So it is Sunday PWYC

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

First Sunday of the year.

Is there a new Sunday activity you hope to add in 2025?

What do you have lined up for today?

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Dh and I are driving 3.5 hours today to visit friends and stay overnight. I'm up, stretches done, dishwasher emptied, tea and chocolate almost consumed and I can stop my light therapy any time now. I mostly packed last night so I still have to s2s, cut carrots for snacks and water plants before heading out. We plan to eat breakfast on the road.

In an attempt to get the font effect I wanted yesterday for the gift tag, I downloaded a new font completely forgetting to check source. Part way through the install (to begin with, there shouldn't be a separate installer for a font) my brain kicked in and I cancelled the process. I still managed to install enough that last night my computer was taken over by an "Update McAfee" warning all over the screen. Thank goodness I run a two-screen setup so could slide the hidden programs to the second screen and then control my computer that way. It took a while but I removed everything (fingers crossed). The scary thing is that Windows Defender said nothing was wrong with my computer. I don't have McAfee on my computer (because I consider it a virus on its own due to its programmed behaviour) so I knew this was a scam. You can't update something you don't have.

Last night Harriet asked:

Kathryn, I'm interested to ask - do you think you took more time with the wrapping chore because of indecision? Did it take longer to make decisions or was it pretty straightforward stuff, just found you moving slowly. I think HRH would say that if I took 2 hours but actually got 6 presents wrapped and finished, that would be reasonable for me. But it would depend on whether I was using ribbon, bows, needed different name tags.

Funny, as I was dragging my way through the process, I had thought "Harriet takes this long but Harriet wraps creations, not throwing things into gift bags."

Indecision might have been part of the problem. I don't have any decent wrapping paper for kids and the gift bags were the wrong size, too big, and I didn't want to waste tissue paper. I got everything done and then realized that dgs was getting two small unbirthday gifts plus the replacement for his own birthday gift from October that had to be taken back to the store. I had put the two Lego sets for dgd into one gift bag. So the present count was 3 to 1 which looked really unfair for the birthday girl. So I had to come up with compromises and put each medium small Lego set into a large gift bag. But I was also moving slowly.

Your project is a bigger deal. Wrapping lasts minutes. A craft project lasts years so you have to live with the decision. Perhaps if you had a project that didn't give you as much creative leeway, you'd be able to make the choice of material more quickly. But your physical challenges with brain fog, lack of sleep and lack of feeling well, are likely a huge issue in making this decision.

My grandmother, unaware, knitted burnt orange socks for my father one year and, after her cataract surgery, saw them and thought them a horrid colour (she thought she was working with brown wool.) Perhaps you need to put out up to six options, assign them numbers, roll a die, and then go with that 'random' pick. When done, if it is a visually challenging result, you can keep the project as a symbol of your resilience and perseverance during a tough point in your life just like Dad valued the hideous socks as a symbol of his mother's perseverance with dimming eyes. Remember Flylady's admonishment "Housework done imperfectly still blesses your family". This may be similar; imperfect material choices may still create a blessed project for you.

Unless of course you end up hating the choice so much you abandon the project. .

[Harriet]

Well, Kathryn, sounds like you had a problem with children's gifts themselves not being seen as balanced, and that's a big one. I'd have probably spent as long worrying about that, no matter what. Spending extra time on gift tags - yep, that's me, anytime, lol. I was using a cute penguin wrapping this year for the two that defied bags, but it was very stark red, black and white. I actually hid from HRH that I made penguin fold-tags myself from the paper (and plain index card) so they would go together. Do I own sticky tags? Yes. Would it have taken a minute or less to stick just any uncoordinated image on those penguins? Yes. But (she wails) How Could I Stand It?

What's happening with me now is the proverbial "Too Many Choices" syndrome. I need a background for a multicolored print of images. It should NOT be that big a deal. But a bunch of blues, blacks, browns or golds would work. So, the choices are all over the place, and they each take the "look" of the print (and gift) a different direction. And yes, eyesight has a little to do with it. All look different in morning daylight than they do in evening lightbulb.

Your grandmother's experience with cataract surgery goes along with HRH's grandmother's. I am hopeful that, after I am someday cleared for it, I'll see an improvement like those.

I eventually got a night's sleep, although my Gar min watch doesn't completely agree, and says 4 hours all told. I at least agree with it that I was very hard to track last night. It recorded short dreaming and an hour and a half of deep sleep, so maybe I have a little steam to go on.

