I almost made it to dance class this evening. I got up early this morning (which always feels so good I wish I'd do it more often), and then went to vote, at a church up the road. The TV tonight is talking about record turnouts - not here, I guess. At 11 am, I was the only person there. (There's a retired widow in Florida whose journal I read, who says that she tried 5 times to vote early in Florida but the lines were always more than 2 hours long, but today there was almost no one there. Odd.)
After I left the church, I passed a road I'd never been down before, so I turned around and explored it. I LOVE having the compass in the car! I can plot a route on roads I've never been on before, just by watching the compass. I managed to wander for an hour, and still come out on route 199 just east of the village, exactly where I wanted to be. The back roads are so pretty now, all covered with leaves. I had to stop twice to let large flocks of wild turkeys cross. In my wandering, I passed two other polling places, and there were very few cars there, too.
Then I visited a jeweler in the village who designs and makes all the settings for his jewelry. I had bought a pleating attachment for my sewing machine, and it doesn't quite fit. The needle comes down just to the right of the center hole. These attachments used to be adjustable, and in fact, the adjustment spot has a slot that looks like it should allow you to slide the mechanism left and right, but instead of an adjustment screw, there's a permanent rivet. (Probably because people would allow the screw to loosen, letting the needle hit the plate, break, and fly into a face - instant lawsuit!) Thanks to Jay's fascination with the tiny, I have some wonderful itty-bitty brass bolts complete with nuts and washers that would work just fine in that slot. So I thought maybe someone with a tiny tool and a steady hand could maybe punch/drill out the rivet. Ahah! A jeweler!
He managed to move the mechanism without removing the rivet, and showed me where to tap it to adjust it further if necessary. He didn't charge, and gave me 50% off anything in the shop (they have an invitation-only sale going), so I walked out with a very pretty amethest/citrine ring (one stone - it shades from purple to yellow - the two colors grew next to each other naturally) that I had fallen in love with while he was working on the pleater.
Then I ate lunch (open-face pot roast sandwich) at Betty's in the middle of the village (the best cole slaw!), where I sat in a corner in the window and read a Newsweek, then I went to the grocery store and bought milk and yogurt. Saw Jay's ex there, but managed to avoid her.
Then I went across the river to the Wal-mart, to see if I could still buy a particular lipstick - I love it and it isn't sold online, only at Wal-Marts and Rite-Aids. I want to buy five, and stick them in the refrigerator for the future. They had the maker (Jane by Sassaby), but not the particular line (Lucky Star) let alone the color (Starlet Rose - a mauve lipgloss with sparkles), but I got to chatting with a Wal-Mart lady (Ellen) whose sister works in cosmetics at a larger store out route 28 somewhere, and she's going to check with her sister for me. I felt almost silly asking for it. "Jane" is for teenyboppers, not grown up ladies. But I like the sparkly transparency and the way it feels on.
By the time I got home, it was 4:30 pm, and my back was feeling fine! I was sooooo happy!
By 5:30 I was feeling the effects of perhaps overdoing. I had an ache at the top back of my left hip. By 6:15, when I would have had to leave for class, it had expanded to both hips. It's not pain, just a tired achy feeling, so I'm not unhappy, but I think it would be a good idea not to push it. So I've missed the third class in a row.
I have to be careful not to lose tone in my back, so I'm going to have to start pushing pretty soon. Maybe tomorrow..........................
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