What's Been Going On: Monday, 18 July - Wednesday, 21 July, 2022

Another toasty one coming up today! One of my weather apps is claiming that we have a chance for thunderstorms at some point in the day, so we’ll see. We could definitely use the rain!

It’s been a fairly quiet week here; not too much going on, and that’s been nice. I’m almost done with a house project; I’ll talk more about that below. One (almost) down; 48239473298432 to go! That’s how these things work.

Here’s what I’ve been up to so far this week.

 

Monday, 18 July, 2022

After coffee and breakfast, I edited and posted Monday’s post, then posted my review for Empty the Pews by Chrissy Stroop and Lauren O’Neal on my book blog. I did a half hour of volunteer work, emptied and refilled the dishwasher, scooped the litterbox, got dressed, and then loaded up the car with a bunch of bags and boxes. And then we were off!

We stopped first to pick up a can of air freshener from Freecycle (it was a few streets over; I wouldn’t have gone out of town for that!), then we stopped by Goodwill to drop off our pile of stuff. Feels so good to have all that out of the house! And then we were off to Ikea – again – and this time the paper I bought actually made it home with us. : D We also grabbed lunch from their café by the doors and ate in the car.

On the way home, we stopped by Sam’s Club to renew our membership (for whatever reason, the website refused to let me do it online; what a pain), and while we were there, I grabbed a bag of pancake and waffle mix and a container of Buffalo seasoning. At home, I chopped sweet potato and zucchini and got them into the Instant Pot to steam, then cooked a batch of mushrooms and made some tahini sauce. I did another half hour of volunteer work, got the rice in the rice cooker, then read outside for a while, and my daughter and I observed her nature spot in the yard. We had dinner – grain & veggie bowls with tahini sauce – and then my son and I went on a 4.13 mile walk, where we came across this totally stripped-down bird skeleton. Check this out!

 

At home, I took the garbage and recycling to the curb, did my Duolingo, and showered. I put my daughter to bed, read my book, and my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

Tuesday, 19 July, 2022

After breakfast and coffee, I did an hour of volunteer work, then I lay down for a bit, because my head was threatening a nasty headache. When I felt better, I got up, filled and ran the dishwasher, then read on the porch while my daughter played outside. She wanted to go for a scooter ride around the block, so I followed her; she ended up falling off – just a few scrapes, nothing major – but we returned home so I could bandage her up.

After lunch, I spent a little time on the computer, and when my husband got home, I had to go renew the tags on the car. At home, I sautéed some onion and garlic and put together a baked pasta dish, then read out on the porch for a while (and put the pasta in the oven when it was time). My son and I had an early dinner, and then we went on a 3.37-mile walk. I showered, showered my sweaty daughter, then put her to bed. I read my book, and my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

Wednesday, 20 July, 2022

After coffee, I made out my grocery list (I feel bad for the people who make up the sales flyers; even that must be getting to be a tough job, what with the lack of actual sales…). I started a load of laundry, filled the dishwasher, and took out the compost and recycling. I scrubbed off the stovetop, then ran both coffeemakers (the old one and the used one my mom gave me) on a vinegar cleaning cycle, followed by several just-water cycles.

I posted my review for Meet Me in Outer Space by Melinda Grace on my book blog, then I switched the laundry, and folded and put away one of my husband’s loads of laundry.

So, he usually does his own laundry, which is great, but he doesn’t fold it. And then he fills another laundry basket with his dirty laundry, and he’ll wash that…and then he doesn’t fold it. And then he’ll fill another laundry basket with his dirty laundry and eventually wash…but he doesn’t fold it, and then… You get the picture. Eventually, he runs out of baskets, and then he just throws his dirty laundry on the floor. It’s gotten to the point where, not only have I not had any laundry baskets at all for my laundry (whereas he’s been using FOUR AT A TIME), our bedroom floor has been entirely carpeted in dirty laundry and his “clean laundry” has sat in baskets stacked up to the top of his dresser, FOR OVER A YEAR. When our room is clean, it’s possible for me to do yoga or work out in there, but lemme tell you, doing downward-facing dog and having a pair of your husband’s dirty underwear six inches from your face is…unpleasant at best.

I got fed up with his ‘floordrobe’ and decided to tackle in on this day. The clean laundry had been sitting in baskets for so long that it all smelled stale again, so this meant probably hauling four VERY FULL, VERY HEAVY baskets of laundry down two flights of stairs (which my back just looooooved…). As of right now, I have at least one more load to wash. I don’t mind doing this; I’m a bit resentful that if I don’t, it won’t get done, as evidenced by the fact that those baskets have been there for over a year now.

I farted around on the computer a bit (days like this, I *have* to sit for a bit after I do a bunch of stuff, to let my back rest so it doesn’t go completely out), then tidied more stuff in the kitchen and took out more compost. I switched the laundry and started another load, then swept the upstairs and downstairs. (Lots of dust and whatnot on our bedroom floor, now that the floordrobe was off the floor!)

After lunch, I switched the laundry, started another load, then folded and put away another load. I rested on the computer for a bit, then tidied some more random things. When my husband got home, my son and I headed out.

We dropped off two books at our local library, stopped by a local grocery store, then visited the library in that town, where I returned my books and checked out a bunch more. We went to Aldi, then returned to our local library, since I’d received a message that I had a book in (actually a cookbook my son had requested). And then it was home to put the groceries away!

I cooked the pizza and made up the salad; after dinner, I showered, did my Duolingo, switched the laundry again, and read on the porch a good long while. I read inside, and my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

And that’s it! I’ll tackle the rest of Mount Laundry today, but my goodness, our bedroom looks SO much bigger without half of it being taken up by stacks of overflowing laundry baskets and sweaty t-shirts and underwear all over the floor. WHY ARE MEN LIKE THIS??? Does your husband do this? I can’t even imagine doing this and thinking it’s funny to inconvenience everyone else. Can someone start up a finishing school for guys, in order to teach them that this kind of behavior is not okay??? YEESH.

Wishing you a lovely day! Stay cool out there, and I hope you don’t have a floordrobe to tackle!