It's 7:37 AM

on a Monday morning and I am NOT at work!

WoooHooo!

I have kind of a too-many-things-to-do-in-too-little-time plan for the week. Saturday went OK, though, all things considered, so I am hopeful that I will end the week rested but satisfied that I got enough accomplished.

Yesterday my boys came home for a little while and then we headed to my sister's for my mother's birthday/Easter celebration. Everyone was very excited that my mom actually got to celebrate her birthday ON her birthday so that overshadowed the Easter part. And it rarely happens, but she was the only one being celebrated at this bash ("Wow," she said. "Does this mean all those presents are for me?")

Dad decided not to attend, which is quite alarming. At this point in his life (he's 82) he lives for these bashes when all of his children and grandchildren are together. but he caught The Crap finally and is really suffering. He had been having problems with his legs (fatigue) and his doctors finally figured out that they weren't getting enough oxygen. More tests showed that he has extensive lung damage from the cigarette smoking he did between the ages of 13 and 36 and, even though he quit over 42 years ago, the damage has never healed. So, his lungs will only "process" (not the right word, I know) 50% of the oxygen to his tissues that a normal 80-year-old should expect. As of yesterday one of his lungs was starting to collapse but the doctors didn't know what he had. They had given him "oxygen things" (Mom's words) and antibiotics and inhalers to try to knock the thing out. Still, the fact that he chose to stay home tells us he is feeling awful. Sis and I are supposed to go scrapbooking at the folks' next Saturday. I hope he takes an upward turn so he can at least enjoy that visit.

So, my plan for today is to work on the attic project until I have enough stuff to fill my car for a trip to the storage unit. After I drop the stuff off I will head to a garden center for mulch. When I get home I'll weed the walkways around the raised vegetable beds (not too bad thanks to DS2's efforts last summer) and spray Round-Up and pre-emergent, then put down landscape cloth and mulch between the beds and the back fence. I'm also going to put down the pink sweet pea seed I collected last summer. This variety self-sows every year and is just starting to germinate (everywhere but in the sweet pea bed) so I'm hoping the seed I collected will do the same. I had planned to plant a variety of colors last fall but didn't get to it. Same old, same old.

Once I've finished those two chores I should be about ready for a hot shower and an evening of stitching my fairy.

Or I'll be ready for a hot shower and a collapse, too tired and sore to do anything but stare at whatever DH is watching on the television (probably two college basketball teams). I don't know. I'm not a sports nut although I'm happy to let him be one. I'm all for guys hugging and showing emotion, but wouldn''t you think by the time you hit 20 and are six-and-a-half feet tall you would learn to control your crying after you lose a game?