Admit It's April Tuesday

[Harriet]

Yipes! One-fourth the way through 2014! Nooooooooo!

Ya'll watch out for April Foolery out there - everybody's not as easy to get along with as we are!

It's the quarter-mark of the year. Do you know where your projects are? Where is your decluttering project? (Did you leave it lying around somewhere?) Where is your creativity? Where is your fitness? Admit it's April and assess your progress! Monthly threads here, for challenges and encouragement, up and running!

Speaking of progress, I couldn't help but be impressed with these, although I don't know if I'm ready for the technology. Some of us who are more in sync with phones and other devices might appreciate these more. Tomorrow's Phones.

[DeeClutter]

I posted at the same time as Harriet so I'm clearing mine & reposting here. Funny how great minds think almost alike, Harriet. Saw similarities in your post to mine: especially the mention of projects.....

Just wanting to thank all in this village for 'being here' today. How different life is with our little community to come to -whether it's to share, keep us accountable, pleasantly gripe....Our needs and desires here are different every day. Just thanks for being 'home'.

Finding myself with a day all to myself. How did that happen? Thought of a hundred things to do to fill my day. When all is said and done I most likely will stay home and putter all day. One thing I have done is to l&&t a separate (small) project to complete each day. Some are simply sorting out a bin, bag, box, shelf, drawer. Most I can set on the end of my bed as a reminder that that (and only that if I so choose) needs to be done TODAY. In the process I'm also putting aside things that need to be packed for north, but won't necessarily need this month.

If Harriet happens to post I'll just copy and repost in her thread. Good morning everybody!

Lost internet again last night so was hoping it was back on this morning and so far it is.

[Lilac]

Thank you for opening Harriet!

Dh left for his overnight trip yesterday afternoon at 2:30. I proceeded to watch several episodes of Love It or List It on HGTV. At one point dd2 called and twice in mid sentence I dozed off and couldn't remember what I was going to say. Yikes!

So at 5:00 I decided I was going to sew. I need to clean both hutches. I have these rectangles of material, hemmed that I put on each shelf. They are starting to fray and I am sure will be a mess when washed. I have material that matches my dishes (seriously) that I had been planning to replace them with. The shelves are loaded with heavy pottery and I don't want them scratched, so that is why I use them. I have the long ones done. The one hutch has doors at the top with shelves between them. So I need to sew 2 small ones for it and 2 small ones that go on the 2 shelves that sit atop the desk that matches the hutches. Anyway I have been holding off cleaning the hutches until these were done. I need to clean the ceiling fan over the table before I tackle the hutches. As it is, if anyone were to turn that fan on, the amount of dust in the air would bring on an asthma attack and I don't have asthma.

I think I am staying home today, so I am not showering until I finish these and can clean up my sewing mess.

Tomorrow I plan to spend the day at dd2s helping her clean. They close on that house 2 weeks from yesterday. I am beginning to think she won't advertise it until they move. It is impossible for her to keep it ready to show with that amount of people making messes and not cleaning up after themselves.

Guess I better eat and do meds, so I can sew again.

Dee, I agree, this village feels like "home" to me, too.

[BookSaver]

Good morning, villagers ~

This being a new month, today's tasks include
* March financial reports for library group
* other Treasurer's duties for library group
* March financial reports for sewing group
* Neverending battle with paper
* Laundry ... how did I get so far behind?

I wasted some time looking for an account password for a place that gives matching funds for employee donations to the library. Finally gave up and went through their "change password" process. That's when I sort of vaguely remembered deciding 6 months ago not to bother to keep track of the pw (which only gets used once or twice a year) because the process to change it is easy and automated. Thought I was going to be saving time, ended up using more time because I didn't follow my usual routine for documenting username/password. This time I wrote it down.

Supper tonight: We have sour cream that needs to be used up, so tonight we'll have hamburger stroganoff with noodles.

I'm not quite as bothered by the realization that it's already April because we're finally getting some spring temperatures. We're also getting thunderstorms, and it is still possible that we'll get more snow, but there are some days that we can go out without layers of sweaters and winter coat/hat/scarf/gloves. At the end of summer, high temps in the 40s will have us freezing and looking for more coats, but right now a high of 40 only requires a long-sleeve shirt.

Sunday was windy but sunny and warm with a high of 50! We went to the truck stop for a fish sandwich for lunch, and then DH wanted to go for a drive. We went to a park and checked out the lake (still totally frozen and likely to stay icy until May) and camping areas (lots of new spots with electrical hookups). Then DH drove out into the country trying to find an alternate road to get to the lake, but we didn't have a map or gps with us so had to give up when the car started running low on gas. It was just a nice Sunday drive.

I love spring.

[OKay]

Good Morning!

I agree! This place is very much like home to me and I treasure your friendship.

Doing a cut/paste from OneNote journal....

Big Rocks for the day -
** Estimated taxes paid
** Shrub & tree care - move buckets so the weekly watering can be finished for the rest of the newly planted. Plant 10 more.
** LO care - to school, homework, Monday folder processed, T-ball practice.
** Meals -
B: bacon & scrambled eggs. OJ & Milk for DH
L: Chicken salad wraps
D: Ravioli
** Focus = 5am cards and Porch/entry
** find code to open vehicle doors using keypad

===============================

8:01 AM
Getting back on track - falling back into groove of routine schedule.
** LO successfully launched to school with a happy attitude
** Breakfast cooked/served & dishes washed. Have more to wash but ran out of time so they are soaking in hot soapy water.

