When I was much younger a couple of years ago I enjoyed the writing of Peg Bracken. Peg used to write a column for (I think) Women's Day magazine and published several books. I have several of her paperbacks. Back then, if you can imagine it, paperback books sold for 60 cents. I can hardly believe it either! At any rate, Peg popped into my mind today as I trundled out to the backyard and started tackling weeds and other unwanted plants that had sprouted where they really should not have. I remembered some of her advice from so many years ago, the main point being that doing something when you have the time to it is better than never doing it because you don't have the time to do it "right."
So I'm ok with having accomplished about one third of each of the tasks I tackled. They are begun! And there will be time enough to finish them as the days go on.
And her advice on "How to Do a Lot of Things at Once?" Forget whatever your fourth grade teacher told you about finishing one job before starting another and begin several projects at the same time. You'll have to finish all them and so will forge ahead!**
So what have I done today? Part of the weeding, tracked down some of the dates I'd lost when my calendar took flight, tackled two phone calls I'd been putting off, and made some progress on re-organizing my address book, my website list, and (ugh) my passwords.
Not one of the projects is near completion--but do I feel good about having a plan, starting on my way, and getting SOMETHING done. This is a good feeling as
life goes on.
**From The I Hate to Housekeep Book by Peg Bracken originally published in hard-cover in 1958; reprinted in paperback in 1962. Another "ha, ha"-- According to the cover of the paperback edition, her book "The I Hate to Cook Book" was a hard-cover bestseller at $3.75!
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
It's been a bit discombobulated lately...
After a wonderful vacation it's back to the daily stuff. The weeds have managed to rear their pointy little heads in my absence. An MRI remains inconclusive (the radiologist and the dr. seem not to agree). Best case scenario--bursitis, treatable. Worst case--bone thickening may require scraping. In the meantime, "don't do anything that hurts." Let's hope the cortisone has some effect....
My husband has been doing serious work on his latest project--finishing the upstairs in the garage. He's turning it into a small apartment. For some reason, this is important to him. I wouldn't place a high priority on it, but there it is. Currently, he's doing ductwork. In the process he has torn up my space in our atrium in order to access the attic. So efforts to get organized are once again on the skids. It really does seem that for every step forward I end up going one and half steps back!
So I'm in catch-up mode with a list of "things to be done." And one is getting serious about preparation for the Academy coming up in August. Happily, another member of my congregation is going to attend and I'm looking forward to having shared experiences and providing support for each other.
Still need to get brave about finishing the set up of the new computer, transferring files, figuring out the new (wireless) printer, ad infinitum. Yeah--I have the patience to read directions, but some of the new techno-geek stuff isn't as easy for me as it used to be. I've got this awful suspicion that my 3-year-old grandkids may know more than I do about some of this stuff!
How do some people have so much time to post to Facebook? I barely keep up with reading it as
life goes on!
My husband has been doing serious work on his latest project--finishing the upstairs in the garage. He's turning it into a small apartment. For some reason, this is important to him. I wouldn't place a high priority on it, but there it is. Currently, he's doing ductwork. In the process he has torn up my space in our atrium in order to access the attic. So efforts to get organized are once again on the skids. It really does seem that for every step forward I end up going one and half steps back!
So I'm in catch-up mode with a list of "things to be done." And one is getting serious about preparation for the Academy coming up in August. Happily, another member of my congregation is going to attend and I'm looking forward to having shared experiences and providing support for each other.
Still need to get brave about finishing the set up of the new computer, transferring files, figuring out the new (wireless) printer, ad infinitum. Yeah--I have the patience to read directions, but some of the new techno-geek stuff isn't as easy for me as it used to be. I've got this awful suspicion that my 3-year-old grandkids may know more than I do about some of this stuff!
How do some people have so much time to post to Facebook? I barely keep up with reading it as
life goes on!
Monday, May 13, 2013
Small Things
Hummingbirds. They are wonderful to watch. My sister-in-law in Bellflower has three hummingbird feeders hanging near three sides of their house. It's especially fun to sit at the dining room table and watch them as they flit about and dip their long beaks into the feeder. My friend got a great photo of one while we were visiting there the other day.
Today, while visiting San Eliejo Lagoon near Carlsbad, my friend spotted a hummingbird and we watched it buzz into a nearby tree. There was a nest (!) and we found the bird sitting on the nest, perched so her head and tail feathers were visible. The nest was so small that it looked like a thickening on the stem--a tiny brown teacup. It was amazing.
And, while not exactly small, we were charmed by a 17-year-old tortoise named Franklin that resides at the visitor center. He was amazingly sociable, lumbering over to us at the sound of our voices. We suspect that he was hoping for some fresh veggies....
Vacationing with the sisters is grand. Relaxing and no pressure. This evening we had artichokes and salad for dinner. The Riesling went very well with the menu! And so we're truly enjoying ourselves as
life goes on!
Today, while visiting San Eliejo Lagoon near Carlsbad, my friend spotted a hummingbird and we watched it buzz into a nearby tree. There was a nest (!) and we found the bird sitting on the nest, perched so her head and tail feathers were visible. The nest was so small that it looked like a thickening on the stem--a tiny brown teacup. It was amazing.
And, while not exactly small, we were charmed by a 17-year-old tortoise named Franklin that resides at the visitor center. He was amazingly sociable, lumbering over to us at the sound of our voices. We suspect that he was hoping for some fresh veggies....
