Oh, my aching back! And I didn't even do as much heavy lifting as I needed/wanted to - because I was bad, bad bad, and killed the morning by going to my favorite store for cat food and cat litter and useful things, and went a little nuts - three new office-appropriate knit tops, a pair of brown slacks (because I'd forgotten how much I love chocolate brown and I need to get more of it into my wardrobe) and a really nice hoodie and soft, comfy pants by Danskin in a really pretty plum color. Target is DANGEROUS.


However, I did manage to chase cat hair and move bookcases and rearrange the living room a bit - bookcases had been stashed in various rooms to allow my husband maneuvering room via walker and wheelchair, and I finally got around to putting them back in the living room where they belong. The living room looks normal again - I even re-centered the tv without calling for help from Boy - thank God for tile floors, I could push it myself. So bookcases were moved, tile floors were mopped, and fish housing was cleaned and redecorated - I stopped at Petsmart and bought them bigger "ruins" for their space. I had tiny ones when they were in the smaller bowls, but since cats have access to the room now I had to get the acrylic bowls with lids that latch shut. Bigger bowl, bigger decorative thing. It's remarkably like a house in that regard. That was my day.


There is still more moving and rearranging to be done. I need to ask Boy if he wants this desk and chair, because my husband's beautiful and expensive computer armoire is now standing in the living room unused and that's just wrong. It was the most extravagant thing he ever bought for himself, he worked from home and needed a contained place to keep his stuff (where the cats couldn't get into it) and shopped for a long time before finding this piece. I remember I had to talk him into spending the money, it was pricey but worth it, everything else paled in comparison. It's just a gorgeous piece of furniture, solid cherry and absolutely huge. I had looked at it for a while, wondering what to do with it - sell it, give it away, something - but the right thing to do is USE it. So I'll move my computer into that cabinet, give my son his dad's PC, and if he wants my really cool but much cheaper Pottery Barn desk and chair and filing cabinet, he can have them too. It'd be crazy to get rid of the "real" piece of furniture that we shopped for for so long, and keep the hip-but-mail-order desk that is quite suitable for a grad student. Then my office will become a crafts/sitting room of sorts - I suspect the kitchen table will always be the sewing center, it has the work surface and good lighting - but I will figure out a way to do something comfy and attractive with this little space (10x11) as a sit and knit corner. When we enclosed the small porch off the master bedroom (it was finished only weeks before we learned of my husband's cancer) I pictured it as a versatile space for anyone who owned this house, and designed it accordingly - it can be a sitting room, nursery, office, whatever, it's a blank slate. So now I think it will be a sitting room, in time, when I find the right pieces for it. I'm picturing a comfy chair, a small stereo, a nice Ott light for after dark, a colorful throw rug on the floor, a side table for a glass of wine or a cup of tea. That sounds like a nice bedtime zone.


There is so much stuff to go to Goodwill - I have a few things to bring to Girl's new place, and a few things to offload on Boy, and I hope my friend will take Girl's old white iron bed for her little girl, and free THAT room too. This may be a decorating and remodeling blog for the next few months - I have so much stuff to get rid of, so much to organize, so much to move to more logical places for my purposes. I'm tired just thinking about it.


My weird experience du jour - meeting a neighbor I'd never spoken to before (his son had thrown a flip-flop onto my roof - don't ask, it was a Boy Thang) and they came to retrieve it. He asked if I was a single mother, and I told him I was a widow. I think that's the first time I've said that to somebody, everybody else in my world already knew. I guess I have to get used to it.


We had a bad day regarding Girl's new rental house - I'm SO glad roomies' parents were there this weekend when they moved in, because the house leaked like a damn sieve. Roomies parents raised hell with the landlord, who moved them to an alternate space -the guy owns a ton of properties - so they will be in a 4 br. apartment with washer dryer and all the bells and whistles. The 4th bedroom is their computer room. It'll do. Poor Girl is so tired from working and moving, she has a bad cold and doesn't give a rat's ass where she lives as long as she can stop sleeping at friends' houses. I'm going up Labor Day weekend to check things out, take her shopping at Target, etc. etc.


The Bossy One insists he needs a walk and an early dinner. Sounds like a plan to me - I will obey, then sit down and knit. I need to cast on more projects - not that I am not loving the red SCC, but sometimes the hands and eyes just need variety. This is the fewest projects I've had in play in my life.