Breaks Between Duty

Last Sunday was my only day off between a duty day and a week-long underway... and I spent it carefully! In fact, I planned out everything I wanted to do while on my last watch.

I came right home, made breakfast and enjoyed it a bunch. Then it was backyard time... put the new weed-whacker together ($25 from the NEX), had to make a trip to the Home Depot to get the right kind of extension cord (which interrupted the plan a bit), then whacked my weeds, planted some flowers in some new potting soil I laid down next to the shed, mowed the lawn, and refilled the bird feeder and water dish.

Then I went to go swimming. Tried the Norfolk pool first, but that wasn't open on a Sunday. Continued on to the base, where I did a 500-yard workout, and was able to teach a girl in my lane how to improve her crawl stroke. She was very thankful for the advice, and it made me feel useful and happy in turn.

Back at home I made a big sandwich for lunch, then headed over to Ocean View with my laundry. Went shopping across the street while the clothes dried, and watched a bit of the ABC presentation of Disney's Cinderella on the TVs while I waited for them to finish. It's definitely not one of my favorites... mouse voices are rather irritating after a minute... and all I can think of is Maleficent as the evil stepmother... and that is disturbing. Better to just watch Sleeping Beauty and be done with it.

Had to go straight to church from the laundry in order to make it on time. I was so wiped out from the previous day's watch and the super-busy day off, that I sat down during worship (because my right heel hurt so much) and fell half-asleep during the sermon (because I was finally sitting down). Kristin and Dan invited me out to eat at Ynot Pizza afterwords, and I had some delicious French onion soup and a Caprice salad (along with sharing some of the cheesy bread they got).

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This weekend I had both Saturday and Sunday to myself. The first day was a bit frustrating, trying to work out plans and relax at the same time. I had just eggs and toast, and put out the birds breakfast as well (they had used up all their seeds while I was gone). I cut the grass and watered the flowers, then started putting the things that had come in the mail together... including a $16 tiny Dirt Devil with which I could finally vacuum my little area carpet... and I did. Then I went to Walmart to pick up the dresser and end table that were waiting from my online order, and tried out a Mexican restaurant on Granby street that I've wondered about before as I've passed it. It turned out being mediocre. But then when I got home, I unpacked the car... and shouldn't have, as everything was heavy and I was very full. This made my stomach upset for the rest of the day, and I ate nothing else.

So I laid down on the couch to watch A New Hope (original 1977 version) in honor of May the Fourth, preceded by a Warner Bros. cartoon. For some reason, I got into my head that I wanted to go to the Norfolk Tides game that night. I got a great seat, but I had to tell a guy a couple seats down from me in the row to not lean forward so much, so I could see the batter. It was pretty cold again, but this time it was better since I already had the third layer with me and I sat on the 3rd base line (not directly in the wind). Strangely enough, it was Star Wars Day at the ballpark, complete with pictures of characters on the screen instead of players. The Tides led off with a home run, so I thought it'd be a good game. So wrong. They didn't score again. I sat through seven innings and five opposing scores before giving up. I wanted to finish putting the dresser and nightstand together more. I didn't care that I'd be missing a fireworks show afterwords... I did get to see some after the home run, and after God Bless America at the 7th Inning Stretch.

I found out today that I missed 4 more runs by the other team in the 8th, and a couple more errors from the Tides. And I also realized today that there were three things I had wanted to do that day that I forgot about while underway... a church picnic, a live radio show production of "A Prairie Home Companion", or a symphony concert. Such is how it goes sometimes. And I also realized I forgot to sign for something on the ship and had to go back ASAP... which ended up being this morning.

I had a quiet breakfast, finished up the nightstand, went back to the ship, signed the paper, fixed my rack, and stopped by the commissary on the way back... bird seed for the back, and a hanging flower pot for the front. I then realized that I should get rid of the myriad of shipping boxes I had lying around from the new bed frame, the dresser, the nightstand, various appliances ranging back to the DVD player, lawn-mower, and weed-whacker. I completely filled up my big recycling bin with flattened and folded cardboard. Then I made myself an outstanding lunch (that I had been planning for Saturday's dinner)... shrimp, fettuccine Alfredo,  Brussels sprouts, and butter-flavored Pillsbury biscuits (that my husband has mentioned).

Then I headed out to Kristin and Dan's to hang out, get instructions for house-sitting, go to a Cinco de Mayo dinner, and then church... but because the restaurant took too long, church didn't make it in our schedule.

Jw