Did I accomplish anything? Not much. Do I care? Not really. I will later, when I am expecting company and am pressed for time, but for today, I just enjoyed the great weather and bought a shredder.
A shredder? Huh? As I've been going through things in my bedroom, I am aware that a lot of the papers that are just laying around here contain personal information. I burned a bunch a few nights ago on the patio, but I have to have something else to take up the slack.
I guess we are going to get socked with rain over the weekend. I hate it that my gutters are filled with maple seeds, but I can't do everything!
Happy weekend, everyone. We retired folks really don't notice one day over another. :)
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Room
I woke up this morning and just got totally disgusted trying to make my way out of my bedroom to the bathroom. I mean, I've been stepping over stuff for two years just because there is nowhere else in the house to put some of it. And, with the collection of junk comes dust and cobwebs. I haven't been able to get into my closet without a major effort. So today, I decided (again) to make an effort to move stuff around. I hate to be working inside when it is so beautiful outside, but it would feel wonderful if I actually could find places for all of the "schtuff" that I THINK I need to keep.
Of course, when one room is being dug out, another is inundated with the overflow. That would be the kitchen. I'm getting a "donate" stack going in there. No one else can tell that I have made progress. If I could keep my cleaning/sorting/pitching momentum going, it would probably take me another two weeks to get it actually DONE. Am also trying to get a stack of radio junk ready to peddle at the Dayton Hamvention...coming up in a couple of weeks. Which reminds me that I need to get my hairs cut... (Just made the appt. for tomorrow at 10:30.)
If any young'uns are reading my blog, a word to the wise: Do NOT let your belongings rule your life! I have probably given away $1-2k worth of stuff over the past two years, but there is still so much left! Unless you have a big house or a lot of kids, you need to establish a rule...something like "nothing new comes into the house unless something goes out"...or unless you already know exactly where the new stuff can be put/stored!
Back to work here. I just keep on pluggin'.
Of course, when one room is being dug out, another is inundated with the overflow. That would be the kitchen. I'm getting a "donate" stack going in there. No one else can tell that I have made progress. If I could keep my cleaning/sorting/pitching momentum going, it would probably take me another two weeks to get it actually DONE. Am also trying to get a stack of radio junk ready to peddle at the Dayton Hamvention...coming up in a couple of weeks. Which reminds me that I need to get my hairs cut... (Just made the appt. for tomorrow at 10:30.)
If any young'uns are reading my blog, a word to the wise: Do NOT let your belongings rule your life! I have probably given away $1-2k worth of stuff over the past two years, but there is still so much left! Unless you have a big house or a lot of kids, you need to establish a rule...something like "nothing new comes into the house unless something goes out"...or unless you already know exactly where the new stuff can be put/stored!
Back to work here. I just keep on pluggin'.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Not Much to Report
I haven't been up to much lately. Monday and Tuesday, I did two weeks' worth of laundry and put most of it away. Today, I have tackled picture frames. Lots and lots of picture frames. And a little kitchen cleaning.
I have a collection of portraits of my grandchildren at various stages of infancy. I love them all but have no wall space to display them, so it's time for me to find some other way. Album, perhaps? In any case, I need to get rid of the zillions of frames that were collected to display them and are just taking up space.
Two nights ago, I was out on the patio burning papers, cardboard boxes, and some limbs/twigs from the yard in the chimenea. I have a boatload of maple helicopters all over the place now. Trying to decide if I should burn them or put them in the trash. Big job! And I think the helicopter crop is only about half down, at this point. Then there are the gutters...
Trying to plan for the weeks ahead. It sounds silly, since all of my days are free, but I get overwhelmed trying to think of everything. Ugh!
I did mow the back yard this evening. It's only a 15-minute job, so no biggie. I have a request in to the dude who mows the rest for me. I think he's been sick. If he can't do it, I probably can. I'm just lazy! (Actually just old!)
We had scattered frost this morning, but the temp was up to 60 by noon. Hopefully this will be the last hurrah for nighttime cold. It IS a little late for frost... I will rely on the traditional Mother's Day planting date for annuals. Don't know when I will have the children here again.
