Meandering

Right now, nothing important is going on, just a little of this, a little of that.


• United Way is gearing up for another year (my last year on the Steering Committee). I will still volunteer, just not as part of the committee. I have signed up to be a volunteer for the United Way through there St. Louis Cares program. It seems to encompass an enormous amount of volunteer opportunities, including free stuff (next week, I get a free yoga class!). This year I am also taking part in Mayor Slay’s inaugural young professional committee, The Vanguard Cabinet. I am not sure what it will be yet, my one hope is more action than talking.


• I have signed up for both sewing classes and knitting classes. I need drapes, I want to make dresses, and I saw very cool sweater knitted pillows at Pottery Barn. I am hoping to get all I can out of these lessons. My worry is that I was not thinking when I signed up and they are happening at the same time. Hopefully, I won’t be too confused.


• Chuck and I have a rough draft of a priority list together to work on the house. The basement bedroom is drywalled. Hopefully the taping will be done in the next month and then I can start painting and putting the room together. This weekend we are knocking the doorway out from the kitchen to the family room. The goal is to get the floor transition between the rooms in place and trim up. I can paint any day. It’s going to be a mess. 60 year old plaster is very dusty. After the doorway is finished, we will paint and hopefully update the fireplace in the living room. If I am confident in my skills, I will start on drapes. But I think I need a test run in another room. Then back to the basement bedroom to finish and my room after that.

• I have recently found out that google gives the wrong directions to my house.  I have alerted them to the problem, but be aware. 


• It is Oscar season, I have been doing what I can to watch potential nominees and catch up on last year nominees. I did get a chance to watch ‘Milk.’ I immediately was not overly impressed with the movie (except Sean Penn), but it’s been three weeks and the editing, direction, and cinematography has stayed with me and really has impressed me. This is a great movie. In the 25 recommended movies from Entertainment Weekly to see for the Oscars this year, I have been failing miserably. I have seen ‘Up’ (which is about the saddest movie in the world. How can Pixar continue to crank out these emotional roller coasters again and again?!). From the Golden Globes last week, I can prioritize the list some: ‘Avatar’ has moved up the list, along ‘Inglorious Bastards,’ and ‘It’s Complicated.’ Ugh. All previously at the bottom. Over the weekend, I saw ‘An Education.’ Lovely little movie. Very subtle, good points. The best part of the movie was the early 60’s fashions, hair, and music. That really was a golden age, I am in love with the soundtrack.


• A couple of weeks ago, we went to Taste By Niche and fell in love. This has to be one of the top 5 restaurants in St. Louis. In a teeny, tiny space, you feel like it’s your own world with a master chef and a delicious mixologist at your beck and call. I felt like royalty (well, until I had to go to the bathroom and had to walk outside to get to one). It is an experience that is worth it, even if you have to walk outside in single-digit weather. With one table in the whole place, I suggest go as a couple or a foursome. It may have some quirks, but worth it.


• Besides sewing, knitting and lots of house products, my new year’s resolution is to read more (14 books this year) and cook more. I am 19 days in and happy to say, it’s going well. Over the holiday we made the best butternut squash soup in the world. I also made vegetable stock in preparation of cooking. Over the past few months, we have been roasting our own chicken to make chicken salad, enchiladas and the like. I am just trying to do more whole foods, make meal prep into its own activity and just enjoy the whole process of it. I read the “Book Thief” over Christmas, and it was fabulous. This is a great book about WWII. The main character is a grade school girl, she is not a soldier, she’s not Jewish, she’s just living life in this very sad and hard time. I felt like it would have been my story if I lived during that time. No real heroics, just a glimpse into the everyday life of Nazi Germany. I am now reading ‘The Shack.’ I am having a very hard time getting through it, but I think you need to be in crises or seeking God to enjoy this book. God and I are on good terms. Nothing in the book is a real revelation to me. I am ready for it to be over.


I am suddenly very busy. Yes, I planned it all myself, but I am not really sure what I was thinking when I did this. At least they are all good things that I want to do, and if I put something off, no one will get hurt or bothered with it, but me.