Monday I had planned to take Max for a run, but I woke up too tired, so I went back to bed after dropping Sunshine off. I managed to get a little work done that day, but not nearly enough, as frequently seems to happen.
Tuesday after music lessons we went into town to check out the botanic garden and get an idea of what needs to be done, looking for Eagle project ideas. As we were leaving, we ran into the executive director and the board president and told them what we were looking for. They mentioned a work day happening the next morning, which would be a good opportunity to talk to other volunteers and discuss projects. Good timing on our part.
I got very little sleep Monday night, so I took a nap, then we practiced our new universal before going to class. The tornado kicks are still making me dizzy- ugh.
Wednesday I finally got a good night’s sleep (7.5 hours!), but unfortunately, one good night’s sleep doesn’t make up for months of crappy sleep. If I can just keep up the momentum and get to sleep on time every night…
We went to the botanic garden and helped dig up and re-plant ferns. The area where they currently are will be cleared, so we were transplanting them to a ‘fern glade’. The boys helped with the digging up while Sunshine and I helped re-plant. She also did some brush trimming with some nifty electric clippers that she says we need, though I’m sure they’re on the pricey side.
As we left, the kids all said they had had fun and were looking forward to the next time, which will be in two weeks. Sunshine made the comment that she appreciated that the pace was slower and the work less intense than on some service projects we’ve helped with. The age demographic of the other volunteers factors into this, I’m sure- everyone else were older retirees, which makes sense since we were doing this on a Wednesday morning.
We also have the preliminary idea for her project, as well as a donor who will cover the cost of the materials, which is huge. Fundraising is not our favorite. We need to start the planning and paperwork process, but Sunshine is excited about the project, so that’s a win right there. Right now her project consists of clearing some brush along a stream bank, building and installing a fence to keep people from falling into the stream 8 feet below, and building a contraption pulley thing to be used to gather water for water samples. Other groups are sampling the water before, during, and after the stream restoration project that is just about to begin, and the current water collection site will no longer be accessible. The garden board has to approve the fence and pulley plans, but we’re feeling pretty optimistic about it all. The gentleman who said he’s pay for the materials has been doing some clearing of the area, so realistically, we probably won’t have to include that in the project parameters. I’m pretty sure he’ll have the kudzu all cleared by the time we’re actually ready to start.
We made it home just in time for my accountability call, then I did some sewing.
Thursday it was my turn for the carpool, so worked on TNL blog posts while I was waiting. Later in the morning I picked up the cd with my foot X-rays on it for my sports med appointment next week, ran a couple errands, then worked on business stuff. Cutting leather, sewing, installing hardware on foraging straps, etc. I also gave Jeremy a haircut so he could head off to drill for the weekend.
Friday Jeremy left bright and early for drill. His unit didn’t have funding for hotels for soldiers that have to travel for the night before, just the nights during the drill weekend. In the past they’ve paid for the night before, which is pretty much necessary if they want their soldiers showing up for 6:30am formations. Since they didn’t cover the hotel, those who had to travel had more leeway on their morning arrival time, but driving through DC traffic in the morning takes a lot longer than driving through it at 10 or 11 at night, when he usually is heading to drill. Hopefully they get their funding in order soon.
I spent the day working on business tasks: did product photography, wrote listings, edited photos, and recorded two videos (bucket handle to strap conversion and how to braid a magic braid bracelet). I stayed up until 4am trying to finish the listings, but I didn’t manage it. There were too many details that took too much time. I basically had to go through each listing already in my shop in addition to the new listings. I updated photos, tweaked listing wording, checked and updated SEO for each listing, updated inventory available for each listing, updated variations available for each listing, and added weights for each item (which will help make sure shipping charges are accurate). It took a lot longer than I’d hoped.
Saturday I’d hoped to take Max for a run in the morning, but the 4am bedtime nixed that idea. I ended up waking up just in time to package an order and get it to the post office two minutes before it closed.
I took a couple more photos, then finished the store listings. I didn’t get them done till 11:30 at night, which meant I was writing my email after that and sending it at midnight. It was later than I’d have liked, but I wanted it done, so mission accomplished.
I’ve had some thoughts on my memory issues. I’ve been known to say I have a bad memory and that I don’t remember things, which is true. However, the kids have heard me say this, and they’ve started saying similar things. While they may have issues remembering things on occasion, I don’t want them to get in the negative and limiting mindset of “I CAN’T remember things”. So I’ve reframed how I talk about my memory issues and have talked to the kids about it. The starting point on this was what the psychologist had said about me not being able to access information, even though it’s there.
In my brain there’s a lot of file cabinets with all sorts of information and memories stored in them. Some of the cabinets are unlocked and the information is freely accessible (things I can remember without problems). Sometimes those cabinets get locked and the information can’t be accessed (I can’t remember something). Sometimes the key is found and I can access the information again (remembering something I had previously forgotten). Sometimes the key isn’t found and the information stays locked up (I’m still not able to remember something).
The keys can be found in a variety of ways: spontaneously, through looking at pictures or videos, through conversations, through reading my journal, etc. Triggers make it a lot more likely that I’ll find the key and be able to open the cabinet containing memories or information, though they’re not always reliable. The lack of a trigger of some sort makes it much more likely that the information will stay locked up. In some cases, I’ll have a vague inkling that I know something or remember something, so I know there’s information locked up, but I can’t remember enough details for that information to fall under the unlocked category. Those are especially frustrating.
The ironic thing is that I meant to write about this last week, but when I went to write it down, I couldn’t remember what the topic was that I’d planned on writing about. I knew there was something, I just couldn’t remember what. 🤦♀️
Weekly Mileage
| Tuesday | 0.0 | 0.5 | |
| Wednesday | 0.0 | 2.0 | |
| total | 0.0 miles | 2.5 hours |
2022 totals
| 71.5 outside hours |
| 73.94 miles |
