random thoughts – Day 2,180 (Friday) – searching and yearning

I was looking for accessories to finish off an outfit for an event on Saturday, which is described with terms including “colorful” and “kaleidoscope.” Specifically, I was looking for a couple narrow sequin belt/scarf things or a fringed tuxedo scarf. In doing so, I found my two heavy coin dance belts, bought when I first began belly dancing. They look great but tangle easily and I almost never use them. In Tennessee, they hung as valances in my two bedroom windows. In Massachusetts, they have lived in a storage bag and I often thought about again using them to adorn windows.

The discovery of the belts led to a search for a couple jump rings (quite literally – two jump rings) to mend a spot in the belt chosen to hang in a window. That required fetching the jewelry and chain maille tools and sorting through a limited quantity of rings in a supplies box which doesn’t have the full inventory of rings because I can’t remember where those are. The belt was mended and then I needed hooks to hang it from the nearby curtain rods.

Christmas ornament hooks were easily found but too flimsy, the supply of s-hooks is missing somewhere in the stained glass making elements, but large paper clips seemed like a possibility. The search for paper clips involved a search of two desk drawers, a file cabinet pencil drawer, and three cabinets. I felt like an investigator looking for clues and evidence. The step stool and a hammer were required. The several additional side quests to the new main quest which was actually a side quest to the original main mission consumed a large portion of the morning.

The paper clips worked with a small modification, once again illustrating my MacGyver-like prowess, instilled during a youth and adolescence of needing to make do with what was available. I learned that a lack of funds breeds creativity. Fun fact – Mom’s cousin, who I met through a genealogy site, informed me that we are cousins to Richard Dean Anderson, who played the original MacGyver (1985). So there.

Coin belt as a window valance.

The coin belt was hung in the bay window and the living room vibe moved a couple degrees towards bohemian. Maybe that will inspire me to finally hang some art. It’s been more than seven months here and the walls are not talking to me about art, but maybe the windows will guide me. All the stuff pulled out to hang the coin belt was returned to the proper locations.

The search for accessories for the event outfit led to finding even more potential outfits that I wish I had thought of a few days ago. “Out of sight, out of mind” is a harsh reality for me and I need to remember to take a breath and shop my own closets before I race out to a store. In this case, I spent $23 at The Salvation Army Store for a skirt and blouse that might work for the event plus a summer dress that I might actually wear, then changed my mind on the event outfit a couple days later when I found the exact type of skirt I originally had in mind for $11 in a consignment store. 

After buying the new old things, I remembered at least four other garments that were packed away for winter or in the dance costume stuff that would have been great for this event. Someone please invite me to a bunch of fancy events, because I have many fun wardrobe options waiting for a chance to come out and play. Anyway. The outfit for the museum soiree is finalized and I am eagerly anticipating this event.

It started with rice.

In the early afternoon, tired from hours of running around, climbing the step stool, fetching things, and returning things, the train of thought had reached its caboose and I wanted rice. 

That is how some meals are built. I wanted rice, then I had to figure out what to do with some rice, because a bowl of plain rice has limited appeal. The desire for rice turned into a pan full of black beans, plant-based “meat” crumbles, chopped onion, mushrooms, spicy tomatoes, and queso to go with the rice, plus corn chips and guacamole. Usually, I make this dish because I want an excuse to eat corn chips or guac, but today it was because I wanted rice. It was delicious. It was repeated for supper.

Things really slowed down after lunch. There was minimal guilt because the morning was plenty busy with the train of thought running off the track all over the place. The dress form where the outfit had been built was stripped and the outfit was laid out for Saturday. The mail was fetched. I dove back into the costume dramas I love, which today happened to be the rest of The Forsyte Saga, which has entertained me since I finished the latest episodes of Bridgerton a couple days ago. Damn, fashion used to be so glamourous and exciting. Now it's all althleisure and jeans. I was definitely born in the wrong fashion timeline.