Saturday Clearing Exercise

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Was in a fog when I first posted this, both literally and figuratively.

-original post-

I have no view at all. Can't even see the ground unless I look straight down (and that isn't happening!) It is rather disconcerting since I'm used to seeing at least something when I look out the window. Even the spiders aren't there, not sure why.

What will your day be like?

Mine is shopping and driving. Dsil skyped me last night asking that I bring in supplies. Dd is in Vancouver and he's sick and has consumed all the gatorade, apple juice and cough drops in the house. They live just 1 block from stores but he's too weak now to get out (he did earlier in the week.)

I've offered to bring anything else he wants, including rice krispy squares (thinking it would give him some cereal to go with the liquids he's consuming) but he pointed out he's so sick he won't even pretend to want them and then save them for when he's feeling better. Poor guy.

Ooooh, the fog just cleared out a bit and I can see the river and the trees below me!

Hope you all have bright days ahead!

- end of original post -

It is funny how shining just a bit of light can clear one's vision. Now I can see across the river even though it is just 1 minute since when I first noted the river.

It is the same when we are overwhelmed. So do a clearing exercise if you are feeling like you are unhappy with things are but can't get anything done. The act of doing so will help bring into focus the vision of what your life will look like when you get some of the tasks weighing you down off your mind.

Pam and Peggy talk about the clearing exercise in Happiness File. I can't seem to find the book (perhaps it was purged although I know it is out of print so am unlikely to have done so) but CEO to the rescue! In her 21 Days to SHE Essays she talks about how to do a clearing exercise:

http://organizedhome.com/shes-organized/clearing

[DeeClutter]

That's exactly the point I'm at this morning, Kathryn. Didn't go through the steps but was looking at things with others' eyes and making a starting l&&t. May not get an exceptional amount done. Have a graduation party to attend in about 3 hours and my tummy's acting out this morning. But at least it will be a start.

Sorry dsil is not feeling well and hope he gets better quickly. For all the other 'not so greats' out there -may you feel a healing touch today as well. Mainly thinking of the LadyM household this morning.

Sunny out right now, but it's supposed to be thunderstorms this afternoon & evening.

[Nancy]

Errand day here.
I am watering.
I need to get the kit. In order.

[Harriet]

Good opening title for me right now.

That's in the fourth chapter of Happiness File in case anyone would like to revisit it. CEO does a good job of explaining.

The things that are on you mind need to be written down. Because, as we ourselves do, most people carry their lives around in their heads, and, consequently, their heads are often crammed with confusion. ... ... The simple statement, "If you think that nothing is bothering you, then you are probably bothering a lot of people" usually gets the pen moving. - Pam and Peggy

I had actually forgotten that P and P suggest once a week. They say don't be afraid to write down things that seem negative.

In an example they give, picking up from the cleaners and calling to make dental appts is there, but also "my brother's surgery" and "I'm afraid my neighbor's daughter is on drugs".

Of course, my favorite part of the exercise is to transfer these to 3x5 cards - everything doesn't have to be addressed at once!

Oh my! I hope Kathryn's dsil feels better soon. That sounds pretty significant.

Harmony, that's wonderful that you had a good time with your dd.

Many calls from dsecondmil this a.m. Lots going wrong for her. She can't leave the house as dstepfil begs her to do (he has dementia and gets antsy) because she understands dbil to be coming to help with some things, but dbil is in no hurry. Sigh. HRH may have to go over there.

[BookSaver]

Good morning, villagers ~
Thanks for opening the thread, Kathryn. I hope DSIL feels stronger soon.

The invitation for DSis's annual summer party says to come any time after 3, because she will have a water slide & kiddie pool set up for the under-10 gang. It's always fun to watch the preschoolers splashing around in the water. I don't know if I'll go up that early, though. It depends on when DH wakes up and where he wants to go for lunch.

I just finished making the pasta salad and it is cooling in the fridge. I will use the big blue ice packs in the cooler to carry the salad, but I think I'll also stop at the truck stop and buy a big bag of ice. Taking ice to a party is never a mistake, right?

I have a choice of 3 tops to wear. I'll decide which one after I exercise and s2s. Need to see which one best shows off my new short hairdo, of course.

I hear the dryer buzzing on the 2nd load of laundry.

Have a good day, y'all!

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

It took four different stops to find the 3 items dsil wanted but I succeeded. Dropped them at his place. He can't talk right now. He says it is just a cold and that he gets his very hard whenever he gets a cold. I believe that from dd's reports when they lived out west. What will put a 'normal' person down for 4 days with feeling under the weather another 6 days, puts him down for weeks on end. He has a thyroid issue (that was discovered when they did infertility testing) and that might be part of the reason.

He eats a very limited diet (mostly tomato sauce and pasta, Italian sausage or other cold meats and some chicken.) Very few veggies or fruit. He refuses all diet supplements as well so his diet is not well balanced. He also won't take any medications so won't take a tylenol for the sore throat, instead choosing to be miserable for days on end. He takes no hot drinks, so won't have the relief that tea or lemon and honey could offer. The stubbornness amazes me but he's not my problem. Dh is very stubborn too, but not that degree and he eats a wider diet (although still not totally healthy and he pulls me down in many ways, such as onion rings last night.)

