Am I Going the Right Way?

Do you remember the other night when I walked in 25 minutes what usually takes me 35 minutes? Well, tonight, I walked in 20 minutes what usually takes me 10-12. This doesn’t seem like the right direction. Actually, I probably shouldn’t have walked at all, but I don’t want to start making excuses. I see Dr. Tom tomorrow and I hope he can put back whatever is out of whack.

After i got back from taking 5 boxes of stuff and my laser printer to Goodwill, I packed up an entire box of knickknacks. There are a few more I’ll put in with other stuff for Goodwill. I’m making good progress, but all of that lifting is hard on the back.

What’s up with our Tampa Bay Rays? They’ve lost two games to the Texas Rangers. So much for home field advantage. Maybe they are trying to give the Rangers a false sense of security. Hope they find their game before it’s too late. At least, my Yankees are doing well – they’ve won two of two.

I’ve only two more cassette tapes before I start on the 100 in my wooden tape holder. I probably won’t do all of them, but who knows. So much wonderful music. I think there are at least 6 tapes of The Cathedral Quartet. Awesome!

Well, got to watch Bones and CSI.

Until next time…

One Bookcase Down; Seven to Go

Actually, my title is misleading. A few of the seven bookcases are mostly empty, but today I emptied one whole bookcase, took it apart and took it to the dumpster. It was an old pressed-wood bookcase, stretched out and sagging shelves. In the process, I filled FOUR boxes for Goodwill and two for the camper. Those two boxes hold my campground selection materials (better known as campground directories and map help) and RV repair manuals and tech tips.

These banker boxes are just exactly the right sice – not too big andnot too little. I can easily pick them up and move them.

Most of what’s left in the bookcases in the living room are knickknacks. I’m saving a few – the wooden ones Mark and I made together on our Shopsmith. There’s a small shelf between the cabinets over the dining room table. I’ll velcro the items to that.

Morse Code

Today, I discovered a couple of tapes Mark used for studying Morse Code so he could pass his ham radio exam. I archived them and intend to spend a little time learning Morse code. There are lots of opportunities for practice on the Internet – Mark learned before we had access to the web. It’ll be interesting to see whether you can teach this old dog new tricks.

No Disney Tomorrow

I’m sure looking forward to seeing my chiropractor on Friday – my hip pretty much hurts all of the time. No walks until it’s better. I think I must have done something when I moved that stuff in and out of the truck. And I was going to Disney World tomorrow, too! Oh, well, there’ll be other days.

Time for bed. Maybe I’ll be all better in the morning.

Until next time…

Wall Street and Guns & Patriots Magazine

This morning, it was 58 degrees when I got up at 5:30a.m.. How refreshing!

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

I met my friend Joan LaClair at AMC where we saw the new Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps movie starring Michael Douglas, Shia LeBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan and Frank Langella. It’s highly unusual for me to see an Oliver Stone movie, especially one with Susan Sarandon, whose politics I cannot stand. Sarandon was only in the movie for a few minutes, maybe just a little longer than the cameo appearance by Charlie Sheen. In any case, it was a very good movie even if it was 2 hours and 7 minutes long. (Sorry to admit it, but I think I slepft for a few minutes during the slower part. I guess I need chase senes and action to stay awake.)

What Would You Do? <--VERY IMPORTANT!

Have you ever wondered what you would do if you were out in public and someone started shooting. Today’s Guns & Patriots On-Line Magazine included an article called “Active Shooter Training for Citizens,” which you can read at: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=39232

You don’t have to carry a gun to find this article helpful.

Not only does the author of the article discuss what to do if you are in that situation, but it also offers some good suggestions for a Family Emergency Plan and Situational Awareness. This article outlines a very practical approach. Please take the time to read this. I hope it doesn’t, but it may come in handy some day.

An Almost Empty Living Room

To look at it now, you probably wouldn’t call my living room anything like “empty,” but to me it is. That’s because, over the course of the last two days, I’ve removed 20 boxes of books. I can actually walk through the room without going around those many boxes.

Unlimited Minutes and Text

Today, I had to upgrade my phone plan to one with unlimited minutes and text. I thought 450 minutes would be plenty, but apparently, I am much more talkative than I realized. This might be because most of my contact with others is over the phone. Now, I don’t have to worry about going over my minutes. I’m still spending a lot less than when I also had my home phone and Internet.

So… call me any time. Don’t worry about my minutes. I don’t have to any longer.

Well, I guess I’ve bored you all enough for now.

Until next time…

Writing Books and You Again

By 8:15 this morning, I crossed “Pack Writing Books” off my day’s to-do list. It took 3 of the small banker boxes, one more than I thought it would. Instead of 2 shelves of writing books, I found I had 3.

I also packed up five boxes of stuff for Goodwill and loaded them in the truck.

After all of the packing, I took a shower and went to AMC to see the movie You Again with Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Kristen Bell, Kristin Chenowith, Victor Garber, and Betty White. There was also a cameo appearance by one of my favorites, Cloris Leachman. It was a very entertaining movie. Funny and sad, it made me laugh out loud and made me cry. The ending was great.

I then went to Goodwill in Plant City and to Publix for groceries.

Tonight, I’ve packed 7 more boxes of books for Linda – with the three I already had packed, this should about finish up the books. It’s sad to see my old friends (my books) go, but they just take up too much space and weight. As it is, I still have some special books to go through and sort out.  I’ve put that on the back burner because I have to think about it.