9:00am
** CFO cards
** 46 cards completed by 9:00am

Next up -
** Focus project area - porch/entry. The weather is cold and gusty wind so not the time to be working outside. I think I will run to local lumber yard and buy some primer for the metal porch columns (5 each). That way I'll be ready to start painting once the weather cooperates.

[Twins' Mom]

Can't believe it's April. Can't believe it's been almost a year since I've worked "outside the home or temple" and I have this little to show for it! Also looking at my OMM li&t from yesterday it feels like I got precious little done there and yet worked pretty hard once I got rolling.

I need to leave in a little more than an hour for a noon meeting, but have the rest of the day available.

-try to set up online banking for a religious school account
-make the bed
-brush teeth et al
-walk dogs
-try to call back the bank guy

[DeeClutter]

Did (both) of my 'projects' for today. Little by little, inch by inch......it's shaping up in here. AND certainly more organized. Now if I can just keep it up when I get "home". My goal up north is to somehow make our deck more user friendly. Want to be able to entertain and eat out there more -without the bees & mosquitoes. So that will take some thinking 'out of the box'. Dh did admit a few weeks ago that he wishes he'd made our deck a little wider -by 2 feet. Would have made a lot of things much easier to accommodate. It's now only 10' wide, but about 40' long. Part of it is not really 'useable' as living space as our living/dining room slide projects out about 3-4'. Do have a couple of white convertible benches (when the back is flipped over, they become a picnic table). Some people have added a 'permanent' structure to their decks by using the permanent metal roof (which we have) and glassing in the sides. But it's very expensive. Not sure what it would cost us to do that on the liveable portion of our deck, but may start investigating. We already have the roof, so would only need 3 sides. (The RV becomes the 4th side). Friends did theirs & it was over $10g to do the whole thing. Sure ours would be close, minus the $4,000 we already have in the permanent roof.

Off to do the dishes and clean up the kitchen. Just remembered that I put all the throw rugs in the washer about an hour ago. Think I'll hang them on the clothes bars on the screened porch.

[Cowinkie]

Morning Y'all..

I have most of my morning routines done, doggies have been fed, footprints were picked up last night. On load of laundry is spinning.

I worked on and completed two of my flower beds yesterday and have one more to go. Sweetie and I went to L owes to pick up a few sprinkler heads so that I can automatically water my flower beds. I am getting ready to work on a third and then I should be finished.

I will be working this Thur and Fri and am looking forwards to that. Tomorrow I plan to do some summer shopping for a few things I need. I found a pair of white sandals the other day so I can cross that off my list. Also just order a white mini-bag that I can use either cross bodied or around my waist. I love being hands free especially when I am traveling or just running errands. I do have bigger hand bags, but since I am no longer working full time, don't use them as much.

Its a bright and sunny day today. Temps will be in the high 70's. Yesterday I stretched out in the sun for a while. Yes I had super sunscreen and a hat on that covered my face and my chest and neck were covered as well. Just felt good to feel the sun and breeze flow over my body for a while. Can put that in the stop-and-smell-the-roses category. I have a daily card for that

Ok, the sun is rising so so must I... Have a great day and Cheerio and all that jazz...........

[DeeClutter]

I'm rolling, rolling, rolling. Just finished the kitchen -even swept it & need to spot mop. Between the sand & what the dog tracks in. She manages to leave lots of black spots on the light ceramic tile. Plus she splashes her water everywhere & tracks that. Otherwise she's an ultra good dog. Even swept our bathroom -need to damp mop that before I put the throw rugs back.

Going to make a grocery run this afternoon. Thinking about making goulash for dinner.

I'm always learning something new -especially when my computer guru (DD) is around. Last night I learned how to easily take a 'screen shot' on my computer. Always seeing recipes on FB and want to save them, but haven't been able to copy them lately. Wallah, now it's easy! 1 or 2 seconds & it's done. Who knew it could be so simple? (Well, dd did, but not me). Think I need to sit in her class for a while.

[Harriet]

Cowinkie reminds me to tell -
I also "laid out" for the first time yesterday. A little less than 10 minutes each "side". I always wear my broad brimmed hat either over my face or covering my hair.

Funny 1 - tried to look up "laundry" on this board. Sorry, the word is too often-used to be searched. LOL
Funny 2 - HRH reports that friends have been messaging him to glance at their favorite MMO (massively multi-player online game) and see - all their characters are now bobble-heads for the duration of April 1. I'd imagine it will be hard to take the battles seriously!

Here I got dd to have an egg and bacon breakfast again. I'd like to see her accept that as a norm.
Morning Daily Card done except for folding
Had a good sensible brunch while watching part of a Nanny 911

Hens are in good spirits and keeping ME in lovely eggs, though not supplying enough for the rest of the family. But Fay seems to have lost sight in one eye and is more irritable than usual, last down the ramp and complaining. I'm letting her have more lawn-time because she seems to prefer the soft greens to the hard crumbles. Maybe hard for her to handle now. 6 years old - don't know how much longer we can really expect her to manage. At a distance she appears young and fit. Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens says the average lifespan, barring all types of attacks, is 7 years. When I think of all the small-ish snakes I've seen her dispatch in seconds - I don't want her to encounter that situation now.

Dee, I regret not taking a screen shot as soon as I saw my dcousin's photo on the main page of the newspaper website that morning. They rotate photos, and quickly changed the local one for something more urgent in world news. Screen shots can be valuable. When HRH was taking an online course, he once used a screen shot to prove to the professor that he had done an assignment but was prevented from submitting by the school's software.