I made it home from California just after noon, but my plan not to lose my entire day to travel failed. I spent both legs of my red-eye feeling super sick, and so pretty much spent the rest of the day dozing on the couch.

Tomorrow, however, is a new day, and I’ve managed to eat and drink something that did not make me feel worse, so I’m hopeful we’re past the worst of it.

I am not much of a Super Bowl person, so I think I will skip my friend’s kind offer to have me join her and her husband at a bar to watch the game (she’s from Germany and wants to soak up the atmosphere). Instead, I think I’ll finish reading my book, bind off my shawl (!!), wander down to the Kennedy Center to catch the last night of their outdoor illuminated Winter Lanterns display, and get things sorted for the week ahead.

Rudi is off on ski coaching duties all week, so I’m on my own. This means I need to actually do a little better about planning ahead, since there will be no one else to check bike availability as I’m brushing my teeth. (If only Corey could work the phone app…)

Rudi was kind enough to pick up a bag of day-old bagels yesterday, so I have breakfasts sorted for a couple days. I’ll need to think about lunches and suppers, though. Maybe I’ll make a lasagna or a quiche, since those make for good leftovers. (I’ve got volleyball games both Monday and Tuesday nights, so maybe I’d better make one of those tomorrow…) Mary Berry’s cookbook is due back to the library, so if I want to try any of her cookie/cake recipes, I’d better jump on that, as well. Then that will give me snacks, too.

I need to change the sheets tomorrow, and since Rudi is away, I think I’ll just put on the flannel set. They’re too warm when he’s home, but I think they’ll be cozy while he’s away. Plus, it takes the pressure off of having to get that laundry done during the weekend, when everyone is fighting for time with the washing machine. (Actually, we’re a very civil building, and while we sometimes have a queue, everyone is usually very prompt about clearing the washer and dryer.)

While Rudi’s away, I’d like to get a little sorting done in the living room and kitchen.
I still need to put away some Christmas things piled on my living room table — cards and cookie tins and cds — and there are similar piles elsewhere that could be dealt with. Since I spent both sets of plane flights asleep, I still have my Inspector Ganache novel to listen to — incentive to spend time working on manual, brain-free tasks.

Finally, since the key to getting myself out the door in a reasonable fashion is to get up a little earlier, putting myself to bed at an earlier hour is also probably necessary. So hopefully my posts will be a little closer to midnight than two for the rest of the week!

One of the nice things about having a blog is that it gives you an anchor in history. (I hear from blogless people that Facebook serves a similar purpose.) I can see daffodils today and think, gosh, this is way too early. But then I can go back to previous Januaries and see that we’re probably only a week early. I had snowdrops pictured in the final weekend of January last year, rather than in the middle of the month, and the daffodils didn’t turn yellow until February. (Also, how is February arriving at the end of this week?!)

With highs predicted for this next week to remain in the 40s, I suspect this daff will unfurl itself in short order. Right now, it looks not dissimilar to me when I am fooled by bright sunshine into leaving the house underdressed only to wish 15 minutes later that I had a warm layer to block the breeze.

The past couple days I was out during the day in just a baseball tee and sweatshirt (and knitted accessories). But as the sun sets, it still cools off quickly and I’m glad to pull on a jacket or puffy vest. It’s still too early for canvas sneakers (at least without wool socks), as I discovered this evening, but I know that day isn’t far off. (My apologies to those of you for whom that day is far off.)

The current forecast for the Bay Area has the highs in the upper 60s and lows in the upper 40s while I’m out there later this week, so I’m hoping that means I can leave the winter sweaters and coat at home!

I was lucky enough to be on an above-ground train this evening as the sun was setting over Old Town Alexandria. The first clue of its gorgeousness was actually the pink hue cascading over the D.C. skyline on the other side of the river, but I was on the wrong side of the train to capture that.

I embark upon a cross-country work trip Wednesday, the first of four trips in the next month, so a lot of my weeekend to-do list focuses on prepping for that.

But it also includes some fun, as well:

• Watch a video — I picked up Judy, Valentine’s Day, and Pokémon Detective Pikachu at the library this week. (And Rudi has promised to be home from practice relatively early tomorrow.)
• Do laundry.
• Spend time outside.
• Go to a craft fair in the old subterranean trolley station in my neighborhood.
• Bowl.
• Pick up sweets in Chinatown to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
• Bake shortbread — I have Mary Berry’s cookbook out from the library and bought semolina last week.
• Clean the kitchen.
• Finish my shawl.
• Paint my nails (but maybe not until after bowling on Sunday).

How about you? What are you hoping to do on this final weekend of January?

I have Monday off, which means I get to fill three days with some combination of fun and chores. Here’s some of what I’m thinking that might include:

• Taking part in the Women’s March. I’m just going to march, not hang around for speechifying, nor take part in the theatrical flash mob singalong they’ve planned.
• Having a hot drink with Sarah after the March.
• Finishing some overdue correspondence.
• Washing laundry.
• Listening to my audiobook.
• Putting away the last of the Christmas decorations.
• Bowling.
• Baking cookies. Maybe I will make myself a batch of Gramma cookies, since her birthday was today.
• Doing something with Rudi on Monday after he’s back from coaching.
• Knitting another row on my shawl.
• Clearing off my couch and my coffee table.
• Catching up on some sleep.

What are you thinking about doing this weekend?

It was a surprisingly balmy weekend for January, and I was lucky enough to be able to spend a good deal of it outside. Which means my living room is still a hot mess, only one load of laundry got done, and the tree is still inside and covered in lights (although the ornaments are off).

I don’t regret any of it, and I’m glad that some of my tasks were mobile. I’ll be spending some of my evenings playing catch-up this week, but I think it will have been worth it.

How was your weekend?