Friday, July 29, 2011

Still . . .

We are still leaving on vacation on Monday . . .

. . . Whether or not I get all the laundry done.

. . . Whether or not I figure out what all I need to take to my mother.

. . . Whether or not I finish all my work. After all, will it not STILL be waiting here for me when I get back?

. . . Whether the weather is good, bad or indifferent. The kids will sleep out if it is good and in if it is bad, not much change there.

. . . Whether we have to take the dog or I find someone to care for him. He is getting older now and it not the traveler he once was.

. . . Whether we remember everything or forget most of what we need. I’m just not sure I care if I have my toothbrush with me or if I must go purchase a new one when we get where we are going.

. . . Whether or not the lawn gets mowed. It would be better if it did or we will likely need a swather and baler when we get back.

. . . Whether or not the truck gets washed., I don’t really want to travel in CJE’s dirty pickup, but I will if I have to. No, he’s gonna have to wash it.

Still . . . we are going.

Monday, July 25, 2011

"String too short to use"

10) Had a big fight with the Symphony a couple days ago. Could not get the throat plate back on correctly. The thread kept tangling and I was losing my temper big time. I finally put the whole thing back together, shut it off and walked away. I came back the next day. Turned it on. Everything works fine. When in doubt . . . reboot.

9) July, August and September are tightening our belts months. While it is true, my car is paid off, we have our annual auto insurance payment due the end of September. I have the money for it, but not for much of anything else. Popcorn and apple juice for dinner? Why yes, don’t mind if I do.

8) I am contemplating creating another clean spot this week. Now mind you, I don’t really want to, but this house doesn’t clean itself and maximum density has been reached. It is time to tackle another room. At the rate we’re going we will get through the house just in time to start over again. Just to make things interesting, this time around I adopted the policy from each room at least one thing must go. After all aren’t we all overwhelmed with stuff?

7) I am entering two of my quilt projects in the country fair this year. I haven’t entered anything in the county fair since I was a kid in 4H. I have a couple of completed items I am reasonably proud of. I don’t know if they are up to the judging standards, but we shall see. In any case it will be fun to have something on display. I also get to help clerk in the 4H hall during the judging phase. So I am looking forward to helping out as well as entering.

6) Just say no to sticky notes. When I worked at a bank one of the gals I worked with would literally cover the inside of her teller window with sticky notes, reminders, phone numbers account numbers, you name it. At the end of the day all of these had to be either locked in a drawer or shredded because of the private, sensitive nature of the information. Not to mention the fact that her window always looked trashy and unkempt. As I look at the cubby on my desk where my monitor sits, I see on the right hand side a rash of sticky notes. Grrr! They gotta go.

5) I spent the weekend painting the trim in our entryway. Do you know there are four doors that open into it? Now you do. That means four doors to take down (thank you CJE), and four jams to tape off and paint. It was loads of fun. So I taped off on Friday and managed to get two coats of paint on all of it Saturday with a small curious boy as backup. It is done, however, and brightens the look of the front of the house. Now on to the next room.

4) I saw this quote on facebook yesterday and it truly did make me laugh out loud.

"Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, make sure that you are, in fact, not just surrounded by assholes" ~William Gibson

You gotta admit, it is good advice.

3) With a nod to my mid-western readers: Our hot weather arrived yesterday. Not that I am rejoicing mind you, but normally our air conditioner is running hard the whole month of July. This year, yesterday was the first day I think we even broke into the 90°s. I must admit I have been loving the cool summer mornings. Still in the high 50°s at 7 a.m. is a whole lot nicer than 80°. Today it is 66°. Warmer, but still not bad.

2) I only have to work two days this week! I get to have sewing time today, Thursday and Friday. Yea! I have a dress to make for a six-month old girl (something I am actually getting paid for) and then several projects of my own to wrap up. Looking forward to time spent with my Symphony and being in my creative zone.

1) If you were to add a thirteenth month to the year, where would you insert it?