View Full Version : Fall Challenge
1. Lose another 10 pounds. I have lost 10 each of the last two quarters, so this seems to be my pace. I will then be within the normal range for my height.
2. Get my petition to make my Board of Health elected heard by the City Council. This has been a major battle and supposedly now that I have a Councilor sponsor it will happen but I will not believe it until I see it on the agenda. It was pulled from the agenda just before it was published last time.
3. Reduce my screen time - should be easier as my tablet broke.
4. Get caught up on housecleaning.
5. Stay within budget despite rising energy costs.
6. Go the the open houses portion of Free State Project weekend in October to get a better sense of the market there.
7. Do birthday and holiday shopping and celebrate birthdays with family. All family in the area have birthdays in the fall.
8. Find a primary care physician who does not require masks.
9. Burn papers with personal information on them.
10. Get another book of 300 crossword puzzles to help avoid the temptation to play games online (see #3 above).
Going to put this into before, during, and after trip
Before
Vote
Ask Office Manager about the Basement work/if the 30 days notice to clear the storage unit arrives while we're out of town
Get winter gear out of storage and decide what to pack if anything
Confirm itinerary with husband so I can pack accordingly
Text social worker to see if she's ready for this year's hats, mittens, and scarves and hopefully deliver them
During
Start Knitting socks for holiday gifts
Drop off box of books for husband's friend's students
Buy thank you gifts for parents and neighbor for looking out for the condo
Volunteer project I'm doing for a friend
Buy a winter coat
No screen day October
After
Catch up on laundry
3 boxes or rearrange stuff from storage unit temporarily taking up space in my living room.
Put away summer stuff
Victory dance while looking at the once again clear guest room bed
Think about how to organize the bookshelves
No screen day November and possibly December
rosarugosa
10-3-22, 6:49am
I've tried to be a bit more thoughtful about my list this time. I think I put things on the summer list without enough thought as to how I really wished to prioritize my time during those short and precious summer months. Some of the items below are carried over from summer and are really more appropriate for the months when I spend more time inside.
Finish decluttering Mom's second floor
Hang the last of the window shades at Mom's house
Repair dripping kitchen faucet
List on eBay: raincoat, denim jacket, shoes
Slow and thoughtful room by room review and cull of my own house (will probably stretch beyond fall, haha, seems to be a lifelong endeavor)
Semi-annual closet cleanout
Leaf cleanup and shredding
Seasonal miscellaneous: clean and store fans, put in storm door panels, change bedding, dump annual container plants, put away hoses and turn off outdoor water supply, put away hammock ( a lot of this stuff shouldn't get done right away, but will need to be done as the season progresses, e.g. annual container plants are perfectly lovely right now)
Petition should be heard this week. It's on the agenda but who knows, they could pull it at the last minute. They like doing shady stuff like that.
Before
Vote done
Ask Office Manager about the Basement work/if the 30 days notice to clear the storage unit arrives while we're out of town done see below
Get winter gear out of storage and decide what to pack if anything not yet
Confirm itinerary with husband so I can pack accordingly in progress
Text social worker to see if she's ready for this year's hats, mittens, and scarves and hopefully deliver them done
Emailed the office manager and was told that she has a family emergency and will be out this week and the head of maintenance is acting manager until she returns. I emailed him and asked if we will receive the 30 notice in the next while we're gone. He said he will email me the answer before COB on Wednesday. Texted social worker and gave her the latest dates and times for me to drop off and for her to pick up, and our availability in November. No response, hoping to deliver them before we leave. Husband is confirming dress codes for different events so we can dress accordingly. Busy work day so haven't had time to grab winter gear, it's tomorrow's after work project.
Got my petition through hurdle 1. It is now assigned to a committee but it is unknown when the committee will meet. The chair of it strongly opposes reform efforts.
Portuguese John Here
10-5-22, 2:22pm
I've never done these, I always tell people I don't make plans, and they think I'm kidding, it's a huge downside in the wrong places, for instance, the company I worked for went bankrupt, and I had a bunch of job interviews. In those, they always ask about your current and future aspirations, your plans and goals, and dreams, and I always told the truth, like I often do, I don't make plans, I have things that I once asked for, or thought about, and often they come to me without even realizing, only after I think: Wait, I once asked for this. It's like a star alignment that originates something else, in my case is an alignment of opportunities and situations and open a door to something I thought about before. I'm on a job right now, got it by lying on that question, by the way. But let's see:
Spend more time outside when I'm not working. I found a cool park near the place I work, now I go there every lunch and spend an hour eating my sandwich. It has a granitic table, five or six old trees in front, under those trees someone planted orchids, it's a nice refuge from work, where I can be alone, hearing the birds.
