Working Wednesday, October 13, 2021

~ Jenny

It’s cocoon season, the part where I put up plastic on the windows, rehang the insulated drapes, and plug in the heated throws. The dogs and cat get fuzzier and I get more interested in cocoa and hot soup.

In other working news, I now have 92 unread e-mails in my inbox, and that’s not counting the other hundred plus I’ve read and haven’t deleted. I see a purge coming, so if you e-mailed me about something and didn’t get an answer, give it to the end of the week and then e-mail again. I think part of my work tomorrow is going to be a Delete All.

What did you do this week?

55 thoughts on “Working Wednesday, October 13, 2021”

  1. I have a little show coming up locally next month that I am trying to get ready for. Then the self doubt started to creep in it’s small works, mostly black ground with white winter trees and some combination of stars and moons. It was supposed to be quiet and simple, but I am worried that it is hedging towards dark and depressing, which is definitely not the note I want to hit this year.

    So yesterday I taped 30 watercolor paper post cards to my dining room table, wet them all and dropped paint on them. They should be dry today so I can start going in with pen and pencil and make landscapes of them. If I can get them done and framed, they will be an alternative. Grrr. But the other show is almost done, so I will probably continue with that as well… I don’t know what I am doing.

    1. I’d love to see both your watercolor landscapes AND your white winter trees. I’m sure they look fantastic!

      1. Thank you! The trees are up on Instagram if you use it under @wallflowerwildco. The post cards are just a happy thought at this point…

      1. Thank you! Right now they are just washes of wet on wet color. Hopefully they will gel into something recognizable.

  2. I am working on not being overwhelmed by all that I have to do on my multiple giant lists of things to do, while still taking care of me, and still having fun with the kids.

  3. Struggling to hold on to the very last vestiges of summer. My AC unit is still in my window (in my defense, I live in New England where you can have the heat and the AC on in the same day!), but I’ve been breaking out my winter teas (spicy, not fruity), darker purses, and…the real harbinger, my heavy woolen socks to wear to bed. I’ve wrestled with seasonal affective disorder/depression in the past so am trying to consciously appreciate the good things about Fall — the cooler temps, the foliage (New England’s consolation for New England’s winters!), and getting my Christmas lists together. So…actually accomplishing some things!

  4. My accomplishments this week primarily focused on cleaning. I had friends over last night, and went to great lengths to fool them that I don’t live in a constant state of clutter. Many things were shifted from my living/dining area to my sewing room and the door closed. That will need to be undone soon!

    I also experimented with baking with sugar alternatives, since one of my friends is perilously close to being diabetic. I made some great brownies, which my husband ate, and then some cinnamon roll mini cheesecakes, which turned out great (bonus – it was gluten free too)

    In order to facilitate the cleaning, I did have to get some other things done. Labor Day weekend, I had created a bunch of quilt tops, and two weeks ago I got them quilted. I did put some time into putting the binding on, so they could be in the neatened “done” pile. One of my favorites started as a fabric panel with four cute sheep on it. I cut them apart and swirled them around so that there is now a sheep facing each edge. I also continued to put some of my bonus fat quarter pieces to use – creating another baby quilt top that looks like flowers.

    My quilt guild has a program called “block party” where members make a given block, and a winner is chosen from those who participate to get all of the blocks to make their own quilt. This month, there was a choice of block options. I got the jack-o-lantern, which turned out really cute. I kind of hope I win these!

    So don’t be overwhelmed by the number of pictures – most of these have been worked on for two months! Sorry, I didn’t take any pictures of the cheesecakes
    https://www.instagram.com/p/CU-DDOcAZWn/

    1. Those quilts are all amazing to me, but oh! Those sheep! And the realignment that made them running in circles? So good. Thanks!

  5. I’ve trying to start a new contract tech writing job, but there is some dumb thing with getting on the environment, still! Today I shall conquer it.

    On Monday I had the cataract procedure, so I have a brand new Toric lens, which corrects for astigmatism. So interesting! Now the fixed eye sees the bright colors, and the right eye sees with a sepia tinge. I had heard about that, but since this is a relatively early operation, I didn’t think my eyes would have changed so much. While I’m still recovering, yesterday I read the paper without glasses and also without holding it 10 inches from my face. If I’d been doing both I would have gone for distance, but since it’s just the one for now, I decided to go for near vision.

