This weekend was…

The week after we moved into our home in July our washer and dryer were delivered to replace what you see at stage right there (far left). And they didn’t fit in our basement. We put re-purchasing off, calling it a savings, until last week Mister informed me that the old dryer in the basement had moved into the Denial stage of grieving and, while it wouldn’t admit it was dying, was now taking FOUR HOURS to bring our clothes to 75% dry.

I believe on the information superhighway, we call that a “fail”.

We went out last week and bit the bullet in the form of a basement friendly condo sized washer and dryer – fancy and front loading too! The before and after smells of our clothes, bedding and towels will not be mentioned here. Suffice it to say that everything we own was washed in very hot water this weekend, and came out feeling like new.

On Saturday, after the delivery we took on a spur of the moment re-ducting project for the dryer venting so it wouldn’t be made of papier-mâché and kindling anymore, and after seven hours of off and on DIY ducting we are still married. Which, I think, is called a “win” on the internet.

As nice as it Thanksgiving dinner was, it is more fun when someone else makes it. Just, flat out. This is something your mom should be doing, no matter what phase of life you’re in. If you’re really smart, you and your mom might be able to get someone elses mom to make it, which would be even better.

Ours was our first Thanksgiving alone – and our first holiday as newly weds. It was cute, we drank a lot of wine. I had tofurkey, The Mister ate pork – we had home made cream of pumpkin soup (I peeled a pumpkin with a knife, which is exactly as much fun as it sounds like, which explains my indifference to this Thanksgiving dinner), home made coleslaw, stuffing, apple and potato dumplings, cranberry jelly, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie and the whole shabang! Next weekend is round two at my mom’s house. I anticipate that I’m going to enjoy it on a different level because of the lack of cooking involved.

This whole weekend was been about getting over my flu, and following that – rest. I’ve started knitting again, and I’m making an up and down luxurious little cream coloured cowl (above) for the store.

I started thinking hard this weekend about what makes me happy and what I’m thankful for, and as the wedding pictures have finally come in I spent a lot of time thumbing through them and remembering the wedding, only two weeks ago! How can that be?

I am so incredibly lucky, but I feel like so much has happened this year my capacity to absorb it all has been ramped down. I am tired so much of the time these days, work drags, I’ve been dodging my fair share of duties at home, and during the day I’m constantly rushing about, shuttling to and from work on the busses and trying to lose myself in the world of fashion blogs and Etsy on my iPhone between stops.

For Thanksgiving, I’m resolving to be thankful more. To walk the dogs with my husband. To not blow work frustrations out of proportion. To slow down and do things that make me happy. To say no if I’m feeling like going out five times in a week is going to put me in bed for the weekend. To not lose it if I’m having panic attacks here and there, because I’m probably always going to have them here and there. To go out to shows that come my way.

I’m going to attempt making lots of little choices that will hopefully make me feel more rested, and happier. Every day, I’m just going to chip away until things feel more manageable. Here’s hoping that’s sooner than later, for the sake of those who have to live with me!