This month has a been a bit too much. I will be glad when it is behind me. Just this week, to give you an idea.
I did get my mom to the doctor yesterday for her checkup yesterday after needing to change the appointment a few times. I told her to make sure to blame me to the doctor and his staff so they would not be upset with her. She has a pacemaker and was past due to have it checked, as well as having her blood, etc. checked. Mom is 89. She still lives alone in our family house and still drives. She hates to ask for help; I keep telling her to call me when she needs to go somewhere she doesn’t want to drive to, but until now she has refused to call me. In this case she had a problem due to construction near the doctor’s office when she went there earlier in the month as she cannot walk distances and would have had to park too far away. Hence why she called for a ride, I could drop her off if there was still a problem, park and come back, etc. All was good, although blood work will, of course, take a day or two. We had lunch together afterwards for about 3 or 4 hours. We had been headed for a kosher deli - I had to park 4 stores away from it - mom was impressed with my parallel parking, something I just take for granted. But as we inched along, we (she) stopped at a pizza place and while stopped looked in and thought how nice it was - should we go there instead? I was not looking forward to a overfilled, overpriced (especially since I knew she would insist on paying) turkey sandwich (least fatty of the meats there). So I jumped at the change - less for her to walk, lighter meal, and much less expensive. We each had a cheese slice and diet soda and sat and talked and talked. (I write like I talk and she talks more and longer than I do.) It was between meal times and the place was empty or I would have not have stayed, taking up the table as long as we did.
We did go to the Long Island Fair last Sunday to do an embroidery demonstration - and to visit friends we only see at the Fair. One woman used to be the Supervisor of the Juvenile section for decades and had to give it up due to eye trouble, was not at the Fair last year at all. (She continued to volunteer after she gave up the Supervisor position.) I was so glad that she had her son drop her off for a visit. She was sitting in the Juvenile section and as soon as volunteers heard she was there, we all stopped by to see her. She is 90. I was so glad to hear that she was basically well - she had vision problems, which is now mostly blindness and now has hearing problems, but she is the same always in all other regards. After the day, which was the last day of the Fair, was pick up of entries - my three dimensional butterfly embroidery shocked me and won second prize. I had seen the lovely and involved pieces that it was competing with when I dropped it off and figured that I would get an honorable mention due to the technique. That is one project that sat for decades finished. Now to pick another one to finsih. While at the Fair I was also able to check in with someone who is a mutual friend of a friend who moved to South Carolina and find out the couple in SC survived Florence with no problems.
I was suppose to go to a client this week. I called her yesterday (while mom was seeing the doctor) to go there Thursday. The client said it was a problem and could I come on Friday. (Glad she did not say today as we were suppose to have horrible rain - yes, there was rain, but not as bad as they said.) I called her today to say that I could come on Friday, but she didn’t really want me there then, either (even though she had suggested it). Apparently they are filming a movie at her location and her cousin who keeps her company is ill - besides, she tells me, she has had no business all month, so there is little for me to do. So, I will be going there in 2 weeks and do the September and October work at the same time.
In my mind this was great. I get another day to catch up on stuff - the bathrooms REALLY need cleaning. But no, when husband hears that I am not going to the client on Friday, he suggests that since he wants to go to Pennsylvania on Saturday for a wool show, we could go down on Friday for the day and stay overnight. So, the bathrooms will wait a little longer.
Today was the day I write the newsletter for my embroidery chapter and send it out by email. I managed to get that done after dinner - normally done in the afternoon, but there was other “fires” to put out then. I send out 3 versions of the newsletter - the basic newsletter is the same, the email with it changes - one to our members, one to prospective members and one to the other newsletter editors in our region and our region director.
This coming Sunday we were suppose to go to a reenactment event with our unit, but the unit is backing out of it as too few members can go and the place is changing what it said about our setup.
Now in addition to writing to all of you, I am doing our laundry. Will go and change loads between writing this and sending it out. Dinner dishes were done before the newsletter. Kitchen sink area is setup with dish towels over the dish rack, the front of the sink, the windowsill behind the sink, and the pots drying on a towel next to the other side of the sink - so husband can come and wash his hair in the sink. The dishpan I use in the sink is out on a counter with items waiting for washing before we go to bed. ( I made instant diet pudding for snack - the items needed for such are most of what is waiting to be washed.) But no - I still have not thrown out the bad eggs.
And next week I am suppose to teach new stitches (my choice) at the embroidery meeting!
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
Sometimes it seems that what must be done in terms of larger projects and appointments is coming too often, too much and too fast. Take it one project at a time, that is all one can do. Things will get done.
Showing posts with label county fair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label county fair. Show all posts
Thursday, September 27, 2018
Friday, August 31, 2018
BACK AND FORTH - TWICE - ON THE SAME TRIP AND FALLING BEHIND
Late again posting - sorry.
We did go away last Thursday and Friday. When I telephoned Wednesday afternoon to make the reservation the woman I spoke with, was rather odd about the entire thing. The spaces I asked for were not available for two nights - we had decided to stay through Saturday. When I asked if any of the spaces were available just for the one night, Thursday there was still confusion. I finally worked it out and reserved one of the spaces for Thursday night and figured that we would ask what was available for just Friday night when we checked in - just in case something was available that would work for us. I made sense to me that Friday would not be available even though Thursday was as Friday is a weekend night and more people travel.
Our trip down was fine - better time than the usual mess. As we drove down husband suggested, which he acknowledged was crazy, that we drive back again on Tuesday of the following week for the day. We have not been to the farmers market that is on Tuesday most or all of this year and different vendors are there from the Friday market. The idea hit me, I suggested that we drive down Monday and stay until Tuesday. This would relieve the problem of possibly getting stuck in traffic on the way and arriving too late to have enough time at the market. (Mostly we have lunch and walk around, perhaps buying some small items we need or see, good shop at Tuesday market to look for bears for my village and I have not been there since the village went to year round.) Plus, if we use the toilet in the RV it has to be dumped at the RV park. It needs to be 2/3 full minimum, to dump so that there is enough force, so Friday morning we were going to have to fill the tank (having only stayed one night) to dump the tanks. By coming back, there would be double in the tanks when we dumped and it would fill faster. The weather promised to be nice for Monday and Tuesday and I would make the reservation when we checked in.
