Good morning.

I am trying very hard not to crash today. I am wishing I had given myself one more hour of sleep though.

Yesterday I did pretty well. For a start I went the whole day without having a headache. I'm trying to pay attention to my water intake. I remembered my vitamin. I taught all day (including adding a new student), loaded the kiln, loaded and ran the dishwasher, cut Dh hair, and ran a load of wash - I put it in the dryer this morning.

I intended to do ten evaluations, but I only made it through six. I currently need to complete nine a day to finish on time - or about 2 hrs and 15 minutes a day. That is too much for school days, so I will have to do more on the weekend. I tried staying late so that I could pop over and look at the shelves while I was writing the pottery ones. That worked pretty well and there are fewer distractions and temptations. I will probably do that again tonight.

I have still not cleaned up the house from the Monday play date. Or made progress on Christmas decorations. I am keeping the house pretty much in balance though. Sometimes holding the line is enough, right?

A former student friend is coming to eat lunch with me at school today.

Tatoulia, that is a good reason to be sad.

You will miss your bf. It is both possible and reasonable to be happy for someone else and sad at the same time. I know. I've got two kids who have good lives in other states.

5 months is a long time, but it will go faster than you think. We will keep you busy taking care of us.

Yesterday was a struggle and I was tired and my head ached, but I got all the wednesday notebooks checked (well, I have six kids who didn't turn them in - so, conversations on that today) and I have most of today's lesson plans done and on the board (a little easy prep to go)

I thought about skipping my own class, but it was the first night, so I decided to push through and go for the intro and demonstrations. I'm glad I did, because once I got to the studio, my headache slowly went away, and I ended up staying and making a little hanging bowl and getting a lot of good ideas.

And I feel better about myself today because I succeeded at some hard things.

I got a catalog in the mail yesterday with some very pretty and absurdly expensive things in it. I'm keeping it for a while for some inspiration for my clay work.

Great work in the magazines and the newspapers, Cm and SubC! Very proud of you,

I have all my Christmas stuff on the dining room table, so that's not actual progress but it is something.

I am overwhelmed with sadness for no good reason. I mean there is a reason but it's not a good one. BF is going to go home for several months. I am so happy for him! He's got a lot of work to do there in his properties and also needs to spend some solid time with his family. He is the only one in the US. I've met two of his sisters and his brother over the years. I am so happy for him and am very excited. But then the sadness creeps in. Right now he's thinking of about five or more months. I can do this, I'm just sad about it. He doesn't have his departure date yet. The only thing I ask is that he come back. He's not selling his place here. I do not want to impose by asking if I can visit. He has not been home in 20 years. Not time for me to make it about me.

He told our friends at Christmas and they were happy for him. He said he's sure they will take care of me on my birthday if he's already left. We discussed whether my cat will still be alive and we decided that if she's still okay, then I will have my friend Emiko go with me if at some point I need to put her to sleep. Weird what the two of us are worried about.

My heart is sad but only for me. I have been sad about how much he has worked and not seen his family in so long. So now my heart doesn't need to feel sad for him. And I'll be fine. I just need to cry a lot.

Lol Tatoulia, I need to sleep more.

CM, nice job on the quilting magazines! Remember my pile of local interest magazines? They are still coming in every month, but my pile is down to ten - including the current month. I have set a goal to clear out at least two each month, so that by fall I will have only the current month.

The play date went great yesterday. I miss having a house full of little kids. It's fun and I'm good at it. The house is a mess though. I am not good at cleaning up. I remember when my kids were little. the thing is, I'm still not good at cleaning up, but before, I was doing a bunch of stuff that was more important, and now I'm just surfing the Internet.

I need to find some way to keep myself accountable and motivated in the little things. I am so frustrated with myself.

Just a few little things...

I'm finding an item here and there that I'll look at and go "Why didn't I get rid of this a long time ago?" Probably just because it camouflaged itself in the other clutter and I stopped seeing it. Now they're jumping out at me, figuratively speaking.

