A few Measly Steps a Day

Ha ha!

Into each life some yuck must fall.
Into each life some tax prep must fall. (Unless you're five years old.) Anyway, way to go tackling it.

Me - I'm not doing taxes yet. Tom and I just finished getting our wills done. My next yuck project is figuring out what heater I want to buy. (And shelling out most of our savings for it.)

I started out today with pandemic blahs and managed to pull myself out of it. Got two yuck jobs and a few projects done . So I guess it was a good day.

My writing challenge is making my characters come to life. Sandy is a pretty cool character already, but I think Jody needs a little umph. She's a fraidy cat. With good reason. But there's got to be more to her than just fear. yes, I realize that you don't know who Jody and Sandy are. I'm just thinking - not out loud, but in a post.

May the bird of happiness poop on the tax man. Oh, heck, he's just doing his job. May the bird of happiness poop on someone who really deserves it.

For the last quite a while, when I don't get around to doing what I intended, I have added "I blame the Electoral College" to the collection.

I have managed to do a step (almost) every day! That is calling my now 90-year old mother in the evening. We had moved up to Washington from Southern California in 2018 because Mom really could use more help than the one local brother could provide. (If I get my posting frequency above once a month I'll go into who "we" are.) Mom has dementia. A half century ago I was not clear on the distinction between dementia and demented. However, she is often sparkling with it and funny dealing with what memory marbles are at hand. Conversations are somewhat recycled -- sometime rerunning in the same week, rarely on the same phone call. But we are both having a good time, and I'm also getting life stories that I hadn't hear before.

Her Dad made it to 101, almost 102, so we may well have quite a lot ahead of us still.


Today is my 65th birthday. I dodged February 29th, 1956 by a few hours -- otherwise I would have much less birthday practice and much more Pirates of Penzance references in my life. I am now sufficiently venerable to get on covid vaccination waiting lists.

For most of my life (so far) from 2nd grade to last year I would usually finish several books a week. Last year there was so much emotional stuff going on that I'd read a few paragraphs of fiction, and have just no capacity to deal with bonus emotion. Writing and other creative doings also nose dived. This year I'm up to several chapters a week.

To be continued.

Lyndon

Happy birthday (a few days ago). I love your droll humor about our beloved power giveaway, the Electoral College.

There's something similar in N. Ireland that gives the minority Protestants structural powers they lack if you simply count the votes. Hm. I'll check the dates ... yeah, it's there, but like all good power grabs it's too convoluted to summarize in a forum post.

Schemers!

I'm tax yucking away, steadily with the radio on to distract me. Think I have our business forms completed (need to find out how the IRS will allow us to file. I prefer sending paper but I think they required that business returns come in via the web as of this year).

If this does cap off, I face the question: take a day or so off or press on the following day with the next form? A break would be a bit of a reward, pressing on would defer the reward to the end of the whole process and a good chance I'd be done way sooner than I predicted?

Comes down to: yuck tomorrow or the day after?
R

Just signed my partnership return. Done that for 2020.

Now, should I call a pause (for how long?) before beginning my personal returns? Or not?

Yes, pause because:
I've worked steadily & well.
I have the time (due well over a month from now)
Can rest & take up other yuck stuff, or not bother even
Have other yuck things to pivot to

No, keep going because:
A bit of momentum
Draws the final finish ever closer
Don't have to do very much to qualify (opening turbotax and letting it update itself is one day's labor)
If there are weird new issues get time to figure them out.

And the winner is …

Hi, R. Hi, Lyndon,

I think it's interesting how some things don't bother me very much, and how others send me into a tizzy. My heat has been out for about a month now - no big deal. I bought a space heater, and I sometimes wear a jacket inside. Politics makes me crazy for hours or days. Losing an argument drives me up a tree. Computer problems, dropping things on the floor, being thwarted have me cussing a blue streak.

Anyway, the heater guy was over here today, we figured out a configuration that will work, and he'll get the contract to me in a couple of days. So Yay! Step accomplished.

My writing streak has slowed way down. I have to do some juggling with the plot. And there are some blank spaces that need to be filled in (but i"m not sure how to do it.) If I can get back to knowing how everything should go, I'll be writing a blue steak again.

