Usually I have Tuesdays off, and this Tuesday, in particular, was one I was looking forward to, since I am not sure I'll have the the entire day off for the next few weeks while a co-worker is away on vacation(have no idea how much extra work there will be). So, even if I had errands to do and a little house cleaning, it was still a day spent NOT AT WORK! Yeah. Loner that I am, I like having that day to myself, mostly alone with my thoughts and my dog.
On this Tuesday, though, at ten o' clock, I had to get R out of school for an orthodontist's appointment (MORE braces!), so I got Jewel into the car, loaded up the back with the recycling bins(full of cans, plastic, glass bottles, paper and cardboard) and decided I would get to the dump to drop this stuff off while she was at the ortho's(an hour long precedure for her).
I had to stop in at the dump "library", of course. I had a few mags and books to drop off there, and then helped myself to a smallish stack of mags(recent issues of "Coastal Living", "Smithsonian", and "People"). New reading material for free--this is the kind of recycling I like best.
After we got home and ate our lunch( mac & cheese and fruit salad while watching a DVR'd "Ellen" from Monday--Siobhan Magnus was on), I told R she should get off the laptop(she has gotten a little too attached to Facebook lately) and get outside in the sunshine.
I set up a deck chair in the sun out in the backyard for her. Handed her some "People" mags and her sunglasses.
I decided to stay up on the deck(surrounded by the petunias and geraniums in the boxes and pots I planted over the weekend) under the umbrella at the table and read my magazines. It was very comfortable there in the shade, listening to the gentle breeze stirring the new fresh leaves on the wild cherry tree(we have a beautiful specimen in our backyard that creates the perfect amount of shade) and all the birdsong.
Every once in a while, I could hear R flipping over a page from down on the grass.
Every once in a while, I would reach my hand down to stroke Jewel's head(she was, of course, right there beside me at my feet).
I had no idea it was going to be so beautiful out today, and it made me change my Tuesday "to do" list somewhat. I had thought it was going to be kind of a rainy day, so thought I would tackle some decluttering jobs in the house. Maybe write a letter. Maybe get to the supermarket to stock up on some things.
But sitting there, simply enjoying the peacefulness that is my private backyard on such a perfectly sunny and warm May day, I decided it was perfectly alright to simply do nothing(other than flip through some fluffy magazines) and just enjoy! Hey, I'll admit I'm a lazy-loungy Libra-type, so I revel in any excuse to relax and do nothing but daydream, read and enjoy the beauty of a "perfect day".
Our neighborhood is so much different during the week--no sounds other than the mail truck wending it's way through the streets at a certain time after noon, birdsong and breezes.
On this Tuesday, though, at ten o' clock, I had to get R out of school for an orthodontist's appointment (MORE braces!), so I got Jewel into the car, loaded up the back with the recycling bins(full of cans, plastic, glass bottles, paper and cardboard) and decided I would get to the dump to drop this stuff off while she was at the ortho's(an hour long precedure for her).
I had to stop in at the dump "library", of course. I had a few mags and books to drop off there, and then helped myself to a smallish stack of mags(recent issues of "Coastal Living", "Smithsonian", and "People"). New reading material for free--this is the kind of recycling I like best.
After we got home and ate our lunch( mac & cheese and fruit salad while watching a DVR'd "Ellen" from Monday--Siobhan Magnus was on), I told R she should get off the laptop(she has gotten a little too attached to Facebook lately) and get outside in the sunshine.
I set up a deck chair in the sun out in the backyard for her. Handed her some "People" mags and her sunglasses.
I decided to stay up on the deck(surrounded by the petunias and geraniums in the boxes and pots I planted over the weekend) under the umbrella at the table and read my magazines. It was very comfortable there in the shade, listening to the gentle breeze stirring the new fresh leaves on the wild cherry tree(we have a beautiful specimen in our backyard that creates the perfect amount of shade) and all the birdsong.
Every once in a while, I could hear R flipping over a page from down on the grass.
Every once in a while, I would reach my hand down to stroke Jewel's head(she was, of course, right there beside me at my feet).
I had no idea it was going to be so beautiful out today, and it made me change my Tuesday "to do" list somewhat. I had thought it was going to be kind of a rainy day, so thought I would tackle some decluttering jobs in the house. Maybe write a letter. Maybe get to the supermarket to stock up on some things.
