Yesterday was a total wash. Almost the whole day was wasted. And I found out that Mac's arrival day is a day earlier then I thought. It really puts the pressure on to make every moment count. Only four items on the ultimate to-do list have gotten crossed off.
I'm trying to not feel dismal about this. I keep telling myself that there is still hope. If I knuckle down I can still accomplish great feats. I just need a good pep talk and some tunes. I always get more done when listening to tunes.
Even though things aren't crossed off, I've done a fair amount to get things closer to completion. Some things are terribly close. I just have to think about that stuff. The good stuff. That reminds me of that kind of awful movie of Kevin Costner's. No not Waterworld, the other awful one.... The Postman. I know it's awful but I still like it. When the postman rides into town with his lies and tells everybody that there is a reorganized United States and Congress is meeting in the the stadium where the Packers used to play. And he tells the people that President Starkey has a new national motto .... "Stuff is getting better"
That will be my motto.... my mantra, at least until next Tuesday when I hit my deadline. Stuff is getting better. Stuff is getting better. I'm inching my way to my better life. I've been slowed down but I haven't been stopped. It was a bummer day. It's over. I move on.
louie
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Float like a butterfly.....
That's what Muhammed Ali used to say... "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" That's how he described his fighting style. I'm reminded of this because of Wells Fargo Financial. My youngest daughter works for that division of Wells Fargo. They are dissolving, laying off, calling it kaput. And in typical big business fashion many employees found out about their job status change from the evening news. Classy!
There is no guarantee in life that you aren't going to take some serious hits. It's the nature of the process. What you can do is decide how hard the blow is going to land. You can stand there and plant your feet and take it in the gut. If you do, you'll go down. Or you can float like a butterfly. Pretty damn hard to punch a butterfly.
The trick to being a butterfly? Lighten up. Unload the unnecessary. Maintain and even nurture what is most important. More then ever take the time to enrich yourself and those who are teamed with you. Remember there is nothing that you go through that in some way, they don't go through as well.
I remember my Dad telling me once that the greatest revenge is success. That is how you let those who threw that obstacle in the road for you know that "they" are nothing. "They" could not stop you. You were born with qualities and talents that can now be revealed because you aren't being caged by "them".
You have no idea how strong you can be!! It's times like this when you call upon the warrior woman... and some of you guys might get a kick out of that. Feel her strength. Feel her balance, her spine. Feel the swing of the blade. Feel her draw air into her lungs. Then feel how the warrior woman "floats like a butterfly".
louie
There is no guarantee in life that you aren't going to take some serious hits. It's the nature of the process. What you can do is decide how hard the blow is going to land. You can stand there and plant your feet and take it in the gut. If you do, you'll go down. Or you can float like a butterfly. Pretty damn hard to punch a butterfly.
The trick to being a butterfly? Lighten up. Unload the unnecessary. Maintain and even nurture what is most important. More then ever take the time to enrich yourself and those who are teamed with you. Remember there is nothing that you go through that in some way, they don't go through as well.
I remember my Dad telling me once that the greatest revenge is success. That is how you let those who threw that obstacle in the road for you know that "they" are nothing. "They" could not stop you. You were born with qualities and talents that can now be revealed because you aren't being caged by "them".
You have no idea how strong you can be!! It's times like this when you call upon the warrior woman... and some of you guys might get a kick out of that. Feel her strength. Feel her balance, her spine. Feel the swing of the blade. Feel her draw air into her lungs. Then feel how the warrior woman "floats like a butterfly".
louie
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Half way marker
I am obviously a distance runner. I feel like I am just now getting moving on my projects and today is the half way marker. I do feel like I have accumulated some momentum. I'm picking up some speed. ( Oh God! I hope I'm picking up some speed.) Two items have been crossed off the list. I crossed them so thoroughly with a Sharpie marker that I can't tell what was written there, and I have forgotten what they were. I have fallen into the trap of having one task lead onto another tangent and I find myself working on things that aren't on the list. They are just associated with a task on the list and as you know, one thing leads to another... to another... to another ... and before you know it, you've lived in a house twenty years and you're still turning on the cold water in the upstairs bathroom with a vice grip, because you haven't had time to install that new handle you bought nineteen years ago. Now where did you put that?