Remember I said that it had been suppose to rain there on Tuesday? When we arrived in the general area we saw lots of fields (this is farm country) with huge puddles- almost pond size in them. We went around to several touristy we go to in the area and then around 5:30 pm went to the RV park to check in. We paid for our space for the evening and reserved the same space for Monday night. It is a fairly small RV park along a stream. As we were walking out of the office the employee said “Oh, if the space is too wet, just come back and we will give you another one.” Huh!? Apparently they had trouble from the rain on Tuesday. As we drove to our space we were driving along the row of spaces facing the stream. We saw what they meant - the spaces had MUD in them. Our space is in the next row so we were concerned. We drove to the space and it seemed mostly okay. I got out of the RV as we do a few things when we arrive at a space at the start of a stay there. First husband will back in (rare that we get a “drive through space”) and we will find the level spot. I guide him. This time I checked that the actual space was dry - it is gravel and the gravel looked different, very light in color, apparently washed in the flood. I saw mud on the sides of the space, so I walked to the back of the space and it was not muddy there - where we have to walk to hook up the electricity and the TV (and water if we hooked up same), so it seemed okay. He backed in, we found the level spot and marked it with markers he made. Although we have been in the space numerous times, when we arrive there we check the electricity to make sure it is functioning properly and we did so and went off again.
Well, now I understood why there was confusion about reserving a space when I called the afternoon before. Apparently the general area did not just have rain, it had RAIN!!!!!. FLOODING RAIN!!!!! As we went around over the rest of the two days we saw the result of flooding in many places. At the Friday market there was mud on the foundations of buildings and pavement. One building, which had flooded badly once in the past, had obviously been flooded as there was no merchandise on the bottom 3 shelves of the fixtures - tossed out as it was soaked. There is an auction in a room at the end of one building. I have never seen it closed. It was closed and through the wall I could hear fans running trying to dry the room.
If any of you are from the Lancaster, PA area - I hope that you were not hit by the flooding.
Friday night we returned home. I did not unpack much of the RV. I left my clothes, the snacks, the towels, etc. Husband insisted on taking his clothing into the house. After 2 days, I repacked the RV on Sunday night for the drive down on Monday. By then it was much dryer, although some of the space in the RV park needed work on them and were still closed. Understand, we were away for 2 days, 1 night, then drove home for 2 nights, 2 days, and then back again to Pennsylvania for another 2 days, 1 night and then home - and I won’t bore you with the local traffic mess on the way home last Tuesday night. Of this time, we spent the equivalent of over half a day traveling forth and back and forth and back again.
I am behind in everything I was suppose to do the last few weeks. I notice this when I went to change towels Tuesday night. I normally change all the towels on Monday, then change the bathroom towels again on Thursday and the kitchen towels on Wednesday and Friday. The towels are all assorted - I had Monday bathroom towels out downstairs and Thursday ones upstairs. (No, I am not that anal. I put blue hand towels upstairs and green ones downstairs on Monday and another color on Thursday - as I have 2 sets of each color and all my other ones vary in color by pair. This way I can tell by looking if I forgot to change the hand towels.) I went to change husband’s weekly hair towel and 2 of the 3 were in the laundry and I was pulling the third one to wash. My pillowcases are either white (2 sets) or beige (1 set) I have 3 white towels and a beige one on the bed. I forgot to do the laundry last night. I have been keeping up with washing clothing over the past several weeks of colds and travel, but not the rest of the laundry.
So right now clothing is being washed (a day late). I spent last night writing and rewriting the newsletter for my embroidery chapter. I had figured to write it quickly as it usually does not take long. We are starting our meeting year and I had not heard from the chapter president with her president’s message. We are doing a project for most of the year and I had to figure out how to write up what we are doing at the meeting. (I also list information from our national and region, as well as giving list of related exhibitions and events in a travelable area - this takes up most of the newsletter). In addition we are doing a “stitch in public” that we do every year and I wrote a page to encourage someone other than myself and the chapter president (and husband who joins us) would also come with us. I then found out, in reply to an email I had sent, that the chapter president had sent the info - apparently when I downloaded my email - from 3 days - it did not download on most of my email addresses. When I downloaded it again after hearing from her, it all downloaded. Her president’s message included this info for the meeting. So I had to fit in her message, splitting it to the meeting information and get rid of what I had written. Then send out 3 versions of the newsletter (members, prospective members, and other region newsletter editors). So last night was gone - which is why I did not get a chance to write this post then.
I have a piece I am entering at the local three county, county fair - huh? Our local fair, which dates back to 1842, is the legal county fair for 3 counties. It is held at the restoration village I have mentioned before where there is an exact copy of the original fair grounds from photos) and is held in the style of a late 1800s fair, with many of the volunteers dressed in period dress. The heart of the fair are the art, craft, needlework, sewing, baking, canning, fruits, vegetables, flowers and the like which have been entered by people from the three counties.
I used to enter several items each year including an angel cake. Lately it has been one or two items and no more baking - as there have been less entries they cut some categories all around, including angel cake. I have one piece to enter this year - if I finish it. I have about one or maybe two more nights of stitching it, then I need to assemble it and then husband has to have time to frame it for me. I keep Thursday nights (which means 11:30 pm to 2 am Friday) for stitching and other crafts for me. I have not had a chance in at least a month to do so. I planned on tonight finishing the stitching. Obviously I will not as I am writing this post and have other “must to do” items for after this. If I don’t finish it, it will be entered next year. I am not going to panic over not getting it done in time. I am a procrastinator, I know this and try to push myself to finish ahead of time. When husband was still working I would drop off our entries while he was at work. One year on the day the entries had to be in, I called him at work and - in a panic - asked where the craft wire was in the house, I was still finishing a doll I was making of Theodore Roosevelt and he needed eyeglasses. He on the other hand, would have his entries done in July!
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
What must be done gets done. What is nice to do or one wants to get done, may or may not get done - and that is okay. We can only do a certain amount and cannot kick ourselves for not getting everything done.
We did go away last Thursday and Friday. When I telephoned Wednesday afternoon to make the reservation the woman I spoke with, was rather odd about the entire thing. The spaces I asked for were not available for two nights - we had decided to stay through Saturday. When I asked if any of the spaces were available just for the one night, Thursday there was still confusion. I finally worked it out and reserved one of the spaces for Thursday night and figured that we would ask what was available for just Friday night when we checked in - just in case something was available that would work for us. I made sense to me that Friday would not be available even though Thursday was as Friday is a weekend night and more people travel.
