|
navigation
current
archives
links page
profile
|
|
refresher
February 09, 2015
So the weekend was kind of decent. Haircut on Friday afternoon. Out to dinner (baked cod for me, stake for he) at The Village on Friday night, and a decent night's sleep.
Saturday: Got up, started doing some laundry, had coffee and rolls, then got dressed and went shopping. Filled and washed the car at Sam's, then headed across the parking lot. We needed dog food, sinus medicine, and napkins--a combo that means a trip to Walmart. We walked in and were going past ladieswear when Spouse stopped, looked at me, and said "I'm going to go get the dog food--why don't you go look at clothes and I'll come over there when I've got the other stuff?"
Well, I started to open my mouth to tell him their clothes suck now and I never buy them anymore...when the lightbulb went on. This was probably one of those times when Spouse suggests something out of the blue, and it turns out really awesome.
Yep. 3 pairs of casual slacks (navy, deep plum, and khaki), 2 polo shirts (navy and black), and 2 really cute blouses(purple print to go with the plum pants, and a print in black & white that will work with black or navy pants). And the pants were totally thanks to Spouse, who hunted through the entire rack looking for my size. I took one look and decided the effort of pawing through the mess was simply not worth it, but he persevered and proved me wrong. And since he was willing to do that, I made the sacrifice and tried them on, not expecting they would fit. But YAY! They did! Now I've got some fresh new things for my trip.
(Now that it is less than a week away, I am starting to plan for it, and get kind of excited. Spouse talked to Auntie, and she has some kind of surprise in store for me that she told him to tease me with, but I punctured his ballon--I know Auntie, and anything we do will be splendid and perfect and I will love it and feel special and so I am not worried in the least!)
Anyway--after Wally's, we went to Penzey's to pick up some more Sunny Paris--it is our new favorite blend, and awesome on so many things!
And of course, last stop--Festival for the grocery shopping. Once we were home and everything was put away, we had a quick sandwich for lunch and Spouse lay down for a nap with B while I got the laundry finished. Then I lay down for a while with my tablet. And ended up ordering myself a set of 5 fountain pens. Yes, I said 5. The X450 Kurve "Quinate" from Bulow, in Claret, Midnight, Silver, Gold, and "Scintillio", which is a sort of tortoiseshell-ish finish. Hey--the whole set was only $39.95 with free shipping!
While I was falling down that rabbit hole, Spouse worked on his dinner prep. He made a fabulous chicken parmesan with angel hair pasta and marinara sauce. Simply lovely! My contributions were salad and dishwashing. And I made a peach topping--prep for Sunday breakfast.
Sunday, I slept in bigtime, and Spouse got up to take care of the B and make breakfast--fabulous French toast with my peach sauce, sausage on the side, and coffee. Yummy beyond belief--his French toast is as amazing as his pancakes. He did a little housework and some car maintenance while I did my usual Sunday kitchen cleaning and then got myself cleaned up. By the time I was dressed, it was nearly eleven, and Spouse wanted to run to Menard's and to Woodman's for some items, so we got that done and out of the way. When we got home, he took his usual nap and I dyed my hair.
O.M.G. I LOVE this new stuff from L'Oreal--"Mousse Absolue". It mixes automatically as you use it, and IS RE-USABLE. It's also $15 bucks a box, but for me, that's two full dye jobs and a touch-up! It did just as well as any other kind on my grey shock-white hair (which is to say--not perfect, but better), is reasonably non-messy, and even comes with extra gloves, since it is re-usable. And it left my hair in nice condition, too.
After I did my hair, I threw a load of towels in the wash, then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing while Spouse outdid himself one more time on dinner. He did roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, and for a vegetable, he tossed carrots with olive oil, thyme, cracked pepper and sea salt, and oven-roasted them to delicious, carmelized perfection. Quite the Sunday dinner--and Monday, as well, since we ate less than half of the small roast he made.
After dinner, I did the dishes, my Monday prep, the dog's paw ointment and leg bandage--he gets chapped paws, and has that damned licksore that is never going away, apparently. On top of that, he's taught himself to pull the bandage off in the night, even though it is a nasty-tasting "no-chew" wrap that I use. That wrap is expensive, too--I wish he'd lay off. I just ordered more, to the tune of $22 for 6 small rolls.
And I sat down and wrote the sympathy card & check for D's family. Hard. I really don't know his wife, so it's hard to say what I really feel. I think I will send a separate one just to his sister; she will understand more why I feel his loss so much, I think.
I sent $100 check for the trust fund they are establishing for his kids. I wish it could be more. It may be more, sometime in the future. No reason it can't be.
I did some guided imagery relaxation before bed. Meh. Sometimes I find it helpful for general relaxation, but not last night. Didn't do anything to help me fall asleep, and I was having really bad leg pains on top of the general wakefulness, so drifting off was a challenge. But I managed eventually.
So. To sum up. Haircut, eyebrow wax, dye job, new clothes. A little February freshening for my tired soul (AND, I finally made an appointment to get my partial fixed!). AND ONLY 5 DAYS TILL VACATION.
Reading: "The Wyndham Girls"(1901), by Marion Ames Taggart.
A wealthy widow and her three teenaged daughters (well, technically one of them is an orphaned niece) lose their ample fortune and their home through poor stewardship, naiveté, and an unscrupulous businessman. They are thrown onto their own meager resources, and have to fend for themselves after a life cocooned in affluence. (Even in the 21st century, it's hard to feel very sorry for them, since their horribly reduced circumstances still yield $2000.00 a year--which, in 1901, was around 2.7 times the national average for income of $14.42/week. There were many larger families thriving on far less.) The mom and oldest daughter are rather annoying, with their delicate, finely tuned sensibilities. But they are at least game for trying, and the niece and younger daughter are reasonably practical. Among their chief assets are a level-headed and plucky friend who has already weathered such a reversal of fortune, and learned many valuable lessons from it, and a very resourceful and gentlemanly young medical student who rooms in the same boardinghouse.
Listening: Phoenix, Psych Furs, Smashing Pumpkins, Alabama Shakes
|
|