Today I am hoping to finish two projects. If the humidity clears off and the stain and polyurethane can actually dry it will be a great help. I have inadvertently added staining two more upper cabinets and building a new bathroom storage unit to the list. It was an accident. But I have a strategy for coping with it. The inadvertent stuff I won't add to the list until I finish it. THEN I'll add it and immediately cross it off. It will make me feel better about myself. If I add a task to the list too soon then the volume of work just becomes overwhelming. I don't want to be overwhelmed. It makes me cuss.
I also have added a fourteen inch wide shelf that has to be built and stained etc. before I can continue in the kitchen. There is no such thing as a fourteen inch wide cabinet in the unfinished cabinet section of the home improvement stores, and I couldn't afford them even if there were. But it's a shelf.... I can manage that. It might be a good thing. That much more practice before I tackle the big building project...THE WALL OVEN CABINET!! That thing has been scaring the beejeebers out of me for a year now. It's time to face my fears. BUT FIRST, I have to make the shelf and the bathroom cabinet .... neither of which is on the list.
See how I am!! You can just bank that I'll be cussing today!
louie
Today I am hoping to finish two projects. If the humidity clears off and the stain and polyurethane can actually dry it will be a great help. I have inadvertently added staining two more upper cabinets and building a new bathroom storage unit to the list. It was an accident. But I have a strategy for coping with it. The inadvertent stuff I won't add to the list until I finish it. THEN I'll add it and immediately cross it off. It will make me feel better about myself. If I add a task to the list too soon then the volume of work just becomes overwhelming. I don't want to be overwhelmed. It makes me cuss.
I also have added a fourteen inch wide shelf that has to be built and stained etc. before I can continue in the kitchen. There is no such thing as a fourteen inch wide cabinet in the unfinished cabinet section of the home improvement stores, and I couldn't afford them even if there were. But it's a shelf.... I can manage that. It might be a good thing. That much more practice before I tackle the big building project...THE WALL OVEN CABINET!! That thing has been scaring the beejeebers out of me for a year now. It's time to face my fears. BUT FIRST, I have to make the shelf and the bathroom cabinet .... neither of which is on the list.
See how I am!! You can just bank that I'll be cussing today!
louie
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Pancakes revisited
I've mentioned before that I have a great love for pancakes. It is a comfort food extraordinaire. A truly good pancake can stand alone. They're good with butter, confectioner's sugar, any number of fruits and compotes, chocolate chips, pecans or my recent discovery... Lyles's Golden Syrup!
This last weekend, my daughter took me to breakfast at a diner in Ames. They are famous for their huge, yellow pancakes. I was told how people come from all over the state to eat a pancake there. The place is fun. It's an old school diner with wood paneling and kind of a seventies rec room feel to it. The coffee cups are very large, like they should be, and have advertising on them. When our pancakes arrived they lived up to the press. They were huge. One pancake filled one of those old oval white diner plate/platter kind of dish. It was definitely yellow. The syrup on the table was real maple syrup, not the industrial corn syrup goo. I got my pancake decked out with butter and syrup and took my first bite. It was good. It was very good, but it still NEEDED the marriage of other flavors. I added more syrup. They weren't as good as my pancakes, and then I realized......
I HAVE ENTERED THE STATE OF PANCAKE NIRVANA!!!!
