spa week

Rick and I live in a very small house. It’s not officially “tiny,” but 600 square feet of living space can be... cozy. It works for us. Usually. There are times when I’ll send him out to do something just so I can be home alone. He’s good about that. He does all the grocery shopping, goes to the library to write his own blog (Scattering Birdseed), and recently joined the Elks Lodge, just so he could go there to play pool with a couple of his friends. Rick is a Very Good Guy, and gives me as much space as he can.

I will admit though, that the trips he makes to California to visit his daughter and grandkids are really precious nuggets of time for me, because I get to stay home alone. I have one such nugget starting today, as a matter of fact. I have only one plan to be with other people, and the rest of the time is mine all mine. In fact, I may not even go to the twice-a-month get together of neighborhood women friends tomorrow. I’m dodging invitations, and flat out refusing to be entertained or watched out for. Gah! My Do Not Disturb sign will be on the door. Read it and scamper off.

I'm having a spa week, right here at home.

I'm not even exactly sure what that means. All I know is, I've given myself permission to do whatever I want to. That might include some extravagant home spa treatments, like a facial mask and a foot soak, washing (or not washing!) my hair, taking walks, going to the aquarium to visit the octopuses (which is the correct plural, I recently learned from reading Soul of an Octopus), reading poetry (new and unexplainable obsession with Mary Oliver), knitting (of course), watching Doris Day movies (sigh...), listening to books on audible while doing almost any of the above, and maybe even cleaning the house, if that feels like self nurturing.

So far today, I've skipped breakfast in favor of more tea, made an amazing lunch of cauliflower hummus and lettuce wraps with avocado and kalamata olives, knitted a little pouch from a chart, both right side up and upside down, and thought several times about going for a walk. It's raining, so the walk hasn't happened yet. Oh well.

I'm also starting a test drive of the Ketotarian way of eating. This time of year, I always feel the need for a reset of some kind. I've been vegan for nine years now, and while I feel a hundred times better than I did when I ate cheese like it was the last food on Earth, I want to improve my health even another notch. I've come to suspect that I eat way too many grains and beans, so I'm taking a look at what happens if I cut them out for a while. It's not as hard as it might sound. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm always sort of giddy when I decide to experiment with food, so this actually is part of my fun spa week.

We have guests in the Mermaid's Nest, but it’s a very nice couple, staying for the whole time. That makes my job easy, as I won’t be cleaning up after new people every two days. Works for me.

Yes, of course I will miss Rick, and I'll be happy when he comes home, but for now -
Let Spa Week Begin!

On The Sticks

I finished the cotton crocheted sweater I talked about last week, after only three and a half re-starts. It’s cute! I’d like it to be a little bit longer, but I used up every smidge of yarn I had, so that must mean it’s perfect. (The tiny button on the inside back of the neck is so I know where front and back are.)

I’m starting a knitted tank top with some pretty hand dyed fingering weight cotton a friend gave me a year ago. I’m not sure I like how it’s going, so I’m also not sure whether I’ll finish it or rip it out and make a shawl instead.

I have a sudden interest in knitting tiny bags from charts. It's a way of playing with complicated stitch patterns without committing to large, scary projects. It's also a good way to use up leftover bits of yarn. I made one last night, and another this morning, which is soaking right now and waiting to be blocked. Pretty much instant in the knitting gratification department.

And of course I have a small Travel Buddy triangle scarf in the works, to carry with me on beach walks and such. This is one skein of a beautiful Noro cotton blend that was gifted to me last weekend by the same friend who gave me the other cotton I'm using for the maybe-tank.

I scored big when she decided to de-stash a bit and bring me a whole bunch of her unwanted-but-beautiful yarn. It’s practically a whole stash in itself, and I need to move some things around - and maybe do some de-stashing of my own - to fit it into my yarn storage spaces. It’s a good problem to have! 

Till next week, enjoy your days, and I’ll do the same.

xo Kim

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