Too Much Fun

Yes Virginia, there is such a thing as Too Much Fun.  And I have the swollen, sore knee to prove it!

Friday after work I made Hubs go with me to the Burlington Coat Factory near us.  It’s too dang cold here and I needed me some warmer gloves/mittens for my commute.  Plus I had gift cards!  Luckily I found some cozy, mittens – the kind with the flip-top over the fingers.  They’re lined with a soft fabric and are knit in a variegated yarn in shades of gray, black, red, white, gold, and even some light brown.  It sounds strange but they’re way funky cool!  (Yes “funky cool” is too a thing!)

After that find I went on the hunt for a new hat.  My old slouchy Land’s End hat is comfy but the rolled brim style doesn’t work with my new winter coat’s collar so I needed something that didn’t have a brim all the way ’round.  Nailed it again!  I LOVE the cute new hat I found – it has one of those mock visors in front with a knit flower attached to one side.  And the best part?  It pulls down over my ears (mostly) so they stay warmer!

Deed done, I started looking for ankle weights but there were none to be found at Burlington and after checking out when Hubs suggested we step into the mall and see whether there was a sporting goods store I agreed.  We found a directory and the Sports Authority didn’t look all that far away.  Um, don’t trust those lying store directories!  Just sayin’.  (But I did find my ankle weights, so it worked out.)  And that was only Friday.

Saturday we got off to a slow start, thankfully.  We were due in Factoria to have an early dinner with the Fam for Mom’s 83rd birthday but that was hours away so I took my time getting ready.  I love having the time to take my time, you know? 

And dinner with everyone was nice:  no tension which was sooo welcome.  Mom wanted to eat at Goldberg’s Famous Delicatessen so the family converged on Factoria from all over.  Goldberg’s has well-deserved excellent reviews and if you like deli fare you should definitely experience it if you get out this way.  I’d stay away from the take-home stuff though.  While it’s yummy personified it can get pricey!

After the food and visiting and birthday cake (and holding the grandbaby) we all said our goodbyes and made our way home.  Hubs and I stopped over at daughter K’s to watch Looper with her before going home ourselves.  It’s an involved storyline that requires you to pay close attention so it took me awhile to really get into it but I loved it, though I wasn’t entirely happy with the ending. 😦  No spoilers!  But if you like adventure stories or time travel or even SciFi you’ll probably enjoy this.  It’s one I’ll watch again and again I think.

On Sunday we lazed around the house for hours before finally packing up the dogs and the vacuum cleaner and heading to Puyallup.  Several years ago we bought an Oreck Ultra 21 XL or XL 21 or something.  It was guaranteed for 21 years y’all!  The only condition is that we have it tuned up every year for free!  Okay, the tune-up itself is free; any needed parts we have to pay for (except the belt which they replace as part of the tune-up).  The only thing we’ve ever had to pay for is the roller bar and I think we’ve replaced that a total of twice in seven years (this being the second time).  Oh and we have to buy replacement bags when we run out.  It’s a sweet deal and even with all the dog hair, horse hair, cat hair, farm dirt, dust, etc. the vacuum has never failed me! 

After the Oreck’s tune-up we searched via our Garmin for a nearby park where we could walk the dogs.  Less than a mile away we found Bradley Lake Park – WOW!  Just WOW!  I almost wished we lived in Puyallup so we could walk the dogs there every day!  Even with leftover snow on the ground the park was amazing!  The small lake is open for people-powered boats and there’s a .8 mile paved path all around the lake and through the woods on the opposite side from where we were.  I’m planning to tackle that path the next warm weekend we have!  As it was the dogs loved going right down to the edge of the lake where the water was frozen.  Climbing down the bank and then back up was probably what finally did my knee in though.  Even so, I can’t wait till we can go back there. 

And hey y’all, I brought you back a souvenir!  Check this out – taken with the new Smart phone my daughter gave me for Christmas!

Definitely too much fun.  My knee was so swollen and sore I opted to stay home from work Monday and spent much of the day with it elevated and under the ice pack.  It’s a bit better today and it was SO worth it!

😀