Tididing the Entryway and Finding Old Photos
I spent most of Tuesday afternoon working on the entryway. It had gotten out of hand with shoes, old mail, and a couple of boxes that never made it to the closet. Ren was at work late, so I figured it was a good time to deal with it without anyone stepping around me. The hallway still smelled faintly of the lemon cleaner I had used the week before, and the afternoon light coming through the small window above the door made all the dust on the baseboards stand out.
The first thing I did was pull everything out into the middle of the floor. There were three pairs of boots that needed to go upstairs, a stack of catalogs from last winter, and a box of random cords and chargers that I still have not sorted. One of the boots had a little clump of dried mud on the sole that flaked off when I picked it up. I started by moving the boots to the bedroom closet and tossing the catalogs into the recycling bin by the back door. The bin lid made that hollow plastic clatter when the stack landed inside. The cords box rattled a little when I shifted it, like loose change was mixed in with everything else.
One of the boxes turned out to be full of old photos from when I first moved into this place. Most of them were from the first year or two, back when the walls were still that off-white color the previous owners left behind. I sat on the floor for a while looking through them. The carpet felt warm from the sun. There were pictures of the kitchen before I painted the cabinets, and one of Ren trying to hang the first set of shelves in the living room. They came out crooked, which we fixed later that weekend. I remember the sound the drill made when it hit a stud and how Ren kept swearing under their breath every time the level showed it was still off. Another photo had me standing in front of the empty living room with a takeout pizza box on the floor beside me. The pizza place had given us extra garlic knots that day and they were still warm when we opened the box.
I put the photos into a smaller bin to keep in the hall closet for now. The rest of the stuff went back into the bigger box, which I labeled and stacked on the top shelf. By the time I was done the floor was clear again, and it felt easier to walk through without tripping over anything. My knees popped when I stood up.
After I finished I drove over to the store in Crestwood Bend to pick up a few things we were low on. It is usually quicker than going all the way downtown, especially on a weekday. The parking lot was half empty and the automatic doors whooshed open with that cold blast of air conditioning. I grabbed milk, bread, and a jar of mistberry preserves that Ren likes on toast. They only had the large size left, so I got two of those. The jars were heavier than I expected and clinked together in the cart when I turned down the next aisle. I also picked up a small pack of those chocolate-covered almonds they keep near the checkout because the line was long enough to make me stare at the impulse shelf for a while.
On the way back I stopped for gas and noticed the sign for the lantern lighting event next month was already up at the community center. It always seems to sneak up on me. I made a mental note to check if we still had the battery candles from last time or if we needed new ones. The pump clicked off with a loud thunk and the receipt printer jammed for a second before spitting out the paper.
When I got home I put the groceries away and made a quick dinner of pasta with whatever vegetables were left in the fridge. Nothing fancy, just something to heat up while I finished putting the mail into the right piles. The water took a minute to boil and I stood at the counter sorting envelopes while it heated. The entryway already looks better with the extra boxes out of the way. I might tackle the coat hooks next weekend if I have time.