snippets of the weekend 2.27.2023

Friday started early with final prep work for floor replacement at the shore - the installers were at our house before 8 am and the banging commenced. I cannot believe the difference, it is fantastic. All the baseboard and moldings were replaced also, and they were cobbled together and measured incorrectly and just a complete fucking mess. I am absolutely thrilled to have this planned to be done in 2020 project actually done albeit in 2023, all by 5 pm. MFD was supposed to come down to be here for this as it was going to happen Monday but I was here and he had things this weekend so I just stayed. 

Otherwise it was a small amount of putting shit back, a large amount of looking for a chair I'd like to jam in next to the couch as well as new contact paper for the kitchen island, staying inside due to shitty weather Saturday afternoon., and Facetiming with MFD.

Finished Joshilyn Jackson's newest, read the extremely overindulgent newest from Bret Easton Ellis, and started the fourth You novel by Caroline Kepnes which I am struggling to finish. Yawn. I also watched all of season two of Euphoria.

weekending reels on Instagram 

Friday Files 2.17.2023

This week has been like a grown up obstacle course personally and professionally. TGIF

New exterior front and back storm doors in Philly FINALLY installed on Wednesday. If you are in Northeast Philly I highly recommend Gallagher Brothers - they know what they're doing both in measurement/styling your new doors with you and in installation. I got these factory painted which is not what I've done at the shore - I painted all of those myself. These doors have needed replacing for years - the back door could have been broken down in a second and the storm door back there was literally held together with a zip tie - but they are so fucking expensive for quality doors. We did all of them at the shore over a two year period as well and I wish they told you when you were growing up how much shit like this would cost because I swear I thought this was a small/cheap home improvement project and it is absolutely fucking not. Back to a yellow door up front - gere are shitty befores & afters  - the manufacturer has to come replace the screen part of the storm door because it's off as you can sort of see here:

but no befores of the back because they arrived and started that immediately and I refuse to ask people to stop working so I can take a before photo. I wish I had them as the exterior door was peeling on the outside, like wood curling up, and the entire frame was fucked with busted locks etc, and the screen door was circa early 1970s, handle-less at this point, and held in place with a fucking zip tie as a latch LOLOL

People who know about our key fuckery will be pleased to find that we are using keypads now which will hopefully cut down on being locked out.

New couches were delivered at the shore yesterday  as well because yes let’s schedule two anxiety-producing items back to back. They had to be hoisted over the railing and the door removed but they are in! MFD took one for the team to go and be there for this since the door had to be taken off. Big Wally's Furniture and my old friend Billy D are awesome.

Floors in two weeks, and I need to address a pipe issue in March then the big things are done for the year at the shore. After that we're about caught up in both houses for things we had planned to do pre-Covid that got pushed off due to lack of availability of supplies or folks doing the work we needed being well jammed up schedule-wise with the exception of basement ceiling in Philly and starting the process to get quotes for windows here. 

Pets of the week. Billy Hicks spent a day in my home office this week, which he rarely visits during the day.

I was in my office Wednesday and I absolutely love being in Old City. 

I was very happy to see AEB for a quick coffee when I was In the city - we haven’t seen each other since pre-Covid! Excuse the wind tunnel, it was wild on Wednesday.

My uncle and I got to see my cousin and her boyfriend Monday as they were in from Chicago

I hit the meat markdown day at the grocery store and got over $52 of meat to freeze for just over $24. Peak adult shit there.

One of the best batches of mashed potatoes I’ve ever made. 

This is an entire fucking disgrace. Fuck Joe Biden (see how easy that is to say, Go Brandon people?) for intervening in favor of corporations to divert a strike and fuck all the politicians on both sides who supported that. Sacrificing people's lives and the environment so corporations can rack up money for the rich to get richer. What a fucking joke. Another de-railment outside of Detroit yesterday too.