It isn't just about the ingredients. It's about the technique and the respect that you must have for what the ingredients can do. Either my taste buds are demented or I make the best dang pancakes that I have ever tasted! I've been thinking about it for three days now and I am leaning towards the best dang pancakes scenario. I'm tellin' ya'! They're a trip to heaven on gossamer wings! (I've been wanting to use that line for some time now)
You know a person should be able to do something with this kind of power. Not to worry, I only use my powers for good!
louie
This last weekend, my daughter took me to breakfast at a diner in Ames. They are famous for their huge, yellow pancakes. I was told how people come from all over the state to eat a pancake there. The place is fun. It's an old school diner with wood paneling and kind of a seventies rec room feel to it. The coffee cups are very large, like they should be, and have advertising on them. When our pancakes arrived they lived up to the press. They were huge. One pancake filled one of those old oval white diner plate/platter kind of dish. It was definitely yellow. The syrup on the table was real maple syrup, not the industrial corn syrup goo. I got my pancake decked out with butter and syrup and took my first bite. It was good. It was very good, but it still NEEDED the marriage of other flavors. I added more syrup. They weren't as good as my pancakes, and then I realized......
I HAVE ENTERED THE STATE OF PANCAKE NIRVANA!!!!
It isn't just about the ingredients. It's about the technique and the respect that you must have for what the ingredients can do. Either my taste buds are demented or I make the best dang pancakes that I have ever tasted! I've been thinking about it for three days now and I am leaning towards the best dang pancakes scenario. I'm tellin' ya'! They're a trip to heaven on gossamer wings! (I've been wanting to use that line for some time now)
You know a person should be able to do something with this kind of power. Not to worry, I only use my powers for good!
louie
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Not P.C. today
First, I'd like to apologize. I don't have any intention to offend but sometimes it is necessary to speak plainly. Sometimes in speaking plainly another might think a criticism is involved. That is not the case. I just hope this helps out EVERYBODY. Here goes....
I'd like to define renaissance woman. I mean renaissance in a classical sense, not in reference to a historical time period. I grew up like every little girl with stories of how things just work out at the last moment. The shoe fits... the prince recognizes her... yadda, yadda, yadda. Now add in a person's own spin on that fantasy. I have years of idyllic imaginings and finally, at my mature years, I have gathered enough resource material to build my imaginary world. It is a time of fruition, enlightenment and expansion of my boundaries. My life is finally being painted in rich hues and gold. (Though I would like to add a caveat here. Mice do not talk, they only crap in the silverware drawer. Okay, you can continue now. )
Now, stick with me here... have you ever noticed how the skinny little gals with the perky butts can just wear anything?! You pop them into a pair of overalls or painter pants and they just look sassy AND perky. Society just seems to think that they're just as cute as a bug's ear. I wear overalls and painter pants. I don't look cute. It doesn't help that I buy large. I buy large because I need the space for air to move and sweat to drip and sometimes I get myself in positions... well, lets just say that one day I literally had to crawl out of my clothes in the back yard. I am utilitarian. I have to be. I recently told one of my daughters that my style sense could be considered "early barn".
We're going to make another jump now. Don't worry, I'll get to my point. I used to work a cleaning job. I dressed in appropriate clothing to the job. I usually wear a work boot because women's shoes or boots rarely have any arch support. When on your feet all day on concrete, you make sure there is something under your arches. So one day while working this job, a co-worker and I were having lunch and she inquired whether or not I liked men. My response was that it all depends. I have little tolerance for idiots and assholes. That wasn't what she meant. She reiterated. Do I LIKE men? I reminded her that I was married and had three children. She told me that didn't mean anything any more. I'm not very good at social nuances but I told my co-worker that yes indeed I liked men. She replied, " Okay, that's good. Everyone will be glad to know that. You know you might try wearing some ruffles on the collar of your shirts or something so people know."
