Snippets of the weekend 11.6.2023

My first weekend not hosting or hanging with other people, traveling, or doing turnover shit since well before Labor Day

Friday I picked up some groceries, walked around after work and hit the library and the bay, and finally got Ben to sit on the same couch as Mr. Rooney.

Saturday I did the sunrise with Ben, leisurely drank coffee and had a bagel and read, popped over to HomeGoods, hit the beach in the afternoon, set the house to rights upstairs, and read. 

Sunday I went to another HomeGoods, purged and reorganized MFD's outdoor crime scene of a closet and the under bed tool box, threw out all sunscreen that will expire before next spring, dis some cooking, took Ben to the beach for sunset, showered, did a face peel, and read.

weekending reels on Instagram - current favorite weekend look back mode.

Perfect puttering alone time weekend.

snippets of the weekend 7.24.2023

As many of you know, we had to put Mae down on Wednesday so I went into this weekend not exactly right. We are not talking about that at length at this time LOL. Too much loss lately, too early in the grand scheme of things, with Aunt Carrie and a long time friend. Lots of loss and grief for folks around us dealing with things too. The world needs a hug, a bandaid, and several road trips with the windows down and the music so loud we can all sing along at the top of our lungs to stimulate the vagus nerve and calm our central nervous systems. And to cry when we're moved to. Love to everyone dealing with shit out there. 

We had dinner with Swan and Nicole at Tako on Friday night in a big room. It was a riot, we got a lot of laughs out of it. Thanks for the invite and taking our minds off Mae a bit! A nice crescent moon topper greeted us when we got home.

Saturday we drove to the shore early to do turnover. The two weekers I got very bad vibes from were leaving and I fucking pegged it - they left me religious texts, removed a sign from my wall that said "Make people feel loved today" and was colorful but not rainbow, and removed a fucking colored page from my fridge from a kid coloring book with a baby elephant flying and a rainbow. If you are threatened by rainbows, I advise you to seek help. If you are trying to impose the will of your religion on others, I advise you to seek help. If you believe reading religious texts makes you smugly better than other people, I invite you to think about who Jesus was, what he did for others and who he walked, lived, and loved among while on this earth and vibrate in that direction. I also invite you to worry about your own fucking self, refrain from breaking three of the measly five house rules in a vacation rental like an entitled person, and be a good human instead of judging others. Thank you, good day. The text they left, the sign they removed from my wall and hid, and the coloring they removed from the refrigerator and threw out I assume (bottom, they left the top). If you are threatened and fearful of a fucking rainbow or anything that has any colors that might be in it, I am sincerely at a loss for words. But if that's you, do shit like this in your own house, not in mine.

I cleansed my energy in the ocean, made daily shower spray, finished out at the house, and we battled traffic back to Philly. Sometime during the day - after we had already been out in public together - we realized we were wearing the same shirt. LOL forever

MFD went one way and me another, but we eventually both ended up at the annual Sannelli BBQ. I was not fit for public consumption but laughing with old friends is always a balm for the soul. I took my exhausted ass home by 10. Absolutely thrilled to see Fronk's corduroy football jacket brought out and tried on. 

Every time a dog dies we get a new area rug, so that's three since September 2017. We'll hold with this one for a few years if the universe doesn't mind. 

I was restless and needed to return a bunch of shit so I designated Sunday a silent errands day. I went out solo and only said thank you or excuse me. I was a personal shopper for MFD since he needed new luggage. I grief shopped a bit in the HomeGoods aisles of HomeGoods proper and TJMaxx for some shore upgrades. Tried to read at home but had to abandon the book. I did some property management stuff including contracts and responding to inquiries for next summer and checking out how rentals are done elsewhere like here: Villagehouse.jp. You can't get new ideas looking in the same places. And that's that on that. 

weekending reels on Instagram - current favorite weekend look back mode.

