Birthday Month 2023 August 2: to go slow when necessary; also, I love my mother-in-law

[elisem]

So one of the things I am trying to do this birthday month is to be kind to myself physically. That means getting enough sleep, for one thing, so I did not stay up super-late last night trying to record "Oobleck in the Bathtub" for Patreon. Instead, I went to bed and tried recording it today. (No joy. I need to try a few other things, or else just type in the lyrics for people.)

And today I went a bit slower than I might.But there are still new things. I'm going to go photograph them now so I can show you. One at least, a very sparkly pair of earrings. Also I had an absolutely lovely online tea with my mother-in-law that I often refer to as my mother outlaw. Ruth is awesome. She really is.

Today's scent of the day is from CB: I Hate Perfume, and it's a hay accord. It smells just like clover hay and I love it. It makes me remember so many things, especially walking up the road on the top of the hill and then down the slope to the valley where the beaver dam was. They were growing clover hay on the slope there above it. It was so good, almost good enough to shiver a soul into an utter radiance of late afternoon sunlight. Just gorgeous, that scent.

My to-do list is not done, but I did make progress.

And how did your day go?

Comments

[pameladean]

I am so glad you are looking after yourself. I know it's sometimes hard.

We took Saffron to the vet (a routine workup) and then I wrangled some extremely overdue taxes. This is a combination of very tedious and very fraught and I will be very glad when it is done.

P.

[elisem]

It is indeed difficult to install better habits of taking care of oneself.

You are mighty for tax wrangling. And how many cats are resident there these days? I have lost track!

[pameladean]

Five! Upstairs are Saffron, a leggy orange tabby with a long nose and a very benign disposition except on certain subjects; and Cassie, a short-legged round torbie with white paws and an inquiring disposition. Downstairs, Nuit and Ninja, little black cats with Siamese voices, brother and sister, raised by vet techs because their mother (the cats', not the techs') was not doing right, and hence very much attached to people; and Lady Jane Grey, a floofy muted tortoiseshell who flung herself on Lydy's mercy. Lydy was going to take her to the Humane Society, but here she is, and a good thing too. Nobody had taught her how to cat, but she was very eager to learn and is extremely good the vast majority of the time.

P.

[pameladean]

Also I looked up clover hay and landed in an extensive discussion of how to make sure the stems dry before the leaves fall off, whether or not it is an abortifacient (not, apparently, for goats; the subject of cows was not settled). Apparently the clover is mostly red clover, though some people prefer white?

P.

[elisem]

I think red clover is a trifolium, where yellow clover (which is the one I was thinking of) should properly be called yellow sweet clover, and it, along with white sweet clover, is melilotus. Plain white clover, though, is a trifolium like red clover.

Goodness, this gets a bit confusing.

Red clover = trifolium pratense
White clover = trifolium repens
White sweet clover = melilotus alba
Yellow sweet clover = melilotus officinalus
(and there's another yellow sweet clover out there called melilotus indicus)

[adore]

almost good enough to shiver a soul into an utter radiance of late afternoon sunlight.

you describe it so beautifully <3

yay for going slow and taking care of yourself!

[elisem]

<3

it's hard work but very helpful

[ladythmpr]

And how did your day go?

I did a LOT of resting, which I expected and planned for after a day of doing WAY too much (kids' school shopping), and crossed-stitched the final two days of a stitchalong, which I didn't feel like doing at first, but had a stitch-in to attend to motivate, and I appreciated finishing the piece.

[elisem]

Excellent with the resting, and how nice to come to the completion of the cross-stitch!

[sillylilly_bird]

Not too bad. Grabbed another bag of Rx food for the kitties. Long story. Ran other errands, worked, read, watched Time Team, did my nails. I have that Hay accord and LOVE it so much!

[elisem]

Oh, kitties. Please to give them my regards.

CB:IHP's Hay is one of the scents I never realized could exist in a bottle.

(When it's time for swap-or-sale, should I wave some CB decants at you? I'm not mailing anything until the weather is not fiercely hot.)

[(Anonymous)]

Ooooh!!! Yes please! Thank you!!