Getting Back Into The Swing

First, a confession: I made bread -- baguettes, to be precise -- and didn't photograph them. They are all eaten and gone, probably within 18 hours of them coming out, warm and smelling delicious, out of the oven. I was working from my dad's King Arthur Flour recipe, and only during the shaping watched the accompanying DVD. I see now that there were things I could have done to make it better. I shall have to try again. [big sigh]

I'm also making progress on the BITB project. I spent some of Saturday finishing some tiling and cleaning up the tiling mess, then most of Sunday priming the walls. It gave me enough of a taste of the tedium that is painting that I flashed back to the tiresome few weeks just after I bought the house, during which I, mostly by myself, painted almost every room in the house. I remember thinking "What in the [heck] was I thinking? I hate this!" Of course, it all paid off during the last few years when I've had a lovely, colorful house with hardly any painting tasks. And this will pay off too, in having a lovely new bathroom, laundry room, and walk-in closet for myself and guests.

After the monster house-cleaning effort (as opposed to the monster-house cleaning, which is a different story altogether), I really felt like I was clicking back into sync with my home and my life. When the house is messy, I feel the weight of all the "should be doing" and when it's tidy and clean, I can really relax and enjoy my time out, whether it be reading, watching a movie, or baking/cooking.

I'll be busy again for the rest of the week, not on home improvement items, unfortunately, but I'll report on my activities probably on the weekend. (Unless, of course, something extremely entertaining or thought-provoking occurs, in which case, I'm sure I can find a few minutes to log on.

Until then, enjoy your week!