    I walk around closing one eye and then the next to see the difference.

    1. I am wondering if I can afford that, and also (I haven’t done a consult yet) if it’s likely to last forever, since all my life I’ve had new prescriptions nearly every year. Near-sighted, too, and now also with added far-sighted-ness. (My eye doctor has asked what are apparently cataract-related questions like “Do you see halos around lights?” and “Does glare bother you much?” to which my answer has been “Yes, for the past sixty-odd years….”)

  6. I had a really productive weekend – something that hasn’t happened in a really long time. I rearranged the living room and actually shopped for food and cooked meals to last me a week or two. amazing.

    It might not happen again for another year, but I’ll take what my brain will give me.

  7. I finally pushed the buy button for many of the things we need for the new house, like toilets, faucets, and lights. Still have to decide on carpet and floor but that’s tomorrow. With the pines and views and no neighbors, I’m going to love this place if we ever get it done, but I’m beginning to think I won’t live long enough.

  8. This morning…first visit to the dentist in 2 years. Lots of cleaning time… but boy do they feel nice. And NO problems. :^)

    Also, the hygienist said I had taken very good care of them in the interim.

    It’s the little things, eh?

  9. Transitioning from summer to fall and beyond there are two popsicles – green, most likely lime – left in the freezer, blech!

    Over the weekend we had butternut squash ravioli with a herb sauce and chicken for dinner one night. I thought of Jenny when my husband made ramen noodles with a bunch of chopped bok choy added to it for lunch the other day.

    The holly berries are now a bright red. We’re going to have to get the lawn guys to rake up the leaves soon. Not enough for them to scoop now, they just mow over them.

    Around the house I washed the floors yesterday, then soon will put down the extra carpet in the dining room. I have a couple of weeks left before I get antsy enough to change the curtains. Moving slow but getting things done.

    1. Went back into housework mode and polished furniture. Talked myself into a green popsicle, not lime but apple, Yay!

  10. Over the weekend I finished prepping the text (including writing a bonus short) for another collection of previously-published novellas. Then brushed up the text for a 2019 title, got that loaded, and set up a promotion.

    Plus I watered all the things and did a yardkeeping project that has resulted in a less-depressing area. ‘Less depressing’ is the basic goal for the backyard, which we envisioned as a place to entertain, but for a lot of reasons it’s clear that will never be much of a thing.

    Aside from that I’m mostly coping with Day Job, a mildly down mood, and insufficient motivation to stay at the computer after work to try to write something.

  11. Got some gardening done at the weekend, which was lovely. The day job has almost vanished – just an hour or two here and there, suddenly full-on. Today I erased my iPad (ouch!) and sent it and my second camera off for repair; and took my formerly waterproof walking boots to the cobbler. He’s going to stitch them, and see if he can think of a way to make them waterproof again, though he wasn’t optimistic.

    So I’m feeling all over the place; in transition, I guess. Off to Snowdonia tomorrow to shop for a new jacket, trainers and walking boots, in the hope that I can enjoy next week’s holiday despite the forecast wind and rain.

    1. Jane, I suppose it is too much of a stretch to find out if there is an L.L. Bean store or something similar in England that sells everything outdoorsy for hiking. Good luck!

        1. PS. England has such centres, too – in places like the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales – but Wales is my nearest.

  12. Hoping a link will be put up on a website so I get some meeting minutes done.

    Also going to mow the lawn (cut back the weeds) for the fimal time this year.

    Just keeping up.

  13. The productivity in my space is all due to the contractors working outside to replace the siding/trim on my house. The work is in the final stages and, once the painters do their thing, the house will be fresh and rot-free. Yay!

    Now it’s time for me to get back to the cabinet-refinishing work I started in the kitchen and then abandoned. Or maybe I’ll just curl up with a warm beverage and a good book instead.

  14. Continuing with the editing the bigger/smaller wardrobe into piles, mostly donate to hospice. Keeping up with the usual suspects; dishes, laundry, cleaning and the mountain of paperwork filed for years. The blue boxes are getting full.

    Made pastry with butter for the pies on Monday. Yum, flaky and buttery. One pie crust was not rolled thin enough. Took forever to bake. Dinner was great, one son and wife this year, (rotating in-law dinner for the other).

    My new plan is to plan the “do this stuff today” the night before, I need to accomplish more in a day. And look out for Bob Mayer’s new book.

