time camping with my siblings on Mount Hood. The weather was crazy, and drove us to find a hotel the first night, and the second night was cold as a well digger's butt in January, to quote my dad. The rest of it was perfectly wonderful. I especially enjoyed sitting around the campfire chatting with everyone, and playing Mad Libs, and paddling out on Trillium Lake with Mel and Ernie, and having some fun "just the two of us" time with Hubby, sorting through our camping supplies. We hadn't camped for a few years and had no idea what state our stuff was in. And, honestly, we're happy we found the hotel, in Welches, Oregon, which was older but very nice. I'd go there again. 

Now, having survived Fall Rush, things are super chill again around here, which is just the way I like it. I have choir tonight (did I tell you I joined a choir? I joined a choir), and M's birthday is on Wednesday, which kicks off our Birthday Season, followed by the holiday season! Next weekend will be niece Kiley's wedding reception in Tri-Cities, which will also be fun. 

So yep, I'm wiped out tired, but happy and content. Life is swell.

Die, Areea!

I really might think about doing some spell work on someone's stupid ass since she can't even appreciate that today is the first day of Fall Rush and I DON'T READ MY EMAIL before I open the store. Then she sends up Heidi to "talk to me" about opening my emails in a timely manner. 

DORK. A chimpanzee would have more sense. 

Don't Crap Where You Eat: A Cautionary Tale

Have I mentioned the student we all call "Eyebrows" because of her atrocious makeup habits? If not, I'm mentioning her now. 

Eyebrows has the unfortunate habit of giving herself the old five-finger discount, and we have several instances caught on video of her helping herself to drinks from the cooler, and leaving without paying. As a result, she's been "restricted" from entering the bookstore. I'd have thrown her terrible-at-applying-make-up butt in jail, but that's just me.

She's still a student, though, and needs textbooks for her classes, which we alone sell. So she's painted herself into a kind of hilarious corner. What did she think would happen with this? 

Long story short: Eyebrows is using a financial assistance program to pay for her stuff, so she must order her items online anyway, but since she can't come inside the bookstore to pick up her order, we have to meet her outside our doorway and pass along her books to her. Again, hilarious.

There was a bit of a discussion about possibly shipping her books to her, which would have solved the whole thing, but that was nixed because she's obviously under financial strain and couldn't possibly be expected to pay for shipping. Those bottled Sbux coffee drinks aren't gonna pay for themselves (though, honestly, neither will she). 

Giving her an escort to walk her through the store, probably an officer from Security, was also mentioned, which - how embarrassing, but maybe she should have had the foresight to consider that humiliation while she was loading "free" drinks into her backpack. Take that walk of shame, sweetheart.

Meeting Eyebrows at the security desk - situated conveniently outside the bookstore door - has become the solution, but of course nothing in this bookstore can be discussed without an argument. "We can't depend on the security team to be there, since their schedule is different from ours." DUH, you brainless wad. 

Regardless of the security receptionists' schedule, the security desk is simply a physical location where we can meet our poor little black sheep and hand off her things. No one from security need be there (although having someone there would be handy, if she decides to rip back into the store and pinch something else, before we can stop her).* 

In other news, I am sick to death of someone's shit. Like I'm physically tired today. I just want to go home where I am safe from the shit.

Why does the shit never stop? Is she just a never-ending fountain of shit, spewing her shit everywhere? Must the shit constantly be flowing? Does a shit shut-off valve exist, and if it does, how can we employ it? 

The good news is that I was able to collect a new sweatshirt AND new T-shirt today. See if I ever buy another stitch of clothing from this place (after the significant amount of cash I blew on the darling knee-length black cotton hooded jacket, with drawstring waist and the stupid leather Cl@rk patch on the chest, which I picked off and in its place, stitched on a new bird patch from The French Door). 

*This is a developing story and will be updated as events unfold

The coworkers have started adding funny quotes to my calendar

- which is a thing I started doing this month, when I was teasing Ryan that I was going to call HR and report him for some imaginary offense and he popped off with "Like HR is gonna take a call from you". 

Kid's pretty funny, just like the entire department. So I began gathering funny things they say.

This morning I noticed I had more sticky notes with new quotes. I LOVE IT. It's like the fridge in my kitchen, peppered with the kids' latest accomplishments and artwork. 

Going in late today

There's a Running Start thing happening at the college tonight (Running Start is a program where high school students can attend Clark and school simultaneously, and if they play their cards right, they'll graduate from high school AND from Clark with an associate's degree) and The Funeral (this nickname is clunky and awkward - might have to ditch it, but it's just so appropriate) decided to keep the store open while the event is happening, but not advertise it anywhere to anyone. 

