Oh my gosh, the things you can get done without doing much done at all. I was under the weather this weekend and so spent the time lollygagging about. But! Here’s what was accomplished:

1. My lawn got mowed! And will continue to get mowed all summer. I met someone right here on the Interwebs who knew someone who came with a friend and several pieces of serious equipment and yadda yadda yadda, my lawn looks great. It was funny to hear the sound of lawnmowers pertaining to my own home. It’s been a good, long time.

2. The sofa is here! It felt kind of like marrying someone just before they ship off for two months and then kind of forgetting what they looked like or why you committed to them. But it looks awesome and super with the chair. I also have a chair from my Dad’s that I hope will work but we’ll see. I lay around on it, just to test the comfiness, and I give it five Andy Capps for comfort.

Oh, and while I am posting pictures, here’s one of the bedroom chair next to the old and new paint. Nice, right?

3. I tried Peapod for the first time for car-free groceries and it went swimmingly. Or rather, cookingly. Yes, I cooked in my own home, which I had never done before. While at my sink, I waved across at my neighbor, which brings me to

4. I met my neighbor. Well, I had met her husband but he is not a big talker and she is, well, more so. They have two daughters who are either teens or young adults but I am not sure because she kind of said both. Maybe one is a teen and one just graduated from college? Hm. But that’s OK because she made the assumption that I was from Baltimore and had just moved to New York temporarily, and I did not correct her. That’s how wacky sitcoms start, I know.

Anyway, she told me lots of interesting things including:

a. Her husband built my kitchen! Good thing I didn’t insult it. I sure hope she doesn’t read this blog.
b. The guy on the other side of her, who I already described as off-kilter, is nuts and should never be allowed in my home.
c. The nutty guy built my deck – but she said it was solid. One hopes.
d. She grew up on the street, her parents are original owners from the 40’s, and then she bought a house there, too.
e. The people before me, who I thought had been kicked out due to foreclosure, actually moved abroad and I guess the foreclosure happened after it went over a year without selling.

All in all, really interesting.

5. I met the UPS guy, who brought me these:

Something I can honestly tell you I have never purchased in my life. Of course, it was 60 degrees this weekend, so I did not need them just yet.

On the bad side, I have an ant problem to the point where I stupidly left a ziploc with some crumbs on it out for an hour and when I came back there was a SWARM of insects. I called the exterminator but they did not answer. It was a holiday, I guess. But this has to be taken care of, because the cooking prep work is seriously hampered by trying to avoid living creatures whilst doing it.

But something I pondered while relaxing this weekend is why a vacation house seems so much more vacation-like than a stay-cation in your regular home, and I think it’s really that whole “getting away” piece, as obvious as it sounds. Being in different scenery, even if it’s your own bed in your own house, just makes you feel so much further away from your regular life. I really hope that never changes.