Well, this week felt a little more on an even keel. It was a 4-day week, which probably helped…and I passed on a weeknight dinner with friends cuz I could feel myself getting agitated just in the planning of it. We had a lot of rain, so I spent some time just laying on the sofa listening to rain sounds, which is always delightful. And I kept my weekend plans more local as opposed to going to the city.

The week started with Memorial Day, which you saw in this post already.

On our way to the herb farm that day we saw a baby horse. That’s always a good start to a day.

We had a quick lunch (they were just closing early for the holiday as we walked in…but they seated us anyway, which was very gracious of them) at this cute little old school diner.

Have I told you I’m a scientist? I do science experiments in the fridge.

I had high hopes for this Woman Within dress, but in spite of being very comfortable, lightweight and swishy, it had that blasted elastic waist that rides up high on me to right under my boobs and is just not a look I’m happy with. I really liked the orangey floral for summer (how cute would it be under a denim jacket???) and am going to look for something similar without an elastic waist.

Note: boxes have not moved an inch from their original spot on storage-emptying-out day like 2 months ago! I’d hoped to find someone to assemble the bookcases on Nextdoor Neighborhood but, for the first time, the app has let me down. I think it’s just too small a job, no one wants to come out for just an hour’s worth of work. I’ll try Task Rabbit next.

How I love the rain.

I’d looked so forward to getting this Katherine Barclay top from Gwynnie Bee…but when I got it, it felt like it had been wash-shrunken a bit and was way too snug for me.  But look at those amazing sleeves! It was a nice soft linen-rayon blend fabric, too. I was dying to wear it over white jeans. Boo.

Back to the laundromat. I have returned to my old favorite, that’s out of my way, but at least it has hot water, hot dryers, plenty of tables and chairs, and low washers. I never thought about that before, but the two places I tried that are closer to my new apartment have very tall washers and you have to stand on a wobbly plastic stepstool to reach the coin putting-inny-thing and to put in the detergent, etc., and I don’t relish the thought of the “Awkward Obese Woman Falls to Her Death from Stepstool” headlines that seemed my fate if I continued going there. But even the good laundromat let me down this time as the “add bleach when light goes on” light never came on, so I never got bleach added to my sheets and comforter and it’s just like were they even washed, then? I have very particular standards for laundry and the laundromat is always a pain in the ass challenge.

This past week a Facebook Memory popped up from 2017 that said, “It has come to my attention that I am fancy and particular…and I’m okay with that.” Yep. Still.

My low-key outfit for Saturday’s adventures. You’ll see more of this later in the week. Plus, laundry hanging to dry all over in the background.

First stop, a garden tour that had been canceled at the last minute, unbeknownst to us.

So we made other little stops in the area, as we’d driven 60+ miles to get there. Wherever I go, I look for the water.

Disappointing drink at lunch. I never learn to not order the interesting drinks at restaurants as they never live up to my expectations (does anything? ever?). I really need to just take a pic of the menu and recreate them at home, when I’m not trying to be cheap with ingredients. This was a rosemary lemonade. It tasted like weak rosemary water. Which is really not that pleasant. And where’s the pretty sprig of rosemary embellishment?? I’ll tweak it at home – lemonade + gin + honey (which is a summer drink I already do, usually with a couple crushed basil leaves) + rosemary and drink it out on the patio. (Note to self: buy a rosemary plant. And basil. And mint. And gin.)

Embellished bike.

And then a stop at a new donut shop I’ve been wanting to try, North Fork Doughnut Company. I got a Boston Creme and a Funfetti (saved in a ziplock for this afternoon). How was it? It was too large. My girlfriend also got a BC, we should have just split one between us, that would have been plenty. The chocolate was too sweet. The custard was not sweet or custardy enough. I’m a real stickler about donuts.

The benchmark for me is Dunwell Doughnuts in Brooklyn. They’re vegan, but they’re still The Best Doughnuts EVER. I love a yeasty doughnut. Their batter is so good, you could eat one totally plain and it would still be a delightful experience. These No Fo donuts were almost like midway between yeasty and cakey and I don’t know how that’s even a thing. And they were expensive. Like $2.75/donut. I don’t mind paying that for Dunwell cuz they bring me such joy and to get that much joy for $2.75 is a bargain.

So, on my updated donut rating chart I will go TOP: Dunwell, #2 Dunkin, #3 No Fo #4 Any cakey doughnut. That said, I did enjoy the white buttercream frosting off the top of the saved Funfetti donut which had to be eaten before storing in the ziplock or it would have just smeared everywhere.

One of our last stops of the day was at Shoreham Beach, home of the now-defunct Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant (well, the beach is next door to the plant). I’m a little surprised I’ve never been there as I’m drawn toward (did you know “towards” is not even a real word??) abandoned, closed, run-down, sketchy places…and I’m even more surprised now to realize that I didn’t even take a picture of the blue plant when we pulled up to the locked gates. Anyway, the beach looked lovely, if a little unkempt. I don’t know if you can tell from this photo, but it was a downhill walk to get to it…which of course means an uphill walk to leave…and neither of us was up for that! So we just peered through the trees at it down below.

“No Firearms or Weapons” said the bullet-riddled sign.

I tried on a pair of Old Navy jeans I tried self-cropping myself about a year ago…and cropping again…and again…and no matter what I did I couldn’t get the cut to go straight across (this is why I don’t sew, Jodi!). I’d pretty much given up on them but pulled them out of the drawer yesterday as all my jeans were still damp from the laundromat Friday and needed ironing and my khaki linen pants, well…that’s a story for another day…and they weren’t that bad!

Then I had a momentary flash this morning of I CAN DO THIS, DAMMIT and I tried one more time, and gosh darn it, if I didn’t get them straight this time! Well, ish. Straight-ISH. Better than before. Now they just need to go through the wash to start the edges fraying so they don’t look so “just cut.” I’m wearing my new black tee from Amazon, like the white and striped swing tees (i wear the 4x), but I’m loving the black cuz it doesn’t get dirty as fast #reallifefashion.

Which brings us to Sunday. It was supposed to rain, and I had a whole laundry list of indoor tasks: dish-washing, ironing, vacuuming, photo-editing, blogging, then reading. And now it’s beautiful out! So all that might go on the “do another day” list while I run to a local art fair, try out a new coffee shop, then rotate the patio pots (some get more sun than others) and come home and read til dark. Maybe I’ll squeeze dish-washing in there somewhere. I think the sink is starting its own science experiment.

The week ahead looks okay so far…I think I’m doing a painting activity with a friend one night…and Friday is The Best Work Day of the Year, as I and one of my work colleagues spend the day out east manning a rest stop for a 100-mile bike ride that benefits autism organizations. We always have the best stop – shady, breezy, it’s just a delightful day. So, fingers crossed for this week!

Do you have anything nice planned for yourself this week?

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