Our trip down was fine - better time than the usual mess. As we drove down husband suggested, which he acknowledged was crazy, that we drive back again on Tuesday of the following week for the day. We have not been to the farmers market that is on Tuesday most or all of this year and different vendors are there from the Friday market. The idea hit me, I suggested that we drive down Monday and stay until Tuesday. This would relieve the problem of possibly getting stuck in traffic on the way and arriving too late to have enough time at the market. (Mostly we have lunch and walk around, perhaps buying some small items we need or see, good shop at Tuesday market to look for bears for my village and I have not been there since the village went to year round.) Plus, if we use the toilet in the RV it has to be dumped at the RV park. It needs to be 2/3 full minimum, to dump so that there is enough force, so Friday morning we were going to have to fill the tank (having only stayed one night) to dump the tanks. By coming back, there would be double in the tanks when we dumped and it would fill faster. The weather promised to be nice for Monday and Tuesday and I would make the reservation when we checked in.
Remember I said that it had been suppose to rain there on Tuesday? When we arrived in the general area we saw lots of fields (this is farm country) with huge puddles- almost pond size in them. We went around to several touristy we go to in the area and then around 5:30 pm went to the RV park to check in. We paid for our space for the evening and reserved the same space for Monday night. It is a fairly small RV park along a stream. As we were walking out of the office the employee said “Oh, if the space is too wet, just come back and we will give you another one.” Huh!? Apparently they had trouble from the rain on Tuesday. As we drove to our space we were driving along the row of spaces facing the stream. We saw what they meant - the spaces had MUD in them. Our space is in the next row so we were concerned. We drove to the space and it seemed mostly okay. I got out of the RV as we do a few things when we arrive at a space at the start of a stay there. First husband will back in (rare that we get a “drive through space”) and we will find the level spot. I guide him. This time I checked that the actual space was dry - it is gravel and the gravel looked different, very light in color, apparently washed in the flood. I saw mud on the sides of the space, so I walked to the back of the space and it was not muddy there - where we have to walk to hook up the electricity and the TV (and water if we hooked up same), so it seemed okay. He backed in, we found the level spot and marked it with markers he made. Although we have been in the space numerous times, when we arrive there we check the electricity to make sure it is functioning properly and we did so and went off again.
Well, now I understood why there was confusion about reserving a space when I called the afternoon before. Apparently the general area did not just have rain, it had RAIN!!!!!. FLOODING RAIN!!!!! As we went around over the rest of the two days we saw the result of flooding in many places. At the Friday market there was mud on the foundations of buildings and pavement. One building, which had flooded badly once in the past, had obviously been flooded as there was no merchandise on the bottom 3 shelves of the fixtures - tossed out as it was soaked. There is an auction in a room at the end of one building. I have never seen it closed. It was closed and through the wall I could hear fans running trying to dry the room.
If any of you are from the Lancaster, PA area - I hope that you were not hit by the flooding.
Friday night we returned home. I did not unpack much of the RV. I left my clothes, the snacks, the towels, etc. Husband insisted on taking his clothing into the house. After 2 days, I repacked the RV on Sunday night for the drive down on Monday. By then it was much dryer, although some of the space in the RV park needed work on them and were still closed. Understand, we were away for 2 days, 1 night, then drove home for 2 nights, 2 days, and then back again to Pennsylvania for another 2 days, 1 night and then home - and I won’t bore you with the local traffic mess on the way home last Tuesday night. Of this time, we spent the equivalent of over half a day traveling forth and back and forth and back again.
I am behind in everything I was suppose to do the last few weeks. I notice this when I went to change towels Tuesday night. I normally change all the towels on Monday, then change the bathroom towels again on Thursday and the kitchen towels on Wednesday and Friday. The towels are all assorted - I had Monday bathroom towels out downstairs and Thursday ones upstairs. (No, I am not that anal. I put blue hand towels upstairs and green ones downstairs on Monday and another color on Thursday - as I have 2 sets of each color and all my other ones vary in color by pair. This way I can tell by looking if I forgot to change the hand towels.) I went to change husband’s weekly hair towel and 2 of the 3 were in the laundry and I was pulling the third one to wash. My pillowcases are either white (2 sets) or beige (1 set) I have 3 white towels and a beige one on the bed. I forgot to do the laundry last night. I have been keeping up with washing clothing over the past several weeks of colds and travel, but not the rest of the laundry.
So right now clothing is being washed (a day late). I spent last night writing and rewriting the newsletter for my embroidery chapter. I had figured to write it quickly as it usually does not take long. We are starting our meeting year and I had not heard from the chapter president with her president’s message. We are doing a project for most of the year and I had to figure out how to write up what we are doing at the meeting. (I also list information from our national and region, as well as giving list of related exhibitions and events in a travelable area - this takes up most of the newsletter). In addition we are doing a “stitch in public” that we do every year and I wrote a page to encourage someone other than myself and the chapter president (and husband who joins us) would also come with us. I then found out, in reply to an email I had sent, that the chapter president had sent the info - apparently when I downloaded my email - from 3 days - it did not download on most of my email addresses. When I downloaded it again after hearing from her, it all downloaded. Her president’s message included this info for the meeting. So I had to fit in her message, splitting it to the meeting information and get rid of what I had written. Then send out 3 versions of the newsletter (members, prospective members, and other region newsletter editors). So last night was gone - which is why I did not get a chance to write this post then.
I have a piece I am entering at the local three county, county fair - huh? Our local fair, which dates back to 1842, is the legal county fair for 3 counties. It is held at the restoration village I have mentioned before where there is an exact copy of the original fair grounds from photos) and is held in the style of a late 1800s fair, with many of the volunteers dressed in period dress. The heart of the fair are the art, craft, needlework, sewing, baking, canning, fruits, vegetables, flowers and the like which have been entered by people from the three counties.
