Saturday, February 10, 2007

Saturday Morning Thoughts

Awake at 5 a.m. with worries about debt, once again. I waited till 6 to turn on the light to read the little book I bought this week about credit card debt. Finally got up and made a cup of tea at 6:40. The book, Credit Card Debt by Alexander Daskaloff, sets out a system of strategies that begin with organizing all credit card data, then systematically reducing the interest load. Oddly enough, I had already begun this process on my own! He is way ahead of my thought processes, though, and I think this is all very well-worthwhile.

Coincidentally, last night I watched an Oprah I had recorded featuring Peter Walsh about eliminating clutter, and how doing so can change your life! Another good path, now that the depression is lifting. Even an hour a day would make a good start on that project. Fortunately, we did quite a bit of that when we put the house on the market in October. Walsh spoke of "the room you don't want anyone to see" - "quick, honey, close the ___ room door so the guests don't see it!" LOL - doesn't everyone have one of those?

The neurologist wants me to repeat the nerve conduction studies to see how the carpal tunnel constriction is progressing (or not!). What an unpleasant test! Still, he says that if one is going to need hand surgery to release the nerve, it should be done before muscle fibers begin to break down. This is a man of few words - my semi-annual consists mainly of hi, how are you, how's the right hand, see you in 6 months. But he did promote this, and it does make sense, I think.

It is a beautiful Florida dawn here now at 7:11 a.m. - pale blue sky with deep purple and pink tinged with orange clouds. In the still morning air I hear the drumming rhythm of a train down the road a mile or so. I do love winter here.

The Captain and I had a conversation last night (that my husband of 9 years). I'd been thinking of how much I appreciate the man he has become. We have grown so much closer in the past 2-3 years. He really knows me know - and I think I know him, too. Since I reached my 20's, I have longed to be "known". I wish my brothers would care enough to try. I know it is too soon to hope for my son wanting to know me. Why do I feel this is self-indulgent, too? Old tapes tell me that it is not important to most people. In my family, it is apparently a woman's job to care enough to learn about someone. That is why I am so fervently grateful for the Captain. Low-maintenance he ain't, but his other qualities make that okay!

Three of my students are coming this morning for a rehearsal with the accompanist, prior to their adjudication next Saturday morning. Each of the girls is singing two art songs and two musical theater songs. It's so much fun to see their growth.

2 comments:

Tiger Willikers said...

I wish I could be the accompanist for your charming, endearing students this Saturday. I will be working at UNF that day. Maybe I will run into some of you St. Augustinians!

Unknown said...

Of course we all have a clutter "room". Even if you only have a studio apartment, you probably have a clutter closet or at least a clutter cabinet. My husband, James, has "The Print Room" in Nevada. There he stores his negatives, work prints, final prints, and frames, plus the great big Epson poster printer. There may be square foot of empty space somewhere in there, but I doubt it.

I have a "Sewing Room". I will probably post some pictures of it next week, because I will have to TOTALLY CLEAN IT UP before the 23rd. There is a sofa bed in there and we have a heap of people coming from San Francisco and Los Angeles for a meeting on the 24th. They all want to spend the night. First come, first served, I say.

But that said, we have a very tidy living room and master bedroom and a relatively tidy dining room, family room and kitchen. I am pretty strict about the "public areas" in the house. The hardest thing about clutter is not letting it creep back in once you have cleaned it up. The most difficult room in the house to keep straight is the office. Papers just drift around in there and there are books and CDs and magazines and bills and bits of fabric and cups and glasses and maybe a map to the Lost Dutchman mine.

So I suggest trying to keep one room clutter free for a month, then the next and so on. Don't try to do it all at once. If something doesn't have a home, find it a home or THROW IT AWAY. You'll still have a "clutter" room, but you will also have some peaceful retreats that you won't be ashamed to show to visitors.

three on the futon

three on the futon

5th Anniversary of the Stroke

Nearly 5 years ago, I suffered a stroke that left me with numbness and lack of coordination of my right hand and arm. For awhile, I could not speak normally, and I couldn't say my husband's name. With time and occupational and massage therapy, sensation began to return. My speech cleared up within the month. I relearned how to brush my teeth and hair, how to butter toast, how to handle a fork. I used a speech program on the computer for several months, because my right hand could not type. I am very grateful for the lessons I learned from this experience. After 5 years, a person is considered to be at no increased risk of having another CVA (cerebrovascular accident). That's my upcoming milestone!
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