  16. I have done mostly nothing since being told to quarantine, lots of snuggling with the cats and a small side project of cooking real food now I’m no longer getting fed at work twice a day. This has led to tackling the dishes, and minor progress has been made. Better than nothing, but I am starting to wonder whether I will actually get anything solid done on this forced holiday. Probably not, but frankly, who cares? I worked 120 hours last fortnight, I could do with a break.

  17. Back to work, and before I can even make a tour of the plant, the boss grabs me to fill out paperwork and sign my evals. I grumbled mightily, because he made me fill out all the forms that I had avoided as “unchanged from last year.” He even made me fill out a new self-evaluation form, leaving blocks blank instead of the entries I had made. Educational accomplishments: I learned stuff. Work Accomplishments: I did stuff. Overall Self-Assessment: I continue to walk on water, but am annoyed that it ruins my work shoes when they get wet. My evals all say “Exceeds Expectations”, because I do.

    Earlier today:

    I’m still having trouble reestablishing my sleep schedule. Went to bed at 4, tossed and turned – I feel like a salad – and got back up. Read until 7:30, back to bed. Slept until noon before a grandchild knocked for permission to raid my fridge, the the dotter woke me up and fed me her latest Keto concoction. It resembled chili, except for the spinach and kale, and she served it on one of my pork rinds. (That stale container should have gone out weeks ago.)

    Now I’m awake and my routine is irretrievable. I have eaten before the fasting glucose test or taking my blood pressure, so I just assumed their numbers were the same as yesterday. I did get on the scales and praised and thanked all deities that today is not official. I ended up heading off to work without sustenance except for that bowl of Keto stuff and stale pork rinds. I needed to swing by Food Lion, but instead I went to Subway for a double-meat, double-provolone BMT on Italian with lettuce, tomato, onion, pepper and oil. With Doritos. And cookies, chocolate chip type. The girl at Subway asked, as they do, if I wanted it toasted. I figured the diet was toast for today, so why not?

    The best part of this day was that the dotter felt enough better to putter about the kitchen making new Keto concoctions. And eating them.

  18. Crocheting a bit. But mostly just working at the actual day job, as a stressful last minute project got sent my way.

  20. At my work, a fairly large number of Important Required International Documents were lost in the mail for weeks on end, which we finally got confirmed last week. Our clientele are very unhappy with me about this, even though technically it’s not my fault, they have my name and yell at me. At great expense to us, we reordered the damn things to have them shipped out again. I got them today and then later on were told “oh, we found your lost packages,” though frankly I’m not sure that’s actually happened, and at least 3 of them are totally lost that I’ve found out. I spent SEVEN HOURS on this shit on Friday and then that’s at least half of my day every day, just lost documents going to Black Hole Of Mail country.

    Craftwise, I finished my Halloween costume, have almost finished a duster, and am making somebody Baby Yoda foods out of yarn.

  21. It doesn’t feel as if I’ve accomplished much this last week, probably because I’m still in the throes of updating a yearbook. Now on the last stretch, which is updating the member roster. On the one hand, we’ve added a group of thirty-one members to the yearbook (some overlap) and on the other hand, I have to eliminate anyone who has died in the last three years (too many) and figure out who’s still active. Everything is in a spread sheet but the individual groups don’t keep them the way I do (my master spreadsheet has one line per member; the smaller group record keepers seem to use a clump of cells per person; I guess it’s more visible, but a nuisance when one is trying to use MailMerge to create the list).

    1. The only reason mine hasn’t got that many is that I moved them all into a folder called ‘Filing’ when I got my new Mac a few months ago; I should do this all the time, since if I leave them in the inbox they can vanish if there’s a disaster – they’re not properly downloaded from the server, or something. Anyway, hidden in Filing is good. Makes me feel better.

  23. I have been on vacation this week so only a little work has been done. Today, for the fun stuff, I drove to Glimmerglass State Park and hiked their 2 mile wilderness trail. They have a sign up about being careful as there are active bear sightings on the grounds. I walked warily at first then more confidentially as I figured a bear would avoid the noise I was making from the leaves on the trail. As I was heading back to my car, I encountered a park guide who explained the bear activity was mostly in the Spring when they arise from their dens!

    For work, I mowed my lawn and the leaves that were on it. It looks good right now, but I am fully aware that by later today, more leaves will have fallen and covered it up again.

Comments are closed.