Fall .... into Holidays

I checked in here and see I haven't posted in several months.  Hmm.  I guess I've been a bit busy!

I traveled in October to visit with my Mom; her biggest wish was a walk in the Redwoods at Henry Cowell State Park - so that's what we did!

Lots of changes within the BigBox store, so work has kept me very busy - more paperwork added to my position, and each day I find myself struggling to find the most efficient way to get is all done and out of the way so I can do my "real" work.  lol   It works really well when I'm there in my BigBox store 6 days a week - but that's too much, so someone else has to pick up the slack when I'm not there.

Sadie has been as pesky as ever.  Lucky for me, my son stayed at the house with her while I was gone, so that worked out well -- for her.   She's quite the spoiled queen of the house!   Now that the weather's better here in the desert, we're out on our evening walks again.  Which is good for my chubby ass - and hers as well!

I'm fully immersed in family genealogy again.  I say again because it seems to go in streaks, and now with so many things on the internet, I've been able to unravel lots of different mysteries.  My grandfather always said his dad's sister's name was Anna.  Turns out it's Emma - and I found her!  A second cousin found me through some of the links and sent me a few photos of my grandaunts that I'd never seen, so that was exciting for me as well.  One of my plans is to take their facts and some of the tidbits, the stories, the family lore, and put it into book form.  Because some day, someone may want to know these things!   Or not.  Maybe I'm the last of my kind.

And no trip to California is complete without a stop at one of the beautiful beaches there!

Last weekend I used pieces of my disassembled entertainment center and built a new desk out of key pieces.  Of course, without the same drawers and cubbyholes as before, I'm having to find new ways to deal with all the paperwork that used to be tucked away.   It's amazing in this digital world that we still have all this paperwork, too.  Maybe it's time to rethink things again.

Holidays are coming up, and I'm not the kind to look forward to them.  Working retail means a lot of hours at work, little time at home, and after seeing Christmas decorations all day, along with the Christmas music -- who wants to deal with any of that at home??   I'll be working Thanksgiving Day, and the day before and after Christmas are mandatory -- not enough time to fit much into any kind of celebration.  But that's ok with me.  Once your kids are grown and have kids of their own -- holidays are for those families :)

Day Timers vs Old Timers

Sunday.  5:30pm.  It's been a busy day of doing ... nothing much. Usual chores to get ready for another busy work week.

I'm finding that I have a really good week if I take the time to jot down notes, thoughts, feelings, ideas .... whatever crosses my mind.  It's as if by jotting them down, they won't slip from memory, and that means a lot to me as I get older.  I fear not being able to have the sharp mind that I once had.  At the same time, it's very nice to let go of things I don't really need to remember.  I've always been a memorize-r of numbers.  Back in the 70s it was telephone numbers!   Thank goodness we don't have to remember all of those any more.  Other things like drivers license number, etc ... no one asks for them any longer, because we no longer write paper checks.   Again, thank goodness!   I bought 200 checks back in 2010 when I bought my house ... and I still have some left!  lol

But I still fear not remembering important things - things that I store in my phone.  If I lost it, I would feel lost for a long time!   Back in the day, when I was raising kids and juggling family, career, and everything that goes with it, I kept a DayTimer.  Mine sort of looked like this one ....
full of little notes to myself.  It made a lot of things easier, less decisions to make because it was "already on the schedule".  I suppose they still make them for the ultra-busy folks, but I can keep a month's worth of data/appointments necessary on a 3x5 index card now.  lol  Instead, I keep it in my phone - even better.

I know that in the scope of things, compared to my life 20 years ago, I now have a lot of free time -- but I also find that I need time to rest and recuperate after a long day of work rather than spending my time running around with errands, laundry, cooking and cleaning on a daily basis.  I can still do it - if I have to! - and given enough notice.  But gone are the days of impulsive dashing here and there.  A shopping trip to the mall for me can feel like a major excursion - not something I enjoy like I used to.  Have I come full circle, knowing that I don't need a lot of 'stuff' to deal with any more?  I liken it to having knick knacks - people still have them, and I have my share, but the more I have, the more I have to -do-.  They always seem to need dusting!

Using my blog as my journal - or my day timer - to jot down all these little self-notes is a good way for me to feel as if I'm keeping my sanity --- or at the very least, holding back the beast I sometimes call "old timers". haha