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I was released from grand jury duty! The number of people there who thought it was a one day thing amazed me. And the grousing when they heard it was 4 months! Lots of legitimate excuses why people couldn't commit. And vacations meaning you'd miss 3 or more sessions meant you were excused, but you had to wait to be seated in the jury box to be asked, and I was one of the last. I felt so uncomfortable listening to the people with no valid excuse lie. They were all bad at it. One guy was particularly determined to get out and said his religion meant he needed to be in the house before sundown and he lived an hour way. It's summer and the sessions don't go past 5pm. When that didn't work he pivoted to other lame excuses and the judge finally washed his hands of him. The judge was surprisingly accommodating, kind, and understanding of people's hardships. And most were very legitimate. He wished everyone well and thanked them as they were dismissed. Like the guy with prostate cancer and the one who just lost his job and needed to find a new one fast as his wife's income wasn't enough to have them be able to pay the mortgage, and the young kid with no car who borrowed his parent's to get there. I've had some jury duties where the judge requires you to be actively dying to be let off and then made you feel guilty for doing so. I will be getting $115 in mileage and jury duty pay reimbursement, which was a pleasant surprise. They give you a debit card with it rather than checks - interesting. I came home and promptly fell asleep. How did I used to function that early??

It's hot (92) and getting muggy. There is a storm in Baja that should bring rain here this weekend. Most to Tucson, but they need it.

I'm embarrassed to report I've had regain even with the 15mg. It just doesn't seem to do anything for me anymore. I'm envious of you who get benefit at minuscule doses.

Congratulations to our retiree and near retiree! I'm so pleased for you both!

Take care and have a great weekend.

Back from the last Friday I will ever teach a class. Next Friday I am using a sick day to go help my parents, and the following Friday, June 13, is a grading day with no students. Yee haw, because Fridays this time of year are kind of crazy. Today I had kids fighting, whining, crying and dehydrating. The dehydrating one was funny. I got an email 1st hour from the sweetest student filled with panic. She was in her 1st hour class and she forgot to fill her water bottle, and the only water bottle station she knew of was on the other side of the building, and did I know where the other ones were, and it was okay if I didn't, but she thought I might be able to help, so she's asking... yes I did know. Sometimes it's easy to be a hero :)

Our pressure washer arrived! We have a busy weekend, (we can't miss coffee in St. Paul, which is a bit of a drive!), so I'm not sure how much we'll get to try it out. I'm especially anxious to try it out on the white Adirondack chairs. They're made of that lifetime type heavy plastic, and they have some texture. Texture, which just accumulates dirt. I've been cleaning them every spring with a spray bottle of diluted bleach and a scrub brush, but its a loathsome job.

I am thinking about the retirement overscheduling. Right now I am so tired, a little bit of nothing sounds good. Every summer since DH retired has been pretty full steam ahead. Now that we don't have to plan all the trips between mid June and the end of August, I'm looking forward to being home more. Summer here is lovely, and my flowers are growing. It's going to be great!

Oh - I think Massachusetts may be like that for a Grand Jury as well - and likely that is held in Boston so potentially a painful commute in too. Good luck getting excused!

118.2 - last weight before Aruba (I will probably weigh there but in a bathing suit in the gym).

I was thinking about my morning routines including writing on this forum. When retired one really does build a new morning. DH and I often wonder at the fact that ours were essentially the same even before we met. Get up early, have coffee, read news, etc. for about an hour, walk the dog, shower. The first things I do after coffee are to record my weight, go through my email, then read the comments from the prior day here. Ever noticed that I respond to those first before I post rather than responding as part of my daily post? Because I can't remember them all to carry forward! But you all are part of the start of my day and I thank you for that!

Yesterday was drizzly but productive as most everything got packed. Luckily it was dry enough in the morning for the usual Justice walk. We went to dinner at a new restaurant with DH's DD and SIL who arrived late yesterday with their dog. Good food and atmosphere - we will go back. They are driving us to get our rental car early this afternoon, then will stay the weekend and take Justice back to their house. They leave for a trip to France before we get back so my DS is picking Justice up from them on June 12 and bringing him back here to stay until our return on June 16. The logistics get crazy when you have a dog.

But before we leave, I am doing the last 2 loads of laundry, walking the dogs on the beach and finishing the packing. We are staying at a hotel closer to the airport tonight, then leave on our flight at 10 am tomorrow. Sunday morning at this time I will be drinking my coffee on the patio outside our Aruba room.

Have a fantastical Friday!

Great idea to use something more visual to keep track of your schedule. You would be surprised at how many retired people over schedule themselves then complain. Especially those newly retired. I think retiring to be a caretaker kept that from happening to me. Then when I was ready to add activities back it was COVID time. So easy for me to do it methodically.

And fun retirement celebration! You will miss those folks.