DECOMMISSIONING CHRISTMAS DAY 2

Today I continued on my quest to decommission Christmas (finally!) and sort through the Christmas bins in my garage.  Yes, I have a lot of Christmas stuff.  Some I have collected and bought and some I inherited and  a lot has been given to me since friends and family know I LOVE Christmas.  I took a photo before I started the sorting and cleaning out.  It doesn't have everything but I hope it will be much more organized at the end. Oh, and you can't see all the stuff I have to fit in these three bins off to the side of this photo.  Oy!

A few years ago I went through two of the bins so I don't expect to find too much to toss out in those two bins but the third bin I could not get myself to tackle so that bin will probably have a lot to throw out/donate.

So far I got rid of 6 strands of Christmas lights that didn't work.  That made a bunch of room in a bin.  I can't wait to get rid of more stuff.  Tomorrow is another day of this project.

Until tomorrow...

DECOMMISSIONING CHRISTMAS DAY 1

I started taking the Christmas decorations down to the garage today.  I had been holding off since I tweaked my back.  The last thing I needed to do was injure my back again and be laying flat in bed.  I decided to move the items in small, light batches very slowly.  It was tedious but I didn't hurt myself so I guess it worked.

I also made soup.  I made a delicious Potato, white bean and Chard soup.  It was supposed to be kale soup but I only had chard.  Hey, a green is a green.  It was really tasty and I cooked it in the slow cooker.  I was a little nervous at hour 3 that the potatoes would not cook all the way but at hour 6 they were cooked thoroughly.  I love my slow cooker.

My friend has been trying to get me to buy an Instant Pot.  I did a little research and I am not sure if instant pot and vegans are a good match.  I looked at the list of items people cook in them: chili, roasts, cheese cake, soup, rice, eggs, yogurt, and whole chicken.  Of all these things I would make three and I have a slow cooker to make the chili and soup and a rice cooker to make rice.  The one thing I did see that I liked was the vegan mac and cheese.   But I am not sure I would buy a machine just to make mac and cheese.

Anyway something to think about.  The soup was delicious and will be all week long.

Until tomorrow...

NEW GLASSES, OH, REALLY NEW LENS

I went down to the eye wear place and ordered my new glasses.  Well, they are my same frames but with new lenses.  I will be able to see the far away small print again.  Even better I will be able to read instructions without taking off my glasses again.  I am not sure why my eyes got so bad this time around but I guess it is age.  I thought your eyes were supposed to slow down on how fast they got worse when you got older buy mine are not.  My feet are getting smaller and my eyes are getting worse.  What is next?

My errands took up most of the day.

Oh, I saw an Uber driver make a left turn from the middle lane, cut off the car in the left lane, almost run over a person in the YELLOW cross walk while turning into oncoming traffic on a one-way street going the wrong way.  It is amazing how you just stand there in shock watching this almost tragedy happen because you can't believe the stupidity of some people.  The car in the left lane who was cut off just leaned on his horn but it didn't stop the Uber from turning into oncoming traffic.  Luckily there was no car in that lane and no one got hurt but the Uber (and anyone coming the other way) was very lucky.

Until tomorrow...

LONG DRIVE

I had a really long drive today.  I had to go to a court thing.  It all turned out good.  The long drive was torture on my back on the drive home.  Or maybe it was the sitting and waiting because you know (if you have ever been to court) there is a window of time for your case so you sit and wait.  The seating is not comfortable either.  So one of those two things irritated my back so the ride home was less than pleasant.

Physical therapy starts next week.  Hooray!

Until tomorrow...

VISION TEST

I went to the eye doctor early this morning.  It was time to get my eyes checked.  It turns out that my eyes have changed a lot.  They couldn't find the prescription that my glasses are currently.  It may have been prescribed by my old eye doctor.  Anyway, I hope this new prescription will help me see clearer.  I just need the new lenses before my vision test for my driver's license renewal.  I can see street signs but if they give me a vision test with the letters I may have some problems.

I am going to get the prescription filled ASAP.

Until tomorrow...

WEBINAR

I spoke to a referral today and she wants me to assist in teaching a webinar.  I am pretty excited about this opportunity.  I have taught seminars and trainings before but never a webinar.  She was referred to my by a colleague.

I warned her that I am not "straight-laced, serious" teacher.  I just can't be.  It is not in my nature.  I am a more folksy speaker.  She said that is why she likes me.  I talk to the people rather than talk at the people.

This is such a experience.

Until tomorrow...

CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS

Darn I thought I posted this a few days ago.  Oh well...

I started taking the Christmas decorations down and they are all over the place.  The guest room is covered with stuff. Since it is February I think it is time to decommission Christmas but I worry I will injure my back again.  I am doing a little at a time taking a few items off the tree and putting them on the fireplace.  Then taking a few items out of the bathroom and putting them on the dining room table.  At this rate I will be Christmas-free by Independence Day.

Until tomorrow...

NEW GIG

I had an interview for a gig today.  I was excited for it but I am not sure it went very well.  It was a dry and flat meeting over the phone.  I will be surprised if I get a call back.  But then tonight I got an email from another client hiring me for a project.

I am excited to get new projects to work on and new people to meet.

Until tomorrow...

SUPERBOWL DAY

I made another soup today.  It is White Bean and Barley Soup with Tomatoes and Greens. The thing I like about this soup is that it is easy and fast to make.  It is a hearty soup and I love barley!  It was good for the Superbowl.

It was a good game to watch but the team I was routing for didn't win.  The half-time show was fun to watch. So for me it was a good Superbowl.

Until tomorrow...

BACK PAIN DAY #9

I went on a road trip today.  I had to go visit someone for a few hours.  Unfortunately my back was killing me while I was driving.  Driving a manual transmission is not ideal when your back hurts.  Lifting my leg is like a knife in my back each time.  Luckily most of it was on a freeway.

Until tomorrow...