A Long Day

I did not have any plans for today that were expressly time related:  I planned to go to recycle, go to the library, shop at Pet's Mart, fill the gas tank in the Vue, and pick up a few items at Wal Mart in an effort to be prepared and stocked for the holiday. 

I slept in.  Saturday morning, I arose early, before 7 AM because I could not sleep, so I was glad to be able to sleep in today.  I took my time this morning, feeding the cats, watching TV, doing chores including laundry, reading a little, and watching TV.  I had a light lunch, then showered and ran the errands I had on my list.  It took about 2 hours.

Because it gets dark so early, I thought it was much later than it was when I checked the clock about 6:30 PM.  It has been a slow night, and time has dragged. I do not mind. Some days are just like that.  

Saturday, A Lazy Day

I was able to sleep in Saturday morning.  I went for a walk, and read for a while before I started binge watching Blue Bloods.  In the course of watching TV, I did housework during commercials.  And got the chores done that I wanted to do.

Then I watched the Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma football.  It was a loud and crazy game to start with.  It ended poorly for Texas Tech.  So sad.

Sleeping In

I do not know what is wrong with me, but this morning, I slept in until 10 AM. If the cats tried to rouse me, I missed it.  They did not seem frantic for breakfast when I got up, but really, late last night they asked for snacks, and received them.

But even after I awoke I was not really energetic. I did a few things, then hunkered down on the sofa and read for several hours. I did do some laundry and my regular Saturday housework, late in the day.

I am thankful that I have the luxury of taking a day off, totally off, if I need. to. 

A Lazy Day

I did not have much planned for today, and I took a lazy day.  I listened to the radio, read, went out to dinner.  I did some housework, including laundry  and taking out the trash.  There was not much on TV, so I actually read more than I had planned to.  The cats sat with me various times during the day, Haiku especially sitting on my lap off and on much of the morning and early afternoon.  

It was a good day.

Yardwork

I was very, very tired today, partly because of the physical work I did yesterday, and partly because I was up late watching TV.  I watched the Texas Tech vs. Florida NCAA world series baseball game. Tech won. Then, I watched Perry Mason. I heard the alarm clock go off,  but did not hear the secondary alarm from the smartphone.

I spent time reading today, and unusual for me, nodded off for a couple of naps.I enjoying a phone call from a dear friend from college.  I ran some errands, and went out to eat for dinner.  The Texas Tech team was scheduled to play in the College World Series this evening, but due to a weather delay, the game has been postponed until 6/20/18 NCAA World Series.

I obtained an estimate on fixing my carpet, and replacing the padding.  I contacted my Congressional representative and both Senators regarding my distress about the  separating of immigrant children from their parents at the border. I called the handyman I usually use about some tasks I need done around the house. He did not respond today, but that is not unusual, he sometimes takes a day or two to return a call to me.   I hope we can set up services for this week.

My lawn service mowed front, back and alley today.

I was able to take out a lot of trash, and do some trimming in my yard that the lawn service does not do. The trash I took out included things that I had stored for some time, but had no reason or value to keep.

It has been a good day.

A Day Off

Friday was the last day for me to work for 9 days.  I spent Saturday and Sunday pretty much as I would any weekend.  Except I slept in Saturday, and was lazy Sunday after waking up early to no electricity.  But, I did my typical weekend stuff.

I had thought to get up early today and walk and then start on chores and errands.  Well, I slept in.  That is okay.  I stayed up late to watch the rain delayed Texas Tech vs.Florida Gators baseball game in the NCAA College World Series.  Texas Tech won!  And, I decided not to walk.

I have a limited ability to do physical activities these days, and I decided to focus my day on the housecleaning that I wanted to do.

I made some phone calls, to the vet, and to get appointments for estimates on some carpet repair.  The regular reader will remember that last August, I had a leak that was eventually identified as coming from the air conditioner. We had to pull out the carpet pad and in spite of my good intentions, I never had that repaired.  It is time to do so. So I called to get some estimates. 

I also sent an email to try to connect with a potential speaker for our NASW luncheon CEU series. 

I read, I did some computer work, and I did what I really had planned to do:  Vacuum.

This turned into some serious, heavy house work:  I moved furniture.  I got out my Super Sliders (I was impressed.  The last time I saw them was 5 or more years ago, but they were right where I left them.) I moved the sofa, scrubbed some stains in the carpet on my hands and knees, and let it dry.  I also moved some other furniture, cleared some end tables, and let everything to dry.

