Wednesday's Putterings
Topics contained herein:
A successful (if a wee bit stressful) day and many gratitudes.
Weather / Phenology:
Lovely day. The unpleasant heat and humidity is gone. I intended to set up for some writing on the patio this evening but, just after I dragged all my stuff out there, the sky began to spit at me. As soon as I brought my precious laptop to safety, it cleared up and Ch- went out to play. It wasn’t meant to be today.
Rouge Rooster Rocket has apparently developed an attitude. Ch- reached out to pet him while he was roosting and the bird exploded into indignant squawks. Of course Ch-then had to catch him and hold him … at which point the little cock (Rocket, I mean) attempted to peck my boy. No damage was done. It’s likely that Ch- will now make it his mission to re-tame him.
Mood Summary:
A little roller-coastery today. Much of it was good. I lost it for a while in the afternoon because the day was going by so fast. I enjoyed my contact with my husband and kids and critters. Now it’s far later than I’d like but I need to do these putterings (and my organizing and my scorekeeping) in order to stay sane. (It’s so much cheaper and more effective for me than shrinks and drugs.)
[EDIT] Of course, I doubt if I'd be this manic if I sought professional help. [END EDIT]
Accomplishments:
I’m sitting in a clean, well organized house. My belly is full of good, healthy food. My hair is extra soft and loose down my back. My animals are happy. My financial situation is squared away through June 16th. (Assuming we don’t overspend our rather tight budget.) I have some idea of how to keep my boy busy thru the summer AND I wrote just over 1,500 words today. I think I did well.
Five Gratitudes:
1) I forgot to mention a couple of creepy-cool examples of synchronicity yesterday. (Did you know that “synchronic” is a real word? I didn’t.) Yesterday, while I was working at Applebee’s, I became fairly oblivious to my surroundings. Until, that is, I heard a line from one of my favorite songs: “Today is where your book begins…. At first I thought I was hearing it in my head - it is one of the songs I play constantly at home. When I realized the restaurant’s sound system was broadcasting it, I felt a little chill. I’ve never before heard it played on the radio or in a public place. (See lyrics of the whole song HERE.) After I got home, I had to make some notes in my page-a-week desk calendar. Just as I was about to turn away, my gaze snagged on a detail at the bottom of the page. I’d never noticed before that every week features a quote.
This week’s passage is: “You can’t deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants.” - Stephen King
Other quotes, in other weeks, are by folks like Lily Tomlin, Mark Twain and Eleanor Roosevelt. It was an odd place for me to find my potential stalking victim.
2) I didn’t lose anything to cutworms today.
3) My husband made a real journal entry … and I believe he’s really trying to figure out how to support me in my endeavors. He needs to remember, however, that his own life is not exactly overflowing with spare time.
4) My daughter is taking her finances very seriously and she’s handling her money well. (She must be a changeling-child!) Oh, and bonus good-news: It’s sounding like her friend S- will soon become M-‘s new room-mate. That should clear some unwanted testosterone tension from the apartment.
5) poets_hand is doing a trial of the Keeping Score tally this week and she’s writing about how the process of using the tally affects her thoughts and feelings. In today’s comment, she seemed to be thinking through some frustration as she wrote and I saw this wonderful sentence: “I guess this is proving that my life is being run by my family needs, and that I need to create (somewhere) some time for myself … Upon reading that, I actually yipped in happiness. That’s exactly what Keeping Score is supposed to be about!
And that reminds me … let’s see if I can find another comment that made me particularly happy a while ago … YAY! I found it. So, here’s a bonus gratitude that should have been expressed way back in April:
6) When woggie was doing his week’s trial, he posted this in one of our conversations: “The tally seems to have made a big impression on at least certain parts of my psyche. Some areas have simplified. I think I understand now what constitutes an accomplishment. It's keeping track of them that's going to be the chore, but I'm at least becoming enough aware of them so I can start to value them.”
Exercise / Step Count:
Yoga (quick). Thought I was gonna get a walk in but got freaked by how fast the day was passing so I didn’t. Felt the patio tasks in my arms. Got my heart rate up while vacuuming for 30 minutes.
Writing:
# of hours total: 5
# of hours “straight” writing: approx. 3 ½
word count: 1,679 qualifying (954 fiction / 725 non-fiction plus 834 putterings)
on project(s): Bar Babe / Yatzee addition to KS
with support / dedicated activities:
market review for Bar Babe
serious banging-head-against-walls examination of KS
Next Tasks
(tasks = 6 per day / focuses = 4 per week / Z = this week’s zone)
*Use timer to control current obsession:
--10 and 30 minute tasks - do them and quit when the timer dings!!!
1) 30 min / major: amend pumpkin patch / plant pumpkins & corn
2) 30 min / major: start cleaning out a coop (add waste to new garden bed)
3) 30 min / major: update Ch-‘s tally and work on Yatzee addition
4) Zone work: ?? I have no idea what I’ll do in any of these areas
5) Reminder / Smaller task: 10 minute walk
6) Reminder / Smaller task: clean out fridge
F: Writing - 8 hours or 1500 words, whichever comes first
F: Develop & organize supplemental ed / summer schedule
F: Finish gardens
F: Follow routines / incorporate zone work more consistently.
Z: split week due to new month:
1st & 2nd = Zone #1 -- "Entrance" Mudroom Laundry Room Hall (to stairs)
5th - 9th = Zone #2 -- "Kitchen" Kitchen Dining Room Recycling / Broom Closet
Goal Level Behaviors
2006 Next Little Bit List
Routines
Cleaning: zones & weekly schedule
A successful (if a wee bit stressful) day and many gratitudes.
