5 thing Friday - desk work, books, anniversary lunch,

 My office and craft room, aka The Lounge, has been quite the opposite of a creative and calm space lately.  I asked, and was granted, permission to continue tying up some loose ends for mom from the attorney who is her executor.

Hooray for this big table to spread out on, a shredder (which you can't see behind the table), and the free time to do it in on my days off.

I have whittled it all down to file folders in that basket of things on top.   But each file has something I need to address.  Could I let the attorney do it?  Sure.  For almost $400/hour.  And since I already have the necessary info, I might as well tackle it so we can get closer to probate.  This is the worst part of death - settling someone's estate.

Two hours of office work on Tuesday netted me several legal size envelopes to mail.  It was dreary outside, adding to the blah of the day.

Do you ever purchase almost past date veggies to cook that very day?  Recently I pan sauteed some shrimp, along with some new potatoes and asparagus that were marked down.  It was delicious.  I remember thinking that we were living pretty large whenever my mother fixed us shrimp or crab when I was growing up.  Though we lived in Galveston during that time, it was unusual.

A quiet day at home led me to thrifting where I found several books to read.  I killed at least an hour of time wandering around a tiny Goodwill that I had never noticed before in a strip center near HEB.  The Mitch Albom one is a repeat for me - initially a library loan.  And I have read many Maeve Binchey novels.  I'm trying to put my phone down and do more reading.

Booth for one, anniversary day.

Mark and I used to love to eat at Jack Allen's kitchen - in fact, one of our last anniversary dinners was there.  Maybe the same booth I sat in for lunch on Thursday of last week.  I enjoyed a grilled chicken salad with fig, pear, bleu cheese, and champagne dressing.  I toasted to what would have been our 38th anniversary with my favorite, a Mexican Martini.  And I didn't cry, just enjoyed my lunch.

The whole tiling of the bathrooms has me feeling so frustrated.  Its been back and forth with trying to get it scheduled since JUNE.  As of this writing it is mid-project, and maybe you can't tell, but yes, that is the toilet sitting in the tub.  There are three of us living here right now, and I need this bathroom done so we can move on to the next one.  I try really hard to go with the flow, but sometimes I wonder if I'm not swimming against the current.

Gina