I was concerned about hurting my back, but I was very careful with how I lifted, pushed, pulled and in general moved. I took a hot shower and rested for a few hours, and then went to the Catholic Charities Board of Directors meeting.  I was not in pain or even feeling much twinging.

I moved everything back when I got home from the meeting. Again, I was careful about my movements.  And after I put everything back,  I had some slight back pain.  I used some Biofreeze spray and decided to get out a back support for the lumbar support.  This one has a heat pad, and vibrator, and I decided to take advantage of those features, also.  They seem to be very comforting.

We shall see tomorrow how I am doing.  One of my neighbors, someone much older than me, is very physically active, doing all kinds of physical chores around her house. Then, she says she has to take 2-3 days to recuperate.  I hope that does not apply to me.

Rain it Did

So we actually did get a measurable amount of rain, and some pea sized hail last night and over night.  Which was good, because tonight, I spent some time outside pulling weeds   I was glad to be able to do so, because it does clean up my yard.  But it was also physically invigorating to do so, which  made me feel better.  And, of course, the sense of accomplishment is always valuable. 

Watering Trees and Yard Work

We are in the midst of a drought, and although we have had some light mist in the last week or so, I would not call it measurable, even if the National Weather Service does.  So, one of the chores I wanted to accomplish this week was to water my trees.  I waited for Friday, because it was supposed to be the warmest day of the week, and although mostly I just move hoses around, they leak at the joints, and I usually get wet when I am watering.

And, I wanted to clean out my rain barrel, and I knew that I would get wet doing that.  

So, even though it was supposed to be very, very windy, which stirs up the dust, I decided to wait until Friday to do these chores.  I started early afternoon, at which time it was predicted the wind would pick up.  It only took me a couple of hours to get these tasks accomplished, and sure enough, by the time I was done, I was soaked.  But it was a really warm day, and after I finished, I sat outside and read for a while.  Although I was wet, I was still comfortable, and the wind did not pick up until very late in the afternoon, by which time I was well dried off.  

Timing is everything. 

Once Again, Chores and Errands

So today was another day of chores and errands.  Mostly the chores were laundry, taking out the trash, recycling, and going to the supermarket.

These are easy chores to do. But by mid-day, when I got myself together to do them, the wind was blowing, and the dust was up.  

It took me less than 90 minutes to do these chores, and much of that time was spent in the car or in the supermarket.  But being out in the wind and dust did have an effect on me, and I having a heavier cough this afternoon, than this morning. But, not a more frequent cough. So, in my mind, my body is doing its job: the heavier cough is in response to the dust, and my respiratory system is doing its job, filtering the junk in the environment out of my system. 

I still have to finish laundry.  

Saturday Chores and Activities

This was a busy Saturday.   I got up early and did housework.  I was not planning to, until I learned of the deceased, but it was important to me to go to a funeral today.  It was the funeral for a co-worker and I wanted to show support for her.  Then I came home and watered in pre-emergent on my lawn. I did not finish.  I quit to go to the Lady Raider game.  And somewhere along the line, a friend from my book club called and said she had an extra ticket to the Lubbock Symphony.  I would have loved to attend, but I am still hacking and coughing, and did not want to be a distraction at the symphony.  So, when I got home from the Lady Raider game, I finished watering in the pre-emergent. 

So, after all that, I was able to sit quietly with my cats and relax, do activities on the computer, and binge watch Blue Bloods.  

Energy Level

When I left work today, I had an errand to run, and then headed home.  I knew I had several chores to accomplish when I arrived home, and I was well braced to do them. I had lots of energy and attacked my tasks and chores with lots of energy early in the evening. I was concerned that this expenditure of energy would sap me later in the evening, and to some extent, that has happened, but it is still early and I can go to bed early. I used to not have to worry about my energy level to this extent, but a sign of aging is that I need to be aware of this.

Days Off

I asked for November 7 and 8 off from work, then promptly forgot that was planned and approved, until a co-worker, who agreed to cover for me, reminded me.  I am planning to take these days off from work. When I asked for the days off, my plan was to look for some knitting patterns, for a hat and mittens, to share with a colleague.  And, I wanted to watch the election news on the 8th, although the results will come in very late.

