i'm just mad about saffron

I apparently forgot to blog yesterday, but the only thing that you missed was that I made a fish chowder which was not [censored]'s favorite...but I'd been craving it and I was v. happy to eat it, so hopefully [censored] will live. It was very bad repayment for the fact that [censored] put up my remaining office and bedroom blinds, but we're still speaking, so I think it's okay.

Today was pretty productive, all in all - I actually got dressed in real clothes and put on makeup when I woke up just to get myself into the work frame of mind, since all I wear anymore is variations on a pajama theme. The clothing seemed to help, or at least I was in the right mood - after I put my desk back together (since I'd had to tear apart my office to give [censored] access to the windows), I wrote approximately ten pages before / after lunch. This was more than I've written in a day in a v. v. long time, and [censored] is about to discover how weird I get when wandering around the house after a lot of writing in a day, which is something only Terry and Adit have deep experience with. I'm happy with how the story is going, although I suspect I'm currently wandering in a cul-de-sac that won't stay in the final draft, but we'll see.

At some point, I took a break for lunch (and made a v. tasty grilled ham and cheese sandwich). And I did some house stuff after I was done writing - mostly cleaning my pendants in my kitchen and testing some new bulbs, and also saying farewell to [censored]. At some point, I took trash to my dad's dumpster, and I ate some leftover chowder. I also did some stuff for the volunteer activity I'm getting involved in, since we have a meeting tomorrow. And I played some more Zelda, without perhaps making much progress, but it's hard to tell with that game. And now, I must sleep - goodnight!

welcome back to the age of jive

I'm tired, but it's my own fault - I've let myself get into this Zelda game over the past couple of days, which has meant staying up later than I should have. Luckily for me, my battery died a little before midnight tonight, so I'm going to go to bed and hope that I make up for lost sleep tonight.

Despite that, I haven't been entirely lazy - I spent yesterday and a bit of time this morning finishing the paint job in the bathroom, so at least I'm done with that. And today, I also made eggs for brunch and then potatoes au gratin for dinner - I took the potatoes to my parents' house to go with a ham and some baked beans that my mom made, and it was all pretty delicious.

Beyond that, I have very little to report, and a lot that I want to get done tomorrow - so I think it's time for bed. Goodnight!

it's eating through you, it's making its move

I had a v. productive day, especially considering that we got a lot of snow and I felt like it was a snow day. However, while [censored] did get a snow day, I had no one to tell me that I got a snow day as well, so I decided to proceed with business as usual.

Well, not entirely - I did sleep until almost ten. But then I got with it. I made some coffee, wrote four pages, showered, and ate a late lunch (cobb salads ftw). At that point, the snow was still falling quickly, so I watched it for a bit, and then I spent the afternoon painting in the bathroom. I finished all the surfaces that are standing in the way of [censored] being able to finish the plumbing, and so tomorrow I just have to paint above the entrance and closet doors (once) and paint the south wall (twice). This is entirely doable and feels much less precarious than trying to paint over the vanity / medicine cabinet / light bar, so things are getting close.

When I was done painting, I made burrito bowls for dinner, which were v. tasty. Then I came upstairs and intended to read a book - but on a whim, I picked up my Nintendo Switch (which I haven't played since the height of the pandemic) and started Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. I'm like six years late to this party, and Nintendo is releasing a new Zelda game in three months, but I'd bought this sometime during the pandemic and then ended up not playing it. I was originally going to play Civilization, but my desktop is currently unplugged for reasons and I didn't want to play on my laptop....so Zelda it was. So far so good, although open ended games are dangerous for me because I can explore forever and possibly never go anywhere...but for now it's fun.

However, it also kept me up later than planned, and since I want to write and paint again tomorrow, I should probably sleep. Goodnight!

slightly bored and severely confused

Today was better than yesterday, but it was probably the rush of adrenaline that comes with knowing that we're about to get inundated with snow and wind. I also had a 9:30am in-person meeting, which is incredibly rare in my new world (and in my old world, where no one went to the office even after we were all supposed to go to the office). I went into town to talk to someone about the volunteer thing I'm getting involved in, and I think I'm now even more involved, which is pretty par for the course when it comes to me getting involved in things.

