Getting Things Done

I have such a supper supportive husband!  I told him that I wanted to keep my schedule of getting to bed by 9pm and getting up about 5am.  And he agreed to do it and has been encouraging me when I'm a little slow to bed.  Sometimes it's a little hard to sleep, but I've been waking up slightly before the alarm goes off.

And I've been super productive with my writing.  Most days I've gotten 1000 or more words written. I finished my Financial Advisor's email series including edits, and we may move forward on another letter. I also have two other people wanting me to do work. Akk. I hate to turn down interesting work. I think/hope I can do it all.

I've also been going out to the house most afternoons. It's interesting. When you start a renovation, the mess just grows!  You end up with piles of debris from junk in the house now cluttering up the garage-- old bathtubs and shelving, broken tile and drywall. Then there's new stuff to go into the house-- new doors, flooring and tile.  And the house itself is full of dismantled things-- doors off hinges, appliances moved from their traditional spots, baseboard lying in the middle of the floor to be painted, cabinet doors on saw horses getting painted or leaning against walls awaiting rehanging.  Shelving and door knobs and hinges and paint cans and cleaning supplies, rags, buckets, stools and tools... the clutter makes it such that you can hardly walk around the house.

Then "slowly by slowly" as the Kenyan's say it, things start to improve. Doors get rehung and shelving moves back into newly painted closets. Blinds get rehung or put out with the trash. Cupboard doors get replaced on newly painted cupboards. Paint tarps get folded or trashed. It's like a tide receding.  At first you don't believe it's happening.  Then, you can walk through the rooms and down the hall.  The new house begins to shine through. This is the gray paint with the various shades due to the light.

When I'm tired of seeing the mess, I look at the beautiful white fireplace against the crisp gray wall.At this point, we have all the house painted... er, except the new garage and back doors and trim and the laundry room cupboards. But the uniformity of wall paint and the contrast with the white cupboards is delightful and satisfying!  Tom also worked on tiling the tub surround. It turned out well. We will tile the floor then grout it all. He's been bagging up trash and putting some out at the house we're working on and bringing some home to add to our trash, so the piles in the garage are diminishing. Mostly it's just the flooring left. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.



I think it will be a beautiful house.  I hope the realtor and buyers agree and we get a nice price for it.  Tom has clocked over 300 hours of work on it. (I contributed some few hours of that.)

We've had amazingly warm February weather. It's been in the 60's at night and the 70's during the day.  The plants are confused.  It looks like spring.  The fruit trees and bradford pears are in full bloom.  Daffodils are up along with crocus. The grass is greening.  But the last two days the temperature fell below freezing at night. I expect that means no fruit from the trees this year. Sigh.  And likely March will go back to winter.

Here is a gratuitous picture of Athena who was outside when I went to take the peach tree picture.

I did some visiting teaching this week.  I invited my hairdresser to come to church with me and she did!  That was nice.  I also went and worked on clay on Friday.  I'm making clay hearts for my RS Retreat.  I finally finished the RS newsletter with information about the retreat and the Nauvoo trip we are planning on October 5-7. Anyone want to come with us on that?

Saturday Tom took some new converts to the temple to do baptisms.  We have some wonderful new members. They are a delight to know and apparently they had a great trip there and back and a spiritual experience at the temple.


Last night my friend Tanya and her daughter Maddie came to visit and spend the night.They lived in Mountain Home 11 years ago, when Maddie was born and have kept up on friendships here. So they went to church here today to connect with special friends..Today at church it was fun to listen to the hymns and the speakers through the eyes and ears of my friend sitting next to me. I think she enjoyed it. The spirit was there.

A great visit

I had a great week with the Mama this past 10 days! It was so fun to spend time with her. I had a lot of writing to do, so I needed to be organized. I tried to get to bed by 9pm and up by 5am. That way, I could get writing in until 11 or 12. By that time I was brain dead, so I was grateful for the chance to go off with Mama. By the end of the week, I’d sent off my first chapter to be reviewed and revised. It gave me a little break.

Saturday we had nothing planned in the morning, so I went off to the temple. It’s such a blessing to be 15 minutes from the temple! I LOVE it! And it was a wonderful session. I felt blessed to be able to attend.

Monday, Mom, Gloria (her friend) and I went to the Swiss ladies luncheon. The food was delicious. Sally came as well, so we had a nice time to visit. Everyone in the group is so friendly. I thought we had good traffic because it was President’s Day. I was a week early… but we still had good traffic. That evening Cynthia and Jim brought in Olive Garden dinner.

