Dora thanks us for making her this luxurious new daybed in the back study. "New daybed" = fold-down bed frame that has been living under the upstairs bed for ten years except when company comes + new mattress because we put the last one on the Viking Son's bed + twin sheets that don't get used so much anymore since the Artgirl got a double bed + our very old former bedspread that has holes and is going to be replaced by something from the thrift shop before Anastasia gets here + the pet cover from the study couch. Ikea curtain previously the property of the Artgirl.
Here's what I did with the other curtain panels (for Dora's ACTUAL bed):
When people got home last night, they said, "What actually is the deal with that?" The people laughed at me. But you know, last night I put Dora to bed in her crate and pulled those curtains shut, and she yipped a few times while we were still awake and making noise, but then she went to sleep. We've walked past those closed curtains repeatedly this morning, and she's still asleep. Silly, maybe, but the Dora Cabana is an effective thing.
Meanwhile, the study looks like this:
(Tasteful dog accessory not included). I'm so happy to have a curtain to cover that window --- don't know why I didn't think of using these old panels before. The window looks out on the back porch, which is knee-deep in junk. I'm so sick of it. But it's just going to look that way, and I'm glad that this room, which I like will not afford a view of it. I also realize, looking at this photo, that I'm going to need to bump the bed over in order to close the door, but that's easily done.
I am eventually going to get some big bolster/throw pillows to make this bed more of an actual daybed. Maybe somewhere down the road we'll acquire a daybed frame to replace the cheap fold-down. But for now, this will more than do. I'm really happy with it as an addition to the study. It's a comfortable spot for lounging and reading, with or without dog accessory. And it gives us one more guest bed.
What I also want to do at some point is replace that falling-apart secondhand sofa, which we've had for fifteen years, having inherited it from my brother, who got it from my mother who had found it in a thrift shop, with something like an Ikea Ekthorp sofa, that will make into a double bed. We've already learned the hard way that we can't get a conventional sleeper sofa through the front door, and the room really isn't big enough. But a smaller, slim-lined sofa that will make up into a bed for two people would be ideal. That would then give us enough room in this house for all our children to come with spouses.
As it is, we can now accommodate all four kids, one son-in-law, and one significant other in reasonable comfort and privacy, with nobody having to climb over somebody else in a room. The Fire Son still has to sleep on the futon in the room he used to share with the Viking, but for now it works. That room is huge anyway, and the futon is already there, and they did share for years and years, so it's not quite like putting up a bed in somebody's space. Not that we haven't done that a lot, and whoever it was (usually the Artgirl) has had to put up with it. But this year everybody can have space and a modicum of privacy, and I hope it'll contribute to the seasonal peace and joy.
We also moved the blue leather chair into the living room:
I don't know that I adore it in that spot, because it's such a tall chair and kind of occludes your view into the living room as you come in the front door. For the moment, however, I don't know what else to do with it, and that's a good spot next to a lamp. And with ten people congregating in this house, we've needed more seating for more people to gather in the same place. That is also quite simply the most comfortable chair in the house. It really should have been front and center all along.
I also moved some art from the alcove which is now Dora's crate cabana into the kitchen, to fill out my gallery wall a little more.
I could still use a few more little items --- and I might find them around the house today, who knows? Or I might not. We'll see.
Today . . . well, eventually I'll walk the dog. The kids will get up at some point. I think I'll make a pork loin with peaches in the crock pot for dinner, because that's low-effort. I am all about not making an effort at this time. I did get some thread to mend my Fiona dress --- a good match, though I wish I'd also thought to get an embroidery hoop, because I think what I might like to do is a little tonal flower or something over the spot. I might be able to freehand it --- I used to embroider things on the kids' clothes sometimes, and to embroider simple faces on sock dolls I made. We'll see. OR I might just do it invisibly, to get it done.
I also bought some more buttons to replace the ones I popped off my skirt the other day. I won't button the skirt slit, necessarily, but I think it'll look better with buttons on. I also bought some buttons to replace the ones on my redyed red cardigan --- the top one broke off in the aftermath of the dyeing last year, and I really think it needs all new buttons. I also need to wrap some gifts. I might dedicate today to tasks like this, to get them done and out of the way. THEN on Monday I can re-confront the essays I need to write before Christmas.
Wearing today:
*Wool& Willow (medium long) in Ocean Teal
*Secondhand Peruvian Connection alpaca cardigan
*Secondhand bamboo-cotton-blend leggings (label is Tasr?)
*Darn Tough Socks (hidden)
*Xero Tari boots
*Secondhand J. Jill cashmere scarf
This again feels like a really emblematic outfit for me --- if you wanted to know my personal style, this outfit would tell you, in its colors, lines, patterns, and flow. I haven't worn these striped leggings much at all this fall and winter, so wanted to be sure to put them on today. They're thinner than my other bamboo-cotton leggings, and this might be their last season before they wear too thin, but we'll see. They do hold their shape well and are soft and comfortable. They're less warm than either Snag merino tights or my Allbirds merino-blend leggings, but it's not that cold out: 44F right now, with a low well above freezing tonight. It's a bit cloudy out there, with thin-looking sunshine, but it should be a pleasant day.
Damp-refreshed Day 3 hair --- I just wet it with my hands over the sink, combed the water through, scrunched it a little, and diffused it until it was just damp. No additional gel or mousse involved, only water. Five minutes and done, which is also my style.