I try to hang in with crew neck tees and I end up cutting them all at the neck. Let me be freeeee

That's that about that for this week. Have a great weekend, it's a long one for a lot of you! Not here, ever. 

Holiday Breaking

No profound statements to leave the year with (I started this post last week) in this post, although I did pull my NYD post from IG over here on the end. Otherwise I'm straight holiday break updating mostly as a reminder to myself of how I floated through the ether of the blurry days between Christmas and back to work on January 3 outside of weekend posts which I did keep up on over Christmas weekend and NY weekend.

WATCHED...as a person who does not watch much and is extremely inconsistent in finishing shows or movies I start, this is my crowning achievement

Baking It Seasons 1 & 2

A Christmas Story Christmas

A Christmas Story

Christmas Vacation

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Knives Out

Do Revenge

Succession Seasons 1 & 2

READ

Unnatural History (Alex Delaware #38) by Jonathan Kellerman

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

A Familiar Stranger by A.R. Torre

Started and DNF Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six by Lisa Unger

Started We're All Lying by Marie Still

PURGED & ORGANIZED

Linen closet

Nail polish

Two top dresser drawers that had become junk drawers

Christmas items

A bag and a bin that sat in my room for a year

MISC

De-Christmassed the house

Burned through all Christmas candles and resisted urge to replace immediately

Lunch with Melissa, Stephanie, and Stephanie

Long walk in the south end in OC

Booked my plane ticket to Atlanta where I'm seeing Bruce in Feb

Unearthed birth certificate and passport which will make Real ID acquisition and passport renewal much easier

Solar panels installed at shore

Soffit and fascia repaired at shore

Final four windows in the house replaced at the shore (this and the item above save me a trip to small claims court for a Feb court date)

Found out MFD's car is indeed totaled from the accident he was in a few weeks ago

Lots of resting and laying about

A new condo for Billy Cat at the shore since he could not see out of the new door

My top nine of 2022 from Instagram includes a super snowy early January 2022 OCNJ, my 45th birthday, Dana & Alex's wedding, Billy & Kristina's wedding, Sean & Nicole's wedding, rando we out here winter, MFD with Mister Softee, fall of the patriarchy, our 12th anniversary post

My New Year's Day post from  IG too - Plans for 2023: be more open about my love of lemon curd, start over on any thing at any time, do less, sleep in, visit Munich and Italy, travel light in every sense except in what I bring to the table in reciprocal relationships, age well, pick up more beach trash, turn my face toward the sun, read whatever amount of books I read, level up as a feminist killjoy, stop slouching, hear more live music, keep a finger on the pulse of my own energy, and lean in to fun and joy because goddamn life is short and time moves swiftly. Among other things

There are a lot of people out there trying to adjust to the absence of a person, pet, friend, routine, job, a better state of physical or mental health, etc., and new year sentiments can feel like a bunch of bullshit. Every day is the chance to start over, continue healing, make a change, or revisit something. Whether you like to do that with the turn of the year or the turn of a Tuesday, I'm rooting for you to heal, grow, adventure, experience, and lean into joy because our time here is short and no next day is guaranteed for any of us. 

I hope this year is everything you need. Cheers! Happy New Year! 

Happy birthday to my Aunt Sue today!

Friday Catch Up

The passage of time is unfathomable to a 45 year old woman who can still remember being a child, thinking days and summer and winter break lasted forever. 

No Thursday Thoughts last week or this, and this is where I keep my shit so it feels somehow untethered, and I'll dump it in here with no transitional sentences, let alone paragraphs. Basically it's just some random thoughts at the end. Let us begin.

A lax Halloween last week - all eyes were on the Phillies, would the game be played? - then the rains came, and the Phillies were rained out and so was a lot of our Halloween. MFD couldn't find his costume. It was still nice to spend time with my Dad & Carol who were up for a few days. My neighbors' costumes on both sides were great (The Incredibles not pictured) and I always love seeing people out for Halloween. MFD also added a jumping spider this year and I was so not okay with this and kept warning people much to Carol's chagrin LOL. We also got to celebrate my Dad's birthday, but that was in a weekend post which I actually have been keeping up with.

