4-15/2022

           Once again, I skipped my fitness class but did do my home exercises…yay for me. I did leave the house because I had to go obtain some cash so I could pay for my haircut this afternoon and my nails on Monday. I like to pay cash for some of my expenses so the recipient can have it under the table or put it on their taxes.

          As I drove to and from the bank, the spring beauty was all over the place, and it was a good thing I didn’t look too hard at any one particular item or I would have had a car accident.

          Thought about going outside and doing some gardening, but it felt so cold and the wind was biting…why do they say biting…and sure, I would probably have warmed up as I worked, but my hands were so cold just from driving the car, I scurried back inside where it was warm.

          It was good to catch up with my hair cutter, and she reminded me we are going to be ushers the end of the month at a theater in Everett. We’re going to make an evening of it with dinner and maybe even a drink…will be sure to have gum, so the folks we’re ushering won’t smell the alcohol. I’m looking forward to that and it should be very fun.

          After my haircut, my friend Maryanne came over to have a glass of wine with me and catch up. She was limping badly and has a very painful knee. She has a doctor’s appointment tomorrow and I’m hoping the MD can help her out. This is a woman who has almost always been a gym rat and participated in some form of exercise. To see her and hear her so worried about her physicality and potential ability to continue yoga and walking made me feel bad for her. But, I’m holding good thoughts, rubbing Buddha’s belly, lighting candles and sending the most positive thoughts possible her way. I simply don’t see Maryanne just sitting on her couch reading books or watching TV.

          My granddaughter called as Maryanne was leaving and we had a nice long chat. Haley provided me with information I never knew and am surprised John never investigated. John’s grandfather immigrated from Sweden via the Boer War, the Boxer Rebellion and the Spanish-American War. The family joke is that he left to be a missionary and became, instead, a mercenary.

          Anyway, Haley had been researching the Karlberg name and found there is a Karlberg Palace in Solna Sweden It was built in 1630 and now houses what is now the Military Academy Karlberg on the Karlberg Canal. There is also a town/city called Karlberg. There is a Karlbergs BK which appears to be a soccer team.  Sofia Karlberg is a popular Swedish singer and songwriter. Wouldn’t be amazing to find out we were all related in some way, even distantly.

          John had an Ancestry account because of research his sister and cousin were doing. I saved what I thought was the log-in information, but, alas, that wasn’t it. On Monday, I’ll have to call Ancestry and see if they’ll let me into the data so I can provide Haley with the information so she can do additional research. I think I’ll also email cousin Kathleen and see what she can provide.

          I like the fact Haley is interested in family history because I have a pile of information, mostly for my side of the family, but cousin Kathleen has reams and reams in comparison. I told Haley when she comes back from school, we’ll spend some time on the information I have. I was wondering what to do with it, but if she’s interested, it’s all hers.

          Another good day with a nice surprise at the end.

4/14/2022

          Had a bit of frustration today, but I persevered and finished what I was doing. I hadn’t moved my bulletin board from my old bedroom to my new one, so that was what I thought would be a simple and small project. HA!!!

          I took the bulletin board down from the wall and measured the distance between the screws that held it in place. I went to the other room and CAREFULLY measured where I needed to place the two screws. Then, praise to me, I was able to get the drill bit to go into the electric drill and stay there. I already knew how to make the drill go both ways. I removed the screws from the first wall and carefully installed them in the other wall. Yay for me.

          Then, without installing the bulletin board, I updated the contents. Not a good idea. When I went to install it on the screws in the wall, I could not get the screws to go into the holes on the board simultaneously. So, I measured again and discovered I had measured incorrectly at some point. So, I removed one screw and remeasured and replaced the screw. Yay, done.

          NOPE, not done. I now have two holes in the wall for the one screw. So, I measure again, and again remove and replace the screw which now makes three holes for the one screw. But, this time, I apparently was able to actually make the correct measurement because both screws went into the proper holes and the bulletin board was on the wall. Yippee!!! What's that old carpenter's adage about measuring twice and cutting (screwing) once??? 

          Meanwhile, all the painstaking work I’d put into revitalizing the contents of the bulletin board was for naught. In all the attempts to get the board to fit on the screws, practically all the items on the board had fallen to the floor. So, I got to redo the bulletin board’s contents for the second time.

          So, project finished. It looks good. And, the two extra holes I made in my freshly painted wall do not show because they are behind the bulletin board. Whoever removes the BB from the wall will undoubtedly be appalled at my poor attempts to get it right…still, only three tries which I believe is great for me because my experience using power tools to accomplish projects like this has been extremely limited.

          There was a post on Facebook about the “Modern Widow’s Club” last week and I decided to follow up. I spent about an hour on the phone with the local leader and learned a great deal about MWC. This is an organization that has been around since about 2009; however, I didn’t find any information about it when I first became a widow. I’ve visited the web site as well and plan to attend their meeting in May. It would be great to make some new single friends, especially other women who would like a travel partner and are compatible with me.

          I also spent some time looking at two Viking cruises in Europe and then deleted the emails. The Ukraine isn’t too terribly close to where I would cruise on either of the trips; however, I decided I’d rather wait and see if that conflict is settled. I’d hate to be there should Putin decide to head further west. Maybe in 2023.

          I pulled out the fake dogwood blossoms and finally replaced the poinsettias I’d put in the big porch container. It looks great and I still cannot believe the previous owners put it out in front of their house with a free sign. It’s a couple of feet tall with Asian flower designs on it. It also has some Chinese characters and if I can figure out how to download the translation app, perhaps I’ll find out what they mean.

          So, not a lot of accomplishments, but for me it was a good day. Even though I talked to another widow about widow stuff, it didn’t make me want to climb into the closet and stay there in the dark. Spring continues to delight with all the burgeoning leaves, flowers and new growth. I just wish the weather would warm up a bit so I could get out there and get my hands, okay, my gloves dirty.