Yet Another Journal

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cute budgie stories, cute terrier stories, and anything else I can think of.

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» Friday, April 27, 2018

Trying for Normalcy

It's been a long time since I've done one of these entries. I didn't imagine I'd be posting them every day, as most of them would just be a list of chores I got through. I was hoping, however, to feature items of discovery: photography experiments, perhaps, or watercolor adventures. But, you know the saying: Life is what happens when you're making other plans. Since March 9, I've been learning other skills, like practical nursing and half-baked hairdressing.

But I'm still going to tally up some of my successes. I've waited a long time to get some of these done; they're piddling to everyone else but have made me majorly happy.

I've attacked most of the "garage monster." Miscellaneous trash is gone as are empty boxes. The fertilizer hopper and the bicycle rack for my car and the dustpan and brush are hung on the wall. You can now get to the tools and, if James parks the truck far enough back, you can walk around the front of it. I pulled my bicycle out of the corner and now have it next to my car and can take it out for a ride now and then. Only the shelves with the tools need to be rearranged.
The "light bulb shelf" in the hall closet is navigable and all the nightlight bulbs no longer fall out when I get something. Next I need to clean the items from the floor. I have a cleaning appliance in there that I never use. It needs to be donated.
My dental cleaning is finished.
Finished cleaning overly salted food from downstairs "pantry" and have ready for Alice to take to her church's food pantry.
Found a home for the extra InstantPot.
Have taken several boxes of stuff to Goodwill. Have another one started.
Donated the books and DVDs McKay's didn't take to the library. Have started another box of books for McKay's.
Finally installed LED bulbs in the overhead lights in the spare room and craft room.
Cleaned on top of washer and dryer; rearranged food storage on them. Oatmeal and tea to the left, applesauce and Reynolds Wrap to the right.
Cleaned out the drawers in the master bathroom. All first aid items now in one drawer.
Installed brighter bulbs in the dining room. Next time we have a game night we'll be able to see better.
Hand-painted a card and sent it to a friend who has been sick.
Moved my safe deposit box to a closer SunTrust bank.
Applied to get four missing savings bonds.

So once again I'm making progress in my journal/52-week planner. I started that project to make certain I didn't degenerate into a couch potato during retirement. Talk about "had I but known." I don't mind doing the alternative stuff, but I really resent the fact that it had to be to the detriment of James' health!

There's more medical things afoot for the future, including stuff that won't be pleasant. I wish we could take care of these matters in another way. I wish I could do something more so James wouldn't have to always be in the crosshairs. He's tried so hard to improve his food and health choices, but then other things have gone haywire.

Only one thing to do: keep moving.

"It doesn't matter whether you feel useful or not when you're moving from one disaster to another. The trick, I guess, is to just keep moving."
Fr. Mulcahy, M*A*S*H

Labels: chores, decluttering, health, retirement, sickness

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 11:19:00 PM

Comments:

I like this list! It is the small accomplishments, the ones perhaps most overlooked, that matter the most.
And I believe the M*A*S*H quote is from a Christmas episode where Fr Mulcahy writes to "his sister, the sister"?