Getting stuff done in March 2025
posted March 1, 2025 12:12 AM RSS | iCal | +googleCal
Mon March 17 at 8:00 AM
Following on from February's thread. Intended as a space to support ourselves and each other in getting things done, whatever that means to you. Decluttering, organising, cleaning, admin, making progress on projects, health-related things, getting outside. You are welcome to post about art and craft projects too - basically anything, as long as it's some sort of thing, concrete or abstract, that you are doing or trying to do.
I put my Thursday and Friday stuff in the February thread.
posted by jgirl at 8:56 AM on March 1 [4 favorites]
posted by jgirl at 8:56 AM on March 1 [4 favorites]
March already, eek! A good time to start over, I guess!
posted by inexorably_forward at 11:20 AM on March 1 [3 favorites]
posted by inexorably_forward at 11:20 AM on March 1 [3 favorites]
Good heavens, jgirl, that was a lot of cleaning and dusting. I’m glad you’re resting as well.
I enjoyed all the haggis I ate on my (too brief) time in Edinburgh some years ago. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it here in the States. Is it something one would make, or just purchase?
posted by kyraU2 at 1:09 PM on March 1 [4 favorites]
I enjoyed all the haggis I ate on my (too brief) time in Edinburgh some years ago. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it here in the States. Is it something one would make, or just purchase?
posted by kyraU2 at 1:09 PM on March 1 [4 favorites]
It's made from sheep offal and cooked in a sheep's stomach, and you cannot acquire those in, or bring them into, the U.S. There are recipes for faux versions, but I've never had those.
posted by jgirl at 1:44 PM on March 1 [1 favorite]
posted by jgirl at 1:44 PM on March 1 [1 favorite]
jgirl, that's a lot of cleaning!
I've not known anyone make haggis at home, though I'm sure if I looked online there would be people doing it.
No direct gsd today as was over on the island visiting my mother. My main aim during the day was not to catch my stepfather's cold, so if I can manage that I'll feel it's a good day's work.
Am going to try being offline (except for podcasts and Finch) on Sundays for a bit - both to try not to waste time online, and to see if it helps me feel calmer and sleep better. Got the idea from a book about Quaker practice which talked about switching off one day a week.
posted by paduasoy at 2:21 PM on March 1 [3 favorites]
I've not known anyone make haggis at home, though I'm sure if I looked online there would be people doing it.
No direct gsd today as was over on the island visiting my mother. My main aim during the day was not to catch my stepfather's cold, so if I can manage that I'll feel it's a good day's work.
Am going to try being offline (except for podcasts and Finch) on Sundays for a bit - both to try not to waste time online, and to see if it helps me feel calmer and sleep better. Got the idea from a book about Quaker practice which talked about switching off one day a week.
posted by paduasoy at 2:21 PM on March 1 [3 favorites]
It was a lot, but I just looked at the coffee table, and it is again covered with dust.
Here’s today:
- Three loads of laundry — done for the week.
- Cleaned under the bed (that and cleaning the ceiling fan are my least favorite tasks).
- Got rid of a few things via the laundry room.
- Also via the laundry room, obtained a blender drink bottle (I have been wanting one) and a nice glass tumbler with a snap-on wooden lid that has a hole for a straw — very pleased with these, especially the latter.
- Wiped closet shelves and shoeboxes on the shelves (next to the vintage hatbox!).
- Set aside a pair of shoes to consign and a pair to go to the laundry room.
- Put suede clogs in newly empty shoebox to protect them from the incessant dust. They are worn often and thus had been next to the door on the shoe shelf, but no more. It won’t be suede season here much longer, unfortunately.
- Put the raft of shoe stuff I have to use in my shoes (mentioned in January) in the other newly emptied shoebox.
- Dusted under the dressers and cleaned closet floors. This is a through closet that leads into the bathroom.
- Did the dishes.
- I will put the dishes away before bed.
- I will change the sheets before bed.
I am on the couch with candles lit and my new glass and wood tumbler next to me.
posted by jgirl at 4:45 PM on March 1 [4 favorites]
Here’s today:
- Three loads of laundry — done for the week.
- Cleaned under the bed (that and cleaning the ceiling fan are my least favorite tasks).
- Got rid of a few things via the laundry room.
- Also via the laundry room, obtained a blender drink bottle (I have been wanting one) and a nice glass tumbler with a snap-on wooden lid that has a hole for a straw — very pleased with these, especially the latter.
- Wiped closet shelves and shoeboxes on the shelves (next to the vintage hatbox!).
- Set aside a pair of shoes to consign and a pair to go to the laundry room.
- Put suede clogs in newly empty shoebox to protect them from the incessant dust. They are worn often and thus had been next to the door on the shoe shelf, but no more. It won’t be suede season here much longer, unfortunately.
- Put the raft of shoe stuff I have to use in my shoes (mentioned in January) in the other newly emptied shoebox.
- Dusted under the dressers and cleaned closet floors. This is a through closet that leads into the bathroom.
- Did the dishes.
- I will put the dishes away before bed.
- I will change the sheets before bed.
I am on the couch with candles lit and my new glass and wood tumbler next to me.
posted by jgirl at 4:45 PM on March 1 [4 favorites]
I still have lost my mojo big time on this. I threw out a few boxes that I will probably not use to organize, and today I went through my sheet music collection and organized it into a binder, and I took out the trash. And that's about it. I keep being tired on weekends.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:56 PM on March 1 [5 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:56 PM on March 1 [5 favorites]
You did well, jenfullmoon! I am especially impressed by ditching the boxes!
posted by jgirl at 6:07 PM on March 1 [3 favorites]
posted by jgirl at 6:07 PM on March 1 [3 favorites]
I have a 1966 Honda C95 motorcycle. I bought it for $50 forty five years ago. I need to put the engine back into it and get rid of it. I have been saying that for fifteen years.
I had disassembled and painted the bike forty years ago. The chrome and aluminum are now corroded again, and the paint is peeling on the front fender. The original engine developed a bad piston rod thirty five years ago and is in a box in pieces. The other engine to be installed runs, but poorly and looks very rough. I bought it from some guy in Upstate New York for $25 twenty years ago. It had been sitting in his backyard in the rain.
Today, I dragged the engine off the shelf and placed it beside the bike. Now I have to stare it it every time I go to the bathroom. I think that will help.
posted by CynicalKnight at 7:09 PM on March 1 [4 favorites]
I had disassembled and painted the bike forty years ago. The chrome and aluminum are now corroded again, and the paint is peeling on the front fender. The original engine developed a bad piston rod thirty five years ago and is in a box in pieces. The other engine to be installed runs, but poorly and looks very rough. I bought it from some guy in Upstate New York for $25 twenty years ago. It had been sitting in his backyard in the rain.
Today, I dragged the engine off the shelf and placed it beside the bike. Now I have to stare it it every time I go to the bathroom. I think that will help.
posted by CynicalKnight at 7:09 PM on March 1 [4 favorites]
I went through some more paperwork from the bottomless filing cabinets, sorted out a medication issue, and cleaned most of the bathroom (not the tub/shower-maybe tomorrow).
I have a call with my world travelling friend tomorrow (in Cambodia at the moment) and hope my tap class will be on for tomorrow.
I am apathetic about the larger projects so am trying to break things into smaller tasks and/or shorter time periods. The weather turned chilly again and this negates all motivation to work on the (chilly) basement or (unheated) garage!
That’s a lot of GSD, everyone.
My wish for jgirl is less dust. Also thank you for the info on haggis. I was going to ask my (independent, small family business) butcher, but I wouldn’t want to get them in trouble.
posted by kyraU2 at 7:26 PM on March 1 [4 favorites]
I have a call with my world travelling friend tomorrow (in Cambodia at the moment) and hope my tap class will be on for tomorrow.
I am apathetic about the larger projects so am trying to break things into smaller tasks and/or shorter time periods. The weather turned chilly again and this negates all motivation to work on the (chilly) basement or (unheated) garage!
That’s a lot of GSD, everyone.
My wish for jgirl is less dust. Also thank you for the info on haggis. I was going to ask my (independent, small family business) butcher, but I wouldn’t want to get them in trouble.
posted by kyraU2 at 7:26 PM on March 1 [4 favorites]
I have a professional cert exam I am taking on Monday, which I skived off studying for today. But I finally spent some time on my hobby project instead, and made a little progress with that. I have tomorrow still for studying, which should be enough. I spent all day at work cramming on Friday, and made it through 9 chapters out of 20, so I should be able to finish up tomorrow, and the test isn't until 2pm on Monday, so I have time to do my final polish up then.
Also tomorrow, my foster cat Burt has a 10am appointment at the shelter for an adopter interview! If it's a match, he could go straight home with his new family. He is only my second adult foster. I've done 20+ kittens over the years, but the only adults were the mama from the litter I did last summer, and Burt. Adults are much harder to place, but I think Burt's got a good shot tomorrow.
posted by notoriety public at 9:20 PM on March 1 [5 favorites]
Also tomorrow, my foster cat Burt has a 10am appointment at the shelter for an adopter interview! If it's a match, he could go straight home with his new family. He is only my second adult foster. I've done 20+ kittens over the years, but the only adults were the mama from the litter I did last summer, and Burt. Adults are much harder to place, but I think Burt's got a good shot tomorrow.
posted by notoriety public at 9:20 PM on March 1 [5 favorites]
I'm visiting my mom, but that doesn't mean that there aren't opportunities to GSD. Removed a couple of stacks of magazines and a bag of paper from mom's room. I also found backup CDs of dad's photos that I was afraid were lost to the digital ether, and am thrilled to take those home. Now, of course, we need to figure out how to the photos off of CDs, but I'm so glad all of dad's work (including photos of my great grandmother's art that I think may no longer physically exist) is may live on.
posted by ldthomps at 7:54 AM on March 2 [4 favorites]
posted by ldthomps at 7:54 AM on March 2 [4 favorites]
Burt got adopted! As expected, he interviewed very well. He's such a brave and friendly boy. He was crawling all over the prospective adopters by the end of the interview. And the environment is a good match. Two brothers, with two other roommates. First time pet owners. He will be an only cat, at least initially, but I think that with four humans (one of whom is WFH), he will get enough attention to be happy.
I took a nap after getting home because I was anxious about the adoption interview despite having a lot of confidence for it, and the success was a great relief. Now I gotta knuckle down and finish my test prep.
posted by notoriety public at 1:00 PM on March 2 [6 favorites]
I took a nap after getting home because I was anxious about the adoption interview despite having a lot of confidence for it, and the success was a great relief. Now I gotta knuckle down and finish my test prep.
posted by notoriety public at 1:00 PM on March 2 [6 favorites]
CynicalKnight, I like your idea of a visual reminder of a task.
So far today I had a long video call with my friend who is currently in Cambodia. We talked about places to meet up on their travels and now I have possible locations and dates. Now Mr Kyra and I have to figure out when/where. We do our own travel planning, as I enjoy the research, so maybe there will be an Ask about one or more of these locations: Latvia, Lithuania, Poland. To me it’s GSD as I obtained information and we decided we will be making this trip. I’m happy to add travel planning to my list.
I made it to tap class, the grocery store, and am doing laundry. Next up: a couple of admin tasks, which should be easy…
posted by kyraU2 at 3:03 PM on March 2 [5 favorites]
So far today I had a long video call with my friend who is currently in Cambodia. We talked about places to meet up on their travels and now I have possible locations and dates. Now Mr Kyra and I have to figure out when/where. We do our own travel planning, as I enjoy the research, so maybe there will be an Ask about one or more of these locations: Latvia, Lithuania, Poland. To me it’s GSD as I obtained information and we decided we will be making this trip. I’m happy to add travel planning to my list.
I made it to tap class, the grocery store, and am doing laundry. Next up: a couple of admin tasks, which should be easy…
posted by kyraU2 at 3:03 PM on March 2 [5 favorites]
One admin task easily completed
A second given a good try before giving up
The third needs another try from a different device and I’m tabling it for tomorrow
Night, all!
posted by kyraU2 at 6:50 PM on March 2 [4 favorites]
A second given a good try before giving up
The third needs another try from a different device and I’m tabling it for tomorrow
Night, all!
posted by kyraU2 at 6:50 PM on March 2 [4 favorites]
Go Burt!
posted by jgirl at 7:56 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
posted by jgirl at 7:56 PM on March 2 [3 favorites]
I got a lot of chores done yesterday - sorted and cleaned the dining room, vacuumed. Hope I'll be able to keep it up together now. Sorted more of my father's books, and have two more boxes of them for charity when my brother-in-law can give me a lift, and two bags I'll try to take in today. A lot of non-books stuff for other charity shops, too. Managed to stay offline, though it wasn't easy at times. Pleased with myself!
jenfullmoon, I'm sorry you are so tired. Weekends are not long enough to recuperate and GSD as well.
CynicalKnight, that sounds like a project that must have been worrying you for a while. Sounds like you have a plan.
Go Burt, and all of us!
posted by paduasoy at 11:34 PM on March 2 [5 favorites]
jenfullmoon, I'm sorry you are so tired. Weekends are not long enough to recuperate and GSD as well.
CynicalKnight, that sounds like a project that must have been worrying you for a while. Sounds like you have a plan.
Go Burt, and all of us!
posted by paduasoy at 11:34 PM on March 2 [5 favorites]
Congratulations Burt!
I'm back from vacation and will be back to work cleaning stuff up today.
posted by mmoncur at 3:29 AM on March 3 [4 favorites]
I'm back from vacation and will be back to work cleaning stuff up today.
posted by mmoncur at 3:29 AM on March 3 [4 favorites]
Yesterday I moved stuff in the kitchen to clean the floor and baseboards. The kitchen is tiny, so moving stuff is a challenge. I also got rid of some stuff and got a second glass tumbler with what turns out to be bamboo lid. The second one was not in the basement before.
The hardest parts of quarterly cleaning are done, i.e. the floors, baseboards, and moving stuff. I feel like I am now back at a baseline, at least until the next leak or plaster fail. At some point the bathroom will have to be replastered and repainted for the third time in 12 months.
All of the work I did in January on the stuff that had been near the big barristers has really made a big difference. Moving the device charger has solved the charging problem, and I am really glad about that.
I am feeling a bit better, but I'm still beat. Scary admin stuff needs to be done.
posted by jgirl at 6:13 AM on March 3 [4 favorites]
The hardest parts of quarterly cleaning are done, i.e. the floors, baseboards, and moving stuff. I feel like I am now back at a baseline, at least until the next leak or plaster fail. At some point the bathroom will have to be replastered and repainted for the third time in 12 months.
All of the work I did in January on the stuff that had been near the big barristers has really made a big difference. Moving the device charger has solved the charging problem, and I am really glad about that.
I am feeling a bit better, but I'm still beat. Scary admin stuff needs to be done.
posted by jgirl at 6:13 AM on March 3 [4 favorites]
Go Burt!
posted by kyraU2 at 8:49 AM on March 3 [2 favorites]
posted by kyraU2 at 8:49 AM on March 3 [2 favorites]
I have to read this whole thread still. Thank you for making it.