I used to enter several items each year including an angel cake. Lately it has been one or two items and no more baking - as there have been less entries they cut some categories all around, including angel cake. I have one piece to enter this year - if I finish it. I have about one or maybe two more nights of stitching it, then I need to assemble it and then husband has to have time to frame it for me. I keep Thursday nights (which means 11:30 pm to 2 am Friday) for stitching and other crafts for me. I have not had a chance in at least a month to do so. I planned on tonight finishing the stitching. Obviously I will not as I am writing this post and have other “must to do” items for after this. If I don’t finish it, it will be entered next year. I am not going to panic over not getting it done in time. I am a procrastinator, I know this and try to push myself to finish ahead of time. When husband was still working I would drop off our entries while he was at work. One year on the day the entries had to be in, I called him at work and - in a panic - asked where the craft wire was in the house, I was still finishing a doll I was making of Theodore Roosevelt and he needed eyeglasses. He on the other hand, would have his entries done in July!
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
What must be done gets done. What is nice to do or one wants to get done, may or may not get done - and that is okay. We can only do a certain amount and cannot kick ourselves for not getting everything done.
Friday, September 29, 2017
A WEEK SO BAD THAT I AM POSTING A DAY LATE
Well, I just finished posting last week’s post which did not post itself on schedule. So much for listening to suggestions of prewriting the posts and setting them up to post by themselves. Even worse, I am day late with this week’s post. It has been that kind of week - heck, September was an overstuffed month altogether.
Well, I have learned, mostly to eat with my new teeth, after some adjustments from the dentist, - but I now whistle when I say the “s” sound. I hope that can be fixed also.
Last Saturday I went to the Long Island Fair with a friend my embroidery chapter. I was so organized - I bought a curtain rod to hang our banner (handmade by some earlier members), I brought handouts with our information, I brought our tiny plastic suitcase with things for exhibitions (including plate stands to put framed needlework pictures on), I brought pieces I have made/started in the past from the chapter, I brought things to work on and I brought lunch for husband (who was joining us) and myself. I did forget to bring a table cover. I have never forgotten same before and we have been involved with the Fair for 30 years. Oh well, we got by without one. Sunday we mostly had a chance to rest - and then had to run at the end of the day and pick up our entries at the Fair.
Monday we went to the dentist and working on my teeth, the “s” is a little better, but not gone.
I had planned to go to a client on Tuesday, but she was not available and I had to go on Wednesday, so I tried to get most things done for the week. This included the newsletter for my embroidery chapter. It goes out on the last Wednesday of the month. I wrote it up Tuesday night - with a question out to the chapter president about her column. I figured that, Wednesday, since I have been getting back a bit earlier from the client than I used to - she has to leave about an hour earlier than she used to, I would be able to easily finish the newsletter and set up our banking for today (Thursday). Oh boy, was I wrong. When I got there she had a major problem - which I will not go into, but I was making phone calls for her and trying to figure out how to best resolve the problem for her. She is in her 70s or 80s, with a very small business and I treat her like I would my mom. So, I got home just in time to make dinner. With normal things after dinner (and we eat late) it was almost midnight by the time I went up.
It took until 1 am to finish the newsletter - when I actually had finished it, there were all sorts of double and overlapping lines which were suppose to be single lines and I could not get text to wrap around a photo and finally realized that the photo did not fit any way - which easily resolved the problem. So the newsletter went out a few hours late - but I am guessing that no one reads it before Thursday morning anyway, so they probably did not notice it went out late.
I also managed to figure out where to get money to pay all of the bills through the end of the month, okay, that is Saturday, all the bills until around the 10th of next month. I called up one of our credit cards to get the “points” money credited to our account to help with the bills going out around the 10th of next month. I thought it was for around $20, but anything helps. I apparently I have not been organized about calling for the credit of these points to the account. I normally call when the points balance passes $50 - somehow it was over $200, not $20, it pays almost all of that bill - yippee! That will help with the October bills.
I spent part of the day today on the phone with the client trying to fax something to someone else in the same business space as her, for her - her fax machine never works - to resolve what we were working on yesterday - which has to be resolved by October 5. The friend’s fax was not working either. We pay per call on our landline and they are in NYC so the calls for the fax are not cheap (okay, not cheap to me or husband as we grew up in homes and the time when a call to the next county was not done unless there was an emergency) and the multiple attempts to fax were also using paper for the receipt saying it did not go out. I finally mailed the papers to her and hopefully she will have it on Monday and the matter will be timely resolved.
As a result of all of this craziness, I did not get to the laundry last night. Normally that would not be that bad, but last week I did the laundry a day early due to the holiday and then never did finish putting it away. So tonight I have to do a lot of laundry as there is an extra 2 days worth - and somehow my two weeks plus of panties is down to one spare pair. I am also writing this post. I had planned for “craft night” - when I get a chance to do some embroidery or other craft from 11:20 pm to 2:00 am - to hem the piece I am embroidery as one is suppose to do so but I am lazy (yes, I admit it, I am the laziest person I know, I will carry in multiple packages from the car no matter what they weigh just to avoid a second trip - drives my husband crazy). The threads are starting to pull out of the edges of the piece, so I need to hem. That is not to be. As I started this post husband came down and told me that he sold something on his webpage. He was told that I had to write this post and then I will be up to do the paperwork for him. (I am an accountant, I love paperwork.) So, this post will be brief.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
Sooner or later everything important gets done - or it doesn’t.
Well, I have learned, mostly to eat with my new teeth, after some adjustments from the dentist, - but I now whistle when I say the “s” sound. I hope that can be fixed also.
Last Saturday I went to the Long Island Fair with a friend my embroidery chapter. I was so organized - I bought a curtain rod to hang our banner (handmade by some earlier members), I brought handouts with our information, I brought our tiny plastic suitcase with things for exhibitions (including plate stands to put framed needlework pictures on), I brought pieces I have made/started in the past from the chapter, I brought things to work on and I brought lunch for husband (who was joining us) and myself. I did forget to bring a table cover. I have never forgotten same before and we have been involved with the Fair for 30 years. Oh well, we got by without one. Sunday we mostly had a chance to rest - and then had to run at the end of the day and pick up our entries at the Fair.
Monday we went to the dentist and working on my teeth, the “s” is a little better, but not gone.
