the time when it seems to me that I'm not getting anything done, so I make a list of the "extra" things I've been doing lately (those non-daily, non-weekly, occasional, or unusual tasks) so as to remind myself that I really am making progress. Here's my list, in no particular order, from the past couple weeks.
~ Did a library run to turn in about 35 picture books and select a roughly equivalent number of new ones.
~ Looked extensively at home for A Squash and a Squeeze, one of the books I was pretty sure I had taken back to the library, but which the library insisted had not been returned and was now overdue.
~ Did all my usual online work in slow motion due to our internet being down for five ever-lovin' days. At 9:00 AM on April 25th, it worked fine. An hour later it did not. My hotspot's internet service was spotty. I was almost but not quite maximally frustrated.
~ Invested quite a number of brain cycles and phone calls - plus eventually a few miles - in trying to obtain an elusive prescription medication.
~ Attended an outstanding workshop, "Perennials in the Garden," at the Library Center of the Ozarks (LCO, formerly known as Taneyhills Library) and brought home two free plants!
~ Made two pans of Cheese Spaghetti Casserole in an effort to build up some freezer meals.
~ Wrote a number of ministry-related emails. Without functional internet. = {
~ Took Thomas to the car wash (thank you, Andrew!), vacuumed him, and let him take a sudsy shower.
~ Did not find A Squash and a Squeeze at home. (I had known I wouldn't.)
~ Colored for 30 minutes on the porch.
~ Went out to lunch with friends after church. [NOTE TO SELF: The chicken chimichanga at El Lago is better with fajita chicken no peppers than with the shredded chicken it normally comes with. There may have been an upcharge for that...?]
~ Realized our tomato seedlings weren't growing and was very sad, but didn't know what to do about it and didn't have time to figure out what to do about it.
~ Had a very helpful counseling session.
~ Learned a tiny bit about how vinyl letter signs are made while "helping" transfer sheets of letters to signs for our church's Drive-Thru Prayer outreach.
~ Did the monthly treatments on our dishwasher, washing machine, and tub drain.
~ Cried in frustration and embarrassment during a physical therapy session in which I was not able to lift my left foot over a three-foot-long, three-inch-high foam "obstacle" lying on the floor in front of me. It looked like an oversized pool noodle that had been sliced in half down the middle and then put in a panini press. This should NOT have been such a difficult challenge!
~ Made a pan of Neiman-Marcus Brownies to take to a luncheon after church. They were well-received. = )
~ Shopped for and purchased replacement porch lights. I have a friend I'm hoping we can hire to install them when he returns from a mission trip.
~ Called the library to get some closure on A Squash and a Squeeze. I hate having outstanding debts, and even though I thought I had returned it, I couldn't prove it, and I wanted to just pay for it and be done with it so that my card wouldn't be frozen. I was hoping to talk with Corrinne or Sarah who both know me well, but I got a super-nice young lady I've never met and who used a cheerfully emphatic "absoLUTEly!" for every positive response. She double-checked that the book had not been turned in and could not be renewed, so until I came in and paid for it, my card would be frozen. I have six cards, my own being the main one to which all the others are connected. She did not know if freezing my card would freeze all the cards; if so that would be a major problem for our grands. When I asked how much I needed to pay for the book, she said she'd need to check with her boss and would I please hold. Sure. Or, I guess I could have said, "absoLUTEly!" She was gone a L-O-N-G time, more than ten minutes, but when she returned she had good news: A Squash and Squeeze had been found, my card was unfrozen, and all was well! I did not say, "I told you so." I said, "That's great! Thank you very much."
~ Bought new peat pots and name brand potting soil to replant all 18 tomato seedlings that were one inch high and a sickly purple-to-yellow color, with only two tiny seed leaves each, a full five weeks after sprouting. At that point, they should have been six inches high, green, leafy, and bushy. The re-potting was tedious, messy, and sad, but it was our only chance at homegrown tomatoes this year. [UPDATE: A week after being re-potted, here are the happy babies. This is how they should have looked a month ago.]
They may end up being late bloomers, but they're still alive and (finally!) thriving
~ Made two meals' worth of Calico Beans to feed the freezer.
~ Reviewed the "Sngs to Missouri 2024" spreadsheet and inquired about the use of a high chair.
~ Spent several hours helping with the Drive-Thru Prayer outreach. It went well, we prayed with a number of folks, it was really encouraging and energizing, and picking up the signs was an adventure!
~ Roasted three sheet pans of veggies to eat throughout the week.
~ Had phone conversations with several family members I hadn't talked with in a while.
~ Went to the library to browse books for ME to read and picked out several that were not shelved in the children's section.
~ Learned more than I ever wanted to know about DSL modem cables, including why they can't be bought locally, AND was reminded that there still are people in this world who are willing to spend their time explaining things in simple ways and helping us when there's nothing in it for them (I wanna be like that!), AND finally learned the real reason we had no internet for five days.
~ Got an oil change for Thomas.
~ Had an especially meaningful conversation with our pastor.
~ Bought two books for myself that our library doesn't have. Even if they had been available at the library, I plan to read them in bed, and since I usually cover only a few pages before falling asleep, I'd never be able to finish them in the six total weeks I could keep them checked out.
~ Decluttered my sock drawer.
~ Took Batchelators (for Bill) and visited with LaShell and his mom. His dad passed away two days ago. He was already back at work, but I left instructions that he is to share at least one small piece with his mom. Batchelators are the only thing I've ever known Bill to be selfish about. He likes to cut the pan down the middle and say everything on one side is his.
~ Dumped the dehumidifier three times.
~ Attended worship practice, one of my most favorite recreational activities.
~ Actually planted the shade-loving plant I got at the "Perennials in the Garden" workshop. It's a Begonia grandis, and the note on the pot said, "hardy begonia, pink, shade, 18-20", emerges late" (which means it blooms late in the season). Today it looked like this,
Begonia grandis
but I'm hoping that someday it will look like this. = )
Begonia grandis,
photo credit: iNaturalist
All that was in addition to my usual stretches, exercises, workouts, shopping, banking, cleaning, laundry, physical therapy, and church responsibilities and activities. Ah! Looking back over this list is encouraging. I really have been doing some stuff! = )
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