Taxes won't be attacked until late March - oh, wait, that's not so far away.

Hi, I get how it's so varied what sends us off, up, out, or down. Plus other directions we lack terms for.

Turns out, I kept to one bit a day. Sunday, moved some papers nearer my working space and felt all ready to get them done however long it took. But hold off—My dear luv suggested catching a movie! What a novelty. Nomadland, fiction about the folks in RVs, 5th wheels, and vans who drive around the middle of the country. Lots of great scenery. On a scale of 5, I'd place it about a 3. Much is what I would imagine living would be in a cramped van. Odd jobs, not enough for a big repair, several friends one might keep crossing paths with, yup, as I might imagine.

So, today, after two calls, put on some music and then just kept moving through the forms and typing in the numbers in Turbotax. All the way past their double checks and to the printout stage. Good, enough for today. I usually print the full set with worksheets and two copies of what's supposed to be sent. Figger print it out before Intuit or Apple or somebody changes something and ooops, this program is "no longer supported." Like an wayward adult child.

Signing day. Then labels. Find an envelope. Find a stamp. Place forms in envelope. Place the labels. Place the stamp. I should be done by the 16th.

R

One of my goals today was to finally handoff 2 holiday tins with ashes in them. The person, K, said she'd be here closer to 4. At first I thought I'd be away from home, but plans changed. So I took a quick break away from the computer and lo! she arrived around 3:20. Ha. I'd said I'd leave them in the lobby but with my plans shifting I wanted to hand them off in person. I didn't get back from the break till 3:41 and she's goners.

Annoyed, bec first time with OfferUp, and I hate appearing flakey. I don't know how much ownership she'll claim for having said 4 pm and arriving 40 minutes too early. Probably very little from what I know.

OK, breathe. Moving on. This feeling will float away.

R

Proposal for my heater is signed and in the mail - step accomplished.

I'm writing a bit more now. - another step.

It's raining on and off for a couple of days. Yay! When it stops, I'll do some digging in the garden. I've been looking through the website of "Annie's Annuals, I don't have a place to plant all that many flowers, but there are a few things I'd like to buy. I'll wait until I have the holes for the plants dug before I go and buy the flowers.

I have a couple of major projects for the garden, but, due to buying the heating system, I don't want to spend a lot of money on gardening. I'll do a little digging and a little do-it-yourself work first. Then I'll see if I still want to hire someone to finish the rest.

I don't have a lot of energy these days. I blame the pandemic.

I'm getting my second COVID shot in a couple of hours. So my steps are - do nothing, do nothing, do nothing. Tom was pretty sick for a day after he got his second shot. Then he was fine.
On a different topic, we now have over a hundred pounds of pork. ( I forgot how much exactly.) (Remember the pig????) I made a pork stew which was very tasty. I have three packs of various other pork products in my freezer. The rest are in the freezer at the lake. I hope they don't stay there for eternity.

Oh, and I wasn't going to do it. I wasn't. And I bought four plants on line from Annie's Annuals. I couldn't help it.

That's about it. It's a beautiful day in California. It'll rain tomorrow - hopefully a lot, but probably not.

It was fun hearing from you Lyndon.

Hi,
It's overcast today - maybe we'll get a touch of rain, but I don't see those dark, broody clouds that signal a really good storm. I got my second shot yesterday. I expected to feel sick today, but - so far - nothing. I prepped for the worst, and so far, I feel fine. I'm not complaining, mind you. (Tom got pretty sick for a day.)
The plot to my story is coming along. It's still a bit murky - a lot murky - but concrete pieces of plot are showing up.
My mother in law is getting sprung out of the nursing home today. It's her birthday, and they're giving her a party at the lake. She hasn't been outside since March, last year, and she only gets a visit once a week. There were months when she didn't get any visits at all. So this is a big deal.
I'm not coming up - because I might get side effects from the vaccine. Ho hum - another quiet day in front of the computer.

No side effects.

Great to hear. We're working at getting our second one. Not as straight forward as I expected.

A bit distracted with all the creative work I'm getting to do. One of the most important, though this is the first time I'm calling it creative, is leaving my fellow-owners to discuss how they'll show up as partners in our little condo. My creative job on Saturday is finding internally many many ways to keep my mouth shut and my eyes from rolling.