Today we finally had the buyout meeting at my company, so my job of 15 years feels less secure than last week. But there is nothing I can do about that. So, I have been drawing in my sketchbook, and any art is good art, and also I made some cool stuff.
I've also had reviews of The Bachelor franchise shows (not the actual shows - just funny and insightful cliff notes) on my iPad during all the sketching. I do recommend it as a mindless foolishness that can take your mind off other things. Bachelor Fantake
Anyway, I have been keeping the kitchen pretty clean, and I am about to do a load of laundry. And probably more sketching and YouTube. I am trying to finish this sketchbook so I can do a sketchbook tour video, and also start on my new sketchbook, which is for painting.
Toki my 11 yr Havanese has a vet appointment tomorrow. He has a cough the vet says is probably an old man cough. I was offended (in a nice way, I just said, nooooo he is not old). He does not act like an old man. And the cough is infrequent.
I am putting my week long binge of unhealthy (frozen or delivered, vegan but not the healthy kind!) food groups in the past. It's hard to feel like cooking or eating healthy things in stressful times, but a week off is more than enough, and I will feel better eating better. I made a bag of soaked garbanzo beans in the Instant Pot yesterday, so I will make those into a crunchy healthy snack.
posted by Glinn at 4:02 PM on March 3 [4 favorites]
Today we finally had the buyout meeting at my company, so my job of 15 years feels less secure than last week. But there is nothing I can do about that. So, I have been drawing in my sketchbook, and any art is good art, and also I made some cool stuff.
I've also had reviews of The Bachelor franchise shows (not the actual shows - just funny and insightful cliff notes) on my iPad during all the sketching. I do recommend it as a mindless foolishness that can take your mind off other things. Bachelor Fantake
Anyway, I have been keeping the kitchen pretty clean, and I am about to do a load of laundry. And probably more sketching and YouTube. I am trying to finish this sketchbook so I can do a sketchbook tour video, and also start on my new sketchbook, which is for painting.
Toki my 11 yr Havanese has a vet appointment tomorrow. He has a cough the vet says is probably an old man cough. I was offended (in a nice way, I just said, nooooo he is not old). He does not act like an old man. And the cough is infrequent.
I am putting my week long binge of unhealthy (frozen or delivered, vegan but not the healthy kind!) food groups in the past. It's hard to feel like cooking or eating healthy things in stressful times, but a week off is more than enough, and I will feel better eating better. I made a bag of soaked garbanzo beans in the Instant Pot yesterday, so I will make those into a crunchy healthy snack.
posted by Glinn at 4:02 PM on March 3 [4 favorites]
notoriety public, how did the prof. cert exam go? I hope you treat yourself to something nice, experientially, tonight to reward yourself!
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 5:51 PM on March 3 [4 favorites]
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 5:51 PM on March 3 [4 favorites]
Did some admin stuff: scheduled the car for an oil change, phone calls with a doctor’s office (good news: they have beaten my insurance into submission so I will be able to get my now overdue treatment), worked on scheduling various things.
I had a dentist appointment (not scary and I love them-I’m fairly new to this group after ditching my previous dentist for reasons). This reminds me to ask about the wisdom tooth extraction healing: how’s it going.
I had a phone call with a friend and made some soup and now bedtime.
Glinn, I hope the vet appointment is helpful. For the record, Toki is adorable and doesn’t look a day over six.
Good to hear from people!! Thank you all for being here.
posted by kyraU2 at 6:21 PM on March 3 [6 favorites]
I had a dentist appointment (not scary and I love them-I’m fairly new to this group after ditching my previous dentist for reasons). This reminds me to ask about the wisdom tooth extraction healing: how’s it going.
I had a phone call with a friend and made some soup and now bedtime.
Glinn, I hope the vet appointment is helpful. For the record, Toki is adorable and doesn’t look a day over six.
Good to hear from people!! Thank you all for being here.
posted by kyraU2 at 6:21 PM on March 3 [6 favorites]
The Wrong Kind Of Cheese: I passed the exam. And I did reward myself: with a night off. I picked up a pizza crust on the way home and made myself a nice pizza with roasted red peppers and pepperoni. Went to bed at a reasonable hour. I have a second exam next Tuesday, which is the more important one, but I’m far less anxious after the warmup from the first one.
posted by notoriety public at 5:54 AM on March 4 [6 favorites]
posted by notoriety public at 5:54 AM on March 4 [6 favorites]
Hi everyone! I'm a few days late to post, but I finally got my blood work done after putting it off for months and it turns out I'm fine health-wise and also still immune to measles. Yay to everyone getting stuff done and passing their exams and cooking!
Gonna schedule a "Power Hour" for tonight to take care of paperwork.
posted by toastyk at 7:42 AM on March 4 [5 favorites]
Gonna schedule a "Power Hour" for tonight to take care of paperwork.
posted by toastyk at 7:42 AM on March 4 [5 favorites]
Hi folks, I think I'm back to the thread (hooray for its existence!) for real...
5th March (my yesterday, but I'm catching up):
Inside: Replacement phone battery arrived, mostly installed it but wanted to wait for daylight for some fiddly bits.
Outside: Got new hinges for the broken shed door. They might work, not sure yet.
Admin: Sent email to a friend.
posted by inexorably_forward at 2:27 PM on March 5 [3 favorites]
5th March (my yesterday, but I'm catching up):
Inside: Replacement phone battery arrived, mostly installed it but wanted to wait for daylight for some fiddly bits.
Outside: Got new hinges for the broken shed door. They might work, not sure yet.
Admin: Sent email to a friend.
posted by inexorably_forward at 2:27 PM on March 5 [3 favorites]
6th March:
Inside: Finished reassembling phone.
Outside: Weeded/watered citrus tree pots.
Admin: Paid credit card bill.
posted by inexorably_forward at 11:56 PM on March 5 [3 favorites]
Inside: Finished reassembling phone.
Outside: Weeded/watered citrus tree pots.
Admin: Paid credit card bill.
posted by inexorably_forward at 11:56 PM on March 5 [3 favorites]
March 5:
Inside: Worked on moving some websites to a new server. Set up a new robot vacuum. (It is named Murderbot, for reasons.)
Outside: Went out and got the mail. Well, it's something.
posted by mmoncur at 3:41 AM on March 6 [4 favorites]
Inside: Worked on moving some websites to a new server. Set up a new robot vacuum. (It is named Murderbot, for reasons.)
Outside: Went out and got the mail. Well, it's something.
posted by mmoncur at 3:41 AM on March 6 [4 favorites]
Well done on the exam, notoriety public! And toastyk for blood tests.
Today - seven bags and boxes to charity, with the help of my brother-in-law (his sick leave has been very helpful to me), and had a nap. There is more on the to-do list, but I may let it go for today.
posted by paduasoy at 9:47 AM on March 6 [4 favorites]
Today - seven bags and boxes to charity, with the help of my brother-in-law (his sick leave has been very helpful to me), and had a nap. There is more on the to-do list, but I may let it go for today.
posted by paduasoy at 9:47 AM on March 6 [4 favorites]
Seven bags and boxes is a LOT!
Watch out for the Murderbot…I hope it’s only deadly to dust bunnies!!
Getting the mail definitely counts.
I can’t remember if, or what, GSD has occurred in the past couple of days, other than going to work.
Oh, wait, there were phone calls with one of the mail order companies, and I ran some errands on Tuesday.
More soon. Hope everyone is well!
posted by kyraU2 at 12:08 PM on March 6 [4 favorites]
Watch out for the Murderbot…I hope it’s only deadly to dust bunnies!!
Getting the mail definitely counts.
I can’t remember if, or what, GSD has occurred in the past couple of days, other than going to work.
Oh, wait, there were phone calls with one of the mail order companies, and I ran some errands on Tuesday.
More soon. Hope everyone is well!
posted by kyraU2 at 12:08 PM on March 6 [4 favorites]
I took out a couple of loads of recycling that included a bunch of recycled paper from files I'd brought home from mom's, though I have more to sort, of course. Found a cute rebus valentine my paternal grandma sent my grandpa in 1948 and the mid-40s tax returns for my maternal great-grandfather... yet we can't find the prescription for mom's current bedrail (I blame the facility, but still! The things we keep or don't!).
I did my PT a couple of times while traveling, which was a win, and got most of it done before personal training today. Got gas in the car for yet another trip this weekend. Walked to the hospital to visit my friend who was in a lot of unexplained pain. Glad to visit, rub her back, and socialize with her husband, but I sure hope they figure out how to help her get more comfortable, poor thing.
Big applause for all of the hard work folks are getting done! So good to read it all!
posted by ldthomps at 4:41 PM on March 6 [3 favorites]
I did my PT a couple of times while traveling, which was a win, and got most of it done before personal training today. Got gas in the car for yet another trip this weekend. Walked to the hospital to visit my friend who was in a lot of unexplained pain. Glad to visit, rub her back, and socialize with her husband, but I sure hope they figure out how to help her get more comfortable, poor thing.
Big applause for all of the hard work folks are getting done! So good to read it all!
posted by ldthomps at 4:41 PM on March 6 [3 favorites]
It’s good to hear from everyone.
Out of the house: went to PT appointment, went to grocery store.
Barely out of the house: filled the bird feeder and swept up some birdseed debris. Then came back in out of the cold.
Inside the house, warmly dressed: looked up and requested books from the library, cleared out some old emails, did a questionnaire online for a study I’m enrolled in, gave cats attention, read, cooked a new-to-me recipe for dinner, chatted with my niece.
Yesterday I scheduled some appointments.
Also today I booked tickets for a show coming up. It’s one of Mr Kyra’s favorite bands, or used to be (hope he still likes them) and I’ll keep it a surprise if I can. The venue had two seats left, at the bar (don’t mind that), and not together (not ideal), but it’ll be fine. Plus they supposedly have decent food, so we can make an evening of it. It’s good to have something to look forward to and I feel cooped up and want to get out more.
On Tuesday, when we had mild, almost balmy weather with a hint of sunshine (opposed to today which is back to grey and cold and windy), the deck Christmas tree was finally taken down. My Kyra gets credit for that but wow is that satisfying to no longer see.
Hope everyone is okay and thanks for all the inspiration and support.
posted by kyraU2 at 5:57 PM on March 6 [5 favorites]
Out of the house: went to PT appointment, went to grocery store.
Barely out of the house: filled the bird feeder and swept up some birdseed debris. Then came back in out of the cold.
Inside the house, warmly dressed: looked up and requested books from the library, cleared out some old emails, did a questionnaire online for a study I’m enrolled in, gave cats attention, read, cooked a new-to-me recipe for dinner, chatted with my niece.
Yesterday I scheduled some appointments.
Also today I booked tickets for a show coming up. It’s one of Mr Kyra’s favorite bands, or used to be (hope he still likes them) and I’ll keep it a surprise if I can. The venue had two seats left, at the bar (don’t mind that), and not together (not ideal), but it’ll be fine. Plus they supposedly have decent food, so we can make an evening of it. It’s good to have something to look forward to and I feel cooped up and want to get out more.
On Tuesday, when we had mild, almost balmy weather with a hint of sunshine (opposed to today which is back to grey and cold and windy), the deck Christmas tree was finally taken down. My Kyra gets credit for that but wow is that satisfying to no longer see.
Hope everyone is okay and thanks for all the inspiration and support.
posted by kyraU2 at 5:57 PM on March 6 [5 favorites]
My big GSD today was submitting a renewal application for my passport. It expired back in early covid days, and I travel so rarely that I didn't much care. But my driver's license is not Real ID, so I figured it would be easier to renew my passport and use that to upgrade to Real ID when I needed to, than it would be to deal with all the documentation from scratch.
And I stopped procrastinating just in the nick of time! You have to renew within 5 years of expiry, and since the old passport expired in April 2020, I had only a month left before I would need to start from scratch anyway. Yeah, April 2020. No fucking way was I going to fuck around trying to renew a passport around then, right? And what point would there have been?
The photo I got a coworker to take at work today wasn't up to snuff for the submission form's automated checks, so I ran out to Walgreens and got one done under proper conditions. They offer a digital download alongside the printed copies, so I grabbed that, and the submission form liked it a lot better. Submission is complete, and hopefully there are no issues with the renewal, and it just shows up here in a couple of weeks.
This has been a low-key GSD guilt thing for the last 5 years, I am excited to have it sorted out!
posted by notoriety public at 6:42 PM on March 6 [4 favorites]
And I stopped procrastinating just in the nick of time! You have to renew within 5 years of expiry, and since the old passport expired in April 2020, I had only a month left before I would need to start from scratch anyway. Yeah, April 2020. No fucking way was I going to fuck around trying to renew a passport around then, right? And what point would there have been?
The photo I got a coworker to take at work today wasn't up to snuff for the submission form's automated checks, so I ran out to Walgreens and got one done under proper conditions. They offer a digital download alongside the printed copies, so I grabbed that, and the submission form liked it a lot better. Submission is complete, and hopefully there are no issues with the renewal, and it just shows up here in a couple of weeks.
This has been a low-key GSD guilt thing for the last 5 years, I am excited to have it sorted out!
posted by notoriety public at 6:42 PM on March 6 [4 favorites]
notoriety public, congratulations on your passport! Those long-standing things can be just the worst.
posted by inexorably_forward at 9:30 PM on March 6 [4 favorites]
posted by inexorably_forward at 9:30 PM on March 6 [4 favorites]
7th March:
Inside: Did the dishes.
Outside: Pulled a weed.
Admin: Paid a couple of medical bills.
posted by inexorably_forward at 9:30 PM on March 6 [3 favorites]
Inside: Did the dishes.
Outside: Pulled a weed.
Admin: Paid a couple of medical bills.
posted by inexorably_forward at 9:30 PM on March 6 [3 favorites]
6 March:
Outside: Minor car maintenance
Inside: More work on web sites / server
posted by mmoncur at 5:42 AM on March 7 [3 favorites]
Outside: Minor car maintenance
Inside: More work on web sites / server
posted by mmoncur at 5:42 AM on March 7 [3 favorites]
Taxes: still in progress. I HATE TAXES.
posted by toastyk at 7:10 AM on March 7 [5 favorites]
posted by toastyk at 7:10 AM on March 7 [5 favorites]
8th Mar:
Inside: Tidied kitchen table.
Outside: Pulled a weed.
Admin: Printed out passport renewal form (thanks, notoriety public!).
posted by inexorably_forward at 5:54 AM on March 8 [4 favorites]
Inside: Tidied kitchen table.
Outside: Pulled a weed.
Admin: Printed out passport renewal form (thanks, notoriety public!).
posted by inexorably_forward at 5:54 AM on March 8 [4 favorites]
Just now: checked my passport expiration date (2031, so I’m good for a bit)
With thanks to notoriety public and inexorably_forward and everyone else
posted by kyraU2 at 10:16 AM on March 8 [3 favorites]
With thanks to notoriety public and inexorably_forward and everyone else
posted by kyraU2 at 10:16 AM on March 8 [3 favorites]
I showered, did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, picked up and moved stuff in the kitchen, picked up clothes, did laundry. I have done a lot of stuff.
