Friday, January 21, 2022

Friday This And That!

Stringing the loom, finishing the Valentine decor and putting art on the left side of the metal rack. Goals for the week.
 I really may have to borrow Sam’s title of “Friday Free For All” for any future Friday posts. This Friday I have a bunch of mainly unconnected stuff:

My daughter stopped by briefly to do the heavy lifting and use the heavy vacuum. She also suggested I not go to the “Gospel Brunch” at the local wine bar because this Omicron thing is so contagious. This is the same kid who generally tells me just to double mask and go about my life, and to stay in a hotel rather than sleeping in my car so I’m paying attention.


It’s just so hard to know what is okay and what is not (I am beyond staying completely at home). So I missed the resident lunch today at our center. I will go to church, coffee hour and bible study on Sunday and the church crafting group on Monday. I’m questionable on the large genealogy meeting, but okay for the small group gourmet grilled cheese lunch. I’ve still to decide on my knitting group at a coffee shop. I mean it’s a crap shoot, but I need to have some outings and right now even in Texas patio dining is a bit beyond the pale.


I’ve decided I need to manage my schedule better in light of my chronic pain and fibro affected energy levels. I’m reaching my physical point of no return right around five thirty or six, and cooking and cleanup at that time isn’t going well. Sometimes we need a moment of clarity from others, and as someone suggested, I’ll now be using the slow cooker in the day and cooking when I cook during the day so that dinner time is only the time for making a salad, heating the rolls and zapping (Im comfy just rinsing and soaking two dishes).


I already stay in bed for stretching and meditation and writing and reading. Today once I got up I did the laundry rotation thing, made a dozen poached eggs in the muffin tin, washed some dishes and picked up. I’ll also probably fold one of those loads later. By the time I exercised, it was time to sit down for lunch, after which all energy/work/strength related activity is done for today. On the days when I have more energy I will do more things. Today I spent my afternoon online, knitting, and designing some future projects. Accepting my limitations while still keeping myself as strong as I can is my new mantra.


My goal for the new year is to be sustainable. I’m still trying to be frugal, but being sustainable is the overarching goal. Sometimes (most of the time that meshes with spending less, but not always). It also doesn’t mesh with living with less or minimalism as such, because it means hanging on to things to see how they can be reused. I could probably purchase new frames (the ones I am painting) for as cheaply as it will cost to get glass and backings for a couple of them. But repurposing stuff is part of my 2022 goals, so onward and forward. I had thought about a year of not buying new as part of this plan, but I would have to think about exceptions, so that may be something to check out.


Finally, brain games. I’ve become addicted to Wordle.  It’s not an app, just type in the webpage and get a game. One game, every day. Six chances to make a word, with clues along the way. I’ve also been sucked into Spelling Bee over at the New York Times, along with some of their other games. It does require a subscription, but they do have one just for games and they have many games. If you have any good online games that you use, please share with me, by the way. I’m not a fan of so-called “brain apps' ' on my phone like Elevate, but I love a good written puzzle (although I still seem to suck at jigsaws).

All the words have to be four letters and use the center one. I'm solid at 17 words.

Other than the church events above, my weekend involves making muffins, getting some serious outside time, being a little bookworm-ish and doing some abstract painting. Oh, and football. After the debacles of last weekend, I figure I gotta go with the Bills to take it all. Ya know? Oh and planning the first day drive of the year.

20 comments:

  1. My energy drops pretty quickly in the evening on work days as well (for me, I have more energy on weekends, as I'm not...working!) I try to cook Friday-Sunday (lighter meeting day on Fridays) & then we eat leftovers during the week. If we run out, we have easy freezer options (wings, gyozas, spring rolls, prepped taco meat, etc) that I can quickly whip up.

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    1. I simply cannot stand in the evenin by then the fibro is too great. I have the freezer meals or my deliveries from Schwans!@@

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  2. Your social life still sounds busier than mine-even when I'm not staying home because of Covid. I'm officially done now with isolation. It's been 11 full days since original symptoms, 10 days since I tested positive, and I'm more than three days with no symptoms at all.

