Sunday, May 24, 2020

Life: It Goes On - May 24

Happy Sunday! Ours is off to a rocky start - spent a good part of the past couple of days spray painting some outdoor furniture this lovely textured stone. Last night it rained. Turns out that spray paint is not waterproof. So I'm hiding indoors (because it was totally my fault) while The Big Guy is hosing the texture off the patio, the rug, the chairs...Needless to say, he is not a happy camper! I had no idea they made spray paint that was water soluble. Lesson learned the hard way. Guess I need to uncheck that project on my to-do list!

Speaking of projects, I've been on a roll lately with getting things done around the house. Remember that floating shelf project I posted about last week? That room's still not done. I'm making a new towel rack from things I already had on hand. Which means staining and painting and figuring out how to hang it. Everything else is back up on the walls, so there's that. And the rack is ready to have the hooks screwed in and then hung so we're almost there. But that floating shelf? After all of that, I decided it was just too big for that small space and it's now going to be hung in my bathroom. And you know what that means!

Last Week I:

Listened To: I'm about half way through Emily St. John Mandel's lates, The Glass Hotel. It feels much more in line with her books prior to Station Eleven. Which is to say that I'm really liking it but it hasn't sucked me in like Station Eleven did. I also put together what I call a "crooners" playlist on Spotify that was really working for me this week.

Watched: Peanut Butter Falcon. It's one of those movies that people were telling me to watch but, for some reason, just didn't grab me. But I just happened to turn on the tv while I was working on a project last Sunday and caught it at the beginning. It is so good and Shia LeBeouf finally lives up to the potential it always seemed like he had.

Read: I'm still plugging away at Gods, Graves and Scholars. It is really interesting but not the kind of thing that you pick up and just can't put down. Now that I've fallen hopelessly behind on the readalong, I may just set that one aside for something that will really pull me in.

Made: Pasta alfredo with crab, lots of salads, and a cheesecake for later today. But the most exciting thing that happened in my kitchen this week was Miss H choosing a recipe and making a meal again all by herself. It was delicious and I love watching her gain confidence in the kitchen.

Enjoyed: Social distancing patio time with Mini-him, social distancing deck time with our friends, and Zoom book club. As an introverted homebody, I have really settled into being at home and have become less and less anxious to be able to get out. Which I know is bad for me so I'm grateful for the pushes I'm getting to see people.


This Week I’m: 

Planning: a celebration for Miss H for this evening. Yesterday she celebrated two years clean. She can't celebrate like she usually would since they are still not having in-person Narcotics Anonymous meetings so we're hosting a driveway/driveby celebration so the people who best understand what she's accomplished can fete her. I'm almost certain she doesn't read my blog so I don't think I'm ruining the surprise. I hope! 

Thinking About: Projects I want to get finished while I still have the extra time I've gained by working from home. Getting that floating shelf hung, changing up the artwork in a  couple of rooms, going through all of the scrapbooks and working to reduce the space those take up, painting some furniture...the list is never-ending!

Feeling: Frustrated. By the spray paint that isn't waterproof. By my grocery orders that have only once been entirely right this whole time (seriously, they could not possibly have been entirely out of grated Parmesan cheese by 8 a.m. yesterday). By people who think their choice not to wear a mask should be ok even though it means they could kill people. On the plus side, I'm channeling the energy of that frustration to get things done so that's good.

Looking forward to: Having tomorrow off. I've only used a half a day of PTO this year; I've been hoarding it in case I get sick and have to be off work a couple of weeks. Plus, with working from home, I've felt a little bit like I'm not really working since I don't have to drive anywhere. But it's needed.

Question of the week: I read the other day that Target's online business is up 141% while small businesses are going under every day. I'm working to try to find ways to shop local and shop small. Have you been doing that and, if so, what kinds of things are you buying from small shops?


6 comments:

  1. I would not think spray paint of any kind could be ruined by water. How disappointing.

    Yay for Miss H!!! Two years sober is a huge deal.

    I am one of the few who do not like Target. I used to, long before it became so commercial but it doesn't do it for me. I always try to shop local when I can but so many of the small shops haven't been open even for online or pickup. I did buy some wine from a small family business and it still hasn't shipped almost two months later. No response either. I may have to call the credit card company because they charged me immediately.

    What I try to buy from small businesses when I can, bath stuff like hand lotions, used books from the used bookstore doing curbside. I try to support the farmer's market. That type of stuff. I did buy some masks from a smaller business too.

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    1. Our farmer's markets just opened for the year a couple of weeks ago but we still haven't gotten to any of them. Certainly not like we're too busy and I do enjoy them. Maybe this weekend.

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  2. I've been trying to buy from small shops whenever possible. I've bought face masks off of Etsy and all my books from Bookshop.org when I could. I've also been buying my candles from my favorite small shop. It doesn't hurt that they're all Disney themed. My husband has been working from home since March and while there are a LOT of advantages I have noticed he has a harder time not working on weekends and will frequently disappear for a few hours when he was going to "go check on something really quick". We definitely need to figure out a balance. Congratulations to Miss H. Two years is fantastic and I hope she enjoys her celebration. Have a great week.

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    1. I didn't even find out about Bookshop.org until recently. We do have a very nice indie bookstore but I haven't bought any new books since this all started because I just can't justify the expense. I am glad some of the small businesses are reopening so I can get them some business.

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  3. Ouch - sorry about the spray paint incident. I can imagine how shocking it might have been the next morning to see it all run over.

    I love how many projects you do around the house. If you were my neighbor, I'd be borrowing you often for ideas or advice.

    Congratulations to Miss H! That is indeed very worthy of a celebration. Hope she was thrilled by the surprise.

    I've also used only 1 day of PTO thus far and even that to celebrate my son's birthday. Since we just recently went through a layoff, I'm trying to be careful with taking time off but at this point, I think I should take a day off.

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    1. Oh yeah, if the company's just been through layoffs, I'm sure you are really trying to be the most reliable employee they have!

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