Feeling very Friday today

I'm feeling very Friday today. You? Coffee on the porch far too early this morning in my new mug from Lori.

Backyard vistas. I am crazy for solar lights.

Hates couch protectors. Ben is my interior decorator dog - he moves dog beds all over and removes as much of the couch covers as he can immediately.

I didn't make it to Thursday Thoughts yesterday, but I did get all my work work done, finally finish the 230498304 loads of laundry from the shore and home, returned two dresses, packed clothes and house laundry and food  and work stuff up to come back to the shore, picked up some of the shore shit I needed to replace in the house (and a polish, who can resist). Earlier in the week I completed the bloodwork for my physical, which I tend to put off. I'm feeling good about this week personally.

I'm back at the shore to stay for the first time since the beginning of June. I've been down and back three times since then to do turnovers, but I've missed being here. This will be a longer stretch for me and I get to see some of my favorites while here. 

I bought my stamps for holiday cards today because they're going up in two days. Thanks to Cory on Instagram for the tip off. 

Bruce is the laziest dog I have ever had.

Joy is in the smallest things. This week it's been dishtowels, getting back on the good book foot, finding that new lovely polish, not much traffic on the way to the shore. It is not in a clean oven. If you have any care about anything outside of yourself, it is so fucking hard to keep yourself on an even keel right now because you can do all the therapy, wellness work, personal inventory, boundaries, actual self care, etc., but the far reaching social issues that arise from massive structural inequality across every system in this country impact all of us and our mental and emotional health. Fight for yourselves and each other. We all deserve more ease in this life. 

And stickers. Since childhood and forever, always stickers. 

It's guns and...a lot of very American things tied up in toxic masculinity and white nationalism with a side of shitty social safety nets follow Amanda Faun on IG

Reminder: no one owes you a reason or a story for why abortion must be available to all pregnant people. People who are pregnant need abortions for medical reasons but also because they cannot or do not want to care for a child in the circumstance they are in, and before you go on about birth control or abstinence I will ask you what in the fuck you have said about men in regards to birth control and abstinence and the answer will be nothing so you can STFU about women and forcing birth on pregnant people and pivot yourself to responsible ejaculation. This country has zero social safety nets for unwanted children that are operating at the appropriate capacity and zero social safety nets for wanted children that people cannot afford to raise here that are operating at the appropriate capacity. This is about white men staying in control and THAT IS IT. 

How to help within the system we are currently operating in - carrying this over from last week for the resource links We must first take care of each other - fund abortion. Do not try to be a rogue actor because you feel the need to do something - I get the desire to be part of a "camping" crew but we must use the well established and networked organizations to safely help people. The best thing to do if you are able is open your wallet. Every organization below will take donations right now. If you are unable to donate, share these resources in your networks and encourage others to donate. Links:

Donate to abortion funds: National Network of Abortion Funds

Donate to organizations that provide travel to those seeking abortions: The Brigid Alliance

Know your digital security rights: Digital Defense Fund

Know your options: INeedanA.com, Plan C, Hey Jane

Support independent clinics: Keep Our Clinics

Support during or after a miscarriage or abortion: M+A Hotline, 1-833-246-2632 (call or text)

Legal advice: IfwhenHow - lawyering for reproductive justice

Take care of each other out there.

Make yourself a welcoming outdoor space

It's easy to make cheap changes to your outdoor space. We have a small patio in Philly and a super small shore porch. Making both spaces welcoming for us and guests was easy, with no need for big renovation projects either. With a few little additions (and some subtractions when applicable), you can  transform your small yard or patio into a haven of warmth and tranquility. 

Let there be light - string lights and lanterns

If you want to create an instant magical feel then decorate the space with solar-powered string lights or solar lantern. They charge using the sun’s energy during the day and automatically come on as it starts to get dark which feels like magic even when I know the why behind it. String lights are perfect for outdoor spaces and give off a warm, flattering light. I have the solar string lights and lanterns in Philly and two lanterns on our tiny porch at the shore. 

