A Day without Rushing About
I've had a very quiet, peaceful, productive day. I need to do this more often.
Sean's been in Cleveland since about 9pm yesterday (he left right out of work, so the last time I saw him was very early yesterday morning), so I have the house to myself this weekend. Japan Week starts tomorrow, which means I'll be working most of the day, so I decided to stay home today to chill out and do chores. I'm still cleaning up a lot from the construction of last weekend... finding bits of woods, old nails, and roofing material in my yard and driveway. My friend Danielle and her new puppy Angel came over to romp about in the backyard for a few hours... Angel was very good, although she really wanted to meet Jasper (Jasper did not approve, though she did have a nose-to-nose interaction that didn't go too badly) and she ended up stepping in and subsequently smashing one of our riper butternut squashes, proceeding then to eat it (Danielle's not quite sure if squash is good for puppies or no...)
After a light lunch of autumn spinach salad with home-made maple vinaigrette, I decided to tackle my laundry and closet. It's starting to get cold enough here that I need a jacket and scarf in the mornings and late at night, and when I wore a skirt to work this week, it made me wish that I had unpacked my heavy stockings. So I got out my sweater boxes, only to discover that I really only have a few sweaters packed away. I went through everything, checking for fit and condition (I now have a partially-full bag of clothes to go to Goodwill, mostly due to fit issues). I washed all my summer clothes, put any of those that I no longer wear/fit into/need into the Goodwill bag, and packed the rest away. What I was left with in the end was half a rack of clothing - not really enough to even last me two weeks at work.
It was about 3pm by this time, so I got out the laptop, a small stash of catalogs, and put the ND/MSU football game on. In the end, I ended up ordered two beautiful plaid wool skirts from LL Bean (expensive, but should be worth it), and a bunch of sweaters from Land's End. I also got a navy blue cashmere scarf on clearance from Land's End for $10 (win). (For those looking for a cheaper alternative to stores like J. Crew and Talbott's, I would check out Land's End - they have a new fit called "No. 1: Modern" which is very tailored, much like the J. Crew stuff, but with better prices. Also more machine-washable stuff, of which I heartily approve, as much as I love merino wool and cashmere.) When we were home for Labour Day a week or two ago, Mum gave me a few sweaters and purses that she no longer wanted/fit into, including a beautiful small navy Italian leather purse, and a red leather saddlebag that I believe may be a 1980s Coach (there's no inside imprint and the tag is missing, but the quality is very nice, and it looks very much like a traditional Coach). I still have a little shopping to do - I need trousers, more stockings (I have two pairs left after last year, out of four total... I wear through them very quickly), shoes (my little black flats have completely worn out), and other accessories, but I'm hoping that today's little online shopping spree will point my in the right direction.
The best thing about today was that it was productive without being pressured - I got a lot of necessary chores done, but I was able to do them without being rushed. The last few weeks have been really insane, what with the construction of the porch, the preparation for the new academic year, and the necessary summer house-stuff (garden, tearing out of upstairs insulation, maintenance, etc...) Today I could sit when I wanted to sit, eat when I wanted to eat, and generally take it easy - while still getting things done. It's a very nice change, and one I hope to continue even when the husband is home.
I hope to finish up my hand-washing tomorrow (my bathroom is currently lined in dripping cashmere and wool sweaters...), do a good vaccuuming of the whole house (the vacuum is currently in pieces in my kitchen - I took it apart, scrubbed out every component, and it's now drying), and do a little more cleaning before I have to head to work for the Japan Children's Festival at 1pm. If I don't get it done, there's no worry, but I think I'll be able to. All in good time.
