Four days off...

Yippeee! I have four days off (well, actually, only two more off...I've been off two already)! See the previous post as to what we did on my first night off. Dean was pretty kind when he said it was cold out. Man-o-manochevitz it was freezing! Even with layers and blankets on, I was shivering! It's always amazing how it can be so cold up in the mountains and then by the time we get back to Tucson we're taking off the layers because it's warmer in town - lower altitude. It was a good night of observing, however, and Dean took some really nice pictures! The first time I came to visit Dean in Tucson we went observing on Kitt Peak and he took a picture of us observing together. I think I should add the one from Empire Ranch to a frame with the original one!

Last week I picked up the 'new' (antique) table for the dining room. We only had two chairs that would work with that table, so that started another 'quest' for us. Since this past Friday I have hit most of the thrift shops on the west side of Tucson, in search of chairs! That quest ended yesterday with the finding of chair numbers 5 and 6. Oddly, all of the chairs we've gotten at the thrift shops are very similar. It just seems like someone took chairs around to the shops and dropped one at each shop! It would have saved me some gas if they had taken them all to the same place. The next part of this project is getting them to all be about the same color - preferably the color of the table. One of the four chairs is pretty close, it's the other three that need to be changed. That means a trip to the hardware store to see what kind of products I can find. That's my goal for this morning!

Last evening we went to the photo group from the astronomy club. The photo group is a sub-group of the TAAA (Tucson Amateur Astronomers Association) that Dean spearheaded quite some time ago. It's for people who are interested in astro-photography. They share pictures, of course, but also great tips on what equipment to use and how to use it to it's fullest potential. They meet at a local Chinese restaurant once a month. First there's dinner and socializing, then the pictures and instructional part of the evening. Many of the group are people that I know from the regular group - and are friends. I did get to meet some new people last night, however, and also saw a friend I hadn't seen for a couple of years. Dean shared the pictures that he took on Sunday night - which everyone enjoyed. It was a nice evening!

This morning I have completed my work schedule for most of February. I have always had 'block hours' (the same thing every two weeks) at my previous job. This is my first foray into "self scheduling" and I was concerned. It's much easier than I thought it would be! UMC has an incredible staffing software program which can be accessed from my computer here at home. That allows everyone to have equal chance to get their schedule in and not be left with the 'bad shifts' only. Even after this first time of doing my schedule, I feel like I really have the 'hang of it'! Yea!