Rainy Day Thoughts

• Many of you know my penchant for gloomy rainy days... and here, we have one.  It's the first day in a long while where I've actually fervently wished I could have stayed at home.  (After almost 7 weeks off in the early Covid days, I swore I'd never complain about having to go to work again.)  But today... yeah.  Snuggled up in a warm blanket on the couch watching a scary movie or reading a book, baking cookies or making a pot of spaghetti sauce... there's just something about the dark days that make me crave being home and cozy!
• As fall begins to creep ever closer, and the weather starts to feel more fall-like, my longing for it grows.  I want to put out my fall decorations, and get pumpkin spice scents going in my Scentsy warmers and candles.  Yesterday, I did a quick draft of scary movies I want to watch, and I keep thinking of warm loaves of pumpkin bread and simmering pots of chili. While I'm still holding a bit of dread, not knowing what fall will look like in pandemic times, I'm starting to feel the excitement outweigh the fear.
  
  
  
• I have added a few new fall pieces to my wardrobe and I'm excited for the weather to be cool enough to finally put them to use.  A new pair of leggings, a few new sweaters, a long-sleeved tee.  I'm also excited for socks and slippers.  I mean, don't get me wrong, bare feet and flip flops in the summer make life so much easier, and I'm not ready to give that up just yet.  But if I was home right now enjoying the gloom?  I think I'd have my slippers on.
• Do you remember last week or so, I talked about a new book I was reading, but I wasn't far enough into it yet to know whether or not I was going to love it?  Well, I LOVE it.  It is called The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, and it is such a delicious escape from reality right now!!  It is unlike anything I've ever read before, and far more fantasy than I'd normally read, but I am enjoying it SO much (now that I'm past the confusing early stages lol).
  
  
  
• I got my hair chopped off on Tuesday evening.  My first hair cut since February, and my first time having a shorter hairstyle in over two years.  I had really wanted to give long hair a try, and it took SO long to grow it out that it was hard to let it go, but I don't think it suited me.  My ponytail always looked so scraggly, and I never took the time to blow it dry and straighten it to make it look decent.  I enjoyed the ease of putting it up, but even that was a struggle - I never did master the art of the top knot, even when it got really long.  It's only been two days, but I'm loving my cute little bob, and so far it hasn't been as hard to maintain as I thought.  It's actually been easier.
  
  
  
• Lately, I have been daydreaming about an old restaurant favourite that is no longer available:  Kelsey's balsamic chicken penne.  I haven't had it in years, but I can't stop thinking about it.  The other day, I challenged my friend Lindsay (who makes the most delicious carbonara I've ever had) to replicate the balsamic chicken penne dish from our memories. She didn't waste any time, making it for her family for dinner last night!!  Even better... she packaged up some leftovers for my lunch today! yum!!! I can't wait for lunch!!!!
  
  
  
• I am STILL not finished my second Perfect Pocket Shawl.  ugh!  I keep printing off patterns of new crocheted items I want to try, yet I can't seem to finish the one that's holding everything else up!!  I have ONE pocket left to make, then to sew them on and sew in the ends... I'm literally like an hour or two away from being done, and yet I just can't seem to get the motivation to do it.  Saturday is supposed to be another rainy dreary day, so hopefully the cro-jo will find me!
• You know what a rainy day makes me think of?  Rainy day snacks.  I have a plethora of snacks sitting atop my fridge, yet the one I really wish I was home to crack open is a bag of cheese popcorn.  A (slightly) scary movie, a bowl of popcorn, a cup of hot chocolate... oh, I could just pretend it's fall for a few hours!!
  
  
  

Alright... that's all I've got for today.  I hope you're all enjoying your day, rain or no rain! :)