Thursday Thoughts - But I can live and breathe and see the sun in wintertime

1. This world right now. What insane and unnecessary pain and suffering mediocre white men have brought upon all of us throughout time. Russia's invasion of the peaceful country and people of Ukraine is fucking insane at any time, especially in 2022. We know, well, by now what havoc imperialism wreaks. The disastrous consequences of unchecked mediocre white man ego, too. On a whim this fucking guy nixes a binding international agreement to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine. For fucking what. All the good thoughts to the people of Ukraine. And to all of us, as the consequences of invasions like this are not contained inside land borders humans made. They have real global impacts: refugees, humanitarian assistance, economies, military, cyber attacks, misinformation, nuclear bullshit, propaganda, etc. We are the world, being served shit stew by an egomaniac trump and Tucker Fox News worship. MEDIOCRE WHITE MEN. What a time to be alive.

Speaking of disastrous consequences of unchecked mediocre white man ego...Why would you attempt to criminalize trans or gay people? Why does anyone vote for a party that pushes legislation forward like the Don't Say Gay bill in Florida or policy, albeit not backed up by law, like Greg Abbott's in Texas? It all connects. Donating to candidates in this party and supporting this party in any way is an unspoken agreement to let agendas like this prosper. Look, the democrats aren't doing fucking shit on the whole right now aside from talking and I'm not happy with them. The actions by republicans in power to put people - freaking kids - in unnecessary and egregious danger is just...no. Support trans people in TX and everywhere. Support gay people in FL and everywhere.  National Center for Transgender Equality Texas Action Center.

So, mood.

2. Cold again, jiggity jig. It was nice to experience a windows open day yesterday. Even Billy Hicks scored some outside time. I'm looking forward to that being the norm. I know winter is not finished, but I am officially finished with it. Birthday month is loading.

3. I've been in Philly much of the week, and I always feel like days are lather, rinse, repeat here. I am not outside walking as much up here and I'm always waiting to go back to the shore. Things I did do this week: return some shit to Nordstrom Rack, schedule some work at the shore in my small bathroom, scheduled my spring shore pest control, ordered light fixtures for two of the baths and the hallway, and pulled some clothes to donate. Things I still did not do: decide on light fixtures or peel & stick for the big shore bath. This is my iridescent pink HomeGoods happy:

4. The dogs haven't minded being home at all. My Dad and Carol made settlement on their new house last week but are back for Dad's cataract surgery this week. 

5. I had a questionable work day Monday and on Tuesday one of those brain draining/head hurting/what is the point ones reminiscent of April 2020 where it feels like the world is pressing in around you. Yesterday was much better thank god. Today is poised to be busy as hell, which Thursdays always are. 

6. Whipped up a quick veggie meat sauce with zucchini, mushrooms, onion, and ground sausage to have with pasta  last night. Carol made meatloaf Tuesday that was awesome. 

7. Aside from the weather being mostly rainy this week at the shore, I wanted to give our apartment counter time to set so I was better off not on the premises. I painted it Sunday and Monday with a leftover paint kit. This weekend I need to restore order there and in the house upstairs, and finally paper the ceiling in the powder room. Which I need a ladder for. 

8. We got in a pretty nice walk on Monday before we took off. 

9. Reminder via Breeze Studio

10. Ecards - an oldie but a goodie

Happy happy birthday to Natalia and Mrs. G today!

Hang in there everyone.

What appears beyond the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts titles is what I'm listening to when I'm starting this - this week is In a Big Country by Big Country (LOL)

TWTW - the one before Christmas

Friday It was like 62 degrees on Friday. Amazing. I picked up some Johnson's popcorn gifts and a Bungalow Bowl and worked the morning at the shore, driving back to Philly at lunch to close out the work day. I ran over to see my nephew for his fourth birthday at night. 

