Working Wednesday, June 21, 2023

~ Jenny

We are finishing the rough draft of Rocky Start this week, Bob is doing all kinds of self-publishing stuff, I’m loading a truck to move and running a lot of Final Errands so I can hit the road in July, and we’re both looking forward to the end of summer when all of this madness will be over, we’ll be in new places dealing with new madness. It’s a goal.

What did you work on this week?

58 thoughts on “Working Wednesday, June 21, 2023”

  1. Congrats- You’re in the homestretch! I’ve been doing battle with the company that sold me my laptop, and finally convinced them to honor the warranty and fix the power port. Plus my Dad’s been in the ER but getting him or my brother to communicate about what’s going on is like pulling teeth from a chicken. I’ve gotten very little done this week and it’s depressing. I can’t tell if I’m persevering or perseverating.

    1. Kat — You are definitely persevering. Pulling teeth from a chicken is the sort of thing that could get you in trouble with the humane society. Plus, convincing family members to communicate is as tough as getting nations to sit down to negotiate.

  2. Every time I have a thought or idea or to-do that I want to remember, I jot it on an index card. This week I am sorting through hundreds of index cards to make a plan for Q3. Lots of them are getting delegated, some are getting purged completely, and then the rest are shaping themselves into categories, from which I will choose goals. Whatever remains will be deferred until I do it again at the end of September.

  3. I came home from thyroid surgery last Wednesday and am trying to get my strength back.
    I’m also arranging further treatment as the vocal cord was damaged by the removal, so I have almost no voice right now. The net says it can take up to 1,5 years for the nerve/and voice to recover, but my throat doctor’s estimate is approx. one month. Much better prospect.
    Going back to work sans langue is daunting, but at least I can do most of it without needing my voice to do it.
    So this week I can still gather strength before going back to work on Monday.
    As much strength as possible in the heatwave we are having (no a/c in most houses).

    1. So sorry to hear about your vocal cord! That was probably my biggest fear when I had thyroid surgery, since I basically speak for a living. Hope it heals quickly! Take it easy in the meantime…

    3. Sorry to hear that. I’m sending healing energy your way. I hope it’s better soon.

    4. Thank you Seppie, Jean Marie and Jan!
      They told me beforehand that in spite of monitoring the vocal cord, there could be such side effects. It’s just a nuisance as one notices in the minor details of life how much we use the voice in every day life.

    5. Good luck with your recovery. A bell and an erasable slate helped a lot when my Mom had to go through months of vocal silence.

      1. Argh, months…
        With the kids, it’s mostly whatsapp 😉 or pen and piece of paper, but if this situation is going to last longer, the erasable slate is a fine idea, aunt snack!

    6. Oh dang, that’s a not so nice thing to get as an extra after surgery, which in itself isn’t the most enjoyable. Sending you lots of healing vibes!

  4. I am going to be training at work again, so mostly absent from here. Boo. Our turnover rate is getting annoying.

  5. I’m trying to get back into the fiction writing zone after doing mostly nonfiction for the last year. And keep up with the yard and garden and house. Plus hunt for a housemate, which is turning out to be more difficult, time-consuming, and annoying than I expected. (Although I am getting to hear a LOT of interesting stories from people…)

    Now I’m going to go for a walk before it hits 80…

      1. I got a message from a young guy this morning who says he just lost a leg (no explanation and I didn’t want to ask) and is being fitted for a prosthetic one, then will be going back to his job as a chef. Unfortunately, the room I want to rent out is at the top of a flight of steep farmhouse steps. He thought he could do it, but I had my doubts…

        1. Your health is such that I can’t imagine having a housemate who is adjusting to a prosthesis is a good idea. Knowing you, you would want to help and then you would have your health issues and his to deal with plus keeping house for two people.

  7. Rehearsals for Much Ado. I want to audition for Something Rotten and see if I can do two shows for a month (I’d go to 2 out of 5 per week for SR for a month or so and then be back full force for the last weeks of rehearsal) since that theater is likely to let me do it. That’ll be Sunday.

    I am not great at memorizing lines, or at least I do not have the long bits baked in at all. I feel so slow.

