Serving others

Life has been very hectic this last week.  We have been working hard decluttering and cleaning at my in-laws house, so we could bring home my father-in-law with hospice care.  Well, today we finally did it.  We got him home and settled.  He was very happy to be home after 4 months in the hospital. 

It was a bittersweet homecoming because the entire reason for hospice is to make him comfortable.  We will no longer be trying to make him well.  Now that is not to say that he couldn't rally and be around for a while.  But the final outcome is known.  He has become a very caring person and telling us how much he loves us all.  He was never a man of words, but he is now telling us these things.

I may not get to post much in the next few weeks.  There will be daily trips to their home to support and help as much as I can.  It my pleasure to be able to serve them and others.  As a Christian, it is as much a blessing to me to be able to help them, as I am a blessing to them.  I am so glad that God has given me the ability to help and support them. 

Please keep our family in your prayers.

Wednesday completion and Thursday's List

Not a bad day yesterday.  I got all of the things done on my list.  For lunch we had taco cups (taco meat on top of biscuits and then baked with some cheese on top) and for dinner we had baked potatoes with meat, tomato, and mozzarella cheese on top called Pizza Potatoes.  So Wednesday's completed list:

• Find phone number and call mother-in-law to give it to her
• Help son with school work
• Feed pets
• Make bread
• Make all meals at home
• Laundry
• Vacuum living room and family room
• Put up new towels in bathrooms
• Take out the garbage and recycling
• Work on financial information
• Take garbage cans to street
• Pick up husband's perscriptions
• Wipe counters
• Load, run, unload dishwasher
• Wipe out bathrooms sinks

Today's list is below. There are some things that are on there every day, but those are things that need to be done every day.  And they do take up time and energy to get them done. 

• Take son to orthodontist appointment
• Do mending
• Clean out the cars (2 cars)
• Clean out the toaster tray
• Vacuum kitchen (Yes, we have carpet in the kitchen.)
• Dust family and living rooms
• Do all the dishes
• Make all meals at home
• Feed pets
• Wipe off kitchen counters
• Take out trash and recycling
• Help son with school work
• Read

Off to get my list completed.

Wednesday list and other accomplishments

So I did not get Monday or Tuesday lists posted, but here is what I was able to accomplish on those two days.

• Did 10 loads of laundry (this included sheets, blankets, towels, and clothing)
• Dishes (reloaded dishwasher and ran it twice)
• Wiped off counters
• Made all meals at home (breakfast, lunch and dinner for both days)
• Weeded in the garden
• Trimmed bushes
• Helped son with school work
• Fed and gave water to the animals (2 dogs and 1 cat)
• Helped at church

So my list for Wednesday looks like this:

1. Find phone number and call mother-in-law with it
2. Help son with school work
3. Feed pets
4. Make bread
5. Make all meals at home
6. Laundry
7. Vacuum living room and family room
8. Put up new towels in bathrooms
9. Take out the garbage
10. Work on financial information
11. Take garbage cans to street
12. Pick up husband's perscriptions
13. Wipe counters
14. Load, run, unload dishwasher
15. Wipe out bathrooms sinks

There are a lot of items, but many of them are not hard things to do.  I really want to start to add in things that I have on my big list.  Some are going to have to wait until it warms up.  Our weather has been just crazy this year.  We will have a couple of days in the 80s and then it is back in the 60s.  We have had rain clear into May with more expected.  When the rain comes, it brings lots of wind too.  Not just a simple spring shower, but a real storm.  So starting next week, I am going to add one thing off my major big project list.  Hopefully, I will then see my big life changing of simplifying around here.

Off to get started on my list for today.

Saturday Results

Well I got a lot done today.  For lunch we had delicious potato leek soup that I had started last night.  It was nice and easy and just ready to add my half and half and some seasonings.  Lightly toasted homemade bread topped off a great lunch and gave us a great break in the middle of the day.

So here is what I got done:

1. Pick up my fruit and vegetables from our organic produce group
2. Wash and prepare fruit and vegetables for the week
3. Juice all the oranges and freeze in ice trays
4. Make a batch of kiwi preserves and can it.
5. Go buy fruit for Sunday morning services
6. Prepare fruit for Sunday morning services
7. Make 5 dozen muffins for Sunday morning services
8. Clean kitchen after all the food prep and cooking
9. Get pictures done of son (Appointment is 12-2pm)
10. Wash and dry sheets

Normal list done:

1. Feed the animals
2. Make lunch
3. Make dinner
4. Clean up after each meal
5. Take out the trash
6. Clean the sinks
7. Read my Bible

Boy am I tired.  No I did not get my kitchen fully cleaned back up.  I did run the dishwasher twice and do some dishes by hand, but there are still a few that are in the sink. And because there are dishes in the sink, I cannot clean that either.  I will read my bible before I go to bed.  I try to do that every night.

Well I am off to go read and get off of my feet.  They are a little bit tired after today.  I was bad and did not wear the correct shoes for being on my feet all day.  Flip-flops or barefoot were not a good idea.  My feet are definitely yelling at me right now for being so stupid.

