A mish mash on a warm October day

Today is October 1st, and it is blessedly warm outside. The Weather Guy says it’s going to hit at least 80 degrees today, whereas in other years, we’d already been shoveling snow. What a blessing to have such good weather for a little while longer!

Since it is such a beautiful day, I am going to open up all my windows. throw some laundry in and power clean my kitchen. If I am really good with my time, I will leave myself plenty box opening time while I watch TV this evening. You see, I still have boxes sitting in my living room from when I brought everything up out of the basement before the flood this summer, and I just can’t bring myself to quite look in them. I know that there will be things in these boxes from my married life that I just don’t want to see or deal with.  This qualifies me as a gigantic chicken…Bock, bock, bk-ock!  Now, it’s just time to get this stuff taken care of and get it out of the house. Time to get on with it and move forward.

At the moment, Younger Son is cruising the kitchen, like a shark, looking for something to eat. He’s settled on a big glass of chocolate milk, which is just as well. I’m going to clear out the hall closet and he’s going to paint it.  What am I going to do when the boys have flown the nest? They have been really good about helping me out around the house, especially with the big stuff. I guess I’ll just have to find myself a boy toy who likes to shovel snow!

So, let’s talk about trolls. Not the living under the bridge kind, but the kind that maneuver around the internet leaving incendiary remarks on other people’s posts. I have a friend who recently experienced having to deal with one of these trolls for the first time. It’s never fun to have to kick someone off of a message board or a blog, but sometimes it has to be done. Trolls don’t just post nasty things, usually out of context, but they also feel that they can’t ever be wrong and will go to great lengths to prove to you that they are right. The thing is, they just don’t realize that being right isn’t necessarily what matters. What really matters is your behavior, because if you are well-behaved and post thoughtful, well-reasoned ideas, people will pay attention. If you behave badly and spam post people with ranting and crankiness, nobody will listen, except maybe for other trolls who live for arguing. The individual who posted on my friend’s blog, and then put comments on mine, will understand if I choose not to allow your comments to harsh the mellow that is my blog.  Enough said.

So, as I was cleaning out the closet so Younger could get started with the painting (wee!) I got a call from my best buddy, “C”.  Her brother has moved into town and they are going out tonight, and he wanted to know if I’d like to go out with them tonight.

Hmm. I do believe I’d like to do just that. It’s been a long time since a man was interested in my company so, even though we are just friends, I do believe I will go and have a good time.  “C”, her hubby and her brother are all good company, so a fun time is assured. However, if I want to not feel guilty about going, I’d better kicker ‘er down and get going. I’ve got a lot of work to do today, and looks like I have the perfect excuse to not have to look in those boxes again today. (snicker!)

Well, I guess there’s always tomorrow (wink). I am nothing, if not the Queen of Procrastination!

The Universe has a twisted way of making you move forward

I got a call from Older Son while I was at work today. Apparently, condensation from the air conditioner is dripping down through the furnace and all over the floor in a part of the basement we generally don’t pay much attention to.  It just so happens that this area butts up against Older Son’s room, and now his carpet is wet. Ugh…I will count my blessings that it isn’t a lot of water, just only enough to be a pain in our keesters.

Well, it just so happens that I have a lot of work that needs to be done in the basement, as you’ve read in many of my previous blog posts, and I have successfully avoided every single opportunity to get it done. It’s a particular skill of mine, avoidance. Do you know that I very craftily made my way through a four-year BA degree without ever once having to take a math course? I’m always on the look out, consciously and unconsciously,  for ways to avoid things that might be unpleasant, time-consuming, or might require tough decision-making (as is with my basement).

So, now I can avoid it no longer…the basement must be dealt with (cue Vincent Price’s evil, echoing laughter…we haven’t heard from him in a while!).  As with all large projects, I supposed a “to-do” list is in order, but I think I might have to take a more than cursory look at the issue before I drag out the dreaded “to-do” list.