    I crocheted a ton of flowers for a week to sew on to the Isabela Encanto costume. It’s a lot of sewing.

  9. I’m revising my first Ice Planet Octogenarians book and nailing down the characters for the second book and the external arc for the series.

    And having a whale of a good time doing it. 🙂

  10. Congratulations to Jenny & Bob for the Hella Productive Year. 🙂

    I have managed another chapter of the book-in-progress; my latest (‘Drama Queen’) released on the 17th; I went to the Actual Office for Day Job (yesterday; there was a group lunch and gourd knows we could use some team-building); I harvested the one garlic plant resulting from last year’s ‘well why not’ deployment into the yard of some sprouted cloves from our kitchen counter; we did some furniture-moving and house-cleaning over the weekend; and I submitted a holiday short for the JMS Advent calendar promotion (accepted, yay!).

  11. I’m taking care of commitments and exercising in the morning. In a fit of madness I apparently ordered 10 dahlias (on sale! on sale! Never a sale like this again! EVVVER!) so now I need to dig 10 holes. And probably give a few away to friends.
    Happy Solstice! I’m having a bonfire tonight to look at stars.
    Keep on breathing, Jenny! Do you need some dahlias in your new place?

  12. Happy Solstice everyone! I look forward to both solstices. This one, because it means the days will get shorter, and it will cool off, eventually. The winter one because the days will get longer.

    I had the one week checkup for my second cataract surgery, and all is going well. I see an optometrist for glasses (??) and final evaluation in mid-July. There are still lots of drops to apply in the second eye.

    I feel like I can finally make some plans and do some hard work that has been waiting. First, is mowing the lawn, again. I, too, bought plants that need to be put in the ground: marigolds to put next to the tomatoes, so maybe the squirrels and bugs will not mess with them. My solstice goals include more writing, painting, and sorting things. I discovered after surgery that certain colors I thought went together, really don’t, so some clothing has hit the donation bin. My previous paintings are much more vibrant to my eyes, again. Yay!

    Thanks for bearing with me through this. Good wishes to Jenny for a successful, problem-free move. I hope you love your new place and find peace and joy there.

    2. Woooah-yay for returning colours! My grandma recently did the same kind of sugery and also says it’s like the world is born anew what with all the bright colours and sharpness. I reckon your brain adjusts to the subtle changes through the years, so you don’t notice it until the cataract-surgery brings it all back. So happy it’s been successful for you too!

      1. You might want to plant nasturtiums not marigolds. We used to think marigolds repelled bunnies and squirrels and then one year the bunnies conducted what I can only call bunny topiary on all our marigolds and we had a nice row of little pyramids each with a single blossom on the top. When I researched it I learned nasturtiums repel animals and marigolds don’t .

  13. I have been swimming a lot while the weather is good and trying to focus less on the day job. Also spent a considerable amount of time trying to track down the first part of some writing I want to get going on again. I thought it would be a good idea read over what I’d done already before a house move 2 years ago. I did find it and while looking was again reminded there is a lot of filing, clearing and unpacking still to be done.

    Good luck with your move and do be good to yourself.
    Moving takes a huge amount of headspace, both before and for a long time after. I think I am just about over it more than 2 years later, but hoping not to move again for at least 2, maybe 3, decades (if I get them).

  14. I working on setting up plans for my weekend in Milwaukee next month.I called a friend I haven’t seen since my Mom’s funeral 3 years ago and am in awe of how she has structured her post retirement life. I hope that will inspire me to get some more life into mine.

    I also participated in a zoom planning meeting for my library’s annual book sale. I don’t think this will be the social boost I was hoping for, but I can sort books with the best of them and if I help with set up, I can shop before the sale opens. It will
    also provide motivation for doing my PT exercises because I need my knees to be more pain free in order to lift the boxes.

  15. Figuring out the childcare schedule AGAIN because the aide who was supposed to be my kid’s shadow at camp (only way he can attend with his elopement issues) disappeared. It’s only Wednesday and I am already ready for this week to be done.

  16. Saw my in-laws off to BC. Had a great time with them. Certainly easier than my family! My father-in-law bravely learned to paddle board. He went into the drink three times but claimed it was fun. Our Toy Australian Shepherd Pixie joined him because she doesn’t want to stay on the board – wants to swim alongside us. Ridiculously cute. Whereas our Mini Bernedoodle Sparkle sits in queenly dignity on the board and lets me do all the work.

