I hurry, hurry to get things done...

"Autumn arrives in early morning, but spring at the close of a winter day."~Elizabeth Bowen

I am so ready for spring.  So ready.  Yesterday a sign as a flock of sandhill cranes flew over head with their unmistakable call.  I ran to the door, to step out onto the porch, looked up to see their formation overhead against a clear blue sky.  My heart sang. 

I look out the window now at a clear day…and oh so much brown and grey yet.  The landscaping this year is going to be a challenge, and a chore.  There is so much to do! I am excited by it and feeling slightly overwhelmed.  I did my usual January/February perusal of some gardening sites, made a list of plants, thought about pots and planters.  Walked around the yard to begin a list of the areas to concentrate…can I just put down “four sides of the house”?

We just returned from a short vacation, business related, to Jamaica.  To see bright colors, hear moving water…glorious.  Inspiring even and that may be why I am feeling it so much today…that itch to get outside and get started.  I hold myself back on these “Fooled ya!” early springlike days to keep from digging into the dirt but oh, I plan.

I hope to surround the house in color this year.  There will be loads of dirt and rock to contend with but also plants and flowers.  I am starting completely over in the moon garden area as the soil there needs a bit more help, and well, we’ve lost a couple trees over the winter which is going to change the sunlight and I hope will give me a couple more options for planting.  This area is really important to me, however, so its made its way back to number one, may two,  on my list. I’m also going to be using a “dry creek bed” design for one of the downspout areas and have, oh maybe 50 pictures saved on Pinterest.  Hubs keeps reminding me he has to drive the lawn tractor through this area so not to get carried away.

 

Late winter always brings yard clean-up as the first activity..sticks, sticks and more sticks. The deer have been active in our yard this winter and leave their proof everywhere.  Raking, burning and more sticks.  Hubs and I started the perusal of the yard, the listing of the many projects we still have yet to finish and even had to call in a downed tree on the power lines yesterday.  More wood to cut up.  On top of the more routine annual projects we still have the deck railing and stairs to build. 2018 is going to busy it seems!  But, yet, it was gentle and warm enough before the sun went down last evening for us to sit down by the lake, watch the full moon rise and look out to a single, playful loon.  Nice to slow it down, 2018. Nice. 

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Do you boil?

Last week we went through a couple additional days of some very intense snow, maybe another 12 to 14”.  It wasn’t, as the weather man reminded us, a blizzard as there was no wind, no whiteouts, but it was cold and lots and lots of snow.

That did not deter us from having a family get-together, share some seafood and good times.  This particular event is better outside, I must say, as it is kind of messy.  But, it was also lots of fun and good eating.  For those of you who see my Facebook page a couple of these pictures may look familiar.  It’s not the first time we have done a seafood boil, and also not the biggest crowd.  I didn't realize I was on a two-year schedule with these boils but that's what Facebook tells me. Key to the seafood boil is friends, family and a willingness to eat with your hands!

I have a few non-seafood eaters in the family.  I know, right? We had pizza for the kids and adults (1, there was 1) that didn’t want seafood.  There was also a fair amount of wine and beer, which is perfect with seafood, and homebaked French bread, which was also perfect.  I did all the shopping ahead of time but in the past have folks bring a bag of shrimp, crab legs or smoked sausage to dump in.  I included corn, onion, lemon, crab boil seasoning and new potatoes.  We served 13 adults and there was some left over, but, I admit…this is not good leftover stuff. Keep in mind the shrimp and crab are already cooked so I just thawed those bags of goodness and layer on top, maybe long enough to steam up a bit.  (Full disclosure.  This time I used two roasters and one had better shrimp than the other as it was in the boil less time.)

After layering the dining room table with paper and removing all the chairs…that’s right, you had to stand, and providing plates for those that just really wanted/needed a plate, and three rolls of paper towels.  A big bowl, huge, a hand me down from my late mother-in-law, in the center for shells and corn cobs, half eaten potatoes.  Yes, the potatoes with your hands, too.  Just grab it and bite.  3 cast iron skillets for butter and a couple bowls of just mixed cocktail sauce.  You get the idea ~ it’s a free for all.

We had a good time.  A nephew discovered the key to removing large slivers of crab from the legs and handed it to others gathered around the table, to make sure everyone had their fill, cause he's like that, bless his servant heart.   We were barbarians.  The Olympics on in the background, kids supervising kids, and life is good, folks, life is good.

The 2018 Indoor Crab Boil - 13 Adults and a good time. 