Tuesday Cynthia and I went to brunch about 10:30. Jim had a new toy— a Jaguar. Well, it’s a golf cart with a Jaguar front end and rear quarter panels. It’s SO cute! 

Cynthia picked me up in the golf cart and we road to Laguna Café. It’s kind of an open-air experience where you feel you are a part of nature— the air, the weather, the scents— as you travel. It was a mild day without wind and it was really fun. It was fun to sit and chat, catch up and think about the future. Jim’s health is not what it once was, and that is a concern. He can no longer drive. I guess, for each of us, we may be only one illness away from a major change in life.

I got home just in time to take Mom to her physical therapy. We did a whirlwind shopping trip at Macy’s and then on to get a blood test done. She is in remarkably good health.

Wednesday after a good morning’s work, I saw that Susan was on Skype, so I called her. We had a lovely visit. They keep busy with the temple work. I guess that’s why it’s called “work.” After lunch Mom and I went out shopping and then to Cynthia and Jim’s for a delicious salmon dinner. They are such good cooks! Then it was home to pack.

I was up about the same time on Thursday morning and Cynthia and Jim drove me to the airport. I was glad I’d chosen to fly out on Thursday. We had fog and the flight was delayed for an hour and a half, but storms rolled in on Friday and I understand all flights were canceled that day. The delay gave me a chance to respond to revisions on the chapter I’d submitted and make final changes so it could be sent to compliance. After a layover in Los Vegas, I was off to Miranda’s. On the plane about 2/3rds of the way through, a guy on the widow seat in my row, but on the other side of the aisle suddenly stood up, turned around and yelled at the person behind him to stop hitting his seat. Whoa! So this is what airplane rage looks like. I was looking around to see what would happen next. And this big, burly guy next to me… who I had not spoken to… said, “Don’t worry. I have your back.” What a nice thing to say. We chatted the rest of the way. He was an army drill instructor for 4 years. Retired, and now works security for Ryder. It was an enjoyable way to finish the trip.

Miranda and boys picked me up from the airport (I was about 30 min late) and we went out to dinner as it was past dinner time. Here's a picture of Dan and the boys.

 Then back to her house to bed. Friday, after Camden went to school, we drove to Deborah’s house. She was feeling a little punk, but was still a gracious hostess. Tom arrived shortly after we did. We made sandwiches for lunch and then headed home. Of course the car took us to the ReStore in Fayetteville on the way home. We found a nice fireplace glass and screen front at 75% off- $15! Score! It’s for the house we are renovation. Well… if it fits.

It is good to be home! I can’t believe how warm the weather has been. It was almost short-sleeve weather. The daffodils are blooming and our peach tree is blossoming out. Silly thing. There’s probably an 85% chance it will freeze at least once between now and April. We’d meant to dormant oil spray it. So I pulled out the sprayer and hit most of the trees. I hope it’s not too late. Tom spent a good part of the day picking up sticks and small branches that came down in a fierce wind storm we had while he was at Miranda’s last week. We also went over to the house and painted cupboards. They take at least three coats. And there are a lot of cupboards. But the white really brightens up the kitchen. And we’ve decided on the paint we will use in the dining room, kitchen, and laundry room.

Today I drove to West Plains for their ward conference. It was quite foggy. A gray blanket covered the road and hills. Skeletal tree branches reached from the road side and the center line quickly disappeared into fuzz. When I turned east, the fog took on a pink hue as the sun rose and tried to shine through. In patches it lightened to a mist among the trees with striations of sunlight creating a pattern.  Then I’d dip into the silver, shadowless gloam once again. By the time I got to West Plains the cotton enclosed me. Signals suddenly appeared through the gloom and I had to slowly anticipate turns I could not see. Still, it was a lovely drive. I marvel how the same road can appear so differently at different seasons, weather, and time of day.

We had good meetings. I taught about President Hinckley and his eternal optimism. “Everything will work out.” I thought how often we worry about things. And of all the things I’ve worried about— everything has worked out. He said we live in the fullness of times. All the good has been brought forward at this time. Of course there are evil and hard times, but we can be cheerful through it and look for the good.

Traveling with 90+ year olds

Today I went to the Swiss Park with Mom and her friend, Gloria.  Gloria is in the 90+ group, is hard of hearing, but trots around with her walker.  They sat in the back and chatted as we went to the Swiss Ladies Luncheon.