[CathyS]

Today's MUST DO is take down the tree and undecorate the house. The large coffee table has 3 bins on it with room for a fourth. I just need to pull the stack of empty bins apart and put one on the coffee table. I am also donating all of the wrapping paper and tags and most gift bags that are currently in the house other than tissue paper. I have red, green and white and those 3 colours cover most occasions that gifts are exchanged in this house. The only gift bags that I intend on keeping are bottle bags. We live in wine country, therefore I can walk across the street to the closest winery IF I need to grab a bottle of wine for a gift.

Today's other planned item is to wash the bedsheets. The bottom sheet is in the washer.

It isn't snowing here, but it is very cold and windy and the sun is shining.

Dh just asked where the box for the tree is, so it's time to move my bottom.

[Nancy]

I am trying to get on track with my QT routine stuff here.
Prayer journal / Bible reading / Winter journal planner / New Beginnings Q. journal / Done
as well as planning - done . Too much for mornings so I will be moving the winter season one to
p.m. for reflections.[ I did want to do the prayer prompts from the jar but there is just not time
in the mornings for that. Sigh]

So glad I paid attn. to the evening routine last nite and there are no dishes in the sink yea!
I wrote out cards I want to create and add to my new plan in a journal I'm keeping for reference.
Clean Microwave needs to be added I did that task.

Take the pumpkin spice creamer with me to church I"m sure they or the Fire dept. will make
good use of it. Done. [Neighbors did not want it either I asked two of them.]

I slept well it is raining again here just glad it's not the white stuff!
Happy I did the outside stuff yesterday yea for that!

Waving to all I so enjoy reading your posts thanks for sharing.

[lucylee]

I made it to church, and taught dgs’ Sunday School class. He was my only student except one pre-k who arrived late and left early to go back to the nursery.

[Lady Maverick]

Good morning

We are home from early church service. I loved every moment of it and am basking in the glow of the experience.

I cooked my favorite breakfast this morning. I am stuck on repeat because I like everything about it so much.

I did some deep dive research yesterday and MAYBE found a clue in what is causing DH mental abilities to come and go. I have research notes scattered here and there so want to pull them together into a comprehensive summary to give to our family doctor. I am going to implement the change I think needs to happen today. I don't want to wait for an appointment with our family doctor so I will be putting him in a position of "convince me that I am wrong".
Side note.....AI is amazing. I am waving goodbye to using google searches because they seem like they are living in the dinosaur age when compared to AI capabilities.

I need to plan homeschool lessons. Procrastinating until the last moment. Who me??? I still have 20 something hours left.

[blessedw2]

good morning dear everyone!

d lady - I have gone to peer reviewed articles on what has happened with dd younger and her immune disorder and CRPS - I stay with the 2000's and anything current. There are many studies being done that, at least, show the study and its results. hope it helps

[Lady Maverick]

I am going to work on homeschooling planning and DH medical summary..... but first......
** Chicken nuggets cooked for family. This is a family favorite processed food that I fix most Sundays for them. Fill the air fryer up, hit start, monitor for 20 minutes including flipping breaded nuggets halfway during cooking I also do another round of air fryer cooking to do French fries for them to have with the nuggets. Simple. Easy. Happy family. Win! Win! Win!
** While in the kitchen monitoring the cooking food I prepared mason jars for some of my upcoming foods. It saves loads of time to do them in an assembly line method. I usually do 3-5 days of each food when I do this process. Today I put spinach (100g) into 8oz size mason jars and beets (50g) into 4oz size mason jars. Plastic lids on with labels. Simple. Easy. Happy future me. Win! Win! Win!

The cold weather has hit here. It was 35F this morning when we went to church. The temps are headed downward and will stay below freezing until Friday. I'm not liking this cold weather but concede that we do need it to happen. At least there is no ice to deal with.

[blessedw2]

good afternoon.

hello d Kathryn - thank you for starting us on this Sunday!!!
that's a great question - Is there a new Sunday activity you hope to add in 2025?

when I was young, visiting my grandparents and my mom's cousins in France - Sunday was a day of church, a day to go out and see something or be with family outside the immediate family. One year we stayed for 6 weeks and we had hikes in the short "mountains" actually hills to me outside my grandmothers village Alsace. -being at my grandparents side as they taught me about healing plants etc. was such a joy. One week we took a special trip to see the storks throughout the village (on top of the chimneys) I want that again!

when dh and I were young marrieds and when the kids were little we used to visit dh's mom and dad on Sunday - I saw my dads mom, my grandmother all during the week. When my grandparents moved back to the USA we used to visit with them as well for a lovely meal and fun conversation.

I want to get outdoors again but carefully - I think I will get a new wheelchair for pushing - I have broken too many ankles, lol, to not do this. re: beach and boats - it's time again - I just have to be careful.

I also am going to add church time even if mom or dh don't want to go. Since covid I have watched it online but I want to get back into worshiping in person.

lol I think I answered that question - it was a very good question for me!