Snowy October (sigh)

So yeah, I know I live in Colorado and I know it snows in October in Colorado. Still, I wasn't really prepared for this, mentally.

I'm not sure how much we got -- and it's still coming down -- but I'm going to guess 4-5 inches? [The official total for Boulder was actually 6.8 inches.] Not the foot they said we might get. The snowplow has come by a few times, and our kind neighbor did a great job of snowblowing the walks. So now I just have to get out there and do the driveways. I told the kids we'd shovel after lunch.

Yesterday I spent quite a bit of the day in bed, reading. I finished the book from our shelves that I was working on, and also a spooky book. It was very enjoyable. Teen B and I tried to go to Starbucks (because I knew I wasn't going to want to do that today), but the parking lot was a zoo, so we went to the Starbucks inside King Soopers instead. I did a load of laundry and heated up leftovers for dinner. Oh, and cleaned the litter boxes, fed the cats, ran the dishwasher, etc. But that's about it. 

Everyone needs a day like that sometimes. Of course, I want to spend today in bed too, but I will try not to.

Up until it snowed, things were looking very pretty around here this week. I took a walk every day (until yesterday, when it was snowing and cold) and really reveled in the beauty. This picture shows our orange and yellow oak tree next to a tree with red leaves and some trees that are still green.

It was a mixed week, stress-wise, some good and some bad. I thought I'd review the things I was stressed about last week, see what kind of progress I made on them. 

1. Of the three burned out lights in the house, I managed to fix one! Rocket Boy coached me through how to remove the tube over the kitchen counter, I finally succeeded, went to McGuckin's to get a new one, and successfully installed it.
2. I'm still just listening to the noise my car makes. Probably should take it in.
3. Found out a little more about the twins' schoolmate who died. Seems like a terribly sad situation.
4. Nothing has been announced about conferences being rescheduled. I'll wait another week and then maybe start contacting teachers individually.
5. Our old property manager informed me that the HVAC guy who gave us an estimate on fixing our rental house furnace has had a recurrence of cancer and has stopped working. Now I have to find someone else. I bought our tenants a new washing machine and it was delivered on Thursday.
6. No word on a new job for Rocket Boy. He was turned down for one that interested him a lot. I haven't bought any new clothes. I'd really like to get my braces off before I have to job-hunt, but we'll see.
   
7. My washed keyboard worked for a while and then the "h" and "g" keys died. So I picked up another keyboard at Goodwill for $5. It's cranky -- I have to hit a lot of the keys hard to get them to respond, but it's better than trying to think of words to write that don't have "h" or "g."
   

I had a mild panic attack on Thursday, the day the washer came. I had an orthodontist appointment scheduled for 10 am, and the washer was supposed to come anywhere from 8:30 to 12:30. When I left the house at 9:45 there was still one delivery scheduled before ours. It all would have been fine except that my orthodontist was running late. They are never late! I got there at 9:55 and they didn't take me until about 10:35, very, very unusual. I had broken a bracket -- by biting down on my toothbrush, of all things -- and I forgot to bring it with me to the appointment, because I was worried about the washer. So that sent me into a tizzy. 

As it turned out, the orthodontist decided not to replace the bracket. It was on the last tooth on the top left side and he said I didn't need that one anymore. One bracket off! Maybe I should try to break off the brackets on all the other end teeth, too.

That meant that the appointment was very quick (once it finally started), and I was out the door by 10:45 or so. The delivery guy called while I was driving home, so I answered my phone while driving, something I never never never do, but there was no good place to pull over and I didn't want to miss the call. They arrived about 2 minutes after I got home.

The actual delivery and installation process was seamless. They hauled out the old washer (I'd paid for them to take it away), hauled in the new, set it up and got it going. It seemed fine. Kind of loud -- I should have gotten an LG, not a GE -- but our tenant is very deaf, so it actually might not bother her. I worried that I should tip the delivery guys, but I was chatting with the tenant the whole time, so I couldn't go home and get some cash, and when they were done they just said bye and were gone -- I guess because they had more deliveries and needed to stay on schedule. Oh well, I hope they are well paid.

When it was all over, THEN I had the panic attack (or nervous breakdown, whatever it was). I went back to bed and didn't get anything else done that day. I told the kids I couldn't cook dinner and I took them to MacDonald's instead, had a little breakdown on that trip too. And my day in bed on Saturday may have been related to this as well.

I kept telling myself, "I'm not stressed, I just don't wanna," but no, uh uh, I was stressed. It was a pure stress reaction. I did what I had to do, got through my ortho appointment, got through the washer delivery, but THEN I fell apart.

I don't even know what I was stressed about! It would have been OK if I'd missed the call from the delivery guy. The tenant was there to sign for the washer. It maybe was a bit too much "I don't wanna" as well. I so badly didn't want to buy a new washing machine on my own that even though I managed to do it, it upset me. I just don't know.

I was OK by the next day. I even took Teen B to the Haunted House at their high school, something I swore I'd never do again after I was completely terrified by it 5 years ago (the one and only previous time I went). I had a feeling that part of the reason I'd been scared in 2018 was that I'd never been in the building before. The school was constructed in 1933 by the WPA, so it's 90 years old. It's been added onto since then, but they hold the haunted house in the old part, and it is pleasantly spooky. 

Now that the twins go to school there, I've been in the building many times -- for concerts, plays, Picture Day, Back to School night, and conferences. It's comfortable, familiar. And so it was. We stood in line for an hour (see photo) and it was in the 30s with the wind blowing, and by the time we got in the building my joints weren't working very well. I wasn't sure I'd be able to go up and down the stairs! But I did, and the haunted house didn't seem very scary at all. I'd definitely go again next year. Looking forward to it already!

***

So now we have a couple more days of October (though it won't look like this), and then November will begin. Halloween will be a little different this year, because neither boy plans to go trick-or-treating. Last year Teen A said he was too old, but Teen B went out with Rocket Boy. This year they both think they're too old (is 15 really too old?), so we'll stay home waiting for trick-or-treaters. I have 4 bags of Tootsie Pops stashed away which I am not letting anyone get into. I hope that will be enough candy. I think the kids will be disappointed not to have a huge haul of candy after the 31st, but I guess they'll deal. 

At the library I picked up a DVD of the first season of a TV show called "Ghosts" for us to watch on Halloween. I had never heard of this show because I don't watch TV, but it seems like it will be amusing. I also got a Halloween puzzle at McGuckin's to be an alternate activity. What do you want to bet the twins will spend Halloween night playing stupid computer games in the desk room while I try to be festive in the living room? I'd say there is a good chance. But I can make the puzzle on my own if need be. Maybe next year Rocket Boy will be home and we can make a puzzle together.