August may be over tonight, but that doesn’t mean summer is gone. My friends in San Diego are filling their Facebook and Livejournal entries with moans about suffering from the heat and just wishing fall would hurry up and come already. Here in Seattle, it’s pleasant in the 70s and I’m dreading another long cold snowy winter. An Indian summer would be fine with me!
Look back over your last three months. Have you enjoyed your summer? Did you grasp every opportunity to go outside, savor sunshine, eat outdoors, spend time in your garden if that’s something you enjoy? Did you live a lovely life?
If not, you can put some thought and soul searching into what to do differently next year to maximize your happiness and your enjoyment of summer. Not everything is under our control (I certainly didn’t plan to lose a grandmother a couple months ago) but we can make choices every day to live a lovely life.
Tomorrow I’ll look ahead through the month of September and also into the upcoming wonderful autumn and holiday season.
QUICK THINGS TO DO TODAY:
– Need to do any special grocery shopping for back-to-school meals?
– Any grocery shopping you can do now to prepare for Labor Day Weekend? I need to get hotdog and hamburger buns, plus some fruit, but it’s a few days too early, as those wouldn’t stay fresh. I don’t need to buy any paper plates or napkins – I’m glad I checked so I didn’t panic and overbuy.
– Take inventory of your basics. Do you have lightbulbs, matches, toilet paper, garbage bags, Ziplock bags, tape, Kleenex and paper towels? Add anything needed to your shopping list.
– Make menu plans for the week and check over your grocery shopping list
– Toss out or recycle any old magazines that are from before June and probably won’t get read.
TODAY’S PROJECT: Maintenance Cleaning
Pick a drawer, shelf, closet or cupboard and remove everything. Clean and dust, sort and throw things away, then replace items in an organized manner. Add to your charity or recycling pile if possible.
I am going to pick a guest room closet. This room will be turned into a nursery in the next couple months, so I might as well get the closet cleaned out so it’s ready to paint. My biggest problem is there are some old Madame Alexander dolls I am storing in this closet. They’re sentimental (I collected them with my mom), too dirty to give to charity or sell, and pretty much sell for only $18 on eBay anyway. Not enough to take the risk to the hit on my feedback if a whiny doll collector left a negative and didn’t give me the chance to fix things. I have to figure out what to do with these dolls so I’m not storing them in closets all the time.
LOVELY MOVIES: Bright Star
The new movie from “The Piano” director Jane Campion opens in theaters September 18. It’s about the love affair between poet John Keats (who died tragically of consumption at age 25) and Fanny Brawne. It has fabulous costumes, beautiful interior set design, and I am dying to see it!