Weather / Phenology:
Lovely day. The unpleasant heat and humidity is gone. I intended to set up for some writing on the patio this evening but, just after I dragged all my stuff out there, the sky began to spit at me. As soon as I brought my precious laptop to safety, it cleared up and Ch- went out to play. It wasn’t meant to be today.
Rouge Rooster Rocket has apparently developed an attitude. Ch- reached out to pet him while he was roosting and the bird exploded into indignant squawks. Of course Ch-then had to catch him and hold him … at which point the little cock (Rocket, I mean) attempted to peck my boy. No damage was done. It’s likely that Ch- will now make it his mission to re-tame him.
Mood Summary:
A little roller-coastery today. Much of it was good. I lost it for a while in the afternoon because the day was going by so fast. I enjoyed my contact with my husband and kids and critters. Now it’s far later than I’d like but I need to do these putterings (and my organizing and my scorekeeping) in order to stay sane. (It’s so much cheaper and more effective for me than shrinks and drugs.)
[EDIT] Of course, I doubt if I'd be this manic if I sought professional help. [END EDIT]
Accomplishments:
I’m sitting in a clean, well organized house. My belly is full of good, healthy food. My hair is extra soft and loose down my back. My animals are happy. My financial situation is squared away through June 16th. (Assuming we don’t overspend our rather tight budget.) I have some idea of how to keep my boy busy thru the summer AND I wrote just over 1,500 words today. I think I did well.
Five Gratitudes:
1) I forgot to mention a couple of creepy-cool examples of synchronicity yesterday. (Did you know that “synchronic” is a real word? I didn’t.) Yesterday, while I was working at Applebee’s, I became fairly oblivious to my surroundings. Until, that is, I heard a line from one of my favorite songs: “Today is where your book begins…. At first I thought I was hearing it in my head - it is one of the songs I play constantly at home. When I realized the restaurant’s sound system was broadcasting it, I felt a little chill. I’ve never before heard it played on the radio or in a public place. (See lyrics of the whole song HERE.) After I got home, I had to make some notes in my page-a-week desk calendar. Just as I was about to turn away, my gaze snagged on a detail at the bottom of the page. I’d never noticed before that every week features a quote.
This week’s passage is: “You can’t deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants.” - Stephen King
Other quotes, in other weeks, are by folks like Lily Tomlin, Mark Twain and Eleanor Roosevelt. It was an odd place for me to find my potential stalking victim.
2) I didn’t lose anything to cutworms today.
3) My husband made a real journal entry … and I believe he’s really trying to figure out how to support me in my endeavors. He needs to remember, however, that his own life is not exactly overflowing with spare time.
4) My daughter is taking her finances very seriously and she’s handling her money well. (She must be a changeling-child!) Oh, and bonus good-news: It’s sounding like her friend S- will soon become M-‘s new room-mate. That should clear some unwanted testosterone tension from the apartment.
5) poets_hand is doing a trial of the Keeping Score tally this week and she’s writing about how the process of using the tally affects her thoughts and feelings. In today’s comment, she seemed to be thinking through some frustration as she wrote and I saw this wonderful sentence: “I guess this is proving that my life is being run by my family needs, and that I need to create (somewhere) some time for myself … Upon reading that, I actually yipped in happiness. That’s exactly what Keeping Score is supposed to be about!
And that reminds me … let’s see if I can find another comment that made me particularly happy a while ago … YAY! I found it. So, here’s a bonus gratitude that should have been expressed way back in April:
6) When woggie was doing his week’s trial, he posted this in one of our conversations: “The tally seems to have made a big impression on at least certain parts of my psyche. Some areas have simplified. I think I understand now what constitutes an accomplishment. It's keeping track of them that's going to be the chore, but I'm at least becoming enough aware of them so I can start to value them.”
Exercise / Step Count:
Yoga (quick). Thought I was gonna get a walk in but got freaked by how fast the day was passing so I didn’t. Felt the patio tasks in my arms. Got my heart rate up while vacuuming for 30 minutes.
Writing:
# of hours total: 5
# of hours “straight” writing: approx. 3 ½
word count: 1,679 qualifying (954 fiction / 725 non-fiction plus 834 putterings)
on project(s): Bar Babe / Yatzee addition to KS
with support / dedicated activities:
market review for Bar Babe
serious banging-head-against-walls examination of KS
Next Tasks
(tasks = 6 per day / focuses = 4 per week / Z = this week’s zone)
*Use timer to control current obsession:
--10 and 30 minute tasks - do them and quit when the timer dings!!!
1) 30 min / major: amend pumpkin patch / plant pumpkins & corn
2) 30 min / major: start cleaning out a coop (add waste to new garden bed)
3) 30 min / major: update Ch-‘s tally and work on Yatzee addition
4) Zone work: ?? I have no idea what I’ll do in any of these areas
5) Reminder / Smaller task: 10 minute walk
6) Reminder / Smaller task: clean out fridge
F: Writing - 8 hours or 1500 words, whichever comes first
F: Develop & organize supplemental ed / summer schedule
F: Finish gardens
F: Follow routines / incorporate zone work more consistently.
Z: split week due to new month:
1st & 2nd = Zone #1 -- "Entrance" Mudroom Laundry Room Hall (to stairs)
5th - 9th = Zone #2 -- "Kitchen" Kitchen Dining Room Recycling / Broom Closet
Goal Level Behaviors
2006 Next Little Bit List
Routines
Cleaning: zones & weekly schedule