I meant for today to be a day of complete rest. Yet with that, I’ve had bouts of activity too.
About the dress today
Here is a list of things I’ve done in my Wool& Camellia dress today:
- Breakfasted outside while reading a book
- Used my clippers to break down a huge palm frond that fell from my tree
- Clipped all of the branches off of the curbside Christmas tree I found a few days ago
- Cut the trunk of the curbside Christmas tree down with a chainsaw
- Got a dead possum out of my neighbors’ back yard with my scoop shovel
- Took a long nap
- Rambling around the yard looking for cute critters
- Painted a clay project I’d been working on
- Mowed the lawn
Wool& has a Facebook group for the folks who do or are thinking about doing the #100daydresschallenge. A lot of folks, me included, are worried about ruining the dress. It is a pricey article, after all. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that, if I’m going to wear it everyday, I’m going to do every day things in it. If I snag it or get a hole in it, I plan on mending it. If I stain it, I can always dye it. I like that this challenge is getting me thinking that way. Sometimes I’ve thought of an article of clothing as useless if I got a stain on it. But the truth is: 1) probably no one else will even notice it’s there, and 2) it is still functional and could be an artistic opportunity. For example, I once got a shirt I liked really dirty when I was pushing my bike through a swamp. When I got home, I tie-dyed it. So I’m quickly getting over the idea of “ruining the dress.”
As an FYI: I am washing the dress today, after all of that. I just figured it might need it. Aside from stinky factor, it’s been absorbing all of my body odors as well as dirt and whatnot. That stuff can break down fabric too. So 13 days before washing!
A little about the rest of my day
Maybe a month or so ago, my neighbors had a dead possum in their yard. I saw a black vulture picking at it. I texted my neighbor, letting her know. I told her I’d be happy to get it for them if they wanted me to. She said yes, so I got my scoop shovel and a trash bag and sent Mx. Possum to the here-after. (I apologized for having to do so via a trash can.)
Well, today I was getting a whiff of dead … something when I was out back. I looked around my yard. Nothing. I looked in the yard to the east of me, since I’d seen a black vulture over there a few days ago. Nothing there either. Then I looked into my other neighbors’ yard. The one who had previously had the dead possum. Yep! Flies covering it and smelling disgusting. I texted my neighbor again. We are both perplexed why they keep doing it in their yard. But I got my scoop shovel and a trash bag. Same deal, only this time I had to walk away a few times before getting it in the bag. It was pretty gross and the smell of decay was strong. It must have happened Friday night or Saturday. I was away most of the day on Saturday, so I would have missed it then. Anyhoo, Mr. Possum is in the trash can waiting for Tuesday when they pick up trash. I still feel bad shuffling the critters on that way, but I’m not quite sure what else I’d do. He is still quite stinky in there, so I’ll have to deal with that for another day.
After I took care of Mr. Possum, I noticed a couple of black vultures in the trees. I’m sure they could still smell the possum and were looking for another meal. Sorry to ruin your day, vulture friends.
While rambling around the yard, I also saw this photogenic tussock moth caterpillar. It was crawling down the leaves of my song of India tree (Dracaena reflexa). My iPhone did a good job up close. I got it a little crooked, but that’s kind of neat too!
After I took a nice, long nap, I got to work painting a clay project I’d started. I feel like maybe I should paint the trunk of it another color. Maybe not though. Regardless I’m pretty proud of this little mushroom house. You can actually look into it, since it’s hollow. I made each window (4) and the little door with a door knob. I want to try to make a bigger one at some point, but I’m really please with this one as a first effort. @adamceramic (on Instagram) was my inspiration to try a mushroom house. Now that I’m looking back at his for inspiration, I might go back and do a light brown for the trunk. Or maybe a light grey…
A little about rest
So did I get my day of rest? Yes and no. I’ve slept a lot, which has felt good. Creating art, looking for (live) critters, reading under my oak tree have all felt restful. The yard work felt more like work. I still see a day off work in my near future. And I’ve scheduled a full week off the week of my birthday at the end of April. I’m grateful for the privilege of being able to do that.
As a teacher, there was always a guilt trip if you took time off. The 2nd to last year I taught, my Principal dinged me on my evaluation for being absent too much. I had taken time off during my planning period at the end of the day (i.e. no students) to go to physical therapy following a car accident where my car was totaled. I’m very glad to not be working in that environment anymore.
Wish you love, joy, and the rest you need.