I started following the Mediterranean diet, it's the diet every dietician recommends in Portugal. I've been fasting my whole life, eating twice a day, I lose weight if I eat small portions throughout the day. I plan on keeping it going and eventually lose weight, my health is okay according to the doctors, but being overweight it's a huge stigma, on finding relationships, on many levels.
Get the Cuban cigars out of my head. I have a tendency to smoke a cigar every Friday, it's so relaxing. My grandfather used to smoke Monte Cristo's, he'd offer everyone a cigar when he went somewhere, dinners, when someone went by his house, I liked to see him smoking, he looked so much like those Italian mobsters from the 50s and 60s.
Have lost 2.5 of the 10 pounds so far.
1. Lose 6 lbs
2. Be more diligent about practicing my watercolor techniques.
3. Seed the vegetative buffer down at the lakeshore!! I had milkweed heads busting, and here's a question for IL: I got 50 free bearded iris someone divided in my town. I didn't know they were bearded iris--she just posted "free iris" and I was hoping they were iris versicolor. My question--Do bearded iris do OK in wet conditions the same way iris versicolor does? I was thrilled to get a nice free start to beautifying this border, but I don't want to waste them if there's no chance they'll do well in soil that can be either dry or wet.
Three goals a season is all I can handle.
Itinerary confirmed and dress up and behave clothing packed. Heard from social worker and I"m dropping off the hats etc during my lunch break which starts in a few minutes. Maintenance head/acting manager replied yesterday and says we're one of the last buildings being fixed so he thinks based on the current schedule we will receive the notification in 2023. He suggested we ask Big Boss during the annual meeting to confirm. Going to make sure to leave the storage unit key and cash to hire someone to move the storage unit stuff in to the condo just in case. Pulled up the winter blankets and will probably take a couple just in case we need them. How many depends on space available in the car.
Tonight is packing the trunk and last minute laundry and packing.
rosarugosa
10-7-22, 6:28am
I've never done these, I always tell people I don't make plans, and they think I'm kidding, it's a huge downside in the wrong places, for instance, the company I worked for went bankrupt, and I had a bunch of job interviews. In those, they always ask about your current and future aspirations, your plans and goals, and dreams, and I always told the truth, like I often do, I don't make plans, I have things that I once asked for, or thought about, and often they come to me without even realizing, only after I think: Wait, I once asked for this. It's like a star alignment that originates something else, in my case is an alignment of opportunities and situations and open a door to something I thought about before. I'm on a job right now, got it by lying on that question, by the way. But let's see:
Spend more time outside when I'm not working. I found a cool park near the place I work, now I go there every lunch and spend an hour eating my sandwich. It has a granitic table, five or six old trees in front, under those trees someone planted orchids, it's a nice refuge from work, where I can be alone, hearing the birds.
I started following the Mediterranean diet, it's the diet every dietician recommends in Portugal. I've been fasting my whole life, eating twice a day, I lose weight if I eat small portions throughout the day. I plan on keeping it going and eventually lose weight, my health is okay according to the doctors, but being overweight it's a huge stigma, on finding relationships, on many levels.
Get the Cuban cigars out of my head. I have a tendency to smoke a cigar every Friday, it's so relaxing. My grandfather used to smoke Monte Cristo's, he'd offer everyone a cigar when he went somewhere, dinners, when someone went by his house, I liked to see him smoking, he looked so much like those Italian mobsters from the 50s and 60s.
John: During my last couple of years working, one of the best things in my world was discovering how therapeutic it was for me to take a lunchtime walk in the Boston Public Garden. It was like a mini-vacation in the middle of my workday, and it had the added benefit of keeping me out of the stores.
Portuguese John Here
10-9-22, 9:28am
John: During my last couple of years working, one of the best things in my world was discovering how therapeutic it was for me to take a lunchtime walk in the Boston Public Garden. It was like a mini-vacation in the middle of my workday, and it had the added benefit of keeping me out of the stores.
People that strictly separate the working week from the weekend often find working unbearable, they dislike the job, they dislike everything and experience sadness and anguish on Sunday's afternoons, times such as these.
I believe the secret is either:
Loving what you do, and that is often difficult because most people just don't have a special interest
Learning to make the best out of everything, make a play out of work, don't take it seriously, don't think too much
Find little escapes in the beginning and throughout the working day. In the morning before going to work, it can be a walk when everyone is sleeping in a city and see the sun rising, I heard a story of a man that sat in a park bench every single morning and people went there just to talk with him. If you live in the countryside it can be a walk and hearing the first birds chirping, and also throughout the working day, and the best ones are often at lunchtime, finding a spot where you can be by yourself for a full hour and then finish the work and go home, and before going home, also do something, the day has 24 hours, eight you are sleeping, eight you are working, and there's eight missing, those eight are often neglected with the burden of the those yet to come.
