May 13, 2022

Left to my own devices

 The Husband left yesterday around 10 am for a long weekend visit with his daughter.  And I could not be more delighted.  The only "voices" or noise that I have heard since then is the one podcast I listen to daily and the two work calls that I had this morning.

It has been heavenly.

I'm sure his feelings were a little hurt after I responded with a no when asked if I would miss him.  I'm sorry - but since 2019 I'm very used to sitting in a quiet house and getting things done without having someone underfoot 24/7.  I will be more than ready to have him home after a couple of days but for now?  I'm reveling in the peace and quiet.  

Yes, I now have my home office and I appreciate that I can go in there when I have meetings/Teams calls or need to concentrate on a particular issue/task but...I don't like being stuck in their for the majority of the day.

So yesterday and today found me back at the dining room table for most of the day.

Which was nice since I had a hankering for an oatmeal raisin cookie (original recipe here) and it was a slow morning so I set about baking.  And God only knows what I did wrong but these were the flattest and most sad looking cookies I have ever made - maybe those two unexpected calls in the middle of the process led me to forget baking powder?  


BUT they are still, hands down, the BEST oatmeal raisin cookie,
even if they aren't pretty this time around.

I also happened to notice that my "baby" peony (I don't think I ever mentioned it; but sometime around the beginning of the pandemic I planted a new peony) finally had one bloom with two other buds getting ready to blossom.  Don't tell my other peony - which I do love - but this one might be my favorite.  I had to bring at least one bloom in to enjoy while I can.

A photographer I am not. 
Ignore the broom hanging out in the corner. *sigh*


It's a shame these blooms are so short lived.  It would be heavenly if these blooms just kept coming all spring/summer long.  But I guess I wouldn't appreciate them as much then.

As the forecast for the weekend looks to be a rainy one, I expect that I shall spend tomorrow and Sunday on indoor tasks - of which there are many - and will get the most necessary ones done and, hopefully, a few extras that have been hanging out on my To Do list for far too long.

Other than that, I am expecting it to be a slow and quiet weekend.  What does the weekend have in store for you?  Are you like me and need a little solitude now and then?


16 comments:

  1. It was a busy week, so I'm looking forward to a relatively low-key weekend. Mostly trying to avoid getting COVID (obviously we have always wanted to do this, but cases are going up in our area and we need negative tests to travel soon and I'm feeling very stressed about it all).
    I hear you on the quiet-house thing. When the kids were younger my husband would encourage me to leave the house to get alone time...but what I really wanted was to be in my own space, puttering around with NOBODY ELSE HOME. I still get happy chills when he leaves with the kids on some errands or adventure and I get to bathe in the wonderful sounds of...complete silence.
    And cookies; I'm feeling like an evening snack is in order :)

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  2. EXACTLY! Time alone in our own space...I think that's all some of us want every once in a while. And not to get COVID, obviously.

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  3. Oh, how nice to have time alone! I know how you feel, because my husband is at the office three days a week now, but before that he was just home working all the time, and it was fine but also...I do like some space. That peony is gorgeous!

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    1. Space in our own homes isn't too much too ask! I am loving this particular peony - and bonus, the blooms on this one last much longer than the other.

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  4. Your peony preference is safe with me. I won't go blabbing to the other one. I love quiet times, still minutes, just being. As for my weekend, there's gardening to tend to-- and if the rain holds off, a walk in a park.

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    1. I knew I could count on you to keep my secret. Having some alone time refreshes my soul and mind.

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  5. YES to solitude. Sometimes time alone is so delicious! And I love your peony - what a gorgeous color.

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    1. Solitude is so very delicious! This peony makes me want to plant more - they are such beautiful flowers.

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  6. Use portrait mode when you take the picture, it blurs out the background (my teen taught me that). That's for Android, might be called something else on iOs

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    1. Good to know! I have an android but I don't see a portrait mode - I will investigate further as my pictures ALWAYS have something in the background that needs blurring. Or they are crooked. But by now, that's my signature style, I suppose.

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  7. I love my spouse but oh how nice when the house is myself only.

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    1. I love my spouse too - but when he disappears for a little while I love him even more and then I'm happy to see him when he gets back.

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  8. I love love love peonies and that one is gorgeous. I do love my quiet house and time alone too; I think it's good for all of us. Why must you mention cookies? Now I've got a hankering!

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    1. Sorry about mentioning cookies. Actually, I'm sorry I made the darn things...as I can hear them calling me from the kitchen.

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  9. Beautiful peony, perfect shade of pink.

    I love my solitary time and often feel a teensy bit of resentment when my husband barges home. When he retires...it will be a huge adjustment.

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    1. You said it. Their retirement is a HUGE adjustment. I mean he's great and makes laugh daily but sometimes you just need that little bit of solitude so you can appreciate them even more.

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