Additional: One of the best things about a quiet weekend is that I've been able to spend much of it reading. I finished Tracy Chevalier's Burning Bright, which was meh - certainly not as good as Girl with a Pearl Earring or Lady with a Unicorn. I'm just starting a book about Mozart's sister, and I recently purchased Leonie Swann's novel, Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story. I think that one's going to be really good. Now to go make the bed, get into the jammies, and curl up with the pussycats and one of those books... :-)
Sean's been in Cleveland since about 9pm yesterday (he left right out of work, so the last time I saw him was very early yesterday morning), so I have the house to myself this weekend. Japan Week starts tomorrow, which means I'll be working most of the day, so I decided to stay home today to chill out and do chores. I'm still cleaning up a lot from the construction of last weekend... finding bits of woods, old nails, and roofing material in my yard and driveway. My friend Danielle and her new puppy Angel came over to romp about in the backyard for a few hours... Angel was very good, although she really wanted to meet Jasper (Jasper did not approve, though she did have a nose-to-nose interaction that didn't go too badly) and she ended up stepping in and subsequently smashing one of our riper butternut squashes, proceeding then to eat it (Danielle's not quite sure if squash is good for puppies or no...)
After a light lunch of autumn spinach salad with home-made maple vinaigrette, I decided to tackle my laundry and closet. It's starting to get cold enough here that I need a jacket and scarf in the mornings and late at night, and when I wore a skirt to work this week, it made me wish that I had unpacked my heavy stockings. So I got out my sweater boxes, only to discover that I really only have a few sweaters packed away. I went through everything, checking for fit and condition (I now have a partially-full bag of clothes to go to Goodwill, mostly due to fit issues). I washed all my summer clothes, put any of those that I no longer wear/fit into/need into the Goodwill bag, and packed the rest away. What I was left with in the end was half a rack of clothing - not really enough to even last me two weeks at work.
It was about 3pm by this time, so I got out the laptop, a small stash of catalogs, and put the ND/MSU football game on. In the end, I ended up ordered two beautiful plaid wool skirts from LL Bean (expensive, but should be worth it), and a bunch of sweaters from Land's End. I also got a navy blue cashmere scarf on clearance from Land's End for $10 (win). (For those looking for a cheaper alternative to stores like J. Crew and Talbott's, I would check out Land's End - they have a new fit called "No. 1: Modern" which is very tailored, much like the J. Crew stuff, but with better prices. Also more machine-washable stuff, of which I heartily approve, as much as I love merino wool and cashmere.) When we were home for Labour Day a week or two ago, Mum gave me a few sweaters and purses that she no longer wanted/fit into, including a beautiful small navy Italian leather purse, and a red leather saddlebag that I believe may be a 1980s Coach (there's no inside imprint and the tag is missing, but the quality is very nice, and it looks very much like a traditional Coach). I still have a little shopping to do - I need trousers, more stockings (I have two pairs left after last year, out of four total... I wear through them very quickly), shoes (my little black flats have completely worn out), and other accessories, but I'm hoping that today's little online shopping spree will point my in the right direction.
The best thing about today was that it was productive without being pressured - I got a lot of necessary chores done, but I was able to do them without being rushed. The last few weeks have been really insane, what with the construction of the porch, the preparation for the new academic year, and the necessary summer house-stuff (garden, tearing out of upstairs insulation, maintenance, etc...) Today I could sit when I wanted to sit, eat when I wanted to eat, and generally take it easy - while still getting things done. It's a very nice change, and one I hope to continue even when the husband is home.
I hope to finish up my hand-washing tomorrow (my bathroom is currently lined in dripping cashmere and wool sweaters...), do a good vaccuuming of the whole house (the vacuum is currently in pieces in my kitchen - I took it apart, scrubbed out every component, and it's now drying), and do a little more cleaning before I have to head to work for the Japan Children's Festival at 1pm. If I don't get it done, there's no worry, but I think I'll be able to. All in good time.
Additional: One of the best things about a quiet weekend is that I've been able to spend much of it reading. I finished Tracy Chevalier's Burning Bright, which was meh - certainly not as good as Girl with a Pearl Earring or Lady with a Unicorn. I'm just starting a book about Mozart's sister, and I recently purchased Leonie Swann's novel, Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story. I think that one's going to be really good. Now to go make the bed, get into the jammies, and curl up with the pussycats and one of those books... :-)