sundays – marginalia and such

the view from sunday: the life-changing magic of tidying up

True story: I’m an organizer. I love keeping things in order. It doesn’t always look tidy, but there’s a method to my madness. My mom, however, has a bit of a problem letting go. Not I… I purge with abandon. Now that she’s retired, it’s time to start getting rid of all the stuff she’s held on to for the sake of work. Plus all that other stuff she’s refused to let go. Hoping to send her on her magic, cleaning journey, I gave her a copy of Marie Kondo’s The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up in Spanish (hooray for translations!). To make sure she follows through, I picked up a copy myself. She’ll have no excuse but to get to it.

My mom’s hoarding aside, this book is awesome! There are some claims that make me feel a little squinty-eyed with doubt, but most of the advice is incredibly practical and easy to follow. The life-changing magic part? Learning that I’ve been storing my clothes all wrong. Seriously, who knew storing clothes vertically rather than horizontally makes such a difference? So much free space now! Nothing snags when I open a drawer.

My home is so much lighter without all the clutter. Still have far to go before it’s just right, but it’s a start.

Behold, the great purge! All donated, of course.

Now, to bask in the glory of it all.

the view from sunday: rest and rainbows

The weekend has been a blur of post-conference decompression. There have been a lot of naps. I had a great time, but whenever I’m away from home for more than a day I find it really hard to get back to normal. It’s like jet-lag without the jet part. Even after an afternoon nap, I’m still exhausted.

It’s going to be a tough week. The boy is away so I’m cat sitting, which means I’m going to have to do some creative scheduling in order to squeeze everything into my already tight schedule.

Didymus turned 14 while I was away, but my mom made sure to make him a party hat to mark the occasion. It’s a melancholy celebration because the sarcoma he had removed in February has returned. He’s going in for a second procedure on Tuesday, but I’m afraid it will be back sooner rather than later. Trying to treasure every moment.

On a lighter note, there was a beautiful rainbow that spread across the neighborhood this afternoon. I will take it as a good sign.

the view from sunday: mother’s day fun

My mom wears me out like no other, but every moment we spend together is definitely special. It’s been a rough year for us all, so I tried to keep things light. Took my mom and gran out for a quick brunch at one of the boy’s favorite Colombian bakeries, followed by a trip to one of my mom’s favorite health food stores (she gets a kick out of buying supplements and organic soaps). We dropped my gran off at home so she could rest and picked up the boy for a trip to Yogurtland and a little heart to heart… After 6 years, the boy finally asked me to move in with him (for real this time, not because it was the easy way out of a bad situation). I said yes, but it won’t be official for another year since I just renewed my lease (bad timing). Either way, we wanted to break the news to her and share in our excitement. It will be interesting preparing to move and figure out how our stuff will fit together.

We ended the day with churros, because who can pass on churros?

the view from Sunday: reconnecting with my inner fitgeek

For years, I bemoaned the fact that some quack doctor told my mother that I shouldn’t rollerblade anymore after I sprained my ankle. Surely, this cannot be sound medical advice? Telling someone they shouldn’t perform an exercise after recovery, especially when the exercise in question had nothing to do with the injury… but I was a kid and gave up my skates for fear of permanent injury.

Now, I have achy, old lady knees and my favorite form of cardio (running) is mostly off-limits, as regular runs now lead to swollen knees and excruciating hip pain 😦 . I need something to pump my heart rate up and keep my lower half from going on strike… hello, rollerblading! I opened my wallet and bought myself a pair of pink-trimmed skates (the only ones available in my size) and took them out for a turn yesterday. I fell flat on my bum twice, but it was so much fun while I was gliding! The next challenge is finding a set of pads to keep my knees, elbows, and wrists safe… I have really strong legs; finding pads that can wrap around my knees is proving harder than I thought. In the meantime, the boy is willing to catch me when I go down (he’s been very sweet about it too). My goal is to practice at least 30 minutes every weekend until I feel secure enough to go it alone. The hardest part is maintaining my balance when skating past uneven terrain–and there’s a lot of it to roll over.

Today’s practice was a short one because I skipped breakfast in favor of brunch (big mistake), so I made up for it by taking a walk this afternoon. There were lots of pretty flowers and happy Easter folks (we have a high concentration of churches in the area, there were lots of happy Easter folks to be seen).

Behold! Plumeria in bloom!

All in all, it’s been a rather nice Sunday. The migraine that has been plaguing me is still around, but on the weak end of the scale. I may try to go over my notes for the next round of editing before the night is done.

the view from Sunday: a fine day to go to the Fair

The Fair is back! Though I no longer feel blissfully ignorant enough to ride any of the rides (when you’ve seen them being constructed, it kind of turns you off for life), it’s become a tradition between me and the boy (plus, there’s so much county drama surrounding where it will resettle in years to come, that I might as well enjoy it while it still looks like the place I remember).

There were lots of lovely fluffy creatures to pet and feed in the petting zoo. Nibbly baby alpacas are the sweetest, while little American bison have the most expressive eyes.

more food than I care to admit.

Some fine feathered friends strutting their stuff.

Bunnies!

And unicorns.

the view from Sunday: I’m melting

Friends, it’s hot. Summer in the city hot.

Spring has only just arrived and it already feels like the beginning of summer. No clouds, no breezes, no relief in sight… and the ac in my bedroom broke down about two weeks ago in a dramatic last hurrah. In other words, I may or may not be writing this while wearing minimal amounts of clothing.

In a desperate effort to cool down, I resorted to ice cream… not once, but three times this weekend. This is a sign of serious indulgence, as 1) I am somewhat lactose intolerant, 2) I’m a cheapskate and generally refuse to spend more for a cup than it costs to buy a pint, 3) it means the boy also indulged in three days worth of ice cream outings.

It is hot.

I leave you with guava ice cream in a cup, because I’m a no cone kind of girl.

the view from Sunday, sofas and self-doubt

It’s been one of my darker weeks. I don’t often talk about my less-than-chipper days, but I have them and they usually turn into day*s*. I try not to linger on the doubts, but there are times when I’m prone to melancholy (sounds so much more refined than depression); it makes me wonder why I bother doing any of the things I do. Why should I write? Why should I even bother? Wouldn’t I be happier, freer, more at ease if I just let go and enjoyed the moment without driving myself to sit at a computer, pounding away at keys, knowing there’s a very good chance it will amount to nothing in the end? I try not to feel this way, but some days I let it happen and let go. I haven’t written in days; I tell myself it’s because I’m stuck, that the scene is not right, that I need to step back and do some plotting, but I know it’s because I don’t have the energy to be bothered. I’m tired, physically and mentally. I’ve been disappointed, and have let that disappointment color my outlook. Some days, I just want to let my thoughts go and think about nothing. I know this feeling will pass, and I will come back to the page, ready to start over, but it’s hard to look beyond the next day, let alone the next week, and see something good come of it.

It’s Sunday, so I will share a few of the things that have made me smile this weekend, and hope that better days are on their way.

It’s been a rainy, overcast day. Just the sort of day for staying indoors and enjoying some alone time while rearranging the living room (because…).

After 2 years, I finally upgraded from side chairs to a sofa! I went with a grey Klippan; it’s comfy and just the right for two (+1 demanding kitty). My home once again smells like Ikea–wood and vanilla candles (it’s a scent I will always associate with moving in to this place).

I bought pink washi tape while couch shopping, so today I posted up some instagram prints that had been sitting in a box for over a year. It’s held up for a few hours, will see if the humidity doesn’t win out and make the tape lose its hold.