Saturday I was at HomeGoods before 8 am in the clothes I wore the day before. My Christmas pipe dream is extended hours at HomeGoods all the time. I got a shit ton of pantry organizers, did the organizing, and packed up the rest to return. I dropped stuff off at the Pack & Ship and picked up food for Mae. I painted my nails ( OPI I'm Really an Actress). I had my first appointment in Kristi & Maria's new salon, Salon Harmony in Langhorne. I love it and am thrilled for them. Such a relaxed, nice hair experience and of course always love catching up with my long long time friend (and long time hair stylist) Kristi and Maria. After that I returned the unused organizers to Marshalls and had family Christmas at Mom & Rich's. It was a nice relaxed evening and I brought home my cookies!

Sunday I was at Giant early, made veggie soup and macaroni salad and prepped fruit and veggies and dips. Carol made spinach dip. I picked up a lunchmeat tray in the afternoon. MFD's fam came over for dinner and it was another relaxing nice visit situation. Good to see everyone, and the dogs loved all the laps to sit on. I put my phone down the first time I got up then never picked it up again until everyone was out except Mark and Sarah. Ben did not mind the extra solo attention. We were cleaned up and laying down by 9. 

Here we are in Christmas week.

I am allegedly off until January 3 after today, but I have external deadlines that will need to be met over the break so I'll work on those as needed and nothing else. I'm sour about it but there's nothing we can do.

Thursday Thoughts - The ground beneath my feet is open wide

1. Things I do not miss about the train: carrying shit, people's asses in my face because they have to be the first one off the train so they will stand at the door. I'm happy one of my two chosen exits from Suburban Station has reopened. I feel like they'll reopen the other one never so this will do. My entry to exit has always been open. And if you don't take trains you don't understand any of this, nor do you care. There are many entries/exits to my train station in Center City and the majority have been closed since the pandemic began.

2. I took in new to me public art yesterday, part of the Monumental Tour by Kindred Arts. I'll check out the other three pieces before they're gone in January 2022. This is Kalief Browder: The Box by Coby Kennedy. This piece replicates the solitary confinement cell 17 year old Kalief Browder spent most of his three years of incarceration on Rikers Island in with neither trial nor proof of guilt. The United Nations has stated that placements in solitary for longer than 15 days constitutes cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment and that lengthy stays in isolation can constitute torture. Kalief Browder's first extended stay in solitary confinement was over 300 days as a 17 year old child. The charges against him were dropped but the confinement stayed with him and he took his own life two years after his release, although clearly the system took it from him at 16. And no, law and order fucking yahoos, solitary confinement is not appropriate punishment for robbery even if someone is guilty. If you are not questioning what the fuck we are doing in our systems in this country, why not?

3. They were installing Day of the Dead art in LOVE Park Wednesday too, I always love seeing that. And this beauty shot of City Hall.

4. I freaking missed my dear Melissa's birthday by a day last week. Her and John Bender....it's hard for me to keep track of days. Happy Happy Meliss. Love you!

5. This is true, and Thursday is always the latter for me. I need to be jamming on it because I have to be out on a site this afternoon.

6. For the ladies who pooh pooh feminism

7. My I don't need it but it belongs with me find from HomeGoods this week: this is now in the middle of my dining room table in Philly and I love it. It goes perfectly. Incidentally I also found what I did need which are the storage boxes. 

8. Thanks to everyone who joined us or read through the 7th Anniversary Show Us Your Books on Tuesday! If you haven't, enter to win our  giveaways: one of two $25 gift cards to bookshop.org, up to $25 of merch or books from Harriett's Bookshop, badass reader socks bought at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT, and some books that were pre-ordered via Harriett's: Consumed: On Colonialism, Climate Change, Consumerism, and the Need for Collective Change by Aja Barber and All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris (comes out 11/2 so will ship to you from us around then), and either a book or merch from Harriett’s (limit $25). Click here. 

9. Reminder - it's true, you do. Check out my boosting happiness in seven ways post from yesterday too if you need to. Also follow atist Tusks & Peonies.: 

10. Ecards

Keep a good thought for Mae, she's in for a dental today.

Have a good one!

What appears beyond the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts titles is what I'm listening to when I'm starting this - this week is Story of My Life by One Direction