A Record

Yesterday it got up to 89 degrees here in Green Bay.  Can you believe it? 89 degrees!  In Green Bay, WI!!!  In May!!!!  It broke the old record, by only one degree, but still... record breaking.  I put the hummingbird mister up and got it running after a small false start, but then Durwood wondered how much water it'd use if we left it on so that came down.  The fountain pump's outlived its usefulness.  Even on the highest setting it no longer has the oomph to push the water up to the top of the tube so we're off to Menards today for a new one.  I've gotten tired of moving the patio fireplace when I need to mow because there's no good place to put it and we really don't use it.  Durwood's not a sit-around-the-fire-at-night kind of guy, he gets chilled even in the summer so I really haven't used it for years.  I was ready to park it at the curb and see what happened but Durwood suggested that I call DS first.  He was thrilled to have it, the wood pile too, so I loaded it all up in the back of Durwood's van (with the wheelbarrow and gloves to protect my manicure) and hauled it all over to DS's house.  He was assembling a metal garden shed but took a break to help me haul all the wood into his backyard.  (gotta love wheelbarrows)  I stayed to visit for a while but he wasn't at the stage of needing assembly help and all my offers to put parts together were politely refused.  (another kid with the I-can-do-it-myself gene that's so prevalent in my makeup--sorry, you guys & your spouses [spice?])  I'm making a batch of roasted red pepper hummus for work lunches this week so we'll have to stop at Woodman's for Roma tomatoes and a cucumber which I will slice and then use to top my lightly toasted sandwich thin smeared with hummus.  On the side I have a bowl of fruit; this week's offering is fresh pineapple, strawberries, and blueberries, with perhaps a few grapes or an orange, depending on what looks good at the grocery.  And what's not too expensive.  Sometimes I throw in a half-cup of Greek yogurt to stir the fruit into.  I know it sounds like a lot of lunch but it's so quiet at work that I get bored and I'm a boredom eater.  Of course, I'm also a happy eater, a frustrated eater, a sad eater,a celebration eater, an unconscious eater... I can eat for every emotion and every occasion, even when I'm sick I want to eat and usually manage it.  About the only time I can't and don't eat and don't think about eating is when I'm asleep.  (I don't dream about it either, whew.)  Good thing I'm such a champion sleeper, eh?  Sounds like Durwood's almost dressed so I'd better wrap this up so we can go shopping for a pump.

May 20--Mesopotamia, Nimrud, Tribute Bearer with an Oryx, a Monkey, and a Leopard Skin.  His hand settled on the small ivory statue of a man.  He knew it was old, he recognized the age lines in the ivory.  He also knew it was illegal to take back home.  It was small, though.  Small enough to fit in the palm of his hand.  Small enough to be concealed in his bag.  The shop keeper watched him.  Three times today he had nearly sold that small statue but the buyers had changed their minds at the last minute.  Maybe this one would be different.

Not sure where this might go but since I've got the same thing as a prompt tonight I'll slot this into the back of my brain where I imagine stories "cook" when I'm not paying attention and see what emerges later.  Maybe brilliance, maybe dreck, only time will tell.
--Barbara