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| Blurry Blueberry Leaves |
I was trying to get a photo of the sprig of red blueberry leaves, but, I couldn't quite focus on it (probably held the phone too close). But, it was either a blurry photo or no photo and since I already did a photo-less post this week, I decided to go with the blurry photo! LOL!
Today, I confirmed my appointment with the eye doctor (scheduled for Tuesday, late morning). Then, I did a load of laundry and some vacuuming. If I lived in a two story house with the living room, etc., downstairs and the bedrooms upstairs, I' be able to say that I vacuumed the downstairs and left the upstairs for tomorrow. But, since I live in a one story house, I will say that I vacuumed all but the bedrooms! I wanted to do the bedrooms, too (at least my room), but, I ran out of energy! Probably because it was mid-afternoon by then and I hadn't eaten anything (other than a cup of tea in the morning). So, I had a corned beef sandwich and watched some videos.
Gardener M was scheduled to come by and tend to the garden, this evening, but, he texted me saying he's running behind and could he tend to my garden tomorrow morning, instead? I said, yes, not a problem. Then, I locked the gate that I had unlocked earlier, anticipating his arrival.
I spent a good portion of the evening sorting through paperwork and filing! I have a horrible tendency to go through the mail as it comes in, pull out the bills to be paid, etc., and just toss the rest of the mail aside to be dealt with later. Except, later can often be several weeks later! Then, I end up with small piles of paper which become bigger piles of paper and then, I feel guilty if I start a craft project or something fun because there's paperwork to be dealt with!
Most of it is filing - notifications, statements, etc. In the past couple of months, I've been inundated with elections-related material and with health-insurance related material (it's open enrollment period for both my health insurance through my retirement system and for Medicare) as well as the regular bank statements, etc. I got rid of most of the elections-related items as soon as I voted on November 7 and today, I tossed most of the health-insurance related papers. I still have a small stack of papers to deal with in a basket, but they are mostly current items - this week's grocery ads, for example, which I will toss once I order the groceries; some grocery coupons and fast food coupons which I will toss if I don't use them, the fabric store's add for Black Friday deals and coupons, etc. (not that I am likely to go shopping at the fabric store, this year, but, there was a sale on something my daughter had expressed an interest in buying, so I'll keep it for her to see; at least, that's my excuse for keeping that particular piece of paper! LOL!)
I de-fatted the soup I had made earlier and had a bowl of soup for my dinner, followed by a brownie for dessert! I had frozen the remaining brownies and warmed one up in the microwave for a few seconds and it was delicious!
Today, I am grateful for:
- Another productive day
- Working appliances
- Online videos
- Chats with family and friends
- Hot water on tap
- Working appliances
- Online videos
- Chats with family and friends
- Hot water on tap
Today's joyful activity was making a dent in the paperwork!
Plans for tomorrow include:
- M tending to the garden
- Vacuuming the bedrooms
- Vacuuming the bedrooms
- Ordering groceries
- Doing the last bit of paperwork/filing
- Doing the last bit of paperwork/filing
How was your Friday? What are your plans for Saturday and the weekend?
Paperwork gets left too long here sometimes (maybe always), but generally we can find what we want and do things on time, so I guess that's all we really need. :)
ReplyDeleteAs long as bills get paid on time and you can find what you want, then, that is all that is needed. I do, however, need to be better about filing; more consistent. When I was working, I used to think, "When I'm retired I'll have time to do x,y, and z"; now I AM retired and I don't know where my time goes! I have become incredibly lazy, I think!
DeleteWell done on another productive day, Bless. Have you caught up with all the little tasks that were on your mind now?
ReplyDeleteI have some cooking that I need to do and then make a start on my new crochet project but I had to go back to bed this morning to ward off a migraine and now I'm all behind. I will have to do the cooking so the crochet will wait for another day ... not sure I'll be able to concentrate on it today. Tomorrow I have friends coming round in the afternoon so am looking forward to that. I hope you have a good weekend xx
Thank you, Eileen. Yes, I'm mostly caught up on the tasks I have to do - I still need to finish a couple of them (vacuum the bedrooms, file the last few papers, etc.) Then, I'll make a new list for next week! :D
DeleteI'm glad you were able to ward off the migraine, even if it means you are now behind. Sounds like you have a good weekend planned and the crochet will be something to look forward to doing, next week, perhaps. :)
Thank you; I'm waiting for M to show up (he had a dental appointment in the morning and texted to say he got delayed there).
Actually, I thought that photo was rather nice. I can't imagine not seeing autumn colours as a matter of course. Mind you, our seasons are becoming gradually less distinct so I suppose one day it might happen!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Of course, I grew up without any changes of seasons other than rainy(monsoons) and dry (rain, but, not monsoons). We lived in the western part of the country where we had two monsoon seasons, each year (there is another part of the country where there is only one monsoon season). I had my first experience of autumn colors when I went to Wisconsin and I was fascinated! For a couple of years after I left Wisconsin, a friend of mine used to mail me photos of leaves changing colors! LOL.
