Bits of This and That: An Aimless Weekend

Let's just get this out there up front: weeks that start off with not just one but two migraines aren't going to finish off well no matter what you do. One is bad enough, but one on Monday and another on Tuesday meant that I spent the rest of the week in that migraine hangover that sufferers know so well.

It was a bummer. We'd started out the week with lovely weather, blue skies, and daffodils. The kids and I got our hands in the dirt: 

We'd planted dozens of gladiolus bulbs, to remind us of my paternal grandmother, Verlene. They are something my sister and I both remember about her garden. Dyan bought some and shipped the rest to me. It's a good project for two sisters to share: memory gardening. 

But then I had the headaches, and other than keeping myself glued together enough to get through each work day, nothing much got done.

And then this happened:

Snow. In May. We got about four inches. I guess I shouldn't complain, since other parts of the Midwest got as much as 10 to 12 inches. Yes, you read that right.

Now, snow in May isn't unheard of where I live. In fact, the last recorded date of snow ever in my area is 12 inches on May 28, 1947. But getting snow in May is enough to send most of us around here, who've seen a pretty nasty winter as it is, into moods ranging from extreme irritation to homicidal.

After the migraines, I didn't have the energy for homicidal. So I just moped.

I had thought that after malingering all week I'd hit the ground running for the weekend. I met with some girl friends for margaritas Friday after work.

I also shopped at Target:

Target is currently featuring Vera Neumann scarves. She was a Mid-century artist who got started screen printing scarves on surplus parachute silk during WWII, and become a fashion icon of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. You can read more about the collection with Target's online magazine, and find links to purchase the scarves. There are 17 of them! I had a hard time choosing, but ended up drawn the most to this one. I love the brown branches, the fresh green and bright red. It'll look fabulous with my red cotton cardigan.

I also picked up some nail polish:

The clear periwinkle blue is such a mood lifter. The polish, scarf, and margaritas were "migraine survivor" consolation prizes for myself.

That was Friday.

I bought paint for the bathroom ceiling......but didn't paint the ceiling.

I bought a frame for a piece of artwork for Grant's room......but didn't hang it.

I wandered around the yard holding a wee little tree that Ben got at school for Arbor Day. He has his heart set on planting it and I was considering just the right place. It's just a stick, but it is a viburnum and should look like this when grown:

Image source: Missouri Botanical Garden

But I didn't plant it. It's still in its little mesh bag on the screen porch.

I also looked at this:

It's the little filthy strip of carpet that was left from removing the carpet in the living room. That's the threshold between the living room hardwood and the foyer vinyl.

I thought perhaps now was the time to not only get that yucky last bit of carpet up, but also rip up the metal threshold, and the vinyl floor too.

But once I got the carpet and metal tack strip up..... I quit. 

I ordered a few things online needed for house projects....but didn't work on any.

I wandered from one little thing to another, puttering, and sitting down a lot for coffee and cream and flipping through magazines and browsing Pinterest. I did laundry and cleaned the older boys rooms and shuffled around the kitchen.

In the midst of the weekend I was feeling discouraged about my energy levels and lack of purpose, but as Sunday grew to a close and the boys and I ate supper together, I realized that it was a weekend to regroup, take a breath, and gather oneself together. Sometimes those weekends are as much a necessary part of the recipe for progress as those hardworking, jam-packed weekends.

It's a new week, blessedly snow and migraine free. I'll be back with you soon.