So what's been going on around here this week, you ask?
Well, we had some people come and clean our oven -- which sounds hopelessly bourgeois, I know, but that oven was a disaster. Dave, with all of his meat roasting, had left his mark. Many marks. He called a cleaning service that advertised a special on ovens, and they came in with a metal tub and some mysterious solvents, and after much furious scrubbing about an hour later they left and the oven was sparkling clean. And I am not complaining at all, even though the first time we fired it up afterwards, it set off the smoke alarm and scared Olga half to death.
I am working my way down a long mental list of things I've been meaning to do. Yesterday I got online and bought some clothes for the upcoming school year, for example. I reserved a rental car to drive in Florida on my upcoming trip. I bought some books on Amazon, including a copy of the novel "Bleeding London," because it's about time I read it. I made a dinner reservation for our anniversary.
And I have been working, working, working on my pictures to get them ready for judging by the RPS. This has turned into quite an arduous undertaking, even though there's not really that much to do, because I'm having to learn Photoshop as I go. (I've talked about learning Photoshop for years, but as is usually the case, I put it off until now, when I finally have a reason to sit down and do it.) I'm also chafing at having to make some of these changes at all, based on the judges' recommendations at that recent advisory day, but that's just my own ego and obstinacy, I suppose. I signed up for judging in October, so I have plenty of time, but I want to get it all done before school begins -- which really means before I leave for Florida on the 28th.
Plus I've got several more library books to read, and a few more day trips to take! I've got to keep practicing my French! And I'm running out of summer!
Dave was laughing at me last night, because I was talking about how much I have to do, and he said, "Yeah, but you don't really have to do any of that!" Which is true. I could turn in the library books unread. I could not take the day trips. But I've set these goals, you know?
First-world problems...
(Photo: Wheelbarrows in the cemetery near Hampstead Parish Church.)
I am exactly the same way about Photoshop. I keep saying I'm going to learn it but I never seem to get to it. I've been using Corel Paint Shop Pro and I still don't know how to do many things in that program. The thought of starting a whole you program is a bit daunting. I wish I could find a class on the subject. I learn so much better with someone showing the way.
ReplyDeleteI loved your comment about the lions. I've wondered the same thing. A symbol of strength and pride I presume.
I absolutely love how full your life is of things you want to do. It speaks to your engagement with the world around you in a beautiful way. I also love that you go off and do these things without requiring someone else to come along. You continue to inspire me.
ReplyDeleteIt is the goals we set for ourselves that are the most important, I think.
ReplyDeleteI like what Angella said (well, I always do) but yes- you are an inspiration!
Going to get by Lloyd when you come to Florida?
As a housewife I know exactly what you mean. We'd be nowhere without our private goals. I can get completely worked up about getting a family photo album just perfect and done on time.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I have a cleaner who does my oven. And the ironing. And she changes my sheets. It's all about priorities in life. First world life.
As I sit laughing at your last remark and listening to Fairport Convention's Who Know Where the Time Goes...First World, indeed. Good luck with your to do list.
ReplyDeleteDon't blame you at all for hiring an oven cleaner - if I'd known such a thing existed I would have hired one when we moved to our current house. The stove was a mess! But Mike cleaned it for me one day when I was at work. :)
ReplyDeleteI need to do a better job of having goals like that - otherwise the summer just goes along & I've done nothing but Facebook, crochet & read blogs!
I have never really understood goals, or rules for that matter. Just seems like a set up to fail. I do not understand fail. Have a great trip home, Florida is pretty close to Bellingham...give us a call, I will take you out for a brew. ( Bellingham got voted the most beer snobber-ish city in the USA!)Which surprises me...Portland is more so, I think. Portland also has better breweries.
ReplyDeleteI think that all sounds like a nice way to pass the summer, especially if, Like Dave says, you don't really have to do any of it. Accomplishing small tasks is sometimes more gratifying than those huge ones that exhaust you emotionally before they're even finished, right?
ReplyDeleteSharon: Photoshop is incredibly, almost absurdly, complicated. I would love to know what was going on inside those software developers' heads when they came up with that program. It's ridiculous how many menus and twiddly tools and knobs and bars there are.
ReplyDelete37P: I always say, if I wait for someone to go with me, I'll wind up not going! I actually like doing things by myself. There's a lot of freedom in it.
Ms Moon: It's hard to think that I'm very inspiring, but thanks to you and Angella for those kind words. :) I don't think I'll make it to Lloyd this time, sadly. But if I do wind up in your neck of the woods I will definitely let you know!
MWA: Oven cleaning is such a horrible job. I don't mind washing sheets. As for ironing, we just skip it. I never iron!
E: I love that song! Yes, the things I'm writing about here really aren't problems at all.
Bug: I always think I'm a terrible goal-setter, but I guess I do OK!
Linda Sue: But you set goals, whether you consciously realize it or not. You felt your creations and get yourself to London. You're goal-setting all the time! :)
Elizabeth: Absolutely. I think one of the keys to staying sane is finding enjoyment and gratification in "the little things."