Beach time. Sister time.

Glenna, Lenny, Dakota and I went to the beach for a couple of nights. It was a very quiet weekend. The Gard's weren't even there. Lots of drizzling rain kept us inside for the most part but it wasn't too cold so all was comfortable...as long as you weren't Grandpa, Shannon, Tess or Kristin :)

We brought homemade chili and baked potatoes for the first dinner and homemade pea soup with crusty bread for the second dinner. Tuna on crackers and tuna on salad made two delicious (and healthful) lunches. Doesn't get much easier or tastier than that.

Who knew my sister could compete with Rachael Ray in style and presentation :)

We had a To Do list that I'm pleased to say we completed...except for the things we decided didn't really need to get done LoL!

One thing on our To Do list was cleaning out the junk closet so we could fit sleeping bags in there. We have been looking for a convenient storage solution for the bags for a while now - just got tired of moving them from bed to bed to bed to bathroom depending on who was there when. We love the end result.

OK. What's up with the self cleaning oven instructions?

Something oily, greasy, sticky, nasty got spilled in the oven so there was a lot of smoking going on when we fired her up to bake the potatoes. The next day we decided to turn on the self-clean function so we didn't smoke ourselves out again when we heated the crusty bread.

The instructions told us to completely clean up all spills as well as wipe down the sides and oven door before starting the cleaning cycle or the extraordinarily high temperatures could cause this debris to catch on fire. So we did all of that (and by we, I mean she as you can see in the snapshot :)) and once that was done there was no need for the cleaning cycle.

Really? Clean completely before you clean? What is the point of a cleaning cycle?

We spent plenty of time sleeping, playing games and reading our good books. We stayed up till 4:00 in the morning the first night and the dogs were kind enough to let us sleep until nearly 10:00 AM! Having old dogs can be a real advantage over young pups on sleepy mornings like that.

You can just see Glenna's head peaking out of the bag. Neither of them budged an inch when I snapped this shot.

And she didn't want to keep score. Pshaw.
If I had listened to her I wouldn't be able to show you that I finally won a game!

This is another Christmas book from David. I am loving this author.

These bad boys gave Ben's futon mattress the rest test. It passed with flying colors. But don't tell Ben. For some crazy reason he thinks we are putting this awesomely comfortable, supper thick and soft mattress up in the sleeping cabin for him.
Silly Ben. Remember, shhhhhhhh.

The birds spent tons of time hanging out on all the buoys in the bay. Crazy to watch them balance on a round bobbing object. This guy dried his arm pits for hours.

As it always is, all good things must come to an end. Tired tuckered out dogs were loaded into the car and we headed home. Not sure when we will get out next so it was extra special having this great weekend with my favorite sister. Love her bunches!

Time for it to come to a close

Today I will finish transferring all the Kennedy files I can find to a flash drive. Tomorrow I will deliver (or mail) the drive. I believe that will complete our relationship. I am not pleased with how it is ending. I own all the reasons for my displeasure.

Could I have done something different to support a more positive outcome? Apparently not or I believe I would have. My desire was a long, good working relationship but I couldn't nurture (or even maintain) my half of the relationship. I do not fault them for being ready to wash their hands of me. They have been patient beyond measure.
Now I need to forgive myself for being unable to perform as they expected. I still do not totally understand why I became so dysfunctional for over 3 months. Maybe I never will and just need to move forward from this point.

This point has me feeling better. One hundred percent better? No but on the road to a more normal Kathleen.

IF ONLY never seems to end

I remember a shrink describing my ex as an if only man. "If only I had a house with a garage and white picket fence I would stay home more often". So we got a house with a garage and white picket fence. He didn't stay home more often.

All of us have a bit of if only in us. It is human nature. "If only I didn't have to go to work every day I could deep clean our walk in closet". Six months after my last day at work the closet in question is still a jumble of clothes, shoes, suitcases, boxes, pictures, furniture, buckets and more. In other words, pure chaos. In my defense it is organized chaos; I can locate anything as long as I have enough time to muddle through the mess :).

The trick to battling the if only syndrome is to have a bit of just do it in you as well. That is why I have written in ink on my calendar: clean and organize closet. Oh, okay, it's not written in ink. It is actually written in Calibri 11 font on my Outlook calendar - but that phrase doesn't bring the point home like written in ink. Wouldn't you agree?

The goal is to give away every item that is not in use (time to admit those skinny jeans will never ever be worn again-by either of us) and every item that shouldn't be in use (like the 3 drundel skirts that make me look 6 inches shorter and 16 pounds wider or the horizontal stripe shirts that add visually unwanted inches to John's, ahem, midsection).

