Friday Focus

[helia]

I think I'm starting out with the complaining. LOL! Not sure whom I'm more irked with, dneighbor lady or dh. . .

Done:
x a.m. routine
x ordered reeds for dd16
x clean sheets on MBR bed
x pupa in MBR - still need to tidy my bedside table and top of bureau
x typed up note for the animal sitter

Next:
- fold lol that just beeped
- empty van
- take van in to be cleaned
- get van gassed

[Nancy]

I have rearranged living room to get a spot for the wheel.
Dishes are going.
I have spiffed the bed.
I have to do more in the kitchen.
Pen pal letter written and ready to go in the mail box.
ToddlerN has atrived.
I have a cold sore it hurts to smile bummer.

[Dove]

Has it really been three weeks since I was here last? How did that happen? I've been so sidetracked & unorganized this summer. My file box is dusty from not being opened, my combination To Do/On My Mind notebook is stuffed with post it notes & misc scraps of paper. I've been out of the house a lot, & dh often asks me to accompany him somewhere at the last minute. Unless I have already made plans with friends I usually go with him, since we enjoy spending time together.

I'm down to one 3x5 card tucked away on my dresser that lists all the basic chores that must be done like vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, changing the sheets, etc. I keep a pencil with the card & record the date I do the chore. Since I'm not on any type of schedule lately, I glance at the card periodically to see if/when a chore needs to be done. Once a week or so I'll write down a list of things that must get done, but most of the time I've been winging it & putting out fires. Last night, thinking about today starting a brand new month, I realized how much I miss having a schedule. So making a schedule and doing some catch up work is my focus for today & for this weekend.

At least menus & meal planning have been easier with all the delicious fruits & veggies in season now. Plus dh does lots of grilling this time of year . I'm off to browse a few threads before making a tomato & mozzarella cheese plate for lunch. Hope you all are having a wonderful day!

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Posted this in the wrong thread hours ago:

I'm up and ready for a rest now. That was quick!

I've stripped and remade the bed, put out fresh towels, lined up the laundry to be done, first load is finished and put away, second is on final spin, third is in laundry room and fourth is waiting in the bedroom (the laundry room is too small for excess baskets.

I'm s2s.

I've polished my winter runners (it has been so cold here, I've been wearing them) and dh's shoes too. I treated mine to protectorent so they are out on the balcony drying/off-gassing.

So there's progress here but I'm ready for a break.

The break lasted way too long. Aside from flipping laundry, I've done nothing else. It is now 2 and I still need to have lunch.

[Harmony]

Oh, helia, do you think your neighbor has your bushes confused with those other bushes you mentioned? Is she too short perhaps to see over the steering wheel well? We see that here a lot with our older population. Good luck with it all.

LadyM, oh, poor LO, now I understand. He is so blessed to have you, you take such good care of him.

Busy morning. I was out getting those birthday gifts and DD called. She is coming down for a few hours, mostly to see her girlfriend who is in town today. So, I will get to see her on her birthday, nice!

I had to really hustle when I found that out. I got the gifts, came home and wrapped, I'd stopped and got a little birthday cake. Put dinner in the crock pot on high, cleaned up the kitchen a bit, S2S (head still in towel). Ate lunch, took vitamins & meds. Cleaned up the bathroom where I slopped water all over in my rush. I'm sure that will be it for the day, I'm bushed.

[FelineFriend]

I got 2 LOL done and put away. I decluttered the dining room basket on our short file cabinet near the china cabinet/eating bar. I rearranged the caddy, which holds mini-tablets, for taking messaged, and with pens/pencils in it, too.

DH is at the little store, looking for saline eye drops, as talked about on Dr. Oz's show, when he talked about seasonal allergies and eyes acting up. He'll get children's elixir, too. He's mailing the 3 letters I wrote yesterday, will check to see if our mail's come early, he's just walked in and no mail and no saline eye drops either one. DH goes to the grocery store, with Dgs-almost-11-years, on Monday, so Dgs can pick out his favorite foods. He's a picky eater, so rather than force him to eat stuff he doesn't like, we'll let him eat a kid-friendly diet, while he's visiting.

On the news, it talked about a new social media sensation among teenagers, which is called "The Burning Game." They set themselves afire in the bathroom, climb in the tub, get it recorded to post on-line, and then they put the fire out, go to the HOSPITAL because of 2nd and 3rd degree burns. The Dr. who talked, said these teens, when they're growing up, when/if they get sunburned on these burn areas, which have healed, they'll have a LOT of pain. It's terrible how this is occurring more nowadays. There was the hanging game, 1 dgs tried it, but fortunately, he was okay. Peer pressure is the pits sometimes. I tell Dson/Ddil and DD when these new "games" come out on the Internet and news, because of the teenaged grs's. I'm so glad our adult children talk to our grs's about things like this. WE talk to them about these things, too. There is also the "cinnamon" game, which can inhale cinnamon into the lungs and be very dangerous. Times certainly have changed since I was a kid in the 1950's - 1960's. Of course, we didn't have cell phone cameras, social media, and the Internet like we do have now. I have no qualms, whatsoever, in letting our teenaged grands know how dangerous some of these games can be and ARE. I want them to be safe, healthy, and not deal with a lot of pain or lose their lives either. I don't know why I just wrote this, but it's on my heart, as it was just on the news and they're not pretty videos either.

