Yesterday morning was spent weeding dandelions out front.  It was a marathon session, and most of the ones I addressed did pull out easily even though the water had already soaked in - but that was because I was working only in the shade.  Of course it goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway....<g>) that I barely made a dent in our crop.

Called the gym, and Amber was going to be in around 2:00 again.  Though I would have loved to make an appointment to speak with her, apparently that wasn't possible; I "should just come in."  Which was fine,  except that she does train clients - and unfortunately the person answering the phone at the front desk had no access to her training schedule which would help me to plan around that. 

After a shower and lunch I drove to the gym around 2:30, hoping for the best.

When I asked the young woman at the desk if Amber was in, 

her very first question was, "Do you have an appointment?"

Luckily Amber was available, and we got started.  Another long story short, at the "end" of what took a long time it turned out that she needed some sort of okay from Corporate to complete the transaction.

  Since I had another errand to run (picking up protein powder at the health food store at Bell & 77th) she suggested I do that and then return to the gym.  

By the time I returned ("that was fast") she had gotten the required okay, but "for some reason" neither computer we tried would allow her to send the form for me to sign.  Which means at this point I'm still not switched over, and if it doesn't go through by May 10th, before my next billing date, I'll be charged for another 8 sessions.  

Since I'm already paid ahead by two dozen sessions (basically six months-worth of training!) I really don't want to pay for more than I'll be using!

Hopefully I'll hear back from her soon about our next step!

Somewhat bummed that the issue still hadn't been resolved, on the way back to my car I spaced out taking a pic of the Rudolph nose attached to the front grill of a car parked near me.  It had made me think of Amy, who doesn't take down her Christmas tree until our first triple digit day (which at this point is looking like tomorrow.)  Maybe that car owner is on the same plan?

Let the fun begin!

Tom tried out our 'new' air fryer last night.  The "instructions" were absurdly non-helpful, which was frustrating - but the chicken (which took longer than expected) did turn out quite tasty.  However dinner (which was planned for much earlier because of book club) didn't actually land on the table until 6:00. That meant I was eating during the beginning of the Colorado book club zoom.

It ended up being a small group, just Terry (with Hilda sitting in) and Elinor and Karen and Lisa - but since I'm friends with all of them it was actually quite nice.  I never did get very far into the book, so wasn't able to contribute much.

 

The next book club meeting is scheduled for June 20, and I do plan to read the book.  

BIG AS LIFE: THREE TALES FOR SPRING by Maureen Howard (Penguin Books, 2000) 
This second volume in Maureen Howard's planned quartet of fictions based on the seasons reaffirms her reputation as one of America's most highly regarded authors.  In the title piece, Howard presents an ambitious exploration of the life and work of John James Audubon, revealing how his dedication to his masterpiece, The Birds of America, devoured everyone around him, including his wife Lucy.  In "Children with Matches," a feminist historian discovers that the hard lessons of the past may be a route to responsibility in the present.  "The Magdalene" is a tale of willful innocence and loss of faith about a woman who comes to New York in the 1930s to be the nanny of a wealthy family.  Thoughtful, intricate, and insightful, Howard's stories are compelling achievements.

At the conclusion of the meeting I checked the Phoenix library site, but they not have any copies. My next step will be to check with Bookman's when they open today.  

Then this e-mail arrived from Karen a few minutes ago:

I need to give a heads up that our chosen book does not seem to be available as a digital or audio book.  There are used paperback copies available online, not cheap ($13-20 range) and university libraries seem to have it (Lisa, you may be in luck).  I'm going to check my local used book store later today.  Since it's a fairly short book (225pp.) those of us who get copies can pass them o o anyone who needs.  Sorry about this complication.  I had no idea when I was intrigued by learning that she was an excellent writer who was undeservedly overlooked, that the book would be so hard to find.

A while back I had signed up for an AQG zoom program on improv quilting that 'aired' at 7:00 last night, but because of book club I missed about the first 15 minutes.

Sara Goer's presentation was enjoyable, and (anyone surprised?) 

there were numerous ideas I hope to incorporate in future quilts!

Sara Goer improve quilts

Today would have been Mom's 95th birthday.  Here we are celebrating her birthday in 2013 on our river 'cruise" in France (though the boat basically didn't move because of the major flooding), a trip we took to celebrate the end of my chemo.

The WP crossword puzzle was easy this morning 

(You completed the puzzle in 10 minutes 45 seconds)  

though Wordle was tricky and took me all 6 tries.

Now time to get off the computer and accomplish some "real" things today!