Can you even buy shirts with ruffles anymore? Do ruffles hold up to mud, manure and concrete? I don't think so. Now here is the point I have been working so hard to reach, maybe we could call it a public service announcement. I am a renaissance woman! I get dirty. I work hard and I wear the clothes that you need for the hard work. I often have hay stuck in my hair. There is often manure on my boots. Most of my clothes have paint splatters. Sometimes my glasses do too. And the important part is .... I don't care. The new rule of thumb is this... ruffles mean nothing. If a woman looks like a walking muckhole then she is a renaissance woman chasing her dream. If a woman's tee shirt is dazzling white and her jeans perfect in that James Dean fashion and her boots look like they just came out of the L.L. Bean box.. lesbian.
So, no getting that mixed up anymore, okay? Now I have to go mend a fence. Pip was out in the yard again this morning.
louie
I'd like to define renaissance woman. I mean renaissance in a classical sense, not in reference to a historical time period. I grew up like every little girl with stories of how things just work out at the last moment. The shoe fits... the prince recognizes her... yadda, yadda, yadda. Now add in a person's own spin on that fantasy. I have years of idyllic imaginings and finally, at my mature years, I have gathered enough resource material to build my imaginary world. It is a time of fruition, enlightenment and expansion of my boundaries. My life is finally being painted in rich hues and gold. (Though I would like to add a caveat here. Mice do not talk, they only crap in the silverware drawer. Okay, you can continue now. )
Now, stick with me here... have you ever noticed how the skinny little gals with the perky butts can just wear anything?! You pop them into a pair of overalls or painter pants and they just look sassy AND perky. Society just seems to think that they're just as cute as a bug's ear. I wear overalls and painter pants. I don't look cute. It doesn't help that I buy large. I buy large because I need the space for air to move and sweat to drip and sometimes I get myself in positions... well, lets just say that one day I literally had to crawl out of my clothes in the back yard. I am utilitarian. I have to be. I recently told one of my daughters that my style sense could be considered "early barn".
We're going to make another jump now. Don't worry, I'll get to my point. I used to work a cleaning job. I dressed in appropriate clothing to the job. I usually wear a work boot because women's shoes or boots rarely have any arch support. When on your feet all day on concrete, you make sure there is something under your arches. So one day while working this job, a co-worker and I were having lunch and she inquired whether or not I liked men. My response was that it all depends. I have little tolerance for idiots and assholes. That wasn't what she meant. She reiterated. Do I LIKE men? I reminded her that I was married and had three children. She told me that didn't mean anything any more. I'm not very good at social nuances but I told my co-worker that yes indeed I liked men. She replied, " Okay, that's good. Everyone will be glad to know that. You know you might try wearing some ruffles on the collar of your shirts or something so people know."
Can you even buy shirts with ruffles anymore? Do ruffles hold up to mud, manure and concrete? I don't think so. Now here is the point I have been working so hard to reach, maybe we could call it a public service announcement. I am a renaissance woman! I get dirty. I work hard and I wear the clothes that you need for the hard work. I often have hay stuck in my hair. There is often manure on my boots. Most of my clothes have paint splatters. Sometimes my glasses do too. And the important part is .... I don't care. The new rule of thumb is this... ruffles mean nothing. If a woman looks like a walking muckhole then she is a renaissance woman chasing her dream. If a woman's tee shirt is dazzling white and her jeans perfect in that James Dean fashion and her boots look like they just came out of the L.L. Bean box.. lesbian.
So, no getting that mixed up anymore, okay? Now I have to go mend a fence. Pip was out in the yard again this morning.
louie
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Yet another fortune cookie
Last night as I was getting ready to call it a day, one of my fortune cookie fortunes somehow got caught in a breeze, wafted around in front of my face and landed at my feet. I considered this a sign. The fortune cookie read, "You will obtain your goal if you maintain your course". Yeah!!! some good news!
Day one was actually just half a day, so I was disappointed in myself. But the first days project was taken as far as I could take it right now anyway. And, that was doing a bunch of earth moving by hand and trying to get an area clean flat and ready for grass seed. I won't be able to seed until fall but I know that will come up incredibly fast. It always does.