  18. We had some rain, so I spent this morning weeding. Otherwise, there’s regular watering, deadheading & harvesting: I’ve made two batches of strawberry jam this week. I’m back to proof-reading, starting with the notes, as usual, and they’re doing my head in (also as usual). Oh, and I’m copy-editing an academic article for a friend’s nephew.

  19. I too was afraid of the impact on my voice from my thyroid surgery, because the thyroid is right there next to the larynx. I’m sorry you’ve been affected. Here’s hoping you can recover quickly.

    1. This is what I get for starting a reply and then getting caught up at work. This was meant to be a reply to Seppie!

      1. Thanks anyway, Nancy!
        I was too big a wuss to research the surgery in detail before I had to undergo it, but dh did. Usually I’m fascinated by what science/surgeons can do. Less so when it’s myself under the knife.
        It’s getting better slowly: I don’t get a viscious fit of the coughs after I try to use my voice (yes, my GP phoned me to give me my blood results…).

        1. I have parathyroid surgery in two weeks and I gather that’s a risk then too…so please keep us informed of your progress!

  20. Other than working hard at work-work, I’ve been prepping for my upcoming quilt retreat. I’m really looking forward to getting away and not having to cook / clean / other tasks that are part of my daily routine.

    And Sunday, I was reminded of my Dad. I guess that will happen for the rest of my life. Today’s reminder was that he’d always try to be the first to tell me that the days were getting shorter – so I would call first and work that into the conversation. I did a text version of that with my siblings this morning in remembrance.

  21. I worked at the flower farm on Mon and Tues – lots of planting, weeding and harvesting peonies. It’s going to be very hot for the rest of the week so I’m going to focus on my own gardens and do some volunteering. Plus sit under the gazebo on my back deck and read (lovely breeze today).

  22. I’ve done some more research on my sewing-project and might have found both someone who might be able to help me develop my sewing skills, AND possibly a way to sew on a machine rather than by hand. Someone said an Overlock-machine might work better for me, so I’m gonna see i that is a better option than a standard sewing machine.
    I’ve reworked an old Dragon-plushie-pattern I used during a sewing-course in 2015, because I didn’t really like it the way it was. It’s not gonna be pretty like Beemer (reading Wild Ride while cutting(, but hopefully cute. It took ages, first to reshape the pattern, and then to cut it all out in cardboard because the only small scissors I have that are sharp enough and not huge were nail scissors. I need to kinda feel my way while I cut, so can’t use too large ones. Now bit by bit cutting out the pattern in fabric. It’s going slow, but I’ll get there eventually. At least for fabric I’ve got good scissors, so yay for that. During my walk with my Buddy last Sunday, I coaxed him to look for fabrics at a second-hand shop, and found some fleece-jumpsuits with crazy or cute patterns that I can butcher and use for plushie-purposes. My Sib loved ’em all when I sent them pics, which feels encouraging. I wish they didn’t live so far away, I’d really need some hugs and casual hanging out and crafting together right now.
    Also still working on the mental stuff. Don’t think I said anything about it last week, but therapy is not gonna be a thing said head-shrink because “they can’t offer me anything I haven’t already had”, so I’ll have to work on things in other ways. Anti-depressants might still be an option, but my appointment with psychiatrist isn’t until Friday next week. At least head-shrink was very enthusiastic and supportive about my sewing-ideas, so that’s something.
    There’ve been some ups and downs and I still don’t know how to solve a lot of things, but at least I’m keeping myself busy.
    Hope to have more dragon-updates next week!

    1. That response sounds odd, Shass. It’s as if they can only conceive of therapy or counselling as a short course of sessions that’s supposed to cure you – rather than as an ongoing or open-ended exploration. Do hope you can get some help that works for you.