Truth be known, I've been a little down since their visit a week ago. Not sure why. I mean, we had a good time...but things are so darned quiet around here after they leave that I lack direction and motivation. I hope things will get back to some semblance of normal in the near future. Whatever that means.
I have a collection of portraits of my grandchildren at various stages of infancy. I love them all but have no wall space to display them, so it's time for me to find some other way. Album, perhaps? In any case, I need to get rid of the zillions of frames that were collected to display them and are just taking up space.
Two nights ago, I was out on the patio burning papers, cardboard boxes, and some limbs/twigs from the yard in the chimenea. I have a boatload of maple helicopters all over the place now. Trying to decide if I should burn them or put them in the trash. Big job! And I think the helicopter crop is only about half down, at this point. Then there are the gutters...
Trying to plan for the weeks ahead. It sounds silly, since all of my days are free, but I get overwhelmed trying to think of everything. Ugh!
I did mow the back yard this evening. It's only a 15-minute job, so no biggie. I have a request in to the dude who mows the rest for me. I think he's been sick. If he can't do it, I probably can. I'm just lazy! (Actually just old!)
We had scattered frost this morning, but the temp was up to 60 by noon. Hopefully this will be the last hurrah for nighttime cold. It IS a little late for frost... I will rely on the traditional Mother's Day planting date for annuals. Don't know when I will have the children here again.
Truth be known, I've been a little down since their visit a week ago. Not sure why. I mean, we had a good time...but things are so darned quiet around here after they leave that I lack direction and motivation. I hope things will get back to some semblance of normal in the near future. Whatever that means.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday School Social
Last night (Saturday) I joined members of my Sunday School class in Danville, IN, for dinner and a live music concert peformed by The Berrymans, a duo out of Wisconsin that sings their own humorous songs to their own accordion and 12-string guitar accompaniment. It was an enjoyable evening.
While we were enjoying the concert, storms came through. We'd had a tiny bit of rain on Friday and some of Saturday, but Saturday evening brought real rain and wind. I came home to twigs and branches in the yard that will need to be picked up when things dry up. Guess Mississippi got socked with tornadoes. Thankfully, nothing like that here...
This morning in worship, there was a little gal in the choir that had solos. Her high soprano voice blew me away! She could hit extremely high notes without an effort, making it look easy! (My once-sporano voice is now baritone, but even when I could still sing soprano, hitting notes like that was work, and I'm sure my face and posture showed it!) I got tickled, though...just beneath the hem of her choir robe were her feet...in flip-flops...and all the while she sang the most beautiful music, her toes were wiggling. I didn't notice until the last song, and then I got to watching those toes instead of listening to the song! Note to anyone performing in public: little things like that DO make a difference!
While we were enjoying the concert, storms came through. We'd had a tiny bit of rain on Friday and some of Saturday, but Saturday evening brought real rain and wind. I came home to twigs and branches in the yard that will need to be picked up when things dry up. Guess Mississippi got socked with tornadoes. Thankfully, nothing like that here...
This morning in worship, there was a little gal in the choir that had solos. Her high soprano voice blew me away! She could hit extremely high notes without an effort, making it look easy! (My once-sporano voice is now baritone, but even when I could still sing soprano, hitting notes like that was work, and I'm sure my face and posture showed it!) I got tickled, though...just beneath the hem of her choir robe were her feet...in flip-flops...and all the while she sang the most beautiful music, her toes were wiggling. I didn't notice until the last song, and then I got to watching those toes instead of listening to the song! Note to anyone performing in public: little things like that DO make a difference!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Birds...and Senility...All in One Swoop
I just have to say this: it's been such a delightful spring listening to the songbirds in the neighborhood. The robins and cardinals and wrens make such happy sounds that my heart is lifted just listening to them. I remember a spring morning, just before dawn a year or two ago, when I pulled Robin out to the front stoop and said, "Listen!" Her face brightened and her jaw dropped as she heard the birds sing up the sun after a long winter. It was a special moment. So nice to have joy in such little things that come for free! Of course, there are also squirrels...and a bunny rabbit in the neighbor's yard. (There are also 'possums and raccoons that I have not seen yet. Don't want to!)