Also, one good consequence of the hand sanitizer spill (and thankfully it no longer reeks like grandpappy's moonshine still in the living room) is that I shifted a stack of quilting magazines I had been wanting to go through. And guess what - I'm going through them! There aren't too many; they were just the last of a bigger bunch that is already in my van ready to be dropped off at the library bookstore.

So far I've flipped through 13 of them and there are maybe a dozen more. I'm kind of reassessing where I want to go with quilting; in another post I'll elaborate on that - basically I want to simplify what quilts I decide to make. So some of the magazines that had patterns that I thought I was interested in, I decided perhaps not after all. And some I think were just loose ones that got in the batch - the ladies in the guild sometimes bring their old ones to the church and I grab a few to look at. Anyhow, made good progress there.

Made pumpkin pies yesterday since our Christmas didn't include them because we were still tired from the Covid. That gets 4 cans off the shelves in the pantry, too - 2 of pumpkin and 2 of evaporated milk. I can use the space.

Road, I'm glad you are feeling better. I've always bought my mattresses by taking my mom. She broke her back 60 years ago and I trust her mattress skills. I hate buying mattresses. I also buy the most expensive I can afford.

SubC you do have a big play date today!

I have started a second bag to goodwill. My challenge to myself is to get these bags to my car. Now that BF's office isn't just up the street, I just don't go to my car anymore. I need to get better about a lot of things in my life. Getting out more and sleeping less are two things I need to concentrate on.

Hi road! Glad you are feeling better!

We just go to the store and lie on them.

CM, glad your unit will be getting the work done and you feel like you are making progress.

The stuff in piles that falls over is the sort of thing I mean by the "high interest" stuff. If we can get rid of the pile, we will gain back so much extra time that we are spending dodging around it and stacking it back up..

I feel like I made some progress this weekend, but it was all temporary progress - rest, laundry, dishes, baked bread. Nothing that will last the week, or possibly even the day.

I pick Bean up this morning and then the farm sitter is dropping her three until lunch time - likely to make a big dent in the bread and the rest. Dishes are actually already piled up, just not as bad as yesterday.

Off to do my chores and pick up the floor a bit before the big play date!

Hi all, just checking in. Have been feeling very good last couple days. Very little pain. No pain meds. Only issue is I am still really tired and not sleeping well. I finally lost the last of the built up fluid and the expected couple pounds from being sick and basically not eating for a week. So now I am officially not worried any more. I was a little sloppier with what I ate yesterday and I did have some stomach or left flank pain so I will try to be careful still.

The H and I tangled a bit today over responsibilities and his feeling overwhelmed. It does not compute for him that one reason he feels overwhelmed is he has been temporarily doing both our jobs because he really does seem to believe I don't do anything. I hear subc's sage advice from long ago Ringing in my ears... how can he believe when up to now there hasn't been a basis for trust (paraphrasing) so I try to be patient because I know there is truth to that. However, as I do progress my suspicion that he has a blind spot to any Progress is proving out. Luckily for me (?) I have photographic proof.

I had intended to take over all the paperwork/process for my sons social security and other adulthood documents and interface with various agencies/entities, but with my ADD that stuff is challenging and It just seemed like I was repeatedly getting knocked down by health issues... but now I am taking it over. I set up a binder, adding pockets and dividers, Started printing and filling out some documents... etc. it's a very complex process so it requires some org. Luckily the social worker At my sons school is great - very knowledgeable and proactive getting everyone where they need to be so I have help.

I am now officially glad the guys are back to school tomorrow.

So - I decided not to keep the foam mattress I was trying out. I want a conventional, firm box spring and mattress. Any recommendations? How do you guys all go about getting new mattresses?

Oh wow, lots of you or family have been sick - hope all will be better soon!

Roommate and I are still having the post Covid dry annoying cough. She has it worse because everything respiratory hits her hard. Otherwise we're doing okay.

