11:37 a.m. - 23 May 2001
Hobbies
Lee should be home by the time I get there. I'm glad, at least partly because it's weird having him gone. As much as I travel and visit my college friends, he doesn't really do the same, so he spends a good bit more time at home alone than I do.
Of course, he's usually home on weekends while I had two weeknights, but hey, who's counting? The important thing is that he'll be home when I get there tonight. I don't quite understand why the hospital paid out the wazoo for him to fly up to Boston on Monday and fly home today, but I don't ask. Really.
This weekend was mostly a weekend of sloth, aside from the new baby excitement. We drove up to VA on Saturday afternoon to find a cross stitch store so I could get some floss bobbins and a birth sampler for the baby jumped into my arms, so I had to take it home.
We also stopped at a grocery store that's a little closer than the Harris Teeter we'd been going to, and we liked it quite a bit. This particular store has online shopping, too: you pick out what you want to buy, tell them a time you'll pick it up, and they get it ready for you when you get there. Lee and I may try it out sometime, since it would save us quite a bit of time in the whole driving to VA for groceries scheme. Plus it's one way to cut down on impulse buying, which both of us are notorious for.
Other than that quick trip, I spent most of the weekend either reading or stitching. I re-read all four of the Harry Potter books last week, so now I'm all ready for the movie that's coming this fall. I've also finished another of the onesies for the baby and am about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through with the last one. It's a more complicated pattern, even though it's smaller, so it's taking longer to finish up. And when I look at it, it's hard to believe that there are seven shades of brown in this 4 inch square teddy bear.
The sloth is starting to catch up with me, though. The kitchen is a total disaster and our bedroom isn't far behind. Lee did what laundry he could before he left, but since a large portion of my clothes hadn't made it to the hamper (ahem), I've got another load or two to finish off. And we won't even discuss the ironing situation.
I'm big on re-reading books, actually. I think I've been through the entire Harry Potter series three times now, and I couldn't even begin to say how many times I've been through Lord of the Rings. I've been reading that every year for five or six years, at least, and I'd been through it once or twice before I started that. I know there are people who just read parts over and over, but I've found that I can't do that. I have to read the whole thing through. But since I read fairly quickly, that's usually not a big deal. I read until I fall asleep every night, so I'm guaranteed of at least that time with a book, though I often read other things as well.
It's very rare that I'm reading one book at a time, too. I tend to have whatever I'm reading at bedtime, plus one that I read during the day, and maybe one stuck in my purse for that odd moment waiting in line. I feel a little naked if I don't have anything to read within arm's reach. I always felt sorry for my mom, who gets carsick if she reads while moving. I don't know how I would have survived all the long drives back and forth to PA without a book or four.
Of course, stitching is something else that I can do in the car, but only if it's relatively easy. It's too hard to keep up with seven shades of brown while driving down the highway, for example. But easy stuff, filling in areas of color, say, can make a long trip much more bearable. Plus, I very often stitch while watching TV. I kind of feel like I'm wasting time if I don't do something while my brain rots, so the stitching gives me something to do with my hands. Plus, I can look up to see what's going on if it looks important. And if it's football, I can just about count on instant replay to keep me up to date with whatever's going on. Too bad I've got three more months until the NFL starts....though it's only about two more until the preaseason.....
