I’m having a very indulgent week. I made strawberry jam near the beginning of it, and every day since, I’ve had a big slice of buttered toast smeared with jam to go with my breakfast (brunch? lunch?) every day since. I feel so decadent!
Then, the day I had to go to the dentist, I spoiled myself rotten with shopping therapy, even though it was just a final fitting for my mouthguard (no drilling, no scraping, or digging, or prodding – I don’t know why I thought I needed to reward myself). Not one, not two, but three little boxes of plants and flowers from three different shops. I was proud of myself for avoiding shops four and five.
And at the last stop of the day, I got ice cream. Loads of ice cream, not just for me but for the whole family. Spoiling myself is great, but spoiling others is also a simple pleasure and indulgence.
I’ve been sleeping when I want, and doing extra meditation and also the kind of meditation where you just lie in bed and look at the backs of your eyelids and dream about future projects.
And there are the cats. It seemed like I spent half my waking hours hanging out of the sliding doors, feeding and petting the farm cats, or being cat furniture to the house kitties. I even visited the kittens at Auntie Milk’s house next door – Mama Tabitha and Chibi are letting Auntie Milk babysit while they rest in the shade at our house. Millie (formerly Middy, formerly Medium) had her kittens around June 1, but hasn’t revealed them yet. She’s so hungry and has become so friendly in exchange for food, though, that I’m sure she’s breastfeeding generously.
Teen mom Chibi (with the fish collar) and her shocked kitten, Chibisdottir, in the back. I’m making weird squeaking noises with my lips and teeth. E.M. Duskova 
Kitty cousins! Back: One of Mama Tabitha’s four babies (about 9 weeks old). Front, Chibisdottir, who is about four weeks old. 
Tabithaspawn takes a short rest after the destruction. (E.M. Duskova)
So, I’m going to have to ask you to indulge me . . . instead of writing a real blog post about writing (I’m not getting much done this year, to tell the truth), I will tell you about my lazy first week of summer, and then go read a book with some sparkling lemonade. It’s the last in the Wolf Hall series, and is such a big fat book that accomplishes some really neat things. A real indulgence.
I’d like to say that starting Monday, I’m going to knuckle down and plan and plot and schedule. But . . . I’d probably be better off treating writing as an indulgence . . . a daily treat of putting novel words down on fresh pages, a time to think, and some time spent each day feeding the body and soul with good things that will make me a better writer.
Have you scheduled in any treats for yourself this summer? What are they?
Eight Ladies Writing 
What are the flowers, please?
So glad you asked, Jeanne! Box on the left has four Heavenly Blue morning glories and two pink ones. There’s baby blue eyes (nemophila), two white snapdroagons and a geranium with great foliage! (Flowers are supposed to be red, but I think they might be the orange-y red that I don’t much care for.)
Middle box is from a home improvement store. From back: button mums. A rose geranium that I think is hidden in the pink petunias, and the big score, Moody Blues Phlox. I love phlox, and I hope this self-seeds. It seems easy to collect the seeds.
The box on the right has two kinds of snapdragons. I fell for the colors.
I’ll have to rip the flowers off and loosen the root balls, I’m sure, but maybe they’ll be recovered by the middle of July and puytting on a show.
Your indulgent week sounds wonderful, Michaeline, and those flowers are beautiful. I have been indulging with flowers as well, including cut flowers for the house.
As for treating writing like an indulgence, that sounds like a great idea. I’m looking forward to hearing how that goes (and maybe seeing some new short stories).
To tell the truth, I’m a bit guilt-wracked. I’m not sure why I need all this self-pampering, but I hope it’ll pay off in the weeks to come. At least I’ll have a colorful garden! I would love to see some of your flowers! If you want, stick them in at the end of the post, caption them with your name and details, and comment so I know to come back and look. (-:.
Just today I was talking with a friend about planning some low-key excursions/day trips from now to the end of the year, although I also love hanging around on the sofa. Whatever floats your boat! Your ice cream/flowers/cats indulgences are wonderful ways to start the summer.
I’m normally an introvert and a homebody, but as soon as my vaccination period is up and I’m safe, I really want to take a few day trips. I haven’t been to the hot springs in almost two years! My Japanese friends think it’s safe enough (lots of soap involved, and no clusters traced to hot springs or bathhouses that they’ve heard of).
Your area is just chock-full of daytrips, too!