Rambles

A productive day has become the theme, so it was somewhat difficult to motivate myself into productiveness on my free today. However once I got going this morning, the rest of the day took care of itself. I started the morning by cutting my own hair (mainly adding bangs again), as I needed a change and hate shelling out so much money at the salon. Next I spent a chunk of time cleaning up the house. I used the old vacuum that is owned by my housemate and loved it! While I had to put more manpower into it than a newer vacuum and the small space it sucks through is limited, it still was completely fun to use and made me feel connected to all those 50s housewives of the past. It also reminded me once again how durable items of the past were manufactured in comparison to those of today.
Once I had washed the dishes by hand and set them to dry, swept the house and porches, vacuumed the rugs, wiped down the counters, tidied my spaces, and picked up the bathroom, I made a list of the few items I needed to buy from the grocery store. I have only found the bar soap I like to use sold at Trader Joe's, so I decided to head back to my old neighborhood where the Trader Joe's is located. I combined my two grocery store trips into one then and felt pretty good about the deals I found.

Had a classmate from the new program stop by for tea after I had returned, so we enjoyed the backyard and moments of sun and conversation. She has recently moved to Portland and lives fairly close by. After my final thoughts in the last class about current affairs and how I've tried to alter my life to better match my values, she mentioned that she'd like for us to hang out more. So hopefully we can develop a decent friendship during the coming year, as it'd be great to have more low-key gal pals in Portland.

Next my father, brother, and grandmother stopped by briefly on a multi-purpose trip. It was great to have them here as the last week has found me missing the comforts of the coast more than most. They came to pick up the router that didn't work, and to show granny the new place. Dad had also heard we have a leaky toilet, so he checked it out as well. They also came with items: a home-baked blueberry pie from granny (YUM!), home-made soaps from my sis-in-law (she and my sis had a soap making weekend!), my curtain rods, rewritable DVDs of my favorite TV show, and extra yarn so I can knit more scarves for the homeless as winter nears.

The day has wrapped up with hanging my curtains, watching 2 episodes of my show, visiting with my house mate, and making dinner. My house mate is intent on teaching me to be a better and more frugal cook, so I have been working harder at trying to make things from scratch. Last night was my first home-made pesto (who knew it would be so easy?!), and tonight I made a half home-made dinner of pad thai. In both cases there was lots left over for good lunches for my practicum. Next on the list is to conquer home-made soups, and I have to say I don't know that I'll ever go back from cast iron.

So obviously the house mate situation is going well thus far. She's teaching me to cook and to garden organically. This weekend, we attempted to fix the toilet, hung a window together, and she changed out the broken lock on the front door. We find ourselves chatting often and several nights a week eat dinner alfresco together. I'm starting to finally relax more, especially since this evening she told me how much she's enjoying having me here.....

However maybe that's just cause I'll be house sitting for the next two weeks and gone to the coast the week after that....:-) Nah.

Hope you all have had a great week behind you and are in the midst of another as well!