The good news is that I have so much to gain by just diving in and getting it the heck done. I’ll keep you posted on the progress…

Confessions of a Lead Foot Annie

Older son and I went out to run errands today. We ran to the bank, returned some unused home improvement items, bought some other home improvement items, and had a load of river rock delivered for the edging I’ll be putting up around the house. A very successful morning, but one that wouldn’t have been possible without getting in the car and driving.

Even though we live in a small town (approx. 37,000) our traffic can be hectic, and fast-paced, especially around rush-hour times like Noon and 6pm. My problem isn’t with the fast drivers…it’s with the slow pokes. You know the ones I’m talking about; the sight seers and looky-loos. The ones who like to take their sweet time and don’t care that I have somewhere to be make me cranky.  Those who are driving ahead of me, seemingly without a purpose really get under my skin.

Today, Older Son commented to me that I needed to have more patience with people. This was said after I complained bitterly that “Farmer Bob will not get the lead out, and get of my way!”  It was obvious to me that the aforementioned “Farmer Bob” had plenty of time to go and was just gazing about, not paying attention. When I’m driving, I seldom drive just for the fun of driving. I always have a purpose and a place to be, and god help other drivers if they can’t get the lead out and get going. By that I don’t mean that I would exact any sort of vengeance, except for the rare occasion I have to blow the horn at a particularly oblivious driver. But, let me tell you about the chatter that happens in my car. The vitriolic commentary coming from my driver’s seat,  directed at bozos on the road, is prolific and merciless. Of course, I watch the swearing as I usually have kids in the car with me, but I am pretty creative with my descriptors and directives.

I know that driving with impatience is not good. It’s not good for the driver, the passengers or the other drivers on the road. It’s a bad habit, and I’m in the process of trying to relax when I drive and tone down the invective a little bit. In the spirit of changing my ways, I’ve put together a to-do list of driving habits I need to change:

1. Anyone and everyone else who just can’t get the lead out should not be addressed as Farmer Bob. I actually know some farmers named Bob, and they are neither slow nor incompetent drivers. This bad habit of mine came from living on the Prairie my whole life and having been stuck behind my share of  farm equipment driving down a skinny road. It’s slow going…ugh.
2. Breathe deep and be patient with the elderly who can’t help but go slow. I need to remember that it will be me driving slow when I hit that stage of life. At least I hope I’m still driving when I’m old!
3. I have been a bozo in some other driver’s estimation, at various times in my life, so I need to get off my high horse and cut other people some slack.
4. Perhaps, instead of hurling insults at my fellow drivers, I should just hum a tune to keep my mouth busy while I’m waiting for my turn to go… even if grass is growing underneath their car for going so slow.
5. I need to be conscious of showing a good example for my kids to learn from. I have one son driving, and the other one will begin driving a year from now. You know it’s bad when your kid tells you to have some patience.

Wish me luck…old habits die hard!

My to-do list is so daunting, I need a Vincent Price voice over

After getting home at 1am last night, and didn’t fall asleep until about 3:30, I was surprised that I was up and at ‘em by 8am today.  It’s ok, though. It’s going to be a big day, and I needed to get up and cracking if I’m going to even get half of it accomplished. Today Older Son is going to Nana’s to help her finish taking stuff downstairs that’s left over from last night’s organization orgy, so it will just be me and Younger Son getting stuff done today at home.

As discussed in a previous post, the carpenter who is supposed to be doing the remodel on my bathroom delayed until tomorrow. I haven’t heard from him yet that he isn’t coming tomorrow, so I will assume that his sister’s surgery went well and that all is a go for Wednesday. Uh…hmm. Hope I didn’t just jinx it by saying that out loud.

Nobody does menacing like Vincent Price!

Anyway, as I am operating under the assumption that the bathroom project is getting under way tomorrow (please, oh please, oh please!), there are certain things that I need to get accomplished before that can happen. So, in the spirit of getting the ball rolling, here is today’s very special edition of (cue Vincent Price echo, crashing thunder and lightning)…  The To-Do List.