I'm trying to regain equilibrium. Wednesday night into Thursday morning I was watching the livestream of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's funeral. So I knew I would be jet lagged! Slept till nearly 2:00 p.m. Thursday. Had a small migraine Thursday evening while roommate and I were watching TV. I do believe erratic sleep is one of my migraine triggers. But all they are really anymore is an aura that lasts 45 minutes to an hour, then when the visual weirdness ends, most of the time that's it, no headache.

I got some things done on Tuesday which was payday; spoke to the manager of the storage unit place and she was really nice. They are planning to do some work on the concrete which might also help where the water tends to pool in front of my unit the most of any of them. And the gutters. I had photos of where the rusted out place is that lets water drip on my head. Concrete work won't be able to be done till warmer weather, but at least if I know it's planned. (Wouldn't it be great if I could just win the lottery, buy a house, have my minimalist studio/residence, and never need a storage unit again, lol?)

Meanwhile, until the lottery comes through, I'm making my poco a poco progress. Pulled out another couple of games from storage, and a few more books. The books are ones that I can part with to the senior center. The games may be donated there or carried back and forth (nice Mexican Train domino set I bought a few years ago which is compact enough to live in my van and I could take it there when I want to play).

These things don't sound like much, but are part of an overall shift which is promising. I'm also doing some in my bedroom which has been such a disaster. It's just in the early stages, but I am hoping to deal with several years' worth of entropy and chaos there.

The shift is simply that I feel more like doing it, like I have the mental bandwidth again and a little energy, and that certain possessions have ceased to feel like they belong in the category of "Mine." What I mean by that is, say I have a copy of a certain book. For many years, that was my copy of that book, and my book collection needed to have it in it. But now a lot of them don't feel like they are as relevant to my current life.

For example, when my parents died in the 00s, I bought a slew of books on grief. Well, Mom and Dad have been deceased long enough now that I am really not needing those books - yet for a long time I guess I thought I might want to refer back to them or something? Because they were really well written, etc.? Or perhaps I even had some vague passing notion of ministering to grieving people. But no. It's a different time, I have different concerns, and such books are more available in non-physical formats anyway. So someone else can be blessed with them now. They will do much more good out in the world than bundled away in a dank storage unit.

Growing up, I just looked at all kinds of items as having some sort of, what to call it, "destiny?" to be my or my family's property. Even silly little things like a particular wallet or nail file or set of drink glasses, piece of furniture - it was OUR red wallet, our drink glasses, our green sofa. Although sometimes we did sell the bigger things and get different ones - but then those became ours in the same way. I guess it's just the comforting familiarity? Whatever it was/is, for some reason in my little noggin, that took on too much importance, I guess.

Anyhow, I'm seeing this "importance of ownership" in my attitude to lots of things that I possess, but the good news is that it is undergoing that shift. I don't have to have this copy of this book, or this sweater, or whatever, just because I've had it for X number of years. It's just a thing. I can decide afresh whether it's a thing that I want/need in my life, or whether the space would be nicer to have instead.

Well, I guess that's all for Critical Mass on The Phenomenology of Possessions for one day.

Another thing that I'll just briefly mention, and that is I just want to get to the point where there isn't so much stuff in piles to knock over. Had another crazy time last night, just when things had been going semi-smoothly. A bottle of hand sanitizer from early in the pandemic - remember when companies were scrambling to make it out of whatever alcohol they could find? This stuff was thin, 80% alcohol, very strong smelling - and I had been using it to clean ink, which it did quite well - but then somehow unbeknownst to me the bottle tipped over onto the carpet! IT STUNK TO HIGH HEAVEN and my poor roommate was coughing her lungs out. I felt so bad! Plus of course it had to make a mess in a place on the rug that had junk piled nearby, and was a pain in the butt to clean up.