Screen time is down.
Cancelled my physical with my PCP but have not found a maskfree doctor and doubt I will.
The Free State Project did not send me any open houses for my county of interest for this past weekend, when they try to entice people with the nice fall foliage. I have started researching towns on my own. So far I have identified 32 that:
1. Have city water and city sewer in at least part of the community
2. Have average housing prices at or below where I live now
3. Do not have any hate groups (none on my list had this - no places to eliminate - so nice to know)
Trying to get more detail on city water/sewer from the public utility commission as some places it appears these utilities are maybe only for specific customers, not regular residents. For instance, I see a plant in Rindge, NH but it appears to only service Franklin Pierce College.
At some point I would like to travel to all these communities and get a better sense of what they are like.
iris lilies
10-10-22, 12:03pm
I’m curious to know why city water and sewage systems are on your must-have list.
Believe me I understand septic systems can be a problem and I guess I wouldn’t want one either If I had a choice, but it would not be a dealbreaker for me. They do require attention and maintenance, but honestly since this was the year where we spent money, lots of money, digging up sewer systems in my city places, it’s 6 of one/half a dozen of the other.
In order to sell our city house there we had to dig up the 30 year old sewer system that cost $18,000. We split the cost with the buyers.
My condo is currently undergoing six weeks of sewer replacement and that job is costing $150,000 plus, but my own share is a measly $2000.
my friends have them they’re not impossible to deal with. Where I live currently in Hermann, my side of the street is on the city systems and across the street they have septic systems. I will say that our neighbor across the street talked to us a couple years ago about the possibility of bringing city system through our yard and across the street and over to his house because he was having septic back up problems, but he has four daughters and they have a ton of friends, and that was Stressing their system. I think now that his daughters have gone to college and their friends are less likely to end up there is a big group they’re probably dealing with it OK. Another house on that side of the street had some sort of mysterious septic problems that kept it from selling for a long time, But I suspect someone did not want to spend the money to fix the problem.
I’m curious to know why city water and sewage systems are on your must-have list.
Believe me I understand septic systems can be a problem and I guess I wouldn’t want one either If I had a choice, but it would not be a dealbreaker for me. They do require attention and maintenance, but honestly since this was the year where we spent money, lots of money, digging up sewer systems in my city places, it’s 6 of one/half a dozen of the other.
In order to sell our city house there we had to dig up the 30 year old sewer system that cost $18,000. We split the cost with the buyers.
My condo is currently undergoing six weeks of sewer replacement and that job is costing $150,000 plus, but my own share is a measly $2000.
my friends have them they’re not impossible to deal with. Where I live currently in Hermann, my side of the street is on the city systems and across the street they have septic systems. I will say that our neighbor across the street talked to us a couple years ago about the possibility of bringing city system through our yard and across the street and over to his house because he was having septic back up problems, but he has four daughters and they have a ton of friends, and that was Stressing their system. I think now that his daughters have gone to college and their friends are less likely to end up there is a big group they’re probably dealing with it OK. Another house on that side of the street had some sort of mysterious septic problems that kept it from selling for a long time, But I suspect someone did not want to spend the money to fix the problem.
I want to be prepared that my son can live with me if need be, and due to his OCD he uses a lot of water. It can take him five hours to take a shower, for instance. That would overwhelm a typical residential septic system, and the systems in New Hampshire are on the small side compared to Massachusetts.
Winnowed down my list a little more by ruling out places that do not have high speed internet available anywhere in the town limits.
Has anyone lived in an area without a paid fire department? Did you have to pay a lot in homeowners insurance premiums because you had a volunteer fire department?
iris lilies
10-12-22, 7:34pm
About volunteer fire departments:
Yes most of the small towns I’ve lived in have “volunteer” fire departments. They don’t act much different from the fully paid guys from the perspective of average citizen. That’s a doubt affect insurance rate.
The thing that caused my friend to have a hard time getting insurance was when she had a log cabin out in the country, a few miles from a fire fighting department. I think she had to shop around quite a bit in order to find someone who would ensure that. It was a combination of woodstove/far away from firefighters.
But in Hermann we have even something stranger and that is non-tax supported fire department. Every household pays a fee of $50 per year. That is, households that use to pay it. If they do not pay, when there’s a fire, the cost to fight your fire is a few hundred dollars.
rosarugosa
10-13-22, 6:09am
I've cleaned and put away the fans, and we had already put away the A/Cs before I made my list.
