Moving Monday

[CathyS]

Hi! I'm home after a busy morning.

I decided to stay home from both knitting groups today because I want to make a "Jigg's Dinner" which is a traditional Sunday lunch meal in Newfoundland. My cousin always made it on the day that my dad and later my sister and myself would arrive for a visit. She lives next door to 'our" house in NFLD. Salt beef, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, turnips, parsnips and 1 onion. I was doing some research on this meal last night and there is (usually) 1 full potato, carrot and parsnip cooked for each person expected. 1 website even goes as far to say 1 piece of meat. Salt beef comes in a variety of sizes, so I would think that cooking the entire pail full of beef would just be a better idea. (It's a small pail.)

A cotton bag with 1/2 cup of dried yellow split peas also gets cooked in the same pot. It goes in first and comes out first and is served in a separate dish.

This morning I have taken a part back to one of our suppliers, taken a too-small belt back to W Mart and spent some time at Indigo/Chapters. At some point after the meat goes in, I need to go to the bank and make a deposit.

Before I did all of that, I had a shower and I had to wait for my hair to dry, so I did some paperwork.

Edited to add that the "pail" of meat is 4 pounds.

[lucylee]

Nothing much has MOVED around here since my last post! So embarrassing... dgs didn’t get up until almost 1:00 pm — and only then bc his little sister woke him up!
I still plan to go finish cleaning bathrooms at ddil’s, but I am certainly getting a later start than I intended!

I am just OBSESSED with looking at planners...
and I KNOW that one I told y’all about will bd useless and frustrating to me in about 8 days. As soon as I turn the page to a new week — I’ll feel like I am “behind” and by the end of the first month... it will bd hopeless.
I KNOW the card system works better and is so much more flexible and “forgiving” for my lifestyle...
so why can’t I be satisfied?
It’s like I’m having a midlife crisis with my organization system... sheesh.

[Nancy]

LucyL. I do that in Sept.

My moving has been out to the mail box and back, as well as up and down the stairs several times doing thi s batch pof sewing.
I have unloaded the dishes.
Had lunch.
Dumped trash.
Declawed some on the paper tiger.
Have a plan for dinner.

I need to dust. X
Vacuum upstairs. X

[LadyMaverick]

LucyLee - I totally understand! I love looking at organizational systems. I am always tempted by them but usually can talk myself "off the ledge". On the good side....I usually find myself getting inspired to attempt to implement something they are doing into my own system.

I have used the quiet time this morning to think about, design and implement breaking my SHE card spreadsheet apart so I can track different categories in different ways. I briefly considered tracking all the information in one spreadsheet but it gets really unwieldy with so many different categories and subjects. It isn't finished but I'm pleased with the result so far. I want to use it for a few days and make sure it is going to work how I think it will. I need some experience with using it before I put too much work and time into this design.

I have an idea for an excel formula that I haven't solved. I l-o-v-e figuring out a solution for these types of challenges. I want to see all home maintenance tasks groups by the week due (not just the date due because I want a week view). Within that week's view, I want rooms grouped together so I know all maintenance tasks to be done in each room for that week. I'm probably not explaining it well. My explanation is more complicated than it should be.

[Ramblinrose]

Afternoon...

My day started off early. Was at the gym by 8 then hair cut appointment at 10... love the results. Then over to Wally World because my new contacts are driving me nuts. Same brand I’ve been wearing for 10 years so will go back for a recheck tomorrow at 11:30.

My cell phone has been wonky so took that to Verizon. Battery is only working at 80% and is under warranty plus I have insurance... end result: I’ll have a new phone by tomorrow night free of charge. I’ll take it

Finishing my second cup of coffee at the moment. While at Wally World picked up protein bars, mixed nuts and extra bananas for the trip on Wednesday. Gonna make cheese sandwiches for Sweetie so I know he will have something to eat considering I expect the airport to be packed. Plus though our weather will be fine to travel, I have no idea where our plan is coming from so there could be delays. I’m using the Boy Scout motto... be prepared.

Next up... pack my bag. I have no idea what I plan to wear while traveling so need to get that ready. The rest should be fairly simple... nice jeans and a few tops plus my traveling sweater. I need to try on a few things so I can mix and match my stuff. My son tends to keep his home cool so I am encouraging Sweetie to keep that in mind when he packs.

I just bought myself a new planner, but for me it’s a matter of keeping things simple. A blank monthly calendar. Daily day space to list things and 2 note pages for each month. I’m keeping it in my kitchen so when I get up in the morning I can adjust things while I watch the news and drink my coffee.

It fits my style so I know I will use it. Designed and used a bullet once a year or so ago, but I didn’t use it much. No need for me to design my own when I know this one is perfect for what I need.