Day two was marred by the mental battle with bills. I have decided that for right now I won't be trying to do it all at one time. I'll pluck away at it in smaller, less grueling bites..... at least for right now. But I also did some important contact work on the computer, and hopefully, as of today I have met some of the right people to get some things done. While I didn't get the arbor done, I did finally commit to the design I wanted. The posts were already in. They are now painted a brilliant, happy red. I'm getting some small supports up that will help me to hang onto the first crosspieces so that, hopefully I can get those screwed in. After it is together and solid I will go back and screw in a huge bolt. Aligning holes and getting the bolt shoved in while holding a six foot long 2x6 is just a bit much for me. So, in some respects, this day was altogether exciting, horrifying and a little short of the goal.
Today is day three in the great "Can She Do It?!" marathon. Today is back to basics.... I will be digging ... again .... with a shovel. The good news is that this is the last big digging day. It is for footing prep for the outdoor fireplace, oven and grill wall. Again final design has been elusive. But I can't be indecisive anymore, especially after about ten o'clock this morning. One hole has to be three foot by six foot by four foot deep. That 's for the fireplace, though it does sound like the perfect shallow grave. I do have to say here that you should never dispose of a body in an outdoor fireplace footing. Bodies do not provide proper freeze and thaw support... your concrete will crack. The project will need to be re-done and then the jig will be up. (moving on) The next hole will be for the wood fired oven and it will be three foot by four foot and four foot deep. Last hole will be the easy one, the grill wall, a mere 2x4 and four feet deep. This is a huge task today and it will mark turning a corner in the projects department. Hard to believe. If it is possible for all to go according to plan, after today, all my digging will once again be recreational.
The last I bothered listening to the weather, it was projected that there would be rain after midnight. I hope they stick to that. Have to say that it looks like it is clouding up already ....YIKES!! I guess it doesn't matter much. I have in door projects as well. Lots and lots of indoor projects.
Oh crap! Gotta run! I forgot the weed eater is out!
louie
Day one was actually just half a day, so I was disappointed in myself. But the first days project was taken as far as I could take it right now anyway. And, that was doing a bunch of earth moving by hand and trying to get an area clean flat and ready for grass seed. I won't be able to seed until fall but I know that will come up incredibly fast. It always does.
Day two was marred by the mental battle with bills. I have decided that for right now I won't be trying to do it all at one time. I'll pluck away at it in smaller, less grueling bites..... at least for right now. But I also did some important contact work on the computer, and hopefully, as of today I have met some of the right people to get some things done. While I didn't get the arbor done, I did finally commit to the design I wanted. The posts were already in. They are now painted a brilliant, happy red. I'm getting some small supports up that will help me to hang onto the first crosspieces so that, hopefully I can get those screwed in. After it is together and solid I will go back and screw in a huge bolt. Aligning holes and getting the bolt shoved in while holding a six foot long 2x6 is just a bit much for me. So, in some respects, this day was altogether exciting, horrifying and a little short of the goal.
Today is day three in the great "Can She Do It?!" marathon. Today is back to basics.... I will be digging ... again .... with a shovel. The good news is that this is the last big digging day. It is for footing prep for the outdoor fireplace, oven and grill wall. Again final design has been elusive. But I can't be indecisive anymore, especially after about ten o'clock this morning. One hole has to be three foot by six foot by four foot deep. That 's for the fireplace, though it does sound like the perfect shallow grave. I do have to say here that you should never dispose of a body in an outdoor fireplace footing. Bodies do not provide proper freeze and thaw support... your concrete will crack. The project will need to be re-done and then the jig will be up. (moving on) The next hole will be for the wood fired oven and it will be three foot by four foot and four foot deep. Last hole will be the easy one, the grill wall, a mere 2x4 and four feet deep. This is a huge task today and it will mark turning a corner in the projects department. Hard to believe. If it is possible for all to go according to plan, after today, all my digging will once again be recreational.
