A Satisfying Little Project

 After bringing home a new tinted sunscreen to try, I realized it was WAY past time to jump into cleaning out my make up drawer.

Well, that makes it sound like I have a regular sized drawer chock full of make up products, doesn't it?  That is the farthest thing from the truth.  The drawers in our vanity are ridiculously narrow - almost to the point of being practically useless; but I digress - back to cleaning out said drawer.

This afternoon, while I had a few blissfully quiet hours (i.e., I was home ALONE!  A feat which is rare these days.  At most, I usually get about 30 minutes), I went in and pulled out everything that was crammed into that woefully narrow drawer.  I discovered cracked, un-used cream eye shadows (gone), old mascaras (three - gone), shimmery eye shadows that were so old I don't even remember buying them (gone - besides the days for shimmery eye shadows for me is long gone), "long wear" lipsticks/stains that I bought on a whim to see if they could outlast my CoverGirl Outlast (they didn't - gone), powder (gone), and a BB cream that I swear once you put it on it would stay there till the end of time (nothing could get it off - not even cold cream - gone).

Most of the above wasn't really a huge surprise.  Not in the least.  What DID surprise me is that I have, apparently, somehow been inadvertently acquiring a ridiculously HUGE number of make up brushes.  

Twenty-one, to be exact.

Now, do I actually use ANY of these brushes on a regular basis?

Two on a daily basis - maybe four for a "dress up" event.  So the question remains, where and how did all these brushes come to be stuffed into my make up drawer?  Who knows; it's a mystery for the ages.

At any rate, I cleaned them all and the extra brushes are all set for the next Goodwill drop off - hopefully, they will go to someone who will actually use them.

The only things that went back into that drawer were one eye shadow (used on a daily basis as "eye liner" - much less harsh than actual eye liner, FYI.), two eye shadow palettes that I would use for a "dress up" event (but who are we kidding here?  What dress up events are anywhere on my calendar these days?).  Two mascaras (I'm trying to decide which I like the best).  Blush.  Foundation (also only used for the non-existent "dress up" events).  Concealer.  My two favorite shades of CoverGirl Outlast lipstick (Brazen Raisin and Unique Burgundy), the four brushes that I decided to keep, my eyebrow pencil, cold cream and, of course, the new tinted sunscreen all made the cut.

With this little project out of the way, I was inspired to clean out two of the other drawers and found even more stuff to get tossed or donated.  So now, all of the drawers in the bathroom (minus that last one - it holds my curling irons/flat irons, etc. that I'm not quite ready to give up despite the fact I cannot remember the last time I used any of them and don't expect to use any of them in the near - or far - future) are clean and tidy.

A satisfying little project that will make me smile when I open those drawers tomorrow to get ready for the day.

The library

 Well.  I have to say it IS soothing to know that I am not the only one actually pulling weeds.  Who the heck knows what my neighbors are doing since I never see any of them out there doing the hard work.

At any rate, we are here to talk about the library and my, by now, very obvious aversion of talking on the phone.

For however long this damn pandemic has been going on, I have been trying to access our local library to place books on hold online.  And let me tell you - that website needs some serious work because navigating it (particularly when you can't get access) is a nightmare.

So for the past 100 years (or so), my reading options have been pretty slim.  I've pretty much re-read everything in this house at least once.  And have met any new books that have come in via gifts or from an online order with rapturous delight; as you might imagine.

Recently, I had had enough, so I used the "contact us" feature on the website.  I was absolutely DELIGHTED to receive an immediate response (I can honestly say that while the website was lacking; the customer service was exceptional).

After a few emails back and forth, the person on the other end simply could not find me anywhere in their system - although I've had a library card since we moved here in 1997 (I think.  Who knows anymore?  Time has always seemed to slip through my fingers quickly - the pandemic has exacerbated this to an alarming degree).  This person suggested that I call the library.  Oh, the pain and agony!

As it seems for most of us, I despise making phone calls.  What good is the internet if we can't handle all of our business online, I ask you?  But, as I mentioned, I was fed up, so I placed the call.  The person on the other end was perfectly competent and sweet - but she couldn't find me either.  Then she asked if it had been a while since I used my card.