Ds arrived just as I returned from visiting dsil and we went to the grocery store together, then had lunch at home and just sat and talked until his shift.

He's just taken a part-time position at the hospital (he had two casual jobs) so he's guaranteed more hours now (currently he was guaranteed only 30 hours every 2 weeks, now that is up to 50 hours.) Unfortunately, the new position is at night and only 6 hours from 12 - 6 a.m. instead of his usual 11 p.m. - 7 a.m. shift. That means he has to work 7 days out of every 14 instead of 5 in order to make up half time. On the other hand, if he can manage it, he could work 3 p.m. to 11 on one job and 12 - 6 a.m. on the other. It is easier to work 14 hours than 16 (he's been known to do that when someone is ill.)

He got into trouble for taking too many shifts when he returned home. Actually, his manager got into trouble for offering shifts to him. The manager is new and wasn't aware there was an informal hierarchy and he should be offering shifts down through the list and finishing up with ds. Calling ds meant making only one phone call since ds was taking all shifts he could and that meant less work for the manager so the manager didn't bother to call down the list, waiting to hear from each person before finally ending up with ds.

The house is quiet now. I think I'll have a brief nap and then get to work editing the sermon for tomorrow. It is written (from 3 years ago) and good, but too long for the seniors' home service.

[Lady Maverick]

Whatever had LO running a high fever was short lived. 24 hours and the fever is gone. His only other symptom was diarrhea. He had me smiling this morning as I listened to him talking to himself after he woke up. He said "body....you are not going to be sick today!".

I've gathered two loads of tomatoes & peppers from the garden this morning and processed them. I've quit picking the smaller tomatoes due to time constraints. Gotta be big and red or they are passed by. There are still about 3 dozen large tomatoes waiting on the counter. I'll take they to church tomorrow and give away.

B: Biscuits (LO made from scratch) & scrambled eggs/w bacon bits
L: Spaghetti & meat sauce, peppers, cheese
D: Saturday Night Ice cream

I was inspired by something I read and decided to try something a little different to keep up with my OMM and non-routine things. I'm doing it digitally in OneNote but it could be done a several different ways. After using it for a little bit I have added another column. My columns are
** Planning
** Ready to do
** Doing
** Done.
I REally like the visual aspect of it.

[Harriet]

Ultimately, dsecondmil's plight was just too compelling and dd, HRH and I all went to her house. She has both mechanical and carpenter-ing difficulties right now, also such difficult struggles with dstepfil's dementia, and extreme ongoing clutter problems in their garage. It's not a car garage. It's a real garage, as in money-making auto repair business for decades, the next-door neighbor to their house, and now abandoned because dstepfil has dementia. It makes the clutter problems we dealt with at my ddad's kennel look like a picnic.

We three women just let HRH rant about the shoddiness of workmanship these days, etc. We basically handed him tools. HRH finds it so difficult to get along with his mother. She gets along with him fine. She just keeps talking right along, while he steams and winces.

By the time we left (still feeling guilty, really) I had a headache and so we stopped for a burger and cola.

So, there's a Saturday for you. Sigh.

On the way home, talk radio had a program on parental abandonment. Juuuuust perfect. HRH was talking back to the radio the whole ride.

I was proud of dd at one point. At a difficult moment attempting to help care for her dstepgfil, she whispered something to me outside the hearing of her grandmother. I had to ask what she'd said and was thinking, oh here comes some typical teenage selfishness, and she said, "We really need to come help more often."

Happy for LO.

In confusion about Kathryn's dsil. Um... ... Einstein had a theory about doing the same things over and over again ... ... Sounds like it's time for an intelligent man to change his ways.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

What I find amusing about dsil is that both he and ds are big into science and personal anecdotes do not make science therefore if you mention X helped me when I felt Y, (and they are feeling Y) that has no validity at all. And since the science of eating is changing all the time, why bother to follow what science has to say. And science says there's no cure for a common cold so better to just be sick for 2 weeks than try and shorten it because that will be futile. Science says.....

Whether Vitamin C makes me feel better when I have cold because of a chemical reaction (science says no) or psychosomatic reaction (science says maybe) doesn't matter a hoot. I feel better. So does ds and he'll take up to 3g a day when sick because he notices a huge difference in how well he can handle being ill. Thank heavens for ds since he at least reminds me of what normal people are like.

Dsil says he's drinking 3x the daily RDA of vitamin C in his juice therefore he's getting enough vitamin C while sick. Yup, scurvy won't hit him at all!

I napped. I'm up now. Must. Shorten. Sermon.

[Twins' Mom]

I took dMacs to usual PT this morning, then went by drugstore and cleaners with him. Back home dh was antsy to do something today. He did a little repair on our grill while I had some downtime, and by then we had a T-storm going. I hung out with dMacs until it was mostly past, then we went to Costco. Back home, and soon we're going on to the minor league baseball game here - will be a damp evening, but this is the "wedding reception" party for Z's father who got married today. Ds will go with us.

Tomorrow we are going to go to K-town to see Dd, and also we will p/u new coffee table at the market and workout at the Y also.

I kinda hate these busy weekends.