The last I bothered listening to the weather, it was projected that there would be rain after midnight. I hope they stick to that. Have to say that it looks like it is clouding up already ....YIKES!! I guess it doesn't matter much. I have in door projects as well. Lots and lots of indoor projects.
Oh crap! Gotta run! I forgot the weed eater is out!
louie
Friday, July 2, 2010
On your mark!
Today is the first day of my "twelve day marathon of working until I drop and I really hope this about finishes up the house and courtyard" period. I am filled with fear and trepidation. In order to have a few breaks in the midst of this turmoil, I have plans to take a night when I am absolutely starving, to go to the chinese buffet. Mac hates the chinese buffet, so I will spare him the horrors of Mushroom and Pork and General Tso's chicken. The other break will be attending a Draft Horse and Mule Club meeting. It doesn't start until eight so I can still get my work accomplished that day.
I am geared up for my marathon but unfortunately, I have to start off with bill day. God!! I hate bill day!! I especially hate it when I start having chest pains. I have little doubt that I will die on bill paying day. So, in comparison, working until I drop has a great deal of appeal. I much rather die on my own terms rather then die because of those b*&%#@* at Clarke Electric Cooperative.
Every bill day I dream of putting up my home made wind mills. Then run so much juice back at them that I will make all our money back off the damn buggers. When did utilities become such opportunistic businesses? It isn't like we have a choice on what utility we use. They are monopolies. We are suppose to have safeguards from the abuses of monopolies, but that's a concept that seems to have fallen to the wayside. Far too many people on the "Anything for a Buck" bandwagon, as a result we are consuming the very people that make up the majority of this country's economic engine. The mortgage crisis will just look like the tip of the iceberg in comparison to what can happen as the middle class disappears. Actually, I don't think we are middle class anymore. Well, with Mac working as a teacher, I'm sure that is an economic classification that we just barely rubbed elbows with anyway. No use crying over spilt milk.
Oh well, there is nothing I can do about how much money comes in and how much needs to go out. At least, right now there isn't much I can do about it. But I can decide how hard I sand smooth, how hard I dig deep, how far do I string fence, how big will I dream. In five years the little farm will be done, the mortgage will be paid off, Mac will still be well, Pip and I will be going and riding everywhere, and people will come to see the little farm so they can take a little bit of my dream away with them. And I will tell them that their dream has to be bigger then the bastard that stands in their way. Easy-peasy.
louie
I am geared up for my marathon but unfortunately, I have to start off with bill day. God!! I hate bill day!! I especially hate it when I start having chest pains. I have little doubt that I will die on bill paying day. So, in comparison, working until I drop has a great deal of appeal. I much rather die on my own terms rather then die because of those b*&%#@* at Clarke Electric Cooperative.
Every bill day I dream of putting up my home made wind mills. Then run so much juice back at them that I will make all our money back off the damn buggers. When did utilities become such opportunistic businesses? It isn't like we have a choice on what utility we use. They are monopolies. We are suppose to have safeguards from the abuses of monopolies, but that's a concept that seems to have fallen to the wayside. Far too many people on the "Anything for a Buck" bandwagon, as a result we are consuming the very people that make up the majority of this country's economic engine. The mortgage crisis will just look like the tip of the iceberg in comparison to what can happen as the middle class disappears. Actually, I don't think we are middle class anymore. Well, with Mac working as a teacher, I'm sure that is an economic classification that we just barely rubbed elbows with anyway. No use crying over spilt milk.
Oh well, there is nothing I can do about how much money comes in and how much needs to go out. At least, right now there isn't much I can do about it. But I can decide how hard I sand smooth, how hard I dig deep, how far do I string fence, how big will I dream. In five years the little farm will be done, the mortgage will be paid off, Mac will still be well, Pip and I will be going and riding everywhere, and people will come to see the little farm so they can take a little bit of my dream away with them. And I will tell them that their dream has to be bigger then the bastard that stands in their way. Easy-peasy.
louie
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