So that all was not good for my mood at all. I've been aware for quite some time that clutter begets more clutter, and one of the easiest ways it does that is by causing spills and avalanches. Especially in this small overcrowded house. It can get very discouraging, because I can have a success and then bump into something and make twice the mess I had managed to fix. Being an ADHD klutz too doesn't help, nor does the weight I've regained - I have lost a sense of when I have clearance not to bump into furniture. I'm going to be losing that weight though, I mean to do it. It's not that much, but just enough to change my spatial sense if you know what I mean. The exercise to help with the weight will surely also help me be more graceful. One can hope.

So anyway, this post has been another hodgepodge of scattered thoughts, but I just had been meaning to check in, so it'll do for now.

Poco a poco, ladies!

Tatoulia,

It was ok. I'm just sad for the kid. My boss told me today that my email was "perfect". She is generally supportive, but this may be the first time since high school anyone has referred to any of my work as "perfect" so that was comforting.

I have been doing some reflection and analysis and I have come to the conclusion that I crash on Thursdays. It seems to be a pattern - strong start to the week, crash on Thursday, coast through Friday, recover over the weekend, repeat. I think maybe I need to spend some time working on Thursday and Friday ahead of time so that even if I don't get as many extra things done early in the week, the crash is less hard.

I got a dozen new dish cloths and a box of toys that I bought on clearance after Christmas in the mail today. The toys are to give Bean slowly over time. The dishcloths are definitely a net in though, I need to purge some ratty ones.

That is an upsetting situation, SubC. I'm so sorry you had to do that.

I am more emotional than mathematical which is a hoot because (job hint) I work with math a lot.

So i used to enjoy getting rid of student loans by the numbers rather than by the dollars. But you are correct, in both the short and the king runs!

Cleaners came today. I'm going to clean the cat box, shower and get ready for bed. Back to office tmr. My stomach is somewhat better. I did have a ginger ale tonight. So far so good on the nausea.

Well, I decluttered her.

I tried to send a clear, detailed, but polite explanation of the situation, which also included honest praise for the child where is was deserved and suggestions on making a better fit (than my class)

She told me I'm a horrible person and a lousy teacher (she used more words) and that she is withdrawing him from our school tomorrow.

The email would have been pretty hurtful 30 years ago. Now I'm just tired and sad that she did not advocate for her kid better by communicating before enrolling him.

Set up coffee.
Go to bed.

Tatoulia, a lot of people do it that way.

Anything that motivates you is better than something that doesn't.

It just doesn't make sense to me because it's mathematically irrational - you end up paying more money in total, so it could take longer overall. I am motivated by paying less money over less time.

With the stuff, it's not necessarily the hardest stuff first, it's the stuff that drains my energy the most.

Currently I would like to declutter a parent. She is mad at me. I am possibly more mad at her. We are both mad because we want what is best for her kid. I need to not obsess over this all evening.

Thanks for helping me better understand the credit analogy. Not to muddy the waters but when I had debt, I worked on the lowest amount of debt first, because I enjoy the satisfaction of having the debt extinguished. I think I'm that way with my possessions, too. Working on the easier stuff.

I have at least one bag to go to goodwill. In terms of Christmas gifts, my incoming was one purse, desk items, and perfume and soaps. So nothing that needs any special accommodations. I do, however, have to take a look at my linens including throw blankets and make some decisions.

Serial posting.

I emptied and entire ring binder of old school paper. I did not count the sheets, but I'm calling that enough slack for the rest of the week. It was about 3/8".

Next I need to take care of some insurance paperwork. That would be an example of a high interest item. I know it will only take a few minutes, but the amount of stress and mental energy involved in not having it done is huge and makes it seem like a mountain. So doing it will free up a lot of energy for other stuff.

Good morning.

Once again I watched videos all evening. Once again I am getting up tired. I fell back into my groove like a needle.

I did find 25 pieces of teaching related paper that I could recycle yesterday morning.