Although I had decided not to walk today, I changed my mind and went out a little while ago. It’s 68 out right now and was a beautiful night for walking.

Now, it’s time for me to say good night.

Until next time…

Another Quiet Sunday

After a night of tossing and turning because of aches in places I didn’t know I even had, I got up about 6 am and started moving around a little. It helped a lot. I must have really overdone the moving and lifting yesterday. And then I took a really hot shower and pretty much felt a lot better.

Most of my day was spent archiving cassette tapes. It’s a pretty easy job to do – just very tedious.

I told you I thought the audio tapes were reproducing, didn’t I? Well, I found 2 more shoeboxes full of tapes. Who knows how many more I will find – those little devils!

I took five or six boxes of books for my friend Linda over to Karen’s. I still have a bunch more to take out of the big boxes and put in smaller ones.  Those big boxes are just too heavy. Hopefully, I’ll get that done tomorrow.

I put together a couple of those Scrubbing Bubbles automatic shower cleaners and hung them in my two showers. My cousin Ethelyn has one and she says they work great. Anything that will keep me from spending a lot of time cleaning the bathroom is a worthy endeavor.

Today, I signed up for the Writers Weekly Winter 24-hour writing contest. I haven’t done that in a few years. It takes place on 1/22/2011. By then, I hope to be living in my travel trailer and should not find it hard to find the  peace and quiet necessary for me to write.

Writers Weekly posts a topic and the maximum number of words and you have just 24 hours to do it. I’ve entered the contest a few times before and once won an honorable mention, but I would sure love to win it.

Tomorrow, I plan to pack up my writing books. My friend and writing teacher Debra Marrs has agreed to try to find good homes for them. I need to get them packed up in case she wants them right away.

I also plan to start installing the new window box I got for my kitchen window. Hopefully, it won’t be too hard to hang up there. Talk about procrastination, I’ve been putting this off for six months or more.

Tonight, I had a great walk. For some reason I was so energetic, I walked the same distance in 25 minutes that usually takes me 35. I don’t know why – maybe it was the Gold City music or maybe I just wanted to get done faster so I could come back and post my blog.

Until next time…

Re-Packing My Pick-Up

I almost posted my blog at 1:30 this afternoon, thinking I was too worn out to do anything else, let alone something interesting enough to write about. 

I’ve been putting off re-packing my pick-up since I got back from my summer vacation. It’s a grueling job at any time, but especially when it’s broiling hot outside. Today, when I got up it was 67 and the humidity seemed almost non-existent. I decided to stop procrastinating and just do it (sorry, Nike).

As I’ve mentioned several times, I’ve had a huge storage box pretending to be a coffee table in my living room. Before I went to New York, I had to remove it from my pickup to make room for the earth boxes I took to my brother. My living room is getting more and more cluttered as I pack up my stuff – re-packing my pick-up allowed me to put the big storage box back in the truck.

I think everything in the back of the pick-up weighed a ton. It sure seemed that way, but as you can see from the picture, I got everything out.

My temporary coffee table went in first: I loaded my Drills, saws, air compressor, Dremel tool, and t-square into it after I put it in the truck.

The above picture shows the “King Kong Mobile Super Box,” aka temporary coffee table positioned. I positioned a couple of other items next to the box to keep it from moving around,. You can also see in both of these pictures the post that keeps the box from sliding backwards. In the next two pictures, you can see the rest of the stuff that goes in the pick-.up. The box that’s up against the house is the one that holds the stuff I use for backing up and hooking up the trailer, including the spring bars and sway-control bar.

I think I must have been too tired after I finished loading it up to even think about taking a picture of the truck after it was loaded though I do have one that shows it 2/3 loaded.

The yellow-overed box holds the water hose, the cable for TV hook up, and the electrical stuff, including the 50 to 30-amp adaptor, a surge protector, and other such items. Ipm really glad to get this done – one more thing off my check-list.

This afternoon, I archived some more cassette tapes and watched some of the TV shows I had taped. It allowed me to take it easy and yet still get some stuff done.

Since I’d worked so hard this morning, I figured I’d skip my walk, but after an afternoon sitting around, I decided to walk anyway.  I guess walking is as addictive as everyone says.

Well, time for bed.

Until next time…

Acupuncture

Have you ever had the opportunity to experience acupuncture? A couple of years ago, my chiropractor used acupuncture when I was having a lot of trouble with my back. Today, he did it again and I have to say that my back feels the best it has in years.

The doctor did disabuse me of a notion I had that those needles only go ina little ways. He said most of them when put in the back go in about 2 inches. At first I thought he was kidding, but he wasn’t. Whatever distance they went in, it really did the trick. We’ll see how it is after I lie down tonight – that’s when it really hurts.

Tomorrow, I plan to clean out the back of my truck and re-pack it. Considering how bad my memory is, I plan on making a map of what is in there. I have a much better idea of where to put things after my trip this summer. This will also give me some extra room in my living room since I have one of my big storage boxes sitting in my living room playing coffee table – not that I drink coffee, but you get the idea.

It was a great morning for  a walk – I went out about 5:45 am. The temp was 67 and humidity non-existent. I hope it’s like that tomorrow. Walks are so much more pleasant when it’s not broiling hot and humid.

Well, CSI: NY needs my help solving a rather intriguing crime so I’ll sign off now.

Until next time…