This morning, I woke up (feeling very rested) at 0500. With the extra time, I did some reading and worked on puzzles before starting my telework day. Eileen had told me that she planned to leave for a women's workout group at 0600 but didn't actually get going until about 0545. This allowed us about 15 minutes of visiting before she departed. Like yesterday, I was planning to stay at her home all day. Unlike the previous day, however, Mika didn't stay home. Once the whirlwind of dog and human had left the house, I ate breakfast and then returned to work. After about an hour, I left Eileen's house and drove north (on US-11) to the Subaru Dealership in Potsdam (Barstow Motors). My intention was to try to get my 96K Maintenance completed during the lull before my drive towards Virginia. When I arrived (0715), it was clear that the garage was very busy. For the first time in all the stops I've made at Subaru Dealerships across the country in my Nomad Life travels, there appeared to be no way I'd be getting any service because they said they were booked for over a week in advance. Fortunately, a manager looked through his schedule and told me he'd try to find a spot for my simple service (oil change and tire rotation). Eventually, he was able to get me a 1515 appointment but I had already driven back to Eileen's to resume my work day. Meetings kept me busy until lunch time and then I took the opportunity to go through a box of mail that Eileen had been keeping for me since the Summer time. With almost six months of various magazines, letters and junk, it took more than an hour for me to sort through everything. Along the way, I burned most of the sensitive materials but left the empty envelopes for Eileen to use as fire starter (she later decided to recycle the paper at work). During this same window, I made lunch for myself. By 1230, I had resumed my work day. She'd mentioned that it was a possibility, but I was still surprised when Eileen suddenly arrived home at 1330. For my part, I thought we might have a chance to take a walk or go somewhere fun. This didn't end up being the case, though - she started making the mini avocado/lime dessert we'd talked about prior to my arrival. This baking project involved a lot of delicate skills and it soon became clear that she'd be occupied for quite a while. Sadly, it was hard to even talk to her because she needed to use a food processor and kept getting calls from friends and relatives. I'd previously toyed with canceling my "pop up" car service, in the hopes that we'd have time to go hiking somewhere. We discussed this, at length, but never made any decisions. By about 1445, it was clear that we weren't going anywhere. Instead, I departed for the Subaru Dealership (1500) and left Eileen to finish the baking. I dropped off my car at 1515 and, while waiting for the maintenance technicians, walked around in the neighborhood behind the dealership. Along the way, I located the local hospital and got a "snail's pace" view of Potsdam. By 1550, I received a call from the service department that indicated my car was ready. While I was returning to the dealership, I heard from Eileen - she informed me that she'd headed off to provide EMT support at a house fire. She added that she didn't think she'd be too long... During this time, I ended up reaching 8.5K of my step count (just over three miles) and had picked up my car (1600). After returning to Eileen's house, I resumed my telework day. Not surprisingly, Eileen did not come back quickly... This allowed me to finish the rest of my hours for the day before she finally got home (1730). Upon realizing that there wasn't enough time to make dinner with the food in the house, Eileen asked if we could make alternate arrangements. By then, I was ready with a suggestion and she accepted the first offer - we ended up deciding to get takeout from the Royal India Grill in Potsdam. I made a phone order and Eileen continued making the "mini healthy key-lime pies". We also did some laundry (she had been waiting for more clothes before she ran her own). At 1815, we departed her house and drove into town to pick up the food. While she was at Royal India, I went next door to Royal Liquors and got a bottle of cabernet sauvignon (1830). While driving home, I thought we might stop at Lehman Park but we didn't for some reason (in the end, this meant that my 10K step goal was never reached). At the house, Eileen wrapped up some of her household tasks and then we sat down to dinner. The choice of menu items ended being very good - we enjoyed garlic naan, vegetable pakora, Tandoori Chicken Tikka and Lamb Korma (mild spices). Everything (including the wine) was very good and it was nice to relax with Eileen for another good meal. And I didn't have to sweat making it myself! We were done eating at around 2000 and then spent time cleaning up the kitchen. After that, we sat by the woodstove and had fun working on puzzles and talking. Outside, it got dark and, as I expected, Eileen started to fall asleep. As had happened the previous night, she only lasted until about 2100. I thought we'd be calling it a night but she woke up and, with some kind of second wind, seemed happy to rest with me in the warm living room. By 2200, we were both ready to retire but I did a little bit of reading and Duolingo before turning off the lights (2215). Maybe today actually did turn out to be "normal" after all...
