Catching up on Mondays

I've already forgotten what I did Friday. I think I made some sort of stab at cleaning up around my desk. It didn't work.

Saturday I thought very very very briefly of hitting the Farmer's Market before heading into the wilds of Puyallup with Meg and John in search of cukes, but slept in instead. And then braved the wilds.

Sunday I headed back down to Meg and John's to pickle the 206 cucumbers (yes, we counted) into some 20 quarts, 11 pints of kosher dill pickles, 2 quarts, 1 pint of pickled garlic and 13 half-pints of bread and butter pickles. We were even done before dark, which was amazing.

We were just a few minutes too late to wander through Home Depot, so I got dropped off without my home-improvement fix, and put in a couple episodes of SGA before bed.

Ronon? Big slightly slobbery puppy-dog. Great-Dane/Mastiff sized puppy, but he just needs someone to be his alpha  and tell him no and he'll happily try to curl up in your lap (and take over the rest of the couch while he's at it.) He's even the type to growl at strangers in the living room unless he's gotten the chance to thoroughly sniff their crotches.

*sigh* Mom called last night. Among other things, she wants me to come down in a week to help them move.
A) I didn't know the timeline for moving was so advanced - last I knew, it'd be another couple of months before they were in the new house (delays in closing and all that)
B) I'd already volunteered my time for Thu/Fri for the Booksale, plus I've got someone coming by Thursday to give me an estimate on remodeling my bathroom.
C) I hate taking this much time all at once while my boss is gone next week and my coworker a good bit of the week after and we're short-handed on top of it
D)Week after next, if I can spill over and come then? Terry Bloody Pratchett is in town! I'll be missing Pratchett!

So. Not enthused. I keep wanting to take time for me, and it gets eaten up by other things. Now would be the perfect time for me to win the lottery and never need to work again. Except that I'd feel sorry for my boss and offer to stay on until we hired and trained my replacement.

Negotiation

I called Mom and talked her down. "I don't want to be this unhappy about coming to see you!" and "What exactly will I be doing that makes me being there so important?" The movers will be packing the books, and she maybe needs to paint a few closets at the new house... Uhhuh. And I'll help how?

Then I called Dad and asked what brought it all on and he thinks she might have panicked a bit at the accelerated time line. Her two weeks that she'll need to pack the house started last night.

She's a grown woman who's moved 5 times in the last decade and only once with my assistance (and all of my crap was there too.) Then I can enjoy a leisurely family stay some other time. Thanksgiving or Christmas or whatever.

Thank god. I really didn't want to spend a week moving my parents.