We fixed the dripping faucet! It took a $15 repair kit, a couple of YouTube videos, and then the two of us spent about 15 minutes on it. A plumber would have cost well over $100, so we were pretty pleased with ourselves. Like our washing machine repair last year, it felt quite good to accomplish this on our own, and gives us more confidence to face the next challenge.
catherine
10-13-22, 7:56am
I want to be prepared that my son can live with me if need be, and due to his OCD he uses a lot of water. It can take him five hours to take a shower, for instance. That would overwhelm a typical residential septic system, and the systems in New Hampshire are on the small side compared to Massachusetts.
Winnowed down my list a little more by ruling out places that do not have high speed internet available anywhere in the town limits.
Has anyone lived in an area without a paid fire department? Did you have to pay a lot in homeowners insurance premiums because you had a volunteer fire department?
We have a strictly volunteer fire department, and our Rescue Squad ia volunteer also, although they are having a difficult time attracting volunteers so they have 2 part-time paid people. Those services come out of township budgets. My insurance company never asked about whether or not we have a paid or volunteer fire department--I don't think. But I think my home insurance rate is reasonable--$706/yr. I have no idea what other people pay, however.
I have lived in three places with volunteer fire department and it had no impact on my insurance. Distance from the firehouse did play into whether I could get insured, however.
Yppej, I don't think you want to be on municipal water if someone takes 5 hour showers. We would never live again (if we could choose) on municipal water as the water bills are incredibly high. We are fine on well water. It dried out for a few days this summer, which was horrible, but we pay nothing for our water.
I don't think I could afford someone living with me with that kind of water consumption; I know it is a mental illness, but at some point you cannot provide these things anymore, economically speaking. You have to look out for your own economic survival when you are a parent of adult children.
iris lilies
10-13-22, 9:19am
We moved from an unmetered city water system to a metered water system. DH
now yells at me when I use too much water to water plants.
ugh. But 5 hour showers would not be taking place in my hoisehold.
Does anyone remember the young woman here on this forum who dumped her boyfriend for taking too long showers? Ok, that was the tip of the iceberg But it was a reason she gave for severing their relationship. She later moved to a Scandinavian country.
We moved from an unmetered city water system to a metered water system. DH
now yells at me when I use too much water to water plants.
ugh. But 5 hour showers would not be taking place in my hoisehold.
Does anyone remember the young woman here on this forum who dumped her boyfriend for taking too long showers? Ok, that was the tip of the iceberg But it was a reason she gave for severing their relationship. She later moved to a Scandinavian country.
I don't but good for her. It's still in Vermont law that you can get a divorce if your husband does not provide enough wood for the woodstove. Heat and water are serious survival issues!
Greetings from the Upper Upper Midwest
Everything in the before category is done, hats, mittens, and scarves delivered to Social Worker's office. We now move to the during the trip phase, many of the is calendar based.
Start Knitting socks for holiday gifts in progress
Drop off box of books for husband's friend's students scheduled for this weekend
Buy thank you gifts for parents and neighbor for looking out for the condo not yet
Volunteer project I'm doing for a friend November
Buy a winter coat done
No screen day October done
Husband's reunion is this weekend and will transfer the boxes of books to friend's car once he arrives at the hotel Thursday. Planning on working from the hotel Thursday and Friday since he will do boring alumni stuff and my presence is only needed for dinners and Sunday brunch. Planning on shopping for thank you gifts since the college town has a lot of shops with local handmade items. Also bought a winter coat Saturday and it's so warm and comfy, I wore it this morning at 6am and snowing while taking the dog out. Best $70 I ever spent. Saturday was also the no screen day for October. Plan on getting some knitting done over the weekend, almost done with a pair of socks.
rosarugosa
10-17-22, 3:06pm
Good work, Hana!
Jeppy: I would not want to pay your water bill!
It wasn't on my list, but yesterday I did a through cleaning of my Mom's fridge and freezer. So many birthday candles and ice packs! I don't think it benefits anyone to have stuff in their fridges/freezers that is outdated or will never be used, but I think it's really essential for someone with Alzheimer's to have less visual clutter to deal with when looking for something to eat.
rosarugosa
10-18-22, 7:02am
I completed the seasonal closet cleanout yesterday. It gets a little bit easier every time, because although we still have too much clothing, we've been steadily moving towards less.
happystuff
10-18-22, 12:41pm
I completed the seasonal closet cleanout yesterday. It gets a little bit easier every time, because although we still have too much clothing, we've been steadily moving towards less.
As they say, slow and steady wins the race! :)
Regarding the showers, we have a water reducer (have reduced it below code even) and he does not shower daily. It is not huge bills.
Have a tentative date for my petition to make the Board of Health elective to be heard in committee later this month. Hopefully there are no more hiccups. I am afraid the power hungry people in City government will not support voting rights. We will see. I had a sign saying, "Voting Rights for All" at the initial Council meeting and they banned it.