I didn't sleep well last night. Some people might not understand this, but I get pains from sleeping. Shoulder pain. Charlie horses. Stuff. Well...last night, I was awake at 2:30 with a pain in my chest--not heart, but muscle--from sleeping "wrong". I got up, took a Tylenol...and noticed something on my lip. It was a blood blister on my upper lip at the lip-closure line. I'd never done anything like that before!! When I finally got up for good, the blood blister came loose...then came off...with no damage underneath. Huh??? After examination, I found it to be a piece of kidney bean from the chili I ate just before I went to bed. It was really stuck on there! I guess I'm senile. How would I not notice something on my lip before I went to bed????
Ate a late lunch with radio friend Adam this afternoon. Have a social event with my Sunday School class tomorrow evening. Then it's Sunday again, already. Where does the time go???
I didn't sleep well last night. Some people might not understand this, but I get pains from sleeping. Shoulder pain. Charlie horses. Stuff. Well...last night, I was awake at 2:30 with a pain in my chest--not heart, but muscle--from sleeping "wrong". I got up, took a Tylenol...and noticed something on my lip. It was a blood blister on my upper lip at the lip-closure line. I'd never done anything like that before!! When I finally got up for good, the blood blister came loose...then came off...with no damage underneath. Huh??? After examination, I found it to be a piece of kidney bean from the chili I ate just before I went to bed. It was really stuck on there! I guess I'm senile. How would I not notice something on my lip before I went to bed????
Ate a late lunch with radio friend Adam this afternoon. Have a social event with my Sunday School class tomorrow evening. Then it's Sunday again, already. Where does the time go???
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Earth Day
Okay...so today is Earth Day. Daytime TV programming is full of information about how to "go green"...and I guess I am absolutely flabbergasted that I am still alive! This morning, one woman on The Today Show talked about going "green" by not buying clothing that is advertised as "wrinkle-free" because that means the fabric has been treated with formaldehyde. Oh no! Not that!! (So, how soon does the formaldehyde wash out?)
Almost daily, the Dr. Oz show talks about harmful bacteria found in homes. (Flushing your toilet, for instance, can supposedly propel e coli bacteria up to twelve feet through the air to hit your shower cap or your toothbrush. Obviously, they don't know MY toilet!) What's going on here? Are we raising a generation of germophobes? I mean, studies are showing that allergies and asthma are on the upswing because our homes are becoming TOO clean and bodies haven't had the chance to create immunities. (They haven't seen MY home, either!)
Well...I'm here to tell you that I should have croaked years ago! Out of sheer ignorance, we did things as kids for which modern society would have jailed my parents. Such as? We ate things straight out of the garden--just brushed off the dirt and popped 'em in our mouths. We followed road repair trucks and picked up hot road tar to chew on. We danced in the streets behind the mosquito abatement trucks that were fogging for mosquitos. We played with the little balls of mercury that came out of broken glass thermometers. We ate our steaks rare and our eggs sunnyside up. I walked barefoot all summer and often picked little pieces of glass out of my feet...and kept on walking. I only washed my hands when my parents MADE me. I even cleaned little cuts with spit.
Organic? What's that supposed to mean?? I thought it referred to food items that are grown or raised without pesticides or hormones...but this morning on TV, there was a dog playing on an "organic" dog bed and a child playing with "organic" toys. Hmmm... Maybe we need to take a lesson from my parents' generation for Earth Day. During the Great Depression, they did without. They didn't waste things--food, especially. They used what they had or did without. They didn't paralyze their kids with adult issues and warnings about how this thing or that thing would kill them or harm them. Good thing, too! I would never have survived childhood, had I known!
Almost daily, the Dr. Oz show talks about harmful bacteria found in homes. (Flushing your toilet, for instance, can supposedly propel e coli bacteria up to twelve feet through the air to hit your shower cap or your toothbrush. Obviously, they don't know MY toilet!) What's going on here? Are we raising a generation of germophobes? I mean, studies are showing that allergies and asthma are on the upswing because our homes are becoming TOO clean and bodies haven't had the chance to create immunities. (They haven't seen MY home, either!)
