Okay. I wrote yesterday’s post bright and early. When I finished, I got up to visit the bathroom, did a few more things around the house, came back to my laptop to delete even more outdated emails. All the while, in the back of my mind, I was wondering why no one had commented yet on my post. Along about 12:15, it hit me. Had I ever hit “Publish?” I hightailed it back to the tab I had open for the blog and, sure enough, I hadn’t published it.
That’s a first, my friends, in 11 years of blogging, most of it every day. That’s the first time I’ve done that. So I missed the window of opportunity to get the post out to you via email. That means you’ll have two posts to read and respond to in today’s email.
The ongoing challenge: Be in the moment. Both Don and I have forgotten a few things lately and I know it’s due to stress. Stay present, Claudia.
A little flower substitution as the tulips officially bit the dust yesterday afternoon. I want to get more of them soon – I just love their sculptural look.
It was so windy yesterday. All day long and into the night. We’ve had so much wind in the past year and I don’t do well with loud wind. I was working up in the office which is at the front of the house. Up there, the sound of the wind is so loud that you’d swear you were in a wind tunnel. The wind was so strong that it knocked the Boston fern off the former kitchen island and threw it to the ground. (It’s okay, thank goodness.)
Today, better, just a breeze. Tomorrow, a rain/snow mix and a high that never gets out of the thirties. Saturday, highs in the sixties.
Go figure.
We took a trail walk on Tuesday. We’re going to take another one as soon as I finish this post. We’re trying to do it every other day, which seems to be a more reachable goal than every day.
I noticed that the front lawn is looking greener. Huzzah! Leaves are emerging on my hyacinths in the big garden bed. I’m sure I’ll see more growth when I rake all the leaf mulch out of the garden beds, but since it’s still going down to the thirties at night for the next several days, I’m going to hold off on that.
If you get this before 11 am, Vintage by Crystal’s Easter blog sale starts right at 11 – you have to move quickly if you want anything. You can reach her blog here. Crystal and Ben publish the post at 11 and you have to email them with your requests – not a comment, but an email. So get there early and find her email address and be ready to pounce on anything you’re interested in. I’m most likely not going to bid this time, but it’s very tempting!
Okay. I’m going to actually hit ‘Publish!’
Happy Thursday.
Claudia,
You are not alone. The other day I was driving somewhere and partway there, I suddenly forgot where I was going. It was very unnerving but I know it was from stress and not being in the moment. I’m really need to work on both of those. I think I mentioned before but last year I went through major cancer surgery, months of chemo, and then had to say goodbye to my little Chihuahua who I loved more than life. Losing her was the straw that broke the camel’s back as they say and I’m really struggling to find my footing. I am sort of living in a bubble, some self-imposed and some not. I avoid a lot of news and most things political. I just can’t go there. I really can’t get past the behavior to even get to policies, so I just don’t. I have returned to some crafting which has helped as far as being in the moment. It’s either stay in the moment or get out the seam ripper :). So anyway, you have a lot of company. Also, our winds were the same here yesterday. It’s nice today also with a return to cold and rain tomorrow. I’m “trying” to not complain because I do enough of that when it turns hot and humid. Take good care.
After all you’ve been through, Susan, you have every right to find your own path, to find your way to peace. That’s the most important thing, my friend.
I got this at 12:09 but a little earlier this morning I remembered Crystal’s sale started today and I was lucky enough to get one of her pieces from the four I was interested in! I was so grateful I had learned about her through your earlier posts!
Yesterday was a good walkin day for me, too. Things are slowly coming to life here, the operative term being slowly. The wind must be sweeping us because we were walking head into it on our walk. Heading home was much more pleasant!
What piece of Crystal’s did you get, Jeanie? (I ended up getting one, too!)
It was actually an ornament but I won’t use it that way — It’s called White Rabbit Ride — a girl riding a cute white bunny. I missed Marge Kittendon (darn!) but I’m sure I’ll see another at some point!