Stalled on weight loss, but not gaining it back either. But I think eventually I will lose it.
Start on the first birthday celebrations later this week.
Burned my papers.
Got ZERO listings from the Free State Project of New Hampshire open houses. Have tried to go to some on my own but about half the time the realtor doesn't show up because the house has already sold from the time the open house is listed. Happened this past weekend even though I checked right before heading out. No slowdown in the crazy real estate market there yet.
And thank you for all the responses on volunteer firefighters. It's what I thought, but the powers that be where I live now say would be very costly.
Teacher Terry
10-18-22, 9:48pm
Yppej, I am surprised your real estate isn’t slowing down. Ours certainly did.
iris lilies
10-19-22, 10:39am
Yppej, I am surprised your real estate isn’t slowing down. Ours certainly did.
I think our local market has slowed, but that opinion is only mine, formed from watching Realtor.com in my zip codes.
I*AM* glad we sold our house in July. I know we could have got up to $50,000 more, but that would mean installing hardwood floors in places and painting amounting to a couple of weeks work. We would have ended up in a timeline of being about here, when the market dropped.
We didn’t need that stress of additional house maintenance and fix up,having the big project of finishing our Hermann house.
I am sorry that it looks like our close friends who have been living rural but fixing up their city house for sale will probably miss the market height. Their immediate Nextdoor neighbor sold for an astonishingly high price to Californians who just seem to have ginormous monies to throw around.
iris lilies
10-19-22, 10:42am
Good work, Hana!
Jeppy: I would not want to pay your water bill!
It wasn't on my list, but yesterday I did a through cleaning of my Mom's fridge and freezer. So many birthday candles and ice packs! I don't think it benefits anyone to have stuff in their fridges/freezers that is outdated or will never be used, but I think it's really essential for someone with Alzheimer's to have less visual clutter to deal with when looking for something to eat.
jeppy should move to city of St. Louis which has unmetered water in its old houses. We paid a flat fee, a huge perk for gardeners. Although to be honest, I seldom watered my garden.Iris didn’t need it, and lilies wanted it but did not get it and they still did fine.
DH however…watered his veg patches a lot.
This perk was very special consideringwe had multiple tiny old houses with big gardens at one time.
No slowdown in NH at all. It is the most normal state in New England so people go there to get away from the wokeness, the job market is still firing on all cylinders, and even folks from red states like Texas and Florida move there as they seek to establish a Libertarian paradise.
Got my crossword puzzle book.
ApatheticNoMore
10-20-22, 5:14pm
so people go there to get away from the wokeness
it does seem like it is a good place to get away from non-white people
...
Got my crossword puzzle book.
Have you tried cryptic crosswords? I used to puzzle those out religiously; they're great, devilish fun.
"A cryptic crossword is a crossword puzzle in which each clue is a word puzzle."--Wikipedia
rosarugosa
10-21-22, 6:33am
it does seem like it is a good place to get away from non-white people
Yeah, we call it "the South of the North."
rosarugosa
10-23-22, 5:34pm
The hammock has been put away for the season, and we installed the last shade at Mom's house. I'm really delighted about the shade. Mom and I started the shade project 4 years ago, and I finally finished it today with major help from DH. She had crappy looking paper shades taped up, and the new shades look so much nicer! They also open and close of course (the old paper ones did not) so I notice that she is now more inclined to open them up and let the sun in. She has a male cardinal who comes and taps at her dining room window all the time with his beak, which totally delights her, and she never would have seen him without the open shade.
Back from husband's reunion. Probably had too many drinks, but I had fun. Found a local yarn store that has some unusual yarns I can't find at home. I asked nicely and they can do order by phone anytime except for the holiday season, they're too busy.
Start Knitting socks for holiday gifts in progress
Drop off box of books for husband's friend's students scheduled for this weekend Done!
Buy thank you gifts for parents and neighbor for looking out for the condo 80% done
Volunteer project I'm doing for a friend November
Buy a winter coat done
No screen day October done
The big box of books is no longer my problem. It has a new home and right now the books are making their way to their new human friends. Put friend in contact with some publisher friends so he can get censored books at a discount and authors get paid. Then students get to read great books by their new favorite writers. Kids read more, everyone wins. Hooray! Bought some thank you gifts for my parents, buying chicory coffee for neighbor when we're in New Orleans. Managed to get some knitting done, finished a pair of socks and will work on a shawl next.
it does seem like it is a good place to get away from non-white people
I thought that was Vermont.
Both October birthdays celebrated. One to come in November.