Well...I'm here to tell you that I should have croaked years ago! Out of sheer ignorance, we did things as kids for which modern society would have jailed my parents. Such as? We ate things straight out of the garden--just brushed off the dirt and popped 'em in our mouths. We followed road repair trucks and picked up hot road tar to chew on. We danced in the streets behind the mosquito abatement trucks that were fogging for mosquitos. We played with the little balls of mercury that came out of broken glass thermometers. We ate our steaks rare and our eggs sunnyside up. I walked barefoot all summer and often picked little pieces of glass out of my feet...and kept on walking. I only washed my hands when my parents MADE me. I even cleaned little cuts with spit.
Organic? What's that supposed to mean?? I thought it referred to food items that are grown or raised without pesticides or hormones...but this morning on TV, there was a dog playing on an "organic" dog bed and a child playing with "organic" toys. Hmmm... Maybe we need to take a lesson from my parents' generation for Earth Day. During the Great Depression, they did without. They didn't waste things--food, especially. They used what they had or did without. They didn't paralyze their kids with adult issues and warnings about how this thing or that thing would kill them or harm them. Good thing, too! I would never have survived childhood, had I known!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Interesting Days...
Monday and Tuesday, I did absolutely NOTHING. Guess it was my way of recuperating from the weekend. Still, I'm not used to just being a vegetable, so I always feel guilty. But you know what? I'm retired! If I don't want to do anything, I don't have to!
The weather, once again, has been absolutely lovely. I was overdressed today in sweats. I did clean up the kitchen, mowed the back yard, and did a few other things...but didn't tax myself. I do need to be exercising. Just need to find inspiration!
Now that the patio is somewhat cleaned off, it's been fun sitting out there and watching the sparrows and robins pick up nesting material. It won't be long until I'll be hearing the "feed me!" chirps of the fledgeling robins in the yard. I love it!
In a couple of weeks, Grandma Judy and I will trek up to Muncie for Grandparents' Day at the children's school; then there is the annual Dayton Hamvention. It also begins to look like I can buy Megan's 500 race tickets for the first time in a zillion years. Hope my sister can join me for the event! (Getting there and back is not for the faint hearted!)
Megan has already purchased plane tickets for her, me, and the children for her summer visitation with them. We had to get our heads together on that because Robin's birthday comes close to the end of that time, and we needed to determine if she wanted her party in Indiana or in California. Robin is a roller-skating officianado these days and wants her party to be a skating deal. We'll be working on that! Poor Ryan doesn't have as many choices because his birthday comes in November, which is totally weather-driven.
I will be attending a social event on Saturday evening with my Sunday School class. Once upon a time, I wouldn't be caught dead doing that because my life was so otherwise full that I couldn't even THINK of something like that...but...well...things have changed! I just have to keep checking my calendar because I missed an important event last week due to schedule miscommunication. It's hell to get old!
The weather, once again, has been absolutely lovely. I was overdressed today in sweats. I did clean up the kitchen, mowed the back yard, and did a few other things...but didn't tax myself. I do need to be exercising. Just need to find inspiration!
Now that the patio is somewhat cleaned off, it's been fun sitting out there and watching the sparrows and robins pick up nesting material. It won't be long until I'll be hearing the "feed me!" chirps of the fledgeling robins in the yard. I love it!
In a couple of weeks, Grandma Judy and I will trek up to Muncie for Grandparents' Day at the children's school; then there is the annual Dayton Hamvention. It also begins to look like I can buy Megan's 500 race tickets for the first time in a zillion years. Hope my sister can join me for the event! (Getting there and back is not for the faint hearted!)
Megan has already purchased plane tickets for her, me, and the children for her summer visitation with them. We had to get our heads together on that because Robin's birthday comes close to the end of that time, and we needed to determine if she wanted her party in Indiana or in California. Robin is a roller-skating officianado these days and wants her party to be a skating deal. We'll be working on that! Poor Ryan doesn't have as many choices because his birthday comes in November, which is totally weather-driven.
I will be attending a social event on Saturday evening with my Sunday School class. Once upon a time, I wouldn't be caught dead doing that because my life was so otherwise full that I couldn't even THINK of something like that...but...well...things have changed! I just have to keep checking my calendar because I missed an important event last week due to schedule miscommunication. It's hell to get old!
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