Tomorrow will be busy, but I will be at church and that is always a good thing. It is just so great to know that you are loved by the One who created us.

Busy Saturday

So today's list is really full.  Saturdays are spent mainly in the kitchen, which is why I needed to get it cleaned up yesterday.  I love cooking and the goodies produced from my cooking, but the clean up is always the hard part.

My mom is coming to help.  Many hands make light work and good conversation.  My mom and I live really close, but we don't see each other that often.  We are close however and she is my sounding board for all my problems.  My husband is also, but he sees things from a man's perspective and, as everyone knows, men think about things differently.  So she and my step-mom are always the ones who I can get real motherly advise and I know will be there for me.  It is really great to have two moms.

Anyway, here is my Saturday list:

1. Pick up my fruit and vegetables from our organic produce group
2. Wash and prepare fruit and vegetables for the week
3. Juice all the oranges and freeze in ice trays
4. Make a batch of kiwi preserves and can it.
5. Go buy fruit for Sunday morning services
6. Prepare fruit for Sunday morning services
7. Make 5 dozen muffins for Sunday morning services
8. Clean kitchen after all the food prep and cooking
9. Get pictures done of son (Appointment is 12-2pm)
10. Wash and dry sheets

There are also the normal things like:

• Feed the animals
• Make everyone lunch
• Make everyone dinner
• Clean up after each meal
• Take out the trash
• Clean the sinks
• Read my Bible

This doesn't actually sound like I'm living a simple life, but really it is.  I love that I can and cook at home.  I'm not spending money on things that I can make and I am spending time with someone I love.  It is really a relaxing thing as we sit at the table preparing food.  Now there is the extra of making food for church tomorrow, but that is only once a month and I do get enjoyment out of cooking.  If I did not enjoy doing something then it would become a chore and not a simple thing.  I think that the enjoyment of things makes them simple, not the fact that you do not do anything.

List of Accomplishments

Here are my accomplishments of my list for today:

1. Make my big project list that I want to complete by September 1st
2. Clean up the counters in my kitchen
3. Make veggie tray for baby shower
4. Go to baby shower
5. Do the dishes and put them away
6. Do a load of laundry
7. Make dinner
8. Clean up after dinner
9. Post on my blog my results

So I got all but the big list done on my list for today.  I also added in making potato leek soup for lunch tomorrow that I will just have to heat and serve.  For dinner we had asparagus and cheese wrapped in chicken with salad and potatoes.  Pretty good for having been gone in the middle of the day.  I will continue to work on my "big" list tonight.  Lots of plans for tomorrow, so I need to get to bed.  I do feel better about getting my list almost all done, but I'm still exhausted just because it was a long day.

Making Lists

I am great at making plans and having a list of things to do, but life just seems to happen.  I am reading a book called Keeping Life Simple: 7 Guiding Principles & 500 Tips & Ideas by Karen Levine.  One of its suggestions is to make a list, but only put on things that you know you can accomplish that day because not getting your list done is frustrating and exhausting.  I can completely relate to the exhausting part.  I am a list maker and have been since I was a child.  It keeps my sanity on most days, but I never finish everything on my list.

So here is my plan.  I am going to make a huge overall list of things I want to accomplish by September 1st.  Then I am going to break it down into smaller and smaller lists until they look managable.  I will also make sure I add in things that I do on a regular basis, like go to the bank, so that I don't make one day too big or put a project on that would be a problem to disrupt once I got started on it.

I will not post my huge list, but I hope to publish my little lists each day with what I did and if I was able to complete my list.

So my project for today is to start my overall list.  Of course, I do have a baby shower luncheon today, so that will take a big chunk out of the middle of the day, but I think I can get a pretty good list going today.

My short list for today is:

1. Make my big project list that I want to complete by September 1st
2. Clean up the counters in my kitchen
3. Make veggie tray for baby shower
4. Go to baby shower
5. Do the dishes and put away the dishes
6. Do a load of laundry
7. Make dinner
8. Clean up after dinner
9. Post on my blog my results

Not too much as you can see.  I'm going to think positively and say "I know I can get this list done."  Off to start working on it.

More things out the door

Well, I got three bags of books out the door. I did not count, but my guess is that each bag had between 20 and 25 books. Many of them were ones that I had gotten when my grandmother passed away in 1993. For 17 years I have moved these books and not once read any of them. I have about 50 more books already stacked and ready to go.

The big problem is that I love books.  I still have probably 1500 books in my house.  Really.  That is not a joke.  I have a room that has built in books cases plus 6 more book cases that I have bought.  And I still have books laying on the floor and in boxes in the garage.  I just love books.  I like to read and I like the way they look on shelves.  My dream job would be to work in a book store or library.

But I have started to simplify and books are one of the areas that seem to be taking over, so out they go.  Not all of them, but I hope to cut down about half of them.  How I get rid of them will vary, but they need to get out of the house that much I know.