Checked out a couple more NH towns last weekend but neither is for me. One I saw a Confederate flag in the truck next door to the place with the open house. Not who I want for a neighbor. The other the library was too small and they don't have regional library associations up there.
Have six more NH towns on my list as well as one in MA that is more freedom loving than where I am now. Have already checked out the library in one of the NH towns. But housing inventory is still very limited and snatched up quickly. One medical autonomy couple has decided they will have to sell first, then rent, so they have cash ready to buy quickly. Last year they tried selling conditional upon sale of their own home and the deal didn't go through. So it's discouraging.
Both October birthdays celebrated. One to come in November.
Checked out a couple more NH towns last weekend but neither is for me. One I saw a Confederate flag in the truck next door to the place with the open house. Not who I want for a neighbor. The other the library was too small and they don't have regional library associations up there.
Have six more NH towns on my list as well as one in MA that is more freedom loving than where I am now. Have already checked out the library in one of the NH towns. But housing inventory is still very limited and snatched up quickly. One medical autonomy couple has decided they will have to sell first, then rent, so they have cash ready to buy quickly. Last year they tried selling conditional upon sale of their own home and the deal didn't go through. So it's discouraging.
A good library has always been on my must-have list, so a town with a poor or non-existent one would be a no-go.. The system here is world class; I couldn't hope for more.
frugal-one
10-25-22, 4:33pm
A good library has always been on my must-have list, so a town with a poor or non-existent one would be a no-go.. The system here is world class; I couldn't hope for more.
Here too. The library system has 51 libraries that you can draw from. It is RARE to not find what you are looking for. We are contemplating moving too and most likely will have to sacrifice the library because there aren't many systems like this.
Went to a couple more towns in NH but their libraries were unsatisfactory to me.
Decided I should check out Windham County VT. Have not travelled there yet, but the towns I have not ruled out yet are:
Newfane, Townshend, Wardsboro, Westminster and Whitingham.
Wardsboro would be a similar commute and the others would all be closer to my job.
The committee voted to not recommend our group's proposal to elect our Boar of Health. Now that goes to the full City Council where it is unlikely to prevail. Next step will be to see if we can get term limits enacted and get the current Board members, some of them Bidenesque, out that way.
Went to a couple more towns in NH but their libraries were unsatisfactory to me.
Does New Hampshire not have inter library loan?
Does New Hampshire not have inter library loan?
I like going in and browsing amongst a big collection.
Some parts of Vermont have something called "One Card" so you can go to multiple libraries if the one in your town has a limited collection.
Petition to make the BOH elective failed - working with a couple councilors now on term limits for them.
Heard from one promising town in VT, ruled one out, have three more to get details on. Email to one of them bounced.
Trying to plan something for my mom's birthday but she does not cooperate. Found a close by place she has never been with limited walking and she wants to go right away "because it might be cold by my birthday". Did find her a gift already.
Arrived home late last night and it felt good to sleep in my own bed.
The story thus far...
During
Start Knitting socks for holiday gifts in progress
Drop off box of books for husband's friend's students done
Buy thank you gifts for parents and neighbor for looking out for the condo done
Volunteer project I'm doing for a friend done
Buy a winter coat done
No screen day October done
After
Catch up on laundry 2 loads down, 1 in progress, 3 to go
3 boxes or rearrange stuff from storage unit temporarily taking up space in my living room.
Put away summer stuff
Victory dance while looking at the once again clear guest room bed
Think about how to organize the bookshelves
No screen day November and possibly December
I'm using the downstairs laundry since it's much bigger than the combo unit we have. The completed two loads would have been 6 loads in the combo unit. Managed to finish the shawl and I'll probably finish the last pair of socks next week.
Volunteer event went well, made some business contacts and had a good time. Visited with friend and filled her freezer with dinners so when she's needs something quick or doesn't have the energy to cook she has something healthy. Her son is progressing faster than expected, he still has a way to go before he gets back to pre health crisis activities. Since we drove to and from the event, people gave us their leftover booze and snacks. Didn't know until I unpacked the trunk and saw it. Have to go through it and see what's there. Finished the thank you shopping for parents and neighbor, will give neighbor her gift tonight and give parents their gift on Thanksgiving.
Took today off as a catch up day, need to buy groceries and arrange to return items I borrowed for volunteer event. Think I need a nap
iris lilies
11-9-22, 1:32pm
Does New Hampshire not have inter library loan?
Interlibrary loan service isn’t a reasonable option to deliver stacks of books. Nor is it intended to do that.
I ran Interlibrary loan at a large urban library system. It’s really only used for occasional titles, not weekly armfuls of books. When somebody did try to use it that way it never worked for them (different due dates for each.) For real research though, it was a useful tool.
