There are a few factors at play here that make this bout of housekeeping a bit...let's go with super. First, I haven't slept through the night in weeks. A combination of heat and anxiety (the latter of which increases exponentially with the increasing sleep debt, creating a wonderful cycle of not-sleeping-ever) foiled my every attempt to catch up with my pal Morpheus. And then, when I did eventually fall asleep, I had terrifying dreams. I'd scream myself awake, and the not-sleep would begin again. Last night, after a much-needed night out with old friends at a deserted neighborhood bar*, I finally got more than two consecutive hours of sleep! In fact, I think I slept for almost eight hours. Refreshing! (Ahh, it's the little victories...) Second, the School Year has begun, and that means making sure my brothers get their homework done, have their lunches packed, and get to school on time. You know, parent stuff. Third, my family basically runs a small zoo--guinea pigs need their areas (7 guinea pigs, 4 areas) cleaned once a week with daily hay-freshening, chickens need poop scooped, fresh hay (also daily), and egg-checks in the afternoon, and the corgi needs to go on walks and be snuggled with 24/7 (he, like every member** of my family, needs CONSTANT ATTENTION ALL OF THE TIME OMG PAY ATTENTION NOW PLEASE LOOK AT MY CUTE CORGI BUTT AND GIVE ME TREATS THANK YOU). All need fresh food and water every day in their varying degrees. Also, I'm trying to catch up with all of the friends I have been deprived of by moving away. I got to see Danielle yesterday! We've been besties since a million years ago***, and I miss her every day that I'm in Seattle.
I'm sleepy as heck. Two of my brothers and two of our cousins are currently sitting in the dining room, playing a very loud card game. I would like to note that no one was supposed to be home on the weekends, because Brother 1 only quasi-lives here, and Brothers 2 & 3 are staying at an aunt and uncle's house. They're not misbehaving at all--I just don't like spontaneous loudness when what was planned was a few hours of quiet so I could get my head cleared. Ahhh, and my parents wonder why I find the idea of having children to be horrifying. Note to self: My parents are saints. Seriously.
Since I've been losing my mind, I decided to relax with a crafty project. It provided me with about an hour of brain-quiet between taking Watson to the dog park and doing laundry. (Doctor Who provided me with another 47 minutes of down-time right before The Loud Teen Brigade stormed in.****) Here. I will show you pictures.
Yeah! I made two light bulb vases! One is from a chandelier bulb (the skinny, pointy one) and the other, from a vanity bulb (you know, the ones used in those bathroom fixtures over mirrors? I don't actually remember if it was referred to as a vanity bulb, but I'm not going to dig the box out and find the real name. It's big and round. There you go). I used fabric around the rim of the latter because the metal bit ended up a bit too short to be pretty. In case you want to make one, note that the bigger bulbs have thicker inside-glass that you need to break, which is a pain. It looks great once it's finished, but the first vase was WAY easier to do.
Having pretty flowers in funky vases helped lighten my mood a bunch. Plus, I get to see Steven and Katie tonight, and that always makes me happy.
*Seriously. We were the only people there. Until this lady showed up with her dude and asked if she could play piano. We told her "of course!" thinking we were about to be serenaded. She was really bad. But I highly recommend empty bars. It was awesome.
**I include myself here. None are exempt.
***not exaggerating
****In defense of my two cousins who came over with Matthew, they're pretty chill. Conrad's base volume, however, is 1200000, and Matthew projects his voice like the best Broadway actors.