So, like, people will just be in the building tonight, and hopefully happen to notice that the bookstore is open for some reason, and possibly wander in through our giant open door and be like, "Are you guys open?" (We've had this actual scenario happen in the middle of the morning on a weekday during normal business hours, so I can only imagine what goofy queries my coworkers will get this evening.)

(Perhaps I use parentheses too often.)

So, for you stalkers, long story short, my shift will start at 9:30 and go till 2:00 today. I will have nothing to do, since my morning paperwork has already been commandeered. This will give me ample time for hatching evil plots and committing acts of goof-off-ery with my cohorts. And chatting, we always love chatting. Yesterday we were talking about Benjamin Franklin and the fact that Kyle doesn't like The Office.

For our after work activities, I have already purchased a new cardboard box from Shmed Shmeyer, and will be using it to declutter, I haven't decided where yet. B went out and killed himself a new apartment to rent last weekend and has been slowly moving his stuff into it, including stuff from the storage unit, which has freed up all kinds of lovely space, and I'm feeling inspired and motivated to keep decluttering the rest of the house. It's been a slow movement, but now that he's heading out soon, things should ramp up considerably. I could work in our room, or possibly clean out the coat closet and only put back what we will actually use in the upcoming colder months.

I've also been working on joining some groups around the area, and will be updating the blog about these efforts. It's time for Mom Me to become Community Me, a phrase that just fills me with joy. Why? I don't know, it just does. 

Tonight, I will pick up Hubby from work, then head to the mall for our Wednesday night dinner meetings. Yes, we actually have those, each with our own group of friends. It's been happening for a couple of years with Taylor and me, and now Ryan has joined us (he can't go tonight though, because of the bookstore being open). We usually eat sushi and then head down to the French Door and buy some cute, weird stuff. Stalkers, please join us, but don't be weird about it. 

Tomorrow will be hot and I plan to stick my feet (or more, we'll see) in a nearby river. 

And now... off to work.

That Weird Old Hovering Weirdo

Can't believe I haven't blogged yet this month. Guess we've been busy.

The weirdness hasn't stopped. I dubbed the store manager "The Funeral" because she kills every room she walks into, mood-wise, and also because up until Thursday of last week, everything she did was so stupid that I would start giggling uncontrollably (as one would during a funeral, when one is REQUIRED to be dignified and stoic and quiet). 

Last Thursday, she pulled out every weird stop, and she pulled it on me. 

Kyle was home sick with an ear infection, and I did what I normally do - cope with being alone up here until Ryan shows up, with Dan backing me up if I need a drink or bathroom break. I end up being alone maybe 1.5 hours at the most, and it happens once a month, maybe. 

Unfortunately, until Thursday, she was unaware that this was how we were handling it, and of course as soon as she heard about it, it pissed her off because what doesn't. So, she griped at Heidi about it (and made Heidi come talk to me about it as opposed to handling ANYTHING herself), and Heidi very nicely let me know that from now on, I need to let her know when my cashier calls out sick. That was fine.

BUT. Then, I suppose because the whole point is that I can't be up here by myself for "safety reasons", Stupid Monica came back here, sat down in Ryan's chair, and used his desk to do her work for the better part of an hour. It was nasty and gross. I felt babysat, and it also felt like a pissing match, a territorial takeover, a violation of privacy, and every other wrong thing I can think of. Ryan was extremely unhappy to hear that she would feel free to commandeer his office space, even though technically, it's her store and she can do whatever the hell she wants with it, anywhere in the place.

One good outcome of this was that it gave me the opportunity to wonder what she must have thought of the informal decor back in our office space - the goofy photocopier cutouts of Dan's and Kyle's faces, the quotes I've written down from my coworkers because they were funny, the "Taste Like Burger" everywhere (would take too long to explain), the pictures and notes we've drawn and left for each other. It's very teamy. I'm proud of the way we all like each other and get along and share silly jokes. 

There is NOTHING like that in her office. I can't even imagine her knowing our last names, let alone our partners' or kids' names. I think she thinks of us as this obnoxious, amorphous blob with seven heads, not one of us a human being - just this THING she has to do battle with every weekday of her life. I don't think she likes us, individually or as a group, and I don't think she wants to know us. 