Then I ran to the grocery store to opportunistically stock up on things, came home, and realized I should have bought eggs, since they were the only thing I actually needed. I made lunch first (mason jar cobb salads, + one for me to eat today), and then ran back to the grocery store for eggs. Then I had a call, changed into my painting clothes, and did some bathroom painting. I only got two walls done, but it's going well, so hopefully I can wrap it up tomorrow.

When I lost interest in painting, I wrote for awhile and knocked out five pages. I also ate a v. late dinner right as [censored] got home - he beat the storm, but the winds are turning. We watched the ISU game and chatted for a bit, and now I am going to go to bed so that I can paint and write and cook again tomorrow. Goodnight!

i can buy myself flowers

I am extremely delighted that I will wake up tomorrow morning with no one in my house. Granted, [censored] is welcome anytime, but [censored] is in [censored] tonight. But my contractor wrapped up the last day of work today - he still has to come back in a couple of weeks when we get the final piece of trim for the vanity, but as of today's he's basically done. We still have to finish some tings (I need to do some deep cleaning, and [censored] has some remaining plumbing, and we have a joint agreement to paint some tings), but things are otherwise done and I'm *delighted*.

Of course, Randy was here all day today, so I was a bit distracted - but I got some administrative stuff done, which I'll take. And eventually, Randy left, and then [censored] vacated, and I had the house to myself for the evening. So, I wrote for an hour, ate some leftover salmon, and watched an episode of SEVERANCE - I've been meaning to watch it forever, but I was finally in the mood to start it tonight. So far so good, and I'm eager to see where it goes.

And now, I'm going to go to bed and wallow in it - goodnight!

i'd dress them wicked, i'd give them names

The flooring is all installed and I'm v. v. pleased with it (and also pleased that it's done). The installer will have to come back at some point to put in a trim piece that hadn't arrived at the store yet, but the kitchen, pantry, dining room, and bathroom are all done. And they all look great - I'm glad that it all looks good, because I was worried it would go horribly awry at the last minute if it turned out that I'd made the wrong choice based on the flooring samples.

Installation would have actually been done sooner, but I ended up feeding the installer (and [censored]) lunch, which added some long-winded (pun intended) tornado discussions to the mix. Still, we were done by 1:30 or so, and my house is almost done. Of course, Randy has to come back next week to finish the trim, and then there are myriad other projects that [censored] and I (and my dad, in some cases) have discussed - doors, patio / privacy fence, gazebo refresh, trees, install window treatments, basement storage overhaul, garage redesign, garage door openers, a possible remodel of my bathroom, finish redoing the prison bathroom in the basement, etc., etc., etc.

However, all of that is going to wait for awhile - I am really deeply eager to get into writing the book more steadily, and I also want to do some travel, so I need a break from house projects. Still, I'm glad that we did the kitchen / bath, since the space is so much more functional that it will make living here even better.

sssanyway, I took care of a variety of tings this morning and afternoon, and then my houseguests arrived - Aunt B and Uncle B came in from Colorado for "Christmas", and Aunt Kathy and Drewbaby are arriving tomorrow. Luckily, the flooring is done, but unluckily, there still isn't a toilet on the main floor of the house. However, so far so good. We had dinner at the Mexican restaurant in town, and it was delicious - and the staff was excited to see my dad, since he rarely goes in anymore and usually [censored] and I just pick up takeout. Then, my parents went home and the rest of us came to my house, where Aunt B and Uncle B got the tour of the latest house developments, and then we talked until relatively late. And now, I really should sleep so that I can make a million food items tomorrow - goodnight!

playing my candied tangerine telecaster

I didn't write today, and I'm trying not to let it eat at me. I did, however, get a lot of sleep last night, which is a feat I want to repeat (and need to go to bed immediately if I'm going to accomplish that goal). And I was awake in time to greet Randy when he arrived - suddenly, after almost two months, he's basically done, which is both v. exciting and also a little bittersweet. He finished installing the vanity today, touched up a bunch of paint, fixed some grout in my kitchen, and did some other finishing touches before packing up the majority of his tools in the garage. He hasn't billed me for anything yet, so I assume I will see him again - and he's supposed to come back to finish some trim work after the flooring is installed, so we're not totally done. But as much as he's been great, I'm really looking forward to having my mornings to myself again.