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:05 PM on March 8 [5 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 1:05 PM on March 8 [5 favorites]
That is a lot of stuff!
Today we disposed of stuff we had previously sorted out.
The library: donated two boxes of books, one bag of jigsaw puzzles, and three pieces of framed art (I use that word loosely)
The charity shop: 7 containers (mix of bags and boxes) of stuff donated
The community compost drop off center (known in our house as the Food Morgue): one medium sized cooler full of things to compost, composted
Mr K gats credit for the heavy lifting.
Here in the States, our clocks will change tonight. Spring forward! Or something. Experience has shown that the cats’ expectations of Food Now will not align with the time change.
posted by kyraU2 at 2:49 PM on March 8 [4 favorites]
Today we disposed of stuff we had previously sorted out.
The library: donated two boxes of books, one bag of jigsaw puzzles, and three pieces of framed art (I use that word loosely)
The charity shop: 7 containers (mix of bags and boxes) of stuff donated
The community compost drop off center (known in our house as the Food Morgue): one medium sized cooler full of things to compost, composted
Mr K gats credit for the heavy lifting.
Here in the States, our clocks will change tonight. Spring forward! Or something. Experience has shown that the cats’ expectations of Food Now will not align with the time change.
posted by kyraU2 at 2:49 PM on March 8 [4 favorites]
That's great, jenfullmoon, and everyone.
Today - chores; made pear, ginger and chocolate pudding to eat at a friend's; sent a couple of emails I was putting off; and got back to my writing / research project, which I hadn't touched for a few weeks. Only did about half an hour on it, but that was all I wanted to get done today. Also got agreement to review a book for the historical society, on mediaeval mental illness, should be interesting.
posted by paduasoy at 3:57 PM on March 8 [3 favorites]
Today - chores; made pear, ginger and chocolate pudding to eat at a friend's; sent a couple of emails I was putting off; and got back to my writing / research project, which I hadn't touched for a few weeks. Only did about half an hour on it, but that was all I wanted to get done today. Also got agreement to review a book for the historical society, on mediaeval mental illness, should be interesting.
posted by paduasoy at 3:57 PM on March 8 [3 favorites]
I also went out and got more Brita filters, cleaned off my patio of trash and attempted to sweep the leaves, and used the bad Brita water to wash off my outdoor furniture, which is utterly covered in dirt everywhere. Got rid of a few things on the patio I don't use, too. Good job, me!
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:11 PM on March 8 [5 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:11 PM on March 8 [5 favorites]
Good job indeed! I feel you on 'attempted to sweep the leaves'. The shedding-est trees at my place have very small leaves and they don't sweep well at all. Mostly I let them build up, and sometimes I just give up and use the hose, which feels a bit wasteful.
posted by inexorably_forward at 4:18 AM on March 9 [3 favorites]
posted by inexorably_forward at 4:18 AM on March 9 [3 favorites]
9th Mar:
Inside: Made veggie chili for tomorrow's lunch guests.
Outside: Did some token weed-pulling.
Admin: Filled out passport renewal form and put everything in one place to take into town tomorrow morning to get photos and send.
posted by inexorably_forward at 4:21 AM on March 9 [4 favorites]
Inside: Made veggie chili for tomorrow's lunch guests.
Outside: Did some token weed-pulling.
Admin: Filled out passport renewal form and put everything in one place to take into town tomorrow morning to get photos and send.
posted by inexorably_forward at 4:21 AM on March 9 [4 favorites]
Fiddled on my hobby project yesterday and did some laundry and chores during breaks. The project was a bit frustrating, I made some stupid mistakes and spent hours tracking them down.
Doing my annual wellness checkup today (right now in fact, waiting in the room), and then studying today for the second professional exam I need to take on Tuesday. Targeting getting half of the material quizzed today, and then the other half tomorrow.
posted by notoriety public at 7:18 AM on March 9 [4 favorites]
Doing my annual wellness checkup today (right now in fact, waiting in the room), and then studying today for the second professional exam I need to take on Tuesday. Targeting getting half of the material quizzed today, and then the other half tomorrow.
posted by notoriety public at 7:18 AM on March 9 [4 favorites]
I have looked to see what time it is in various parts of the world.
I am now at GMT minus four hours.
Off to adjust the analog kitchen clock!
posted by kyraU2 at 7:45 AM on March 9 [4 favorites]
I am now at GMT minus four hours.
Off to adjust the analog kitchen clock!
posted by kyraU2 at 7:45 AM on March 9 [4 favorites]
Was the pear, ginger, and chocolate pudding one dish, or 3, paduasoy? Either sounds interesting! Wow, you guys have been rocking it. I'm doing a load of laundry after a weekend away with friends, and I've done almost all of my PT. Otherwise I've promised myself I'll take a walk, but gosh sharing a strange house with 7 other people and 2 dogs is exhausting for me (plus mom's homebuyer suddenly said she got a broker, which wasn't part of the deal and might increase costs, and the 80-something friend with cancer had to go back to the ER from the hospital and had a rough 36 hours there). I'm seeking the dopamine bump from Getting Stuff Done while needing to sit down, so I'm living vicariously by reading about all your awesome work!
posted by ldthomps at 12:43 PM on March 9 [3 favorites]
posted by ldthomps at 12:43 PM on March 9 [3 favorites]
Taxes are submitted to our tax person! FINALLY.
posted by toastyk at 2:43 PM on March 9 [5 favorites]
posted by toastyk at 2:43 PM on March 9 [5 favorites]
Minor bonus TCB: I got my plate renewal sticker a couple of weeks ago, when it was brutally cold, cold enough that the sticker lady at the emissions station was explicitly telling people "don't put it on today, it's too cold, it won't stick".
Since it was so incredibly nice outside today, I got it done. It was a little involved because I had to remove the old stickers. You know, they way they say you're supposed to every year, but *cough* not everybody does. Which was actually very lucky for me last year, because I dropped last year's sticker on my dirty garage floor and ruined its stickiness. I wound up supergluing it to the previous year's sticker(s), so that I would still be able to eventually remove it, but knowing I really ought to sort it out properly next time around. I finally paid down that debt today. Scraped off all the old stickers, and put this year's sticker directly onto a nice clean plate.
posted by notoriety public at 5:05 PM on March 9 [4 favorites]
Since it was so incredibly nice outside today, I got it done. It was a little involved because I had to remove the old stickers. You know, they way they say you're supposed to every year, but *cough* not everybody does. Which was actually very lucky for me last year, because I dropped last year's sticker on my dirty garage floor and ruined its stickiness. I wound up supergluing it to the previous year's sticker(s), so that I would still be able to eventually remove it, but knowing I really ought to sort it out properly next time around. I finally paid down that debt today. Scraped off all the old stickers, and put this year's sticker directly onto a nice clean plate.
posted by notoriety public at 5:05 PM on March 9 [4 favorites]
I had a major productivity boost today and I:
- dried the laundry
- did the dishes and emptied the dishwasher (including getting my housemate to bring down all the dishes he's been hoarding in his room, especially the forks since we were down to only a few left in the kitchen)
- took out all the trash, recycling and compost. put the compost in a paper bag. dropped the compost on the stairs when the bottom of said bag failed. cleaned it all up.
- vacuumed the stairs up to my 3rd floor flat (see compost incident above)
- repotted the spider plant the kitten knocked over
- repotted 2 other plants while I was repotting things
- watered all the plants
- did my weekly class
- did some work emails for the rally we're organizing tomorrow
... and now I'm going to go see a show.
So kitten energy and failure of paper bags to hold wet content were the secrets to my GSD this weekend.
posted by gingerbeer at 7:12 PM on March 9 [7 favorites]
- dried the laundry
- did the dishes and emptied the dishwasher (including getting my housemate to bring down all the dishes he's been hoarding in his room, especially the forks since we were down to only a few left in the kitchen)
- took out all the trash, recycling and compost. put the compost in a paper bag. dropped the compost on the stairs when the bottom of said bag failed. cleaned it all up.
- vacuumed the stairs up to my 3rd floor flat (see compost incident above)
- repotted the spider plant the kitten knocked over
- repotted 2 other plants while I was repotting things
- watered all the plants
- did my weekly class
- did some work emails for the rally we're organizing tomorrow
... and now I'm going to go see a show.
So kitten energy and failure of paper bags to hold wet content were the secrets to my GSD this weekend.
posted by gingerbeer at 7:12 PM on March 9 [7 favorites]
Yes, notoriety public, not everyone does remove all the stickers every year. Or so I hear. Ahem.
The superglue story made me chuckle AND admire your solution.
Sometimes the little things are very satisfying.
Sending good wishes for both the examination prep and the exam itself.
Well done on taxes, toastyk!
Paduasoy, hope it was a good day off the interweb for you. Yes, the book review sounds interesting.
Sorry your friend is having medical issues, ldthomps. And whatever is going sideways with your mother’s house sale sounds stressful.
I definitely also feel the dopamine bump and although I often get overwhelmed by all the things that need doing, reading here helps so much.
Outside: pulled a few weeds (might have borrowed this idea from someone here, hmmmm), and the Christmas tree stand is off the deck and back in the garage. It took some warmer weather for the ice in it to melt!
Inside: cleared out stuff from one dresser drawer. Laundry.
Admin: cleared out some old contacts in my phone. Called pharmacy for a medication refill.
Social thing: Called a friend to chat and arrange a visit.
posted by kyraU2 at 7:12 PM on March 9 [2 favorites]
The superglue story made me chuckle AND admire your solution.
Sometimes the little things are very satisfying.
Sending good wishes for both the examination prep and the exam itself.
Well done on taxes, toastyk!
Paduasoy, hope it was a good day off the interweb for you. Yes, the book review sounds interesting.
Sorry your friend is having medical issues, ldthomps. And whatever is going sideways with your mother’s house sale sounds stressful.
I definitely also feel the dopamine bump and although I often get overwhelmed by all the things that need doing, reading here helps so much.
Outside: pulled a few weeds (might have borrowed this idea from someone here, hmmmm), and the Christmas tree stand is off the deck and back in the garage. It took some warmer weather for the ice in it to melt!
Inside: cleared out stuff from one dresser drawer. Laundry.
Admin: cleared out some old contacts in my phone. Called pharmacy for a medication refill.
Social thing: Called a friend to chat and arrange a visit.
posted by kyraU2 at 7:12 PM on March 9 [2 favorites]
I completely forgot my new resolution to stay off the internet on Sundays! My brother-in-law reminded me in the evening. He charitably said maybe it's too big a goal and I should cut it down - but no, I can do this, as long as I remember! Have added it to Finch.
Goodness, people have done a lot. toastyk, taxes are something I really struggle with, so I'm very impressed. I think our tax year is different - April to March, to submit by January the following year.
This is the pear, ginger and chocolate recipe, though I cut down the sugar quantities a bit. It made masses so think we will be eating it for work lunches this week.
gingerbeer, well done for harnessing the kitten energy! ldthomps, that does sound like a Lot of people. I'm sorry your friend is ill. notoriety public, best wishes for the exam tomorrow.
What's a plate renewal sticker - is it a car thing?
I'm feeling slightly inspired by those doing outside work. Am working up to doing some garden clearance; will also order some flower seeds.
Yesterday: chores, research project, visited elderly friend, played cards with my sister and brother-in-law.
posted by paduasoy at 1:51 AM on March 10 [3 favorites]
Goodness, people have done a lot. toastyk, taxes are something I really struggle with, so I'm very impressed. I think our tax year is different - April to March, to submit by January the following year.
This is the pear, ginger and chocolate recipe, though I cut down the sugar quantities a bit. It made masses so think we will be eating it for work lunches this week.
gingerbeer, well done for harnessing the kitten energy! ldthomps, that does sound like a Lot of people. I'm sorry your friend is ill. notoriety public, best wishes for the exam tomorrow.
What's a plate renewal sticker - is it a car thing?
I'm feeling slightly inspired by those doing outside work. Am working up to doing some garden clearance; will also order some flower seeds.
Yesterday: chores, research project, visited elderly friend, played cards with my sister and brother-in-law.
posted by paduasoy at 1:51 AM on March 10 [3 favorites]
10th Mar:
Inside: Had 6 guests for lunch followed by afternoon music, cleaned up afterwards.
Outside: Cut old broken hinges off of shed.
Admin: Tried to mail my passport renewal, but got all the way to town before I realised I'd forgotten my wallet. Definitely didn't have enough cash in the car to do photos and mailing, and not enough slack in my schedule to go home and fetch the wallet (see lunch guests, above), so argh, mission failure! Later, answered a work-related email.
posted by inexorably_forward at 5:35 AM on March 10 [2 favorites]
Inside: Had 6 guests for lunch followed by afternoon music, cleaned up afterwards.
Outside: Cut old broken hinges off of shed.
Admin: Tried to mail my passport renewal, but got all the way to town before I realised I'd forgotten my wallet. Definitely didn't have enough cash in the car to do photos and mailing, and not enough slack in my schedule to go home and fetch the wallet (see lunch guests, above), so argh, mission failure! Later, answered a work-related email.
posted by inexorably_forward at 5:35 AM on March 10 [2 favorites]
Gingerbeer has earned straight A’s on their repot card!
posted by notoriety public at 10:33 AM on March 10 [3 favorites]
posted by notoriety public at 10:33 AM on March 10 [3 favorites]
Everyone is doing really well!
posted by jgirl at 1:52 PM on March 10 [3 favorites]
posted by jgirl at 1:52 PM on March 10 [3 favorites]
Today - research project; wrote a letter of appreciation to my father's sheltered housing provider about their staff; work; made a raspberry cake for my mother's birthday; chores; made stock; talked to a friend about things we are both stuck on.
posted by paduasoy at 3:12 PM on March 10 [2 favorites]
posted by paduasoy at 3:12 PM on March 10 [2 favorites]
Finally got spreadsheets off to financial planner. That was a lot.
posted by nuclear bessel at 3:41 PM on March 10 [3 favorites]
posted by nuclear bessel at 3:41 PM on March 10 [3 favorites]
I also love that gingerbeer harnesses the kitten energy! Sorry about the cascading compost task.
Aaargghh on the forgotten wallet. I imagine we have all been there (at least I know I have). But please remember you’ve still got all the paperwork together. Hope you had a pleasant lunch!
Outside: forgot to pull a weed. Brought recycling (wheelie?) bin back up to the house
Errands: picked up prescriptions, went to ATM/cashpoint.
Social: long, lovely, and long lunch with a friend I haven’t seen in far too long. Very restorative. Texted a friend to see about getting together.
In the States, income taxes are due on April 15 each year for the prior calendar year. (There are exceptions and extensions but generally that’s how it works.) This is for federal, state, and city/local taxes (well, in the places I’ve lived in the States). Other US people, please feel free to correct me!
