I always like to talk to cashiers, especially those at Superstore because I go there so often. The other day I said to a nice cashier how hard I’d find it to work with the public. She said she thought so too before she took the job. She said it’s surprising, as most people are okay, plus she said she used to be a support worker and often thought about work after her day. With this job she said she just leaves and that’s that.

That’s one of the bad things about working from home, which is that home and work are intermingled, so one can never tell which is which. Hence in the day I answer the phone, “Moni speaking” to which friends reply “Alison speaking” or some smart ass answer like that.

However all of that’s minor as I have to say the happiest day of my life occurred in June 2007 when I realized I was going to be working from home for the rest of my days. It takes a small bit of discipline, but it has a lot of perks, the major ones being I can do bits of garden work all day long and hang with the pets.

I refused to clean the windows or do any sweat-inducing jobs for the past few weeks due to the intense heat. It’s finally cooled down a bit, and we had much-needed rain, and guess what? I refuse to clean the windows or vacuum in the sun room, both of which need to be done.

It’s terrible to be such a lazy person. While something like that beckons, I ignore it and instead made a batch of death by chocolate cookies. It’s a really easy recipe and one I plan to include in my July/August newsletter. But why make cookies instead of cleaning? Because it’s fun.

Margaret’s arriving on Wednesday for a few days, so we plan on doing the usual thrift store browsing. It’s my equivalent of big game hunting. Nothing makes me happier than finding a great item for a few bucks. Again, fun!

You’d be surprised how shocked some people are by that idea. At my birthday party in Osoyoos I thought it’d be of great interest, so as people talked about clothes I happily announced, “I buy all my stuff at thrift!” The assembled quietened, and some looked as though they’d been punched.

I tried hard to cheer them up by naming the labels (Liz Claiborne, Simon Chang) that I get, as well as describing things like my snakeskin loafers, bought for $3. Nothing seemed to change their mood, though Martha managed to squeak out a “Well good for you!”

I invited Martin, Diane, and Denis, to come over on Wednesday for dinner to visit with Margaret, given they’re her family. The weather’s supposed to be back to being hot, so hopefully too hot to sit in the sun room and therefore no one will notice it’s absolutely filthy.

I’m going to make salmon a la Jerralynn, which is topped with brown sugar and butter. For dessert I’ll crumble the newly-made cookies into a bowl, top with ice cream, home made cherry compote and a dollop of whip. Again, my idea of a good time.