I loved that they were chatting about personal trainers and the gym equipment they were using.  Gloria joined the 1000 mile club-- adding up the miles she does on the treadmill, the bike and the newstep. Goodness sake! These two are like 95 and 92 and they are working out more than I am!

So we attend the luncheon and the president is giving a report.  Someone asked about the gardener of the park and why we had a new one.  She said he had died.  As people expressed surprise, she said, "Well he was about 90.  He was REALLY old!"  Then she clapped her hand over her mouth and said, "I need a muzzle."  There was another lady there who drove herself perhaps 60 miles to attend... and she was also over 90.

Fortunately, Mom and Gloria are both hard of hearing and didn't catch most of the meeting part.  On the way home, Mom asked me what transpired at the meeting.  So I'm driving 70+ miles an hour on the freeway in the HOV lane yelling back to Mom and Gloria in the back seat about what went on the the meeting. (I omitted the gardener part.)

At the end, Mom turns to Gloria and says,  "Could you hear Sandra talk about the meeting?"

"Meeting?"

"Yes, the meeting."

"Which meeting?"

"The one we just had."

Mama Week

Mama Week-

Monday Tom and I drove to the Tulsa airport… via a few stops. He wanted to show me the ReStore in Fayetteville. So we left early and took a detour there. We arrived about 15 minutes before it opened. About 10 minutes later a guy came out with a sign. He asked if we were waiting for the store to open. We said yes. He said they were closed for the day because of computer problems.

Tom jokingly said, “I’m really disappointed. We drove all the way from Mountain Home, and if we can’t shop here, I’m going to have to take my wife to ½ of ½ where she’ll spend her money on clothes!”

The guy said, “Well, park over there and come on in. But you’ll have to use cash!” So we got to wander around the store and look at all their great stuff. We bought some door knobs…which is what we had been looking for. And went on to Deborah’s in Springdale. We visited with her for about an hour. Then I had about 35 minutes at ½ of ½ to look at all their sale items before dashing back to the car and heading to Tulsa.

It was really windy on the drive. It pushed the car around on the road. But we got to the airport in plenty of time. Tom dropped me off and headed to Miranda’s. He planned to spend a few days there working on their house. They changed the lighting in the kitchen and made the ceiling level across with LED “can” lights. Miranda scraped the popcorn off the ceiling and I guess will re-texture it and paint it. Tom and Dan also worked on putting some trim and baseboard back up. I don’t know if the painted… or if Miranda and Dan had already done that. Tom headed back home on Friday.

Our neighbor Barb is great about feeding cats and chickens and watching our house when we are gone.

I had an uneventful flight… except no baggage on the Santa Ana end. Cynthia and Jim picked me up and took me to Mom’s. I was tired and went to bed early. Apparently South West called and asked if they could deliver the suitcase before 2am. Mom said yes… and thought she stayed up until 2am. Bless her heart! As Jim says, “Always the Mama.” However, I was awakened about 1:45 with the phone ringing. It was the baggage delivery. I’m thinking, WHAT?? It’s stinkin 2AM in the MORNING! And I only have garments on and you’re going to be at the door in 2 minutes? So I threw on the only clothes I had and got to the door about the same time as the delivery person. I was too groggy to even think about tipping.

I did go back to sleep. And I was grateful in the morning that I had clean clothes and my sundries so I could shower and put on deodorant.

My goal was to keep on Arkansas time. Go to bed by 9pm and get up at 5am. Then work for a good four hours and be finished by 11 or 12 so the rest of the day I was free to do mama things. It actually has worked out well. I get up/dressed/scriptures and prayers. Then work for about an hour. Stop and eat breakfast and exercise a few minutes. Then go back to work. When Mom comes out, I’ll stop and eat some fruit while she has breakfast, and then go back to work.

I got the intro and first chapter done on the book and sent off on Saturday. I’ve had some interviews and started on the autoresponder series for the financial manager. My goal is to finish this in the next few days— at least the first draft.

In the afternoon one day, Mom and I went to her physical therapy and shopping. One evening we went out to dinner. Thursday some old friends from the Valley came to visit. Doreen had been friends with Mom and I had known her daughter Barbie. They brought a delicious lunch and we had a lovely visit. Friday Theresa came over and took her out to doctor’s appointments. Then in the afternoon, we went to her safety deposit box. I wanted a picture of the Roaring Camp stock certificate for the book and it was in the box.