Well, yeah.  Haven't used it in the past 100 years (or so), plus some prior to the pandemic when I had a plethora of fresh, new books at my fingertips on a daily basis.  She then informed me that most likely my card had expired.  (WHAT?!  Since WHEN do library cards expire?!)  She went on to tell me that I would have to come in to get a new one (see above re: the internet) as they couldn't give me a card without verifying my identity.  

Ok.  I GET why SOME places (banks, DMV, etc.) need to verify my identity - but who in the Sam Hill is stealing people's identity to get a library card? *sigh*

(I KNOW they want to ensure that you are a resident of that particular county; but honestly - just who is driving from one county to another to "scam" libraries out of lending books?)

I thanked the woman and told her I'd see her soon.

This was a lie.

I sat with this information for a few days (ok.  Maybe a few weeks - you know how I can be) before I masked up and walked into a local branch.

The woman I spoke to also couldn't find me in the system and she agreed that it looked like my card had expired and quickly set me up with another one and told me to keep my old one as "keepsake."  Which I promptly tucked back into my wallet - where it will be totally forgotten about in no time and reside for eons.

So. To re-cap it's only taken me 100 years - give or take a few years - but now I can place holds online for books I'd like to read.  And I'm over the moon about it.  Until today, when I went to pick up one of  the "books" that was ready for me - and just in time too, because I'd just finished the last "new" book.  Upon arrival, I discovered I'd put the audio version on hold.  *sigh*  So, despite all that progress, I don't have anything new to read this evening.

Do any of you put off annoying, "little" things for eons?  And then once the ordeal is done think, "that wasn't so bad after all."  Or is that just me?

Bathroom Talk

 Hi!  Yes, I'm still here; you can quit wondering if I've fallen off the face of the earth...for now anyway.

Life - both work and personal -has quieted down quite a bit since my last couple of posts; thank goodness!  And this week has been extra quiet as I gifted myself a week off as a birthday present.  Although, this week has been pretty quiet it HAS been a busy one.  There was weeding to be done on Monday - and you know what I was thinking as I was out there cursing every single weed as I yanked them out?  Am I the only person in this whole wide world that actually weeds?  I never see anyone else out in their flower beds yanking weeds.  What is their secret to keeping the flower beds weed-free?  Anyone have any idea?  If so, spill it in the comments please.

On Tuesday, The Husband decided he was done with my procrastinating ways (I mean come ON.  It took four years to get the damned thing built so what if it's been two months and it's still not painted?) and informed me that we would be painting the built in shelves for the guest bath.  And, apparently, he meant business as he prepped everything and even (despite his loathing for painting) actually helped paint.  So that is done, I'm just giving it a few days to cure before I actually place anything on said shelves.

And in true, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" fashion, things kind of snowballed from there.  While at The Home Depot to look at options for around the mailbox to help keep the damned grass from encroaching into the flower bed that surrounds the mailbox (a project that will be held off until fall due to the fact that neither of us want to work outside in stifling heat); The Husband suggested that we look at bathroom light fixtures for the guest bath.  He has hated that light fixture since the day we moved in.

This is pretty much what we had in there...

Except ours had clear bulbs and a little bit of rust.  Explain to me WHY light manufacturers would create a light; designed for a bathroom, I might add; that would rust? 

At any rate, we found a light that we both didn't hate and today The Husband pulled the offending fixture down, spackled the wall and plans to sand, paint, and possibly hang the light tomorrow.

As an aside - have you looked that the bathroom light fixtures at your local big box store lately?  Holy cow - yes, I get that taste is subjective - but next time you are in the store take a walk over to that section and have a gander.  I was fascinated - in a I'd give anything to personally see some of the options on offer in someone's bathroom way.  

While we were discussing the whole fixture situation; I mentioned that I really hated the builder grade, standard gigantic mirror in there and wondered if we should remove it; along with random, ugly curtain rod (this house was built in the 90's - so you just KNOW there was some kind of balloon valance in there at some point).  He balked at the idea (of course, because that will require more spackling and painting - plus getting someone to remove it).

My argument was that if we do those two things, in addition to my painting the vanity many moons ago, finally getting the shelving done and the fixture - we would pretty much have a complete makeover in that room on the cheap.  He agreed but is still hesitant.  But I am pretty firmly in the mirror must go camp.  So we shall see how this turns out (the mirror will go...eventually)

So basically, this stay-cation, to date, has been a week of household projects/chores that I've been putting off.