DeleteIt sounds like you have had a couple of productive days. Sorting papers is no fun, but it does feel good when it's done, doesn't it? Random acts of cleaning is a great idea! I should try it! The weather there must be very pleasant. Snow and cold here.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have! I wish I could be as productive on most days, but, I'm happy I was able to get most of the to do list tasks done. The paperwork was mostly filing, which I keep procrastinating doing. I dislike having to do paperwork! It needs to be done weekly (if not daily), but, I get lazy!
DeleteThe random acts of cleaning involve cleaning those things that one doesn't always include in the weekly cleaning routines. I need to do them more often!
The weather here is beautiful! Sunny and mild. This afternoon's high is 73F. I admit to being dressed warmly in layers, but, I have the doors and windows open to air out the house. I heard on the news that there's a major snow storm and lake effect snow was hitting parts of the Midwest and the East Coast. I hope you are staying safely indoors and keeping warm!
I'm glad you know when to stop and rest. We don't get much paperwork in the mail now. A lot of information comes on the e-mail and we can print it out or save it on the computer. But I have a lot of other paperwork that really needs organizing. There is information that I've gleaned on genealogy that should be dealt with, including bits of paper that need to be recorded and then discarded.
ReplyDeleteWe had a bit of sliced deli ham left over, not enough for sandwiches, but I decided that making toasted Western sandwiches would be a great way to incorporate it into our lunch. I haven't had one for years and I love them!
Thank you, Bushlady; it's knowledge gained the hard way! LOL. I think I hang on to too much paperwork! I think it might be tied to a childhood experience - after my father's death, when the family split up and the contents of the family home were divided up between my step siblings on one side and my mother and me on the other side, my mother lost anything she couldn't prove, with a receipt or a cancelled check, that she had bought it with her own earnings. She had to buy back the items she wanted and she felt very bitter about it. I was 10 years old then, and the lesson I learned was, "Hold on to the paperwork!" LOL.
DeleteI had to look up what a toasted Western sandwich was, but, it sounds delicious and a good way to use up those last bits of ham you had! I think toasted Western sandwiches will become part of my meal plan, too!
I think that's sound rationale on the vacuuming. I don't vacuum the entire house in the same day (both floors) so why should you, right? ;)
ReplyDeletePaperwork, ugh. And like you mentioned, with elections and open enrollment we've been socked with it all too.
A while ago - years and years now - I decided to deal with the mail the day it came in and it changed everything. I used to have a pile of it, truthfully probably a couple piles and it was all too much. Now I just do it and get it done and it takes no time at all.
I heard once some statistic (stats for everything!) that said that something like 95% of the papers we keep we never touch or need again. I found that to be true after going through what I had deemed important to keep so I don't hold onto things like I used to.
Although I do understand your desire to do so after your mother's experience. How difficult that time must have been for her and for you even as a child.
You are wracking up the accomplished tasks.
Thank you, Debra. I like to get the house vacuumed in one go and sometimes, I manage to accomplish it, and at other times, I have to do it in stages.
DeleteI really need to stop saving so many statements and stuff. I used to keep every paid bill for years on end. I'm a bit better, now, in that I only keep the current year's bill statements. But, on most of them, I only need to keep the previous month's statement because the current month's bill will say when the previous month's payment was received. I start out doing paperwork daily, then, I say I'll do it at the end of the week and after a couple of weeks, I get lazy! :D
It was a very acrimonious break up that took place when the household was divided. I remember when the moving vans came to take away the furniture - they took everything away that had not been set aside as belonging to my mother. Including the dishes and cutlery! My mother's aunt and cousin were to come and see us, later that evening, and I still remember my mother asking her aunt to bring a couple of extra tea cups if they wanted to have a cup of tea and some teaspoons because everything had been taken! They even took my mother's diplomas and teaching certificates that had been stored in a drawer of a piece of furniture; several years later, my half-sister's husband found them and returned them to my mother. She was always very thankful that he did so because it enabled her to find employment as a teacher after we emigrated. The fact that I can still remember this 57 years later probably says how much of an impact it made on me.
Yes, I have accomplished all the items on my short term to do list and my daughter did her "honey do" list, today! :D
I usually keep all my paperwork in a large file, but recently it has become quite full. Time for a clear out I think.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, I never realised how difficult it is to type with a kitten sat on your laptop :)
I have a file cabinet, but, by year's end, the drawers are filled to bursting! One of the things I plan to do in December is clear out the filing cabinet.
DeleteToo funny about typing with a kitten on your laptop! :D