I do not know what these are but I’ve been walking past them for a couple weeks and finally broke down and took a picture. They are dried and were on a vine on the chain link fence.  Nothing remains to identify the plant but these pretty seed balls.

My life has seemed too busy lately and it’s making me a little desperate.  Today I came home determined to get off my feet and rest a little and I COULDN’T DO IT.  I tried but I was sure there was something urgent that I had planned to do and was not remembering.  So I got up and put clothes in the washer thinking it would help bring it to mind. It didn’t, but I’m glad to have gotten the clothes washed. I think I knew I should write something but I’ve been doing some avoidance behavior and need to get past it.

I gave up and hired someone to help clean up the yard after last week’s wind and rain. It took all of us most of a day to get the tree litter off the lawn and now it’s just in a big pile until I can stuff it in garbage cans and put it out for yard waste collection. It will take several weeks to get it gone because we only have six cans.

Also got the condo paint finished and showed it one more time.  There are 39 steps up to the front door.  I went up and down them 11 times when I cleaned all our tools and supplies out. I am so glad I don’t live there. I make about five trips back into the house every morning for things I’ve forgotten when I’m packing up to go to work – thank you Lord for our attached garage two steps away from the kitchen.

I’m going to think of something very worthwhile to write tomorrow. And then on Wednesday we are going up to have a 4th of July cookout with Julie and whichever friends she can round up. And on Thursday I have a massage scheduled for after work. Mmmmm… need. Friday is haircut day. So you can see it should be a week of taking care of myself and resting a bit. That’s my hope.

We were watching the weather station at home last night like it was a prime time show.  I went to work shortly after and what was on the TV? A baseball game.  I suggested we keep an eye on the weather, in keeping with the flooded roads I’d had to avoid on the way and the tree limbs scattered all over the neighbor’s yard. So we did watch the radar reports of  the storm bands as they swirled around Debbie and up our coast – under a coastal flood watch, a tornado watch, and a severe thunderstorm watch all at once.  How exciting.  And the setting for this drama?  A smallish frame house that sits at the very edge of a coastal bayou surrounded by huge old trees. This place was built way before safety codes were in place and is so close to the water that normal tides occassionally go under the house.  It has flooded a couple of times in the past. We were being warned of tides 2-4 feet higher than normal.

Is it any wonder that when I finally got my quadriplegic client put to bed and laid myself down it was a little hard to drop off to sleep? My little cot is right under a window on the bayou side of the house and everytime I’d hear a crash in the wind I’d shine the flashlight out there to see what it was. The window awnings were flapping, the boat cover ripped and blew off, the mangroves were slapping the house and the wind was roaring constantly and roaring even louder as each storm band went over us. It was creepy. Tons of rain. Things that had floated under the house were bumping and knocking on the floor as the waves washed under.  It could have been a hurricane on top of us as far as I was concerned.

But since there was really nothing I could do about it, except stare at the ceiling with my flashlight in hand and shoes on, I did doze off for about 30 minutes.  And here is the dream I had.   I was looking under my bed, watching the tide rise into the house and through a hole in the floor I saw a piece of fabric which I pulled on – it was a shirt on a person, a drowning person. Actually there were two people and I pulled them up into the house and one of them got into my bed. The other one seemed dead and I decided I had to wake up my client and tell her I was going to call 911.  I went into her room and she was no longer there! Her house had become full of elderly people and surgical patients with nurses taking care of them. Thank goodness I only had to endure this for half an hour – I’m just giving you the bare bones account.

So it was a very high tide. About 4:30 am I started to hear the little sounds like water slapping on the bottom of a boat, coming from the floor of our “house”boat. Thankfully it stayed dry on our side of the floor.  For those of you who have seen this property – the tide was two feet above the retaining wall, level with the front deck, and probably 15 feet up into the yard. 

It continued to rain this morning, and the wind is still here this afternoon although it is milder. We have seen a glimpse of the sun also. This is what it looked like when I left this afternoon.



flooded courtyard on side of house away from bayou




umbrella and chair on a dock that can no longer be seen…




yew trees pretty much destroyed in this yard




walkway to boat now underwater




one side of boulevard impassable




note the high water mark on house



Our first taste of hurrican weather came yesterday and today – nonstop rain and grayness. Today there is wind and a few tornado reports. The oneacrewoods is waving it’s arms wildly – you’d never know the trees were that flexible to look at them.  And of course, I have to drive out to the beach for work tonight.  I’ve been told I should drive the truck because the water is high on the road, and the tide is as high as it has ever been without having to evacuate.  This should be an adventure. 

Spent all day Saturday at the condo cleaning and painting (I do both unlike my friend who says painting IS cleaning and is all you need to do). One more day will finish it and then I need a new renter.  Please come and live in my condo, quickly. It is nice there and every time we go in and get ready for someone new I imagine myself living there and want to do all sorts of cool decorative stuff. 

I think I’m hungry. I should go now.

