A good weekend

It has been a good weekend in most ways.

Saturday I was up by 7:00 and I headed fairly shortly out to do some yard work. I discovered ripe strawberries on my plants so I picked those and also the spinach that is still trying to bolt. My goal was to get the lawns mowed and headed into town by about noon but I didn't want to start the mower before 9:30 or 10:00. To fill the time productively I worked on clearing the "grassland," which is what I'm calling the front flower bed where the previous owners planted an invasive decorative grass. Clearing this plot means digging gently down through the volcanic rock until I get to the black plastic layer. Once there I put my hands under the mat of roots and pull upwards, excavating the runners as I go. I discovered that the garden rake does a pretty good job of cutting through the dense grass and rock but it pokes hole through the plastic if I'm not careful. Unfortunately, the force required is somewhat akin to a hammer or pickax so there are and will be a few holes in the plastic. I managed to clear about 18 inches of the four foot wide flower bed before my body voiced its disapproval of the vigorous and unusual effort. It ha continued to complain the rest of the weekend but I'm hoping tonight's venture into the hot tub will help. Fortunately, by that time it was late enough to start the mower and I duly finished my outside chores.

Inside, the cat boxes and dishes both needed cleaning so I took care of that before heading out to invade the stores.

I needed my usual Walmart run for cat food and litter but my main objective was to find suitable clothing for camping and hiking at Yellowstone in July. Since I wear skirts or dresses nearly every day I don't have much in the way of pants or shorts except my yoga pants. While these are perfectly comfortable, they won't do for wading or weathering high temperatures. I have a few things that still work from our last family camping trip but not enough for two weeks without laundry.

Friday after work, I'd gone to the Dress Barn in Corvallis but the few things I'd tried in there were distinctly not flattering on my figure. This left me expecting the worst when I stopped at Catherine's, a plus size ladies clothing shop. I opted to start there instead of Lane Bryant for a couple of reasons: 1) they sent me a $50 off coupon for my birthday. 2) I have had no luck buying pants like objects at Lane Bryant. Apparently my curves aren't in the same shape as they expect. The coupon did require a $100 minimum sale but I figured that wasn't going to be an issue. Lucky for me they were also having their scratch off sale and I also received a 30% discount.

After about 90 minutes of perusing the racks and trying on clothes, I walked out with five pair of varying styles of capris and a much larger bill than I had hoped for. I figure if I mix them in with the shorts, capris, and jeans I already have, as we'll as my yoga pants, I should have enough options. The bill went on the credit card and I'll figure out the payments later.

I headed out to Lane Bryant then because I needed undergarments and they carry styles that work well for me. While I would like to be sexy and girly in my selections, I'm afraid practicality and comfort win out at this point. However, I try for pretty or fun if I can. I guess it really doesn't matter since I'm the only one who sees them anyway. Fortunately, LB carries a wide variety of colors and patterns in all their styles. I am satisfied with my purchases if not excited.

At that point it was time to meet my parents to go to a graduation celebration for a friends oldest boy. It was a pleasant interlude with many friends.

Today, because we didn't have our afternoon meeting, Mom asked if I would go shopping with her. She was looking for dress clothes for her and Dad. I happily helped her find four skirts, five shirts, and a dress. We also bought two pair of pants for dad and four dress shirts. Two of the shirts will have to be exchanged for ones with a larger collar but we knew that was a possibility when we purchased them. Mon says Dad has a bull neck to go with his bull head. ;>)

Mom had thought more along the lines of buying a single outfit but I was a bad influence! By the way, apparent blue is the season's in color.

Now it's time to go to bed before facing another daunting work week. I spent a while in the hot tub to soak out the sore muscles after I figured out that alkalinity increaser can be replaced with baking soda, if necessary, and may be preferable.