Outside my window: It's 79 degrees and the sun is shining. The grass needs cut, again. I'm not happy about the way our Lawncare person raked piles of grass in our back area and left it to kill the grass beneath it. I'll either have to move the piles myself, get her to come back again (I get the distinct feeling she doesn't really want to come back to correct the problem), or leave it and let it kill the the grass. None of those sit well with me, but I'll have to make a decision. As always, no decision is a decision.
Clothing myself in: one of three pairs of identical stretchy capri jeans. When I find something I like to wear, I just buy more than one - sometimes in different colors but that doesn't apply in this case. Folks that see me regularly might think I'm wearing the same britches day in and day out, but I assure you, I am not. :-) And the shirt I'm wearing today is, of course, black and is a favorite Indian Rocks Beach shirt in the meme of Friends. It turns out that the shirts I wear most are those we purchase when we visit John's Pass on vacation each year.
On the menu: that is a work in progress. The menu board still reflects the plan from a couple weeks ago. I suppose I could just do a repeat, but no. I tried a recipe from The Pioneer Woman for dinner last night. It was good, but I'm not sure it was great. We'll see if I get requests for it ever again. The night before it was my first attempt at gyros. Not bad, but again not great. I think I can improve upon that first attempt and I know I will because I love a good gyro! Still hoping to take my daughter, who also loves gyros, to the little cafe I visited during the Realm Makers conference a couple years ago.
On the home front: there is new paint on the walls of the main floor family room, dining room, and kitchen. It's gray. SMH. I'm not a gray kinda gal. John and I like warm colors rather than cool. The gray (and its coordinating shade of blue that I happen to love) do change the atmosphere of the house considerably - in good ways. I wonder, though, if the change of curtains has more to do with that than the color of the paint. :-) New shelves are up and my one and only collection of Willow Tree is displayed beautifully along with a few photo frames and plants.
The way the walls got painted is a story in and of itself. John convinced me that we needed help updating our decor and encouraged me to call one of our daughters to give us some suggestions. She responded immediately and enthusiastically, {it's kinda like maybe she thought it was past time to update LOL} probably praying we didn't change our minds before she could get it done. She enlisted the help of one of her sisters. They got my probably-too-impulsive approval for paint colors and all the supplies, and then ceased the opportunity to empty my walls and shelves, and begin-but-not-finish painting my formerly black kitchen chairs white (with spray paint......) Stop! Nope! That's not gonna work!!!
Anyway, long story short, we don't love the new color but we're simply too lazy to repaint that room back to a warm color or to change the rest of the house to the cool color. So for the time being, we reside in a house that has combined warm and cool colors on our walls - and I don't even care. There are simply more important things I want to do with my time, money, and energy. In the midst of all that, the garage that I worked so hard on to be able to park my van in is now a complete disaster area because it was the holding ground for all the displaced pieces that may or may not have a place back in the house. So the garage is a priority that cannot be ignored for long.
What I'm making: Quilts. Christmas this year will be mostly about quilts. It's not even a secret because you can't ignore the things that are happening when you walk in the door of the house. Once upon a time it would have really annoyed me that the first room you walk into in our home is now filled from floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall, corner-to-corner with all things sewing and quilting. But that room has served in many capacities, and I don't know that any of them were as meaningful and practical as the quilting room that it now is. The people who walk through that door into our home are family and friends who don't mind at all. In fact, rather than question the aesthetics of the bursting-at-the-seams collection, they would more likely inquire whether the current work is for them or someone else. Or maybe even ask if we'd be able to create a work of art for them or someone they know.
Also, I'm resurrecting the Traveling Pans plan. The Hospitable Heart is a go. We're going to make the casserole covers, name them, and launch them into the world along with their respective passport/journals. Watch for more information and sharing!
I'm ending with that thought for now and a photo of how my morning started.
Next up... the story of my Grandma's solo cups