Just a quick one this morning, friends. We’re getting a big load of gravel (called Item 4) for our driveway today and the massive truck just arrived. We really need it, as it’s worn very thin in places after 11 years without a refresh. I think that contributed to the excess ice on the driveway last year.

So, Don and I will be spending a few hours raking all of the gravel into place, especially at the top of the driveway.

Exciting, right?

The countdown to our trip has begun and I’m making lists upon lists. Yikes.

Happy Monday.

Well. What a roller coaster ride the past 48 hours has been. I don’t know when I’ve felt as enraged as I did on Thursday, watching the hearing, watching public servants do everything they could  to quiet and discount a woman’s testimony. Don’t get me started on Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham. I try to keep the content on this blog PG-rated.

Christine Blasey Ford was bravery personified.

Then the spewing rage and conspiracy-ridden crap (there’s no other word for it) from Brett Kavanaugh. The disrespect for Senators questioning him. The constant interruptions. The immediately verifiable lies coming from his mouth. The sense of entitlement that made me want to slap him upside the head.

I have lived with alcoholics. It runs in my family. My father was an alcoholic, as were many of my immediate family members. I’ve seen the anger and rage coming out of nowhere, the inability to take responsibility for their actions, the “I know you are but what am I” kind of retort, the crying and ‘poor me’ refrain. I lived with it. I can look at his face and absolutely know he has a dependency problem.

No one who exhibits that kind of belligerence and rage should be sitting on the Supreme Court. No one who starts off his testimony with statements about left-wing conspiracies and a reference to the Clintons can be counted on to be impartial in his deliberations.

Then, yesterday, a glimmer of hope from Jeff Flake and Chris Coons and Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins and those two brave women who confronted Flake in the elevator. I watched that unfold via Twitter, as I was in a mall at the time. I’m sure we all feel like we’ve been through the ringer. Now, we watch and wait. I think he might withdraw, but who knows?

That being said, I had a pretty good day considering I was at a dreaded mall. I took my laptop to the Apple Store to have the screen replaced. There was an issue with the non-glare coating peeling off. I was worried I may have left it too long (they’re only replacing the screens for free on laptops that are less than 4 years old and mine will be 4 years old on Monday) and that it might take a week or two and I can’t spare it that long. Imagine my delighted surprise when the technician looked at my serial number and said, “As it happens, we have some in stock and I’m the tech who replaces them. If you don’t mind, I can switch it out right now.”

Huh? No, I don’t mind and thank you!

And sure enough, it was back in 15 minutes with a shiny new screen.

Then I found some shoes at The Walking Store, where they really know what they’re talking about. I got a pair of slip-on shoes and a pair of sneakers, both with special inserts that should support my feet rather nicely.

Then I found a jacket. And socks. And then I escaped from the mall and drove over an hour to the cottage.

So all I need now is a cross-body bag and a black sweater and I’m set.

Thanks for understanding yesterday. Don made that little graphic for me when I said I just couldn’t post. He’s a sweetie.

I took this picture the other day to post on IG. Usually, the inside of the dollhouse is facing the wall, but I spun it around to get inspiration for the upcoming renovation. I’ll share some ideas I’ve come up with tomorrow.

I’m quite proud of Hummingbird Cottage.

Happy Birthday yesterday to my dear dad. He would have been 95. I miss you every day, Dad.

Happy Saturday.