Yet, she hovers around us constantly, when she's not back in her lair. I think it's because our fun and warmth and team atmosphere make us irresistible and she'd love nothing more than to be part of it. 

Oh, The Complaints You'll Complain!

(One of Dr. Seuss' unfinished books)

I really don't want to deal with the thing that I have to deal with this morning, as soon as Kyle comes in. I just want to show up and do my damn job and be done with it and go home, and JUST NOT DEAL WITH IT. 

And where the hell are my reports??? I have a feeling they're in the same place as the thing I don't want to deal with. Grrrrrr.

I so get it now - why people in my family were just bonkers and angry and needed therapy and possibly medication. My temper is on one this morning. 

There's only one solution to the bad mood, which is going and dealing with the thing, and trying to enjoy this tasty caramel iced coffee from McShmonald's, and looking forward to floating on the river after work. Okay, actually, only three solutions.

And planning our Highway 20 trip today because it's the 20th of the month. If only we had an 89th day of the month... we'll have to think about this one. Maybe I'll use the 8th or the 9th of the month for the Highway 89 trip. 

And sighing, a lot of sighing, and a lot of masking and faking being my usual happy funny smiley self, so I don't make anyone feel uncomfortable. Grrrrrrrrr again. 

Okay, off to find my missing reports.

Hubby and I Did Our First Shi*t Multi-Order Bundle - and Our Last

Shi*t is doing some kind of cool stuff recently, making it worth my while to do some grocery shopping and delivering trips again.

However, after today's experience, I will not being doing another multi-order route. Nineteen stops was fine, driving for miles was fine, enjoying the beautiful views of our area was fine - until we ran into the bear (we were deep enough in the woods of Washougal that a young bear literally ran across the road in front of us). 

It wasn't the bear that was the issue, though - it was being so far out of town that neither of us had cell service. And THEN, when we did drive back far enough into town to have service again, Shi*t wanted us to turn around and go back into the woods, another twenty minutes away, in the direction we'd just come from. Like, do the same thing we just did? Encounter more bears? Deal with no GPS and no Internet, have no way to verify that I'd just delivered the package? NOPE! 

I ended up taking that package back to the store. Then Shi*t dinged me for returning a package! 

Fine by me, I guess. Hubby and I were having a swell time making some money until that happened. Hubby said this order-bundling reminded him of D00rdash, trying to make him leave our city and go to Portland for deliveries by bundling two orders together, one from our city and one from Portland, when Hubby was just fine delivering in our city and NOT doing that.

No wonder Shi*t had to bundle these far-out-of-town orders into a multi-order route. Don't get me wrong: I'm totally fine driving for miles. But NO ONE wants to deal with gated properties, delivery boxes placed so far away from the customer's actual house that Shi*t's system won't recognize that we've reached the property, BEARS, along with the gas and time we spent driving all over the hills of eastern Clark County.

But without the benefit of GPS, cell service, or the Internet (necessary for contacting Shi*t headquarters if there's a problem) - it was intolerable. What if I'd been alone that whole time?

So it won't be happening again. "Live and learn." 

I BEG YOUR FINEST DAMN PARDON??

Back in my old Mormon mom life: At girls camp one year, I was coerced into climbing a 12-foot wooden wall. Yes, it's true.

Later that day, during arts and crafts time, I decorated a white tile that said "Someone kicked butt today. IT WAS ME."

I'm dusting off that tile (after I find it) and hanging it back up on my wall because 

I absolutely kicked ass today.

And, amazingly (ironically?), it was HR who helped me, in one shining glorious HR moment. 

Can't get into details but HOLY SHIT I feel amazing and proud. 

LATER: still feeling quite proud but now curious as well. I still can't talk about it but I am really wondering what people thought I would do with the information (which was false) that they chose to give me today.

Also feeling really disappointed in one of the parties, but the other one has proven time and again to be so corrupt that I am once again validated by their behavior.

The Verdict: Soup Beans Are Tasty and Filling

I'd definitely make them again, and I actually like that it's a long process, as anything bean-related is. It feels more substantial, like I've accomplished something. Corn muffins are an essential accompaniment, though. Wow, what a combo. (Do we hear fried potatoes next? I've made those before, just not as part of a full Appalachian dinner.)

I thought of another food-related literary gem that has inspired me in the past: Celia cooking a whole beautiful table of food for Minny, in The Help. 

Cooking makes me happy, it turns out. 

Work today has felt weird - the time is stretching out to what feels like forever, AND I can't quite shake this sense of urgency, almost emergency. I was super distracted earlier while trying to complete the usual paperwork and couldn't figure out why. 