Vacationing with the sisters is grand. Relaxing and no pressure. This evening we had artichokes and salad for dinner. The Riesling went very well with the menu! And so we're truly enjoying ourselves as
life goes on!
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
Ok, so today it's a train. My best friend and I are on the Amtrack Coast Starlight heading toward Los Angeles. When we get there we will transfer to a train headed for Fullerton. And then my wonderful younger brother will pick us up and we'll stay with him for a couple of days before heading for Carlsbad.
I could get used to train travel. The food has been good and VERY plentiful. (Burp.) We've also had a wine tasting each afternoon. The sleeper units are teensy, but there are pleasant places to hang out. We've enjoyed the Parlour Car--have been reading, playing banagrams, and enjoying conversations with fellow travelers. Having so much time to just relax and "be" is a treat indeed as
life goes on.
I could get used to train travel. The food has been good and VERY plentiful. (Burp.) We've also had a wine tasting each afternoon. The sleeper units are teensy, but there are pleasant places to hang out. We've enjoyed the Parlour Car--have been reading, playing banagrams, and enjoying conversations with fellow travelers. Having so much time to just relax and "be" is a treat indeed as
life goes on.
R & R
It's good to relax and actually be "on vacation." We started out on a train from Tri-Cities, Washington to Portland, Oregon. Having a sleeper car was a joy indeed. We were treated so nicely--meals included, cheese and wine tasting each day, champagne on arrival (and offered at other times as well), a sleeper car to crash in, a parlor car to relax in, it was delightful!
From Oregon we travel the coast and enjoyed the scenery. Arrived in Fullerton at 11:30 p.m. where my brother picked us up and took us to his home in Bellflower.
Being here is always a joy. We enjoy each other's company no matter what we're doing: running errands, playing games, sharing stories, having meals together.
I surely am enjoying this time as
life goes on.
From Oregon we travel the coast and enjoyed the scenery. Arrived in Fullerton at 11:30 p.m. where my brother picked us up and took us to his home in Bellflower.
Being here is always a joy. We enjoy each other's company no matter what we're doing: running errands, playing games, sharing stories, having meals together.
I surely am enjoying this time as
life goes on.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
What Day?
Consider it either really late Friday or really early Saturday. Whatever. For some reason my body doesn't seem to want to go to sleep at a reasonable hour these days. So I've been getting up to enjoy the peace and quiet while the rest of the household has their eyes shut.
It was "Spa Day" for my stepdaughter and me. My husband decided we needed some pampering, so off to the spa we went. The massage was fabulous. I could have stayed on that bed for the rest of the day! Mary's haircut lightened her load a bit and framed her face nicely. It was a pleasant morning and definitely a treat.
A lovely spring day today with the forecast looking good for the weekend. I've been planning where to do some planting and looking forward to digging in the dirt, probably Sunday afternoon. Saturday is already looking a bit busy. Morning at church meetings, errands in the afternoon, and meeting a friend for "Frappicino Happy Hour" at Starbuck's. All good things as
life goes on.
It was "Spa Day" for my stepdaughter and me. My husband decided we needed some pampering, so off to the spa we went. The massage was fabulous. I could have stayed on that bed for the rest of the day! Mary's haircut lightened her load a bit and framed her face nicely. It was a pleasant morning and definitely a treat.
A lovely spring day today with the forecast looking good for the weekend. I've been planning where to do some planting and looking forward to digging in the dirt, probably Sunday afternoon. Saturday is already looking a bit busy. Morning at church meetings, errands in the afternoon, and meeting a friend for "Frappicino Happy Hour" at Starbuck's. All good things as
life goes on.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
May Day
Blue skies, sunshine, fresh flowers in a vase--May Day started out pretty good! And pretty much stayed that way. Discovered a cool new app for my phone, had Pepper groomed and bathed, mealtimes with my hubby, yanked more weeds out of the garden.
The new app, Reminder Pro, works like a countdown clock. I had a lot of fun getting a countdown clock for a friend a few years ago when he had "five years, four months, and twelve days" to retirement. So when I went searching I found similar stuff on the computer and in the app store. So now I know that I have 108 days until I'm off to the academy--and 70 chapters to read before then! Better get started. Especially on the "meatier" books. (Yes, it's .64 chapters per day, but some books are more dense than others and if I aim for a chapter a day I might actually get it done before the session starts.)
And during that dangerous activity of blog-hopping, I found a yummy sounding recipe for Vegan Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal. I'm going to try it--even if my husband absolutely loathes pumpkin. He might not notice it after all. If nothing else, a few of my friends may like it and we can nibble on it while we play banagrams. Sounds like something to look forward to as
life goes on.
The new app, Reminder Pro, works like a countdown clock. I had a lot of fun getting a countdown clock for a friend a few years ago when he had "five years, four months, and twelve days" to retirement. So when I went searching I found similar stuff on the computer and in the app store. So now I know that I have 108 days until I'm off to the academy--and 70 chapters to read before then! Better get started. Especially on the "meatier" books. (Yes, it's .64 chapters per day, but some books are more dense than others and if I aim for a chapter a day I might actually get it done before the session starts.)
And during that dangerous activity of blog-hopping, I found a yummy sounding recipe for Vegan Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal. I'm going to try it--even if my husband absolutely loathes pumpkin. He might not notice it after all. If nothing else, a few of my friends may like it and we can nibble on it while we play banagrams. Sounds like something to look forward to as
life goes on.
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