Eat outside

Get yourself a little table and make it a point to eat outside on nice days. I like to do this the easy way with cheese and crackers and a little relish tray, which has a selection of delicious pickled treats. Add a bowl of nuts and maybe some strawberries and you'll be gold. I

Add warmth in the evenings

When the evenings begin to get cooler again, I always want to be able to stay outside for as long as possible. I have porch blankets now - do we all have porch blankets now? Throw them in a suncast outdoor box and call it a day. If you want to spend a little, you can invest in outdoor heating - we had a little table top jobber that used the small propane tanks in Philly but we don't have one anymore. Last year there was a huge run on outdoor heaters and with the way the delta is going, there may be another. If you don't like the propane component you could always opt for a small, portable fire pit. They are usually not too pricey either and add to the atmosphere.

DIY your own bar cart

I like the convenience of being able to roll all of my crap in and out at once without having to carry things. You can buy my favorite IKEA cart, be more sustainable and upcycle a second-hand cart, or if you're handy you could upcycle a second-hand cart or use recycled wood or a pallet to build your own. Check out these DIY bar cart ideas for inspiration. You can wheel the cart in to serve yourself food and drinks and to keep your candles, books, whatever on. 

Declutter the space

It’s not necessary to entirely renovate your home before you yourself can enjoy it or you feel comfortable having guests come over, but a little wipe up here and there and some minor decluttering goes a long way instead. Through the course of daily life things tend to pile up around us as we get lazy here and there and don't put things away, or bring something new into spaces without properly clearing out old. It happens to the best of us. Before jujing up your outdoor space, get rid of any old or unused items. Do a spot of weeding. It's worth spending an afternoon on this. With a quick tidy up, you can really transform your yard into a lovely little place that serves as a respite from the world. 

Happy Saturday!

Thursday Thoughts - you're still damn good, no one's gotten to you yet

Opting outside whenever I can, including yesterday morning to disrupt MFD's coffee time out back which he was not pleased with when I wanted to talk about home improvement projects  

Getting the floors refinished upstairs. Well, half. Two rooms, the hall, and stairs. The two other rooms will be done when we can stomach the dust and upheaval again. We got rid of a lot of stuff and the two rooms left are the small rooms, so it'll be a lot easier next round. Nothing is back in the rooms yet, we'll do that when I get back from the shore. The coral room is getting repainted, closets contact papered, and new quarter round installed. We'll reconfigure most of the rooms upstairs and our bedroom is moving from the back of the house to the front of the house. I also need to decide what I'm going to do with my gallery wall down the steps. As it happens with home projects, one leads to another because I changed this and now I think I need to change that. And I do, there. It's been a while. 

Stating plainly that not calling for an end to white supremacy in all systems in this country is participating in upholding it. People are dying and they've been dying in situations white people would not find themselves dead and ignoring or not wanting to talk about that is upholding it. Period. If you are someone not fine with Black people dying like this or the bullshit defenses and excuses and fuckery that goes around after, demand an end to white supremacy in all spaces. Push the people in power. And don't let people you know occupy your spaces while they're upholding it. Call it the fuck out. Speak against it. Don't be afraid to say or do the wrong thing. You know systemic racism is fucking wrong. This extends so far beyond the criminal justice system - check out this thread.  I know most of us were raised to not talk about race, and hello that's so white supremacy could be upheld - if we consider it "impolite" to talk about, we can never talk about personal and systemic racism without it blowing up. We cannot solve problems like that, and that's why it's been set up that way.  Talk about it. Silence is far worse than saying the wrong thing. This is life or death. White supremacy continues because we refuse to dismantle it.

Searching for an ottoman (found last night online, successfully purchased the cheaper one and not the $320 one I love but $320 for an ottoman my dogs can use to jump on the bed? GTFO), floor mirror, lanterns (found last night online), and a cool low outdoor table, preferably used but that's been hard to come by. I struck out at Marshalls. 

Catching rays of light in the dining room

Enjoying Dave's White Bread Done Right, which I didn't even know existed until this week. I had some bougie avo toast with the avocados my neighbor Jackie gave me. 

Cleaning the fridge out like out out. I put all the shelves in the dishwasher then remembered they were hand wash only. Whoops. They all survived. I could not get the drawers back in and made MFD do it. Few things frustrate me more than attempting to assemble things. Or re-assemble. Even simple shit. I have zero patience.

Suffering through MFD's programs. This week was the fucking awful Waterworld. We were all crammed in the basement so the dogs wouldn't go near the steps when the floors were being refinished. Every piece of laundry we own was down there with us.

