sleeping well

Today was supposed to be one of yard work.  Heavy rains (and winds) over the last month finally did in my old flag pole - it's currently lying next to the driveway - and I thought I'd start things off by hauling it back to my shed or maybe laying it next to the fence to help with erosion or something.  The thing weighs a ton, by the way.

I'd also planned to do some serious pruning on a tree that is encroaching rather aggressively on the side of the garage, maybe clean off the deck (the big T presented me with a new leaf blower for my 15 years of service last week - it's a piece of junk, but it's a power toy), and I even gave a few brief thoughts to cleaning out and organizing the shed, as I'm sure that more than one family of mice has probably taken up residence there during the winter.

I can't remember the term used in photography for putting two
shots that tell a story side-by-side, but this is my tribute to that
process.  Sure to be a hit on paper plates for centuries to come,
this is "Seasons."

None of these plans came to fruition, of course.  Instead, I went in to work this morning and put in a couple of hours updating some training machines for a class that's coming in on Monday.  After that, I made my way to the Tires Plus store to get my oil changed in anticipation of driving up to Waukegan next Friday.  While waiting for the oil to be changed, I was informed by the friendly helpful Tires Plus man that I needed four new tires.

I know what you're thinking, but he's actually a really decent guy and he's cut me some amazing deals over the last 8 years or so.  My tires really were pretty shot after nearly 30,000 miles, so I ended up spending about 2 hours at the tire store (and spending $700 instead of $60 - gotta love that Audi).  When I left, it was already 4:30.  Since I have been sneezing and blowing my nose for the last two days, I decided to stop at Target on my way home and pick up some Kleenex.   The Kleenex run naturally evolved into a dinner run (bought some ground beef, ketchup and mustard), a drink run (12 pack of seltzer water) and a cat litter run.  As I watched my basket getting more and more full, I thought to myself, "Aw, hell.  I've already dropped over $700 today, and I want some decent sheets."

So I bought some decent sheets.  600 thread count.  I got some of these sheets many years ago and unfortunately they were on the bed in the guest room when Scott first moved in.  I've not seen them since.  I don't know what it is about that particular thread count, but I love the way those sheets feel and I haven't been sleeping all that well lately.  So I'll see if the new sheets help.  I can say, since I'm sitting in my freshly-made bed as I type this, that my new sheets definitely feel a lot nicer than the ones I've been sleeping on for the last several years.

The cats seem to enjoy them, too.