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    1. I may bow out of some of those things.This thing is very contagious.

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  3. Thanks for explaining how easy it is to access Wordle. Been hearing about it, but just tried it now, for the first time. Really fun. I keep thinking it won't be much longer before the Covid numbers come down and we can start getting out and doing more, again. Lately, there are quite a few people we know coming down with it. Thankfully, they are coping well. Have a good weekend!

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    1. Thanks. Words with lots of vowels or that end in a y seem to help.

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  4. Usually by 2 in the afternoon I am pretty much done and work on projects where I can sit. I then have enough energy to make supper and get the dishes done. I am then back in my chair doing more project work and getting up every so often to move stiffened joints.

    God bless.

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    1. You have found what works for you. I get much less done during that one hour of high energy non pain times but it gets done. But no matter how hard I rest the pain is at its high point in the evening. I'm about to see a pain specialist.

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  5. Okay I had to go try Wordle before I replied - it's fun! I had no idea it wasn't an app.

    My posts are all a mish-mash of various things. It's also fun to hear what you're up to.

    Take care, stay well.

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  6. I encourage you to declare "nothing new for 1 year". If you know you cannot buy new, you are better positioned to repurpose what you have, come up with an alternative to accomplish the task at hand, join your local Facebook Buy-Nothing group, or hit a thrift store.

    Can you shift your body to eating twice a day? I've done that since retiring 2.5 years ago. I generally get hungry now between 830-10 and again 2-430. I don't eat by a clock because I don't HAVE to anymore around work!

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    1. I cannot do a complete biy nothing new unfortunately. Besides the underwear and ortho shoes thing o require large amounts of new quilting things and matching skeins of yarn for large projects. There are areas i can do that in. Rating twice a day would not work with my specific health issues however my lunch is very small and I do not snack. I need to eat at around six or so or do not make it through the nite. Even with piles of protein.

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  7. I've settled for the ordinary in this first month of the year and can't even motivate myself to make a to-do list outside of daily chores which always includes meal prep. I often do meal prep in the morning when my energy level is at its highest. I've always done my best work and thinking in the morning. Barb, your reference to sustainability prompted me to pick sustain for my WOTY - strengthen or support physically or mentally. I need sustaining as this winter sees the pandemic enter its third year.

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  8. I am addicted to Wordle too! I downloaded an app of it for my mini apple ipad, so can download it for an iphone too. (I have a Samsung phone). I was thrilled to see that the app is free and no ads and allows one to play the game as many times in a row as they want to.

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  9. I love your new year mantra. I am working on the same thing. I am like you in that about 4pm, I am suddenly in need of a nap. No energy. So the morning and early afternoon are when I get things done that require it. I am sick of staying in too so I try to get out even if its just once a week to get some fresh air.

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    1. I try and leave my house daily even if it's only sitting on the patio in cold weather!!!@

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  10. I can't get through the day until I make genius level on Spelling Bee. Sometimes I try for all the words to get "Queen Bee." Letterbox is also fun on the NY Times. I try to do it in two words.

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  11. Thanks for posting about Wordle. Thought it was an app. It was fun. Like Donna, I play Spelling Bee and have to get to genius. Once I hit genius, I can look at the two letter word list. If I don't make Queen Bee doing that, I'll check out the reader's hints. One of these days I'll get QB on my own (hopefully).

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    1. It actually may be an app as well. But I'm trying to spend less time on my phone so I prefer to doit only Chrome book. I just started speaking bee two days ago.

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  12. Oh my, I wish you hadn't turned me on to Wordle! I just checked it out and while I got it in four attempts I'll never get anything done if I get hooked!

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Thanks for stopping by! I love to hear from others, and I also love to hear all points of view.. Just leave the profanity and insults at home, OK? Thanks!!