Raspberry cake sounds lovely!
posted by kyraU2 at 6:11 PM on March 10 [3 favorites]
Aaargghh on the forgotten wallet. I imagine we have all been there (at least I know I have). But please remember you’ve still got all the paperwork together. Hope you had a pleasant lunch!
Outside: forgot to pull a weed. Brought recycling (wheelie?) bin back up to the house
Errands: picked up prescriptions, went to ATM/cashpoint.
Social: long, lovely, and long lunch with a friend I haven’t seen in far too long. Very restorative. Texted a friend to see about getting together.
In the States, income taxes are due on April 15 each year for the prior calendar year. (There are exceptions and extensions but generally that’s how it works.) This is for federal, state, and city/local taxes (well, in the places I’ve lived in the States). Other US people, please feel free to correct me!
Raspberry cake sounds lovely!
posted by kyraU2 at 6:11 PM on March 10 [3 favorites]
Huh, that pudding looks delicious, paduasoy! I'm also impressed by the compost-inspired cleaning, taxes, hosting lunch, and plate renewal (yes, car license plate yearly updates to show you've paid registration) - among other progress!
I did get for that walk yesterday and felt better for it, today called mom's terrible bank and they were predictably (and pleasantly!) terrible (can't wait to be rid of them, but can't close her empty safe deposit box until I make an appointment and go to that branch, an 11 hour drive away). Made an April appointment to do that. Visited elderly friend that spent 60 hours in the ER, she was sleeping (good!) so I left a card and chocolate and went and got a haircut, then did some research for a volunteer thing and went to a zoom meeting for it. Am feeling slightly less crazed about the things that need to get done soon. Plenty left to do, though!
posted by ldthomps at 6:59 PM on March 10 [2 favorites]
I did get for that walk yesterday and felt better for it, today called mom's terrible bank and they were predictably (and pleasantly!) terrible (can't wait to be rid of them, but can't close her empty safe deposit box until I make an appointment and go to that branch, an 11 hour drive away). Made an April appointment to do that. Visited elderly friend that spent 60 hours in the ER, she was sleeping (good!) so I left a card and chocolate and went and got a haircut, then did some research for a volunteer thing and went to a zoom meeting for it. Am feeling slightly less crazed about the things that need to get done soon. Plenty left to do, though!
posted by ldthomps at 6:59 PM on March 10 [2 favorites]
11th Mar:
Inside: A bit of dusting.
Outside: Repotted lemon balm plant that a friend gave me.
Admin: Got passport photos and mailed renewal paperwork (finally!).
posted by inexorably_forward at 3:14 AM on March 11 [3 favorites]
Inside: A bit of dusting.
Outside: Repotted lemon balm plant that a friend gave me.
Admin: Got passport photos and mailed renewal paperwork (finally!).
posted by inexorably_forward at 3:14 AM on March 11 [3 favorites]
Passed the second exam. It was a little nerve wracking. My quizzing this morning was only getting 60% and it needs 70% to pass. I had about 90 minutes left to review the stuff I got wrong and figure out my mistakes, it was apparently enough to make it over the line. I was not confident, walking in.
posted by notoriety public at 2:20 PM on March 11 [4 favorites]
posted by notoriety public at 2:20 PM on March 11 [4 favorites]
That's great! Congratulations!
posted by inexorably_forward at 3:52 PM on March 11 [3 favorites]
posted by inexorably_forward at 3:52 PM on March 11 [3 favorites]
Congratulations, notoriety public!
posted by paduasoy at 4:11 PM on March 11 [1 favorite]
posted by paduasoy at 4:11 PM on March 11 [1 favorite]
Hooray, notoriety public!
Outside: pulled a few weeds
Inside: nope
Other: very long, busy day at work
posted by kyraU2 at 4:47 PM on March 11 [3 favorites]
Outside: pulled a few weeds
Inside: nope
Other: very long, busy day at work
posted by kyraU2 at 4:47 PM on March 11 [3 favorites]
12th Mar:
Inside: Cleared old food from veggie drawer in fridge.
Outside: Pulled a few weeds.
Admin: Went to a medical appointment.
posted by inexorably_forward at 1:55 PM on March 12 [2 favorites]
Inside: Cleared old food from veggie drawer in fridge.
Outside: Pulled a few weeds.
Admin: Went to a medical appointment.
posted by inexorably_forward at 1:55 PM on March 12 [2 favorites]
Outside: pulled a few weeds, went for a walk, burned some paperwork (yes, really), talked to a neighbor who was cleaning up debris from a common area and offered assistance.
Inside: put away some laundry.
Unsure of category: took a gift to a co-worker (removing said item from house).
Ran a couple of errands.
Admin: phone meeting
posted by kyraU2 at 4:59 PM on March 12 [3 favorites]
Inside: put away some laundry.
Unsure of category: took a gift to a co-worker (removing said item from house).
Ran a couple of errands.
Admin: phone meeting
posted by kyraU2 at 4:59 PM on March 12 [3 favorites]
13th Mar:
Inside: Took everything out of chest freezer and put it back in in a somewhat more organised fashion.
Outside: Did a bit of spa pool maintenance.
Admin: Did a little bit of work on my taxes.
posted by inexorably_forward at 1:33 AM on March 13 [2 favorites]
Inside: Took everything out of chest freezer and put it back in in a somewhat more organised fashion.
Outside: Did a bit of spa pool maintenance.
Admin: Did a little bit of work on my taxes.
posted by inexorably_forward at 1:33 AM on March 13 [2 favorites]
12 Mar:
- Started on our taxes.
- Finished moving websites to the new server.
posted by mmoncur at 6:26 AM on March 13 [2 favorites]
- Started on our taxes.
- Finished moving websites to the new server.
posted by mmoncur at 6:26 AM on March 13 [2 favorites]
Thanks for the kudos and congrats to notoriety public!
- taking care of estate stuff - this is a big project, so this is going to take a while
- took care of dishes this morning
- laundry needs to be taken care of completely
- medium project is making my desk/office area nice and organized - currently it's a complete mess
posted by toastyk at 7:14 AM on March 13 [4 favorites]
- taking care of estate stuff - this is a big project, so this is going to take a while
- took care of dishes this morning
- laundry needs to be taken care of completely
- medium project is making my desk/office area nice and organized - currently it's a complete mess
posted by toastyk at 7:14 AM on March 13 [4 favorites]
Good job, everyone!
I fell last Friday and busted open an eyebrow and got it sutured. Today I got the sutures removed, but I still can't swim for another week. My pool has been closed this week, so that's good timing, in a way.
No swimming means I can attend to other areas of life. Today, I faced and did hugely bad scary administrative things.
Scary notwithstanding, I continue to feel the peace of and ease of a largely decluttered, pretty organized, and decorated apartment. I've done the best I can with what I have had to work with.
There are still plenty of blips with that, plus lots of dust!
posted by jgirl at 8:58 AM on March 13 [5 favorites]
I fell last Friday and busted open an eyebrow and got it sutured. Today I got the sutures removed, but I still can't swim for another week. My pool has been closed this week, so that's good timing, in a way.
No swimming means I can attend to other areas of life. Today, I faced and did hugely bad scary administrative things.
Scary notwithstanding, I continue to feel the peace of and ease of a largely decluttered, pretty organized, and decorated apartment. I've done the best I can with what I have had to work with.
There are still plenty of blips with that, plus lots of dust!
posted by jgirl at 8:58 AM on March 13 [5 favorites]
Oh no, sorry to hear it, jgirl - having done similar, it's no fun, but I hope you're feeling better and the swim rest helps you have energy to get at the swimming when you can. And go you for doing hugely bad scary administrative things!
I visited elderly friend in the hospital for a couple hours on Tuesday and so haven't gotten back. I found a bunch of CDs labeled with family photos I'd feared lost, now just need to see if I can't get them up on an old laptop with a cd drive and upload them to the web. And today I have done laundry, dishwasher unload, some PT, called other elderly friend to see if we're still on for a visit tomorrow, logged nutrition. Am groggy from a much-needed post daylight savings nap, but maybe if I tell y'all about it I'll call mom about her homebuyer saying she's pre-approved ("they just want to see my March paystubs"... I'm not sure if that's really fully pre-approved) and pick up scripts from the pharmacy.
posted by ldthomps at 12:45 PM on March 13 [5 favorites]
I visited elderly friend in the hospital for a couple hours on Tuesday and so haven't gotten back. I found a bunch of CDs labeled with family photos I'd feared lost, now just need to see if I can't get them up on an old laptop with a cd drive and upload them to the web. And today I have done laundry, dishwasher unload, some PT, called other elderly friend to see if we're still on for a visit tomorrow, logged nutrition. Am groggy from a much-needed post daylight savings nap, but maybe if I tell y'all about it I'll call mom about her homebuyer saying she's pre-approved ("they just want to see my March paystubs"... I'm not sure if that's really fully pre-approved) and pick up scripts from the pharmacy.
posted by ldthomps at 12:45 PM on March 13 [5 favorites]
And, per usual, just posting to y'all here also got me to do a thing, so reimbursement email for mom care submitted, thanks for your help, all! :)
posted by ldthomps at 1:06 PM on March 13 [4 favorites]
posted by ldthomps at 1:06 PM on March 13 [4 favorites]
It's wonderful that you found the photos, ldthomps! On Tuesday, my cousin from "up home" told me he had just shipped a box of old photos and postcards to me. "That should keep you busy for a while."
About eight years ago, I spend a week with him and his wife to go through a massive amount of documents, photos, crafts, and jewelry. And now more!
posted by jgirl at 1:06 PM on March 13 [4 favorites]
About eight years ago, I spend a week with him and his wife to go through a massive amount of documents, photos, crafts, and jewelry. And now more!
posted by jgirl at 1:06 PM on March 13 [4 favorites]
Oh no jgirl! I hope you did not sustain other injuries and that you heal okay.
For everyone facing the hard, scary, horrible, no good paperwork/admin stuff: all the good thoughts.
It helps and inspires me to hear what other people are doing, no matter what. Thank you all.
Today I spent 10 minutes tidying in the kitchen, went to an appointment, ran two quick errands, and then didn’t go to my 3:30 appointment because I had written it down wrong. Again. But I can go tomorrow instead so that’s good.
Came home, niece was visiting and then we took her to dinner. A delicious dinner!
Doubt I will accomplish anything before bed. No, wait, I’ll go fill up my weekly morning pillbox right now before I forget!
posted by kyraU2 at 5:36 PM on March 13 [7 favorites]
For everyone facing the hard, scary, horrible, no good paperwork/admin stuff: all the good thoughts.
It helps and inspires me to hear what other people are doing, no matter what. Thank you all.
Today I spent 10 minutes tidying in the kitchen, went to an appointment, ran two quick errands, and then didn’t go to my 3:30 appointment because I had written it down wrong. Again. But I can go tomorrow instead so that’s good.
Came home, niece was visiting and then we took her to dinner. A delicious dinner!
Doubt I will accomplish anything before bed. No, wait, I’ll go fill up my weekly morning pillbox right now before I forget!
posted by kyraU2 at 5:36 PM on March 13 [7 favorites]
14th Mar:
No tasks today; helped a friend move house. In spite of the large amount of furniture wiggling through narrow doorways, much of which required multiple attempts at different angles, somehow there was no screaming, bleeding, or broken doors. Hooray for us!
There's still plenty to move but no hard deadline unless the old place suddenly sells, and most of the pieces that require helpers are done, so they can be pretty chill about the rest.
posted by inexorably_forward at 2:21 AM on March 14 [4 favorites]
No tasks today; helped a friend move house. In spite of the large amount of furniture wiggling through narrow doorways, much of which required multiple attempts at different angles, somehow there was no screaming, bleeding, or broken doors. Hooray for us!
There's still plenty to move but no hard deadline unless the old place suddenly sells, and most of the pieces that require helpers are done, so they can be pretty chill about the rest.
posted by inexorably_forward at 2:21 AM on March 14 [4 favorites]
The new passport showed up today already. I guess online renewal really is the way to go.
posted by notoriety public at 5:07 PM on March 14 [2 favorites]
posted by notoriety public at 5:07 PM on March 14 [2 favorites]
Wow that was fast turnaround on the passport!
Glad the moving went well, inexorably_forward. Mr Kyra and I will be helping a niece and nephew move soon and I hope we also avoid injury.
Today I pulled a few weeds, went for a walk, paid a couple of bills, and went to an appointment. Also work.
posted by kyraU2 at 6:08 PM on March 14 [4 favorites]
Glad the moving went well, inexorably_forward. Mr Kyra and I will be helping a niece and nephew move soon and I hope we also avoid injury.
Today I pulled a few weeds, went for a walk, paid a couple of bills, and went to an appointment. Also work.
posted by kyraU2 at 6:08 PM on March 14 [4 favorites]
Picked up prescriptions today, took chocolate and a sister to elderly friend in hospice yesterday, sneakily purchased as well as picked up lunch for them. Still need to finish PT for today, but was thrilled to get out for a little bikeride after socializing with friends and feeding them lunch at ours. Still didn't take things to the city proper disposal (mercury thermometer, etc) - maybe Tuesday!
posted by ldthomps at 3:57 PM on March 15 [3 favorites]
posted by ldthomps at 3:57 PM on March 15 [3 favorites]
I did a cleaning pass through of the main floor of the house this morning. Vacuuming, dishes, general cleanup, including cleaning the foster room to get it ready for new occupancy. Also opened up the windows in the house, because we're having another unseasonably warm day, and windy to boot! Good airflow.
All this was prompted by the guests who came this morning to deliver Jeremy (cat tax), my new foster cat. They are active cat rescuers in my neighborhood, the same ones who originally rescued Burt back in January. We joke that they are in the recruitment department, while I do occupational training. Jeremy is likely to be another easy one. He's very sociable, with incredibly soft fur. Much more chill than Burt, which I am guessing is an indicator that he's older.
Ran to Target to get a couple of things, then took a nap in Jeremy's room because it's lovely napping weather with the breezes from outside. He stayed sacked out by my legs the whole time.
posted by notoriety public at 4:01 PM on March 15 [6 favorites]
All this was prompted by the guests who came this morning to deliver Jeremy (cat tax), my new foster cat. They are active cat rescuers in my neighborhood, the same ones who originally rescued Burt back in January. We joke that they are in the recruitment department, while I do occupational training. Jeremy is likely to be another easy one. He's very sociable, with incredibly soft fur. Much more chill than Burt, which I am guessing is an indicator that he's older.
Ran to Target to get a couple of things, then took a nap in Jeremy's room because it's lovely napping weather with the breezes from outside. He stayed sacked out by my legs the whole time.
posted by notoriety public at 4:01 PM on March 15 [6 favorites]
Jeremy is adorable!!!
No tasks today. Spent the day helping niece and nephew clean/declutter/organize the house they are moving into. We got through maybe half of the kitchen. The previous owners (nephew’s parents: alive and well and disorganized) basically left most of their Stuff behind.
