First of all, before I move forward with this post, I just want to give remembrance to 09/11/2001. It affected too many of us to forget. It took a toll on friends and family we lost.  For me, it was sickening because people I knew were murdered. I worked in Two WTC and my aunt in One WTC.  We were no longer working in those buildings when the incident occurred but it still had an impact.

21 years later, I still find it difficult to look at photographs of the twin towers. I honestly believe this is one of the most beautiful and tragic reminders. 

So yesterday, being the “first” Saturday we were home since late spring, I decided to tackle a few chores that needed attention.

Carrying out these chores was so cringe-worthy for me. No makeup. An inside-out nighty, but I menaged to put on a cheap pair of earrings to keep it glam!

Our living room:  We have two off-white sofas. Each has removable slip and cushion covers. This is key for washing. However, I don’t like to wash them too much because I don’t want to ruin the fabric. Between family gatherings, spilled beverages, the dirt from Chippy and normal wear and tear, I decided to begin the project of washing them.

I know. I know. I’m very “beige” and neutral. I really need window coverings but I can’t find any that I LOVE. And I cannot find a handy-man to instal curtain rods.

Because this process takes days for the slipcovers to dry (i.e., today is rainy and humid—no dry down). One sofa at a time will be taken care of.  Yesterday, after my morning coffee and Wordle, I traipsed downstairs to the living room and stripped the one sofa of its coverings.

Naked and stripped. The covers must be cleaned. Ugh. Don’t even get me started on the bane of my existence–the carpeting.

No money was found in the sofa’s crevices. However, a petrified corn chip was discovered and quickly devoured by Chippy!

While Chippy searches for more petrified crumbs, I ponder if I should leave the sofa naked until November.

In the meantime, I decided to multitask by ironing clothes whilst the first load, the cushions were in the machine.  Then I spot treated the filth off the second load and let me tell you, I was shocked at how dirty the bottom of the slipcover skirt was.

Time to iron and spot-treat. Thankfully, this sofa is rarely used so I’ll let it get dirty before entertaining the thought of washing the covers!

So, after three hours of wash loads, I turned the house into a mess of sorts by air drying them.

24 hours later, this still isn’t dry but it’s created an eyesore..

These will be hanging out for a few days too!

Why am I doing this now?  Because I’m preparing for Thanksgiving.  Next week I’ll wash the covers from the other sofa. The week after we’ll be in Cincinnati.  The last weekend in September I’ll move on the So, loveseat in the sunroom.

The covers on this loveseat will be cleaned last.  This loveseat is filthy and it’s going to take two washes to get it clean. Ugh.

Okay. All that done, it was on to chore Number Two.  Switching out the summer clothing to the autumn/winter clothing.  Yeah. I realize it is still hot and humid and the mid-day temperature rises to the mid-80’s.  This is where the transitional clothing comes in.

Here we go. Quite possibly, next to cleaning a toilet, this is the most annoying chore. Twice a year. But once it is done, I’m okay with it.

Sweaters at the ready to place into drawers..

Heavy ones in this dresser..

…lighter sweaters in this dresser.

Outfits such as my beloved leopard-print skirt that defies the seasons will be worn with a light jersey tee until that crisp day where the frost makes its annual appearance on our miniscule front lawn.

This skirt never leaves my closet.  A “go-to” for years and it is still going strong!

Gretchen Scott Designs printed pants will make a fun appearance from now till the bowels of winter and onto early spring.

What I absolutely LOVE about the Gretchen Scott GripeLess jeans other than the patterns is the stretch. They stretch across the gut. And, the fabric is lightweight–perfect for this transitional part of the year.

My years-old collection of J. Crew Pixie Pants has also been hung in the closet. And they will, once again, be happy to adorn my ample thighs and calves like a nursing newborn rested against its mother’s bosom.

All those black pants hanging up? J. Crew Pixie Pants..

The black pants folded next to the jeans? MORE Pixie Pants. BTW. I have three pair of jeans for the winter.  None of my other jeans fit across the belly. Time to cut the bread and macaroni! 

Thankfully The Frenchman lugged the tubs of clothing up and down the three flights of stairs in our home. That’s another thing.  There’s the misconception that Boomers and “old people” can survive only in a home without stairs. Not true. I think of it as exercise—at least for now while my knees are working!

Actually , I’m the one who needs to hold on to the bannister due to my lack of depth perception. But we are both lucky to be running up and down three flights of stairs.

With sweat pouring off me, I dismantled from hangers, folded, placed into tubs and repeated in opposite form. The closet was organized and ready for the coming season.

Pardon the lack of decent lighting but this closet isn’t the largest…

Blazers in the back..

Shirts up front. I need to keep it organized!

Next was to take the winter shoes from one side of the closet to the other. That was a royal pain-in-the-ass.  But it was completed.  And might I add, you don’t need a huge closet—just be mindful of how you hang the clothing.  Pants together, dresses together, skirts together…etc.  It works.