I had planned to go to a client on Tuesday, but she was not available and I had to go on Wednesday, so I tried to get most things done for the week. This included the newsletter for my embroidery chapter. It goes out on the last Wednesday of the month. I wrote it up Tuesday night - with a question out to the chapter president about her column. I figured that, Wednesday, since I have been getting back a bit earlier from the client than I used to - she has to leave about an hour earlier than she used to, I would be able to easily finish the newsletter and set up our banking for today (Thursday). Oh boy, was I wrong. When I got there she had a major problem - which I will not go into, but I was making phone calls for her and trying to figure out how to best resolve the problem for her. She is in her 70s or 80s, with a very small business and I treat her like I would my mom. So, I got home just in time to make dinner. With normal things after dinner (and we eat late) it was almost midnight by the time I went up.
It took until 1 am to finish the newsletter - when I actually had finished it, there were all sorts of double and overlapping lines which were suppose to be single lines and I could not get text to wrap around a photo and finally realized that the photo did not fit any way - which easily resolved the problem. So the newsletter went out a few hours late - but I am guessing that no one reads it before Thursday morning anyway, so they probably did not notice it went out late.
I also managed to figure out where to get money to pay all of the bills through the end of the month, okay, that is Saturday, all the bills until around the 10th of next month. I called up one of our credit cards to get the “points” money credited to our account to help with the bills going out around the 10th of next month. I thought it was for around $20, but anything helps. I apparently I have not been organized about calling for the credit of these points to the account. I normally call when the points balance passes $50 - somehow it was over $200, not $20, it pays almost all of that bill - yippee! That will help with the October bills.
I spent part of the day today on the phone with the client trying to fax something to someone else in the same business space as her, for her - her fax machine never works - to resolve what we were working on yesterday - which has to be resolved by October 5. The friend’s fax was not working either. We pay per call on our landline and they are in NYC so the calls for the fax are not cheap (okay, not cheap to me or husband as we grew up in homes and the time when a call to the next county was not done unless there was an emergency) and the multiple attempts to fax were also using paper for the receipt saying it did not go out. I finally mailed the papers to her and hopefully she will have it on Monday and the matter will be timely resolved.
As a result of all of this craziness, I did not get to the laundry last night. Normally that would not be that bad, but last week I did the laundry a day early due to the holiday and then never did finish putting it away. So tonight I have to do a lot of laundry as there is an extra 2 days worth - and somehow my two weeks plus of panties is down to one spare pair. I am also writing this post. I had planned for “craft night” - when I get a chance to do some embroidery or other craft from 11:20 pm to 2:00 am - to hem the piece I am embroidery as one is suppose to do so but I am lazy (yes, I admit it, I am the laziest person I know, I will carry in multiple packages from the car no matter what they weigh just to avoid a second trip - drives my husband crazy). The threads are starting to pull out of the edges of the piece, so I need to hem. That is not to be. As I started this post husband came down and told me that he sold something on his webpage. He was told that I had to write this post and then I will be up to do the paperwork for him. (I am an accountant, I love paperwork.) So, this post will be brief.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
Sooner or later everything important gets done - or it doesn’t.
Thursday, September 14, 2017
WHY DO ALL THE APPOINTMENTS COME AT THE SAME TIME?
Well, it has been another one of those weeks. Most of our weeks are fairly devoid of appointments. Not this week - or next week. Plus of course the normal things to be done in a week.
This story starts back in June - yes, June. My husband does not like to know when he is going to the doctor and as a result I make the appointments and then tell him at the last minute. When he worked outside the house I would contact his secretary and make sure the appointment times were clear and she would make sure he did not have anything to do on those days. Now it is all up to me. Back in June I had to make appointments for us to go for bloodwork and then, around a week later, for the doctor. June was a busy month - as was July, but I found two dates a week apart in July and called the doctor’s office. I was told that the doctor retired. Now, the doctor was a man in at least his 80s so it makes sense, but I would think that some sort of notice would be sent to his patients so I was surprised. His son has been in practice with him and we have seen his son a couple times when our doctor was not available and husband’s mom used him as a doctor, so I did the natural thing - I made appointments for us with the son. This was the simple part.
While husband is now on Medicare and can see any doctor, I am still on our old ACA medical insurance plan and have a doctor who is in charge of my care and referrals who was our doctor. So I went online to my medical insurance company to change my doctor from him to his son. Only apparently the insurance company had been told that he had retired and instead of doing the logical thing of assigning me to the other doctor in his practice - his son - they assigned me to a strange doctor we had never heard of. I picked his son as my doctor and the insurance company’s software showed that I had done so. I kept checking for him to show as my doctor - but he did not. When it was a week before the bloodwork appointment and he still did not show - I called the doctor’s office and canceled the appointments - apologizing like crazy and explaining the problem. Since husband is always around it is hard to make calls and not have him hear me or ask who I am calling - this had been the easy part. I now had to call the insurance company and fix the problem - which could result in sitting on hold for who knows how long - not something that can be done while hiding in the bathroom and pretending that I am there for other reasons. I finally managed to get husband set up with a scarf to weave so that he would not come up to the office (my other choice would be to call sitting in the car in the commercial garage when I went to a client) and called the insurance company and a very nice young lady changed him to my doctor as of May (I presume that is when he retired and the other change made.) I now could call and make new appointments.
But we were going to go away on a trip in August - sometime in August, for some length of time, to somewhere - how the heck can one make an appointment under these circumstances. I kept hoping the trip would be planned and I would be able to make the appointments, but they were not. Finally I went to refill a prescription of his and was told - not without an appointment. I found two days, a week apart in September to make the appointments and figured I had enough of his pills to last through the bloodwork appointment.
Then we found out that our dentist is also retiring and I have been having weekly visits to him since August to get a new upper partial made and fitted - and I am not done and then I plan to have him add to my old one for a spare.
Throw in I have to go to two clients this month - one to pick up information for his tax return (on extension) and the other for the regular monthly visit - including the work I did not do when I did not go in August (an annual thing to skip August as she is away in July and there is not much to do in August as a result).
We are also involved in our county fair , which serves as same for three counties. We started about 30 years ago entering items in the crafts, needlework and baking categories, then started demonstrating leatherwork and needlework, and finally we started judging the junior crafts and needlework categories. So the fair takes up parts of at least 4 days each year - dropping off entries, judging, demonstrating, and then picking up the entries. In the past we would demonstrate every day of the fair so it took even more time, but now I go on one day with other members of my embroidery chapter and husband either joins us or finds something else to do at the fair.
There is a quilt show in Pennsylvania this coming weekend. We would like to go there for a few days - a day at the quilt show and the rest at our normal things there, but we are driving down for the quilt show and then home.
