Thinkin' Thursday

[Emptynester]

We're sleeping in and/or just hanging out at home this morning. Nothing will happen until about 1:30. We have been on the go early every morning this week so it is feeling good to just hang out.

We will leave Q sometime tomorrow afternoon for Eden Park and probably stay there at least one night. I want to work on cleaning the 5th wheel and then do some stuff on the HOA meeting so that can be duplicated for the meeting on the 1st.

I will be glad to get home to my bed at the house, however and to check out things there.

I just remembered - I have to bake a cake for the pot luck tonight so I'd better get going on that. Also have to do some dishes while the water is hot after my shower. TTFN

[c2c]

Need to go read harriets comments from last night,
I still don't have my computer it is on my list of things, the last one was a gift and others made the decision so I dread that process, have the luxury that dh forgot his so I can play,
Breakfast done, dw running the delay from last night was delayed, so I rinsed this mornings and will keep a watchful eye, going to delve into paperwork while children are schooling

[Elizabeth]

Last night I got my guests fed and entertained. Her son is DD's favorite friend, but DD had Girl Scouts that day (and was at XDH's house). The son found a missing toy penguin we had given up on. Unfortunately, he left his DS. After they left, I did a 27 fling boogie in the hobby room. I still need to do more sewing, but there was not time. This morning, I had to be up early for a meeting at DD's school. Her reading comprehension is at 9th grade level (she is in 4th grade)! Her weak point is spelling and writing, which are 2nd grade level. The school officials want her to have a scribe for testing and it makes sense to me. Her one on one writing teacher wants to start meeting with her every day except Dragon Singers Club day to accelerate her progress. It may create scheduling problems for XDH. I'm not sure if there is anything I can do to help or not. She also wants to meet with DD over the summer, more scheduling difficulties. I wish things were not so complicated for her. After the meeting I returned the DS.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

the point of the BWP is that you have somewhere to aim and with that point of reference, you see how far you missed and can correct for it.

That's it exactly! After 'everyone died' I was on auto pilot but years of doing my BWP meant that some things just got done automatically, and in general, things never got completely out of control. (Of course, I still had a cleaning lady at that point so that also kept me from getting too far out of control.)

When I finally dug out of the three bad years in a row, I was surprised at how much had got done even though I didn't think I was doing anything.

I'm back from the church office. Swung by my church on the way home to look for a CD and the water pump was going nuts. I could hear it outside the church! Anyway, no taps were left on (I thought someone might have in order to keep the lines from freezing) and no sign of water leaking anywhere. I turned off the pump and it sounded like the water drained from the system back into the pressure tank. That's not supposed to happen! So obviously something is wrong.

I called the man who knows all but he was call screening (my cell phone is a Minnesota number) so I turned the pump back on, determined there's no water either, turned it off and called him from home to let him know that I think the well line is frozen. He'll go take a look.

At home, dh was working on the kitchen drain which is running slow and making glugging noises. The U-trap is clear and dh ran a snake as far as he could and got a bit of blockage out. When I got home, since I was already dressed for outside, I made my way through the snow to the edge of the back yard and checked the roof over the kitchen. Sure enough, the stack is covered, so that means no air is getting into the system to let things drain properly. We'll live with this for 3 weeks, then deal with it after we get home 5 weeks later. By then, the stack may be exposed (unless it is a late winter.) At this point it is easier to live with it, than climb up and dig the stack out. Maybe we'll extend it this summer because it gets covered a lot.

In trying to clear the drain, dh used up my 'cooking' baking soda so I've added that to my list to buy. He didn't realize I have a bin of soda for cleaning and then just buy a box for cooking (so I don't have to keep the baking soda in the bin free of bugs or dirt.) He also used up a lot of vinegar so that is on my list too.

Harriet: I have a list on the fridge (I taped a magnet to a notepad) and when I need something, I add it to the list. I grab the list when I leave the house and when I get back I transcribe anything back onto the next sheet of paper. At first this was only for food but now we put anything we need to buy on this list.

[Nancy]

Rain and sleet has been falling in our area here. It's raining in earnest out now the road in front of our house still has not been plowed or sanded it's like two blocks to the roads that are cleared off. H. said he could make it with the car and is not wanting to take the truck.
I'm not sure if I want to go.

No granny duty today. =(

Some one should pay attn. to a BWP around here that would be me! LOL!

[Dove]

Sunny & cold here today. Spent a few minutes bird watching this morning after putting seed out. The blue jays always pick out as many peanut pieces as they can hold before flying off. The doves like the safflower we add to the seed. The small millet pieces are just the right size for all the tiny birds --chickadees, wrens, sparrows, etc. The woodpeckers appreciate the suet block, & the cardinals (& squirrels) like the sunflower seeds. Every January we get dozens of robins. I have never seen them touch any of the seed, but they drink a lot of water.

Last night I wrote a quick list of things I wanted to be sure to get to today, which ties in perfectly with Kathryn's theme for us. I have always loved Pam & Peggy's Basic Week Plan concept, too; it really helps me focus. So many times unexpected things throw my plans out the window but I just try to switch the most important things I couldn't get to to a different day.