I think I’m doing incredibly well during this very busy week (in spite of my new awareness of sensitivity to overstimulation – more about this to come, I hope) and it’s nearly over. I have only two, maybe three obstacles left to conquer. It was a tremendous help that I was not asked to work for the last three days.  I’ll get all my remaining hours tonight and tomorrow morning as I do a double. (shoud have had a picture of me ready for work…)

The finished task is VBS, Vacation Bible School.  I just have to say that things have sure changed since I was a kid.  My memories of VBS (although we never called it that back then, it was just Bible School ) are pretty good yet.  I remember being taken there and left along with my siblings who were old enough to go – no parents hanging around that I can remember.  Now, parents and helpers are everywhere. There seemed to be a grownup or a big kid with every three or four little kids. And instead of being like a regular school day, 9 – 3 with a lunch at noon, it’s maybe two and half hours long. The one I was helping with had a 5:30 dinner for everyone before activities started and that was my duty station – serving food.  It was a good opportunity for me to meet new people and work with them long enough to remember who they were. We had some interesting menus, but I have had my fill of pasta in crock pots for a while. (should have had a picture of me picking noodles off my shoes…)

I survived babysitting on Tuesday, rather, the children survived me babysitting them. They made it very easy for me by happily staying in their pajamas all day and watching Netflix cartoons most of the time. I feel a little guilty for not entertaining them better, but I did right by the little guy and sang him to sleep for his nap. I find that “Frog Went A Courtin” is an ingenious tune because it repeats the first line three times with a lot of  mmhmms in between, giving me plenty of time to think of an ending rhyme. I sang at least 30 verses before the eyes stopped popping open.  Sugery went fine for the parent. (should have had a picture of still anesthetized parent being helped into house…)

I was even able to insert an unplanned visit to the eye doctor into my schedule on Wednesday. I’m not sure what is happening to my eyes. The doctor wasn’t sure either, but I’m on some antibiotic and antiinflammatory drops and no wearing of contact lenses for a few days. I have found that my eyes look really, really green when the white part is really, really red.  It’s quite a strange picture and a bit scary. I’m better now.  (should have had a picture of me… no, probably not)

Now to get through the weekend and the remaining hurdles without being overcome. 

I’ve been reading about highly sensitive people and have decided I am one.  I feel like going to bed and pulling the covers over my head.  “The Highly Sensitive Person” by Elaine Aron

Recently slugs and snails have come to my attention – who would have thought?  I always have a problem with them when I mulch with oak leaves, or wood mulch because it seems to give them safe places to stay when it’s hot and dry. Some things you need to know to outsmart these guys.  They build their own highways – those silvery trails they leave behind – that smooth the way for their travels to dinner (your plants). Did you know that it takes about 15 days for a snail to travel a mile? Slugs can do it in only eight days having no shell to slow them down. They cannot stand dry conditions and they do not like to crawl on things that hurt their soft bellies. A little barrier of sand, wood ashes, cinders or slaked lime around your plant bed can often deter them. They like to feed at night mainly and look for places to shelter during the day. So give them some places to hide like a shingle or something similar and surprise them during the day and finish them off. They like a more acid soil too so if you can get some worm castings or other additive that make the soil less acid they will prefer to go elsewhere. Some experts say that the slugs prefer wilted weeds to growing plants, and who doesn’t have some weeds around to lay in their path. And if all else fails, get some snail bait at the garden store. It works fairly well . My info comes from the Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, copyright 1959 (but slugs haven’t changed much since then).

I usually work 5 hours on four days of the week.  I’ve more than doubled that this week, finishing up with a 16 hour shift last night and today.  Is it called a paradox, or something like that, when you are glad and sad at the same time over a situation?  The work is meaningful, appreciated, financially compensating and within my ability so that makes me glad.  I’m sad at the same time to see my client so dependent on so few people – what a risk for her. And I am sad that it sometimes is so hard for me to serve her and have a life of my own.  My “in the moment” thought is that I am so thankful to be going to sleep in my own bed with no expectation of being needed by anyone for the next 8 hours.  Good night world.

This is the exciting time of the year when I get to start a brand new calendar/planner. I somehow got started with school year planners so it’s normally a July to July notebook sized affair. Shopping for the next one has always been fun for me because there are so many styles, decorative twists, extras for students or busy moms, or business schedules. I enjoy looking them over and deciding.  The last few years I’ve opted for plain jane weekly pages with room to write a summary of the day. Since they can be quite expensive (up to $20 for really cute ones) I was thrilled to find this one at the drugstore for $4.97. What a bargain! And the nice thing is, it goes to December 2013 so I can get back on a yearly schedule. 

I have saved these calendars for years along with my journals. They are like a history of my life and it’s fun to read the older ones and re-live times I’ve entirely forgotten.
They are also a handy resource. In a minute I’m going to look for the date our last tenant began to rent from us and try to figure out whether we owe him a security deposit.  It’s also fun to look at my old “to do” lists and see what the stresses of the day were. Planning ahead actually helps me live one day at a time (see previous post) because I write the appointment in and then don’t think about it until that day arrives.  I just have to REMEMBER TO LOOK AT THE CALENDAR.  Excuse me now while I go put some dates to remember in my new book.

