Finally Updating the Bedroom Curtains
I finally got tired of the faded blue curtains in the bedroom this week. They came with the place and never really matched anything else. Ren kept saying we should just leave them but I figured a couple hours on Tuesday night would be worth it. The color had gone all patchy from the sun, almost like someone had taken a lighter to the edges, and the hems were starting to fray in that way where little threads catch on your fingers when you brush past.
After work I drove over to the fabric store in Merrivale. Parking was easy, which almost never happens. The lot was half empty and the asphalt still held a little warmth from the day even though the sun was low. Inside, the place smelled like starch and old paper, with bolts stacked so high they leaned a little. I looked at a few before settling on a light gray linen blend that felt heavy enough to block some morning light. The fabric had a dry, slightly rough hand to it, not silky, and when I held it up the weave showed little flecks of darker thread running through. The clerk cut it for me right there, the scissors making that steady scraping sound against the table, and I got an extra half yard just in case something went wrong with the measurements.
On the way back to the car I stopped at the produce stand next door and grabbed a couple starroot. Ren had mentioned wanting to try roasting them with olive oil and garlic, so it seemed like a good time. They were on sale too. The bin was full of them, dusty and a bit knobby, with that earthy smell that clings to your hands afterward. I picked the ones that felt solid instead of spongy.
Once I got home the apartment was quiet except for the fridge humming. I cleared off the dining table and laid everything out, pushing aside the stack of mail and a half-empty coffee mug from the morning. The old curtains came down without much trouble, though one of the rods was stuck and needed a little extra tugging. Dust puffed out when they dropped, making me sneeze twice. I measured twice before cutting the new fabric because the last time I rushed this kind of thing it ended up crooked. The tape measure kept sliding on the linen so I weighted the ends with salt shakers. The sewing machine cooperated for once, even though I had to rethread it twice after the bobbin jammed with a little metallic click. I added a simple hem at the bottom, pinning as I went, and hung them up before it got too late. The rings scraped along the rod with that familiar metal-on-metal sound.
They look better already. The room feels a little brighter even though the fabric is darker than what was there before. Light still leaks around the edges in thin stripes across the floor. I left the old ones folded on a chair for now in case we need them for something else later, though the cat has already claimed the top of the pile as a new spot to nap.
Yesterday I roasted the starroot the way Ren wanted. It took longer than the recipe suggested but they came out soft in the middle with crispy edges. I scrubbed them under the sink first, the water turning a faint brown from the dirt, then tossed them in a bowl with too much olive oil so my fingers were slick. The garlic went in late so it wouldn’t burn. We ate them with some leftover chicken and it made a decent weeknight dinner. Nothing fancy, just something different from the usual roasted potatoes. The kitchen window fogged up a little from the oven heat.
The rest of the week has been normal errands and work stuff. Traffic on the way home has been heavier because of the bridge work on the south side of the canal, so I have been leaving a few minutes earlier than usual. Nothing major, just annoying on days when I am already running late. One afternoon the line of cars stretched all the way past the old gas station and someone behind me kept tapping their horn every time we inched forward.
The curtains are done and the starroot experiment was a success.