#MicroblogMondays: It's spring break week...

...and who needs kids to be busy??  (Hence, this post is coming to you on Tuesday instead of Monday...!)  

After a long and mostly boring/inactive winter, things started ramping up around here, mid/late last week. Here's what happened then, and how the rest of this week is unfolding:    

• (Last) Wednesday (March 6th):  I was in the bedroom around 8 a.m. -- dh had been up but was snoozing again on the couch -- when I heard a loud tapping/dripping noise coming from the bathroom. I checked out all the taps and pipes, but I could not see any water. It sounded like it was coming from inside the wall, behind the shower or toilet. It only lasted a few minutes, gradually slowing down/tapering off and stopping. I was going to mention it to dh but forgot about it, until...
• Thursday:  7 a.m., and we were both sound asleep -- when a loud tapping/dripping noise woke us both up. Dh sat bolt upright in bed and said, "Where's that coming from?"  We went into the bathroom. Same thing as yesterday. I grabbed my phone, turned it on and started filming. Nothing to see, of course, but my thought was to record the sound and send it to our property manager.
• Of course the file was too big to send and I had no clue how to edit it down to a more manageable size, but I did message her anyway, describing what we'd both heard. She said she'd come check it out -- but the earliest she was available was Monday (!) and we were going to be out -- so we wound up agreeing on Wednesday (!).  Meanwhile, she told us to keep an eye out for leaks. She can't call the plumbing contractors unless there's water visible. (Lovely...) 
• (Wouldn't you know, we haven't heard the noise since then??)(Knocking wood...!)  
• Thursday is our usual laundry day, so we got up and got a load started.  Later in the morning, we were folding clothes in the bedroom, when dh pointed out to me that the curtain rod was hanging at a peculiar angle:  the left-side bracket that holds the rod up was starting to pull out of the wall. 
• Unfortunately, the right-side bracket had done the same thing a few years ago...!  We got out a stool and screwdriver and attempted to tighten things up (on both sides), but things had loosened up too much. I didn't want to take it down totally, because there are streetlights below shining into our room;  plus I'd feel like I was on display to the townhouses behind us. So there it hangs, like the proverbial Sword of Damocles, less than three feet away from the bed (MY side of the bed, I might add...!). 
• We'd actually bought these curtains (relatively cheaply) and put up them up, in the second bedroom/office as well as our bedroom, as a temporary measure when we first moved in... almost (cough!) EIGHT YEARS AGO. And we'd talked about upgrading and other options -- but then the pandemic came along and... well, you know...!  Well, no time like the present, right??  
• I went online and looked up Blinds To Go, which has a local outlet. They offer a "shop at home" service with a consultant as well as the option of professional installation. And I was able to book an appointment with a consultant for the following afternoon!  
• Friday:  We set the alarm clock, got up at 7 a.m. and had breakfast and coffee/tea, and got to work doing the usual weekly housecleaning, several hours earlier than normal. Showered, had lunch and were ready for the consultant's visit at 1 p.m. 
• She arrived with a suitcase full of samples and swatches for us to look at, and was very nice and helpful. We decided on fabric vertical blinds for all three windows. They HAD to be white or off-white, as per the bylaws of our condo association, so we picked something that was textured and off-white (with flecks of a taupe-y brown running through it). She took measurements, gave us an estimate (which, while expensive enough, was a lot less than we'd expected, even before the 25% sale price was factored in), took a 50% deposit from us, and set up an appointment with a installer to come in and do exact measurements. We have a pretty busy week ahead, but luckily, she was able to book us something for the following day. 
• Saturday:  Our appointment time frame was 9-12 noon, so once again we set our alarm clock for 7 a.m. The guy finalizing the measurements arrived at 11:15 a.m. and was in and out in about 5 minutes. (We're still waiting for the final estimate, after which we can give the go-ahead to have the blinds made. Normally, it would take about a week, but the fabric we chose for our blinds is on back order, so delivery and then installation will likely be around March 20th -- which is still pretty good!)  
• I sat in on a Zoom chat with some other childless women, some of whom were facing Mothering Sunday/Mother's Day in the U.K. 