Since then, as always when I take time off to do nothing, I have stacked my days. I plan to get my vehicle inspected, prior to renewing the registration of the Vue. I plan to reconcile my business accounts: checking and credit card, and verify I have paid my bills.  I still need to finish the minutes for the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Lubbock.  I had thought I would get them done before now, but there has so much going on during the evenings, especially with the World Series, that I have not worked on the minutes as diligently as I could have. 

I am grateful for having the time to be able to take off. I have been very stressed at work, and need some time for myself, and to get away from the negative environment at work.  I like my job, but it has become increasingly stressful, and I will admit, I have missed somethings that  need to be done because I am so overwhelmed.  My supervisor seems to understand how that can occur.  I am grateful. 

Baseball and Chores

The Yankees and the Mets http://mlb.mlb.com/home were playing for the 3rd time in 3 days tonight, and for the second time in 3 days, the game was televised. So, I watched it.  I had a lot of computer chores to tend to: correspondence, bill paying, and other odds and ends like reconciling the checking account.  The good thing about watching baseball is that you do not always have to pay attention to everything that is happening. The bad thing is that sometimes the announcers, who have a very difficult job of filling in during the non-action of the game, have some very boring stories.  Such was tonight.

I got a lot of work done, and I saw the Yankees win against the Mets.  Go Yankees!

A Fine Day

This was a fine day.  I slept as late as I wanted to, but arose a little after 8 AM, so I did not feel like I slept my morning away.  I was able do what I wanted to do in the morning, went to lunch, and ran my errands in the afternoon.  I was able to do the laundry, and read for a while today.  It was the kind of day I wanted to spend. 

Baseballl on a Holiday Weekend

So, this is a day when I have access to watching both the Red Sox and the Yankees. 

The Red Sox played the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park.  The game started shortly after 6 PM Central Daylight Time, and was a rout by the Angels, with the final score being 21 to 2 http://m.mlb.com/news/article/187569356/angels-blow-out-red-sox-with-11-run-seventh.

So, now I am watching the New York Yankees against the San Diego Padres in San Diego http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/new-york-yankees-vs-san-diego-padres-mlb-pictues-1.11995241. Because the game is on the West Coast, it started at 9 PM CDT.

The timing allows me to watch both games, with some overlap.  We shall see how the Yankees do.  It has been an interesting game so far, and it is a tied game at the 7th inning stretch.  

I have used this time to do some office activities.  I have cleaned out my email in boxes, send boxes, and delete boxes. I have reconciled my credit card statement, and did online bill pay with my bank. I have sent some emails, done some word games, and reconciled some financial statements. In all, it has been a productive time for me while I have watched the baseball games. 

Isn't technology wonderful?

Wrist Support

I had a gel-filled wrist support for my computer keyboard(s).  I have had it for years.  I do not use it any more because I no longer use that keyboard.  Except, if I am reading on the computer, and using the mouse, which is on the right side of the desk pullout, and for which I have a wrist support, my left wrist still used the other wrist support.

Well, some very long time ago, the fabric on the wrist support split, and the foam and gel leaked out. Minimally for a long time.  In the last few weeks, the gel has really been leaking out, and getting on my arm and else where.

I had enough tonight.  I trashed the wrist support.  I got out the Goo-Gone http://googone.com/Home, and cleaned off the gooey surfaces.  It was a chore well done.  And one that should have probably been done a long time ago!

Time Warp

I am on vacation this week.  Yesterday, I did several chores and errands that were on my "to do" list for this week. I think I over did something physically yesterday. I could not rest comfortably last night, and I woke up hurting this morning. 

I had several more errands to do today. But early morning, I found myself thinking it was already Wednesday.  It took me a few minutes to realize that the chores that I was planning to do today were the Tuesday chores. And that all the chores I did on Monday were just done the day before.  It felt like those chores had been done several days ago! 

I am not sure why this feeling of distance from the activities of the day before, but it was there.

And, it seems that as I do one thing, another chore arises, and another, and another.  I could schedule more chores per day than I am, and in the past I would have done that. But, my new schedule reflects my efforts not to rush or stress myself.  So, sometimes I feel I am wasting time, but generally, I can fill in the time with other things that have been on my list.

So, time is good.

