We've just completed replacing the flooring in our basement. We went from smelly, stained carpet installed directly on the concrete slab to warmth and dryness. We used DriCore subflooring and then a low VOC laminate flooring. We lost a bit of headroom in our already low-ceilinged basement, but the space is SO much nicer. After the flooring went in, I painted one room and the storage room, and installed new shelving. Then began the sorting and purging of all the stuff that had emerged from the basement before the flooring could go in.
Yesterday I went through three quarters of my books, getting rid of duplicates (that's what happens when you have a lot of books in boxes), books I've read and am unlikely to read again, and books I'll never read. Also books on lost causes (like houseplants). I have three boxes to take to Goodwill today.
I alphabetized all my fiction and interleaved hard and soft-cover books. I have a lot of great reading material, and should really start reading some of it rather than relying on the next new thing that I get from the library. On the positive side, I have pretty much stopped buying books, although I still mooch them from time to time. (Okay, yesterday I mooched two Joy Fielding books but I have all this credit....)
I have gone through all my craft/sewing/needlework stuff and purged UFOs, ugly fabric, tiny amounts of wool, and patterns that I will never make. Also gone is old craft paint, mostly-used sketch books, and miscellaneous stuff that I have no idea why I had it (googly eyes, pipe cleaners, gold leaf....).
We need to make some decisions about old stero equipment that has become obsolete with the advent of ipods. We have a home theatre audio system that we haven't installed since we left our last house in Ottawa in 2002 and is now likely very out of date (not to mention HUGE).
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On the personal front, I have decided to (try to) grow out my hair a bit. I've worn it quite short for, well, a couple of decades probably. I'm working toward a bob style, but the growing out phase is going to be a b*tch. I have thick hair, a LOT of hair, and it's on the coarse side of the spectrum. With it short, I could go a day without washing it and it was fine. Now, I get up in the morning and it's simply wacky looking. Flat on one side, puffy on the other. Me and my hair dryer are getting to know each other again.
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Reading: I'm currently reading Chesterton's The Man Who Was Thursday. As it turns out, I have a bunch of Chesterton on my shelves, so I may start going through that. I also have Updike's first Rabbit novel, so I'd like to start that in his honour.
Listening: I've been enjoying Paul Quarrington's King Leary via the CBC's podcast Betweeen the Covers. It won the 1988 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour and the 2008 Canada Reads competition. I listen to it on my ipod when I walk the dog and work in the kitchen.
Watching: Lost, for goodness sakes. The Week the Women Went. Wild Roses. House. The Closer. Being Erica. The Colbert Report.
Knitting: Socks. From some sock yarn I bought on ebay...hand-dyed near Ottawa. I'm a little worried that they will be loose, but I was too lazy to go out and buy smaller needles. They can always be bed socks if they're not good for day use.
Cooking: Made mashed sweet potatoes yesterday and they were delish. The lads sucked them back. Could it have been the leftover whipping cream from the previous nights swedish meatballs that I tossed in? Along with a stick of butter? And the Lawry's Seasoned Salt that my dearheart brought back from the States 'cos I can't find it anywhere in this town?
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Well, this has turned out to be a novel. And I didn't even mention the trip to the SuperBowl (not me, but Z and Alex) or Alex's early offer of admission to Western. Yay! Or the Coach bag that came back from US (along with the Lawry's). Too much love, is all I can say.
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