• Sunday: We were pretty tired, and (no) thanks to the time change, we didn't get up until 9:30 a.m. (!)(erk!).  I had breakfast, showered, dh made brunch (scrambled eggs and toast), and then I spent a two-hour shift co-hosting a Mothering Sunday/UK Mother's Day text chat in the Childless Collective private community where I'm a member.  That ended around 3 p.m. I made my usual weekly Sunday phone call to my parents and also talked to my sister, who was there for the weekend. Helped dh get dinner in the oven, and then started getting ready for... 
• The Oscars!! -- which, this year, started an hour earlier than it usually does, at 7 p.m. 
• In between dinner and 7, I hunted up and printed off a ballot online to mark up as the show progressed -- something I've done since I was a kid -- albeit back then, I used one clipped from the newspaper!
• I thought it was one of the better shows in recent memory and, amazingly enough, it ENDED ON TIME (a few minutes early, even!).  That was a good thing, because the earlier start time meant the show also ended an hour earlier than is usually does -- i.e., 10:30 p.m. instead of 11:30 p.m. or midnight.  (Past Oscars-related posts here.) 
• When I was working, I used to sometimes take the Monday after the Oscars off, so that I could sleep in (vs getting up before 5 a.m. to get to work for 8 a.m.). I've been retired for almost 10 years, but believe it or not, I had to set the alarm for 5 a.m. the next day (which was, of course, 4 a.m. before the time changed...!)  because... 
• Yesterday/Monday: ...we had to be at BIL's house by 7 a.m. to spend the day with Little Great-Nephew, who is (of course) on spring break.   Older Nephew dropped the little guy off at around 7:15 a.m., and returned to pick him up around 4:15.  He is really good and no real trouble at all -- but he's 4, and very active! so we were (and still are!  lol)  both EXHAUSTED!  
• We were looking after him because BIL & SIL were wrapping up a well-deserved week on a sunny beach in the Caribbean with one of dh & BIL's cousins and her husband. (But we went to their house, since LGN is comfortable there and has lots of toys there, etc. -- more space too!)  Later that evening, we headed to the airport to pick them up. (We were among the very few people waiting in the arrivals area and returning from trips who were wearing masks.)  They'll be looking after LGN tomorrow, Wednesday & Thursday. (His mom has Fridays off.)  
• Today/Tuesday: We slept in until 9:30 a.m. (again!!). (If we hadn't gotten up when we did, we would have had a pretty rude awakening about an hour later -- monthly test of the building's fire alarm system!  lol)  Dh went to get some groceries and some takeout soups for lunch, and then we headed over to BIL's to see LGN (again) and find out more about how their trip went. We were all pretty tired, though, so we didn't stay long (much to LGN's displeasure). We probably won't see him again until Eastertime, because.... 
• Wednesday/Tomorrow:  We're setting the alarm clock again:  our property manager will be coming by sometime in the morning (before noon) to check out the noises from the bathroom (a full WEEK after we first heard them!). We told her we could do the morning, but not the afternoon, because...
• ...we will be heading into the city for our annual checkups with our longtime optometrist. We normally ask for a mid-morning appointment to avoid rush-hour traffic, but his assistant was able to schedule us on an earlier date because someone cancelled. Here's hoping traffic will be lighter than usual (because everyone is spending break week in Mexico or Florida, etc., lol...) -- and that my eyes continue to be healthy (after my surgery two summers ago).  
• Thursday: Our usual laundry day -- but we'll have to finish up by lunchtime or later in the afternoon/evening, because in the early afternoon we will be heading.... 
• ...back to our old community:  I have an appointment with our family doctor -- a follow up visit re: a red patch (rosacea? eczema?) on my left cheek (mentioned here). It's much better than it was when I saw another doctor at the same clinic on Feb. 22nd -- much less red/rough/inflamed and no longer itchy -- but it's still there, still somewhat noticeable, and taking its sweet time to disappear.  :p  (Very annoying.) 
• On our way there or back, we'll stop off at the cemetery with some Easter decorations for Katie's niche. 
• And on our way back, we'll probably stop off at the drugstore:  I'm in need of a few items. 
• Friday:  Dh will be setting the alarm:  we need new tires for our car (8 years old, almost 70,000 km on it), and BIL has arranged a good deal for him with a guy he knows. He & dh will be going there around 8 a.m.  Meanwhile, it's our regular housecleaning day, so I'll get started on that and do as much as I can myself until he gets back.

How is YOUR week shaping up? 

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here.