LadyM, Sorry your DH still has his kidney stone. I'm glad LO has you. ♥

Dee, I hope Mr. Dee didn't get let go too soon and he's not over-working.

Our T-storm didn't come. Nancy, do you have T-storms in your forecast for today?

Harmony, Are you just being a normal SHE? Or is there extra stress on you right now and are you sad? Sometimes, depression pops up all-of-a-sudden. But I don't know if you're just overwhelmed with SHE things or not. I hope you're not depressed. Will be thinking of you.

Waving to Dove, Helia, Kathryn, Harriet, Cats, Sadie, MT, Twins' Mom, Lucylee, and everybody.

[Harriet]

Ivy, I've had some personal disbelief about teens and self-harm, too. I should mention - as a joy - that the friends of dd who were "cutting" and expecting others to keep their secret at about 14, are now, at about 16, completely past that confusing stage, without the desire any more, and their scars are barely noticeable any more. So that is a blessing for their worried parents/community. Dstepdil, who has had to counsel on the subject before, tells me that teens can sometimes mix up the physical and emotional "selves" and hope that bleeding from a cut will ease some emotional pain. Anyway, that doesn't answer the type of self-harm you are talking about, which seems to be dare-driven. Very sad.

helia, I hate that you have to cut back a lovely forsythia at all. Have you talked to the neighbors who have the other bushes to find out if she contacts them as well? If yours is 5 feet further back than theirs, she does sound mixed up, unless she also has these conversations with them. I'm actually glad to hear dh is placing himself into this as an obstacle, even if it makes him a bit of an obstacle for you sometimes, too. It's his yard, too, and he'll be able to get a handle on her motives/disposition pretty well. There is the possibility that her daughter wouldn't know what forsythia - she may not really have said anything. I don't know - would anyone ever take up a forsythia and move it? I don't have one so I don't know if that is a crazy idea. But I wish you could wave a magic wand and move it back two feet, or whatever it takes, and get this off your mind.

((LO))

Great that you will get to have time with DD, Harmony. I hate that you rushed around and worried, but now that you've done it I'm glad you will have that success. Spend the rest of the day with your feet up!

Dove, I first noticed in your post that you may have the simplest card file ever! Then I noticed that you may have the most complicated On-My-Mind notebook! No matter, it sounds like you are really very on-top of things. Good job. Bet wishes on new schedule creation.

Nancy, practice your MonaLisa smile! Hope it's better soon.

Hi to indy!

[indy]

Hi, Nancy -- hi, all -- just browsing and looking at my posts in recent times to get things back in my mind. I've been kind of out of it this week -- Tuesday all day -- and might -- drinking only liquids and taking laxatives for an endoscopy Wednesday -- all clear and not a single polyp so that's done and the doctor can stop badgering me. But I'm lethargic still. Dusting is the aim here this afternoon and kitchen needs attention. I suppose that's enough given I'm not full of energy.

indy

[DeeClutter]

Yikes, absolutely missed the fact that we're into August now. Just posted the new thread for August Joys & Concerns. Amazingly no one had posted in July's thread for today. At any rate we're up and running for all your joys and concerns.

[Sunny]

Good afternoon everyone! My focus today has been at my desk, getting ready for this new month; calendar is updated and bills are listed in order by date.

Lady M, sorry to hear that LO is sick. Hope by now he is better.
Dee, must have been a strong anesthetic dh had. Hope he's better today and won't have to wait long to hear about tests. Hope you get to see your db and dsil.
((Harmony)).... I'm glad you will get to see dd today!
Helia, that is a frustrating situation with your neighbor. It doesn't sound like she is a happy person. Maybe she means that she can't see the road when she looks out her windows in the house. If you can see on the road and there are no other complaints from other neighbors or "the authorities" then your bushes are probably fine.... (and let dh talk to her).
FFriend, you always have a lot of variety in what you do every day!
Nancy, is the yarn you are spinning one-ply, or more? Sounds interesting.

Hello to Dove, Harriet, Kathryn, BookSaver, Indy. I will check out the new forum. BTW...has anyone noticed that the J & C thread for July is listed part way down the page between Sept. 2013 and Oct. 2013? Or is it just my computer??

Ds#2 stopped yesterday afternoon after work to trim the sidewalk and driveway. He told me they won't be down this Sunday; they are going to visit ddil's dparents north of us. Dgds19&12 will stay with them for a few days. Dh is outside trimming some of our plantings now. Trash pick up is tomorrow.