The sharing of library resources represented by Jeppy’s “One Card“example is much better where you can drive to any number of libraries nearby and check out from their collections.
There was one day last month where I was in 4 libraries of 3 different library systems. I could’ve checked out from all 3 systems if I wanted to
I have reduced my screen time. Lost about half the weight.
iris lilies
11-9-22, 7:15pm
I have reduced my screen time. Lost about half the weight.
Good job Jep! Yes, perusing social media and less they does lead to gained weight.
frugal-one
11-9-22, 8:00pm
We have 50 libraries in our system that we can borrow from. It is rare that they are don’t have what you are looking for. I am using it even while we are in TX…. downloadable everything.
rosarugosa
11-10-22, 7:21am
Hana: Sounds like you have been very productive and busy - you deserve a nap!
As far as libraries go, most of the books I read are from the library these days, and more than half are from inter-library loan. I usually request 3 at a time, and they come in pretty quickly (probably less miles are involved than in some other parts of the country). I need to pick up the books within 5 days of their arrival, so if I was strategic about it, I could get them all in one trip. I live very close to the library though, so it's a nice walk and someplace we drive by all the time, so it could hardly be more convenient.
iris lilies
11-10-22, 9:38am
Hana: Sounds like you have been very productive and busy - you deserve a nap!
As far as libraries go, most of the books I read are from the library these days, and more than half are from inter-library loan. I usually request 3 at a time, and they come in pretty quickly (probably less miles are involved than in some other parts of the country). I need to pick up the books within 5 days of their arrival, so if I was strategic about it, I could get them all in one trip. I live very close to the library though, so it's a nice walk and someplace we drive by all the time, so it could hardly be more convenient.
Do they all have the same due date? These books from interlibrary loan I mean.
Check if the library has a reciprocity agreement with other library systems in the area. I have library cards for every library system in the DC area since they all have agreements with each other. It was super easy, I asked at the check out desk and showed my ID and agreed to follow the rules and walked out with a shiny new library card.
iris lilies
11-10-22, 12:58pm
Check if the library has a reciprocity agreement with other library systems in the area. I have library cards for every library system in the DC area since they all have agreements with each other. It was super easy, I asked at the check out desk and showed my ID and agreed to follow the rules and walked out with a shiny new library card.
Right. In some situations you need a card for each library system. In others, you can use one card across several systems.
My former place of employment, a city library, recently merged with the big nearby library system further cementing a long standing reciprocal borrowing system. One card will now work with those many library branches with loan periods and fine structures standardized.
rosarugosa
11-11-22, 7:25am
Do they all have the same due date? These books from interlibrary loan I mean.
The due dates are set according to the date I pick the books up. As an aside, a stack of library books with due dates is the single best tool I've found to help me reduce my screen time. Due dates are also kind of a false urgency, since overdue fines are not particularly onerous (about 10 cents per day). I'm seldom reading brand-new books, so I usually have no trouble renewing them if necessary. If I do check out a newer, high-demand book I just prioritize and read that one first (more out of concern for others on the wait list than concern about the fine).
Lost more weight - have three pounds to go on my fall goal, which will get me within the normal range for my height.
rosarugosa
11-17-22, 10:29am
Lost more weight - have three pounds to go on my fall goal, which will get me within the normal range for my height.
That is fantastic, Jeppy!
That is fantastic, Jeppy!
TY. For winter challenge I might tackle caffeine.
Catch up on laundry done
3 boxes or rearrange stuff from storage unit temporarily taking up space in my living room 1 of 3
Put away summer stuff in progress
Victory dance while looking at the once again clear guest room bed I wish
Think about how to organize the bookshelves progress
No screen day November and possibly December scheduled for 11/25
Tote bags for nieces fabric and notions procured
Organize yarn collection not yet
Pulled up the duvet and threw a bunch of smaller boxes and bags into a suitcase and sorted them in the living room. Counting it as 1 box for challenge purposes. Going over the summer clothing to see if it's worth saving for next year. Stuff that never made it out of the bin is in the donate box. Going to bring up the seasonal clothing bin up tonight and pull winter clothes tomorrow. Guest bed now a staging area for holiday gifts (long story) and things that need to go to the storage unit. Bookshelf thoughts is sort genre then author then series with the realization that some authors might need a whole bookshelf. No screen day scheduled for 11/25 since Thanksgiving and the Saturday after will be all day football. Added a couple of things to the list
rosarugosa
11-17-22, 6:42pm
Good progress, Hana!
The storm doors are done and some of the yard cleanup, although that is ongoing. These things were also done by DH, but I'll take some credit for being encouraging and appreciative! I've started emptying the annual container plants, since they finally succumbed to frost. I'm going to procrastinate - um - hold off - on eBay listings until after the holidays, since 'tis the season to avoid the post office if at all possible.