Once the multitude of unneeded and unwanted items are gone there will be plenty of room for the dresser and desk to move back in...thus leaving me a grown up bedroom rather than a storage room with wall-to-wall furniture. That makes me smile :)

Travel

Must I always pack at the last minute? I had a to-do list that I had hoped would keep me focused and on the schedule of my dreams...but dream was apparently the operative word. Oh well. Soon I will be in Chicago and this crazy, full, chaotic day will be yesterday ;)

You Would Think There was a Baby Coming!

It was a nesting day for me. I did not realize it until I sat down to read some email and check out what is on TV tonight.

All bathroom cupboards, drawers and closets have been cleaned and organized. All kitchen drawers have been cleaned, repaired and organized. Tupperware has been sorted so that each container has one matching top. I recycled about 15 tops with no bottoms and half a dozen bottoms with no tops. How does that happen? Every dish in the house is clean. Every piece of dirty laundry in the house is washed, dried and hung up (well, except James' but that's a story for a different day).

Maybe it was because of the dark drizzly day.

Maybe it was because I am avoiding two tasks that I've started, need to be completed but I'm dragging my feet on. Why is that? They involve organizing, strategizing and problem solving. I am generally very good at those three things. I always enjoy the feelings of satisfaction after a job well done.

So I ask again, why don't I just do it? Do other people fill their time with useless tasks (or for that matter, even needed tasks) when they are avoiding undesirable tasks? I always have. When I discover myself doing that, I know I need to dig in and get 'er done. But now it will have to wait until my return from Chicago. Foolish me for it will weigh on me a bit while I'm gone - not unbearably, but a bit. Like it or not, that's just how I roll :)

Hmmm, 3 well known marketing phrases in that last paragraph. I may need to take a class to brush up on my language skills if I'm going to keep writing this blog...and ever want to re-read it again.

So Many Projects. So Indecisive.

There are closets and cupboards and drawers that need cleaning. There are clothes that need to be sorted through and given away. There is laundry, meal planning, shopping and dishes. There are thousands of pictures that still need to be sorted (this is what I've done so far http://kathleenmarthphotos.shutterfly.com/) There is a living room that needs rearranging, gutting, given a new use - something.

And then there is gardening that needs my attention. I have lots of plants from the beach still in their transplanting pots. If I don't get these plants into the ground soon I will loose them. Lenny has taken a particular liking to one bucket...I think he is drinking the rain water in the bottom - or maybe he is eating the bugs and grubs that are accumulating-blech! I am indecisive on this project because I can't decide where to plant them. The dogs trample the backyard gardens so built up planters are needed or temporary little fencing until the plants are big enough to hold their own. And then there is the ratty fence you see in the background. Planting along this fence line would look good and it would be easy to protect the plants from the dogs. But all backyard fences are being replaced soon - but "soon" doesn't have a date attached to it. Sometime this fall. Such a dilemma. Such a quandary.

This hydrangea is a cutting off a bush that was planted in the Beatte garden at Fragaria in the early 1900's. WOW.

Sitting on the rockery are plants from Suzanne Gard's garden at the beach - still in their transplanting pots and buckets.

There is my office space that needs creating. I am about halfway done with this project. Our 4th bedroom seemed large enough to accommodate space for guests and an office. This dual-use plan is proving a bit more challenging. To add to the woes of this project, I can't get a wireless Internet connection in the room...and it is not hard wired for Internet. Go figure! I see two solutions: continue to do my work on the kitchen table or purchase a new router or booster for our current router...

Wall to wall desks, shelves, beds and more.

Infamous orange counter on the left that has been with me for more than 10 years and two places of employment. I don't know how papa got it in here - but he did. Thanks papa!  Daniel's loft bed with lots and lots of unpacked boxes underneath; where the heck are they going to go? 

...and that now takes me to my next project. I need to complete a budget that allows us to comfortably live on one income. I am on a self-imposed spending freeze until I do. OK truth be told papa put me on a spending freeze but I agree with the plan so I figure that makes it self-imposed :)

Purchasing needs are starting to pile up: carpets cleaned, some carpets replaced, furniture recovered, pictures framed, furniture replaced, vet appointments and deep-grooming for the dogs, manicure & pedicure for me (I consider this a need!), duct work cleaned, routers and/or boosters purchased, planters built and/or purchased, fence contractors hired, and oh so much more.

OK. I now know where to start. Budget project here I come.