Weekly update - August 19, 2022

It's felt like a very long week. It seemed as though Friday came and went more than once, but here we finally are.

• My plan to organize my planning worked. I spent a good chunk of the morning looking at the next two weeks and really figuring out what needed to be done when. I have it all sorted out and assigned a day. It looks doable and I am not nearly so overwhelmed. Plus, every time I think of something else I need to remember, I find the day when I'm dealing with that particular issue and add it. It feels good and I no longer feel as though I'm holding too many things in my brain trying desperately to not forget something important.
• Last week I went to a baking outlet store. The one thing I really wanted (parchment circles for cake pans which we use in our bamboo steamers) wasn't there. And now I'm going to have to actually cut circles for the steamer baskets. Life is hard. I did get the one thing on Y.'s list which were cupcake liners. She really wanted to bake cupcakes, but it didn't seem quite so fun without liners, and has been patiently waiting until I bought more. The day after I gave them to her she baked and decorated these.

They are sitting in one of the pantry cupboards because of cats. The pantries have latching doors that the cats cannot get it and we tend to use them a cat-safe storage areas for food cats particularly like... baked goods and potato chips mainly. Nefertiti loves potato chips... and French fries. She actually just really likes all potato products.

• Speaking of Nefertiti, here she is this morning sitting in the egg collection basket. She moved a bit before I could get a picture, but when I first spotted her, she was trying to curl up inside it. She is a little too big for that and it wasn't going well.

• K. is currently spending the night with W. and MC. He took the train in by himself and W. met him at the other end. 
• I found a reading light for one of the new couches at the ReStore the other day. Then, I got a free floor lamp off a giveaway group so both couches now have decent reading lights. I'm pretty sure that at least one couch is occupied nearly all day long. Here is the ReStore light. I didn't think to take a picture of the other.

• So you see the wall behind the lamp? That is lovely early 90's sponge painting. It is all over the living room. Having now gotten the rooms furniture-wise to a nicer state, I find myself being a little fixated on the bad paint jobs in the first floor. I have started to pick out paint colors. The trouble is, as D. rightly pointed out, that before I can get testers to slap on the walls, if I plan on changing the light fixtures (which I most certainly do), I should do that first because the difference in light could change how the colors look. So it looks as though I'm stuck with the bad sponge painting for some time yet as we figure out what we want to replace the lights with and then save enough money to actually replace them. I'm hoping that it's not overly optimistic to think that by this time next year we might have finally gotten these rooms painted.
• Because horses...

• When I went to the library today to pick up the books that had arrived from my hold requests I discovered that I had not one, not two, but four shelves that held the books. In my defense the holds all came in at once, which is great because I'd like to finish the school planning tomorrow. It did look a little bit over the top. I was glad I had brought several bags. I'm sure the library staff are going to be equally excited when I start returning all of them in the next week or so.
• A Java story. I believe I've mentioned before that Java is nearly blind with just some sight in her left eye. She usually gets around just fine especially because she knows her living spaces very well. The other day one of my riding students and I went out and got Bristol to tack her up. The other horses usually follow along because they like to follow Bristol. This day was no different. There was a breeze, though, and it must have been blowing away from Java because all of a sudden, she starts galloping around the pasture, whinnying, stopping every now and then to sniff the air. This went on for a couple of laps as she ran around. It was obvious she was in distress, but I had no idea what was wrong because all the other horses were calm. Then, Java happens to run close enough to Bristol to catch her scent. Immediately she stops running, gives a snort, and starts grazing nearby as if nothing had happened. I think the wind had caused her to lose track of Bristol and that made her panic. 
• The goose has been hanging around with the ducks and seems to be doing just fine.
• L. still wants a puppy. K. still wants a St. Bernard. Y. still wants a Siamese cat. I just can't imagine what life would be like if every child had their own personal cat or dog. I'm afraid I shall continue to be the mean mother. 

And with that, I shall say good evening. Enjoy your weekend!