Our reenactment unit had an event last weekend and a meeting next week.
And there are the 2 major Jewish holidays this month - one is an evening and 2 days and the other is an evening and the following day.
Somehow everything has managed to fit together like a giant jigsaw puzzle and then - my dentist called and said that the mockup for fit was not in for last Friday and could I come on Tuesday? I could not as we were going for bloodwork at the same time as I would be going to him - but remember, husband does not know this and does not want to know this. I told them no and we would go with the Friday appointment I had for this week, even though that would push everything back a week. Husband heard part of the call and wanted to know what happened - I lied and told him that they wanted us to come Monday - when we were doing the judging.
Then, the dentist’s office called and actually suggested Monday - and they were open late, so we went to the judging, had lunch and then went to the dentist. After calling the lab they wanted us to come next Tuesday - I told her we couldn’t and it was all being pushed back another week - husband asked me why not in the dentist’s office and I told him I would explain later - he did not ask again. By the time we got home I figured out that if we could go to the dentist in the morning, we could make it to the doctor in the afternoon - so another trip to the bathroom phone booth and that was done.
Now, I am sure I have mentioned that we live on a later schedule than normal people. Due to all this craziness we had to get up three days in a row EARLY, well for us. We had a reenactment on Sunday, the judging on Monday, and the doctor on Tuesday. (So husband now knows that we have an appointment next week and that our doctor is retired and I got his prescription renewed.) So nice to get to sleep to our normal time today.
Tomorrow I am going to the tax client to get his information. We meet at the library near him and due to my crazy bed bug fear, when I go back to the car I change my clothes (I wear a top with straps under my shirt and shorts under my skirt and replace the clothes over them) - but I think it is suppose to rain.
We will go to the quilt show either on Friday or Saturday or there is slight chance we will to the quilt show Friday and stay overnight. I have paid all the bills due this week and transferred money for next week’s bills so that same is done with, even though Friday is our normal banking day.
Monday night is the meeting of our reenactment unit - I will prepare my report to be made either Sunday or Monday. Today while I actually had a bit of free time and was photocopying magazine articles to keep the info and get rid of the magazine, I went through some old records of the unit’s and shredded those past 10 years and boxed the rest to take to the meeting and put in the file there. Also dumped some magazines that started to the unit some years ago in case anyone wanted them - too late now.
Oh, and when I planned to be writing this earlier in the evening, husband needed me as he found out that online sales sites has mostly incorrect shipping costs listed and he needed my help to fix them. So instead of starting this post on Wednesday night just after 11:30 pm, I did not start until 1 am on Thursday.
Tuesday we have the dentist and the doctor. Wednesday night starts the holidays. Next Saturday I/we will be demonstrating at the fair. The day after, Sunday, is pickup day at the fair.
I then have 4 days the last week of the month that are open - but there will be more trips to the dentist to fit in. My mom tonight told me that she needs to go to the doctor and plans to go this month (I told her not next week - the last week of the month is okay and I am not sure they will have an appointment this quickly) so the last week will be as busy - and husband plans to try to, yes go to Pennsylvania for a few days. And that Friday evening and Saturday are the other holiday.
And of course - there is the regular housework and such to be done. Oh and we do have to go to the eye doctor next month...
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
There are times when there is lots of nothing to do. Then there are times when what needs to be done if overwhelming. All we can do is what we can and not get sick over what we cannot.
This story starts back in June - yes, June. My husband does not like to know when he is going to the doctor and as a result I make the appointments and then tell him at the last minute. When he worked outside the house I would contact his secretary and make sure the appointment times were clear and she would make sure he did not have anything to do on those days. Now it is all up to me. Back in June I had to make appointments for us to go for bloodwork and then, around a week later, for the doctor. June was a busy month - as was July, but I found two dates a week apart in July and called the doctor’s office. I was told that the doctor retired. Now, the doctor was a man in at least his 80s so it makes sense, but I would think that some sort of notice would be sent to his patients so I was surprised. His son has been in practice with him and we have seen his son a couple times when our doctor was not available and husband’s mom used him as a doctor, so I did the natural thing - I made appointments for us with the son. This was the simple part.
While husband is now on Medicare and can see any doctor, I am still on our old ACA medical insurance plan and have a doctor who is in charge of my care and referrals who was our doctor. So I went online to my medical insurance company to change my doctor from him to his son. Only apparently the insurance company had been told that he had retired and instead of doing the logical thing of assigning me to the other doctor in his practice - his son - they assigned me to a strange doctor we had never heard of. I picked his son as my doctor and the insurance company’s software showed that I had done so. I kept checking for him to show as my doctor - but he did not. When it was a week before the bloodwork appointment and he still did not show - I called the doctor’s office and canceled the appointments - apologizing like crazy and explaining the problem. Since husband is always around it is hard to make calls and not have him hear me or ask who I am calling - this had been the easy part. I now had to call the insurance company and fix the problem - which could result in sitting on hold for who knows how long - not something that can be done while hiding in the bathroom and pretending that I am there for other reasons. I finally managed to get husband set up with a scarf to weave so that he would not come up to the office (my other choice would be to call sitting in the car in the commercial garage when I went to a client) and called the insurance company and a very nice young lady changed him to my doctor as of May (I presume that is when he retired and the other change made.) I now could call and make new appointments.
But we were going to go away on a trip in August - sometime in August, for some length of time, to somewhere - how the heck can one make an appointment under these circumstances. I kept hoping the trip would be planned and I would be able to make the appointments, but they were not. Finally I went to refill a prescription of his and was told - not without an appointment. I found two days, a week apart in September to make the appointments and figured I had enough of his pills to last through the bloodwork appointment.
Then we found out that our dentist is also retiring and I have been having weekly visits to him since August to get a new upper partial made and fitted - and I am not done and then I plan to have him add to my old one for a spare.
Throw in I have to go to two clients this month - one to pick up information for his tax return (on extension) and the other for the regular monthly visit - including the work I did not do when I did not go in August (an annual thing to skip August as she is away in July and there is not much to do in August as a result).
