The Naked Home Decorator

I've calmed down somewhat after my last ranting.

Okay, who am I kidding? I haven't.

But I'm not writing about politics today, even though I'm heavily immersed in Cleon Skousen's The Naked Communist (which does not actually involve any naked people, communist or otherwise. I know. I was slightly disappointed as well.).

I remembered it was Valentine's Day on Saturday early in the morning, before I had dragged myself out of bed to face making breakfast for a bunch of kids. Then I forgot. Then I remembered again when Husband reminded me while I was driving the car full of said kids (and Husband) down to IKEA for yet another buying trip (this one much less successful, and I came away from the experience with a stress stomach-ache; shopping with six children and trying to make important visual decisions about lamps and lighting just don't mix). Then I forgot.

In the end, we did nothing. We had managed to finagle my mother into babysitting the children on Friday night while Husband and I ran to the nearby Village Inn for a quiet and peaceful dinner.

Ambience? No. Good food? It was okay (I had the Reuban Sandwich, although it was a huge diet-buster. Hey, I gotta enjoy a dinner out with Husband, don't I?).

Time together and alone? Priceless.

What was also priceless is that Husband then suggested going to Bed, Bath and Beyond to look at clip-on curtain rings for the drapes I am sewing for the living room. One does not look a gift-horse too closely in the mouth; one just smiles happily and skips along into a store full of expensive and useful household items. He's also practically become a regular at JoAnn's Fabrics. Can life get any better?

Last night, after I had finished one side of the drapes and hung them on the rod (and, in the end, decided to make a rod pocket instead of using the clip-on curtain rings), Husband sat in the living room, just looking around at the things we've done. I joined him after the kids were in bed. We just sat and thought about things.

"I didn't think re-doing a room would cost so much money," he sighed. "And we're still not finished."

But we're happy we're doing something finally, after talking about it for so long. Husband knows much more than he ever thought he would about this kind of thing. Fabric, furniture, patina, decorative accents, trim...these things have become part of his vernacular now.

Happy Valentine's Day to me!