I Basically Took the Day Off

I did not plan this.   I went to the grocery store yesterday.  I had planned to get up, clean house, go to the Lifestyle Center, and do yard work this afternoon. I slept well on the recliner last night, but did not feel especially rested this morning, and I was hungry all day, until mid-afternoon, which was weird.

Anyway, this morning, after I fed the cats, I picked up the book I was reading: The Chimney Sweeper Comes to Dust by Alan Bradley http://alanbradleyauthor.com/.  And, I read all day.  As I was snacking mid-afternoon, I spilled a bottle of soda pop onto a throw covering a dining room chair, so I took a quick break, put all the throws in the washing machine (past due) and cleaned the cat carrier.  Then, returned to reading and finished the book.

By the time I finished the book, it was past time to clean the bathrooms, kitchen, and vacuum the computer room, as I have a cat pan in there, and I like to clean up the stray kitty litter. 

I did all of this with only one rest break! Wow!  Usually I have to take three or four rest breaks, whether I do the cleaning before or after I go to the pool.

There was about 1/4 inch of rain in the rain gauge from last night's storm.  It was dry enough this afternoon to weed eat and mow, but it did not  happen. And the Yankees are playing the Orioles http://mlb.mlb.com/home on FOX tonight, so no yard work tonight!  We are supposed to get some more rain tonight.  Hopefully, it will be dry enough to mow and weed eat tomorrow.  I plan to do more laundry, go to an NASW planning meeting, and to the West Winds Brass Band http://westwindsbrassband.org/index.php concert tomorrow night.

I Think I Did Too Much This Past Weekend

It started on Friday. I had my time in at work, and was able to go home early. I went to the Lifestyle Center early, went home and fed the cats, and went to the store for my weekly shopping.

That helped with Saturday, because I could get up and start on housework, which I did. Since I had a "head start," I decided this was the weekend I would get the much needed extra cleaning done, which meant, specifically, vacuuming the entire house.  Well I started with housework Saturday morning, and discovered that I had some unexpected errands to run. So, after I went to the Lifestyle Center, I ran these errands.  I had finished all of the housework on my plan before running errands, except the vacuuming. The vacuuming was physically taxing for me, and took much longer that it would have if I was feeling well.

I have to think it was because of the physical exertion, but it was not a good night, and I took aspirin, and used the tens device to help relieve the pressure, but about 2:30 AM, woke up in discomfort. After tossing and turning for an hour, I got up and moved to the sofa.  Eventually, I was alert enough so I could start reading. 

I took a brief nap early Sunday AM, but got up and fed cats, moved laundry, and started yard work.  On Saturday, I thought if I felt well enough, I could mow the front yard. Since that did not happen, the plan was then changed on Sunday, to edge and mow in the front, mow the back, and weed eat the alley.  Well, forget that.

I was hurting so bad, that I started with the much needed edging of the front yard, then mowing, then cleaning up the cast offs on the driveway, side of the road, and side walk from those two activities.  I spent a lot of time resting while I was doing these chores.

I had planned to go to the Lifestyle Center to swim, but I ran out of time.  I took a shower, finished laundry, fed the cats, and went to the Catholic Charities fundraiser Night To Remember http://cclubbock.org/.  I was not sure how long I could last there, but I used an analgesic patch http://www.icyhot.com/patch/1/ on my back, and had some very rapid relief which told me that some of the pain was muscular, not nerve pain.

All this while, when I was taking breaks, I was reading Unbroken, A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Linda Hillenbrand.  This is the story of Louie Zamperini, and the inhumane treatment he survived as a prisoner of war in Japan during World War II. But it is a story of much more.  It is a story of how he turned his life of disrepute around, and became an honored Olympic athlete.  And, how he turned his life around, after World War II and became a  motivator for people who were struggling with the struggles of self-worth and faith with which he struggled.

I have not finished the book. But I will say this, maybe another day, I would not have pushed myself to do the yard work I did.  Compared to Zamperini, my experience was a walk in the park. A little back ache. What am I complaining about?

The point being, we do not know how really bad we have it until we communicate with people who have it worse. 

Blogging

I have had some days off, and normally, when I do, I am able to be creative about blogging, but this time, my days off were filled with non-work chores that took work from my brain as well as my physical presence. 

Nothing bad, but some time consuming tasks.  And busy.  So, today, I have minimized: some laundry, a trip to the library, a trip to the Lifestyle Center, and cat care. Light reading. TV.  And a quick blog.