Teacher Terry
11-17-22, 11:14pm
Awesome Yppej!! Losing weight is difficult.
All birthdays celebrated.
I have reached my weight loss goal but only if I weigh myself naked.
rosarugosa
11-24-22, 7:51am
All birthdays celebrated.
I have reached my weight loss goal but only if I weigh myself naked.
But that is your true weight! So you have succeeded if your goal was stated in terms of how much you want to weigh. You still have more to lose if your goal was stated in terms of lbs to lose, and weighed yourself clothed initially and unclothed now.
But that is your true weight! So you have succeeded if your goal was stated in terms of how much you want to weigh. You still have more to lose if your goal was stated in terms of lbs to lose, and weighed yourself clothed initially and unclothed now.
OK, I'm going to go with your response and consider it a victory.
I would still like to lose another 10 pounds to get to the midpoint of my healthy weight range. I am not big boned so I should aim for the middle I think for maximum health benefits.
Catch up on laundry done
3 boxes 1 of 3
Put away summer stuff done
Victory dance while looking at the once again clear guest room bed this might not happen
Think about how to organize the bookshelves have to rethink
No screen day November and possibly December done
Tote bags for nieces sewing soon 0 of 3
Organize yarn collection not yet
Gave thank you gift to my parents and did the family obligations. and had a pleasant no screen day yesterday. Summer stuff is put away, husband pointed out a potential problem in the bookshelves organization project, and when I added the part about the victory dance, every deity ever said HA! Waiting for the nieces to go home before starting the tote bags since the bags are their gifts. They're easy to make so that won't take much time. Need to update the yarn inventory before I can organize. Someone in a different building moved and decided to gift me a huge bin of yarn without telling me. They heard about my knitting hats and giving them to social worker, and decided I could do the most good, I guess. Part of the reason for the organization, most of it will probably go to Buy Nothing or a group that knits for charity. Finalized the annual week between Christmas and New Year's getaway with friends and the December no screen day will be the no tech day where we turn off the wifi and play board games and read paper books.
Got caught up on the housework.
Catch up on laundry done
3 boxes 1 of 3
Put away summer stuff done
Victory dance while looking at the once again clear guest room bed this might not happen
Think about how to organize the bookshelves mostly done
No screen day November and possibly December done
Tote bags for nieces 1.5 of 3
Organize yarn collection 30% done
Been busy doing end of year stuff and hoping to knock somethings out this weekend. Biggest priority is completing the tote bags and filling them with a couple of small toys. Came up with a sorting system, waiting for the bed to clear up so we can use it as a staging area when we do go forward with organizing the books. Started with the inventory and realized I didn't remove yarn that I previously knitted into something, and by rearranging some of the bins by intended projects, I have a bit more room. Also a bit less stuff on the bed. I managed to consolidate yarn into a large bin and emptied out a smaller bin. Checked out the gift bin of yarn and it's a type of yarn that gives me an allergic reaction so I listed it on the Buy Nothing group. Yarn goes fast there so I'll wait a day and choose someone tomorrow afternoon. Maybe if I'm feeling ambitious I'll grab another box.
rosarugosa
12-21-22, 7:10am
Here is where I stand with this list:
Finish decluttering Mom's second floor - not done
Hang the last of the window shades at Mom's house - done
Repair dripping kitchen faucet - done
List on eBay: raincoat, denim jacket, shoes - not done
Slow and thoughtful room by room review and cull of my own house (will probably stretch beyond fall, haha, seems to be a lifelong endeavor) - in progress
Semi-annual closet cleanout - done
Leaf cleanup and shredding - done for now, plenty left to be done in the spring
Seasonal miscellaneous - done
Good progress Rosa, and you got the one that's always hardest for me done - something involving someone else (repair dripping faucet).
Catch up on laundry done
3 boxes or rearrange stuff from storage unit temporarily taking up space in my living room. 2 of 3
Put away summer stuff done
Victory dance while looking at the once again clear guest room bed nope
Think about how to organize the bookshelves done
No screen day November and possibly December done
Tote bags for nieces done
Organize yarn collection done
Days got ahead of me and far too many work emails turned into meetings that went on too long. A clear guest room bed still eludes me since husband decided to use it as a staging are for another book cull. Told him if someone needs emergency crash space it's his responsibility to make the spare room ready. I'll add it to the next challenge, I might just call this an ongoing project. Tote bags are done and small toy placed in each bag, just need to start wrapping.
Crawl out of bed.
Make it down the hall.
Swathe myself in layers of fleece.
Turn on the computer and fire up the kettle.
My needs are simple. :D
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