Plenty to do

What to do with my weekend... what a gift to have choices.

The lawn has been mowed, edged, and the cuttings picked up and bagged.  I do not have to do any yardwork at all this weekend, or this upcoming week, or likely for the next few weeks as it has become hot and dry enough that the lawn is going into hibernation.  There is an outside chance I might grab the shovel and go after the bindweed starting to show between the cracks in the sidewalk.

Sleeve Two of the Jupiter Cardi is on the needles and half finished.  I will likely finish it and begin the body this weekend.  Although the next part is a long slog through miles of stockinette, I usually begin with the body and then am faced with doing two, count'em, two sleeves right about the time I could throw the project out of the window.  I hope I outsmarted this uncomfortable situation and will zoom through the body and toss this on the done pile right about the time school starts.

One chore I must finish is writing the essays for my tenure file.  It's not due for three weeks yet, but I want to have it out of my hair before we're supposed to report for work.  Those first weeks are incredibly busy without adding any extra angst to them.  I brought the file home from my office, and have completed about half of the worst of the essays already.  (This blog post is actually a warm-up for my working on them.  Sneaky!)

Added later: The worst essay is finished, and when it cools off I'll polish it up and call it done.

I really should vacuum the house today.  During the summer, we get an influx of small bugs, spiders, and crickets and so far, I've stayed ahead of them.  I'd like things to stay that way.

Here in our rented house we have these horrible swag curtains held up with tacky "wrought iron" hook things Rube Goldberged to the wall.  I've wanted to take them down for ages because they trap bugs and dust and look like they're about to come down.  The room would look bigger and cleaner (and be easier to clean) without them.  Maybe I can enlist the Emperor in the use of power tools to get it done.

Perhaps I should think about a trip to the downtown furniture store where I bought the Emperor's recliner about a year and a half ago, to see if they have another one like it for me.  This is more idle curiosity on my part than a real need for a chair.  I'm considering having some folks over during the semester, and would like to have a little more unified presentation in my living room.  A pair of dark brown storage ottomans would do the trick, too.  They would eliminate the basket I put blankets in, and make the chairs I do have more comfortable. When I don't have company, I could shove them together to form a kind of bench and put them in front of the bookcase.  Two ottomans would cost about a tenth of what I'd pay for a recliner, or a couch.  It's something to think about.

A wealth of choices, there.