Skills worth keeping up

I was reminded that French braiding is a thing that I know how to do. I tend to think that making braids *on my self* that look attractive/well-made is too hard (although I throw quicky lopsided non-french plaits in frequently, if I know I'm not headed out of the house)... but this may not in fact be true.

I put in a very nice half pony tail French braid this morning, and it looked very nice on the first try. Plus it lasted all day. I impressed myself.

Hooray for French braids! I'll try to remember this.

Feeling good about what I've done today

Caught up on some sleep.

Didn't laze in bed overlong like a lump, which results in paradoxical reduction in energy. Did spend some time waiting outside, that I might have unthinkingly passed indoors. Outside was a better choice.

Made good on plans to meet up with a friend for lunch. We walked to Zhu and built ourselves a tapas-style repast from the appetizer menu. Clever us.

Found a fun skirt at ArtWear. In the fitting room, I held in balance both my negative body judgement and the countervailing sense that I "had to" get it "anyway". I made the wise decision not to buy it, and I'm glad I went ahead and tried it on.

Emptied the dishwasher. Always fun.

Sewed stuff that's been waiting for months: reattached a strap to a shoulder bag; deepened the pocket on my pants; darned a delicate net-work top and the fabulous black lace stockings (which I've tried and failed to replace); laboriously reattached a fastener on some brown pants; and found a replacement button for some relatively new jeans. I appreciated my foresight to have included a note with the jeans, indicating what repair was needed.

If the pocket enlargement works as well as I think it will, I'll give the same treatment to more pants.

Had a cosy dinner with Jonathon, while we watched the end of The Devil Wears Prada on the tv. He made pasta with sauce for us. I'm glad that I thought to scrounge in the fridge, to add a side of green veggies, and that I did this early enough to be timely for the meal.

The movie adaptation made a small change to the ending, which changed the moral from "you have more choices than you may think" to "be brave and kind, because good choices are rewarded, even unexpectedly". I find the former a more interesting moral. And useful for myself to reflect on.

Went up to bed, before midnight. (That is, I'm *going* up momentarily. Good night!)