All my winter shoes are in place. Jesus is watching over them. Actually, my Catholic superstition will not allow me to move the Crucifix. Jesus fell off and I can’t find the nail that kept him on the wood–and I’m afriad to glue him. Some of you will totally understand this reasoning.

Is my closet immaculate? No. I have purses that I don’t use crammed into shelves. I would love to sell them on Poshmark or Mercari but I can’t deal with people if they want to return one of them. I would rather deal with the purse pile.

What was next?  Turning the faucet to the bathtub on. My stinky, sweaty, gross body needed a soak and a scrub—not to mention shaved legs. So, after a twenty-minute gig in the now dirty water, I got out, got dressed and off I went with The Frenchman to Rite-Aid to see if I could get my next and third Covid Booster.

Another superstition. I received both my boosters from Rite-Aid so I’m afraid to go anywhere else!

We arrived at the pharmacy only to be told that I needed to make an appointment on line.  Yet another misconception about Boomers—we don’t, we can’t or we refuse to use the internet or iPhone to make appointments or whatever.  A few clicks and I had the appointment for Sept. 24.

Oh. Wait. We’ll be visiting my daughter. Back to the site to reschedule. And in a matter of seconds, I was confirmed for the following Friday. Yes. I am a Boomer. And I am on a computer all day, 8, 10, 12 hours at work. At times I assist those younger than me in using certain applications.  Remember that.

Yessssss. My reschedule was confirmed. YESSSSSSSS. I’m old and have better computer skills than some younger coworkers!

Back to the clothing in the closet. I needed more skirt and pants hangers. Do you know how difficult it is to find these things in real life? Stores don’t have the kind I want. And the last thing I wanted to do was to sleuth out hangers—the thought of looking for a parking spot and the mall or Target or Walmart, then having to deal with people in the store did not make me a happy camper.

As I write this, I’m awaiting the delivery . They should be here momentarily. Nature Smile Wooden Hangers. They’ll do the job!

Back home. It is afternoon.  What next?

Gougères.  My husband, through autumn, winter and spring, lives for these little cheese-embedded orbs of choux pastry.  I do not bake in the summer. It is too hot. I am not a fan of my oven (I need a new one), and, I just don’t have or want to make the time for summer baking.

The mise-en-place for Alain Duccase’s easy and always great to have on hand Gougeres!

And so, yesterday, I whipped up three batches.  Next weekend I’ll go back to baking his pain-aux-raisins and next month, it’ll be croissant time!  With gougères cooled, they were placed into freezer bags and put to rest. They need only a couple of minutes in a 350 oven to reheat.

Ready for the oven..

Ready to cool, bag and place in the freezer!

At this point, it was around 3:45 in the afternoon.  I needed a break. I headed to dirty sofa and reclined my not-aching body. Turned the TV on to Netflix and started watching Chef’s Table—the season is about Pizza. I can’t stand Pizza. Honestly, it’s one of …maybe four foods I don’t like. Gummy candy and mint candy such as peppermint bark and York patties, and tomato sauce and ketchup are the others.

I need to finish the season but ….I just might try to make a special pizza–even though my oven sucks.

I watched anyway because I love stories about food. Now I am ready to try real artisanal pizza. Not the gooey, smothered in tomato sauce.

At about five, I realized I needed to get dressed. Nicely dressed, that is.  We were headed out to our favorite restaurant for a belated fifth wedding anniversary dinner.

Okay. So the wig (Ocean by Estetica) needed a bit of manipulation. But this dress from Amazon is incredible comfortable and is great for this time of year!

Thrifted J. Crew Leopard print Dulci Pumps. I love these!

I fixed the wig a bit. Cleaned up well after a smelly hog day!

We drove to Springmill Café in Conshohocken and enjoyed a wonderful meal and lots of good wine.

Our absolute favorite restaurant. I can’t believe we’ve been dining here together since 2005!

Someone is very serious about fixing our aperitifs..

We started off with the Country Pate Tasting!

I had rabbit. And although boney, I ate it with my hands. It was outstanding! My husband had filet mignon but the camera was shakey and the photo didn’t turn out..

Dessert was Orange Cake A La Mode and I had a strong coffee. I still fell asleep early!

Was it the wine or was it a day filled with activity that had me falling asleep at 9:30 PM? It was the wine.

On second thought, perhaps it wasn’t the wine. Maybe I was tired from a 60 hour work week or just the activity of the day!

So, the next time when someone younger than you pontificates about how “Boomers” are worthless, about how they need to retire because they are taking jobs away from the younger generation (which is complete bullshit because most corporations participate in ageism against older people), about how we know nothing, about how lazy we are—remind them a bit about a few things.

Our generation has a stellar work ethic. We were raised with good values. We know the value of a dollar. We actually work hard and go the extra mile because we have a mortgage to pay, car payments, household utilities, food, clothing and our activities.

Laziness comes in all ages. All genders. All cultures.  Boomers should not be the objective of snark, of disrespect or hate.

Show ’em what you got!!!!!!!!!!!!

I rest my case!