Winner Wednesday: Cooking Edition

I'm making soup beans and corn muffins for dinner today. Lately I've been studying Appalachian cooking because the food from that area of the country looks AMAZING. Yesterday's shopping adventure was fun - I had to locate ham hocks (I bought them at Safeway, then asked about them at Winco, and will be buying them there from now on - if we like soup beans, that is).

This love of and interest in regional recipes started young, with my childhood habit of reading any nonfiction book I could find, including cookbooks. I (haha) devoured them, particularly the pictures of delicious looking cakes, stews, etc.

Nothing influenced me like my first reading of Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder, with its wonderful, detailed descriptions of the foods Almanzo Wilder's mother prepared, even down to the contents of her pantry. To Laura, who grew up impoverished, the meals of Almanzo's New York state childhood must have seemed magical, a sort of riches beyond her wildest dreams. Too, when Laura's Ma had ingredients, she was also a masterful cook. 

My obsession continued with John Grisham's books - Mr. Grisham also takes great time and care to describe meals of the South, especially those prepared by people of color. The love and respect he feels for these folks, and their cooking in particular, just leaps off the pages. 

Right now the pinto beans are soaking on the kitchen counter and will be ready to cook when I get home from work. I have my usual dinner appointment with Taylor tonight, so I plan to be trying them for lunch tomorrow. Here's hoping all goes well and we'll have a new Appalachian favorite for dinner!

Graduation Weekend

...was lovely and went well. Hubby and I are very proud of R, and ourselves for navigating multiple people and cars and hotel rooms. 

Now we're back at work. It's (basically) summer, I've had daily mini adventures in mind for myself and I'm wondering if I'd like to take one today, or just go home and dive back into cleaning and decluttering. We moved a load of R's stuff from her dorm back down to her bedroom at home, and when I say she'll barely be able to get through the door of her room, for once I'm not exaggerating. Maybe just a tiny adventure today? It's hot and I have my wading sandals on...

"Canby?? It CAN'T be!"

(this happens whenever we see the name Canby)

R and Hannah are graduating from college tomorrow. How wonderful and how trippy! R is our first to graduate with a bachelor's degree. Now she'll be all smarter than us and everything. B has his associate's degree and is back at school for a bachelor's right now, and it's so cool. Hopefully M, H and C will get there one day too. Sometimes I think about going back to school, but I can never decide what for. Maybe I'll figure it out one of these days. At the moment I'm not too motivated. 

Yesterday I worked hard on the kitchen. Today I'll work on R & H's room and the rest of the house, then continue with kitchen stuff. I started a load of laundry before I left for work and will continue with that after work.

H hurt his hip Sunday while playing soccer, which was sad because it was his first time playing for this team (he'd been sitting on the side waiting for several Sundays in a row). He and C are on the same team, which is so fun, and we loved getting to watch them both on the field Sunday, until H fell and got hurt. We spent Sunday afternoon in the ER with him. Fortunately it's not broken again, but he's still in pain. He went back to work today and is suffering away there at his desk, poor guy. Hope he can go home early.

Little R and Little C are with L as of yesterday, and we'll be picking them up tomorrow on our way to Olympia. M is kind of at a loss for what to do with herself, but she'll find something fun. 

I saw C last Sunday, while playing soccer of course, and then he came over and returned Maxine, Grandma & Pa's old car, to us after borrowing it for the weekend. He went to go home on his skateboard,  but the rain started falling, so I took him home. Good thing, because hail started falling as well. 

In work news, I have had minimal interactions with that person. She apparently had a chemical peel on her face Tuesday, then hid in her office all day yesterday, and my morning was quite dreamy. I've seen her exactly twice today (as of 10:30) and spoken one word to her. Just go back to your office..... 

These are the small happenings of my life. Sometimes you just have to puke them out, you know.

LATER: Stress. Stress. Stress. Graduation is at noon tomorrow and I reaaaaaaaaaally don't want to endure a multi-stage road trip (meeting my mom in Salmon Creek, picking up the little girls in LV) on our way up to Olympia. We're talking about possibly heading up tonight. Maybe we all should. 

11:00: eating my feelings.

Sure Happy It's Tuesday

And why not? We've been having some fun and interesting weather lately - typical for June, but it's nice that when it rains now, it's not stinkin cold. You just get wet and there's no threat of hypothermia. 