2016 Crab Boil - my pot overflows. 

2014 Crab Boil for 4th of July for about 30 adults -
with grilled asparagus even 

2012 - For family and visitors
with cod fillets instead of sausage

2010 First Crab Boil

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Journal Journey Part 2

Alright, so, I’m going to share some pages of my journal.  Don’t pay attention to the mistakes and the smears…that’s all part of it being okay.  Trying not to be too perfect as our days change, plans change, weather changes….all of that.  Just cross it out and make a new entry.

If you have looked online at some of the recommendations for journaling, you will see that they really get into doodles and design.  Now, I am a doodler from way back so have a bit of that incorporated but not a lot.   I expect that to follow, honestly, as soon as I get over the frugality issue I have with “ruining pages”.  Right now I also use titles on the pages, which, quite frankly is a waste of time as it is obvious what those pages are…but, you know, start big then whittle it down.  I’ve already whittled down many things to make it more functional for me, but, you get to do what you want.  Some people like charts and graphs, others like simple lists.  

I recently saw a new doctor and she changed a few things, wants to change some other stuff and introduced a new practice for me to monitor blood sugar.  She spoke quickly, had a beautiful European accent that took me a minute, and covered both what she wanted to change and what she was actually changing in the same sentence.  Because she also asked me a lot of “Why did they do that?” and “When was that change?” I knew I needed to write it all down as soon as she walks out of the room.  I also copied it into my new journal as soon as I got home.  Next time, I will take the journal with me to avoid having to do twice, but, because I think it may come up when I see my family doctor in March, I wanted to be able to reference it and be fairly confident I have the correct information.  There’s benefit to using an index you create along the way, too. So, number your pages!  

Finally, today the last thing I want to share, and I am not posting a picture here as it is a little more personal, is the word or brain dump.  I read an article recently that we all wake up with a jumble of  words in our heads, brain tangles, swirling around, interrupting our day, guiding our thoughts and can be stumbling blocks. The article suggested we write these words down, dump them on to paper, as soon as we wake up, or shortly thereafter, to get a clean slate.  I have thoughts that pop in to my head all the time and I think “Oh, I’m going to need to call them” or “I need to check on that” and poof, they are gone within an hour.  I use the word dump in two ways:  when I wake up, to untangle my overnight brain and throughout the day as thoughts or ideas pop up.  Now, for me, this can be a crazy doodle-filled page or pages…I simply leave the journal out and open, with a pen or pens nearby.  These pages would make little sense to someone who happened across it.  I am training myself to “write that down” instead of “filing it away for later”.  My files are full, people.  Follow up has always been a weak spot for me and it’s in direct conflict with being intentional.  (Interestingly, word dumping is a both a positive and negative term in writing a novel, for example.  Some use a brain dump for outlines and ideas - good. Actual writing which results in too much information at one time - bad.)  Your brain dump can be a list, or just explosions on a page, complete sentences or just one word.  It’s yours, do what you want, but,  get those ideas and thoughts out there! 

It really is all you, for you, by you.  One of my favorite things has been drawing out my calendar pages every month, so I like having a journal with blank pages.  Others might prefer to have formats already laid out for them; there are plenty of those out there, too.  I heard that Michaels has recently designated a new section of journaling aids…haven’t checked it out personally, but, I will. 

My March calendar looks different than my February because I separated the weekends out.  There's room for a task list, too, or reminders or menu ideas..whatever I want. 

I use both a monthly layout and a weekly.  I do not anticipate having this entire task list once I get my routine down but getting on top of my "shtuff" is what started the whole journal journey to begin with.  

             

This is a pretty rough page or two and is where I started.  I had gifts to return to stores, to mail and seldom purchased items to pick up (like double A batteries and floodlight bulbs).  I also was super bored with what I had been cooking so dumped all my recent meals and ideas.  Found out I really wasn't cooking the same three dishes over and over again like it seemed, but I was cooking similar things.  Time to shake things up. 

A continuation of my winter meal ideas and also a listed overview of the month of February.  This is the page I am not sure I will keep doing going forward.  And you can also see my haphazard doodles.  You also don't need all this color but you know me.  I'm a color junkie.  

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Journal journey.

In my quest to live intentionally, act with intent, do what I intend…all that, I have been focusing on getting better organized.  I found myself kind of just floating though my days, sometimes getting done what I wanted and sometimes, well, you know,  la-de-dah…

A step I have taken to become better organized is to use a journal.  I reviewed a bunch of different sites (a rabbit hole to be sure), sat through a webinar, ordered a journal and tried to figure out if my life is busy enough these days to even bother with journaling/scheduling/task-list making.  I’ve discovered it actually is and thinking that it wasn’t is exactly where I went wrong in my intent to be better organized.

