I’m finally starting to feel somewhat rested. The last few weeks have been hell, and with the insomnia episode for a couple weeks before that, I was seriously running on fumes when this week began. Not even fumes … running on willpower and a strong desire to get things done. But even though the last few mornings have been earlier starts than normal, I’ve managed to squeeze in some sleep here and there, and boy does it feel good to not feel like I am about to fall over at any minute.

Had a busy and interesting day. Went to the bank, which I needed to do weeks ago. I love my bank, because they are wonderful, but there’s only one –ONE– branch in Austin (and only two in the whole state), and it’s just a hassle to get over there. I’ve been going to that bank since I was a little girl, and never once had I walked behind the building to look at the dam. I mean, there’s the big huge hydroelectric dam right there, and I’d never bothered to check it out. Today, I finally decided to do that. There’s a neat little lookout area with a picnic table, so I sat there a while and just enjoyed the sunshine, cool breezes, and the sounds of splashing water. It was nice to take a break for a while after having had to deal with some insane highway traffic getting to the bank. I think I’ll plan ahead next time I have to go to the bank and take a snack and beverage and enjoy some time there listening to the world. Always good to take a moment now and then to just breath.

Since I hate the method by which the city planners decided drivers should get back on MOPAC North from Lake Austin Blvd., I always take Exposition north until I get to the next big street that heads to the highway. Enfield, maybe. I can’t look at street signs and drive at the same time, so I have no idea what street it is. Well, this time, I decided to see where Exposition went and skipped turning where I always turn. It’s a nice street to drive on through a very nice part of town, so why not? Eventually, I came to a stop light and the street beyond looked like it did something weird, so I went ahead and turned toward the highway to head to the grocery store. And thus begins an adventure.

I did not see how to get onto MOPAC, even though there had been a sign telling me there was some way to do so. No biggie, really. I’d just go to the next light, make a right turn, and then come at the highway from the other side. Uh huh. I ended up on some other unknown street that wound its way through an older (but nice) neighborhood, and then through a bunch of DPS offices and nursing homes … and road construction. It eventually came to a T-intersection, and I turned west to get back to MOPAC. A few blocks down the road, there was the sign with an arrow telling me MOPAC North was in that direction. I turned onto a really tiny little street and drove through yet one more old neighborhood tucked away among a whole bunch of trees. Suddenly, with no warning at all, I found myself on the highway. It was weird, but cool, and seeing as I was not the only one taking this strange route to MOPAC (and not everyone could possibly have been “lost” like I was), apparently it’s a hidden shortcut other people already know about.

So a whole lot of lackadaisical driving later, I was back on MOPAC and then on 183 and back in my ‘hood. Though I’d meant to stop at Target for coffee, I forgot and missed the exit. Oops. I was too lazy to bother going back, so I went ahead and headed to the grocery store for all our beverage and paper needs. The HEB was a madhouse of epic proportions, which is odd for a Tuesday afternoon. I actually had to circle the parking lot once to wait for a parking space –this never ever happens– and then when one opened up I had to prove I really do know how to drive a truck. Wow, that was a tight fit, but I wedged my truck between two other larger trucks and went about my shopping. Good thing I’m skinny or getting out of the truck would have been a pain. Hope the drivers of the other trucks were skinny too.

Since I didn’t have anything that required refrigeration, and because I was feeling up to more driving, I finally went to the Michael’s craft store to ponder what to spend my gift card on. It’s a pretty nice store. I hadn’t been in a Michael’s in quite a while, because the closest one isn’t all that close. Or rather … it’s just a bit off my usual path. They had plenty of artsy-crafty stuff to fondle, and I spent far too much time in the fabric department. I didn’t buy anything this trip, of course. I have to ponder what I want to get a little longer. I have decided to use my card to get some nice fabric to make something awesome, but what that awesome thing will be I’m not sure just yet. It’ll probably be either a dressy dress or this totally cool kimono-style jacket I recently bought a pattern for. I’m going to be watching their sales to see when the fabrics I looked at go on sale (probably sometime in April when dressy stuff always goes on sale). I never buy anything that isn’t on sale. I can be very patient.

When I finally got home again, I realized I’d been gone for most of the afternoon. My how time flies when one is idly driving around not being rushed! The sun came out again, so instead of doing the housework, which had been my plan, I went out to the garden, pulled some more weeds, and then planted some dill, parsley, radishes, nasturtium, and marigolds in the mound area, as well as sticking some garlic here and there in various empty spots in the beds. All the currently available growing space is now planted! Yeah! This weekend I’ll get Lin to till up the area I have selected for the corn, okra and onions, then there will be more planting. Eventually the planting will come to an end and the growing will begin. Well, actually, the growing has already begun.

As I hovered around the beds looking for weeds and bugs, I was very pleasantly surprised by all the seeds that are already coming up. There are seedlings everywhere! The most exciting appearance though was the sprouting of one of the two shriveled potato starts I had found hiding behind the stove ages ago. I don’t know that the other one will come up, but at least one of them did, so the Great Potato experiment continues. I hope we end up getting some to eat, but my main goal with that plant is to get new starts for next year and not lose that genetic line. Needless to say, I will be doting on that plant to make sure it survives and thrives. I only need about six potatoes from it, and anything else will be considered a bonus situation. And who knows, maybe that other one will sprout too. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Two plants would definitely be better than just one.

When the clouds started rolling in again, I did some of the mundane housework I’d been putting off, and then it was time to make dinner (meatloaf, garden salad, fruit salad, and steamed homegrown carrots). Lin got home, we ate, he watched the news, and then we passed out in the living room. If I think I’ve been tired lately, I can only imagine how tired Lin must be. He’s driven back and forth between Austin and Houston twice this week already and not had good days on the project there either. They are putting some equipment on a hospital roof, and if his ranting is any indication, the project is a pain in the butt. I’m sure he’ll be glad when it’s over and done with.

So that was my day yesterday. Kind of busy and annoying, because I’m still feeling droopy and wilted, but I had fun exploring Austin and seeing some new things. It’s so easy to get into a rut where I only go to the places I have always gone and only drive on the streets I have always driven on, and there’s so much more in this town to see. I think I’ll start exploring more often when I am out and about. It doesn’t waste too much gasoline or time, and who knows what I’ll find … like a picnic table beside a dam behind my bank or an interesting route north that avoids a lot of ugly highway driving and doesn’t take much longer to drive. I’m sure there are even better things to find, once I start looking!