I think if I balance my day the next morning I'm going to call it good, because I do better in the mornings.

Yesterday I added 8 more sheets of teaching paper to my life, so I will try to sort the teaching paper pile some more today. Food packaging ebbs and flows like laundry, but it is currently at a manageable place - the scullery has been getting neither notably better nor notably worse. I cleaned my desk at school up a little yesterday and I used the trash can.

Poco a poco.

More about the debt analogy - if you have many credit cards and you are servicing debt, that costs you extra money every month - as you pay them off, you lower the interest and then remove a minimum payment, so you can put more money toward the next one every month and pay off faster. The key is to reduce the total every month.

When I have many many piles and boxes around the house I spend a lot of time and energy moving them and churning through them looking for things. As I reduce them, less time will be needed for churning and moving and so more can be dedicated to reducing. I don't want to spend a bunch of time record keeping, so I am trying to be mindful and reduce the total every day if possible. I know I will have bad days, but if I can do that more often than not, the total should go down every month. And then next year I will have less stuff and more organization and daily life might be less exhausting.

As usual I still have prep work to do for today.

I slept so much during break, and somehow I have already built up a brand new sleep deficit.

I am leaving my Christmas stuff up. I like it. I was going to take it down this weekend after twelfth night, but now we have a concert on Saturday night and dinner with friends on Sunday night and I think I will wait an extra week. Our semester ends on the 13th and I need to get started on evaluations - another thing I didn't do over break. So I will probably be motivated to procrasticlean.

Road - you keep resting! I don't know how old you are, but Dh had his appendix out laparoscopically about 15 years ago and it took him most of the week to recover enough to move around normally. And you don't even use your appendix!

Ok, I'm going to try to address my prep work and see what I can do about those 17 sheets of paper. - most of them were copies to organize records for school.

Road! Be sure to take it easy! Sometimes those shots burn! Truly let yourself heal. Do not push yourself. Do not weigh yourself! You are filled with fluid. Just watch out for your lungs and try to sit up a few hours each day.

You did a good job salvaging your day, SubC. Dear little bean. Glad sil's fever broke!

I did get my wreaths down and out yesterday. It felt really good. I will put some of the Christmas things away soon.

Well dishwasher is ready to be run and I am ready to take my shower. Back to office tmr. I've been worried about my little African violet.

Road, I'm glad you're home and not in too much pain, but that sounds rough! I'm impressed you did anything.

We don't know what sil had. I'm just glad he's getting better.

I went down to the basement and grabbed six old seed catalogs and put them in the recycling. Loose papers are just going to have to float.

I also found a plastic cap in my pocket that I hadn't even remembered picking up. So there's that...

Hi guys!

Subc, will have to give some thought to your debt analogy...

Tatoulia, yes, laparoscopic thank goodness. Pain not too bad except at one of the four sites. Also some "burning" feeling where I got a series of anti blood clot shots in my belly. Shots didn't hurt at all but now the skin is.

Instead of losing 5-10 I ended up gaining 13 (in fluid I assume). Hands feet are puffy, my eyes look bloodshot and puffy... having trouble taking a deep breath but my o2 is fine. Hopefully by tomorrow I will have lost a few in water. Running a little temp but nothing major. Had a little veg & broth, some crackers, half an apple. That's about all I could deal with today. Taking it slow. Just took one pain pill today.

House wise I just cleaned up a couple things in the kitchen. Hope fully I will feel better tomorrow. I did clean up a medical bill mess from august though. That was my big adulting today. Took almost two hours On hold on the phone (not my strong suit) but I think it's done. Big deal for me.

The H has been very tolerant and has tried his best to be helpful which I am grateful for. My son has been alternately angelic and turd like. He helped me put on pajama pants and a sock, and then he would pour ice water in his top hat and dump it over my head. You get the picture.

Sub c what is sil sick with with a high fever? Glad you made it work. Our Christmas is all still up. Gonna be a few days still I think.

