Finally Friday (and I really mean that).

Well, in spite of all my efforts Thursday night with the Epsom salt bath I didn’t feel much better Friday morning. It was below freezing again, but with a projected high of 37 degrees (again) and supposed to be sunny with little wind.

I forgot to mention this (the rib pain having taken over my life this week) but I somehow screwed up the mantle clock on Sunday when I wound it. Winding it was normal, but just after that, on the hour, it chimed only once (like it was the half hour). And, on the half hour, it chimed the hour, but five hours later than it really was.

So, on Thursday, I was going to call Ken, but found I hadn’t put his number in my planner (I could have sworn I did). So, Friday morning (when I was running late but moving slow) I just grabbed my address book out of the drawer and took it into work.

Imagine my surprise when I opened the address book and didn’t find it in there, either! Now, I had Michelle the barber’s card, where she wrote it down and Ken’s card he gave me when I came, but they were both somewhere at home and no good to me at work. So, desperate, I called the barber shop and asked Michelle to read it to me again.

She did and I called his cell. I left a message, describing the problem and asked him to stop by whenever he could to fix it.

For a change, I went home at lunchtime, with just one stop: Westborn, for more Honeycrisp apples (I’ve been out for two days).

Back at work, I can honestly say my ribs weren’t doing any better (although they didn’t get any worse, as they had on the other days). I did have a voicemail from Ken, who said he’d be happy to stop by, but he didn’t need to. I should just give him a call when I got home and he’d talk me through it (gulp!)

I got a call from Jonboy Landscaping that they were at the house to do the final cleanup on my leaves and the gate was locked. I explained how to unlock it (I have to do this every time – you would think “somebody” would write this down).

I drove home after work, but got stopped by the train on Inkster. So, I got home a little later than usual. The first thing I noticed was that somebody (I assume the landscape guys) had picked up all my fake poinsettias (the highs winds a few days had blown all but one out of the mailbox tub) and stuck them back where they belonged. “Nice!” I thought.

Then I looked at the front yard in the fading light. “Not nice,” I thought. It looked like they never even did anything. Granted, there were just a few leaves left (this was the last area I mulched) but they were all still there. The garden hadn’t been touched and a small pile of leaves that had blown up against the garage was still there. WTF?

Once inside and the cats treated, I looked out the kitchen window. The big messes of leaves (especially under the trailer and the sailboat) were all gone. But, in the gathering gloom I could still see all the trash strewn across the back garden was still there. I could swear the last time I had this done, they blew out the gardens, too. Oh, well...

I changed into my bathrobe, called Ken and he successfully talked me through fixing the clock. He said if I had any further problems, he would come over. I asked him what might have caused this and he said I must have under-wound the spring for the chime. I dunno... I wound it like I always did – stopping when it started giving resistance. He said, no, wind it until it stops (that scares me, but I will try it I guess).

Since I didn’t have all the prep work this time, I made up another Epsom salts bath (I am trying to give this treatment a real shot). As I lay in the hot water, I pictured myself in a spa, with a mud mask on my face and cucumber slices over my eyes. Now, I could have made up some mud, I guess, but I don’t have any cucumbers. I do have dill pickle chips, but was unsure if they would have the same beneficial results.

Come to think of it, what are the beneficial results of putting cucumber slices on your eyes?

Once I was done with my bath and the rinse-off shower, I watched some taped TV (“Prime Suspect,” one of the few network shows I watch or tape).

Then I thought I should eat something. My stomach is always slightly queasy these days, probably from the pain pills. So, I grabbed that tube of crescent rolls I didn’t use (you remember, the back-up for the corn bread (that I never made).

I made them per the package instructions, only varying it by putting them on parchment paper (for easy clean-up) and brushing the tops with melted butter before sticking them in the oven.

I ate about three of them and my theory of them being bland (they were) and so helping settle my stomach (they didn’t) proved wrong. I watched the last of the Redwings game and then went to bed.