• Scrub out fridge (there’s been a code-four pickle juice spill…Yummy)
• Do final general pick up and cleaning of upstairs
• Get Younger to mow and edge the lawn
• Do more laundry until my washer and dryer beg for mercy
• Shopping trip to Menards/Wally World to buy a new pedestal sink, bathroom fan, plastic big enough to cover the bedroom/living rooms doors and the kitchen (to keep demolition dust off), expanding spray foam for the crack in the basement wall, and new weed eater.
• Call the plumber and make an appointment to get my external hose fixed.
• Call sand and gravel company to put an order in for landscaping rock.
• Bake Banana Bread…I’ve got some bananas that need to be used up.

If I get all of that done today, it will have been a hugely successful day. I can do it, but I guess I’m going to need to quit flappin’ my gums on the internet and get the show on the road!

What am I doing up at 6am?!

My eyes opened up and I was awake. No going back to sleep. No lazing around. I didn’t even get to participate in one of my favorite pass-times, snooze button smashing. Ugh.

It doesn’t happen very often that I am wide awake right away in the morning, and of course it’s going to happen at 6am on a Sunday. I guess I must have finally caught up on my sleep!

It’s just as well that I am up early as I have lots to do today. I won’t list all of the things I need to do as that seems to back fire on me, and none of it ever seems to get done.  So, in my next post I’ll list all the things I actually did. It always seems to me that I get stuff done, but it’s never the stuff I start out to do!

I’m sitting here listening to the birds and the traffic outside and don’t really want to get up from the computer. It’s a nice quiet morning, and as soon as I get up that all goes away. Maybe I can stall until 7am…that should be an early enough start on my day, right?!

To-do list successfully avoided!

So, it’s already Sunday evening and I put nary a dent in the ominous to-do list from Hell. Oh well. To-do lists are a bit like laundry and dishes in that they don’t run away, they just patiently wait for your return.

I did manage to make it to my Parent’s house today to help mom clean out one of her bedrooms. My mom’s been stowing things away in this bedroom for quite a while and now needs the space, so we did some organizing. Not everything got cleared away, but we put a good-sized dent in it.  Ah…there’s where my dents went!

I also took myself and Younger Son to get hair cuts. He hadn’t had a haircut in months and couldn’t take it any more. I have long hair and only ever get it cut once a year, and today was it. We had a nice lunch, and then I  bought the boys’ new prepaid phones (as their old ones had died).

Tomorrow, I’m hoping will be a more productive day, but at least it wasn’t a complete loss!

Saturday morning and already so much to do

Well, sleeping in was a big success today. Younger Son was up at 8:30 which was early for him, but he just got done spending time at an Air Force ROTC camp where they had to get up at the butt crack of dawn, so that’s not too surprising.

I have a multitude of things to accomplish today, especially since the whole week flew by and not much got done. No outside chores today as the weather is wet and cold. So, here is this weekend’s to-do list:

*Laundry

*Grocery shopping

*Standard weekend cleaning for main living areas of the house

*Organize desk and set up new printer.

*Pull everything out of the hall closed and paint it. Prioritize items and get rid of what we don’t need.

*Pull what’s left in the entry closet and paint it. Also needs a new coat hanger bar installed

*Need to make a trip to Menards to get a coat hanger bar. Also need to shop for a small pedestal sink for the new bathroom.

*Organize laundry/utility area

*Pack up old clothes to take to charity

*Open all boxes in basement. Throw what needs to go and organize the rest for garage sale or give away.

*Go to Mom’s and help her organize her stuff and clear out a couple of bedrooms. She asked for the help, which was a surprise, and help she will get.

*Fix shed door that now decides it doesn’t want to shut.

*Bring lawn mower and boys bikes back from Mom and Dad’s.

Uff-da. The sad thing is that there is way more! I guess I will have to amend this to being this week’s to-do list! But, it’s only 10:50am. No work begins until Noon today. It’s Saturday, darn it!

