Whatcha been up to?
Oh, the famous question. I always pause for a second before I answer this question, and those responding thoughts always pop up. Does this person really want to know? Do I really share all I’ve been up to? And, really, what have I been up to?
Pandemic Quarantine 2020—the truth of the matter…
Let me preface this by warning you that I am truly an introvert and enjoy my alone time. Two, I really did miss my calling as a 1950’s housewife.
Back in November 2019, I wrote in my new moon journal all that I was manifesting for the upcoming months. Knowing I was retiring from social work in December, I was anxiously looking forward to the new phase of my life and what that may look like. Mind you, the last 20 years I have spent working my tail off, not only at work, but also in my education and training, and establishing and building my business. Sleep was not often a priority, and I have a major talent of undertaking humongous projects and managing to pull them off. The idea of working only for myself and having oodles of free time was an energy high. My goal was to spring clean my entire house, shedding all the old energy, and reviving for the new lifestyle.
January was a bust. Well, not really. I spent most of it sleeping, often 10 hours a night and a few hours of naps a day. It was glorious! And then, like magic, I was sleeping eight hours a night, and wide awake during the day. The end of January, my lovely friend Kim asked if I wanted to go furniture shopping, as she was searching for new bedroom furniture. Sure! I love to help people spend their money! It was a successful shopping excursion…Kim bought nothing, and I somehow ended up with a new couch and chair. Ha! The short story—I had a purple couch that I loved. Baxter, in his puppiness, decided he loved it too, and tore a hole in the couch cushion. Do you know how hard it is to find a purple couch that isn’t obnoxious??? Well, the new furniture was dark blue. As I was setting up arrangements for delivery, the wild idea strikes that maybe, just maybe, I should paint my living room before it arrives. Delivery date was set for a week and a half later.
In a scurry of activity, I picked out paint colors the next day. A beautiful purple/blue/gray called Iris Moon. Another wise idea strikes that maybe I should start with painting the ceiling…and maybe, just maybe, attempt to fix the crack in the ceiling.
I tell Kim it’s all her fault. Because by the end of June, five ceilings have been painted and seven closets. The hallway and entryway also got painted. My bathroom is now Sassy Lilac. The bedroom is now Rainforest Mist—but I had to find a bedspread I loved before I settled on the color. And the trim got a fresh coat of white paint too. The kitchen is now Buttercup Squash Orange. The cupboards were painted on the inside and got new liner. The basement has been Dri-Locked. The front fence has been painted. Did you know that Valspar makes this cool sandy stuff that you can mix in your paint to give it a texture? Yeah, it’s awesome on the porch! And my deck has been pressure washed and twice stained—I even had the pleasure of hanging off a two-story ladder to get the back of the railing. Amidst all that, everything was spring cleaned, purged, reorganized, and freshened up. My art room and guest bedroom look brand new, even without paint. Oh, and I just cleaned the garage.
So, half of the basement was looking like an episode from hoarders. Really. It was bad. So, in a mad dash to get it cleaned up before company arrived at the end of June, it was all organized. And now that the garage is clean, it’s perfect timing for a garage sale. I’m officially calling it “The Pandemic Purge Sale”. Once I get rid of the hoard in the basement, I can finish cleaning the last room of the house. I want to paint my stairwell and steps something artsy fartsy, but that may become a winter project. And I want to refinish my kitchen table and chairs too…
Amongst all that, I managed to complete seven puzzles, quite a few books, working in the yard, still doing some work, cooking and baking a lot, social distance visiting with a few friends. So, you know, when someone asks, whatcha been up to? Well…a little of this and a little of that.