Well there’s no way around it. This is a goofy post at 10:00 on a Friday night after a very long day. It would have been long anyway because it was Molly’s “Spa Day” at the vet (I took a little video at the vet after I handed her over and it was so cute. She was wagging her tail to beat the band. She loves them and they adore her! It’s on both Facebook and Instagram.) and I have to have her there by 7:30 so we have to get up at 7 which is EARLY for us to begin with but I had one of those nights where I had terrible scary dreams all night long, the kind that freak you out so much you are afraid to go back to sleep. By 5 a.m. I was pretty much awake for good, save dozing a little, but I am just beat now. And Nick is coming to do work out back tomorrow and he will be here at 8. Sheesh. Don’t people ever lollygag around and sleep in, you know, like until 9?
Anyway I was home by 7:45 and didn’t even come in the house but went straight out into the garden because today is the day they pick up the trash and recycling but also yard waste and I had a number of things to cut back and clean up. Then I came in and cleaned the bird cages really well so I could get all that trash out into the barrels before they came to pick things up. It was nearly 10 before I had my coffee made and sat down but I had a grand sense of satisfaction because I had accomplished so much and it was still so early. And still my to-do list for today was a mile long.
They called to say Molly was ready at 11 and I dashed over to pick her up. My vet is just 2 minutes away which is so nice and I love them to pieces. Molly has gone there monthly since January and she loves them but today they said she was anxious and she threw up all over her big soft blanket in her crate on the way home. I called the vet and they said they were sure it was just nerves because she hadn’t even had her breakfast yet. I got the blanket in the wash and then we went out back so she could have a big run about in the yard and after some serious pottying she seemed in fine form and was ready to snuggle up in my lap while I worked at the computer. And then I was jumping up and down to do things in the house, kind of a catch up day here. By 2 I could hardly hold my eyes open and tried to nap with my wee girl but I just dozed a little and finally got back up.
By 6 Nick was here to go over things out back with me so he knew what to get at Lowes Hardware because he wanted to have what he needed so he could start early in the morning. By the time he left and I made dinner for Molly and Lucky and I I kind of looked like a limp dishrag and felt not half as chipper. I decided to take matters in hand and do some self-care.
I have, since I was young, always done regular facial masks and to this day, at 65, I still use the same masks I used as a teenager. They are inexpensive and they have been around forever. The brand is Queen Helene (I bet a lot of you my age have heard of it!) They have a mud mask I like and I love their Mint Julep facial mask (Now I get them at amazon!). I alternate them. They make your skin feel so good after you take them off. Soft as a baby’s behind. After the facial mask I took a long hot shower, slathered myself in coconut oil which I mix up with essential oils in jars I have all over the house (I also grease my feet up really good with the the coconut oil mixed with lavender, tea tree oil, rosehip oil, ginger oil and sometimes other things and then put cotton socks on. And it all SMELLS so good.)
I gathered up laundry and got it going and Molly and I are now snuggled up in the chair. As I said Nick will be here tomorrow to fix more things in the back yard (We are still dealing with Hurricane Florence damage from over a year ago as well as recent more minor damage from Hurricane Dorian.) and dear Eleanor who comes twice a month to help me will be here. Busy days are these.
I hope you’ve had a good week. I hope you’ve done your facial mask. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you on Monday! I am so relaxed and I feel so good I am just sort of blissy. I hope you feel that way too. If you don’t do some self care. It really works and we need it…
Thank you for your support!
What a blissful post. A mask sounds good.
Gentle hugs,
Lauren
Thank you sweet Lauren, it was a good day. Something so satisfying about getting a whole lot done and then having an evening of self care and curling up with your baby girl at the end of the day, leaving a last note before bed to your friends (here). I hope you are having a lovely autumn. And a gentle hug to you too honey…
We should care for ourselves more than we do. I do have regular pedicures especially since I fractured my right foot, body massages. Most of us are the backbone of the family and we neglect our needs. If we break, who knows what would happen😱😱😱 well done you. Lovely post.💖💖💋 olive
Oh Olive honey pedicures are divine! And a massage! I used to have both regularly but don’t anymore. And you are so right, we SO need to take care of ourselves. You can’t give from an empty cup. Too many women don’t practice any kind of self-care because they think it’s selfish but we NEED to take care of ourselves first. When our cup is full then we can give to others that we love with a full and open heart.
I hope you are having a lovely autumn. You are in my thoughts…
i’m confused. Who is Nick? I thought your yard man was Dennis (who up and left). Is Nick another yard man??? Yeah, if you think you can’t keep things straight, imagine me trying to keep my own life AND your life straight! ha ha
I have an old photo of me from eons ago wearing oatmeal goop on my face (home made mask) that I get such a kick out of I’ll try to find it to send you.
Ah, self care. For me, it often means reading a really good book. I go into such an”away” place… or of course watching a sunset at the coast – or even my first cup of strong roast coffee in the morn — or picking flowers in the garden to arrange in a vase — or taking an afternoon nap just because…
Sometimes my daughter and I do masks together… green ones… and put cucumber slices on our eyes…
Sometimes self-care comes in the form of picking up some of my old dairies and diving in — i’m 19, i’m 30, i’m 44 (nursing my baby!) i’m turning the big 50, or the big 60! What a sense of perspective, and honestly i love that gal, doing her best, always… when i put the diary back on the shelf I smile, well here I am NOW, in the great big NOW, and I feel refreshed.
May you and Molly have a self-care day, no matter what else is happening around you. May you know how many of us love your blog and love you, Maitri, bask in it!
Oh sweet pea you are so funny! And I have a hard time keeping everything straight too!
Dennis was indeed the yard man who came, made magic, and then “up and left” as you say. My darling Nick who is like a son to me now has been working here since early spring fixing hurricane damage. He rebuilt the fence, rebuilt the deck, closed things in with lattice so everything is safe for Molly, built a new door for one shed and is about to build another set of doors for the other shed, and there’s so much more. ALL Hurricane Florence damage. He will also be fixing the roof (Hurricane Dorian damage) which has a tarp on it. There is SO much to do here. One didn’t imagine in mid September 2018 when the hurricane hit that over a year later we would still be recovering from it all but we are and we’ve miles to go. There are roofs all over town still covered in blue tarps from Florence. I look out the windows in my therapist’s office to an absolutely gigantic tree laying on it’s side with it’s massive root system up in the air. It still looks like this all over town, and then Dorian came through and left more damage, thankfully minor compared to Florence.
I love to think of you and Alana doing facial masks together, and I can see you going back through your diaries. I love you so much darling Ka. I really want to hug you in person. I hope we work it out for you to come for a visit one day.
And now it is 9:30, Nick has been here for over an hour, I am sipping coffee with Molly in my lap and it is a beautiful fall day. And the weather is so crazy at this time of year which is still the summer into autumn weather. 54 degrees first thing this morning and it is supposed to get up to 82 today! But when I took Molly out this morning at 8 it was so cool I had to wear a sweater and it was just GLORIOUS! I wait for this weather all year!
I hope you and Tom have a lovely weekend. What are you guys up to this weekend honey?
M. xoxox