Does that make sense? Stay with me, I’ll go a bit deeper.

Like all of you, I have things I need to get done…every day, every week, every other week, every month; just like you.  I realize lately that there are things I was not paying much attention to, just sort of la-de-dahing them.  Minor things such as dusting regularly to bigger things such as having routine maintenance done on the car, even on myself.  I mean none of this is life threatening but it still is not something you should just let go, right?

So around my birthday in October, when I “take stock” of my year and begin to think about what I want my next year to look like, I determined to be intentional in all things.  As previously written, if Joy was my word for 2017, then Intent would be my word, my goal, moving in to 2018.  The second of January or so I realized I was woefully out of sync with intent  and is when I started a new “bullet journal”.  (I have mentioned this previously and linked to a site where, if interested, you can learn more, but, here is the link again bulletjournal.com) In my new journal, I made lists, I have charts, I have plans, menus, recipes, ideas, goals both personal and financial.  I have a page or two of word dumps. Huh? Don't worry, I will get into that in another post.

   

I began to experiment with the journal, messing up a few times.  Scratching things off a couple of times or rearranging the format more than a couple of times.  I even ripped out a page and that’s a no no in journaling.  But, I have begun getting more accustomed to looking at the journal’s calendar every day.  (I do need reminders after all, and while I like my phone, I don’t use the calendar there ~ just can’t get into it).  I have also gotten better at taking time for myself every day.  Now, I get it.  You may be saying to yourself, but, you are retired.  Isn’t all your time for yourself? No, no its not.  And even though I am with just myself a lot does not mean I am accomplishing things FOR myself.  And this is another topic I will post about in a separate entry.  For my male readers ~ don't think this won't be for you, too.  Stick with me... journaling may work for all of us.   

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Not rushing it, but I'm ready!

It’s doing it to me again, this late January thaw…I am itching to get out in my dirt, with shovel and hoe and plant matter.  This dull, grey weather and the brown that is peaking through the melting pristine snow makes me start to plan and, gulp, shop online.

I was super frustrated over the weekend over the lack of gardening shows that are broadcast these days.  What the heck? As one online article put it there’s a lot more “H” and little “G” in HGTV.  I loved the gardening shows of the past and hope to see the Do It Yourself network continue with Yard Crashers, which does still air episodes, thank goodness.  Limited, but, they are there on Saturday mornings. 

  

My Pinterest board is filled with gardening ideas.  This year, I will be able to spread some rock and more mulch since the interior of the house is substantially finished.  This year, the deck, porch and landscaping are the focus!  I have already spent hours scrolling through pins and posts, and jotted down ideas and color combinations.  I will admit to a slight obsession with pots and planters, and maybe already own more than I need..but a few more won't hurt. 

In the article I mention above, one point made is maybe people who garden spend more time outside and less in front of the TV, which is fair.  Maybe we do like to get outside and get our hands in the dirt and feet in the mud, and not in the living room watching another house flip show. (You can read the article here, but it was posted in 2017) Forgive me, but I do not want to see one more tiny house episode.  Not one.  As I said to my brothers, and mentioned in a previous post, I grew up in a mobile home…ya can put lipstick on a pig, but its still a pig, and those tiny homes?  We called ‘em trailers.  

I made my way out to the shed over the weekend to put two little Christmas trees from the porch away.  I have to come out here, I thought, and take inventory of what I might need for spring planting and there's definitely some clean up that needs to happen, evident from the tow rope hanging down from the ski tube stowed in the rafters. Yes, the list is long and growing.  While January might be a little too early to start thinking about plants, mulch, pots and planters, I can't help myself, especially on days of thaw.  I look forward to the green of spring, those little shoots of crocus and daffodils shoving their way through, assuring us once again, that these longer days aren't misguiding us, that spring really is just around the corner.  


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Variety is the spice of life, and shopping.

We have one more year for hubs to leave for work everyday and then he will retire.  I’ve been home for about three years now and while I have at times been bored and looking for something to do, someone to talk with maybe, I am not sure how he and I will fare with both of us here all the time.  He’s a doer. Has to have a project or something to work on or he fidgets, paces, shakes his foot…makes me nervous, and agitated.   I can curl up.  I don’t have to “do”, but, sometimes he will suggest a trip or car ride and I'm ready. 

