so many happy things!

sorry i’ve been silent for a few days, but i’ve been a bit busy. let’s start on friday.

friday morning, i went to break the news to my boss that i’ve applied for a position at a different library, closer to home, and that they wanted to check references. i had my heart in my mouth the whole drive in and was more anxious than i think i’ve ever been before. the talk with her turned out to be surprisingly lovely. she was supportive to the nth degree and told me she’d be happy to give me a great reference. i felt like i’d finally taken off a corset that i’d been wearing for a day and a half!

after that, i drove to milwaukee to pick up a good friend of mine and we spent the day toodling around town, shopping and eating and seeing stuff. one shop that we passed had a big lavender clump in the garden on the side of the building. we each picked one stem–i put mine in the vent of my car to make the car smell good. yum! lavender in november!

we had first lunch at a little french-y lunch counter and i had a madeline for dessert (not quite as good as the ones in paris, but not too bad!), then we shopped for a little (including a drool-a-rific paper store….). when we began feeling a bit peckish, we stopped and split a bowl of corn chowder at another restaurant. the proprietess gave us an extra slice of bread “since it was a slow day.”

then, we went to check out the milwaukee public library and the public museum. when we walked into the museum, my phone started ringing and it was… mr. h-s! from australia! we had a lovely 10 minute conversation. it was so nice to hear his voice! plus, i’d gotten a call earlier today from work saying a bouquet of fall flowers had been delivered to me at work courtesy of mr. h-s’s employers, thanking me for letting them steal him away for a week. how lovely!

next, we drove to the area of town where art vs. craft (the craft show that inspired this whole visit) was being held. we had supper while we waited for the event to open.

the craft show itself was lots of fun. one of the shops that is selling my pidoodle stuff had brought some of my christmas ornaments, so i was represented there–woo hoo! we went through the whole place, stopping at (pretty much) every booth. there were so many cool things… but i did restrain myself. i bought a few things (one big splurge on the most beautiful and unique hand-made yarn i’ve ever seen).

then, we drove home. the next day, i dragged my friend with me to work. i was hosting a card-making party at the library, so i figured she would enjoy that (and if not, well, there’s a few books she could read). after work, we went to another, smaller craft show in town where i bought a pendant from bee design (it’s very retro geometric gorgeousness). then, we went to the dig-n-save so i could share the joy with her. we found some great stuff (including a very glamorous vintage opera coat for $1). best find of the day? (the coat was good, but…) i finally found a hard shell tiny suitcase! i’ve been looking for one since we left indiana–they’re perfect for storytimes! but i’ve only ever seen more modern looking suitcases or really big ones. i was lamenting this fact to my friend as we stood in front of the dig-n-save’s large selection of luggage and she said, well, maybe they’re nested inside larger ones, like in a set. i doubted her, but then noticed a hard shell blue case on the top shelf that was slightly ajar and i could see a smaller case inside it. we took it down and, lo and behold, there was a set of three! the two bigger ones each had broken latches, but the tiny one was (repeat after me…) just right! i was so excited!

i took her to bunky’s for dinner. we split an entree again (to save room for their amazing desserts) and were lucky enough to have the owner serve us and break the rules to give us two side salads so we didn’t have to split that. for dessert, i had a slice of cranberry cheesecake. it was heavenly. in addition to cheesecake and chopped up cranberries, it contained a little orange peel and cardamom. oh man. i’m drooling just thinking about it.

then home again to watch a chick flick and be crafty.

on sunday, we slept in. i laid in bed reading for two hours–heaven! we had a lovely, lazy day. my friend was nice enough to wash my dishes and sweep the kitchen as my “hostess gift”–best one i’ve ever gotten! it was so nice that she was able to stay long enough that we even had time to just relax in our own spaces–she read a book for part of the afternoon, i went for a run and did more crafting. so nice not to feel rushed.

we went to church together. i sang a duet with another friend for prelude and it was very nice–one from the hymnal with only a melody line written out, but i created a harmony–my favorite kind of singing!

after church, it was home for supper and chicken pineapple skillet (not a favorite of mr. h-s). yum-yum! then we watched some dvd episodes of fawlty towers and stayed up too late.

i drove her to the airport ridiculously early this morning. i took a catnap at a rest stop on the way home (4:30 a.m. is a bit early for me–yawn!). later, on the way to work, i stopped and picked up some fancy chocolates at candina’s to give as gifts. after i left, smoke began billowing out from under the hood of my car. (thank goodness it waited until i was back in town!!) i pulled into the nearest service location and 2 hours and one new radiator later, i was able to drive to work. while waiting for my car to be done, i was able to walk a bit down the road and do some shopping i needed to do anyway. i found myself a new pair of gloves and a new pair of brown tights (both of which i needed–the old ones have holes). i probably wouldn’t have found the time to do that for awhile if i hadn’t been forced to–how great! then, so that i could at least pretend that i was doing some library-related work, i went to the used book store and picked up a few things to add to our collection.

what a great weekend! i’m exhausted! (and yet, oddly refreshed too…. weird. i think it must have something to do with doing things that are out of the ordinary and are stimulating to the senses–that stuff energizes me.)