Oh Happy Day

This picture was taken in February 2002. It was a Happy Day for me. I had two huge poorly maintained evergreen trees in the front yard of the house I had purchased the previous year. It was one of the only things I did not like about the house. Those trees were close to the front window, blocked light and prevented grass from growing. My realtor had told me that it would cost about $2,000.00 to have the trees removed. I saved that amount but had not made the calls to get estimates.

Enter my cousin. She came for a visit In February 2002. I was still working at the time - as an accountant for a CPA firm and it was Tax Season. My cousin came to give me a break at home by preparing my meals and running errands for me. I asked her if she would mind making calls to get estimates on removing those ugly trees.

That day I got a frantic call from my cousin telling me that a tree removal company was in the neighborhood and would remove the trees for $400.00. WHAT? $400.00????? Well, it seems that they had no more jobs to fill their day and if they could let the trees fall on the neighbors yard, it would be an easy job. "Do they have insurance?" I asked.

Everything worked out. The trees (two big ones and one small scrawny one) were removed and the stumps were also removed. The neighbor lady was not home and never knew that the trees fell on her front yard as it was snowing and all the imprints were filled in by fresh snow. My cousin had a digital camera and took pictures during the whole process, E-mailing them to me at my office.

Since I saved almost $1,600.00, I was able to purchase a much needed new computer. That was 2002. It is now 2007 and I need new gutters, downspouts and windows - and I would love a new computer. Maybe I'll invite my cousin for a visit..............

Getting things done

There are so many things on my mental "To Do" list that when I have plenty of time to work on this list, I get paralyzed with indecision and end up doing Sudoku puzzles or surfing the Internet. I should clean the bathroom, but I'd rather stitch, yet that quilt needs binding, and I haven't finished the ironing. Yet I probably should pay the bills first, or perhaps start a load of laundry. And the kitchen floor needs scrubbing, but the quilt retreat is coming up and I need to prepare for that. My head starts to spin, I pick up a Sudoku puzzle, and nothing gets done while I look for where the 9 goes in the last grid.

Today I thought about my problem and decided to take a new approach. Instead of having to decide what to do on my long list, I made out little slips of paper for each list item and put them in a big bowl. After mixing them all up, I closed my eyes and reached in to pick out my first item. Then I set my timer for one hour and began on the assigned task. When the timer dinged, I put away the project and reached for another slip of paper, set the timer again for one hour, and began my new task.

It worked!!!!! I finished four projects and got an hour's worth of work done on four others, plus I took an hour out for lunch and dinner, reading my book as I ate which meant I also had almost two hours of reading time. What a productive day. I feel great.

Of course a lot of things did not get done - but they might not have gotten done anyway. Maybe I will pick them out of the bowl tomorrow. Maybe not. So if my kitchen floor does not get scrubbed until next week, well, it's just the luck of the draw.

Journaling

When I day-dream, I'm energetic, thin, and usually a writer, or some sort of artist, or musician, or public speaker. In real life, I'm somewhat lazy, overweight, and do not have the discipline to write or create or practice or keep my voice from quaking.

Come into my office and you will find many notebooks - journals started and abandoned, memory notebooks half full and abandoned. BUT - this year (so far) I have kept a daily journal right on my desk and faithfully enter a few lines for each day.

For several years I did "morning pages" (per Julia Cameron of "The Artist's Way" fame) and felt that it really helped me be more energetic. It was a half-hour committment every morning. That half-hour is now spent reading the newspaper.

I try to keep three blogs going, my daily journal entry and an e-mail to my cousins every night with two gratitudes & a summary of my day. It is my form of being a writer. My form of being an artist can be seen on my other blogs (quilting and counted cross-stitch) and my form of being a musician can be seen Sunday mornings when I sing in the choir. As far as public speaking goes, I make a great audience!

Do you journal?

Wallace Nutting

These are two pictures from my small collection of Wallace Nutting pictures. You have to be fairly old to know about Wallace Nutting pictures. Wallace Nutting pictures are actually black and white photographs that he hand painted. They became very popular (before color photographs) and were sold by Sears Roebuck & Co. Because they were so popular, there was no way that one man, Wallace Nutting, could possibly paint all the pictures that were sold. In fact, there were many people painting these pictures and signing them with Wallace Nutting's signature. I have a book telling the history of these pictures and about the life of Wallace Nutting.

I particularly like the scenery pictures of lakes and quiet country roads. They are very meditative and serene. It would be lovely to transport myself into one of these pictures for a quiet hour or so.

And they said it couldn't be done

The fireplace in my home is a stone facade and lacked a mantel. Recently I went to a fireplace store and asked about having a mantel or shelf put on my fireplace. When I told them it was a stone fireplace the unfriendly male clerk told me, "Can't be done," and he walked away.

Then my cousin's husband offered to spend a few days at my house doing handyman jobs. On my list, of course, was the challenge to mount a mantel or shelf on the fireplace.

With a much skill and a little thinking outside the box, he was able to install a shelf, center it, and make it level. Beautiful!




Now I can display my china dogs and my favorite covered bridge painting. At Christmas, I can hang a wreath and place garland, candles and stockings on the shelf.

(Please sing along.....) It's so nice to have a man around the house....

Monday Morning

The absolutely best thing about retirement is Monday mornings. On Monday mornings I have several cups of coffee while I read the newspaper, do a Sudoku puzzle, and read my book. There is no rush to get dressed and no rush to start my day. What a blessing to look forward to Monday mornings.

My doorbell just rang and it was a little girl from next door. "Our ball went into your back yard" she said with a shaky voice. Oh my, do you remember when the next door neighbor's yard was a scary place? I tried to reassure her, with a friendly smile, that it was OK to go into my yard and get the ball. She is the littlest of the neighbor children and got the unwanted job of ringing my bell. She was mighty brave.

Good Sister

Yesterday and today I helped my sister clean out her closet. See the pretty white shirt she is wearing in the above picture? This picture was taken in 2005. She lost the white shirt and today we found it on the floor in the back of the closet where it had fallen off a hanger. But we didn't find the white knit suit that disappeared several years ago. We had a good time reaming out clothes and preparing eight bags for charity. Don't worry, she has plenty left in her closet. She is feeling good about getting her closet organized and I'm feeling good that I could help. We have always had a helping-each-other-out relationship. Many times over the years she has come to my rescue, even to giving me a room in her home, rent free, when I lost my money on a silly investment - and this is when she had a husband, five children and three dogs. Now that is a GOOD sister!