The night kitchen, after a deep cleaning yesterday, then dinner and dinner cleanup. In the afternoon I steam-cleaned the stovetop and oven, then took everything off the counters and steam-cleaned the countertops and backsplashes and around the sink and in the sink . . . all the surfaces are very clean. I did use a little Method degreaser, but otherwise just steam. Now we're really ready to cook.
Yesterday I did also finally make up the upstairs beds --- the Fire Son comes in tonight, so I figured that while I was making a bed for him, I'd just do a big sweep through the upstairs.Now people can arrive exhausted, as they all certainly will, and fall into the fresh sheets and feel at home.
Today the husband is, I believe, finding us a Christmas tree. Also, my Ikea order is finally set to arrive: daybed frame for the study, plus another sturdy chair. I'll take the opportunity to change the top sheet on the daybed --- it's all made up with clean sheets and blankets underneath, with a waterproof mattress cover over that whole layer, then a fitted sheet on top. The dog spends a good bit of time on this daybed, but I don't want dogginess to permeate the whole affair, so that seems the best solution. Once Christmas is over, I'll switch out the single twin mattress on the current frame for the two thinner twin mattresses now upstairs in the Artgirl's room. I think I can stack those one on the other, so that if I need to use the daybed as almost a king-sized bed, I can pull the frame out (it has a function sort of like a drawer that pulls out to double the bed-frame size) and unstack those mattresses to lie side-by-side. I have wanted and needed a sleeper sofa in this room, and this seems the best way to have one.
Otherwise, I need to tackle the upstairs bathroom with the steam cleaner one more time. I cleaned that bathroom intensively several weeks ago, and it's not bad now, but it could use a polish before people get here.
It's not cold today --- 55F at 9:45 a.m. --- but very foggy.
Last night was the first really clear night for a while --- we could see the huge, dramatic moon, just off the full, for the first time in some nights. But now everything's wet and overcast again, though still pretty pleasantly warmish.
Wearing:
*Secondhand Not Perfect Linen Mama dress (S) in Caffe Mocha, bought September 2024, last worn December 8. Total wears this year to date: 9
*Wool-blend shawl crocheted for me by a very generous friend. Owned since Thanksgiving weekend.
*Snag merino tights in Sand Dollar, bought summer 2024, first season of regular wear (and I do wear these a lot).
*Secondhand Earth Shoes Mary Janes, bought August 2024, last worn yesterday. Trying to give my Tari boots a little rest.
I really love this dress: the soft color, the graceful line. It reminds me a lot of a 19th-century "wrapper," the kind of loose house dress that was Emily Dickinson's uniform, more and more over the years as she declined to leave home. You wore a wrapper without the usual layers of undergarment, and it was more comfortable and more freeing to wear than the "public" women's dress of the day. When I put my hair up while wearing this dress, I really do feel like Emily, but I just washed it, so it's loose today.
I wasn't sure how much I'd like these shades of purple together, but they work marvelously. O me of little faith, amirite? If I really wanted to channel Emily Dickinson, I could wear this shawl as a wrap across the front, as I did in the first week of Advent. I don't think I will do that today, but bearing it in mind for the future.
In other news, I'm finalizing plans to spend several days as a visting writer at Thomas More College in New Hampshire in early February --- I'll be leading fiction masterclasses, giving a reading from The Blackbird and Works of Mercy, and possibly leading a book study focused on Works of Mercy. Big fun.
In preparation for New Hampshire in February, not to mention the rest of the winter here, I have bought myself (at a very good secondhand price, I must say) a pair of tall brown leather Keen's boots. It's almost certainly going to be very snowy there, and I thought I'd want professional-looking boots that would be weather-impervious and tall enough for snow not to get in at my ankles. It's a purchase I mulled only overnight --- I was looking at Vivo Barefoot boots, but even secondhand they're SO EXPENSIVE, and there weren't any, at any price, on sale secondhand in my size.
But I did see these, and I though I might give the Keen's brand another whirl. I have been wanting some tall brown boots since last year, and again, the price and style seemed right. I do wear almost exclusively either barefoot shoes or Birkenstocks, but I'm buying these a half-size up (I think they're listed as a Euro size 39.5 --- I have shoes in both 39 and 40), so I hope there's good toe room, as well as room for warm socks. The calves seem wide, but there are buckles, and they look like real buckles that could be tightened, not just decoration. I have tightened the calf buckles on my Birk Melrose boots and like the way they fit, so I felt confident in trying these. Of course, if they don't work I'll resell them, but I'm hopeful.
These are a color called "Oak," which is darker than tan but not burgundy. They should go really nicely with everything I have and, I hope, be as comfortable for walking as my other boots are. That's the test, really. I have to be able to walk the dog, potentially for miles, in any footwear I buy. Otherwise, out it goes.
Ah, the mail seems to be here --- the progeny are all shipping Christmas presents here, and my job is to deposit the parcels in the correct room as they arrive. And it's time to walk the dog. Au revoir, mes amies, pour une petite minute.