Also, the house has not been cleaned to even a bare minimum standard of hygiene in years, and I’m not fussy or easily bothered, but my dust allergies certainly were!! Tomorrow: more of the same.
posted by kyraU2 at 5:59 PM on March 15 [3 favorites]
No tasks today. Spent the day helping niece and nephew clean/declutter/organize the house they are moving into. We got through maybe half of the kitchen. The previous owners (nephew’s parents: alive and well and disorganized) basically left most of their Stuff behind.
Also, the house has not been cleaned to even a bare minimum standard of hygiene in years, and I’m not fussy or easily bothered, but my dust allergies certainly were!! Tomorrow: more of the same.
posted by kyraU2 at 5:59 PM on March 15 [3 favorites]
Oh, good luck, Kyra! May the house sparkle when you all are done.
I always like to do a good clean when I move in somewhere. Of course, it's easiest if it's empty!
posted by inexorably_forward at 10:20 PM on March 15 [1 favorite]
I always like to do a good clean when I move in somewhere. Of course, it's easiest if it's empty!
posted by inexorably_forward at 10:20 PM on March 15 [1 favorite]
I forgot my wallet today and was unable to pay for niece’s birthday luncheon!
posted by kyraU2 at 4:56 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]
posted by kyraU2 at 4:56 PM on March 16 [1 favorite]
Oh, no, Kyra! I have just compiled and sent info on complicated financial thing I didn't want to do. I also set up my new computer speakers and filed a bunch of paperwork.
posted by nuclear bessel at 5:49 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]
posted by nuclear bessel at 5:49 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]
Thank you, inexorably_forward.
The house is a little cleaner after two days’ work by four people. We made one room as clean as possible and also significant progress on the kitchen.
Ugh.
GSD for myself today: got gas, wiped down the bathroom, cleaned up an icky spill in the fridge. Looked at weeds.
posted by kyraU2 at 7:53 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]
The house is a little cleaner after two days’ work by four people. We made one room as clean as possible and also significant progress on the kitchen.
Ugh.
GSD for myself today: got gas, wiped down the bathroom, cleaned up an icky spill in the fridge. Looked at weeds.
posted by kyraU2 at 7:53 PM on March 16 [2 favorites]
*Note to self - encourage daughter to invite friends over more often. She was on a cleaning spree and even made her bed.
Totally forgot that I was scheduled to call a friend over the weekend. Luckily he forgot too.
Uhhh we tried to make dinner and apparently one of our outlets is borked. It took out our Crockpot and the Instantpot.
So now I have to call an electrician today. And buy a new Instantpot. Probably a bigger one.
posted by toastyk at 8:34 AM on March 17 [2 favorites]
Totally forgot that I was scheduled to call a friend over the weekend. Luckily he forgot too.
Uhhh we tried to make dinner and apparently one of our outlets is borked. It took out our Crockpot and the Instantpot.
So now I have to call an electrician today. And buy a new Instantpot. Probably a bigger one.
posted by toastyk at 8:34 AM on March 17 [2 favorites]
I didn't do shit over the weekend and I will be out of town next weekend. Poop. I think I need to not have anything to do all day Saturday or Sunday and I had midday things to do both days. And I'm still low energy from winter so when I get home, it's all "fuck it, television."
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:11 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:11 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
Hi guys-- I'm stuck on clearing/organizing my kitchen.
I have a lot that can be donated--
I think the problem is that donating out kitchenware feels like admitting that I will never use it.
And that feels like I'm not a good adult.
a small speedbump.
posted by calgirl at 11:12 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
I have a lot that can be donated--
I think the problem is that donating out kitchenware feels like admitting that I will never use it.
And that feels like I'm not a good adult.
a small speedbump.
posted by calgirl at 11:12 AM on March 17 [3 favorites]
Calgirl, sorry about your speedbump.
I imagine we all have items that are attached to our ideas of the person we want / wanted to be, or the person that we think everybody else is being (better than we are, of course). I'm not great about getting rid of those items either, but I try to tell myself that if I might use this someday, someone else could use it now.
(This does not always work. But sometimes!)
I had a whole other rant about unreasonable societal expectations around cooking and kitchens, especially for women, but it was getting really long. Suffice it to say that supermarkets are full of semi-prepped foods like bagged salad and premade pizza and rotisserie chicken because people eat them.
posted by inexorably_forward at 12:34 PM on March 17 [3 favorites]
I imagine we all have items that are attached to our ideas of the person we want / wanted to be, or the person that we think everybody else is being (better than we are, of course). I'm not great about getting rid of those items either, but I try to tell myself that if I might use this someday, someone else could use it now.
(This does not always work. But sometimes!)
I had a whole other rant about unreasonable societal expectations around cooking and kitchens, especially for women, but it was getting really long. Suffice it to say that supermarkets are full of semi-prepped foods like bagged salad and premade pizza and rotisserie chicken because people eat them.
posted by inexorably_forward at 12:34 PM on March 17 [3 favorites]
I, too, am finding myself sometimes stymied by what to do with things - a bunch of small shampoos I took from a friend knowing that they might help a shelter, half-used notebooks where I've removed the used pages. A funky lamp made of an old gas cannister I bought online and didn't love as much as I'd expected (and suspect Goodwill might pitch). But I should definitely get together a batch of things for the local Buy Nothing group I joined to see if I can get rid of them.
I did do my hand-washing of undergarments, went to visit other elderly friend yesterday, did some laundry, got groceries, and took a few old family photos out of their frames to store them in less space. Hung a picture I'd been meaning to hang. Scanned one old doc and got it on Ancestry. Yet there are still so many boxes and bags to go through. Progress, not perfection!
posted by ldthomps at 6:42 PM on March 17 [2 favorites]
I did do my hand-washing of undergarments, went to visit other elderly friend yesterday, did some laundry, got groceries, and took a few old family photos out of their frames to store them in less space. Hung a picture I'd been meaning to hang. Scanned one old doc and got it on Ancestry. Yet there are still so many boxes and bags to go through. Progress, not perfection!
posted by ldthomps at 6:42 PM on March 17 [2 favorites]
I didn't have much energy tonight, but I did make dinner and clean up the kitchen after. While I've been cooking reasonable meals lately, they have mostly been extremely cheat-heavy, like using microwave rice bowls instead of actually making rice. I made actual rice today, and did a veggie stir fry. A little bit of stir fry left over, along with a lot of rice, so I intend to stretch it out a couple of days. Leftovers tomorrow and fried rice on Wednesday.
posted by notoriety public at 7:02 PM on March 17 [3 favorites]
posted by notoriety public at 7:02 PM on March 17 [3 favorites]
18th Mar:
Inside: Caught up on dishes and did some vacuuming.
Outside: Took recycling to pickup point.
Admin: Send a stress-inducing email.
posted by inexorably_forward at 3:31 AM on March 18 [2 favorites]
Inside: Caught up on dishes and did some vacuuming.
Outside: Took recycling to pickup point.
Admin: Send a stress-inducing email.
posted by inexorably_forward at 3:31 AM on March 18 [2 favorites]
calgirl, I know what you mean. Cooking and eating can have so much internal judgement around it. Would you think that about someone else though - if they didn't use a particular kitchen utensil, they weren't a good adult?
I've done some things and not others. Donated another bag of my father's books. Kept up with chores more than I usually do. Did a couple of admin things. Did some gardening. Trying to sit on the "but all the things I didn't do!".
posted by paduasoy at 12:35 AM on March 19 [2 favorites]
I've done some things and not others. Donated another bag of my father's books. Kept up with chores more than I usually do. Did a couple of admin things. Did some gardening. Trying to sit on the "but all the things I didn't do!".
posted by paduasoy at 12:35 AM on March 19 [2 favorites]
The last couple of days have involved a bunch more mom admin tasks because it seems like someone hacked her Amazon account (oops, I should have updated the password, like, ever) and sent a gift to a caregiver from 4 years ago. Caregiver was very freaked out and wanted to pay us for the $30 bracelet (that we hadn't paid for because I was able to report the fraud to her credit card). Weirdest, an address for a (20 years dead) guy she knew casually through church choir 50 years ago in another state was added to her Amazon (but not the caregiver, and there was no sign of the order). So credit card is frozen with a new one on the way, all of the autopay things on that card have been switched to another. Plus her new cellphone came and switching that involved multiple service 3-way calls. So I faffed off this afternoon and went for a bikeride.
But I did get electronics, etc to recycle at the city DPW yard yesterday, and failed at visiting elderly friend in the hospital (she was in physio) but saw a mutual friend there and caught up with her, which was nice.
Per usual, reporting in to y'all reminds me that I have a small bag of stuff from mom's safe deposit box to go through and divvy up (brother's birth certificate to go to him, etc) right next to my chair. So hopefully this report yields new progress!
posted by ldthomps at 1:24 PM on March 19 [2 favorites]
But I did get electronics, etc to recycle at the city DPW yard yesterday, and failed at visiting elderly friend in the hospital (she was in physio) but saw a mutual friend there and caught up with her, which was nice.
Per usual, reporting in to y'all reminds me that I have a small bag of stuff from mom's safe deposit box to go through and divvy up (brother's birth certificate to go to him, etc) right next to my chair. So hopefully this report yields new progress!
posted by ldthomps at 1:24 PM on March 19 [2 favorites]
As foretold, yesterday was leftover stir fry and today was fried rice. I deliberately made a lot of rice on Monday so I would have a generous amount to use tonight. Leftover fried rice tomorrow, both breakfast and dinner!
Got foster cat Jeremy's exam and snip scheduled for the 26th. So hopefully by the weekend of the 29th, assuming his SNAP test comes back negative and he recovers cleanly from the surgery, I can let him try to integrate and make some new friends here, until we find him a new family to love him. I think he'll be a fast mover. There are lots of homes that would love a cat as affectionate and chill as he is.
posted by notoriety public at 5:30 PM on March 19 [2 favorites]
Got foster cat Jeremy's exam and snip scheduled for the 26th. So hopefully by the weekend of the 29th, assuming his SNAP test comes back negative and he recovers cleanly from the surgery, I can let him try to integrate and make some new friends here, until we find him a new family to love him. I think he'll be a fast mover. There are lots of homes that would love a cat as affectionate and chill as he is.
posted by notoriety public at 5:30 PM on March 19 [2 favorites]
I’m sorry for everyone who is hitting speed bumps (no matter the size), dealing with fatigue, and all the tasks that are harder than they ought to be (that is one heck of an Amazon story).
I’m always encouraged to read everyone’s comments and thank you for posting.
I am hoping to visit with friends this weekend and get a bit recharged. Work the next 3 weeks will be extra busy so resting up beforehand is appealing. I’m so tired.
It feels as though nothing has been accomplished this week but that’s not accurate. There have been errands, some cooking, laundry, a couple admin phone calls. Definitely more spot cleaning here and there (absolutely a reaction to the House of Awful). Also: work. And refilling the bird feeder! When I leave the house in the mornings for work, I can hear chickadees chirping indignantly at me to get out of their way so they can get back to the feeder (near the front door)!!
posted by kyraU2 at 6:25 PM on March 19 [2 favorites]
I’m always encouraged to read everyone’s comments and thank you for posting.
I am hoping to visit with friends this weekend and get a bit recharged. Work the next 3 weeks will be extra busy so resting up beforehand is appealing. I’m so tired.
It feels as though nothing has been accomplished this week but that’s not accurate. There have been errands, some cooking, laundry, a couple admin phone calls. Definitely more spot cleaning here and there (absolutely a reaction to the House of Awful). Also: work. And refilling the bird feeder! When I leave the house in the mornings for work, I can hear chickadees chirping indignantly at me to get out of their way so they can get back to the feeder (near the front door)!!
posted by kyraU2 at 6:25 PM on March 19 [2 favorites]
20th March:
Inside: Little bit of laundry.
Outside: Little bit of weeding.
Admin: Finished taxes for country A. (Haven't really started country B.)
posted by inexorably_forward at 2:54 AM on March 20 [3 favorites]
Inside: Little bit of laundry.
Outside: Little bit of weeding.
Admin: Finished taxes for country A. (Haven't really started country B.)
posted by inexorably_forward at 2:54 AM on March 20 [3 favorites]
Haven't updated here in a while! I came back from vacation and stumbled around exhausted (and did my job) for a couple of weeks.
Back to work! Found the documents I need to do the taxes. Worked on an RV electrical repair.
posted by mmoncur at 4:26 AM on March 20 [4 favorites]
Back to work! Found the documents I need to do the taxes. Worked on an RV electrical repair.
posted by mmoncur at 4:26 AM on March 20 [4 favorites]
I've been too depressed of late to even keep up with the basic stuff, much less any of the larger house projects. But it looks more and more like we will have to move, again, this year so I really do need to get back to paring down our stuff. If it ever fucking thaws outside I'll get back into that stupid fucking sunroom. (Moving will be a pain for sure but I really dislike this apartment, so it's not all bad.)
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 10:13 AM on March 20 [5 favorites]
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 10:13 AM on March 20 [5 favorites]
Parental admin is unfun, ldthomps. I rang my mother today - she answered by saying "I'm trying not to cry" because of IT problems (difficulties with Sharepoint for some work she's doing). The drama. I've hopefully re-routed that by suggesting she contacts her organisation's IT support. They may or may not get the tears. Your Amazon saga is next level, though - I hope people on Ask can unwind it a bit as those things are always good to understand.
Kyra, your chickadees sound lovely. I'm sorry you are so tired.
notoriety public, thank you for cat fostering! Fried rice sounds good. Don't think I've ever made it.
mmoncur, hello again! Hope the exhaustion has gone off.
inexorably_forward, taxes always impress me.
We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese, I'm so sorry you're having a hard time.
Took two books to charity today. Had a blood test (really hoping it reveals a reason for my own tiredness - sounds like that's a theme for a lot of us at the moment). Finished washing all the various components of the sofa and putting them back together - my cat pees on them. Worked. Letting chores go today and having an early night.
posted by paduasoy at 1:45 PM on March 20 [4 favorites]
Kyra, your chickadees sound lovely. I'm sorry you are so tired.
notoriety public, thank you for cat fostering! Fried rice sounds good. Don't think I've ever made it.
mmoncur, hello again! Hope the exhaustion has gone off.
inexorably_forward, taxes always impress me.
We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese, I'm so sorry you're having a hard time.
Took two books to charity today. Had a blood test (really hoping it reveals a reason for my own tiredness - sounds like that's a theme for a lot of us at the moment). Finished washing all the various components of the sofa and putting them back together - my cat pees on them. Worked. Letting chores go today and having an early night.
posted by paduasoy at 1:45 PM on March 20 [4 favorites]
Great work from all!
I must say my enforced break from swimming hasn't been bad. The apartment is doing well, and it is so soothing and pleasant to look at. It's great to be back to my baseline for it. I have done miserable admin stuff and several job applications so far this week.
