Oh happy day

The sweet Melissa and I have a challenge of sorts going. We both have the week off, from work and homeschooling. Both of us have a tendency to do spend most of our time doing the things that are necessary, leaving little time for the things that are fun.

We're keeping one another accountable to have a little bit of fun each day this week, beginning today. The working definition of "fun" that we are using is that it is something we do just for ourselves, that makes us happy. Melissa has a large family making requests of her constantly, I've a tendency to forgo what I want to do in order to get a jump on things I think I "have" to do.

So far, I'm off to a pretty good start.

The morning began at one of my favorite spots - Panera - with a breakfast sandwich, a large coffee and a book by a new-to-me author (thanks, Joyce P.) and no time limitation.

The book is a mystery set in a small, picturesque town outside of Montreal in winter. Appropriate, as today has been unrelentingly grey, with flurries making their presence known every so often. I'm already cold; may as well enter a story set someplace even colder.

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Back at home well before lunch, I decided to find the terracotta cherubs bought at City Market in Charleston a number of years ago. I've finished rubbing on the wall words above the treadle sewing machine in the living room; the cherubs are meant to frame them.

I thought they were in a certain box in the studio but I was wrong. By the time I'd remembered they were in a decorations box in the foyer closet (already unpacked and ready to hang), I'd emptied and cut down three boxes of stuff, added to the Goodwill box, vacuumed and put out a few cute things. There's still a bit to be moved and put away, but the sewing studio is up and running.
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The colors here are washed out, but I'm cutting out the strips for a baby quilt. Actually, as of this writing, the strips are all cut; I'm about to drop the machine into the desk and take my first stitches in the studio. Woo hoo!

And that is surely fun; having the space to keep everything up (but organized) and available to be worked on in those ten minute spaces that crop up during busy days.

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I intend to finish the night off with a special treat (scalloped potatoes with dinner - haven't made them in ages) and a run at getting all the strips for the quilt sewn together and cross-cut.

All in all, a pretty great day.*

*Lest you think it's all been fun and games, I've done a sinkful of dishes, managed to break a plastic container trying to get too-frozen soup out of it, vacuumed more than once, started gathering garbage for tomorrow's pick up and gathered up the laundry as well. I'm not entirely sure I could handle a full day of "fun" anymore, so something task-related had to get done.