Reading the newest Josie Quinn novel. It came out yesterday. Thanks to all who joined us for Show Us Your Books on Tuesday!

Pushing the limits this week. 

I had more, but my brain is dead. The dregs will be served tomorrow as a Friday Five.

Peace!

What appears beyond the hyphen in Thursday Thoughts titles is what I'm listening to when I'm starting this - this week is Still the Same by Bob Seger

Thursday Thoughts - Feed the flame 'cause we can't let go

1. I start most mornings outside now and I freaking love it.

2. Outside is the true quarantine MVP. 

3. Outside and dogs. 

4. I wrote this post yesterday about struggling with productivity outside of work most days and fucking killed it today from the start. If that's what it takes, I'll write a post like that every damn night. Just kidding. I know I am working in cycles right now and today's triumphant return to productivity is not the standard, it's just the lucky day.

5. Me: I hate everything cherry flavored except sour cherry dots. Also me every afternoon without even realizing it:

6. Nails: Essie One Way for One. Love the color, meh on the name. 

7. It's been a long time since I've seen gas under $2.

8. Good stuff is happening too. The sectional for our shore apartment that it took us four years to decide on and buy at the end of February that was supposed to be delivered March 20 finally got delivered this week. The shower replacement (cracked shower pan and virtually nonexistent sub-floor that MFD patched up which lasted through last season on a wing and a prayer) we put the deposit on in the beginning of January and some other plumbing work necessary in a 120 year old house got (mostly) done this week too. The sectional takes up a ton of space in the apartment so everything will be reorganized down there in the coming months and I'll do before and after pics of that space and the bathrooms but this is it for now. Also why are the pillows that come with couches always so butt ugly?

9. Reminder: There's always time for feminism. Maybe more acknowledgement and recognition of unpaid labor will come from this. Also if you disagree or want to immediately interject with "men do stuff too," bye, forever. I'm not wasting the energy with you.

10. E-cards...

It's the last day of April. Not too sorry to see this month go.


The words following the hyphen are the song I am listening to when I start the Thursday Thoughts post. This week is Circles by Post Malone

TWTW - Q6

Friday MFD called after work and asked if I wanted to pack food for recovery houses at Caring for Friends. He's been putting in a lot of hours daily in volunteer service over there and I've been meaning to get over so I said sure. It's less than five minutes from our house so I hopped right over. I should have known it would be a MFD special in which I agree to do something and it takes three times longer than I assume it will. LOL and any of you who have been on one of MFD's three hour tours, you're probably LOLing also. It was fine though, we packed food to 80s tunes for over 350 people for five hours with an extra pair of hands helping the last hour. I hobbled my ass home at about 11, drank a shit ton of water and fell asleep around 1. Anyone interested in helping, Caring For Friends needs volunteers daily to pack and get food out to people it regularly serves as well as the influx of food and need due to Covid-19, shifts are 9:30 and 1:30 I think. Friday night is recovery house packing. Drivers needed to drop off food to home-bound people. 

Saturday My 43 year old body was feeling the effects of standing on a warehouse concrete floor for five hours in totally un-supportive athleisure shoes. I was up early then back to sleep for a little. I continued old person activities with sorting my vitamins for the week. Seriously though Saturday is the best day I've had in a long time. I did a few loads of laundry, hung some out, and spent the majority of the afternoon in the sun with the dogs alone at the house. I didn't worry about a bunch of shit I can't control or argue with (too many) people on the internet or try to do too many things and  It was glorious. I even saw a cardinal, which I never ever see. MFD came home and grilled burgers. I made fries in the air fryer with almost expiring potatoes and played 80s movie trivia with the fabulous Pola Frost on facebook live. 

Sunday Gray and rainy. I kicked the day off with sour cream based lemon blueberry muffins. We had an all household member clean event in which Vincent and I worked on the top floor and MFD the basement and everyone pieces of the main floor. I read and snacked after that and rounded out the weekend with Frank's facebook live concert to raise money for Food4Staff which was great. I had my phone propped up as I was doing the dishes and felt like crying a little because it's so nice the way people have come together virtually but it doesn't replace seeing and hugging people. I was up late watching some MFD special show in which there are battles and kingdoms and shit like that. 

I meant to do this post this morning but got busy working early. Also quarantine posting schedule. How was your weekend?