We are also involved in our county fair , which serves as same for three counties. We started about 30 years ago entering items in the crafts, needlework and baking categories, then started demonstrating leatherwork and needlework, and finally we started judging the junior crafts and needlework categories. So the fair takes up parts of at least 4 days each year - dropping off entries, judging, demonstrating, and then picking up the entries. In the past we would demonstrate every day of the fair so it took even more time, but now I go on one day with other members of my embroidery chapter and husband either joins us or finds something else to do at the fair.
There is a quilt show in Pennsylvania this coming weekend. We would like to go there for a few days - a day at the quilt show and the rest at our normal things there, but we are driving down for the quilt show and then home.
Our reenactment unit had an event last weekend and a meeting next week.
And there are the 2 major Jewish holidays this month - one is an evening and 2 days and the other is an evening and the following day.
Somehow everything has managed to fit together like a giant jigsaw puzzle and then - my dentist called and said that the mockup for fit was not in for last Friday and could I come on Tuesday? I could not as we were going for bloodwork at the same time as I would be going to him - but remember, husband does not know this and does not want to know this. I told them no and we would go with the Friday appointment I had for this week, even though that would push everything back a week. Husband heard part of the call and wanted to know what happened - I lied and told him that they wanted us to come Monday - when we were doing the judging.
Then, the dentist’s office called and actually suggested Monday - and they were open late, so we went to the judging, had lunch and then went to the dentist. After calling the lab they wanted us to come next Tuesday - I told her we couldn’t and it was all being pushed back another week - husband asked me why not in the dentist’s office and I told him I would explain later - he did not ask again. By the time we got home I figured out that if we could go to the dentist in the morning, we could make it to the doctor in the afternoon - so another trip to the bathroom phone booth and that was done.
Now, I am sure I have mentioned that we live on a later schedule than normal people. Due to all this craziness we had to get up three days in a row EARLY, well for us. We had a reenactment on Sunday, the judging on Monday, and the doctor on Tuesday. (So husband now knows that we have an appointment next week and that our doctor is retired and I got his prescription renewed.) So nice to get to sleep to our normal time today.
Tomorrow I am going to the tax client to get his information. We meet at the library near him and due to my crazy bed bug fear, when I go back to the car I change my clothes (I wear a top with straps under my shirt and shorts under my skirt and replace the clothes over them) - but I think it is suppose to rain.
We will go to the quilt show either on Friday or Saturday or there is slight chance we will to the quilt show Friday and stay overnight. I have paid all the bills due this week and transferred money for next week’s bills so that same is done with, even though Friday is our normal banking day.
Monday night is the meeting of our reenactment unit - I will prepare my report to be made either Sunday or Monday. Today while I actually had a bit of free time and was photocopying magazine articles to keep the info and get rid of the magazine, I went through some old records of the unit’s and shredded those past 10 years and boxed the rest to take to the meeting and put in the file there. Also dumped some magazines that started to the unit some years ago in case anyone wanted them - too late now.
Oh, and when I planned to be writing this earlier in the evening, husband needed me as he found out that online sales sites has mostly incorrect shipping costs listed and he needed my help to fix them. So instead of starting this post on Wednesday night just after 11:30 pm, I did not start until 1 am on Thursday.
Tuesday we have the dentist and the doctor. Wednesday night starts the holidays. Next Saturday I/we will be demonstrating at the fair. The day after, Sunday, is pickup day at the fair.
I then have 4 days the last week of the month that are open - but there will be more trips to the dentist to fit in. My mom tonight told me that she needs to go to the doctor and plans to go this month (I told her not next week - the last week of the month is okay and I am not sure they will have an appointment this quickly) so the last week will be as busy - and husband plans to try to, yes go to Pennsylvania for a few days. And that Friday evening and Saturday are the other holiday.
And of course - there is the regular housework and such to be done. Oh and we do have to go to the eye doctor next month...
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
There are times when there is lots of nothing to do. Then there are times when what needs to be done if overwhelming. All we can do is what we can and not get sick over what we cannot.
Thursday, September 7, 2017
NO TIME TO WRITE TODAY - POOR ORGANIZATION
Again I am sorry to have to start my post with my hope that any of you in the areas hit by Hurricane Harvey are faring well and I must also add my hope that any of you in the path of Hurricane Irma stay safe.
We did have a nice trip the end of last week and returned safely home late Friday night (okay, really 1 am on very early Saturday morning). Since the trip was rather short - only 2 nights - and we did not go crazy shopping while away (the Walmarts there are so much larger and better than the ones here) we had the RV unpacked by 1:30 am.
At that point I ran upstairs to my computer. While away I had received an email from the president of my embroidery chapter that when I emailed out the (new and revised format) newsletter, I had left her message out and there was a large blank area on the front page. When I read her email I wondered if I only imagined that I had added her message - but then remembered it as a bit long for the space and I had to make the column area longer and also adjust the adjacent column listing our meetings for this year to be a bit longer to match. I apparently sent out a the copy I printed out to check the newsletter before I received her column to make sure that it and the other 7 attachments I had to send with it went out (to me) without a problem. Much embarrassed I quickly sent out the correct edition to the members and others who get it. In my apology I pointed out that either the readers were so polite not to mention the large empty space on the front page to me - or no one bothered to read it!
I actually managed to catch up to the point that my desk was clear! Not that there was not other paperwork to deal with - we are trying to get a discount on our general and school real estate taxes that is allowed for those who own their home and are 65 (as husband now is). There are 4 forms to fill in that I can find, plus we have to give them either our deed, birth certificates and something else - or copies thereof, I cannot tell which from the instructions. We have until the end of December to file these papers - but I know me, I better get them done now. I filled in one form today and have already requested a “receipt” for the medical insurance we paid in 2016 (paid bills not sufficient). I found out that the county holds events to help people with this paperwork and have marked the dates of the most local ones on my calendar (computer and cell phone - entered separately) so we can go to one. I found I was missing our deed - well, I know it must be somewhere, since it is not with any of the house papers in the files or lock book in the house, it must be in our bank lock box - which of course I went to today to switch those offsite backup drives I have mentioned before. I guess we will be going back in the next few days again to check for and hopefully find the deed.
I had my embroidery chapter meeting today and we did a good bit of stitching - then the visit to the bank (above), as well as a deposit to our reenactment unit’s bank account (at a different bank), returned soda bottles (for 3 months since I have not been out on my own since the beginning of June) for recycling, and bought something to start making a gift for my husband (I will not say what in case he reads the post).