I had a burst of energy recently, short-lived, but while it was around it played havoc with my to do list.  One result was I now own a couple of online courses that I’d thought about before but resisted.  Ever since high school graduation I’ve been so happy to be free from obligatory years of schooling servitude.  In my nightmares, I’m back in school wandering endless hallways searching for my locker (can’t remember the number) and looking into classrooms where I realize I’m supposed to be (but can’t remember the last time I attended). So why buy courses now? Because they’re 80% off regular prices, and in actuality they are no different than reading a book or listening to a CD at home.  No real pressure. Lots of great subjects to learn about. Check it out.   http://www.ordergreatcourses.com/

To satiate my writing appetite I’m studying ” Building Great Sentences: Exploring the Writer’s Craft”.  It’s twenty four lectures by a professor from the University of Iowa, which, as we all know, is one of the nation’s top writing schools (really?)  I haven’t started that one yet.  The other is “The Life and Writings of C.S. Lewis”.  I’ve known about him for years but other than Chronicles of Narnia, I don’t think I’ve ever made it all the way through any of his books.  He wrote in so many different genres and was successful in all of them so I think I can learn something from him about writing. I’ve listened to two of those lectures and didn’t fall asleep until the last 5 minutes of the second one. But that was only because I worked last night and am tired.

In and of themselves the courses are not overwhelming, but in the context of the rest of my life I’m feeling the pinch.  We are very short of help at work so I’m having to do nights – a couple every week. Our condo renter just moved out and I have no replacement for him yet. I have until the end of June to get the place ready for another renter and I deeply desire to have someone in there in July. Every month that it’s empty is going to be a financial strain on us. I’m being pressed (nicely) into playing keyboard at Sunday church. They haven’t heard me play yet – I’ve only been singing so far. I’m not sure I want to “open this box” since they are much more hi tech than anything I’ve done so far. Performance anxiety is a big worship killer for me. 

That’s three things. For some reason (the burst of energy) I volunteered to help serve the evening meal at VBS all next week. Amy asked me to be with her kids next Tuesday while she stays with Josh who is having surgery for a torn rotator cuff. Who is going to walk my husband and water my plants? I’ll have to hire someone. And looming ahead in less than 4 weeks is the trip to Atlanta. My only defense against panic is to live in the moment, attending to whatever I know I’m to do today, this hour. I know that God will not give me more to do than he knows I can get done, with his help. My trouble is signing up for stuff on my own. I guess he can save me from those mistakes as well.

Here are my blackberry bushes!

not lovely yet but hoping they will flourish

Three years ago when I started my present job, my thinking was that it was a very physically active five or six hours each day.  I didn’t really need or want any more exercise.  I could handle a walk once in a while and a weekend workout in the oneacrewoods but other than that, let me rest.  I’m seeing things a little differently now.  I don’t really exercise all of me equally at work – parts of me are beginning to bother.  I’ve always loved dance, rhythm and music so I looked up zumba videos on the internet and ordered The Ten Minute Solution, Fat Blasting Dance Mix.  It came today so I watched it to kind of “get in the mood”.  I got really tired watching those three girls bounce around, sweat and get out of breath so in addition to just watching (not doing) I needed nourishment and ate my rice pudding while watching. I’m starting out in the negative, so to speak.

I’m determined to learn each of the 5 ten minute workout/dance routines if it takes me forever.  The very hardest thing for me whether it’s a video or a class situation is interpretting left and right.  The instructor is speaking left or right, but of course, she is facing those she is speaking to so her moves are visually opposite their left or right.  When I’m trying to concentrate on feet that are going back and forth and hopping I just can’t make a quick translation between what I hear and what I see. Get what I’m saying? I’m sure that if I watch enough times I’ll quit needing to watch so closely and can just have fun with all those really cool moves.  Or I could just do everything in the same direction she is doing it and not listen to what she is saying, which is ok when I’m home alone but very embarrassing in a class full of people who aren’t expecting a contact sport.
 

whole brood of hungry ducks  await our arrival

Dennis and I  have been walking lately.  We needed to make some changes in the direction of not being so tired all the time.  Dennis has a sedentary job and at home it’s not much different except for the walk out to the squirrel tree a couple times a day.  I would like to convince him that the couch is our enemy.  So we walk down the road to Plantation Grove where the streets are quiet and do a couple rounds.  It’s not very strenuous, especially when we sit and feed the ducks for ten minutes, but it’s a nice wind down for our day.  Last night I took a bag and we filled it with trash from the roadside which slowed us down even more, but we won’t have to do that every time.


I want this plant.  I take pictures of people’s yards ( and hope not to get arrested. )

I dug out my pedometers and bought new batteries for them.  Our nightly walk is about 4,000 steps.  I think it’s 10,000 steps daily that are recommended for fitness so we’re a little short.  But are you convinced that we are giving healthy exercise a try?  Hold us accountable every now and then!