Saturday I went to the temple in the morning. It’s always a delight to go! And I was grateful I had the chance. In the afternoon, Sally came to visit and we had an enjoyable time. Cynthia and Jim had escaped to Palm Desert and returned on Saturday, so we went to their house for dinner that night. Delicious hamburgers. I’m going to get Jim’s secret sauce.

Sunday I went to the Aliso Viejo ward. The Stake is going to rework the boundaries in several of the wards— including the 700 member Aliso Viejo ward. So it was kind of an emotional time with everyone wondering what the changes would be. They were to find out at a 3pm meeting. Nevertheless, I was so impressed with the talks and the strength of the testimonies and comments from members in the classes. So nice to see the church can thrive in Babylon.

After church, Mom and I drove to Pasadena to Stephanie’s tea. She was the former pastor of Mom’s church in the Valley and she’s a delightful person. She decorated beautifully and everyone brought some goodies. We had enjoyable conversation around the food. I think Mom had a hard time hearing all the conversation. But she is always so gracious. Traffic was mostly good on the drive. Not a lot of trucks. Mom thinks they were all home for President’s Day holiday. We arrived home about 6pm. Seemed like a long day.

It's great to get letters from others sharing their activities for the week. Thank you all for writing.

Moving forward

This was a productive week on many fronts.

While I had been waiting to see if the book writing job would come through, I had responded to several other invitations for jobs— one on Upwork, another through LinkedIn. One of them came back with a signed fee agreement and check, so that’s a go. Nice guy. He’s a financial manager looking to gain more clients with an email autoresponder.

The second one is a recruiter— head hunter— who wants a sales deck. He said yes— but so far no $$. Fortunately both of these are fairly quick jobs. But I spent a few stressed out days wondering how I would manage everything.

I had a phone meeting with the book contact in Israel and some of the other people working there. Seems like a nice group of people and I began researching the book and doing some writing this week.

I somehow stumbled on The Urban Monk. He’s a guy who was a Tibetan monk, then did martial arts, and then went into medicine and ran a wellness clinic. I like his low-key holistic approach. I started by watching his movie “Origins” which had great African scenes. Then he sent a 7 day program (www.theurbanmonk.com ) and I probably spent 10 days and didn’t get through it all. I did start with his eating program and felt good and lost weight. I like his exercises for people that sit all day (because I do) and that they are short and effective at waking up the whole body and mind. I encourage you to look at his stuff.

We’ve seen progress at the house. Tom tiled the wall of the small bath that we enlarged. I came back and grouted it. It really blended well with the existing wall tile. He also finished putting in the door frame and door to the bathroom. Funny story. He asked for my help making sure the door was level and lined up. He’d already put a board across the door opening on the inside of the wall, to act as a stop. I went inside the bathroom and shimmed from the inside as Tom did the outside. He put the nails in to secure the door.

“Okay,” he says. “Open the door and see how it goes.” Hmmm. The door opens in. And there is a board across the opening screwed to the wall. Tightly screwed to the wall. Tom hands a screwdriver through the door knob opening. Did I mention the screws were in tightly? I couldn’t move them. There was no way to get me out… or the screw gun into the bathroom. We laughed! We had to take the door out so I could escape. Actually, he handed me the screw gun and I made sure I could take the screws out… and then we started installing the door again.

Tom painted the second bedroom with my second effort. We both liked the result so we went on to paint the hall and the hall closet. In the meantime, Tom painted the bathroom vanity, finished painting all the doors, and started on the kitchen cabinets. We painted the bathroom… so now it’s ready for tiling the floors and the tub surround. I’m really pleased with the way the colors are coming out. And it’s so nice to get a room or closet done and get the shelves back in. You start to see the clutter in the house decreasing. Saturday we rehung the doors. They will get unpinned when the flooring goes down, but for now, they look finished and are out of the way.

We got a new sister missionary this transfer… so they came over to visit and meet us Thursday evening for brownies. Then we got a text as we were finishing up painting on Saturday. The sister training missionaries were in town, could two of them come over for dinner tonight? They texted about 2:30… we checked messages about 4:15…. Um…. Sure! Fortunately I’d planned a pretty quick meal for us. We were able to enlarge it and it worked out well.

It was a good day at church to day. We had testimony meeting, then talked about how to receive revelation and how the gospel of Jesus Christ can turn bitterness into love. It’s a great antidote for our angry world.