Now, you know I waited on the fireplace and the mantle for months.  It still wasn’t 100% ready for Christmas but I threw those Santa Claus figures up on the where-the-mantle-will-be-when-I-get-one with a string of lights anyway, right on top of the unfinished cement board. But now what? Shortly after Christmas the fireplace the mantle is in place, is exactly what I want, and I’m excited about keeping it “fresh”  My husband will tell you that a bunch of stuff on the mantle is not needed to create a cozy and cheerful home, but, believe it or not, we don’t ALWAYS agree.

This past weekend, with nothing to do on the calendar and a need to get out of the house before the snow started again, we headed out to hit a few antique stores. As we entered one antique mall, he turned right, I turned left, long ago accepting that we don’t enjoy looking at the same things. I don’t think I saw him for a half hour, and when I did, he was perched on a low stool sorting through records.  My first thought was, “How boring” followed by “Don’t you dare buy another record…” but that was fleeting. Truth is, he enjoys records and he is often looking at something our son might like, or our nephew, or niece.  So, if he wants to develop a cramp while sitting on a too tiny stool, bent over a milk crate, pulling out record after record, so be it.  If he decides to cough up anywhere from 25 cents to two dollars, okay.

My focus on this trip was to find something I might want to put on the fireplace mantle.  I am quite sure if I went up in the attic or checked through a couple boxes that have been packed up for the remodeling, I would find more than enough to put on the mantle, but the joy, as they say, is in the hunt.  Walking through antique shops or booths is so different than it use to be, when we might consider a cabinet, or chair or dresser.  We don’t even stop at those big items any more.  Because I’m more into groupings these days, I look on the floor, in cases, on bookshelves. I peruse for theme, or color and use...if its an advertising piece, all the better.  

I did pick up a trio of angels, and a pair of carved wooden heads, that probably started at Hobby Lobby and are not antiques at all, but I thought were fun.  I passed on a large, pottery umbrella stand.  In the end, I agreed with the frowning husband that there isn’t a good place for it, even though I really liked it.

I wish I could say that we do as well at garden centers or art fairs, but, we do not.  For those trips I need my girls or a niece, with a trip to a wine bar or small restaurant for a light lunch. But, I do enjoy the antique trips, with a stop at a brewery or pub, for a greasy hamburger and a pint with this guy.  It pays to be versatile. 

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Winter Break Camp GiGi

Week one of 2018 was a Camp Gigi week.  I met my daughter halfway or so and we switched vehicles...her SUV packed with 4 of the 5 grandkids and all sorts of their stuff to survive winter at GiGi and PaPa's for a few days.  

It was a good time. We were under a snow deluge that kept us from actually going anywhere except out in the snow.  The youngest girl was not a big fan of the snow.  This meant I spent a lot of the time shooing the bigger kids out in all their gear and staying inside carrying the 3-year-old from window to window, following the older kids as they went from snow bank to snow bank, encouraging her to fall in love with winter play…not successfully. So, it didn’t go exactly as planned, but, it brought the grandkids together here, gave their parents a bit of a break, gave them a bit of a break and I hope, created some memories.  I survived numerous cups of hot chocolate, enough marshmallows to choke a horse, and only three major spills.  Those came on one day, within about two hours of each other and only slightly tested GiGi's patience and good humor.  

I am in a county in Indiana that is known for its lake effect snow.  Ten miles away could have zero snow and we’ll have a foot of the fluffy stuff.  I am really not kidding when I say snow deluge.  The week of Camp GiGi, initially projected for an  “accumulation of 1” to 3” possible”, drastically changed to dumping 24” to 30” of snow.  Yes, that’s right…30” of snow in about 3 days.  It is magical, yes, and beautiful to be sure, but, come on.

 

The good news was there was little to no wind so there was no drifting, the roads were very clear, considering the amount of snow.  Secondly, it remained super cold and the snow remained light and powdery and fun.  It did trash the ice on the lake so our planned skating was a bust, but, the days of snow without end really went very well.  I had planned a family gathering for skating and brunch.  Skating was out but snow play and brunch was in.  We had a great time together, as we usually do, eating way too much and enjoying each other’s company.

Now, the kids are back in school, the parents are back at work…we are back in our routine.  I look forward to 2018 and trying a new program for staying organized called Bullet Journaling.  You can find out more about it at bulletjournal.com  I am going to incorporate budgeting into this format, too.  This time next year both hubs and I will be retired and our income significantly reduced…I have some lofty goals for 2018, and am spending this next few days setting up the format and our budget.  Have also made the Christmas returns I needed to make and scheduled some medical appointments that have been looming.  Reminding myself again of my word (see last week’s post) 2018 has begun and I am in with INTENT! 

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