The box of photos and cards sent by my cousin included two three-inch stacks of postcards. I whittled it down to one two-inch stack. I threw them in the kitchen wastebasket with only a few qualms. But I made sure they were face down! Some of those could be sold on eBay, but I don't want to mess with it. The oldest are from around 1907. Some of the old ones are very beautiful. The bulk of them were vintage and contemporary postally unused cards; on trips my aunts and uncles would buy postcards for souvenirs. A few photos and documents I will send to my brothers and a lot back to my cousin. He apparently just stuffed the box
Still to come, I have to do the weekly laundry and cleaning, do some monthly cleaning, and more awful admin stuff. And more work on the remaining photos and postcards.
My black eye from the fall has dissipated but is sore to touch, which will make swim goggles challenging. The other incredible bruise is shrinking. I feel better.
posted by jgirl at 4:53 PM on March 20 [3 favorites]
I must say my enforced break from swimming hasn't been bad. The apartment is doing well, and it is so soothing and pleasant to look at. It's great to be back to my baseline for it. I have done miserable admin stuff and several job applications so far this week.
The box of photos and cards sent by my cousin included two three-inch stacks of postcards. I whittled it down to one two-inch stack. I threw them in the kitchen wastebasket with only a few qualms. But I made sure they were face down! Some of those could be sold on eBay, but I don't want to mess with it. The oldest are from around 1907. Some of the old ones are very beautiful. The bulk of them were vintage and contemporary postally unused cards; on trips my aunts and uncles would buy postcards for souvenirs. A few photos and documents I will send to my brothers and a lot back to my cousin. He apparently just stuffed the box
Still to come, I have to do the weekly laundry and cleaning, do some monthly cleaning, and more awful admin stuff. And more work on the remaining photos and postcards.
My black eye from the fall has dissipated but is sore to touch, which will make swim goggles challenging. The other incredible bruise is shrinking. I feel better.
posted by jgirl at 4:53 PM on March 20 [3 favorites]
jgirl, glad to hear you feel better, hope the rest heals up quick. Congrats on the completing some of your terrible admin stuff. Pretty sure I have some of that I need to get to.
ldthomps, every time you report visiting one of your elderly friends I think that is just the greatest thing.
Jeremy cat!
KyraU2, yay for recognizing you DID do lots of things even when your brain tries to tell you otherwise.
I am so behind on this thread and also behind/lagging GSD most of this month.
BUT, yesterday I finally rearranged my bedroom somewhat by cleaning off two tables, taking one table out, and moving over the bed so there is more room in front of the closet so I don’t have to step over dogs. Yay, I had been meaning to do that for ages.
I have been drawing in my sketchbook most nights! This is good, even if it’s not painting.
The whole work transition thing because our company was purchased, is crazy and annoying but I am slightly less worried about my job than I was. More worried about Toki getting older (has new kidney issue, but so far not bad and all bloodwork is good.) And dangit, I just realized that photo was uploaded before it was resized. (Toki right, Stella left)
All you folks are doing so great. Somehow I managed to forget about this thread for a couple weeks but it’s so nice here!
posted by Glinn at 8:06 PM on March 20 [4 favorites]
ldthomps, every time you report visiting one of your elderly friends I think that is just the greatest thing.
Jeremy cat!
KyraU2, yay for recognizing you DID do lots of things even when your brain tries to tell you otherwise.
I am so behind on this thread and also behind/lagging GSD most of this month.
BUT, yesterday I finally rearranged my bedroom somewhat by cleaning off two tables, taking one table out, and moving over the bed so there is more room in front of the closet so I don’t have to step over dogs. Yay, I had been meaning to do that for ages.
I have been drawing in my sketchbook most nights! This is good, even if it’s not painting.
The whole work transition thing because our company was purchased, is crazy and annoying but I am slightly less worried about my job than I was. More worried about Toki getting older (has new kidney issue, but so far not bad and all bloodwork is good.) And dangit, I just realized that photo was uploaded before it was resized. (Toki right, Stella left)
All you folks are doing so great. Somehow I managed to forget about this thread for a couple weeks but it’s so nice here!
posted by Glinn at 8:06 PM on March 20 [4 favorites]
21 Mar:
Inside: Music gear stuff: did some repairish stuff to bass amp, fixed mic stand, sorta-repaired box I carry cables & stuff in. All this was done in a rush because I got a request last night to fill in at a farmers' market gig tomorrow morning. I haven't been gigging regularly the last several years, so when stuff breaks (or sorta-breaks), it's easy to put off dealing with it. Oops, panic time! But I think everything's usable for the morning.
Outside: Pulled a couple of weeds.
Admin: Did a bit of work-related stuff.
posted by inexorably_forward at 2:17 AM on March 21 [4 favorites]
Inside: Music gear stuff: did some repairish stuff to bass amp, fixed mic stand, sorta-repaired box I carry cables & stuff in. All this was done in a rush because I got a request last night to fill in at a farmers' market gig tomorrow morning. I haven't been gigging regularly the last several years, so when stuff breaks (or sorta-breaks), it's easy to put off dealing with it. Oops, panic time! But I think everything's usable for the morning.
Outside: Pulled a couple of weeds.
Admin: Did a bit of work-related stuff.
posted by inexorably_forward at 2:17 AM on March 21 [4 favorites]
inexorably_forward - congrats on the gig! Hope it's fun!
posted by Glinn at 10:49 AM on March 21 [2 favorites]
posted by Glinn at 10:49 AM on March 21 [2 favorites]
Made two phone calls I have been putting off.
posted by nuclear bessel at 3:22 PM on March 21 [4 favorites]
posted by nuclear bessel at 3:22 PM on March 21 [4 favorites]
I somehow completely failed to realize that the gig was an actual musical gig, until rereading it just now. I thought you had just volunteered to, like, help staff a booth at a farmer's market or something. I hope you rock it like a hurricane, or whatever other meteorological phenomenon you might prefer to personify.
posted by notoriety public at 7:03 PM on March 21 [3 favorites]
posted by notoriety public at 7:03 PM on March 21 [3 favorites]
Thanks! A hurricane is a fine meteorological phenomenon to personify, and I think I might have been sweating enough to be a hurricane. It was a chilly morning loading up the car but it turned hot and I was just dripping. It was fun, though.
Then in the evening I had people over for an equinox party so it was a very busy day. Today I've just been eating party leftovers and bingewatching Midsomer Murders on Tubi.
posted by inexorably_forward at 2:51 AM on March 23 [6 favorites]
Then in the evening I had people over for an equinox party so it was a very busy day. Today I've just been eating party leftovers and bingewatching Midsomer Murders on Tubi.
posted by inexorably_forward at 2:51 AM on March 23 [6 favorites]
Glad the gig was fun, and going outside is good for everyone! Thank goodness for my dogs or I’d do that a lot less.
Fun is the opposite of what I had reading a couple news headlines this morning.
BUT, I got off my butt, vacuumed and then CLEANED the vacuum - which maybe I emptied once like a year ago oops.
Did the dishes and started some laundry and still sketching everyday.
Oh, and how could I forget a very thorough cleaning of much of the kitchen which I really did not have any choice about. Details below.
The mouse situation.
WARNING-DO NOT READ FURTHER if you don’t want to hear about sad animal news OR the kindly treatment of “vermin”.
The peppermint stuff that worked last year failed to work, so I got one of those metal box traps. The evening before I set the box trap, I came home to an unintended tragedy - dead mouse floating in a large pot half filled with water in my sink. Sad and majorly unsanitary to boot. (Also since they come out at night, I wonder if I could have saved it if I looked in my sink before leaving for work that day. Better than death by glue trap, but drowning ugh.) :(
So I set the mouse trap and later that night, not one but TWO additional mice, which is sort of great news because I relocated them together in their new strange, but nice, place with lots of tree cover, undergrowth and a pond. It is their best chance. I don’t know if they are aware of the death of the third - or whether it was friend or foe. I could not tell you if any were younger, they were all so small they could curl up in a hollow golf ball.
./the end
posted by Glinn at 9:15 AM on March 23 [4 favorites]
Fun is the opposite of what I had reading a couple news headlines this morning.
BUT, I got off my butt, vacuumed and then CLEANED the vacuum - which maybe I emptied once like a year ago oops.
Did the dishes and started some laundry and still sketching everyday.
Oh, and how could I forget a very thorough cleaning of much of the kitchen which I really did not have any choice about. Details below.
The mouse situation.
WARNING-DO NOT READ FURTHER if you don’t want to hear about sad animal news OR the kindly treatment of “vermin”.
The peppermint stuff that worked last year failed to work, so I got one of those metal box traps. The evening before I set the box trap, I came home to an unintended tragedy - dead mouse floating in a large pot half filled with water in my sink. Sad and majorly unsanitary to boot. (Also since they come out at night, I wonder if I could have saved it if I looked in my sink before leaving for work that day. Better than death by glue trap, but drowning ugh.) :(
So I set the mouse trap and later that night, not one but TWO additional mice, which is sort of great news because I relocated them together in their new strange, but nice, place with lots of tree cover, undergrowth and a pond. It is their best chance. I don’t know if they are aware of the death of the third - or whether it was friend or foe. I could not tell you if any were younger, they were all so small they could curl up in a hollow golf ball.
./the end
posted by Glinn at 9:15 AM on March 23 [4 favorites]
Ooof, sorry about the mouse situation, Glinn! I hope relocating those two will solve the problems. I've had a mouse drowning, too, and it's icky and sad and not what anyone wants. May the mice go happily live outside (or become fox snacks or something more natural outside).
Congrats on the gig going well, i_f, and a good party! Sounds like a good weekend all around.
And I'm so glad your apartment is back to feeling like home after the months of disruption, jgirl, and that you've used your break from swimming so well!
I have a cold, and thus am unmotivated, but perhaps today I will call one elderly friend to explain why I haven't been by, and do a little ancestral photo sorting.
posted by ldthomps at 9:54 AM on March 23 [4 favorites]
Congrats on the gig going well, i_f, and a good party! Sounds like a good weekend all around.
And I'm so glad your apartment is back to feeling like home after the months of disruption, jgirl, and that you've used your break from swimming so well!
I have a cold, and thus am unmotivated, but perhaps today I will call one elderly friend to explain why I haven't been by, and do a little ancestral photo sorting.
posted by ldthomps at 9:54 AM on March 23 [4 favorites]
Wow, I guess it is the equinox already, huh. Every year, I am never sure how I'm gonna make it through the winter. But somehow I made it again this year! This year was a particularly tough one. While winter in Chicago isn't always over by this point, at least the days are finally getting longer and we're mostly past the point of the really nasty cold.
Minor GSD- I cleaned my toilet! A small thing but a morale boost all the same. Also just got something working in my hobby project which I'd been banging my head on for a while, so I can finally move on to another piece of it.
posted by notoriety public at 1:11 PM on March 23 [4 favorites]
Minor GSD- I cleaned my toilet! A small thing but a morale boost all the same. Also just got something working in my hobby project which I'd been banging my head on for a while, so I can finally move on to another piece of it.
posted by notoriety public at 1:11 PM on March 23 [4 favorites]
Monster grocery shop. That is all.
posted by nuclear bessel at 4:40 PM on March 23 [4 favorites]
posted by nuclear bessel at 4:40 PM on March 23 [4 favorites]
nuclear bessel, in my head, I'm picturing Grover and Cookie Monster and various Sesame Street monster Muppets pushing a grocery cart. Thank you for that.
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 5:26 PM on March 23 [6 favorites]
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 5:26 PM on March 23 [6 favorites]
In an attempt to do better for the weekend than "minor GSD", I vacuumed the basement, including the basement couch (it's very popular with the cats), took out all the garbage and recycling, and wiped down the kitchen stove. I also forgot to mention sweeping the stairs earlier in the weekend, which was pretty overdue.
Also ordered a folding twin bed frame and folding twin bed mattress, to step up my foster room sleeping setup. I had been using a folding single mattress just on the floor, which isn't very restful, and also not enough width for the fosters to be able to sleep next to me on the mattress. A twin mattress setup should be enough for proper snuggling, but is still modest enough to be able to easily move around between rooms or stash when out of use.
Also ordered a key lockbox to address my constant low grade anxiety about losing my keys and being unable to get into my house because nobody else lives here anymore. I did give a spare key to a nearby friend (the rescuer who hooked me up with both Burt and Jeremy), but she then suggested a lockbox as well, which is just a great idea.
posted by notoriety public at 5:31 PM on March 23 [5 favorites]
Also ordered a folding twin bed frame and folding twin bed mattress, to step up my foster room sleeping setup. I had been using a folding single mattress just on the floor, which isn't very restful, and also not enough width for the fosters to be able to sleep next to me on the mattress. A twin mattress setup should be enough for proper snuggling, but is still modest enough to be able to easily move around between rooms or stash when out of use.
Also ordered a key lockbox to address my constant low grade anxiety about losing my keys and being unable to get into my house because nobody else lives here anymore. I did give a spare key to a nearby friend (the rescuer who hooked me up with both Burt and Jeremy), but she then suggested a lockbox as well, which is just a great idea.
posted by notoriety public at 5:31 PM on March 23 [5 favorites]
All fairly minor here, but that's still something, I guess. Had a blood test, results say thyroid is still too low, plus vitamin d. Arranged another health appt about something else. Chores, made celeriac, cocoanut and lemongrass soup, proof-read my mother's account of my step-father's life, worked, did some of my own research, crocheted. Finch is helping with the daily chores, I think.
posted by paduasoy at 12:35 AM on March 25 [4 favorites]
posted by paduasoy at 12:35 AM on March 25 [4 favorites]
That soup sounds good, paduasoy! And glad the lockbox is helping, notoriety public - I am so glad we've moved to punch-pad locks on most of our doors so I almost never have to worry about keys, though I still have one stashed in the shed Just In Case.
Per usual, telling y'all I'd do something meant I did a bit more (although on the ancestral photo front I mostly just added things to ancestry). The cold turns out to be covid (boo), so I'm taking it very easy, but at least keeping up with basic laundry/dishwasher. Ooh, but yesterday I finally responded to a holiday email from lovely Austrian friends, which I'd been meaning to do for months.
posted by ldthomps at 10:12 AM on March 25 [2 favorites]
Per usual, telling y'all I'd do something meant I did a bit more (although on the ancestral photo front I mostly just added things to ancestry). The cold turns out to be covid (boo), so I'm taking it very easy, but at least keeping up with basic laundry/dishwasher. Ooh, but yesterday I finally responded to a holiday email from lovely Austrian friends, which I'd been meaning to do for months.
posted by ldthomps at 10:12 AM on March 25 [2 favorites]
Much laundry. (No monsters this time, sorry.) Also cleaned the kitchen.
posted by nuclear bessel at 4:24 PM on March 25 [3 favorites]
posted by nuclear bessel at 4:24 PM on March 25 [3 favorites]
Per usual, telling y'all I'd do something meant I did a bit more
Keeping up with basic chores with Covid is overperforming, all by itself!