You will have many opportunities in life to keep your mouth shut: You should take advantage of every one of them. Thomas Edison.

I agree Mr. E. Now watch me do it.

I'm glad you're getting to be creative.

It's interesting - you're working on staying quiet; my challenge is speaking up. As a kid, I was taught never to argue. (Probably a gender thing.) You know the Serenity Prayer? It's the one they say at AA meetings. "Grant me the serenity to accept what cannot be changed, courage to change what I can, and wisdom to know the difference." I think that applies to speaking up and staying silent. For me saying what needs to said hurts. It's actually painful. And I have to be careful to say what is helpful and not just yell out, "That's B*******t. You're full of C**p. which is not helpful, and worse than just keeping quiet.
Does it feel really uncomfortable to stay silent when you want to say something?

Bottom line there are times to speak up and times to remain silent, and the trick is knowing which one we're in. May we be wise enough. So good luck and good wishes.

Ah, quiet enough. We dread-locked into needing yet another meeting because we could not field a board (3 owners out of 12). I need a break and said so. That's my win. I also kept quiet during the tense minute where the need was clear to everyone.

We had to adjourn to continue the meeting in a month. Current board, with one replacement, continue till then.

Meantime, we have a couple of proposals (one mine for committee work) and one from another owner to maybe have 1/2 year terms this year.

Ah, yes, these communal legal structures where many people run from doing their share of the work. So we sit silent, like Quaker meetings, vessels for inspiration.

I'll suit up again in 30 days for this. Meanwhile, I have a proposal to draft.
R

I have heat in the house. Step accomplished. On Monday, I get AC. Another step.

Hi team,

I'm going very slow today. Feeling the need to rest, so allowing myself to drift. All appts just finished up. One workshop I missed because the zoom link never connected me. The other 3 happened as scheduled. Including watching a dear friend celebrate his 70th birthday with a collection of friends via the magic of zoom. He even read to us stories he's written that are dearest to him.

And then my mens support group where we talked about manly stuff.

I'll stroll down for the mail and then fiddle with dinner and then off to sleep. Oh, want to check the forecasts to begin to pencil in tomorrow.
R

I have AC. Another step completed. (I probably won't use it very much.)

Writing - I got some pieces of plot figured out. That means I should have some relatively easy first-draft writing ahead of me. It won't be great literature, but I'll know what happens to keep things moving along.

Other projects - garage cleaning - think dust, dirt, unmentionable dirt, cobwebs, etc. I've cleared off three shelves and painted them. Fifteen to go plus corners, a bench and other assorted nooks to clean. I did a hazardous waste run this morning - one of many. I should have all the hazardous waste out by now, but there's still more lurking behind cob webs. The sad part - after the haz waste run, I stopped at Ace Hardware and bought spray paint, putty, and wall texturizer.

Another project - The space where my old wall heater sat was rough-patched (very rough patch.) I have to finish the patching job, texturize and paint. I don't want to hire anyone since I have spent a ton of money and I still have more bills coming in - our wills, taxes, hearing aids, dental, and probably more stuff that I've forgotten about.

On the bright side of all this. I'd been really lazy lately, and I've worried that I couldn't do a full days work to save my life. Well, yesterday, I did it - a good eight hours worth of work (not all on the garage.) It felt good.

My orchid has sprouted baby orchids along it's branch. The young plants have leaves, but no roots. I bought some rooting compound and I applied it to the places from which I through the roots should grow. So far, no luck. Any suggestions?

Hi! I hope I'm in the right spot. I'm here because of a post in a Scanner group I'm in on facebook. Greetings! Trixiecat1

HI, Trixicat,
Yes, you're in the right spot. Happy to have you.

Are you a Barbara Sher fan?

Am delighted to be here now too. Thanks for inviting us from FB, Delightful!
Certain that you'll remember who I am. I'm a Barbara Sher fan from being a "stepper" on her forum with you, long ago. I came to visit you one time in person when I was visiting your state. I think I got to meet Molly too when she was an oldster, so it was a really loooong time ago.

