I can’t believe I’m leaving the country on Wednesday! I feel like there is a bunch of stuff I still need to but I also feel like I have already done a lot. Right now though I’m doing menial things: Roasting coffee to take on my trip, replacing the toner in my laser printer, ordering stamps on line, and trying to figure out how to get rid of my postage meter that I have decided I don’t like.
Paul and I have had “take your boyfriend to work days” for the past few weeks. I make him get up at 8 or 9 with me on his days off by making him coffee and then sit there in the office answering e-mails while he packs my orders to learn my process… and also all the strange places that I keep things in my office. he’s really good a thorough but so slow. I’m happy that he is willing to do this for me. I have already taken roasted coffee out of my online shops and some of the smaller button orders that can be time consuming and usually have time constraints. I may take a few button designs out of my catalogs too but for the most part I think he has the hang of it.
I have this problem that I never really think about how much I’m going to miss Paul until right before I leave. I think of the excitement and the travel and the next experiences. It’s days like Friday that I’ll think of. We had a really nice day. The weather was perfect. Paul and I worked in the office packing orders and stuff then we worked in the yard and pulled weeds and then we walked down to Por Que No? I got a fresh pineapple margarita and we split one of their rice and beans bowls. We usually get one each and then stuff ourselves but sharing one worked out well.
Then we stopped and had a pitcher of the Copacetic IPA at Amnesia Brewery and finished both crossword puzzles on their patio in the sun. We stopped by Pistils and got a sunflower plant and two tomato starts. I’m happy cause I was afraid I wasn’t going to be able to get tomatoes in the ground before I left.
here’s what’s in the garden so far: lettuce, beets, chard, spinach, carrots, brussel sprouts, purple cabbage, broccoli, tomatos, onions, celery, peas, beans, and peppers. I also have a pumpkin plant growing from seed and I want to get a zucchini, cucumber and squash. Those are the veggie plants but I have lots of things growing from seeds too but they are too many to list. I hope they are alright when I’m gone.
We continued our stroll home down Mississippi and stopped by the new Buy Olympia shop that isn’t open yet but they wanted some copies of SSR so I was dropping them off. Pat gave me a tour of what will be their shop and their warehouse section.
Then we stopped by the Bridgetown beerhaus and Paul got two 22 oz bottles of limited edition Stone beers. Strangely I had the idea to open a shop just like that back when I was trying to sell my house. The house didn’t sell and I didn’t open the shop. But, Bridgetown Beerhouse is one of three similar shops in our neighborhood…. and we like it best. Paul is there more often that I since one of his bands’ practices around the corder. This trip Mike remarked that he loves that we always come in with Plants so I had to show him what I had this time.
We headed home and I planted our new plant friends and then went to a new pub by our house called Duckets to check it out. They have vegan options which is pretty cool but their jukebox system sucks. At the least the bar tender was playing some familiar punk music.
Then we came home and hung out and listened to records and drank out 22 oz beers from the beerhause. I got Jesus and Mary Chain-Psycho Candy on vinyl and it sounds really good! Paul and I are scheming to cover one of the songs but it is going to have to wait until I get back.
Then we were hungry so I took the grape tomatoes that were a little too squishy to eat, cut them in half, poured some olive oil on them and roasted them. When they were nice and cooked I tossed in the pasta and bean salad we have been eating for the past week and baked it all some more. It was tasty.
Beer, Crossword puzzles and good conversation. It’s days like that that really make me love my life. I can get all the work done I need and still have time to play.
Starting Wednesday my life is go go go!
Alex Wrekk 