Touching Tuesday

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Just got back from my walk.

So far today I've touched a lot of laundry but the last load is now ready to come out of the dryer.

I also touched almost everything in my closet and did a mini-KonMari, some things for the garbage because they were loved to death, some for the thrift shop (including my size 10 suits - sigh - but I'll never see that size again), and some in a try-on pile which I'll do tonight. I'm wearing one of my new tops I bought on the weekend so feel like I look good right now. That helped me decide to get rid of some of the marginal things I loved in the past. It also saved a skirt I was sure was going go, just because a new top goes with it perfectly. There's a marginal sun dress that may be on the way out since I seem to have too many skirts. There's a 'loved to death' skirt that was headed to the garbage but I just couldn't let it go so saved it to wear when doing things with the grandkids. If it gets ripped or stained, then it can go out but it makes me really happy to wear it (I even wore it to church last Sunday with one of the new tops.)

I talked with my sister for almost 2 hours.

I sorted the paperwork while on the call and got most of it sorted.

The apartment is warming up so I need to put fans out to help keep me cool or else I'll just shut down entirely and do nothing for the rest of the day. I cut the walk short because of the heat.

I've decided to get the balcony set up today if possible. It is much more pleasant out there than in here temperature-wise but almost everything is put away for the winter and what is out is very dirty. So it needs sweeping, mopping, wiping down, setting up, and then moving plants out (and transplanting a couple of things into bigger planters to keep them from drying out too fast.)

[CathyS]

I've been in touch with our outdoors oasis. After the working guys left and the project was paid for, I moved most of the scrap wood that they threw on the fire pit. If I burned all of it at the same time, it would touch the new fence 20 plus feet away!

Happy Anniversary to the Harmonys!!

We are going out for Vietnamese tonight. It's too hot to cook. (That's my excuse, and I"m sticking to it!!)

[Ramblinrose]

Taking a break...

Thanks for all the cheering on, I really appreciated it.
Happy anniversary Harmony, glad my suggestions helped you.

I cleaned all my sliding glass doors. They've been bugging me for a while. Then I attacked my guest bedroom. My dresser is much too large for the room so I decided to move it into my office. That meant I needed to unload my two bookshelves and move them to the opposite wall. Just finished putting most of the bookshelves back together with every thing I had to take out. Still have plenty to do but I'm going to call it quits because I want to make baked ziti for dinner. All ready made Sweetie some peanut butter cookies before I started all of this.

I should put my guest bedroom back in order, but it can wait until tomorrow. I'm please with all the progress I made in both rooms today, but I have much more to go.

Once I have those done, the garage is next. Its gonna be a big project, but I am anxious to get it done. Many moving parts to get it all finished so I need to make a time line and do first things first.

[lucylee]

Happy Anniversary, Harmony & Mr. Harmony!!!

Well, I guess I have touched the lives of my fellow teachers, keeping minutes for our group and going to the outing today. Only six of us showed up, counting me! But we went to a friend's house to see their hummingbirds. This is one of dh's golfing buddies, and he is a former county agent, so he was a good person to talk to us about the care & feeding of hummingbirds. He has 8 feeders he keeps going all the time, so LOTS of hummingbirds.
I enjoyed the visit, but I am NOT going to start keeping up a bunch of hummingbird feeders. He said once you start, you can't stop; you have to make sure they are cared for every day -- if he & his wife go out of town, they have to get someone to check the feeders every day.

I am touching the lives of dgrands today also -- they are here with us while ds & ddil celebrate their anniversary -- which actually was yesterday, the 29th, Harmony, LOL. They are celebrating 13 years.

Touched the lives of dmom, daunt, with phone calls...

and of course, dh. Need to go dry his shower now.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

I spent time with a neighbour who had a joy to share (and who I've been talking with over a concern which is now lifted.)

I also started work on the balcony. It isn't going well, it is friggin hot out there.

I'll go back out and put away as much as possible, I had to pull everything out of the deck bin in order to find my gardening tools.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Living room balcony is 'finished' in that everything is out. I need to buy flowers to plant or transplant houseplants onto the balcony (there are already two out there plus a flowering houseplant that is just greenery now, and the tickseed plant that ds gave me for Mother's Day. I need at least 6 or 7 things to go out there. I'd love to buy tomato plants but they won't survive my being away.

I have a large self watering planter box and I decided not to plant in it this year but reserve the right to change my mind. It goes along the edge and my concern is that dgs2 will climb up on it. I have a lot of problems arranging things this year because of that concern. All but 2 chairs for the dining balcony are kept inside since they and the table have to be against the wall of the apartment and not against the railing which is where I usually put it. That makes the dining balcony look very bare when looking out for the kitchen or dining room. (The other 4 chairs are folding and kept inside the patio door in the dining room to be grabbed.)

Dh cleaned up dinner. I'm exhausted so am useless now and will get ready for bed. I was trying to stay up to open up the windows but it is still much, much, warmer outside than in. Tomorrow night will be worse, at least tonight it goes down to mid 50s. Tomorrow night, the low is 65 (and daytime high will be 88 and sunny.) Everyone in the building is bracing themselves. Currently my living room is 77 and the bedroom is 75.

We expect to break heat records for tomorrow (possible) and Thursday and Friday (probable.) And the nights will be hotter for the foreseeable future. Everyone here is in a tizzy since management is working on the a/c but just now (after sending us a letter a month ago saying they had done all the maintenance and everything was ready to switch over once the heat could be turned off.)

[Elizabeth]

Hi everyone! I am trying to stay in the village, shoulda never left. I didn't deliberately leave, just drifted off. It's a lot easier to CUOP when I get to it regularly (a lesson for me in general). I touch the lives of more cats than I do people. However, its is almost invariably a person who brings the cats, generally a worried and upset person. Only two of my fosters actually found me on their own.

I have completed about half my daily stuff, dinner is still pending because my appetite is not great. I am planning black eyed peas, a salad, and popcorn. I know that last is weird, but my original plan was just the popcorn, so I have improved.

I want to do my workouts but my knee hurts, so I used my exercise bike. Last time my knee hurt (before DD21 was born), that was part of my PT. After a few months, whenever I started to have trouble the bike FIXED it. Nothing like instant gratification! No cure tonight, but not worse either.

Only one of my washing machine parts came in. It was promised on June 13, so no complaints, but no work for Elizabeth's Own Appliance Repair either. Elizabeth's Own HVAC had to subcontract the work to professionals. No way I can get on the roof. But I do have all the parts ready for them.

DD21 has learned that she can eat and actually likes Vietnamese food! Major score. Celiac makes restaurants difficult. Getting autistic people with food texture issues to try something new is also difficult. I suspect the influence of her favorite and most respected cousin.

Happy Anniversary to the Harmonys!

I did finish the devotional book on less stress. The instructions essentially boiled down to "let go and let God". She thinks that letting go means dropping out of the workforce, I believe "letting God" includes using the gifts God gave me. I am not sure how her husband is supposed to live with less stress. It is supposed to be part of a Proverbs 31 ministry. The woman in Proverbs 31 has her own business and handles investments. Note that "she considers a field and buys it", not "she considers a field, begs her husband to take a look, asks his advice, and ultimately says 'yes, dear' to whatever he decides".