And the road goes on forever...

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Fleeting Fall

It has been such a rainy past month in Wisconsin that I haven’t been able to get out and enjoy the fall colors as I normally do. Now, leaves are rapidly falling, and I may miss the entire thing, oh no!
Having made the decision not to go west this winter I was faced with how best to spend my time alone. Marc now only gets a home visit every six weeks and I abhorred the idea of being stuck inside all winter by myself, with boredom potentially following. So, I decided for my mental and financial well-being it was time to go back to work! 

Waupaca has a very low unemployment rate and just about every establishment has a Help Wanted sign out front so finding something was easy. Knowing I did not want to cashier, I decided to take the first thing offered where I also first applied, as a chance to have a somewhat flexible part-time schedule and be a job where I’d learn new skills. I can now say I’m known as the “donut Queen”, as I work at the bakery of a local supermarket, primarily responsible for producing and frosting/icing the donuts that get made daily. Here’s an example of my daily output for the "case" and in addition we often have special orders we fill--on this Sunday I also did a 5 dozen church order!
I am also being trained to bag and label/price the various rolls, breads, muffins, etc. that roll out of the oven without break during the wee morning hours. Yes, my work is primarily the graveyard shift; weekends I arise at 2:30 a.m. to make it to work by 3:30 to do a five-hour shift. Otherwise, I have a more normal 7-10 a.m. shift bagging and pricing. I’m trying to stay at not more than a 20-hour workweek but suspect that will rise around the holidays when it gets super busy. 

I still have found time to work in my volunteer work with the shelter, although given the early morning work hours I often must nap during the day. Being in a set routine and sticking close to home I suspect my blog may grow strangely quiet this winter, so bear with me. I’m undecided yet as to whether I will continue working when summer rolls around and I have so much yard work and watering to keep up with, to say nothing of the annual shelter rummage and bake sale responsibilities. I enjoy being active and busy and feel those who work or are engaged in civic activities/volunteerism maintain a much better outlook as they age, so who knows?