So Happy Together

I love long days at home that make me feel productive, both in work and socially. In a society where it feels that people often move too quickly and substitute online tweets for lengthy conversations, it feels good to busy myself in the kitchen, making chocolate cream pie, washing the dishes, and even wiping down the floors, all with the expectation for an afternoon of company.

Two friends, complete with two baby daughters, made it out for a casual lunch and visit. Nothing special was on the menu, other than the aforementioned chocolate cream pie, but is there a better way to spend an afternoon than together with friends? Ultimately, what you do matters so little when compared with the value of time spent with each other.

And now it's back to work, preparing for tonight's dinner. But I don't mind. In fact, I'm looking forward to it.

Summer in Seattle

It's days like these that make it feel good to be alive. After a summer of weather ups and downs, September is really outdoing itself around here. The weather today is perfectly sunny with amazingly blue skies. I took Lucy on one of my favorite weekend walks around the neighborhood. It's a favorite because of the gorgeous views of Lake Washington when we turn to head down 145th Street, followed by a walk along a quiet road with big leaf maples towering overhead. The sun was so brilliant today that I had to stop and stare at Lake Washington as it sparkled in the sun, and again to look up at the sun dappled maple leaves overhead.

And then what did I do? I cleaned house. Hopelessly boring, I know, but the thing is I only ever have the motivation to do that sort of thing when I have free days at home with nothing planned. In the evenings I may cook dinner and clean up the dishes afterwards, but I never have the desire to do laundry or sort through unorganized closets or wipe down the bathrooms.

Today, I am most proud of my accomplishment of organizing the medicine cabinet. This is actually the first time this has ever been done, so it's really nothing short of astounding. I actually know where to find all the cough drops and don't have to pry loose pill packets from sticky mystery goo to get to anything. Amazing!

I must also mourn the loss of all the beer coasters I had collected in Germany during my semester abroad in college. It was finally time to admit that they really don't do anything other than sit forgotten in a box, but now they have the opportunity to make themselves useful and be recycled, possibly into new beer coasters for some other college student to collect. Ah, memories! I don't mean to sacrifice nostalgia for the sake of an orderly home, but my memories will always be with me (until I'm old and senile, that is), with or without the coasters. The house, meanwhile, I have to live in every day, so a clean(er) home wins this time.