I'm gonna sign off. Thanks for the healing wishes. Very hopeful I won't have another attack like the ones I've been dealing with since august. Happy new year everyone! Let's keep moving our feet forward and "KEEP HOPE ALIVE!"

Bean attended my 11:00 class. Then we had lunch. His mommy picked him up at 1:00. Daddy's fever broke, so they kept him.

I got some of what I wanted done today.

My life has increased by two seed catalogs and 17 pages of paper today. I may try to find the energy to address that after dinner. But I am tired and not fully ready for tomorrow. This is how things build up.

Good morning!

I got almost six hours of Broken sleep last night.

We moved Bean up to the office room that opens into our room with no door because Dd was worried that if he got sick during the night we wouldn't hear him.

I got to bed around 11, but my feet and sheets were cold so I couldn't fall asleep. Dh came to bed freezing just as I was drifting off.

Bean woke up and quietly protested something at 1:30. If he had been in his own room, he would probably have just gone back to sleep, but I am hyper vigilant when he is here, and got up, touched him to check for fever, straightened his blankets, reassured him, and sat with my hand on his back for a few minutes before going back to bed.

A storm rolled in around 4 and woke me again.

Now it is a bit past 5, I am very tired, drinking coffee, It is pouring rain, I need to do my chores before Bean wakes up because it is too much to manage (too slow) if I wait for him. I'm trying to get ready to go to school taking Bean along at least to clean up, and I don't know if I'm actually teaching today.

This is not how I planned to start this school year.

Mice and men as the poets says.

I hope road is resting and recovering, Lila is enjoying her cousin, Tatoulia has her wreathes down and still feels better, and CM is still moving forward - poco a poco.

I did not put up Dh paper houses this year because we didn't have a good place to put them away from Bean and dogs.

I still have Bean. His daddy is very sick with a high fever. If his momma doesn't think she can take him back tomorrow, I will need to take the day off. Except I left my room such a mess I think Bean and I will have to go clean it up before the sub takes over.

I made some progress on the house today, but have not been able to get entirely ready for school. I may be up late tonight.

Oh dear Road, I am sorry you had to have surgery! Please write when you can! We care about you and your family a lot. I hole they were able to do the surgery laparoscopically so that your recovery will be somewhat better. But still a recovery to be sure. Please know I am holding you in my thoughts.

SubC, I like the concept of owning down debt. Of course my mind cannot quite grasp it in terms of lower interest rate vs higher interest rate vis a vis spaces but you know,and that's what matters.

It is trash night tonight. I need to shower and look alive. My friend Emiko came by and I was still in my pjs. She didn't mind. It was good to see her.

Bf heading down soon so I need to shower. Back to work tomorrow. No more lounging in bed til noon.

After I shower and get dressed, I will take my wreaths down for pickup tomorrow. I have taken down the Christmas scene in th e common area hallway. . I'm leaving out my paper houses because I love them so. I'll work on some of the other decorations later tonight.

Yes it's 5 PM and I'm just now looking alive.

Oh, I had no ginger ale or crackers the last two days and I do not feel nauseated. I wonder if they were contributing to my nausea.

Good morning!

Road, I am sorry you had to have surgery, but I am hopeful that now the cause of the problem is gone and it will not come back! Rest and recover.

Woke to a note from Bean's mommy that his daddy was up sick all night. Hopefully he caught whatever it was hanging out with his friend on Saturday and Bean is not sick.

Today is baking and playing with Bean, and getting ready for school this week. Should also put the laundry away and keep working on the scullery.

I have been thinking - my spaces are liked debt, except instead of money, it is time and energy I have to pay. The idea is to pay just the minimum (keep up with any new messes and items) on most of them, and then throw any extra at the one with the highest interest rate (most impact on my life)

Only, since I am moving somethings into my basement, it's more like I am still using the lowest interest card so that I can pay as much as possible on the highest interest one.

