Why Not on Wednesday?

[Harriet]

It Couldn't Be Done
Edgar Guest

Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn't," but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

Somebody scoffed: "Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it";
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it.

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That "cannot be done," and you'll do it.

[Lynlee]

Thank you for the start Harriet. That's a great sentiment in the poem.

couple of birthdays

Open your eyes, look within. Are you satisfied with the life you're living?
Bob Marley :Jamaican : Musician - Born: February 6, 1945 - Died: May 11, 1981


We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone.
Ronald Reagan

I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress.
Ronald Reagan

All great change in America begins at the dinner table.
Ronald Reagan : American : President - Born: February 6, 1911 - Died: June 5, 2004

yoga today. Made some ph calls.
Not sure that I've achieved any housey things today. I need at least go wash the dishes

[scattered]

Harriet - thank you for that wonderful poem, as many in my life can tell you, never tell me that I can't do something... because I will do it.

LynLee - Thank you for the quotes, I especially loved the first two by Reagan. Sleep well.

Tonight DS14 has an interview at one of the other Specialty Centers, his choice, but not mine, I am doing my best to give him my input but allow him to make the decision.

I got 9.5 hrs of sleep last night but am still tired, oh well it is off to work I go.

ToDo/TaDa
SDR & GWRW

• d2s & make-up
  Coffee
  Meditations
  pack lunch & coffee

Work
DS14's Interview
Flowchart for Navy
Early to bed again (I hope)

Have a GREAT DAY Villagers.

[helia]

Thanks for the poem and the lovely quotes, Harriet and scattered. I was curious about the word "quiddit" so I looked it up online and found:

quiddity -
The inherent nature or essence of someone or something.
A distinctive feature; a peculiarity: "his quirks and quiddities".

Synonyms
essence - substance - gist - pith - marrow - inwardness

I think Edgar was just making up a word that was synonymous with quitting as quiddit sounds like "quit it." So, no doubting or quitting-type spirit is how I would read that line of the poem. Does anyone read it differently? However, I enjoyed learning that there is a word quiddity so I thought I'd share in case anyone else found that interesting. Probably someone here is already familiar with that word.

Last night, I ate poorly. I did continue my productivity, though. After returning home from a dinner date with dd17 (she chose a favorite Vietnamese restaurant), I finished my book club book from last month, put the clean sheets on the bed, and started going through the pile of mail and stuff that has been growing for a couple months on the kitchen counter by the phone. The pile is probably more than halfway gone. There are some things that dh needs/should look at and then dd17 has a ridiculous amount of mailings from schools. I just recycled ds' when he was at that point - unless it was from one of a handful of schools he would consider - but dd17 has said she wants to look at every single one. Her pile is gone, so I think she recycled them last night. She saved one or 2, I think. . ..

So, today:
-a.m. routine
-new year cards
-perhaps a trip to the library?
-finish pile by the phone
-gym
-maybe shovel driveway? We're getting in and out just fine; the snow is pretty well trampled down at this point, and there's not that much of it. But it would be neater and keep feet dryer - and exposing the blacktop as much as possible will help it melt off more quickly in the sunshine which it looks like we'll have today.
-maybe do an initial read through of the SS lesson I'm teaching on Sunday (5th/6th graders). The curriculum for that class is on a 2 year cycle. The teacher fully created 1.5 years of it. Dh and I created the other .5 year, with her helpful input. This lesson is not in the units that dh and I helped make, though. She is a phenomenal teacher!!
-make sure we have a functioning camera for tonight; the charger for my camera battery is missing. Dd17 has said i can borrow her camera
-dd14 to school for synchro prep by 4:15 (she gets home around 3:50 so that will be a tight turn around)
-pick up platter for the judges around 5 pm
-go to the synchro meet ~ 6 - 9:30, probably, by the time all is said and done.

Off to get something done!