Tomorrow morning is not that dream come true, though - flooring installation starts tomorrow, unless they are held up elsewhere. Since that's happening tomorrow, I had to run errands today - so I went to the next town over to hit up bigger grocery stores + Walmart in preparation for this weekend's festivities. I found just about everything I needed, so presumably we'll be well fed for Christmas Round Two.

After Randy left for the day, I did a bunch of cleaning / moving tings in preparation for flooring. Then, I went out to my parents' house - my mom offered to cook for me, and I wasn't going to turn down a cheeseburger (even if my coconut chicken curry leftovers are so delish that no one else in the family will take them from me because they don't want to make me sacrifice such a delight).

And now, I need to go to bed - goodnight!

my heart's been pouring through my chest

I really wanted to be as lazy as possible today, but the house project stops for no one, and I'm also hosting people for Christmas later this week, so I had to get cracking. I did sleep in a little bit, but then I forced myself to get up, shower, and make eggs and hash browns for me and [censored]. Breakfast was v. tasty and I enjoyed it up until the point where I spilled coffee in my lap - not a lot, and luckily it had cooled down a bit, but I think I gave myself just a bit of a burn to remember the moment by for the next few days.

After that, I definitely wanted to be lazy, but I forced myself to clean the living room. This doesn't sound like an onerous task, but construction has produced so much dust that I needed to clean everything. And that meant tediously vacuuming all sides of all cushions on the sectional, since it was clear that the couch was just as dusty as all the other surfaces. After a few hours of cleaning, the living room was mostly restored to cleanliness - it still has some issues because it's housing items that belong in other rooms, but for now it's much better.

I also did a variety of other tings, like three loads of laundry, and also cleaning out the bathroom closet so that we can install new flooring this week. And eventually, I made burrito bowls (dinner of champions) for me and [censored], as a continued effort to (under)pay [censored] for leadership contributions to the house's plumbing situation.

And now, I need to gather my thoughts in anticipation for the week - I want to write as many days as it's possible to write, and that means starting tomorrow. Goodnight!

so i woke up with a curse, i was searching i was looking through the purse

I had a strangely busy day, which was probably good because it was incredibly gloomy out, and I could feel the freezing rain start to drag on my mood. Rather than sitting at my desk or kitchen counter, I spent most of the day curled up on my chaise in my bedroom - good for my coziness, bad for my spine.

I spent some time in the morning reading the lecture for my writing class and thinking about the main takeaways. Then I had a long chat with a college friend, which was really lovely. After that, I swung my kettlebells for a bit, took a shower, and had a late, ravenously-consumed burrito bowl for lunch. And I chatted with Katie, who is always a delight.

I spent the afternoon taking care of some tings and talking to Randy, and then I had another long chat - this time with Barbara, whom I hadn't seen in ages, and who has now abandoned Colorado just like I have (although she moved to a small town on the Oregon coast, which is far more picturesque than here, although maybe my view of the gas station and the rodeo arena is just as impressive as her view of the Pacific Ocean). It was great to catch up and talk about writing and life, and hopefully we'll chat more now that I've (mostly) recovered from my extreme Zoom aversion.

After that, I procrastinated a bit, did some laundry, and ate leftover salmon for dinner. Then I wrote a handful of notes to myself about my book, folded my laundry, and spent the rest of the evening reading the first section of THE SEVEN MOONS OF MAALI ALMEIDA. It won the Booker Prize last year, and it's a magical realism novel set against the backdrop of Sri Lanka's civil war - so far it's interesting, and the premise/voice are compelling. But I need to stop reading it and go to bed immediately if I'm going to wake up in time for construction to begin tomorrow - goodnight!

and you'll begin to wonder why you came

I had a lovely day, despite the fact that it continues to be mercilessly grey and dreary. I made a lightning-quick trip to Des Moines out of sheer necessity - my tires were basically bald, so I had an appointment to get them changed, and then I picked up a bunch of alternative tile options for the bathroom, grabbed a salad to go, got a handful of groceries, and came back home. The tires are something I could have theoretically done closer to home, but the Audi is an unfamiliar vehicle in the land of tricked-out pickups, so I thought the city would be a better place for such service.