I’ll show it on the blog when I get it — can’t wait to see yours!
I have a little guy riding a reindeer. I love those riders!
Claudia, I’m trying to stay in the present and be present, mainly because I’m beginning to be forgetful. Walking and puttering around the house and placing my phone somewhere, then a few hours later, can’t remember where I absent-mindedly placed it; telling my daughter something and then in the middle of a long narrative, forget the entire point of the telling; forgetting what something is called, but I can still describe the heck out of it! I’m not worried or perplexed by the forgetfulness, and I know it’s not because I’m stressed, since I’m not particularly stressed or worried currently. I find being in the present really helps avoid some of it, especially losing the cell phone in the house. Thankfully, I never lose it when I’m out because it hardly comes out of my purse when I’m out.
Almost everything that I misplace or forget to do, or when I trip and fall, etc – I’m not in the present. I’m distracted.
Staying in the present isn’t easy. I’ve found lists…endless lists…seem to work best for me, even for the mundane things. Otherwise, I simply forget. And some days…I have the attention span of a gnat! As my boys’ beloved 5th grade teacher Mrs. Redston always preached….stay on task. That’s a hard one…whether you are a 5th grader, or a 65+.
Hope you enjoy your trail walk! ;)
Didn’t go. It’s way too windy – AGAIN! – today.
I find myself getting more distracted these days. I guess I didn’t think or worry as much when I was younger. A few weeks ago I started a notebook which I’ve entitled ‘Random Stuff and where it is’ Being a library worker I’m very good at cataloguing items which belong together but then I can’t always remember where I’ve put them! Now I know exactly where the luggage weighing scales or the Christmas wrapping paper is without going through cupboards and drawers.
However today I went outside to put newspaper in the green recycling bin only to find some stale bread which I could have sworn I put in the brown food waste bin. Oh well….
Dee Dee x
Oh my! I understand!
Your idea of starting a notebook is a good idea, Dee Dee. I should do that. Not only for me, but for my husband, who often has no idea where something is.
Hi,
I always enjoy your posts. Even the ones you forget to publish and I almost forget to read. I had a stroke awhile back and had a hard time with word recovery. For my English PhD self, this was devastating. I made my living teaching at a university and part-time as a rock-n-roll DJ. Live is so different now that I have retired. BUT….. I was determined to recover and I did. I also decided to get rid of so many collections and items in my home. I organized and labeled almost the entire house. Just in case, my memory failed me. I have been married for 50 years ( I married at 16 and he was 18) to a man who has never been able to find the milk in the fridge (which is always on the door. So I knew that I had to depend on my memory and not his to survive and thrive in my situation. God has blessed me. I am fine now and back to doing the NYT crossword puzzles. Take care and continue to post your positivity. It helps me to know that others struggle with avoiding politics and negative news. We will both find joy in gardening and the lovely things in life.
Nancy, so happy to hear you have recovered! Good for you. Even though I stopped subscribing to the NY Times, I often think of subscribing to the puzzle again. I love working the puzzle and I think it’s a good way to keep my brain active.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Nancy. Take care.
I try to stay focused. I am the one everyone in the household asks where something is located. Did you get the notice from ebay that the Snow White Sleepy is now an auction. I didn’t think it would sell for that high price.
Yes, I did, Olivia. Thanks for checking with me. I’m watching it and biding my time! xo
If it makes you feel any better (forgetfulness), my husband has lost his keys four times in four months. We’ve had to change the door locks four times. And, now, we don’t have any keys for the one car left; every spare key has been lost.
I wonder that we just don’t all sometimes have too much to DISTRACT us. There’s too much going on, all around us, and in our own smaller world. Our heads have to think about too much at once; it’s a whirl of activity in the brain. I refuse to think it’s all ‘age’.