Work is good - so far this week, the sightings have been kept to a minimum. If she can just continue to ignore me as fastidiously as I'm avoiding her, life will be a dream, sweetheart. Kyle is helping with a family member's post-surgery recovery for the rest of the month, and we miss him, but my other cashiers - most of whom I hired last summer (obligatory patting of self on the back) - are so funny and a blast to spend time with, so I'm still pretty happy at work. 

At home, we're getting ready for R's graduation on Friday. I meant to make a major dent in the decluttering and cleaning yesterday, but instead I ate two croissants from the bakery after work, and was down for the count for a couple of hours. Flour is not my friend. Today will be better. Even so, I was able to wash R's sheets, complete a load of dishes in the dishwasher, scrub out the sink, and fully unpack my suitcase from the trip. I need to move a bunch of my stuff downstairs. 

Hubby went to Olympia on Saturday to take R's and Hannah's senior pictures, and we were able to get grad announcements created, printed, and picked up, ready to be mailed. We can start working on that today, too. I will employ M, Little R, and Little C in the addressing and stamping and mailing; the little girls will enjoy that. 

June the Fourth Be With You

Today's Rowan's birthday. Their little card is sitting here waiting for them to show up. 

Life has been great here so far. The coffee is good, the biscuit is good, the waves at Lincoln City are good. No sightings of ... anyone yet. I miss Kyle, but Damaris is here with his anime books and we're both content to chill out and have funny conversations here and there.

This is my first regular four-hour shift I've had since leaving on vacation, and I'm happy to be here for exactly that length of time today. My work agenda includes the usual paperwork and finishing the monthly Foundation receipts, which ran into a few snags yesterday and needed some extra help. 

Taylor and I went to dinner and our favorite antiques store last night, and they bought a new possum t-shirt - can't wait to hear the feedback about that. There's usually a comment from... someone. 

WELP we made it to 9:09 before the first sighting. Back to my desk I zipped, silently. She doesn't like us making noise or having, you know, happiness. What a miserable human being.

Predictable

Today I'm wearing my purple Smokey the Bear "Resist" T-shirt and when I put it on this morning, I just had a feeling Stupid Monica would make a comment about it. 

Kyle saw it and said he liked it. I said, "I bet Monica says something about it," and he said, "WHY would she?" 

Ten minutes later, she saw me with my arms folded across my chest, and after a second or two of peering at my shirt, trying to read it, she asked, "What does your shirt say?" I uncrossed my arms, she read it, and gave me a meaningful look that I think was supposed to be conspirator-ish, like she's all in on the anti-fascist thing, or she's cool and I can trust her, or whatever. NOT HAVING IT, lady. 

Anyway, my instinct was on point and I wanted to make a note of it. I've seen enough of her stupid behavior to notice patterns, and that makes her easier to dodge, and I'm happy about that. KNOW THINE ENEMY. 

EYEBROWS UPDATE: Chris, Head of Security, visited us and let us know that we have the authority to bar Eyebrows from entering the store. We should tell her that she's not allowed to be here, and immediately call Security. 

We have screenshots of her walking into the bookstore printed out, and I gave a copy of several of them to the Security receptionists (Jeannie's back!! We love Jeannie and were sad when she left). When I did so, I learned that Eyebrows has NOT been trespassed from campus after being thrown off campus yesterday, but she is no longer allowed to enter the bookstore. Jeannie had never seen her, and Tara didn't know who we were talking about, so hopefully the printed screenshot will be helpful. We here in the cashier department had fun imagining having to throw her out.

Also: Kyle's spouse's surgery is happening Friday. Today was his last day with us for a month or so. He will be missed. 

I don't really love that this is turning into the "gripe about work" blog

...but let's just call it what it is. 

We had a theft, again, by a woman who has stolen from us twice before that we know of, and who will forever be known around the bookstore as "Eyebrows" because of her crazy makeup habits. 

Kyle and I watched Eyebrows walk out of the store with a bottle of coffee without stopping to pay for it. I called "Ma'am" as she walked away into the main hall, but she was wearing headphones and very clearly ignoring us. I called Security at 8:41 AM and then went back to the staff area to tell Heidi what happened. I saw Dan in the doorway of Receiving and said, apparently too loudly, "She did it again!" 

At the end of the hallway, Heidi and Stupid Monica immediately popped out of their offices, confirmed that the thief had stolen again, and Stupid Monica said, "If this happens again, let's be a little more discreet about it instead of announcing it into the hallway." 

sigh. LIKE THAT IS IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW. Hence Stupid Monica's nickname, "Stupid Monica". What the hell is wrong with the way I said it? Nothing - she's just neurotic and annoying as hell. I was gone for two weeks and already my level of rage with her has risen up to where it was before I left - in less than 24 hours! Way to go, Stupid Monica!