The tile, of course, could not be done closer to home - I had picked up trim pieces for the shower, but we decided they weren't quite the right depth, so I got some more tile (and some more shower shelves) and returned a previous set of shower shelves. And the groceries perhaps could have been done closer to home, but I'm excited to have nice-looking blueberries for my oatmeal this week.

sssanyway, I was home by 3:45, which was good. On the way, I listened to part of Prince Harry's memoir - it's amazing how that family has so much innate privilege, and also so much built-in hierarchy on which to treat each other badly. Also, his recollections of his mom's death are unbearably sad. There's a lot of memoir to get through, which will take awhile since I usually only listen to audiobooks in the car - but I would say, without going into any of the rest of it, that his hatred of the British press is entirely justified.

When I got home, I procrastinated for awhile, said farewell to [censored], and made myself some v. delicious salmon teriyaki with roasted broccoli and rice. Then, I talked to Veronica for awhile, which was what I needed. I also checked in on the Iowa State score, which was great (we beat Texas!). And then I finished reading A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE - it's a bizarre space opera that I think I enjoyed? Actually, I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it. And now i want to read the sequel, but I also have a million other books on my list, so we'll see.

And now, I need to sleep - goodnight!

searching for signs of life, but there's nobody home

Happy birthday to my mom! And also happy birthday to Chandlord! A momentous day indeed!

Beyond the birthdays, I have little to report - I got up this morning and made eggs and hashbrowns on my new stove, and I was quite happy with how it performed. Then, [censored] and I watched some SNL while eating, which is a nice Sunday tradition (even if this season is still real rough).

After that, we moved mattresses and box springs around between here and my parents' house - I'll spare you the details, but we were swapping newer / older models and putting older models in the rolloff dumpster that I now have at my house. It was only fourteen degrees when we did this, but that's about the warmest it will be this week, so we decided to do it anyway.

[censored] then spent the afternoon cleaning up the garage, and I should have helped...but my trash is [censored]'s treasure, so I stayed out of the way. Instead, I washed a bunch of dishes (in the bathroom, which is not efficient), cleaned out my fridge/freezer, did some Christmas shopping, and put the shelves in most of my upper cabinets. I'm really eager to get my kitchen organized, although I can't really do that until the countertops are in and the rest of the handles/pulls are installed. But so far it's coming together, and I can't wait for the end result.

Eventually, [censored] and I ate some leftover spaghetti before [censored] headed for [censored]. Then I watched another YouTube video about my StrengthsFinder writing strengths before adjourning to my room and taking care of some tings. And now I'm going to journal and go to bed - goodnight!

i can only stand apart and sympathize

I should have gone to bed an hour ago, but I am doing some bedtime procrastination since the rest of my day didn't go completely according to plan. I had intended to write this morning, but Randy is moving faster than we thought he would with the kitchen, which means I had to make some decisions and order some tings for the bathroom. This maybe wouldn't have been so time-sensitive, but shipping around the holidays is turning into a problem, and Randy apparently doesn't intend to take off any time around Christmas except, perhaps, the 26th. So, we have to be ready for him to keep going - which is great for my medium/long-term happiness, and stressful for my short-term desire to get things done.

Beyond that, though, he hung my pendant lights, which are either too large (according to Randy/[censored]'s dubious looks) or just right (according to me and Pinterest). And he finished installing all the can lights, which are thankfully not too much, and also placed several cabinets + insured I had outlets where I needed them. The kitchen is starting to come together, and I'm delighted by it - there are still elements that could make or break things (like the uppers, or the countertop, or the flooring), but things are really looking good right now.

The rest of my day was uneventful - I got some groceries, ate leftover burrito bowls with [censored], talked to Alyssa, and spent some afternoon time theoretically trying to write. I also tried a new orange chicken recipe in the instant pot - I probably wouldn't make it again without major modifications, but it wasn't bad. However, it was outshone by the frozen egg rolls that I crisped up in my air fryer - I only had one (and should have had zero bc gluten), but they were delish. And it's a good reminder to add the air fryer to my construction-kitchen repertoire.

After supper, I had a long-overdue call with Terry and Lauren (aka Subz) - I've mostly ignored all my friends for the past few months as I've moved / settled / tried to figure out what I want my life to look like, so our chat was very nice and I'm glad we got a chance to catch up.