I did some errands today and went to a new-ish antique store. Her shop has a long way to go but I always try to buy some small thing. What bugged me is that this shop owner was so DISTRACTED with her laptop that she could barely converse with me at the cash register, as her eyes and focus were on the computer screen and I knew she wasn’t even hearing me. It was rude but, you know, I didn’t say anything. Now, I’m feeling like I really don’t much want to go in there again. It’s not that I want ‘attention’ but I just wish when I was trying to do the transaction and ‘chat’ a moment (I was the only one in the shop, and I was in there for a while) that she could have at least lifted her eyes from the screen and looked into MY eyes, human to human, as we made a pleasant exchange of my cash for her wares; store customer to store owner. I felt that I was secondary to her computer. (Are they there to make money, or not?! You’d think her focus wouldn’t be diluted to that degree, not when the customer is present, right in front of her in the flesh.)
I live in a small town that has poverty; the stores on the main street don’t get a lot of foot traffic. As a ‘local’, I try to indeed shop locally and support the ever-dwindling ‘Mom & Pop’ businesses, but this sort of thing I just encountered isn’t much of an incentive. I walked three doors down to another young, independent shopkeeper and much the same thing, initially friendly but right back to her phone-in-hand, texting, engaged with the device and not me. This was not an employee, but the owner of the shop; her relationship was with her phone and not the customer at her cash register. All this did was make me feel like she didn’t care if she had my business or not. Like it makes no diff to her if I am a repeat customer. It was too much multi-tasking – – she was trying to eat, text, make change; like, just ‘be still’ for three seconds, okay??!! Slow down; don’t be so DISTRACTED. (I thought to myself, sheesh, it’s an epidemic of the non customer service. I had much more friendliness and attentiveness by the girl running the register at my area’s large ‘chain-store’ Michael’s when I was hunting down the miniature green plates in the fairy garden section after you mentioned it, Claudia!)
I sound like an old ‘tart’ but it used to be that the customer was always right and the customer was first because the customer drove the business.
Rant over! (It doesn’t happen everywhere; I also stopped in at a small restaurant, not having seen the family who runs it for several months – – and simply activated by the sound of my voice, I got a friendly hello from the back [kitchen] and, “Hi, Vicki!” – – which was not necessary, yet very nice. We’re all just naturally going to return to good, friendly, attentive customer service [true?], which is why this restaurant was at capacity, and it wasn’t even the lunch hour, but like 2pm.)
Claudia, I wanted to say as well that your lack of sleep could definitely be a cause of any forgetfulness. As I’ve said, my husband suffers from awful insomnia which primarily is an effect of his serious/chronic sinus thing, his arthritic back (the back was broken when younger); although I, again, do think he is ‘way too wrapped up in the computer/phone/blue screen (you and Don are so wise to have a cut-off point for any of that; I think you said from dinnertime/6pm-ish, unplugged). My husband’s work hours are horrendous this week and it’s affecting me drastically because we’re getting too-little sleep time and the resulting fatigue has made me exhausted which then leaves me weak in both body and mind. (WebMD: [Lack of sleep] impairs attention, alertness, concentration, reasoning, and problem solving. Trying to keep your memory sharp? Try getting plenty of sleep. [Ah, so much easier said than done! {Vicki}])
It’s always something. Too much news, too much worry, lack of sleep, too much sleep…. xo
I’m not sure why shop owners think that ignoring someone because their time on digital devices is more important will bring in sales. I’ve had that happen to me, as well. I mean, come on!
I agree with you. Too much going on all the time. Too much information whirring around in our brains. Very easy to get distracted, Vicki.
These people I’ve mentioned are total small-time; they don’t have websites; so, yes, unless they’re taking some of their stuff to sell at swap meets or other events (true, maybe they’re selling on eBay or Etsy…?…I hadn’t thought about that!), the brick & mortar is likely their sole or greater source of income (but who knows!). I agree with you, though; c’mon! Pay attention to your retail customer who’s standing two feet in front of you, shopping ALL your stuff! We’re as important as your other customers! It’s ALL income! (And I think that’s quite enough exclamation points.)
