Day 315: No Nonsense Kind of Day

Today was a no nonsense kind of day. First thing this morning, I very determinedly tackled my closet and drawers with the task of moving the rest of my summer clothes out and winter clothes in. Not a small feat I can say after I worked on it for a couple of hours. I tried to do some "cleaning out" at the same time but I have such a difficult time getting rid of things that it didn't go as well as I had hoped. I only managed to toss one pair of shoes and one short-sleeved shirt into the clothing swap/goodwill bag.
One of my other shirts that I couldn't quite bear to part with, but was looking a bit long in the tooth, was demoted to a cleaning and painting shirt. It is always a good idea to have specific clothing designated for  messy tasks.  And likewise, it is never a good idea to paint in your good clothing. Unless you want those clothing items to automatically be demoted to work clothes.

My husband used to love to wear his nice clothing when he painted, used bleach, worked on his bike and generally anything that nearly assured paint flecks, bleach spots or mud and grease stains. I think I have almost cured him of that habit but sometimes he manages to sneak off in a good pair of pants and shirt to do something and comes back with his tail between his legs as he says in a little voice, "I got greasy on my pants." But such is life, right? I just have him take them off and I treat the spot with some heavy duty remover and usually, nine times out of ten it works.

But anyway, back to exchanging my summer clothes for my winter clothes. Part of me is sad knowing that I will not be able to go out in just a t-shirt and shorts for a while now but part of me is excited to pull out all of my favorite sweaters, hats and scarves. Then this afternoon we rode our bikes over to ICA Maxi, which is sort of like a Super Target, and they were starting to put out all of the Christmas things. Sweden doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving so it isn't like they are putting Christmas out ahead of another holiday so I felt happy to see it. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside when I see all of the Christmas and winter holiday decorations being put out around the city. The lights make things so cheery and festive. And it certainly helps ward off the cold, dark Swedish winter blues.

Just as a side note, my husband made pancakes this morning for breakfast. With the last little bit of batter that was left he fashioned this cute kitty cat. It sort of looks like a bear with a really long tail but I love it anyway. I ate the tail first, after I drowned it in maple syrup. Sorry kitty, but you were going to get eaten anyway.