And finally, [censored] and I watched David Letterman's interview of Volodymyr Zelenskyy - Letterman flew to Kiev a few weeks ago and interviewed Zelenskyy in a Metro station 250ft below ground, and also filmed some footage around the city. It was pretty moving, in no small part because I recognized some of the places they were, and still feel a deep connection to Ukraine even though my memories are filtered through almost thirty years of another life lived separate from that strange and surreal year that I spent there. I do not think Ukraine would have made it if Zelenskyy hadn't stood up the way that he did in those first few days / weeks - the Russians expected him to flee with a planeload of cash the way most other leaders would, and instead he rallied the nation in a wholly unique and unexpected way. So, the interview was worth watching, even if it made me sad for what's happening now and how hard the winter will be.

And now, I really must sleep - goodnight!

now i'm falling down through the crashing sound

I had an unusually productive Saturday, despite staying up way too late last night. I got up a little before nine, made some scrambled eggs for me and [censored], and then showered and threw on some clothes so that I could go with my mom to a local craft fair. It was at the main building in town (which has a big open space + a stage and a kitchen, and is also the fire station and the library), and there were quite a few people there, which was great to see. We did a loop of all the vendors, and I knew approximately half of them; we also ran into a bunch of people, which is what happens in #smalltownlife. Then I did a second loop and bought some stuff - a hollowed out log with lights in it, and couple of pieces of Christmasy decor, and a very cute small wreath from Gloria (who was one of the reasons we went). All in all, it was a nice excursion, and it was good to see so many buyers and sellers.

Then we came back to my house and my mom went home; I unloaded, messed around for a little bit, and then spend the afternoon painting my closets. It went pretty quickly, all in all, and I don't think I got any paint on my carpet, which was my primary concern. I almost didn't bother painting, but the closets were scuffed up in places, so a fresh coat of white paint really helped to improve the situation. It should be dry by tomorrow, and then I can install closet organizers sometime this week so that I can hopefully proceed to the next phase of making my house a delight.

At some point in there, I took a break to talk to Aunt B, which was nice. I wrapped up around six, and then [censored] and I ordered pizza and drove into the other town to pick it up. It was quite tasty, and it put me in a mellow enough mood to watch some 'Family Guy' without complaint.

And now, I really need to go to bed - I have to clean out my kitchen tomorrow, and while that seems like an easy enough task, I assume it will take longer than planned and I don't want to get a late/tired start. Goodnight!

o geronimo, no minor ego

I had a lovely day, but it was more productive than I had intended - I had sort of planned to lie around and read all day, or perhaps mess around in my office. My morning was sufficiently lazy, although I did make some v. tasty scrambled eggs and hash browns. But then, [censored] and I somehow tricked ourselves into fixing the platform for my bed + mounting my bedroom tv + mounting [censored]'s bedroom tv.

I'm happy that this all got done, of course - we attempted to fix the bed in September but were missing a part, and then the project got postponed due to efforts to paint the garage. And because the bed frame was leaning against my bedroom wall since September, we hadn't been able to mount my tv. But now those things are where they should be, which means great things for my ability to finish setting up both my bedroom and my office. And [censored]'s bedroom tv looks great too, so at least all of that got done.

At some point, I made dinner for tonight (spaghetti amatriciana) and also prepped several ingredients to make cobb salads for the week. And [censored] and I watched WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY, which came out this weekend - it's a biopic that is a parody of Weird Al's life, which is appropriate given that his songs are parodies too. It was really really strange and mostly hilarious, so it was a nice way to spend the evening.

And now, I should really sleep - goodnight!

cut me down where the water meets the sea

Today was okay, but I'm thoroughly ready to retire my paint sprayer and never see it again. When I woke up, I felt like I was developing the cold that [censored] has, which is definitely not what I want. So, I made a vat of hot tea (followed by another vat a few hours later), and I also made a bigger than usual breakfast (hashbrowns with my v. tasty scrambled eggs) in an effort to ward off the plague. We'll see if any of it works, but at least I got through the day.

At some point, [censored] and I finally rallied and finalized our painting prep so that we could paint the garage ceiling. This continued to take longer at every step than I would like for it to take, since we're meticulous about prep and already had too much stuff in the garage, and the garage is hard to seal since we need access to almost every door. But we got everything sorted out, set up the sprayer, mixed up all the paint, and then painted the ceiling. And by that I mean I did the majority of the setup, but [censored] painted the entire ceiling, since [censored] is an excellent/masochistic buddy who is sacrificing spare time to make my house more pleasant. The painting took exactly one hour, with copious breaks to clean/defog goggles -- so, one hour of painting to 20+ hours of prep / cleanup continues to be the paint sprayer ratio.