I decided to call my mom tonight after dinner - and we do go on - well she does and as you might imagine from my posts, I go on a bit also. By the time I was off the phone with her it was well past the time we normally finish talking when we do at night and past when I should have started evening chores. And I had extra chores tonight.
During the past week husband and I bought a frame and framed an embroidery piece I finished and am entering at the county fair. (Technically it is a tricounty, county fair as it is the official fair for 3 counties. It is held in the style of a late 19th century fair at the same restoration village I have mentioned before.) I know where that piece is - the dining room table. I also am entering the Christmas ornament I made of husband weaving last Christmas and, of course, had not thought of entering it when I packed the Christmas stuff away and I had to find it in the basement. Luckily the “Box 1 ornaments” (the nicest ones which go on the tree first) was the 3rd box down and I found it quickly.
The same cannot be said for the ornament husband made - a handwoven Christmas tree - and plans to enter. Last time I saw it, it was hanging from a lamp in the living room, err, “the loom room”. It is not there. So I ended up having to pull all of the Christmas boxes out and look in them - it is the sort of thing that would be on the top of a box to protect it. I did not find it and do not look forward to mentioning this to husband. I am sure it will be “my fault” that it is missing. Luckily in the time between I wrote this and posted it - husband came down and he had his ornament safely tucked away.
And I also had to do laundry tonight. Last week’s laundry was done a night early so there are an extra day’s clothes and I have towels and bed linens from home and the RV. I was unsure if I should strip the bed or leave it for our final expected trip at the October or clean the sheets and go through the mess of making up the bed again - my decision was made as there were tiny bits of dirt in the bed from it sitting made up - the day after we came home I went in and stripped the bed and took it apart (which has to be done to strip it and also to remake it up).
So, while it probably will not be noticeable to any of you as my posts go out in the middle of the night anyway, this post is going out - more quickly written than normal - about 2 hours late.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
Sometimes it takes a bit longer to get to do things than normal - but as long as they get done in the end - that is all that matters. And talking to one’s mom - mine is 89 - is always more important than getting work done.
We did have a nice trip the end of last week and returned safely home late Friday night (okay, really 1 am on very early Saturday morning). Since the trip was rather short - only 2 nights - and we did not go crazy shopping while away (the Walmarts there are so much larger and better than the ones here) we had the RV unpacked by 1:30 am.
At that point I ran upstairs to my computer. While away I had received an email from the president of my embroidery chapter that when I emailed out the (new and revised format) newsletter, I had left her message out and there was a large blank area on the front page. When I read her email I wondered if I only imagined that I had added her message - but then remembered it as a bit long for the space and I had to make the column area longer and also adjust the adjacent column listing our meetings for this year to be a bit longer to match. I apparently sent out a the copy I printed out to check the newsletter before I received her column to make sure that it and the other 7 attachments I had to send with it went out (to me) without a problem. Much embarrassed I quickly sent out the correct edition to the members and others who get it. In my apology I pointed out that either the readers were so polite not to mention the large empty space on the front page to me - or no one bothered to read it!
I actually managed to catch up to the point that my desk was clear! Not that there was not other paperwork to deal with - we are trying to get a discount on our general and school real estate taxes that is allowed for those who own their home and are 65 (as husband now is). There are 4 forms to fill in that I can find, plus we have to give them either our deed, birth certificates and something else - or copies thereof, I cannot tell which from the instructions. We have until the end of December to file these papers - but I know me, I better get them done now. I filled in one form today and have already requested a “receipt” for the medical insurance we paid in 2016 (paid bills not sufficient). I found out that the county holds events to help people with this paperwork and have marked the dates of the most local ones on my calendar (computer and cell phone - entered separately) so we can go to one. I found I was missing our deed - well, I know it must be somewhere, since it is not with any of the house papers in the files or lock book in the house, it must be in our bank lock box - which of course I went to today to switch those offsite backup drives I have mentioned before. I guess we will be going back in the next few days again to check for and hopefully find the deed.
I had my embroidery chapter meeting today and we did a good bit of stitching - then the visit to the bank (above), as well as a deposit to our reenactment unit’s bank account (at a different bank), returned soda bottles (for 3 months since I have not been out on my own since the beginning of June) for recycling, and bought something to start making a gift for my husband (I will not say what in case he reads the post).
I decided to call my mom tonight after dinner - and we do go on - well she does and as you might imagine from my posts, I go on a bit also. By the time I was off the phone with her it was well past the time we normally finish talking when we do at night and past when I should have started evening chores. And I had extra chores tonight.
During the past week husband and I bought a frame and framed an embroidery piece I finished and am entering at the county fair. (Technically it is a tricounty, county fair as it is the official fair for 3 counties. It is held in the style of a late 19th century fair at the same restoration village I have mentioned before.) I know where that piece is - the dining room table. I also am entering the Christmas ornament I made of husband weaving last Christmas and, of course, had not thought of entering it when I packed the Christmas stuff away and I had to find it in the basement. Luckily the “Box 1 ornaments” (the nicest ones which go on the tree first) was the 3rd box down and I found it quickly.
The same cannot be said for the ornament husband made - a handwoven Christmas tree - and plans to enter. Last time I saw it, it was hanging from a lamp in the living room, err, “the loom room”. It is not there. So I ended up having to pull all of the Christmas boxes out and look in them - it is the sort of thing that would be on the top of a box to protect it. I did not find it and do not look forward to mentioning this to husband. I am sure it will be “my fault” that it is missing. Luckily in the time between I wrote this and posted it - husband came down and he had his ornament safely tucked away.
And I also had to do laundry tonight. Last week’s laundry was done a night early so there are an extra day’s clothes and I have towels and bed linens from home and the RV. I was unsure if I should strip the bed or leave it for our final expected trip at the October or clean the sheets and go through the mess of making up the bed again - my decision was made as there were tiny bits of dirt in the bed from it sitting made up - the day after we came home I went in and stripped the bed and took it apart (which has to be done to strip it and also to remake it up).
So, while it probably will not be noticeable to any of you as my posts go out in the middle of the night anyway, this post is going out - more quickly written than normal - about 2 hours late.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK -
Sometimes it takes a bit longer to get to do things than normal - but as long as they get done in the end - that is all that matters. And talking to one’s mom - mine is 89 - is always more important than getting work done.
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