Just start

 

My calendar screams at me.

Just start says the many self-help articles be it on diets, changing exercise habits, re-decorating, starting or ending a relationship – they all basically say “just start”.

But what?

• ·      My autobiography? That’s been started, then stopped – always something easier or more interesting to do.

• ·       Sorting out the house? Ditto – always, always an ongoing task, one that at times seems endlessly unsolvable. I waver in between the “I need to get it into order so that my children don’t have to stress so much” and “They are going to inherit, let them do the work”. And wavering is about as far as I get.

• ·      Cleaning something, anything? I do try and do a so-called Spring cleaning, year-round. Sometimes it’s undoing the pipes under the sinks and cleaning out the gunk, sometimes it’s the more mundane “the cleaning lady is gone – do the housework”; but occasionally I actually do sort a cupboard or something that one does occasionally: yesterday I actually defrosted the freezer in the kitchen (ok partly so that I wouldn’t have to face the larger task of defrosting the freezer downstairs, still it counts, doesn’t it?).

• ·      Filing all those bills and receipts from last year? Ugh, but it will have to be done.

• ·      Clean off my desk? I have done that in the last six months, enough is enough.

• ·      Before Christmas, it’s start the Christmas baking: ok that’s done for another year.

• ·      Start my Christmas letter? Oops, Christmas is over. Still that’s something I do yearly if for no other reason than to leave my sons with a condensed version of our lives, so still needs to be done even if I no longer send it to 100 people.

• ·      Start writing all those who sent me messages and cards? It will happen, just not perhaps today.

• ·      Start a new book? No problem, do that all the time. Not always an informative nor intellectual one, still I read as I always did.

• ·      Start one of the outstanding and planned photo albums? Will address that another day as the sun is out and I can go for a walk.

• ·      Start a computer game? Hmmm that one is never a problem, current passion Majong.

• ·      Start a blog? Hey I just did.

 So that’s enough for today, I started something and now I say Just Stop!

 

The luxury of…

An empty calendar !

This morning when I pulled out my calendar I realized that today was one of those very rare days where I had absolutely nothing planned : not a coffee, not a lunch, no medical apointments, no house repair either. Wow – a whole day to do whatever I wanted – or « needed » as there is no lack of tasks that, although not dated, certainly need doing.

First luxury – taking longer over coffee.

Then since I had been lazy (it was raining) and taken the car up to get my mail, I decided to go post my registered letter down at the main post office and check out the grocery store whilst I was there (I did need fresh flowers). My male readers can stop here as only a women will understand how my morning then proceeded. Letter duly mailed (and having been talked into a lottery ticket for tonight – our post offices sell just about everything) entered the grocery store. First thing some sour cream for the baked potato that I was able to obtain from our favorite restaurant (to my regret, I had not ordered the daily menu, as on my way out I noticed that it had been accompanied by a baked potato – a real rarety in our restaurants – had run into the chef and mentionned my « mistake ». Now this shouldn’t get out, but he went right back and brought me one in a plastic sack, so when you see someone with a bag it doesn’t necessarily hide alcohol !). And I am yet again several lines off track : second item some baking supplies as it entered my head that on a dreary day like today baking Christmas cookies might be an option. Thirdly that led to the cat food aisle (you really doon’t want to know), on back of which are brooms, sacks, etc. and threshold carpets, which reminded me that I had promised my younger son one so chose the one that I thought would best fit his decor and finally checked out.  But then I needed fresh flowers – another deviation.

Back at the car I continued along the same lines : hmmmmm… halfway to town, mid-morning so no traffic, I might as well drop the rug over at S’s flat (still had the keys in the car from all the past weeks deliveries).

On the way I realized that I wasn’t far from the main flea market and that it was Wednesday. Weather was gray and I was looking at the sky when I realized there were buildings with sayings or whatever on them. Not a clue as to why but interesting.

"L'odrre n'a pas d'ipmroincae" or Order is not important

"Yes to all" what?

Sunday - and so what?

Christmas Circus

loved the juxtaposition of eyes, church bell tower and top of the circus tent.

You see the pattern : needless to say it was past noon by the time I returned home to eat my baked potato and think what next to do with all this freedom.

The "with Flying Colors" theme this week is white - couldn't resist the Christmas decorations

A luxury indeed – one I am ill-equipped to handle it seems.

So probably I’ll simply fritter the remainder of the day away – there are worse things in life – and enjoy the luxury of a scheduleless 24 hours.

Getting things done or…Don’t turn on the computer!

Every age, every new development brings ways to spend ones time – and not necessarily in a productive or intelligent way.

As a child my nose was always in a book except for the rare occasions where my mother caught me and made me 1) do some chore or 2) go outside and play. I wasn’t much better at school always hurrying to finish the assigned task so that I could take my book out of my desk and hiding it on my lap (or at least I thought that I was hiding: it was a rude awakening when I did my student teaching to realize that all those years, all those teachers, everyone could easily see the entire class – even the back row – and what the students were doing).

Although I kept my nose in books – and still do – other ages brought other ways of “wasting” time: the mini solitary deck of cards with which I whiled away the odd 10 minutes; the bundle of knitting that was my constant companion for many years; the 500 – 1000 piece puzzles that took days of not weeks to complete; the piles of magazines without which I feel insecure – all of these served to spend time, sometimes way too much time, although I am not sure that cleaning the house etc. would have been a more productive use of that time. Then there were the first handheld games: Game Boy and Tetris (swiped from my older son when he was at school: good thing that neither of my sons really read my blog!). And although I never got into video games, I will be the first to acknowledge that my use of computer games is not any better.  I can’t even claim that by playing Letter Garden I am improving my mind (most of the words I “make” are of the three or four letter variety – occasionally I’ll find a “write”, “exit” or “hazard”, but it’s rare.)  Are the bursting bubbles type improving my hand/eye coordination? Probably not even. Sigh.

So this morning in a fit of “I have to be productive today” I didn’t turn on the computer until 10:30. It’s amazing the amount of things I got accomplished: swept the laundry room, including picking up after the cats; cleaned the tops of all the cupboards therein and put away or otherwise disposed of many items; vacuumed my office and dusted the tops of everything and – drumroll – the best of all sorted through my guarantees file and threw away (as in actually tossed) 52 items!

I am patting myself on the back, but it will all be downhill from here on in as I have turned the computer back on and even if I do get some tasks done that involve having to have the computer on, I can guarantee that at least an hour (or two) of the day will be spent playing computer games, I mean, really how industrious can one be on a Monday?

Guarantees to be thrown out

reward for work done