Despite that, the garage looks great and I'm really glad we got it painted before we permanently fill it with all sorts of stuff. After we were done, I cleaned up a bunch of stuff and then made dinner (chicken burrito bowls in the instant pot), which [censored] and I ate while watching several episodes of CHARMED (I'm calling it research). And now I must sleep - goodnight!

it seems like once again you've had to greet me with goodbye

My hands are covered with paint, but luckily the garage walls are also covered with paint, so I think it was a worthy tradeoff. Today was far more manual labor than I like to pack into my Sunday, but there was really no other choice given the many tings that are coming up in my schedule over the next few weeks.

When I woke up this morning, I made some coffee and got ready, and then [censored] and I did some garage prep. Then, we took one of my mattresses to my parents' house (it's been sitting in my garage since I moved, but it's going to replace the mattress in my bedroom at their house). We also drove around the field, which is always fun.

The fun ended when we got back to town - I made some eggs to fortify us, and then we painted. We decided to roll the paint in the garage instead of spraying it due to the intense prep that spraying requires, but rolling has its own issues (namely, it hurts more due to the repetitive motions). But we successfully rolled a coat of stain/odor blocking primer, and then rolled a coat of paint, and it looks really good. It helps that [censored] has scaffolding on wheels, so when I was cutting in the ceiling with a brush, I could do several feet at once, and then [censored] could roll me on the scaffolding to the next location. This felt almost majestic, especially when I had to crouch down to avoid the garage door tracks and so felt like I was being slowly paddled down a jungle stream -- or perhaps the fumes from the primer really got to me.

sssanyway, all of that took 6+ hours, not including a break to let the primer dry. But it looks really good - I have some touching up to do, and then I need to tape up a whole bunch of plastic since we are going to spray the ceiling. But I think the project was #worthit, even though it was painful.

When we were finally done, we picked up Mexican takeout (I had it two days ago, but beggars can't be choosers here, and I am happy to eat that instead of having to cook after spending six hours painting). Then, I relaxed for a bit, and now I should sleep so I can get back into the writing swing of tings tomorrow. Goodnight!

i'm in the beauregards, slow me down if i get hard

Yesterday and today have been v. full of productivity, which is not what I signed up for with my #funemployed life. [jk, I am excited that I've been fairly productive since leaving the day job, which is not how the last two departures felt initially]

Yesterday, I was still in Cedar Rapids, where I enjoyed my free hotel breakfast before going to a coffee shop and writing for a couple of hours. [Censored] suggested that I go to Stillwater, which overlooks the river and has a v. city vibe - and I really enjoyed it, as well as the two pourover coffees that got me wired while I was there. I also wrote steadily for that couple of hours, and my story is taking strange and interesting turns, which means I really just want to be writing instead of doing manual labor.

However, I gave up the writing at lunchtime and met [censored]; we went to a place called Daisy's Garage, where I had a smothered chicken sandwich sans the sandwich part (so basically a chicken breast with peppers/onions/cheese) and some excellent tots. Then, [censored] took the afternoon off, so we went to Lowes to get some painting supplies, and then loaded a whole bunch of stuff in my car. I then drove home through a bit of rain the whole way, but the trip was otherwise uneventful. And I made it back in time to have Mexican takeout with my parents, which fortified me both yesterday and today, thanks to leftovers.

Today continued the productivity show - [censored] showed up last night, and we spent today doing myriad house projects. First, [censored] installed new overhead lights in my bedroom and my office, which wasn't entirely necessary (I'd gotten used to using the bare bulbs hanging overhead after painting) - but we needed to take the scaffolding down to the garage for our next project, and it had stayed upstairs for the express purpose of installing the lights. And I must say, I'm quite pleased that they're up and usable, so I'm one step closer to feeling settled in my bedroom/office.

Then, we hauled scaffolding downstairs, ate lunch, and spent the rest of the afternoon prepping the garage to paint the interior. This meant I spent most of the afternoon crawling around on concrete while wearing my gardening kneepads so that I could clean/tape/mask the trim. This was definitely not glamorous, but I will be happy when the garage is painted -- back doors around here are always the actual entrance, and the fact that everyone enters my house through the garage means I have some incentive to spruce it up. Also, if we don't paint it now, we will never paint it, so there's some incentive.

