Agonizing Re-appraisal #122


 

Not sure about the number. Know it is not the second such event. And have a feeling I have used the title for a blog more than once. And since Covid-19 demanded a lot of that. Now it would seem getting back to normal (lol) seems to require a lot more of that. The conversion of the apartment from long time rental to vacation rental was just one reappraisal. And a good one I do not need to rethink.

I have definitely rethought my living space which is now devoted to office and sewing center. Not sure that was so much a thought/decision thing as reappraisal would indicate but a migration based on use. Guests hardly ever see the living room. The deck and the studio is where that happens. And I with the pandemic no guests and now a select few. I see more dogs than people. And the studio reflects that but looming ahead is the return of the Angel Fire Studio Tour. Things have got to change before that on the 25th and 26th of September.

But the agonizing re-appraisal of which I am writing today is my bedroom nest. And the bed is definitely a nest. During the dog days of Mardi Gras and Magique it was their nest too. I shunned new coverings because why spend money on fancy dog bed. I was focused on thread count of sheets. Comforters came second hand from the thrift store. Today it is just Thicke and I which occupy the bed. And so I decided to purchase a comforter new. And more high threat count Egyptian cotton sheets. It may be time to renew pillows though I believe I have finally gotten these scrunched into desirable shape. Picky about pillows.

A friend mentioned recently that everyone seems just a bit off since we can go about without masks. July 1st our governor plans to reopen our state. I am not ready. I still carry masks and still wear one at some businesses. I am NOT giving up the six foot of distance unless you are a real good friend and I know you are vaccinated. A week ago I ventured to the farmers' market and I know my mind was off, as my friend would put it. I was a bit paranoid, yes. And my mind was on how things were over not last year but the year before. I drive down roads in Taos and so much has changed. Yes, I was just there but not last year but the year before. There was no last year. I feel as if I have been through a time warp. Stranger in a Strange Land. Rip Van Winkle awake after 100 years.

I chatted with a vendor about the bags she was sewing. Familiar territory. I bought two dozen eggs from someone other than the vendor I used to buy from then I slow walked to my car which I had parked in the over flow lot. I no longer seek the parking space closest to the door. I doubt I ever will again.

This is harder than just buying a new plush comforter on Prime Day. In the next eight days I am going to have to think hard about just how much of normal I want to go back to. If any.

You?

Comments

Post a Comment

I write for me but I care what my readers think. Please be polite and no scamming.

Popular posts from this blog

Polyethylene Packaging - a Dark Times Journal entry

Image
I was in the fourth grade when our family moved from El Paso, Texas to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We moved because I could not breathe the air there. I want to say they cracked petroleum there. But what did I know beyond the sky was sometimes yellow and I could not breathe. Mom was pregnant with Debbie, and Gary and I rode in the backseat separated by a round tank full of Dad's tropical fish. Dad had a job with Sealright, Inc which made paper milk cartons. Sealright was a polyethylene packing subsidiary of Phillips 66. The petroleum company. I was rather proud of myself for learning to say that, and to not laugh when adults would stare at me not knowing what to ask about that. Albuquerque smelled better. Then. Before all the freeways were built and the shape of the valley trapped the exhaust down near the ground in the winter months. We lived in the foothills. I could breathe. I learned that if I could see the air I could not. Still it was better than El Paso though I missed our trip...
Read more

Swimming

Image
For much of my college career my fitness workout was swimming on the B squad of the swim team. I remember it as the days before heated pools and women coaches. I also remember being so exhausted and cold I could only lean against the shower wall and throw up. Not exactly warm fuzzy images but I was in awesome shape. Needless to say it did not leave me with a overpowering desire to swim laps. Point of fact for years my swimming became really informal: Swimming to shore after the canoe tipped over, challenging my sister once a summer to across the lake and back, seeing how long I could back float without moving a muscle, and a scuba course. I also played around with other ways of staying fit: aerobics, bicycling, jogging, skiing and dance classes. All of which seem to be bad for the knees, back or feet. After my ski accident my physical therapist steered me back to the pool. Damn if I was going to swim laps! However, aqua fit was just getting rather seriously taken so I took it. It r...
Read more

The Pruning the Crown of Thorns

Image
Crown of Thorns Before I am a lover of Euphorbias . They are from the deserts of Southern Africa and Madagascar. They have evolved physical characteristics and forms similar to cacti of North and South America and are often incorrectly referred to as cacti. My big Crown of Thorns was one of my first of a growing collection of these succulents from the spurge family of Euphorbiaceae. I picked it up as a 6 inch plant in a New Iberia nursery when my sister and I were touring the northern gulf coast. I believe that was 15 years ago. I made an attempt at limiting its height a few years back to allow it to devote more energy to the new branches and make it a denser plant. That failed. And the height of the plant continued to challenge the window space and soon the long branches were leaning over and leaning against the window. I googled and found the proper way to prune this treasured plant. Still it was very difficult to cut off the four longer branches. Even with a plan. The f...
Read more