Spinster Camp, Week 1 (or so)

(Credit to Sarah for coming up with a name for what I’m doing (in the last podcast) while Dave is in Toronto for the summer, facilitating my sister’s maternity leave from Glarkware.)

So it’s been a week — and so far, it’s gone pretty much as I thought it would.

Day 1: Worked, and stayed in my my pyjamas until about 8:30. Got out of the shower at 8:45, debated not going to the store for supplies, remembered I was out of toothpaste, and went after all. I celebrated temporary singlehood by getting non-Dave foods like white bread and Froot Loops, and takeout McDonald’s for dinner.

Days 2-4: Went out very rarely, just to run errands — bank, mail, takeout salads. Earlier in the week, I had made a note on the calendar to clean out my closet on Friday night and the drawers full of toiletries and medicine on Saturday. However, I got through both tasks in about half an hour, so I ended up making Friday a very early night, half-watching TV in bed with a Sudoku book. Oh, speaking of bed: I’m sleeping on Dave’s side. My left hip has been bothering me lately (kind of like a cramp; sometimes puts my left leg to sleep), and I had theorized with my vast knowledge of orthopedics that the cause was the bed, since it has a bit of a peak in the middle and sags on the sides. So if I sleep on Dave’s side, with my left hip elevated, maybe that would correct the problem. And guess what? It has! (We’re getting a new bed and frame when Dave comes back.) Oh yeah, I also made a lovely fruit salad.

Day 5: Slept in like a mofo and puttered around with a special project. Installed Skype and had my first video chat with Dave. “Oh my God, you look like Saddam Hussein when they found him in his spider hole” might not have been the most loving thing I could have said, but it was accurate. Maria came into town and we hung out, which was nice — it’s the most I’d physically spoken to another human using my voice the whole week.

Day 6: Slept in just a little. Hucked three green garbage bags of castoff clothes and other soft goods down to the lobby, hailed a cab, and dropped them off at Goodwill. Had a quiet lunch with my New York magazine and then went to Mamma Mia! with all the other middle-aged ladies of the Upper West Side. (Review: goofy but delightful.) Quick stop at Kiehl’s; considered getting some stuff from Magnolia for later but it was so hot the thought of a cupcake made my throat close up. However, seeing Magnolia reminded me that I’d wanted to try making an icebox cake their way (stacked in layers) instead of my mom’s way (in a modified log in the shape of whatever year birthday I might be celebrating), and I stopped for supplies before heading home. The result is pictured above. I just made a miniature version — four chocolate wafers per layer, for maybe nine layers — but was pleased with the results. Dave doesn’t like the chocolate version much, but when he comes back I might try it with ginger snaps. It turned out so well that I dragged out the Magnolia Bakery cookbook I’d bought years ago and from which I’d never baked a thing and looked up the recipe for chocolate cupcakes (my favourite) to see if I could make them from scratch. Got intimidated by the mention of a double boiler, but Stephanie — who’s having her own Spinster Camp on the west coast — has assured me via email that there are ways to MacGyver the recipe without one and not to be scared.

Day 7: First day back to the gym! Shut up, I did so. And oh, God, it sucked. More errands.

Day 8: Biggest day yet! I put everything on the same day to get it all over with, and started very early and ended late to make up for the chunk I was taking out in the middle of the day. We’re thinking of redoing the floors and kitchen in the apartment, so a contractor came to look at the place and take measurements and stuff. Then I had lunch downtown with Nsenga, and got my hair cut. Finished work and put laundry away.

Day 9: More work. More groceries. More of the same. This is why I’m looking at cupcake recipes and trying to invent projects for myself. I already miss Dave. Sigh.