Congrats on your A/C install - I need to get my A/C fixed on my sedan. It's a sauna sort of torture to NOT have it working correctly.

OK, since I haven't been here yet, I guess I need to spell out some goals...

1. Finish billing that I'm behind doing. I've been doing the strategy of working on it a bit at a time. Now, I just need to do some final edits and make sure everything is perfect before I send it off by email. Except that I'm almost a year behind. Well, they have probably appreciated holding onto the $$

2. Send off $$ (that I haven't yet gotten payed for) in the billing I have been "forgetting" to do. I have a remote "job" that I split with another artist who needs to get his share of it. I have already gotten a money order for him after figuring out his share. So I only need the envelope and to get a stamp on it. Tricky because I'm visiting a friend who doesn't have envelopes, etc. But I have stamps! Probably I can just buy some envelopes for my friend's house.

3. Spray seal my new, clean seat covers for my car that are going to replace the torn, funky ones. (Eventually install them when dry before next Tuesday.)

4. Figure out how to clear the plants that have overgrown next to my old car that my friend who got cancer stopped working on 20 months ago. These are HUGE bromeliads that are maybe, five feet tall. I need at least three feet of access to the passenger side of the car. Eventually, crawl under the car and determine where I am in the repair process. I've decided I'm going to put this car back together myself. Screw trying to find another mechanic who is only going to overcharge me. My old friend who is still sick says it's about four hours of work - for me...after finding and figuring out the parts - once I figure out what to do.

5. Look at more YouTube videos about how to put it together myself. Study. Take notes. Once the

6. Get my juggling clubs out of the back of my friend's truck where they got wet in an unexpected rain storm - put them somewhere to dry out before they mold. (Juggling is my new baby stepper "exercise".)

7. Call the old guy (92) who first taught me something about mechanics and tell him how wonderful it has been for me my entire life to have learned something about how to fix a breakdown on the road. If I can re-build a carb, I can put together a half-way finished clutch job, right? (Especially since the hard part of sewing the engine to the tranny is already done.)

OK....as if that's not enough... I'm sure now that I've made this list - I will do something entirely that is not on the list.

Hello Juggler & Trixiecat. I too am a refugee from Barbara Sher's forums and began this thread with Delightful when Barbara closed hers down for good. I had had my premonitions about 6 months before the shut down was announced, so had time to research alternatives and finally settled on this one.

I also saved as many interesting threads and posts as I could find time to locate. Fascinating stuff. For example my own post from Feb 2010:

Found this pearl of a quote on another forum site:
I can not suffer enough to change the past.
That idea alone can found a religion. Lynx

And now today I have 2 people offer cynical jabs at a proposal I am bringing before the other owners of my condo. Like they are trying to make me suffer for daring to even propose we talk about some hard truths of owning property together. Somehow they must believe

If they make me suffer enough I'll stop working to change our choices and actions.

Next time I'll just skip the courtesy of advance notice and send it out when I know I'm—and it—is ready.

So, where was I? Oh, yeah, welcome!
Revu2

Hi, Juggler,
It's good to see your posts again. And of course I know who you are.
This may be a repeat. I thought I posted something yesterday, but I can't find it.
That's an impressive list of goals. And some of them will make a big difference. So yay! Go for it.
Me - my big goal is coming up in April. I'm doing camp Nanowrimo (again) and the goal is to write 50,000 words in a month. I've done it before. And the years I haven't done the whole 50,000, I've written between 10,000 and 40,000 which is enough to make me happy.
My other goal is - I hate to even admit that this is a goal - to clean out my garage. I started it. It's a hoarder type garage with spider webs, dust, and junk. So it may be a bigger project than writing 50,000 words.
The days of COVID isolation are drawing to a close. I've had my two shots, and I'm starting to get back to being a normal person (who wears a mask and carries sanitizer in her car.) It feels weird. I'll be picking up my grandson from school two days a week, and I'm starting to get together with friends. But now, isolation feels normal and human interaction seems weird.

Good stuff to everyone reading this.

Today is the third day of Nanowrimo. It's a challenge to write 50,000 words during the month of April. So far, I've written 101 - so a little behind schedule. Today's steps - write - work on the garage, and cook for tomorrow.

Happy Easter, everyone.