Happy Surprises

I started out the morning by turning on every light in my spinning & knitting corner, the better to see the stitches in the dark purple and black blended yarn I was currently working into fingerless mitts.

I tend to forget my eyes are not quite as young or sharp as they once were, so even though the spinning is a breeze, working on dark-hued knitting projects tend to be limited to mid-day, with as much natural light as is available as well as additional direct lighting.

Anyway, the knitting is going well, and it looks like they’re even going to match up. That’s always a happy surprise. But then my Apple Watch reminded me that I’d been sitting for over and hour, so I set knitting aside and got up to do my morning stretches. I’m seriously considering naming my Apple Watch “Little Nag”, although I admit it is helping me keep my daily exercise regimen on track.

After stretching, I climbed onto my exercise bike for 15 minutes at a medium-resistance setting. That should appease the Little Nag. I usually try for 20-30 minutes, but because I was heading to the Menard Center’s walking track right after lunch, I decided not to push it.

A toasted peanut butter and honey sandwich and bowl of applesauce armed me for the upcoming walk. Happily, Jer was willing to accompany me, so with temps in the balmy mid-20s, mostly blue skies and the dachshunds dressed in only light sweaters, we grabbed our track shoes and air-pods and headed out.

OK, yes, Baxter and Ronni had to wait in the car while we were at the track, but they had flannel blankets and were still happier for coming alone. Besides, we had errands to run later and they love the dachshunds at the UPS Store.

This brings me back to the topic of this meandering story. I honestly feel like I was rewarded for a day well spent.

Our last stop was the UPS Store. We had a couple of package notices, so joined the short line awaiting service.

This is one of Rhonda’s favorite places, since (being a social butterfly) it not only means she’ll get love and attention from the staff (who are known to call out “Hi Rhonda!” from across the room), but she’s not adverse to mugging waiting customers on either side of us while we wait our turn.

Fortunately, Ronni is also willing to accept with equanimity those who don’t wish to visit, giving them a tail swish and looking around for another victim … er, I mean potential new friend. 😉 If I were to let her off leash here (I don’t), she’d be behind the counter eliciting belly-rubber-rubbers in a flash.

Baxter, OTOH, generally stands quietly at Jer’s feet, making it obvious by the wagging tail that he is enjoying the outing, but not usually interested in visiting.

After collecting our two packages, and allowing Ronni to get and give kisses to one of her favorite UPS employees, we headed home.

It wasn’t until we were back in the house and ready to relax that I remembered to open the packages. One was just a normal Amazon delivery of little consequence. The other box was my second surprise of the day.

I love a good surprise. I think I’ll tell you all about it … tomorrow.