I hit a nice milestone on my hobby project last night. I got sound card emulation working again! I had it working a couple months ago but I was still using the FPGA card's toy language instead of direct Verilog, and the code was also a terribly organized first draft to boot, so since then I have been redoing the entire design in SystemVerilog (kind of the C++ to Verilog's C), and also making it more organized. Getting the first such emulation feature module working is proof that the whole "emulation feature module" interface works at all!
Going to do some of the groundwork for a second module, real-time clock support. I'm intending to emulate the "No Slot Clock", which as the name indicates, does a clever dodge to avoid taking up one of the slots in the machine. It's actually a shim board, where you pull one of the ROMs on the motherboard and put the shim board in between the socket and the ROM. It works by detecting a clever sequence of memory address reads which would be fantastically unlikely to happen by chance, and when it detects the sequence, it interposes itself and takes over a set number of reads or writes directly instead of the ROM it's sitting in front of ever seeing them.
posted by notoriety public at 5:42 PM on March 25 [4 favorites]
Keeping up with basic chores with Covid is overperforming, all by itself!
I hit a nice milestone on my hobby project last night. I got sound card emulation working again! I had it working a couple months ago but I was still using the FPGA card's toy language instead of direct Verilog, and the code was also a terribly organized first draft to boot, so since then I have been redoing the entire design in SystemVerilog (kind of the C++ to Verilog's C), and also making it more organized. Getting the first such emulation feature module working is proof that the whole "emulation feature module" interface works at all!
Going to do some of the groundwork for a second module, real-time clock support. I'm intending to emulate the "No Slot Clock", which as the name indicates, does a clever dodge to avoid taking up one of the slots in the machine. It's actually a shim board, where you pull one of the ROMs on the motherboard and put the shim board in between the socket and the ROM. It works by detecting a clever sequence of memory address reads which would be fantastically unlikely to happen by chance, and when it detects the sequence, it interposes itself and takes over a set number of reads or writes directly instead of the ROM it's sitting in front of ever seeing them.
posted by notoriety public at 5:42 PM on March 25 [4 favorites]
Okay, since it's almost April I think I need to sign up for then. Is that post up?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:15 AM on March 26 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 9:15 AM on March 26 [1 favorite]
I've put April's up. IRL is funny about when it displays events based on their start date. If I put the start date as 1st April, it disappears from the listing after that date. I contacted the mods about this in January and ended up going with the 15th of the month. But it is the thread for the month, starting on the 1st. (If anyone has a better way to do this so it shows up in IRL for as long as possible, please say!)
I mentioned the threads over in MetaTalk, Regular and semi-regular MeFi clubs?, so it can go on the list of events and activities. I described it there as "Premise: Supporting each other to achieve our goals". If anyone has a better form of words, please post here or there.
posted by paduasoy at 11:47 AM on March 26 [3 favorites]
I mentioned the threads over in MetaTalk, Regular and semi-regular MeFi clubs?, so it can go on the list of events and activities. I described it there as "Premise: Supporting each other to achieve our goals". If anyone has a better form of words, please post here or there.
posted by paduasoy at 11:47 AM on March 26 [3 favorites]
My update - chores, work (wrote a proposal for a possible new client, though I think the time slot I have available means it won't work out), wrote a couple of cards for the card club ... that's about it, really. Good to get the chores done, but I think I need to be a bit more interesting or ambitious in my GSD. I'm stuck on a few admin things, too, which I keep putting on the list each day and then not doing. None of them would take more than a few minutes so it's stupid really. Got a couple of major things I should do, too - keep meaning to put slots for them in my diary and then just Not.
posted by paduasoy at 11:53 AM on March 26 [3 favorites]
posted by paduasoy at 11:53 AM on March 26 [3 favorites]
I meant to say I have partly been managing to stay off the internet on Sundays. At least, I have managed to stay off one site which is a huge time sink for me. I want to step this up a bit and get nearer to no internet at all (I'm never going to get there completely, but that's ok).
posted by paduasoy at 2:56 PM on March 26 [2 favorites]
posted by paduasoy at 2:56 PM on March 26 [2 favorites]
Here's the February summary. As before, there are many ways to classify some of these things!
I make it 19 participants (people who commented). There have been 187 comments. In total, I think we did 626 things.
* 116 things fall under decluttering, cleaning, tidying, organising, recycling and throwing things away. Three I particularly liked were "emptied a small basket of ancient junk", putting pencil leads from the junk drawer to use, recycling "a bunch of dad's math journals and about a linear foot of cooking magazines", and "a bunch of 2-minute tasks".
* We did 85 things that I'm grouping under admin, paying bills, email, errands, shopping. This included 5 lots of tax admin, "a big bad scary admin thing", "the one I find Emotionally Taxing", a job application, a will, and sorting IT problems.
* We donated 53 bags and boxes of stuff, "made a noticeable dent".
* We did 48 lots of laundry.
* We did 45 lots of socialising, communication with friends or family, and writing letters or cards or giving presents.
* We did 44 creative things: art, craft, music, research, including 17 sessions creating or editing videos, "We improvised a cheesy bad scene and it was glorious", tap class, music practice, working on lines.
* We cooked 30 things, including stir fry tofu, delicious goo, a meal to eat with a friend, two salad dressings, a white bean dish, pork loin, slow cooker ropa vieja with flank steak, candied pecans, pasta salad, stock, pear chutney and taco soup.
* We did 26 things to do with animals: cats, dogs, birds. A kitten moved in!
* We did 23 cultural things - reading, listening to music or the radio, going to a talk, theatre and film, museums.
* We had 22 health appointments. Several people were injured or unwell.
* We did 22 lots of DIY. One person had a bad time with renovations to their apartment.
* 20 sessions of exercise or walks.
* 19 lots of washing up / doing the dishes.
* 13 lots of caring responsibilities.
* 12 references to work.
* 11 lots of gardening.
* 8 sessions of napping, being on go slow, doing nothing.
* 5 lots of moving furniture.
* 5 organisational plans were made.
* 4 mentions of using Finch.
* 3 lost things were found.
* The news was avoided 3 times.
* There were 2 dentist visits.
* Two tough conversations.
Things mentioned just once included: eating dinner, "knocked out some big ticket items", made a list (this may be the most under-recorded item!), made mint tea, moved primary living space (!), shellfishing and going to bed on time.
This was the January summary.
posted by paduasoy at 3:21 AM on March 27 [4 favorites]
I make it 19 participants (people who commented). There have been 187 comments. In total, I think we did 626 things.
* 116 things fall under decluttering, cleaning, tidying, organising, recycling and throwing things away. Three I particularly liked were "emptied a small basket of ancient junk", putting pencil leads from the junk drawer to use, recycling "a bunch of dad's math journals and about a linear foot of cooking magazines", and "a bunch of 2-minute tasks".
* We did 85 things that I'm grouping under admin, paying bills, email, errands, shopping. This included 5 lots of tax admin, "a big bad scary admin thing", "the one I find Emotionally Taxing", a job application, a will, and sorting IT problems.
* We donated 53 bags and boxes of stuff, "made a noticeable dent".
* We did 48 lots of laundry.
* We did 45 lots of socialising, communication with friends or family, and writing letters or cards or giving presents.
* We did 44 creative things: art, craft, music, research, including 17 sessions creating or editing videos, "We improvised a cheesy bad scene and it was glorious", tap class, music practice, working on lines.
* We cooked 30 things, including stir fry tofu, delicious goo, a meal to eat with a friend, two salad dressings, a white bean dish, pork loin, slow cooker ropa vieja with flank steak, candied pecans, pasta salad, stock, pear chutney and taco soup.
* We did 26 things to do with animals: cats, dogs, birds. A kitten moved in!
* We did 23 cultural things - reading, listening to music or the radio, going to a talk, theatre and film, museums.
* We had 22 health appointments. Several people were injured or unwell.
* We did 22 lots of DIY. One person had a bad time with renovations to their apartment.
* 20 sessions of exercise or walks.
* 19 lots of washing up / doing the dishes.
* 13 lots of caring responsibilities.
* 12 references to work.
* 11 lots of gardening.
* 8 sessions of napping, being on go slow, doing nothing.
* 5 lots of moving furniture.
* 5 organisational plans were made.
* 4 mentions of using Finch.
* 3 lost things were found.
* The news was avoided 3 times.
* There were 2 dentist visits.
* Two tough conversations.
Things mentioned just once included: eating dinner, "knocked out some big ticket items", made a list (this may be the most under-recorded item!), made mint tea, moved primary living space (!), shellfishing and going to bed on time.
This was the January summary.
posted by paduasoy at 3:21 AM on March 27 [4 favorites]
I wanted to repost a few February comments that particularly spoke to me:
* "There are days when things get crossed off lists, days when lists don’t get written, and days when the idea of penning a list is overwhelming. Sometimes NOTHING is just fine." (Kyra)
* "it’s unpleasant to feel “stuck,” and I imagine we have all been there. And yet, we persist as best we can." (Kyra again)
* "it actually looks like a normal person's bookcase back there!" (jenfullmoon)
* "But, it can get better. Never gonna be like everyone else, but can be happy sometimes." (Glinn)
* "3 days will have to do sometimes. I think that is fine." (Glinn again)
* "I am so glad we are all in one anothers' corner." (jgirl)
* "someone's gotta do this stuff, and that someone is me. I rest a lot." (jgirl again)
* "The value of an organized home was evinced on Thursday evening when a friend called and said she was a block or so away and had some refreshment. I was glad to have things in order". (jgirl again)
* "Made a list of things I need to do tomorrow morning. Sometimes that's as far as it gets." (inexorably_forward)
* "done a Lot of adulting" (ldthomps)
* The references to cascade tasks, which was a concept I hadn't come across before.
* "It is amazing to me how much space those tasks take up in my brain and yet how little time they take once I actually get down to them." (nuclear bessel)
* Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer's touching comment about releasing baby clothes.
posted by paduasoy at 3:29 AM on March 27 [8 favorites]
* "There are days when things get crossed off lists, days when lists don’t get written, and days when the idea of penning a list is overwhelming. Sometimes NOTHING is just fine." (Kyra)
* "it’s unpleasant to feel “stuck,” and I imagine we have all been there. And yet, we persist as best we can." (Kyra again)
* "it actually looks like a normal person's bookcase back there!" (jenfullmoon)
* "But, it can get better. Never gonna be like everyone else, but can be happy sometimes." (Glinn)
* "3 days will have to do sometimes. I think that is fine." (Glinn again)
* "I am so glad we are all in one anothers' corner." (jgirl)
* "someone's gotta do this stuff, and that someone is me. I rest a lot." (jgirl again)
* "The value of an organized home was evinced on Thursday evening when a friend called and said she was a block or so away and had some refreshment. I was glad to have things in order". (jgirl again)
* "Made a list of things I need to do tomorrow morning. Sometimes that's as far as it gets." (inexorably_forward)
* "done a Lot of adulting" (ldthomps)
* The references to cascade tasks, which was a concept I hadn't come across before.
* "It is amazing to me how much space those tasks take up in my brain and yet how little time they take once I actually get down to them." (nuclear bessel)
* Nancy_LockIsLit_Palmer's touching comment about releasing baby clothes.
posted by paduasoy at 3:29 AM on March 27 [8 favorites]
Today - chores, vacuumed (and put a task on Finch to do it regularly), insurance paperwork, put four of my father's books on eBay, did a walk with my sister and her dog.
posted by paduasoy at 5:03 PM on March 27 [2 favorites]
posted by paduasoy at 5:03 PM on March 27 [2 favorites]
Paduasoy, thank you for your summary, and for the time and effort you put into it.
Also thanks to everyone for all their posts. I know I am repeating myself, but it truly helps.
Besides work, in the past week or so I am pleased I:
Made a difficult phone call to arrange an appointment, scheduled two other appointments, visited with two sets of friends this past weekend, and cooked dinner twice when I really didn’t want to. I also wrote an overdue email to a friend.
Also: work.
I went for a walk today; things are starting to bloom and it was warmer and more walks are a good idea. Watch this space.
posted by kyraU2 at 7:31 PM on March 27 [4 favorites]
Also thanks to everyone for all their posts. I know I am repeating myself, but it truly helps.
Besides work, in the past week or so I am pleased I:
Made a difficult phone call to arrange an appointment, scheduled two other appointments, visited with two sets of friends this past weekend, and cooked dinner twice when I really didn’t want to. I also wrote an overdue email to a friend.
Also: work.
I went for a walk today; things are starting to bloom and it was warmer and more walks are a good idea. Watch this space.
posted by kyraU2 at 7:31 PM on March 27 [4 favorites]
In the past week since I posted last Thursday, I've done laundry, sent a job application responding to a call for CVs during a bid process, took some fruit to a post-surgical friend and took a long walk back that took me through a cherry-blossom-clad park, and did unpleasant administrative stuff.
I also went to my first swim practice since February 17. It was only my fourth time in the water since that date. For the entire practice, we did hard drills for one stroke, and it wiped me out. The walk did, too. I have an ambitious lineup planned for a meet that is coming all too soon, so I need to work up to it. I completely messed up the date for my other activity's yearly memorial for departed members. I really wanted to go because I am always too wiped for the monthly meetings. I need to really focus on getting my planner and my iCal correct.
It's time for weekly cleaning, finishing the monthly cleaning, and food shopping. I won't have much time for those things as I have a retreat tomorrow. That is a definitely needed GSD Thing! I nearly forgot about that, too. I should start looking at the family materials my cousin sent and sort them further.
I continue to feel the peace and ease of my dwelling, against all conceivable logic vis-à-vis the rest of my life!
posted by jgirl at 10:53 AM on March 28 [3 favorites]
I also went to my first swim practice since February 17. It was only my fourth time in the water since that date. For the entire practice, we did hard drills for one stroke, and it wiped me out. The walk did, too. I have an ambitious lineup planned for a meet that is coming all too soon, so I need to work up to it. I completely messed up the date for my other activity's yearly memorial for departed members. I really wanted to go because I am always too wiped for the monthly meetings. I need to really focus on getting my planner and my iCal correct.
It's time for weekly cleaning, finishing the monthly cleaning, and food shopping. I won't have much time for those things as I have a retreat tomorrow. That is a definitely needed GSD Thing! I nearly forgot about that, too. I should start looking at the family materials my cousin sent and sort them further.
I continue to feel the peace and ease of my dwelling, against all conceivable logic vis-à-vis the rest of my life!
posted by jgirl at 10:53 AM on March 28 [3 favorites]
Yes, thank you for the summaries and organizing, paduasoy, both are much appreciated! I'm feeling almost 100% even though I first had covid symptoms last Saturday, and deeply grateful - I definitely remember a much longer period of fatigue, etc when I had it in 2022.
I started doing a little work on a volunteer project, made a half-hearted attempt at more genealogy sorting, took 2 bags of shoes to the clothes recycling bins, and am also looking forward to getting out in the increasingly nicer weather.
posted by ldthomps at 12:00 PM on March 28 [3 favorites]
I started doing a little work on a volunteer project, made a half-hearted attempt at more genealogy sorting, took 2 bags of shoes to the clothes recycling bins, and am also looking forward to getting out in the increasingly nicer weather.
posted by ldthomps at 12:00 PM on March 28 [3 favorites]
I missed the part about Covid, ldthomps. I’m glad it was a milder case than last time.