      1. I do believe they base this decision on a couple of things. Head-shrink said she “doesn’t wanna throw me into therapy again since I just finished another type of it”, that I “need to get out of the therapy-life and into the real-life” and that “therapy isn’t what should be the main purpose of life”. I’ve also already had depression therapy through this place, albeit via the online-platform, and she didn’t believe they would be able to tell me something I hadn’t already been through there. On top of that, the depression-therapy is mainly CBT, and since I’ve finally made them understand after several trials and lots of errors that it doesn’t work for me, it gets the reverse effect of what we want. That more or less is the long and the short of it, I guess. I know they have powerwalking/jogging-mornings for clients with depression, but except that, I guess CBT is what they offer in terms of depression-cure. And/or medication.
        She said that the way it looks to her and the psychiatrist, what I need is “a reason to get out of bed in the morning”, a purpose and a meaning, and that is what I need to find. Basically that’s what they said at the end of depression-therapy in 2020 too, but I still haven’t…found that purpose, or passion, or motivational thing that’ll do the trick. Hopefully the plushies will prove to be it. And/or music-making.

        1. I’d go for all the things you enjoy as your purpose; whatever makes you happy. In my experience, it’ll feel good to you, but probably won’t be something that impresses others. I think it’s about the way you’re wired, rather than anything grandiose.

          Whenever I get lost and feel down, I always come back to the same things I love – it’s just that I don’t always prioritize them, because I feel I ought to be doing other things.

          1. The main issue, or one of the issues, over the past years has been that I don’t know what makes me happy. All joy of doing things just drained away, so even things I loved to do previously felt like a chore or just made me sad for not enjoying it anymore. A sure joy/passion-detector on me has always been that if you ask a question about a subject and I just keep talking, then it’s a thing that I enjoy/feel passionate about/love. Then I stopped talking about everything. I notice now that if people ask about this plushy-thing I’m busy with, I can talk endlessly, so I reckon that’s my happy right now. I hope I can find a lasting way to chase these ideas, or I’m afraid I’ll be back on square 1 again with the feeling that there’s no point because I’ve already tried everything.
            Let’s not go there. Thank you for your messages! <3 All encouraging helps, I'm just scared "it won't work this time either".

    2. Not sure if you’ve already tried it, but if you stick with a regular sewing machine, see if you can get a “compensating foot” for it. Here’s an example (but I don’t know if they come in wider widths for wider seams): https://www.wawak.com/sewing/sewing-machine-accessories/feet/compensating-presser-sewing-machine-foot-right-foot/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw4s-kBhDqARIsAN-ipH02m85nLvelpnxlT19Of6VM9IKqfCZd6k7kZ_Vb4Lovic6Dibyr7-QaAsrnEALw_wcB#sku=prt5054

      Basically, it creates a barrier to the right of the fabric, so the fabric can’t move too far in that direction, so it’s easy to guide the fabric for a consistent seam. I love it for quiltmaking (which uses a 1/4″ seam instead of the 1/2-3/4″ seam for dressmaking and probably for other sewing). It doesn’t work if you’re sewing across fabric, as opposed to when sewing a seam (like when quilting the layers of a quilt), but for seams, it makes sewing a consistent seam easy!

      1. Thanks for the tip! I will take a look at it. Sounds practical!
        My main problem with a standard sewing machine is the threading. Is that the word? So getting the two threads on their places so you can actually sew. They never really taught me that at school because it took too much time from the actual sewing, so I know how to sew but not how to get the threads in there. Turns out that’s a bit tricky if you can’t see and confirm they’re…where they should be. But maybe there is a solution to that as well. I might find out, if this lady I found on Google wants to give lessons. Appreciate all ideas you guys have!

  24. Dear kid nr 2 is trying to sort out the same, FrozenPond. She’s not that strong a Swifty that she’ll make her parents get into the queue like with the tickets for the gigs of Harry, Niall and Louis, though…

  25. I’ve been unpacking from the trip to London and Edinburgh and weeding the garden in between bouts of rain. A LOT more weeding to go. Also my Zinnias which are all 3 foot or more either selfseeded from last year at the front of the bed or the seeds I planted father back washed into the front. Either way I have a lot of transplanting to do.

    1. Zinnia envy here. At least they haven’t all been eaten by slugs this year, due to the dry weather I daresay. But the tallest (started indoors) aren’t more than 6 inches yet, and look a bit peaky since they don’t like being transplanted.

Comments are closed.