But the point is, that like ccs, this should get easier with every space I clear and defend.

Hi all,

Ended up getting gall bladder removed today. I had a stone obstructing the pancreas in worst spot. They said that's the most dangerous complication of gb so that's why I was so sick. That resolved itself but had to get gb removed to keep it from happening again . Gall bladder wasn't diagnosed til they did this imaging I guess because pain was referring center left instead of center right. ?? Still not sure why it wasn't even on the radar.

But that's my exciting news.

Will try to catch up when my eyeballs are cooperating again?

Lol Tatoulia, I suppose you read, but then no more post..

Today I did not keep up with the actual food packaging, but I washed or rinsed and set out to dry more food packaging than we created. And I started the fire with a paper egg carton.

I still have too much milk stockpiled in the fridge and am not managing it well (using oldest first) but I used more than I got today - even if I did give some that was sour to the chickens. Not optimal use, but it cuts down on chicken feed.

I found four little toy animals (Bean has nicer ones) and some arts and crafts sponges to add to the donate pile.

The weather didn't turn out as promised, but I got two loads of bedding out of the barn and onto cardboard in the garden. And I cleaned up and organized and worked on some projects in the studio for two hours. So, progress.

I have a big box of things set aside for a one way trip to school.

And Bean tucked in bed and our fruit soaking and squash thawing for tomorrow's baking.

Happy New Year!

Now to read the posts!

So, I have been thinking today - there are 5 ways things leave my possession:

Used up:
Consumed
Composted
Burned
Made into something else (which is then kept, given away, or sold)

Given away:
As gifts
Donated

Sold (includes returns - which are rare)

Recycled

Garbage

I try to pay attention on the front end to minimize that last one.

A lot of those are food and food packaging related. So, my plan is to try to keep on top of the food and food packaging related stuff and net one non-food related out every day. "Made into something else" only counts if it is not a kept thing.

Items will be counted when they are categorized, not dropped off (so I can put something in a donate box and count it but not take the box until it is full. No credit for dropping the box off.)

Report later.

White rabbit, white rabbit, white rabbit! 🐇 (Depending on your browser and which emoji set it uses, the rabbits may be white or they may be brown. In any case, they're cute.)

And Happy New Year. 🎉 🥳 May it bring renewed hope, peace, prosperity, and all those good things. And little beanlets and a peanut or whatever Lila decides to call the successor of Acorn. 😉

Road, I hope and pray that you are already feeling a lot better after your bad spell.

Lila, when I have the newsletter from the senior center in front of me - new one just came last week - I'll see if I can find you some good ideas. I'm pretty new there myself and because of life craziness then catching the Rona, I haven't gotten there much. For me, its role is that of a resource center, a place to go and do things like the open crafting days to catch up on my projects. And some of the quieter interactive things like board games. Fitness too - I am interested in stretching type classes, and casual pickleball (because although I never really got serious about tennis, I used to enjoy whacking a ball with a racket). Not that I don't want to meet people and make friends, I do, but it'll probably happen secondary to doing things that interest me. That's just how I am, as an introvert.

So things like the dances and parties I'm not sure if will be my interest, and the craft classes where a set project is assigned, unless it would be something I've wanted to learn about. I may be more focused on my own agenda, but if I observe something I think might be what you're looking for in terms of ideas I'll pass it on.

Well, a new year stretches ahead, and I sure hope it'll be an improvement on the previous one. I have some optimism. My anxiety seems less, I think I'll be more disciplined in doing fitness which will further calm me, and I feel less intimidated and lost regarding the decluttering. In fact, rather eager to get started.

I hope my roommate will have a much happier and calmer time too; she hasn't gotten to really settle into retirement and enjoy it because of crazy happenings around here - things impacting her directly, and helping me navigate through some of mine (bless her for her willingness - I need to make more of a point of expressing gratitude, and doing something to reciprocate).

Live long and prosper, my friends! 🖖