I’m moved in. Not really but I have keys and the first load of never ending laundry rumbles away in the closet. It’s dark in here. I have the blinds turned down for privacy since there is another building right across the alley, and it’s a dim day, anyway, dull dusk at 5pm. There’s no furniture here yet, only the lamp in the corner. I can still see the odd empty space next to the plant at the old place in my mind’s eye and hope it doesn’t startle Claire too much when she stops by for her evening call. I’ll be ready, if rudimentary, to entertain at the new place Sunday.
A lot of things have changed this month, or it feels like they have. I’ve started on a slow but hopefully not as slow as I put it on weight loss program. I didn’t realize quite the extent of my ‘voluptuousness’ until I switched back from summer dresses to jeans. Denim is far less forgiving and emphasized how high my waist has risen. Oh I still look fine and my face is as open and inviting as ever but I have this image in my mind of a trim girl with taught legs. My muscle is toned, it’s just under a layer of padding a bit thicker than I’m happy with. So for the next six months it’s smaller plates, less wine, fewer chocolates, coffee with cream instead of lattes, and more walking.
Between the new place, return from abroad, winter approaching, and the change in public transit I’m establishing, or trying to establish, a new routine. Wake up an hour or so before I need to leave the house (unless I have something before 10) and relax. Wake up naturally, brew some coffee, have a piece of toast with homemade jam, catch up on Reddit, and prepare for the rest of the day. Be in town by 10:30 and spend time writing, cleaning, relaxing, and socializing unless I have an appointment. Catch a bus home and have fresh homemade dinner with a glass of wine and read a bit before bed. Saturday can be a stay home and do fun home stuff like special lunch or host a cocktail party. Maybe some evening I invite colleagues over to my new place for a few drinks and to play with the stripper pole! 😉
My ambitions are always ahead of my accomplishments but formalizing and sharing those intentions often helps. The time I tried Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and totally failed to follow through comes to mind but this is a bit simpler and easier to accomplish. One thing that seems oddly easy is my French language practice. I picked up a bunch of new words last month and am having a great deal of good luck with DuoLingo, a simple smart phone app that gives you small tasks and phrases and a daily goal to meet. I’m enjoying it and am able to at least translate visually. French pronunciation is so different from English and even Spanish that I have a terrible time hearing and interpreting.
So exercise, language, social events, what else is new? I’m sure I’ll think of something but in the meantime I’ll try to keep you amused with anecdotes and current events as I find them.
Oh, and an apology to those of you who registered for my newsletter and got a dozen or so copies: apparently it’s a glitch with the software. I’m working on a fix and will try to stay on top of it next month. Thank you for your kind patience.