Artisan Bread, Scandinavian Architecture, and Elephants

Today is Thursday. Why yes, you might say (or no, if you're reading this on another day), it is. Thursday might just be the day before Thank God It's Friday. Or, it might be Spontaneous Thursday. Today I celebrated the latter.

I'll be honest: I'm rather bored at home. I'm trying to change that by finding gainful employment, but that is pending. I have to find other ways to amuse myself. I decided when I woke up that every activity that popped into my head I would do today. So, I cleaned my sheets. How wondrous, yes, it truly is. But! I decided to do my laundry wearing a black dress, heels, and a pearl necklace and I talked in an accent as I conversed in my head with the other millionaires around, pretending to be "new money". (I swear, I'm not going crazy. I don't think so, anyway.)

I made the decision to use warm water, not hot, in an effort to save energy (cold would have been the better choice, I know), then hung my sheets outside because one of my favorite things is sliding beneath air dried sheets on a warm night. As I carried my armful of damp cloth to the line, I walked under our lilac tree and was hit with a wall of scent. Glorious. Lilacs are my favorite flower. Despite my disappointment at them blooming early this year, I picked some and placed them in a mason jar next to my bed.

Next, I mixed up a yeast dough for what the recipe called "artisan bread". Making art with food indeed. While that rose, I drove my grandma to the pharmacy and suggested we visit the used bookstore that is on the way home. This had crossed my mind earlier in the day, and since we were out and about I asked if we could go. We did. I was intent on finding books about Danish/Scandinavian architecture and interior design, but I found there must not be much demand for that sort of thing in the area. Although I suppose people could be hoarding these books and furiously building beds recessed in cabinets and that sort of thing. I happen to be on a design kick, taking out books from the library about houses and decorating. I never thought I'd do that; I'm turning into my father.

When I got back, I warmed up lunch and snuck pieces of beef stew to my dog who was begging at the table. She threw up in the living room tonight; I didn't speak up. I shaped my bread dough into a round loaf, placed it in the oven, and turned up the music, dancing to what I'm embarrassed to admit I like (Top 40 music) and dusting the house. Until the smoke alarm started demanding my attention because a wee bit of steam (to make the crust crunchy, you see) started escaping from the oven.

 After things calmed down there, I decided I wanted to go shopping. I usually only window shop and spend time rationalizing not to purchase what I hold in my hands, to the annoyance of some of my friends. But I had a gift card and found a pair of pants for 3.99 and the most preppy thing I could buy: a blue and white horizontally-striped dress. Very nautical. Later I went grocery shopping with my dad and on the way we saw an elephant. No joke. There were a lot of cars going into the fairgrounds, though the county fair isn't until July, and lo and behold, there was an elephant! Getting it's feet brushed. Speaking of grocery shopping, I had an interview at a grocery store yesterday. The interviewer asked why I applied to this particular store. I said I liked grocery shopping. Which is entirely true, but I probably sounded like a dumbo. I hurried to supplement that answer with some more interview-worthy answers.

Thus, my Thursday. A rather domestic one, I'd say; perhaps I should have been born a 1950s housewife. But that is not the case, and I find myself looking forward to slipping beneath my crisp sheets, falling asleep to the smell of lilacs.