[DeeClutter]

And so…...dd, dh and I went to S am's Club early this afternoon. Decided to drive our car since dd is driving to Haines City, back and forth a couple of times and then to Orlando for a hockey game tomorrow about 4. Kinda glad we took our car today. When dd was backing out she checked really carefully and backed (spots are on a slant) and you guessed it and we may have let an expletive slip -both dh and me. BAM!!!! Someone else backed out across the way -but dd was clearly in the right as they once again hit our back bumper. Ended up she has quite a bit more damage than we did. Think we can get ours rubbed out and redone -but we JUST replaced that whole assembly. If dd had been in the wrong she would have hit their side doors (passenger side). But the important thing is we were all okay. DD was trying to hit the horn as she saw this gal coming but couldn't hit it fast enough or go forward fast enough. How many parking lot escapades does that give us here on the board of late?

Stopped on the way back and picked up ribs for the guys, chicken leg barbq for dd and pulled pork for me. It's very good.

The stone dd and dh put down this morning looks great.

[Elizabeth]

Hi everyone! My turkey came out of the freezer yesterday, but I appreciate the reminder posting. I am in frantic prep mode for Thanksgiving on the road. We have to keep flexible on our departure due to possible winter storms in our area. I have made a master list of things that need to be done soon. The ones that can be done in brief payroll breaks have been done. I have been thrown for a loop by the visit of a grad school friend that I will be meeting up with tomorrow. That makes a real dent in my prep time. It doesn't help that it is dark by time I get home and so less easy to pack the camper. All the stuff to take is in a pile by the back door. I have bins and coolers. I got a shower rod and curtain to use as a privacy screen. When Dad travels with us on spring break, I am sure he will appreciate it.

What I will be doing tonight before getting home: delivering a Christmas family present to church, sewing supply purchase, dance class, grocery store. In the unlikely event there is time between sewing supplies and dance, I will get extra cat litter. (It is not a crisis, but needs to be done before leaving). I should do a reasonable job on getting the house in shape in case Tuesday's friend comes over. I need to prepare stuffing and write up pet sitter instructions.

The kittens are now ALWAYS trying to escape into the garage. No carpool this week due to work schedule of one coworker and vacation of the other. No DD for tomorrow, she did not want to be bored with conversations among my grad school friends. A reasonable request. When she told her father she would be with him that evening, it turned out he did not know of the visit. THANK GOODNESS! The friend is staying with the xBFF, so obviously she is coordinating everything. She does not think twice about putting the x and me together because she is still under the delusion that being civil is equivalent to being good friends and enjoying the others' company.

In answer to Harmony's question about the safety of the cats with their owner, I think they are as safe as these people can make them. It turns out the abusive x is well in the past and has not been seen in several years. They really are doing the best they can under the circumstances they live in. Is it ideal? Most assuredly not! The cats are fed regularly, and are obviously well loved. Their situation is far better than that of an unowned or feral cat. I doubt there is money for vet care. The humans are getting medical care from Healthcare for the Homeless. Now she says it will be January before they are able to reclaim them. I will be ok if they never do, but intend to lie low about it. They will either have to sign the cats over to the organization or abandon them with me. If I push, they are likely to take them immediately.

[Harmony]

Elizabeth, I am glad you think the cats will be safe.

Our obsession with systems to help us get organized is because it really is HARD. I'm not so much obsessed with notebook systems, but I never fail to look at containers, file holders, storage boxes, etc. etc. because I think if I can get everything organized neatly into something then it will be easier to keep everything cleaned around them. To some extent that is true, and also if one has an organized system it is easier.

But it really is HARD. I don't have kids here, jobs (well mostly), I'm not cooking or shopping for community meals, etc. etc. and still I can't get ready for this holiday. I've never had this much trouble or worked this hard for a gathering. Know we put regular house maintenance into the mix, but really, I am just stumped why I cannot do this. Everything seems harder and I work slower. (And don't tell anybody but I am more obsessed with what I am doing).

Got about half the jobs done I had in mind for today. Just. Half. The bathroom took 3 times as long as it should have. I touched up some paint way up high and saw some things I don't think I've looked at for as long as we've lived here. I took the valance down and washed and ironed because it was all dusty along the top. Other things like that. I've not been crawling around or just bending down to swipe at something because that is hard for me... and it really shows. Sigh....

Another room to tackle now.

Oh No Dee. So sorry about the accident. It never rains but it pours...

[LadyMaverick]

I've managed to accomplish more SHE cards today than I have in months I have 77 cards completed and think I can accomplish 2-3 more before going to bed.

I cooked myself a healthy lunch and leisurely ate it while watching an episode of the Crown on NetFl*x.

DS11 slept until 2pm so I had no childcare for over half of the day.

[Harmony]

Another room done except for the bed. I am doing extra washings now because....I spilled half a bucket of scrub water on the mattress. On top of the sheets and caught the coverlet and bedspread... and the mattress pad absorbed the rest of the water and fortunately I have a plastic protector on the mattress so that isn't ruined. But I sure didn't need this right now.

LadyM, 77 cards sounds like an awful lot of work. Working our fingers to the bone, we are!