However, all of that effort made me tired, so [censored] and I mooched vegetable beef soup off the parents, then came back and watched a bit of TV before deciding that perhaps bedtime was in order. And so I should really sleep (which is what I planned to do an hour ago, before falling prey to online shopping). Goodnight!

they reach into my head to steal the glory of my story

I had a pretty chill day - some would argue that it was too chill, since I didn't finish getting my stuff out of the garage (which has been on the books for weeks). However, I have acquired the paint for the garage and have also purchased new garage door openers, so I would argue that I'm making some contributions, even if it's still going to be a slog to get to the point that [censored] and I can paint it next weekend.

Beyond that, I did clear out a bit of garage stuff today, which was better than nothing. I also put away some stuff upstairs, making yet another small dent in my disorganized post-move detritus. And I did a small bit of organizing in the basement. Someday, my house will be tidy and clean, but it is not this day.

In the afternoon, I took a break from house projects to go to a 50th anniversary party for Clell and Lee Ann. This is the kind of thing that I would normally have missed without a second thought because I wouldn't have flown back for it, but since I was here, I went. It was pretty nice and there was a good turnout, and I spent some time talking to various people (including the other, unrelated Clell; and also Clell's niece). Before we got to the party, [censored] and I also stopped to see a guy about [censored], which resulted in me getting some decent town gossip from the guy's wife (who is the mother of one of my high school classmates). So all in all, it was a very good #smalltownlife afternoon.

Then I came home, prepped some food, and went out to my parents' house to make dinner. I made a creamy chicken and mushroom parmesan dish with mashed potatoes + a caesar salad, and it was pretty tasty (if I do say so myself). And now, I should sleep in the interest of getting some tings done tomorrow - goodnight!

say goodbye to hollywood

I had a nice day - the weather is in that perfect in-between phase where it's nice and sunny but not too hot / not too cold, so after I made my coffee this morning, I took a bit of a walk around town. Some areas of town were hit hard by toilet paper this week, since it's homecoming and the kids indulged in a lot of tp-ing around the county, but I'm mostly unscathed. And I got back from my walk just in time to do some journaling while drinking more coffee, before showering, eating some huevos rancheros, and then driving to the next town over.

When I got there, I spent some quality time considering the endless question of countertops - I am struggling to decide how much I want to invest in a house that I will never get my money out of, vs. acknowledging that I intend to have it for the long haul and also cook all the time, and therefore want it to be nice. So, I discussed countertop samples with my supplier for awhile, which was quite helpful. Then, I went to Walmart to grab a few tings, came home, did some work, and took a nap.

Eventually, [censored] and I went to our parents' house for supper, where my dad had barbecued some really excellent chicken and my mom prepped baked potatoes and cheesy veggies to go with it. So, supper was v. tasty, and it was nice to hang out for awhile. When we got back to town, I abandoned [censored] so I could do some stuff for my online writing class + continue brainstorming my book. A v. interesting idea is cooking, but we'll see what comes out....

And now I really need to sleep - goodnight!

simply the best

Today was full of house stuff. I spent the morning finishing the paint cleanup  - pulling up dropcloths (which I shook out over my balcony and then dropped into the yard so that I wouldn't be hauling piles of paint dust through the house), vacuuming, cleaning the paint sprayer, etc. The paint job looks great and I'm really happy with the color (Gray Timber Wolf, which seems on brand), so I'm looking forward to finally finishing my bedroom decor. The biggest upgrade right now is using my proper bedside tables rather than the cardboard boxes I've used for the past ten months - they served me well, but it's time for real furniture.

I spent the afternoon alternating between procrastinating, doing four loads of laundry, moving furniture and other things around upstairs, and generally hanging out. And then I took a break to watch the US Open and what would turn out to be Serena's last match. While I'm not into tennis, I think Serena is great, and it was really moving to see her push through and play so well (even if she ultimately came up short). And I cried some cathartic tears at the end, so that was a fun way to spend a Friday evening.

Less fun is that I forgot that I was going to cook some chicken today, and I didn't want it to spoil, so I just poached some chicken at 11:30pm. And since the loads of laundry were mostly bedding, I also had to make my bed to be able to sleep in it (although it's mostly made now, so at least I can go to sleep sometime soon). But now I think it's time to wind down and go to sleep - goodnight!