But I miss the snow.
I know it makes driving a pain but snow makes everything pretty, I love the way it bounces the light around my house and if we don’t get some precipitation soon, it won’t go well for our trees and lawns come spring time.
So far, 2019 has rocked for me! We had BoopityBoop spend the night on New Year’s Eve, which was a party and a half. They went to bed early but on New Year’s day, Boopity climbed out of her portable crib. That’s the end of an era! She hasn’t tried to do it with her crib at home but I don’t know how it’ll go the next time she’s here for naptime or overnight.
I went out to Ty’s place on the second and spent the night: Megan had an in-service day but there was no school for the kids, so I hung out and played with Xena and Babalouie. As usual, we had a good time.
We’ll be heading into the slow season at work soon: clients tend to leave town for the winter months. Maybe that will give me time to catch up on some projects that I’ve let slide for far too long…like cleaning the bathrooms.
Just Kidding!!
I’m not gonna clean the bathrooms.
It was alarming how quickly the excesses of the eating season showed up on my booty this year. Usually I can zip up my pants until Epiphany but this year, I had to go elastic before New Year’s. Now, my choices are; Stop eating everything in sight, stop baking cookies, start working out seriously or go buy a whole new wardrobe.
Huh, look at that; Kohl’s is having a sale!
I actually did go buy some new jeans. I had two pairs of black denim jeans and I didn’t love either pair. I went through my dresser and pulled out four pairs of black or grey jeans I haven’t worn in over a year. I dropped them all in the pile for ARC and went off to get ONE pair of black jeans that I’ll enjoy wearing. While I was out, I found two tops I really liked, deeply discounted. I tried to pay for the items with my Kohl’s card but it’s been so long since I’ve used it that it had expired. Then the delightful young man at the register told me that if I opened a new account, I’d get 35% off my already discounted purchases! I saved over $60.00 for things I needed anyway.
I liked the two tops so much that after wearing them, I returned to the store and bought the same top in every fabric they had. Mumsy Lang* would be so proud of me!
I also took a dress coat I haven’t worn in a couple of winters and donated that. I’ve got three others I like better so there is really no reason to hang onto it. My natural tendency is to hoard things but it feels really good to get rid of dead weight. Now if I can just get rid of the dead weight between my knees and neck…
Eh, I’m working on it.
Despite the fact that I’ve been doing it for nearly 45 years, I still get excited when a shipment of canvas arrives at my door! I actually ran out of #13 this week, which I try not to do. Fortunately, I had a lot of things I could do on #16, so I wasn’t idle. The idea of downtime is pleasant but I can’t really afford it. I love getting stuff in the mail, even if it is just the canvas or paint I ordered. I was practically giddy this week when a box of cardboard folders arrived! I keep my patterns in them and after all this time (nearly 45 years) I have a lot of patterns, in a lot of folders. You used to be able to pick them up at any office supply store for a few bucks but with everyone going digital, no one carries them anymore. I had to order a box of ten but I can use them all. I may get another box and just replace all my tattered old folders at once. Wouldn’t that be exciting? Sure beats cleaning the bathrooms!
I finally took my Christmas decorations down about a week ago. It took four days but I finally got everything packed away so now I’m ready for Spring. Or at least a few days to go paint outside. Come on, snow!! There were flurries today while I drove home from painting class but they didn’t amount to anything. Oh well.
Another fun thing this year has been taking BoopityBoop to the indoor park near Katie’s house. For a monthly membership fee, you can bring your kids to this giant ware house that’s outfitted with all sorts of fun things for kids to do, for nearly all age groups. As far as I could tell, there were no permanent employees; parents were expected to keep an eye on their kids, make sure they followed the rules and clean up after themselves. It all seemed to be working very well. I was very impressed with how well thought out the place is. At one end of the warehouse are play areas designated for toddlers, including a large area completely enclosed by a built in bench for kids 2 and under. No big kids allowed! There is a quiet room for nursing mothers and a large, uncarpeted floor filled with little riding vehicles for tiny kids. Two thirds of the space is taken up with the big play areas, which include two separate climbing sets, one for little kids and one for big kids, an indoor soccer pitch, a gym sized area with a dozen or so backboard and hoops of various heights, a space for building things out of giant, foam tinker toys and the highlight of the play ground: a moon floor. BoopityBoop love every inch of the place but the moon floor is their favorite. The first time we brought them, they couldn’t even make it up the sloped sides to the top; they kept getting bounced back to the bottom but the second time we went, they persevered until they reached the top. They spent ten minutes or so just laying up there, laughing their heads off while other kids bounced them around. Boopity kept trying to get up and run back and forth and even managed to keep on her feet for a few seconds at a time but Boop was more than happy to just get bounced around. It looked like a blast.
Well, I’ve got to go wash out my brushes, change my clothes and get some orders filled. It’s the weekend, so I think I’ll make cookies. What? I’ve got a new Kohl’s account, a new wardrobe won’t cost that much.
*Mumsy Lang’s rules to live by: If you find something you like that fits, buy it in every color. This is infinitely wise, especially when you are a woman of a certain age.