Throughout the summer, I was insistent on closing this shore house up for the winter this year - it is expensive to heat it, it feels like it needs to be managed, and I need to get a lot of stuff sorted and cleaned out in Philly - but it is hard for me to think of being stuck in my house up there, where I know I won't go out every day like I do here. How can I not go out here? I think I would also miss the isolation that I've quickly gotten used to the past two winters. 

I still have time to decide. For now, I'm happy to still be standing in the ocean. 

The moon has been putting on a show and I'm here for it. 

I was in Easton this week for work and it's pretty up there. 

Mom delivered pumpkin muffins to my hair appointment and they're already gone. 

Cut & color with Kristi at Salon Harmony this week has me back to looking right.

I'm trying a new to me facial product from The Ordinary  - L asorbic acid powder - I like it so far.

I have not been in the mood to read jack shit on my kindle, so I've been librarying it up. 

I am not surprised bodily autonomy won on every ballot initiative. Overturning Roe is vindictive and out of touch and I am furious white women in many places chose to vote for proximity to power over bodily autonomy for all. Otherwise I'm generally happy with the midterm results, especially given what typically happens in midterms in this scenario. I am unhappy with democrats not playing offense in defense of democracy over fascism and bodily autonomy. Those are things worth being aggressive over. Fight for regular people and stop being small. Also get rid of corporate dems. Let's fucking go. I am burnt from all of this and the goddamn commercials and billboards. 

I think I have a tooth infection/need a root canal. Dentist Wednesday, I just need to hold out until then, and my telehealth doc prescribed an antibiotic so hopefully that helps. Teeth, man.

MFD is upstairs hanging stuff in the big shore bathroom as we speak. I am going to do a separate bathrooms post. I'm really happy to have that project done. Just waiting on the remaining house windows and a new door and window installed in the apartment. Still waiting on doors in Philly too. Everything currently in motion should be wrapped up by the end of the year, then on to the next projects. At the shore that is couches and floors. In Philly it's windows. 

The Shared Family Thanksgiving Note has been created. Holiday cards were ordered. LOVE stamps secured, because at the end that is what should be under every holiday. I have a decent amount of Christmas gifts bought. Mom set her Christmas gathering. Working on setting MFD's family Christmas. 

Time slips through my fingers like sand.

Friendsgiving this weekend at the shore. 

Sunday is our sixth and final wedding of 2022. It's been a year of love. 

Happy Friday!

Closing out the week with that Friday energy

Onto the next bathroom project. This is not a total gut to studs. We're getting all the shiteous useless trim removed from the big bath at the shore, sheet rock over the hideous wallboard and ceiling, paint wall and ceiling, install exhaust fan, new baseboard trim, new hooks/towel holder/toilet paper holder/mirrors, and better use of the dead space behind the shower. We already switched out the vanity light fixture and ceiling light fixture. This should be done by the end of next week and I am pumped. I hate this room. I need to call my plumber about changing the shower fixtures too but that's for spring.

T-shirts this week.

This week on the beach.

Squad.

Happiness. Happy birthday to Lori yesterday, one of my people on this earth!

Library hold pickups.

That post-omicron booster shot feeling. Terrible. I had high hopes this time but 27 hours after it got me. Fever and intense body aches. I still have a lot of fatigue and body aches but I've been walking through it this time and I'm happy about that. 

Otherwise, laying low this week. It's the first time we've all been at the shore at the same time in over a month. We're transitioning stuff over to fall here - putting away the ACs and getting out the portable fireplaces - and spending time outside. 