Quiet morning thwarted by my own mind

Given all the excitement that’s been going on around our little house, I’ve been jonesing  for a little peace and quiet. This morning there is nothing I have to do, nobody to see and the sun is out. Finally! All I can hear is the traffic out front and the fish tank bubbling.

The boys don’t have to get up today for anything, and that means that I can just sit here listening to nothing, reading and posting to my heart’s content. Then why is it that I am drawn to think about all the things that need doing? There is always housework, and yard work, and organizing…I could go on ad nauseum about all the little things that constantly need keeping up with.  There should be some metaphysical door one can shut on thoughts of those kinds of activities so one can fully enjoy a peaceful, sunny morning like I have now. But, noooo…it seems that the way is open for intruding thoughts of work. Bugger.

Well, if it’s thoughts of work that I have, I guess I should think about what exactly it is I feel like I need to accomplish today. So, here’s a to do list:

• Laundry (When isn’t there any? At least that can be going while I’m doing other stuff!)
• Dusting (It’s a never-ending battle in North Dakota)
• Cooking (I have another 8 lbs of meat that needs cooking up or it will go bad soon. Hm…sounds like meat loaf for supper!)
• Finish cleaning out the entryway closet.
• Clean out the hall closet
• Organize the basement (that’s really two weeks worth of work right there, but I should get a start)
• Crack the whip on those boys to clean their rooms this afternoon (ugh…what is it with teenage boys and stinky rooms?!)
• Mop the kitchen floor
• Mop and oil all the wood floors…boy are they DRY…

Ugh…I could go on and on and on. I think this list is long enough, though. First thing I think I want to do after I put a load of laundry in, is go for a walk. At least that way I can feel like I am getting something done while I’m doing something for myself!

Well, It’s 9am, and I hear Older Son stirring. It’s been a nice quiet morning while it lasted!

Moving the backyard shed…the first domino

Well, tonight the prep begins, and tomorrow hopefully it will be done. That’s right…it’s finally time to move the shed!

It never failed that any time the boys were free, or my Dad was free, it would rain. If the weather was nice, then schedules conflicted. This week, I think the cosmic gears are finally aligned and the shed will be moved! Dad says he thinks the four of us can move it the 20 across the yard to its new resting spot. I hope he’s right.

Once the shed is moved, we can cut down that nasty dying tree located directly behind the shed. After that, the fence can go up…the fence I’ve wanted for 10 years is now going to finally go up. On the fence will go grape vines and arctic kiwis.  I will now have space to put the fruit trees I’ve wanted for so long, and will take advantage of the fall tree sales.

My space will be defined… it will be beautified…it will be MINE! (cue evil laughter)

Pictures to come!

Yet another list of things to get done today

Ah…I survived yesterday! The house got cleaned (Younger Son’s room was successfully fumigated), and I managed to make some time to get some stuff together for the rummage sale. Now, what kind of trouble can I get in today? Quite a lot, I’m sure, if I don’t get on the stick and get another list made up for today. (Note to Hel’wyse…I loved your additions to yesterday’s list!)

So, without further ado, here is today’s damage:

1. Finish pricing items for the garage sale.

2. Take out garbage (I found lots of crap that’s just not even worth selling, and it’s got to go).

3. Take a shower (All the better to entice more people to buy my junk)

4. Get food ready to go (I’m cooking for all of us today: Pork roast with potatoes and carrots in a slow cooker. Can you say comfort food?!)

5. Load up the van and haul all my junk (hopefully other people’s treasure!) to Connie’s house, where the sale is located.

6. Don’t forget the crock pot!

7. Go to Mom and Dad’s to pick up some stuff to add to the sale; try to talk Mom into coming with me.

8. Take the camera! (I say I’m going to do that every year, and then forget…doofus!)

Well, it looks like it’s time for me to skip ahead to #3 and go get cleaned up. I’ll post pictures later…