I agree.
Hi Claudia,
We are back to more rain. : ( We have had so much flooding here already. With the family getting one thing after another, we have not been down to see if the river flooded our trees. We just spoke with our insurance company and we were so low balled about the repair of our fencing and the removal of what is called an Iron Wood Tree, that crashed into our compost pile and knocked down 125 feet of our fence, that was not thinking kind words. My husband and I have agreed to just drop them and use another company that we use for our cars via AARP.
Yet the day ended well as my sister, who needs a complete lung transplant, has been accepted into a study that might hold back the progression of her disease that she inherited until a pair of lungs are available. She could breath better today and was able to get out of the house with my nephew with her oxygen tank clanging along. I will need to be tested sometime but I am pretty sure I do not have it.
Meanwhile, her son and his fiance are very busy as they have a photography business that is doing well. They are terribly stressed and my nephew is an only child. His dad died when he was very small. Thankfully, due to the rules of the program, they both must see a therapist to prepare them both of the rigors of what will come if she gets a transplant. This will help me as I am not a therapist and she asked me questions that I cannot answer. I listen. This is what I pay my therapist to do and most people just want people to listen till they are on even ground.
My mother-in-law was an avid gardener but she also had a someone hired to mow and tend to the plants. I can pay for help but we can rarely find it.
I do not care for the wind that roars around my house either, The rain is continuous today but we have little wind.
I have a three-day stay to the city of Mobile, AL where I have a small apartment that I rent that is in a friend’s complex.
Of course, I enjoy your photography and your walk with your husband sounds wonderful. Walking in the woods has been a favorite pastime since early childhood. Yet that was when I lived in the north. Between the snakes, alligators and other creatures, here, I need a shotgun to keep from getting attacked. Might be time to bulldoze the roads again. so that I can stay in the truck, My husband went down the river that circles our place in Waynesboro with his Uncle one day. A snake fell into the boat and Tommy nearly sunk the boat when he shot it full of holes.
I’ll be in the north in May, God willing, to see my friends and my daughter’s family, That should be delightful.
I peek at our newspapers and, if what I see has me swearing to myself, I stop reading. I work in the garden or photograph the wildflowers. These activities soothe me.
I hope that you sleep well tonight.
MaryAnn
Your plate is full at the moment, Mary Ann. My goodness! Sending positive thoughts to your sister.
Working in the garden and photographing flowers sounds like heaven to me. I find that both those activities keep me sane and calm me, to boot. Take care.
One time in 11 years of blogging is not bad at all Claudia!…Same weather here also…I am getting so tired of those high winds..things are looking much greener here too and my daffodils, tulips, paper-whites, irises and hyacinths are all up and waiting to bloom…of course I am waiting anxiously to see them!
You’re further along than we are. I do see some thing poking out of the ground, but very little. And today it’s 37 degrees!
Forgetfulness? I went to the carwash and forgot to close the passenger side window! As the suds came rolling it took me a moment to figure out what was happening. I quickly closed the window, trapping a couple of those blue scrubbing strips! No harm done, though even my purse was full of suds. My car has never been cleaner on the inside and smells quite nice! A couple of weeks ago I was completely oblivious to the “rear door open” light on my dash. Unfortunately a cooler full of frozen food I had just purchased from Trader Joe’s shot out all over the highway! The good news is that people here are wonderful and immediately blocked traffic with their cars while they helped me pick up all my groceries. Only a gouda cheese was lost. A victim of a hit and run.
Oh my goodness! You win the prize this week, Suzanne! I laughed out loud!
Oh my goodness, I can relate to every one of the comments about forgetfulness, being distracted and not being in the present moment. I don’t usually talk about it because I don’t want to appear “impaired”; but there is some comfort in knowing I’m not alone. Thanks to everyone for their “true confessions”
You are not alone, Beth! It seems we’re all suffering from forgetfulness. xo