UPDATE: Before 1:00, one of our Security folks came through my line to buy snacks, and said that Eyebrows was trespassed from campus, and that she RESISTED. My stars and garters!!

I texted Dan, Ryan, and Kyle about this in our group chat, and Dan called her a "smelly pirate hooker" (he's an Anchorman fan). Cody and Damaris, to whom I showed Dan's response, had no clue this was an Anchorman quote. 

UPDATE 2: Later in the day, we learned from Dan that the nickname "Eyebrows" did not fly well with Stupid Monica, who found it offensive that we would assign a slur to a CRIMINAL WHO IS HABITUALLY ROBBING HER STORE. She launched into a lecture about RESPECT, directed at Dan and Ryan, right there in their monthly meeting. The control-freakiness is strong with this one.

Back into the swing of things

Taylor was here about 30 minutes before Monica saw their new haircut and made an insulting comment about it. The dipshittery continues. 

In other work news, it's great to be among my coworkers again. It's cap and gown season, which is always fun. 

We interrupt this fun bout of trip planning

...to bring you a most severe whine-fest, so I can stop carrying all these feelings around. 

- R had surgery last Wednesday to repair her knee, and the aftercare SUCKED. Thank you, stupid Kaiser, and the stupid American health care/medical insurance system. YOU ALL SUCK. I'm sure she'll be fine once she's out of pain and can resume normal activities, but this whole experience has been awful and stressful and terrible and PAINFUL for her, and I don't know how we can fix this, but it needs to be fixed.

- I deactivated Facebook last night, for the second time in two months. "Death by a thousand cuts" is a good way to describe that situation. Maybe I'm in a highly emotional state because of R's situation, but I can't handle anything or anyone right now. It's good that Hubby and I are traveling tomorrow and I can be distracted from the shit show that is my social media experience. Do we even really need social media? I'm keeping IG because H and C and R are there, and my Hedda Lettiss account, and Reddit and TikTok, of course (for educational purposes). But people I know in real life, family members, hurting my feelings and pissing me off via FB, is nothing I need, right now or ever again.

- Bright side: Monica isn't working today. 

To Do Before Trip

- Wash travel dishes/utensils in dishwasher: DONE

- Open bag of summer clothes & choose what to take: DONE

- New swimsuit (Big 5): Decided to use green tank/black bike shorts instead - DONE

- Iron flannel shirt & t-shirts: DONE

- Check weather for trip destinations: DONE

- Laundry - fold darks, wash/dry/fold lights: DONE

- Unpack from Olympia trip; set aside items to pack for Big Tuesday trip: DONE

- Check toiletries bag for missing or extra items: DONE

- FRONT YARD: Move logs, yard debris box, remaining yard debris, pots/sod so the yard folks can mow on Monday: DONE

- Pack exercise gear: New swimsuit, black flip flops, swim coverup, Keen sneakers, black yoga capris, jog bras, T-shirts, gym socks. EXERCISE - you'll be sitting in the car for hours every day!

- Pack birthday/anniversary cards & stamps to send while we're gone: DONE

- Check travel kitchen bag; take out unnecessary items: DONE

- Shopping list: Water, masks, sunscreen, green dishcloths/towels: DONE till Monday

- Finish washing French press - DONE

- Locate coolers, 1 large, 1 small - wash & dry: DONE

- Pack activities: Sewing machine/fabric/supplies, crochet project, cross stitch projects, laptop/charger, deck of cards, Phase 10, Uno, Yahtzee, puzzle book, postcards/stamps/pen

- Put together sewing/quilting projects; cut out if time permits

- Pack cemetery stuff: whisk broom, scrub brush, bucket for water/debris, good clippers, scissors

- Learn how to do the French press

- Create road menu: sandwiches, fruits/veggies, drinks, snacks

- Foods to pack: Coffee grounds, creamer, apples, peanut butter

MONDAY (Last day before trip)

- SHOP if you haven't yet: Ice, bottled water, boxed chips, lunchmeat, bread, sliced cheese, small mayo & mustard, butter, snacks (chocolate pretzels), fresh ground coffee, Frisbee

- Last load of laundry

- Last check of weather

- Make sandwiches & prep other foods

TUESDAY

- Change sheets