Prior to the weekend I already had my post for Monday (yesterday) drafted in my mind's eye. Beautiful pictures of Stone Hill Winery, the Katy Trail and the Hermanhoff Inn would have dotted the webpage, and a story about our lovely weekend in Hermann, Missouri - sampling the spirits from various wineries - would have been told. But, before we could leave for the little German village on the Missouri River on Saturday morning...Matt and I got sick.
We had made plans last month to visit the town, stay at a local B&B, and go on the Hermann Wine Trail for our Valentine's Day celebration. We were both really excited about the weekend, and had the car packed and the bikes ready to go - in hopes of taking a ride along the scenic Katy Trail. But, it just wasn't meant to be.
We called the Hermanhoff Inn Saturday around noon, after an exhaustive morning of questioning whether we should go or not: "Maybe it's just something we ate...", "We'll feel better by tomorrow probably....", "It's a two hour car ride...are you going to feel okay during a two hour car ride?" So, with heavy hearts we cancelled our stay at the cozy B&B in Hermann, got a 50% refund on our stay, and a pleasant request to come visit as soon as we were feeling better. Why does it always seem that when you have time off - long weekends and holidays - you always seem to get a heinous cold or some 24-48 hour malady that runs its course and has you back and ready to go for work on Tuesday, but kills your plans for Monday? That's life, I suppose.
So we spent the weekend at home: cleaning and re-cleaning the bedsheets, disinfecting bathrooms and all surfaces that came in contact with our hands or Kleenexes alike, and lazing about. By Monday we were feeling much better. Matt worked on a paper for school, and I signed up for online cooking classes through America's Test Kitchen Cooking School. Something I'm greatly looking forward to blogging about in the coming weeks!
Today, feeling fully recovered, I hit the gym and then drove up to Crocker - a little village only about 15 miles away - to visit a volunteer-run animal shelter affiliated with the Pulaski County Humane Society. Since I still have not heard back from the women's shelter about training or support programs (every time I call the shelter manager she tells me: "I've got your application. I just need to finalize some things with the court, but I'll get back with you..."), I decided that I would start looking for other volunteer opportunities. I found an absolutely wonderful organization called the Loving Paws Adoption Center, and I begin my volunteer-career tomorrow morning! I'm going to do two days at the shelter each week (Wednesday and Thursday mornings), as well as some Sunday afternoons.
So, despite the setback of the weekend, it's been a good Monday and Tuesday. I have more things to do, more things to see, and more to share. Needless to say, I'm motivated and excited about it all! Stay tuned...who knows what's to come...
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