[blessedw2]

I truly enjoyed the start today. Thank you d harriet and d scattered. I loved the poem d harriet.

my day may or may be mine today. my daunt said she left me a message about lunch and i didn't get it. I hadn't planned on it. and I am trying to decide if I can or not as I am gone again all day tomorrow

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Love the Reagan quotes in particular.

And the poem is a delight.

I love the emphasis on singing to help us things that cannot be done into things that are done.

Running far behind already this morning and it is only 10.

On the plus side: I've done a lot already. I'm up, exercises, s2s, hair dried and straightened (that doesn't always happen and it really needs to be done.) I've done my devotions, light therapy, had breakfast, emptied the newspaper recycle bin, emptied the compost container, and crushed the cans for recycle. (BTW, it snowed while I was exercising but then the sun came out so it looks deceptively lovely but given how fast my hands froze while transferring the newspapers to the bin in the garage, it is awfully cold out there.) I've plugged in my old Palm Pilot to recharge (I keep it at my desk because I find its useful information is much more accessible than on my smart phone) and I've tidied the kitchen.

I'm loading church services onto my mp3 player and then I'll start in on the task that was to be finished an hour ago - sorting through papers on the kitchen table and paying bills.

[Nancy]

K in C I'm getting devos on line currently trying thing the church is doing. So why not wed. but I can't get back to the instructions I was listening to last night. sigh oh well. Yea I found it copied that link and e-mailed it to myself for future reference!

Today I have fed the chickens forgot to close up the gate door to the run bc I was so involved in untangling some yarn for a project first time I've left it open I'm so glad they are fine.

[Emptynester]

Waiting for contractor for the last of the punch list. He has to put up trim and polish two places on counter top (seams were rough so he will fix)

We are going to chiro this afternoon and boy, do we need it.

Blinds are on truck for delivery today so we will be putting them up after we get home. Then the rest of the furniture can be transferred from den, bedroom and garage and we will be ready for a party.

AH! he is here. TTFN

[blessedw2]

does the why not go for cats too?

today my dogs were lying quietly on the floor and right behind my chair in the dining room I heard a tinkle... the tinkle was my old cat who saw a corner of my sweater I had put behind my chair as I was working (1/4 " of my sleeve on the floor at most) and this old cat decided to piddle right there on that 1/4 " of my nice sweater and the rest of the floor. I think he meowed "why not on Wednesday". furumph

[Harriet]

((blessed)) no, not for cats!

helia, Merrium Webster says quiddit is "a quibbling subtlety". But it also notes that it is archaic, and that it "doesn't usually appear in our free dictionary, but the definition from our premium Unabridged Dictionary is offered here on a limited basis". International Dictionary of English says it is "a subtilty; an equivocation". I found it interesting that their definition of the archaic word used an archaic spelling of "subtlety". lol

To me, part of the joy of that poem is the tongue-in-cheek spoof of it, written by Richard Haydn (more famous as radio comic, Edwin Carp) who performed his version on The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Perseverance
By Edwin Carp

Somebody said it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied,
"Maybe it couldn't, but I will be one,
Who'll never say 'No!' 'til I've tried."

So he buckled right in,
With a trace of a grin
On his face, if he worried he hid it.
And he tackled the thing that couldn't be done,

And he couldn't do it.

But never mind that! We can do it, whatever it is! What made me think of "Why Not on Wednesday" this morning was that I awakened aware of some things I keep trying to tackle, and against which I guess I haven't had enough follow-through! Maybe I need another run at them!

Sunny, thanks so much for checking in with us on your travels. Congratulations to your son, and so glad everyone is well.

((Dee)), hope everyone at your house feels better.

Nancy, I send things to myself in e-mail to make sure I don't lose them, too, especially oddly written things like internet addresses.

I have a checkup this afternoon and will just pick dd up on the way, let her sit in the waiting room and hopefully do some homework or English reading. She is reading Feed for that class, by the way, which is noted for using many words that are anything but English. (invented future-language)