I've been thinking that I want to try going back to the box exclusively. When I use the planner there are always things that don't get done, which must be rewritten on another day. Plus I tend to write down misc things on scraps of paper rather than in the planner, so I end up rewriting there as well. With all the technology we deal with in life I have no desire to do any of this on the computer . Handling cards and a pad & pen is calming & soothing to me in this fast paced world, as silly as that may sound.

((OKay & LO)) --glad LO is feeling better today. Sorry you haven't gotten much sleep the past few nights.

Hi c2c! So nice to see your here! Congrats on your new home.

Hi Harriet -- you say intelligent things all the time .

Hi Bookie -- good luck with your phone call. I hope your neighbor follows through for you. Do you think your neighbor would give you the name & number of the snow plowing company? That way you could call the company as well if they do it again.

Hi Twins -- hope everything is OK with dMacs.

Hope you feel better soon, Harmony.

Hi MT -- have fun at the potluck tonight.

Hi Elizabeth -- your dd is so bright to have 9th grade reading comprehension in the 4th grade .

Careful on those slippery roads, Nancy. Sounds like a good day to stay in if possible.

Lucylee, I agree with those who suggested asking ddil if she could please let you know before posting the big news.

Ground beef is thawing for dinner, & I have a plan for this afternoon. It's a long list but doable. Have a wonderful day, everyone!

[Sadie]

Hello dear ladies,

Sunny day here with temps in the 50's, another roller coaster ride of weather.

I have to agree with Okay on the debate. Let DDil announce in a way that she wants. Maybe she is using FB as a way to tell other family members(her Parents?) or friends all at the same time. Tune in to FB.

I'm still in a work in progress mode as far as plans. I get my dailies done, some weeks get all my weeklies done, some weeks not. Years of caregiving have left me in debt to housework. I've increased my hours at work, so I still don't have a lot of time to devote to housework. Finding large blocks of time and energy is difficult for me to do. I try to do small projects each week of dusting, sorting, throwing. It's a slow process.

Off to more adventures, then off to work.

Have wonderful Thursday all!

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Done lunch and reading the paper. Just sent dh all the changes to make to the church website.

I'm freezing cold so am going to put on some warmer footwear (I'm in slippers, not shoes) and fleece jacket instead of a shawl. Might have some hot water too.

Then I'll focus on my Tuesday chores.

[helia]

I'm sorry if I am out of synch with the rest of you. That seems so common in my life in so many ways - being out of synch with others, that is, not specifically with you all.

It was a sad day at moms group today. A friend gave birth to her baby boy yesterday, and he lived 90 minutes. It was expected; he had been diagnosed in utero with a rare genetic disorder, and we knew about this months beforehand. Still, the prior knowledge didn't eradicate the sorrow. Lots of tissue use. The moms group is a pretty tight knit loving community. His 90 minutes of life is giving me pause as I think about my own time management skills and lack of skills.

The weekend: I'm looking at a very low key Friday but a busy Saturday and Sunday. Saturday, I may be needed to help at soup kitchen, 2 - 5-ish. Then, small group is 6 - 10-ish, and the visitation for the baby is between 6:30 and 8:00. Sunday will be church and then we're hosting a lunch for a visiting missionary to Japan dh and I support and who is friends with our Sr. Pastor. (Mamap knows this missionary too!) It will be an open lunch so anybody from the church can come, but since the funeral for the baby is at 4 that afternoon, I doubt many will come to the lunch. Only 1 has RSVP-ed so far after the announcement last week - and this is in a church with about 600? (or is it 800?) in attendance each Sunday and membership is even larger. Not a huge megachurch but not a small church either. I am planning to go to the visitation Saturday and the funeral Sunday. Friends S and R will likely eat with us Sunday night, per our weekly tradition with them. Thrown in the midst of all this is dh's return from Europe late? Saturday afternoon. He will be tired and out of it this weekend, so I'll be taking care of things on my own. Thank goodness we are neither leading nor hosting small group this weekend! It is all good, though, all part of living in community.

Today: I need to start the breadmaker. Dfriends S and R will be here for dinner tonight; dfriend A is taking a break from our Thursday dinner crew and dfriend K is trying to get over a cold. I will be out and about from 3 - 5:45-ish: work out at the gym, drop off cards in the mail, pick up dd13 after synchro. swimming and take her to her oboe lesson at 4:30. I will sit in a nearby coffee shop during her lesson and indulge in a book and a cup of their wonderful cinnamon tea!

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

(((Helia)))

Tuesday chores are done. And I've dealt with (filed or deleted) 150 emails. My goal is to do 50 a day until I get my email in-box under control and then a twice-a-week clean out. That's been my goal for the past 18 months. I got it down under 200 at one point and then it fell by the wayside. I'm at 335 now.

Dh is packing to go away and I'm having my normal 'traveling upset' (feeling like I'm coming down with the flu.) I guess it is because I'm so used to flying with him, my subconscious thinks I'm traveling too. I absolutely hate this feeling.