But sitting there, simply enjoying the peacefulness that is my private backyard on such a perfectly sunny and warm May day, I decided it was perfectly alright to simply do nothing(other than flip through some fluffy magazines) and just enjoy! Hey, I'll admit I'm a lazy-loungy Libra-type, so I revel in any excuse to relax and do nothing but daydream, read and enjoy the beauty of a "perfect day".
Our neighborhood is so much different during the week--no sounds other than the mail truck wending it's way through the streets at a certain time after noon, birdsong and breezes.
On the weekend, there are neighbor noises:
weed whackers,
lawn mowers,
talking,
singing,
clarinet-playing by one of the neighbors--which is a very nice sound
screaming kids from down the street(one day a month ago, I could hear from the next street one particularly loud little girl part-singing/part-screaming at the top of her lungs, "I am a rock, I am an....ISLAND!!!", the Paul Simon song--that cracked me up).
cars driving by,
car alarms going off,
barking dogs,
etc.
It was nice having the kid home with me on such a day as this, too--both of us ladies of leisure in the middle of a work/school day, barefoot and wearing tank tops, and sipping iced tea. Our own mini-holiday. A backyard retreat.
Jack over at slightly off-center has a "contemplative" playlist for this Tuesday, and since I am in such a relaxed mood myself and feeling quiet, I thought I would steal her idea and make a playlist of my own.
It was nice having the kid home with me on such a day as this, too--both of us ladies of leisure in the middle of a work/school day, barefoot and wearing tank tops, and sipping iced tea. Our own mini-holiday. A backyard retreat.
Jack over at slightly off-center has a "contemplative" playlist for this Tuesday, and since I am in such a relaxed mood myself and feeling quiet, I thought I would steal her idea and make a playlist of my own.
1. Your Ghost - Kristen Hersh(w/ Micheal Stipe)
2. She Is Mine - Psychedelic Furs
3. Only Love Can Break Your Heart - Neil Young
4. Night & Day - Everything But The Girl
5. Worrisome Heart - Melody Gardot
6. Stardust - John Coltrane
7. Teardrop - Massive Attack
8. Perfect Day - Lou Reed
9. Why ? - Andrew Bird
10. Save Me- Aimee Mann
11. Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks (one of my most favorite songs of all time)
9 comments:
Sounds like a perfect day indeed!!!:)Thank you for sharing it with us, Tina!!!:)
Just reading this post made my blood pressure drop a few notches! What a perfectly glorious day.
Perfect day. Love the soundtrack. Thanks for sharing. Just lovely...
xo
I won't write that word again.... :-)
sounds like an awesome day! relaxing and doing whatever. no plans. the dirt and clutter will still be there. who cares? lol
This post was the best! I felt like I was there. Your day was pure perfection!
I am green with envy.
and recycling the magazines made me smile. I get a lot of magazines and one morning I saw my neighbor in her gorgeous suit picking them out of my recycle bin at the area between our driveways. She was mortified. I just laughed and said hey I'll just give them to you next time over the fence and then you can throw them out. So now that is what we do! We call it fence mail!
Doesn't sun invites you to be outside and be in company of nature? just doing relaxing things? It's been happening to me, which is probably why I'm a bit behind a few things...but it's about to end, probably late May, so the rain will take me indoors and catch up. In the meantime, enjoying the sun and beautiful nature around! If I just could have a day off like yours in this entry...so inviting!
Good luck at work! I hope it won't be too complicated.
Never feel guilty about relaxing - it will keep you healthy! The way you've described your day makes me picture it in my mind. I think I'll go sip an iced tea now...
~Vessie,
You are very welcome, dear Vessie. As always, thanks for stopping by....
~Clare,
Today was much like yesterday, weather-wise, but I didn't feel so bad about being cooped up inside at work all daybecasue I at least had "my" day yesterday.
~Erin,
Glad you liked the playlist. I kept thinking of other songs I could have/should have added to it, though. ;-)
~Doreen,
You are so right about the dirt and clutter still being there, but even after I clkean, it's alwatyys back anyway, a few days later.
~Peg.
That's a great sory about how you and your neighbor began your "fence mail"! :-)
~Claudia,
Oh yeah..I, too, have a hard time staying inside at home when it is so nice out. And, I am probably worrying too much about "possible" stressful situations at work--I am feeling a little more relaxed about it today.
~Barb,
Okay, I won't!(it doesn't take much to convince me to relax..heh..heh...)
What a lovely and relaxed day - during the week, fantastic. I work from home, so the downside is that I'm always within easy reach of my work, which in turn can make it quite hard to relax sometimes... Anyway, your day sounds like bliss :-) Love from London x PS: Love the picture with the bird :-)
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