Today: work, wrote an admin email, went to the store, now trying to motivate self for walk.
I saw some early (for our area) cherry blossoms today and that was delightful! Also, the new (ish) grocery store that’s convenient to my work commute had the items I was seeking, I got to meet a very cute small doggo in a grocery cart (on its also cute grocery cart dog bed, no less), and learned this store has a DJ play music on Friday and Saturday nights. All these things were good!
posted by kyraU2 at 1:38 PM on March 28 [4 favorites]
Today: work, wrote an admin email, went to the store, now trying to motivate self for walk.
I saw some early (for our area) cherry blossoms today and that was delightful! Also, the new (ish) grocery store that’s convenient to my work commute had the items I was seeking, I got to meet a very cute small doggo in a grocery cart (on its also cute grocery cart dog bed, no less), and learned this store has a DJ play music on Friday and Saturday nights. All these things were good!
posted by kyraU2 at 1:38 PM on March 28 [4 favorites]
Yesterday - rewrote proposal for possible new client; then friend and I gave up on work and went for a walk at the shore. The tide was a long way out. There were particularly good stone textures and bits of building material and pot. Enjoyed it.
Grocery cart dog bed sounds good - what a way to shop!
posted by paduasoy at 1:42 AM on March 29 [3 favorites]
Grocery cart dog bed sounds good - what a way to shop!
posted by paduasoy at 1:42 AM on March 29 [3 favorites]
Oh that sounds like a lovely walk at the shore.
Had nice video chat with world-travelling-friend (now in Osaka), laundry, and started travel research. Spent too much time on travel research. Will need to pace myself better next time!
posted by kyraU2 at 6:38 PM on March 29 [3 favorites]
Had nice video chat with world-travelling-friend (now in Osaka), laundry, and started travel research. Spent too much time on travel research. Will need to pace myself better next time!
posted by kyraU2 at 6:38 PM on March 29 [3 favorites]
I've been pretty much absent from the thread this week but glad to see so many things happening! I've been a bit disorganised and by mid-week the house had become quite a pit but I thought of y'all and managed to pull things together.
I am not naturally tidy, and am not freaked out by other people's untidy spaces, even to moderate hoarder level, but when my own space is visibly cluttered I have difficulty finding that peace and ease that jgirl spoke of. Tidying helps, even when I'm using it to procrastinate about scarier stuff.
notoriety public, your project sounds fascinating!
posted by inexorably_forward at 3:00 AM on March 30 [3 favorites]
I am not naturally tidy, and am not freaked out by other people's untidy spaces, even to moderate hoarder level, but when my own space is visibly cluttered I have difficulty finding that peace and ease that jgirl spoke of. Tidying helps, even when I'm using it to procrastinate about scarier stuff.
notoriety public, your project sounds fascinating!
posted by inexorably_forward at 3:00 AM on March 30 [3 favorites]
30th Mar:
Inside: Caught up on dishes and laundry.
Outside: Pulled a weed.
Admin: Submitted my FBAR.
posted by inexorably_forward at 3:02 AM on March 30 [3 favorites]
Inside: Caught up on dishes and laundry.
Outside: Pulled a weed.
Admin: Submitted my FBAR.
posted by inexorably_forward at 3:02 AM on March 30 [3 favorites]
Hi everyone, hope you're all doing well, and continuing to do all the things. I left off posting for a bit, but I have done the following in the past few weeks:
- medical appts for me and my kid
- switched over a bunch of my Amazon Subscribe & Saves over to the GroveCo because I want to get off Amazon as much as possible
- started reading the Artist's Way and doing the morning pages - I actually did that for a whole week, but I haven't really started on the other stuff yet
- wrote a silly limerick about my cat so maybe it's working? I haven't really written anything for fun in years.
- found a cheaper dupe of the more expensive coffee table I liked, so now I'm deciding if I want to get just the coffee table or buy the set with the side tables
- one of my friends figured out that she doesn't like doing the walking pad, so I am going to ask to take it off her hands
- had a video call with a friend I hadn't seen in a while
- had lunch with two other friends I hadn't seen in a while
posted by toastyk at 7:33 AM on March 30 [4 favorites]
- medical appts for me and my kid
- switched over a bunch of my Amazon Subscribe & Saves over to the GroveCo because I want to get off Amazon as much as possible
- started reading the Artist's Way and doing the morning pages - I actually did that for a whole week, but I haven't really started on the other stuff yet
- wrote a silly limerick about my cat so maybe it's working? I haven't really written anything for fun in years.
- found a cheaper dupe of the more expensive coffee table I liked, so now I'm deciding if I want to get just the coffee table or buy the set with the side tables
- one of my friends figured out that she doesn't like doing the walking pad, so I am going to ask to take it off her hands
- had a video call with a friend I hadn't seen in a while
- had lunch with two other friends I hadn't seen in a while
posted by toastyk at 7:33 AM on March 30 [4 favorites]
I just went through the bin where I throw things to file on my home desk and actually filed a bunch of things. Sure, some of it was haphazard when I didn't have a folder that exactly fit, but! Put some things away (and recycled a bunch, too).
posted by ldthomps at 11:47 AM on March 30 [2 favorites]
posted by ldthomps at 11:47 AM on March 30 [2 favorites]
Wrote and mailed a birthday card. Made a bunch of family calls. Had a Financial Conversation. Made a vacation plan and hotel reservation.
posted by nuclear bessel at 3:14 PM on March 30 [3 favorites]
posted by nuclear bessel at 3:14 PM on March 30 [3 favorites]
I got the No Slot Clock feature working this evening! Spent most of the weekend banging on it. Slept on it overnight and started again fresh today, and was able to work through my design mistakes and get it working.
I also made turkey chili! Not particularly fancy chili, mostly I was just trying to use up a bunch of canned beans that have been in the pantry for ages. Had it for dinner, and packed the leftovers into three containers, two going in the freezer for later, and one to the fridge for leftovers.
posted by notoriety public at 5:27 PM on March 30 [4 favorites]
I also made turkey chili! Not particularly fancy chili, mostly I was just trying to use up a bunch of canned beans that have been in the pantry for ages. Had it for dinner, and packed the leftovers into three containers, two going in the freezer for later, and one to the fridge for leftovers.
posted by notoriety public at 5:27 PM on March 30 [4 favorites]
Am also finding the No Slot Clock description fascinating.
Cleaned bathroom, dusted, laundry, brushed and brushed and brushed cat (spring shedding?), went to a high school musical in support of friend and friend’s kid.
Have a busier work week than usual so made an actual menu plan (or reasonable facsimile).
posted by kyraU2 at 7:13 PM on March 30 [4 favorites]
Cleaned bathroom, dusted, laundry, brushed and brushed and brushed cat (spring shedding?), went to a high school musical in support of friend and friend’s kid.
Have a busier work week than usual so made an actual menu plan (or reasonable facsimile).
posted by kyraU2 at 7:13 PM on March 30 [4 favorites]
31st Mar:
Inside: Kept up with dishes and general tidying.
Outside: Trimmed branch that was growing across end of driveway.
Admin: Did some medical paperwork.
posted by inexorably_forward at 1:06 AM on March 31 [3 favorites]
Inside: Kept up with dishes and general tidying.
Outside: Trimmed branch that was growing across end of driveway.
Admin: Did some medical paperwork.
posted by inexorably_forward at 1:06 AM on March 31 [3 favorites]
I have a lot of March monthly cleaning and last week's weekly cleaning to do. It's really hot in the apartment, and while we expect a cool week, inside will not cool off that soon. So there'll be a delay.
I also have to do laundry, food shop, and carefully look at my planner and my iCal.
I also want to thank Paduasoy for the summary and the quotes. We are doing well, whether we realize it or not! And I am so glad we are all here!
This page was super helpful when I went through all of the "management" madness in my apartment! The building is now suddenly under new "management" but with same staff.
posted by jgirl at 8:59 AM on March 31 [4 favorites]
I also have to do laundry, food shop, and carefully look at my planner and my iCal.
I also want to thank Paduasoy for the summary and the quotes. We are doing well, whether we realize it or not! And I am so glad we are all here!
This page was super helpful when I went through all of the "management" madness in my apartment! The building is now suddenly under new "management" but with same staff.
posted by jgirl at 8:59 AM on March 31 [4 favorites]
Sent Financial Email. Figured out how to use 1Password for 2FA. Backed up device. Ran very minor errand.
posted by nuclear bessel at 2:04 PM on March 31 [4 favorites]
posted by nuclear bessel at 2:04 PM on March 31 [4 favorites]
Testing clear of covid again, I saw friends over the weekend, got to the gym this am, did outside yard work here for the first time this Spring (mostly just clearing storm drains, but!), sent birthday text to my SIL, got mom's aide to fix her landline ringer, took a much-needed nap-rest, got for a bikeride, did most of my PT, and cooked up some brussels sprouts (they're a little overdone/mushy, but veg!). Have a volunteer meeting this evening, but everyone was very positive about the map I'd made for our event, which was nice.
Saw some Spring flowers!
posted by ldthomps at 4:20 PM on March 31 [4 favorites]
Saw some Spring flowers!
posted by ldthomps at 4:20 PM on March 31 [4 favorites]
I tried to clean up my yarn today. I put some of it in boxes and then pooped out. I regret to inform everyone that I am just literally too tired to keep up with the cleaning project. My closets are still too full to hold the things I want to keep, the new bottom closet setup keeps falling apart, and looking at a giant pile of clothes/yarn makes me tired, and trying to pick them up makes me even more tired. BLEAH, but there it is. Added fun with the yarn is that it tangles in itself, so it makes even more of a mess trying to sort it.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:32 PM on March 31 [4 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:32 PM on March 31 [4 favorites]
Sorry about your yarn and closet struggles, jenfullmoon! Sometimes the physical world can be so daunting.
posted by inexorably_forward at 9:37 PM on March 31 [4 favorites]
posted by inexorably_forward at 9:37 PM on March 31 [4 favorites]
Well done, everyone. toastyk, do we need to see the limerick? I had to go to Gloucester yesterday with a colleague (just under twelve-hour turnaround) because of IT problems that my organisation couldn't sort remotely. We were only with IT for ten minutes - hoping it will work when we next logon. We did manage a quick look at Gloucester Cathedral whilst we were there, and I lit a candle for my niece, who is having a hard time (I would like to rant about her situation here, but criminal charges of someone else are finally happening, after three years, so I cannot).
Not sure there is more GSD I can claim for the last few days, except getting through them - I'm tired and chores and admin are a bit overwhelming (dishwasher has just broken). Oh, I did sell on eBay a book from my father's collection, and post it - it's pleasing when they can go to someone who wants them.
posted by paduasoy at 1:35 AM on April 1 [2 favorites]
Not sure there is more GSD I can claim for the last few days, except getting through them - I'm tired and chores and admin are a bit overwhelming (dishwasher has just broken). Oh, I did sell on eBay a book from my father's collection, and post it - it's pleasing when they can go to someone who wants them.
posted by paduasoy at 1:35 AM on April 1 [2 favorites]
jenfullmoon, I'm sorry about your own overwhelm and tiredness. I don't suppose you have a friend who likes untangling things? I used to take wool tangles to a friend and her elderly mother who enjoyed sitting together and sorting it. There is or was a group of people on Ravelry who would volunteer for that, too.
posted by paduasoy at 1:38 AM on April 1 [3 favorites]
posted by paduasoy at 1:38 AM on April 1 [3 favorites]
Oh, I did rewrite a work proposal for a potential new client. They weren't happy with the suggested timescale, so colleague and I reworked it to bring it forward. Not sure whether to hope they accept it or not. We do need the work, but it will be hectic for the next few months if it goes ahead.
posted by paduasoy at 2:02 AM on April 1 [2 favorites]
posted by paduasoy at 2:02 AM on April 1 [2 favorites]
Oh, and did a lot of crochet on the railway journey! Blanket is getting a bit heavy to transport and work on in public now.
posted by paduasoy at 2:04 AM on April 1 [2 favorites]
posted by paduasoy at 2:04 AM on April 1 [2 favorites]
Oh! And I outsourced shopping around for house insurance renewal to my mother, and once she'd done that, I did exert myself to cancel the old one in time. Think I've done more than I thought.
posted by paduasoy at 2:32 AM on April 1 [2 favorites]
posted by paduasoy at 2:32 AM on April 1 [2 favorites]
I have some who do, but at this point they'd have to come into my house and sit on the floor to do it.
I was considering hiring a professional once I hit my limit. I think I've hit my limit, but I'm not sure if I feel comfortable doing that or not. I am theoretically (assuming things go well for her) seeing my friend who hired someone tonight, I can ask her more about it, I suppose.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:38 AM on April 1 [2 favorites]
I was considering hiring a professional once I hit my limit. I think I've hit my limit, but I'm not sure if I feel comfortable doing that or not. I am theoretically (assuming things go well for her) seeing my friend who hired someone tonight, I can ask her more about it, I suppose.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:38 AM on April 1 [2 favorites]
Paduasoy, thanks for the encouragement, but I don't feel comfortable sharing the poem (yet). Maybe when I write a few more things, then I will share something.
jenfullmoon, I would highly encourage you and anyone else, if you can afford it, to hire someone to assist with whatever you need. I currently have a cleaner coming in on a 2x month basis, and it has dropped my stress levels significantly. In addition I've been decluttering a lot, and that has cleared up a lot of space to make things neater and easier to deal with. And if you have kids...well, I've been delegating a few chores we definitely do not like to them. My son loves taking the trash cans to the curb, for example. My daughter takes care of the kitty litter daily. (Do not ask me about how they keep their rooms clean, though. That's a different story.)
Oh, and today, Clutterbug has a new video on ADHD hacks for organizing if anyone needs tips!
posted by toastyk at 9:21 AM on April 1 [3 favorites]
jenfullmoon, I would highly encourage you and anyone else, if you can afford it, to hire someone to assist with whatever you need. I currently have a cleaner coming in on a 2x month basis, and it has dropped my stress levels significantly. In addition I've been decluttering a lot, and that has cleared up a lot of space to make things neater and easier to deal with. And if you have kids...well, I've been delegating a few chores we definitely do not like to them. My son loves taking the trash cans to the curb, for example. My daughter takes care of the kitty litter daily. (Do not ask me about how they keep their rooms clean, though. That's a different story.)
Oh, and today, Clutterbug has a new video on ADHD hacks for organizing if anyone needs tips!
posted by toastyk at 9:21 AM on April 1 [3 favorites]
I will go and GSD by turning over a page on the kitchen wall calendar…
I culled a few books for donation and then thought I would tackle another drawer of the filing cabinet. Ugh. Perhaps not
posted by kyraU2 at 7:04 AM on March 1 [4 favorites]