As damp, gray days go, this one was perfectly fine. No complaints. I kept the house quiet today and enjoyed getting a few things done around here. I spent some time in the hen house to make sure the girls are staying warm and dry. These Tennessee winters are goofy. We were just enjoying sunny 60 degree days, today was gloomy and damp, there’s a forecast for possible snow on Thursday followed by another sunny weekend. As they say in Gladeville, our temps are up and down more than a bride’s nightie! I’d rather things just settle down and act like winter. A couple of good snows, a chance to wear mittens, and then we can look forward to spring. I’m already mooning over the seed catalogs that have been arriving in the mail. I’m dreaming of tasseled, golden sweet corn and crisp green beans. All in good time, though - I’d prefer to be snowed in before getting back to the business of gardening. The soil and my knees need the time off.
I received a couple of emails asking A) what my husband did that was so sweet on Saturday and B) if I used a label maker for my laundry room baskets.
The answer to A is that my beloved staged a Jane Austen “Pride & Prejudice” marathon for me and cooked dinner. He insisted, I swear. He knows how much I love the BBC version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle and apparently the DVDs had been remastered (is that the word?) and a bonus disk was added with interviews and background information like filming locations,etc. I’m not really a sit for hours and watch tv kind of gal, but for Pride & Prejudice I can make an exception. Mickey’s plan was to watch half, enjoy dinner, then watch the rest. He whipped up chicken cordon bleu with veggies and crusty rolls…in the words of Jane Austen, I was all astonishment. My only contribution was strawberry shortcake for a later dessert. I lost myself in a world of manners, beautiful dresses and hats, carriages and men in top hats, lingering looks and whispers, estates with manicured gardens, good versus evil, seemingly insurmountable obstacles on the path to true love, and finally one last, powerful kiss. *sigh* Mickey participated , and even seemed to enjoy it. In short, he courted me on Saturday. He bent over backwards to please me, just like a regency era hero. I’m married to a true romantic, and yes, I know how lucky I am. Mr. Darcy has nothing on Mickey Pullen.
On a far more boring note - no, I did not use a label maker for the laundry room. I used the good ol’ HP printer. My original plan was to print labels on card stock, use a hole punch and run pretty ribbon through them to tie on baskets. As luck would have it, the baskets that I ended up using had a window in place for labels. Genius! They were el cheapo at WalMart (just over $4 each) and they’re very sturdy. They are made of metal frames covered in canvas. All I had to do was find some pretty label templates online (there are millions!) and print them.
They’re truly nothing special and this half-hearted attempt would get me laughed off of those fancy schmancy organizing website. But it works for me and I can breathe again when I look at the laundry room.
In more interesting news, this dog was featured on the evening news.
Any missing dog is sad, and this one is especially so because the owner is not well. But (you knew there was a but) I cracked up when the dog was described as “an extreme roamer”. Seems this is not Skippy Lou’s first incredible journey. Mickey and I laughed about the title of extreme roamer and wondered aloud how Huck might be described on the news…”extreme stinker” came to mind, as did “slow mover”, “prolific drooler” and “sandwich thief”. All very fitting. Just a heads up, since Skippy Lou is an extreme roamer and may have hopped a train, should you see her in your area, please call the numbers listed above.
On that note, I’d better nudge the slow mover out the door for his last potty of the night and take myself off to bed. There’s a book and a pillow that have requested the pleasure of my company and I simply can’t be rude. Sweet dreams!
