Split Shift?

Or lunch? That's the question. Actually, it's a very long, usually 3-hour lunch, which makes it a "split shift." If I got a regular 1/2-hour lunch, I could be off work by 3:30. But, no. I get a longggg lunch. In a town where I don't live. Too far to come home and go back.

So, I've gone exploring in this little (compared to my own) town, and found the bestest park! It's HUGE, and the old part, the part I like, is full of great, big old oak trees, so it's green and shady and very cool. Which is a good thing, because with temps in the 90's and 100's, green and cool counts for a lot. I'll have to remember to bring my camera so I can take pictures of the green-ness and cool-ness, and post them.

What do I do here in this lunch-place?

I park my car in the shade, pull out a book, and read. And eat my meal. And, the really essential part, I take a little nap. I've never, ever been a nap-person. I've only ever taken, maybe, two naps a year, and only when I was dead tired. I really don't like having to wake up in the morning, and taking a nap means having to do the whole "wake up" thing twice. So, naps have always been out. Until now, when I'm only sleeping about 5 hours a night. After a few days, I'm tired. So, I set the alarm on my cell phone for 30 minutes, lay back, and drift off. Not completely, but more a dozing sort of nap. It really helps.

I've also begun bringing my journal and my knitting. Here's a picture of the shawl I've been working on for Daughter #1.

It's only about 1/2 completed, and it's taking forever because it's almost completely garter stitch.

There's also a detail shot of the shoulder and center back.



Garter stitch should be quick, right? Okay, it is, but it's b-o-r-i-n-g. And this shawl is worked on the V, so the rows are each side of the V, and the shoulder/top section gets done with each V-side. So, this means my actual rows right now are about 200 stitches. B-o-r-i-n-g, and t-e-d-i-o-u-s. I'm using 36-inch circular needles, 2 of them, with a point protector on one end of each.

But I love my Daughter, and she wants a Faire shawl, one she can wear with her Celtic Faire costumes. So it's really plain, not fancy. I've included a couple of sections of stockinette, for a really basic design, and I'll probably put fringe of some sort on it once it's large enough. It's all acrylic, because no WAY am I spending the money on real wool or silk or cotton for something that's just gonna be thrown in the wash! Besides, it's warm, and sometimes there's snow at the Faires.

Last night both Daughters and I went to Target and bought a mini-DVD player, so I can watch a movie during my split shift sometimes. I didn't even know these DVD players existed until my little grandson was in the hospital for 5 days the week before his 6th birthday this past spring. Poor little thing-- he had "occular cellulitis," and his right eye was swollen shut and the eye was even being pushed from it's normal position. He was on an antibiotic IV the whole time he was in. But, he had a little mini-DVD player, so got to watch his Sponge Bob. Not that he enjoyed it much, he hurt a lot. There was morphine in his IV, too.

I've also been bringing my journal. It used to be my Morning Pages, but since I'm not doing it in the mornings now, it's a Journal.

So, anyway, I'm finding quiet ways to spend my lunch hours (literally-- HOURS), and I'll surely be looking for more ways as time goes on. Maybe I can find a cheap grocery store, and do my shopping. Nothing that'll melt or go bad sitting in my trunk, though.

So far, so good. Except for buying gas, because all this mileage uses it up! But I refuse to think about that.

Maybe these split shifts will be an oasis of calm. I like oases of calm. They're my favorite places to be.