 

Thursday Thoughts - Desert loving in your eyes all the way if I listen to your lies, would you say

Women don't get raped because of what they're wearing and they don't get killed because of where they are at what time. The only thing I hate about the narrative that is happening around this is "in today's world" - BAAABYY - in THE world, since the dawn of time, at the hands of men with the unspoken permission of women who are foot soldiers to the patriarchy and other men who say and do nothing, perpetuated by systems that cater to and favor men. In TODAY'S world add in a country that glorifies violence, has for profit prisons with no intent to rehabilitate, is smothered in toxic masculinity, and is under minority rule that makes women's bodies public - for public consumption and rule. There are a lot of people to blame for why this shit happens, none of which are the woman it happens to, so fuck off out of here with any of that. All of this shit is tied together. Violence is continually perpetuated against women because arguing for fucking decades over who decides what she can do with her body signals to rapists and murderers that they can do what they please to her body because she already does not get to decide in other ways. It is only now, in 2022, that federal laws have made it harder for convicted domestic abusers to acquire guns despite the fact that when an abusive partner has access to a gun, a domestic violence victim is five times more likely to be killed. All the girl power shit in the world DOES NOT MATTER if you exist quietly among misogynists and patriarchal fucks and vote for people who are against bodily autonomy. Both things make women less safe. If that makes you upset or uncomfortable, sit with that for a while.

Bathroom reno is on Picked a contractor, thought we'd be in in October. He had a job pushed back and can do it starting Monday. Whaaaat. So my phone is full of lists and screenshots as we're buying the light fixture, vanity, cabinet, and any wall shelving. I am a master of maximizing space in small rooms so let us begin.

Googles on fire for things like checking out Covington Hill Country for an event around a conference, who is coming to Parx Casino for entertainment, commercial hood cleaning (click here) and also shiny but different engines (learn more) for articles I'm writing, best multigrain bread (do you have a favorite), bathroom vanity, using wall space in small bathrooms, can handymen put up drywall, bagels near me

Existing happily between summer and fall why do we need to pick, we can exist in both. Beach days are beach days until they're not. I am physically pained when I see people visibly sweating in cooler weather clothes when it is still hot

Train masks. I will probably wear masks on trains for a long time, perhaps forever? Have you ridden SEPTA regional rail? The gross shit I have experienced over the years...

Office day today. Obvi. The emptiness of the Central Business District is sad.

Excellent windows open sleeping weather this week. Mae agrees

 
What appears beyond the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts titles is what I'm listening to when I'm starting this - this week is Karma Chameleon by Boy George

Thursday Thoughts - But my heart keeps calling me backwards as I get on the 707

Colorful food. My favorite.

Looking for a contractor who works in NE Philly. Dependable, responsive, can work for a woman without being an asshole, and all that jazz. The time has come to put the 1960s blue bathroom out to pasture and get some other interior projects lined up as well. I want to get on someone's schedule ASAP.

Reminder. Via

Wellness. Two months in a row for massage for wellness, and the next booked for September, friends! See my sister in law Sarah at Blossom Massage & Body Work in Langhorne where Chuck E. Cheese used to be. You will not regret it. Lobby lights.

Rethinking what I own and preparing to do a major pare down.

Superb weather this week. The air feels like silk. Windows open is my best life.

Juggling schedules for the next month with MFD of which of us is where when taking care of what.

Counting down in shore weeks. Two more turnovers before Labor Day weekend break.

Understanding this in my bones.

Mr. Teeth's daily food games.

Aging dogs. Mae is losing her sight pretty rapidly we think, and she's confused and aggressive. We have an appointment for her at the vet in a few weeks but until then are trying to talk when we leave the room and approach her when we enter. She bites, and it leaves a mark even with no teeth. Much different than when Gus lost his sight and hearing. 

As for the other two...Bruce turned 5 Monday and Billy was unsuccessful in murdering people on the steps but successful in getting to a long-desired place.

 
What appears beyond the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts titles is what I'm listening to when I'm starting this - this week is Jet Airliner by Steve Miller Band