2020 To-Do List....May Update

*PLEASE NOTE--Posting may be a bit sporadic over the next week or so as I am sort of on vacation between getting stuff done here in Virginia and don't feel like writing blog posts worth reading.
I'll try to write something worth reading a few days a week.  Thanks for your indulgence on this.


Let's see how we did at getting stuff done in May.........

* Pay Bills  DONE
Always number one on the list and always done.

* Read 1, 2, 3 Books  PASS
I only got 2 books read in May.
First off was this lovely tome..........

"The Land Will Be Deluged in Blood: a New History of the Nat Turner Rebellion" by Patrick H. Breen

This one read like someone's Master's Thesis that they expanded a bit.  Very boring for the most part especially if you don't like reading about history.  But I say that reading a book is always ok if you learn something from it.  Specifically I learned about the dual justice/court/legal systems in the Antebellum South which I was totally unaware of before this book explained it in great detail. 

and then there was this one...........

"Shakespeare's Rebel" by C.C. Humphreys
If you enjoy historical novels and are in love with all things of the Tudor/Elizabethan era and Shakespeare's plays then run and get this one!
The protagonist is a deeply flawed character called John Lawley, a drunk, ex-soldier and sometimes actor/sword master and fighting choreographer. Lawley is a fictitious character who interacts with historical persons of the era: William Shakespeare, Richard Burbage,
Queen Elizabeth I(my 4th cousin), Sir Robert Cecil(father in-law of my 10th cousin), and Robert Devereux the 2nd Earl of Essex(my 6th cousin, etc.).
I didn't get through a 3rd book in May.
Ah well.....


* Hold Giveaway  DONE

* Mail Giveaway  DONE  The first winner never contacted me in the 48 hour window so I drew another winner and she has received her goodies and is enjoying them.

* Do a Sewing Project FAIL  Nope, didn't get anything sewn.

* Cash in a Savings Bond  DONE  We had a  Bond mature in May so it got cashed in.  Don't let US Savings Bonds sit if they have fully matured.  It's like putting cash under your mattress and letting it sit and not earn a penny.  Put it somewhere it will earn at least a little bit(or better yet, if you have debt, throw that cashed in bond toward your debt).

* Mail Cards  DONE  I needed to send two sympathy cards out to 2 friends.  The rack of cards was decimated at the store, the sympathy ones, I suppose due to Covid 19 victims lately.

* Plant Garden  DONE  

We planted our usual garden along the backyard deck. Dan planted green bean seeds along the back of this area but nothing came up so after that the buckets behind the fenced barrel in the photo below, holding the collard plants I finally found at the nursery well after everything else was planted got put where the green beans didn't germinate.

And greens were planted in the 2 half barrels on either side of the backyard deck garden.

* Make a New Garden  DONE
We have an old dog run from when we had our beagles which has just sat on the back side yard for years.
I finally had a good idea on how to use it in the flat circular area of the backyard where our pool us to be................

We moved the dog run there and I had Hubs build raised garden beds inside.  Not a lot more space but enough to grow a bit more veggies this year and expand the garden with a built in fence to keep the deer and rabbits out.
Go us! :-)


*  Start Seeds  FAIL  I just didn't find enough time to get this done.  Then we got a spat of very hot unseasonable for us weather so the seeds went right into the ground instead.

* Bathe and Groom Dogs  DONE

The perpetual motion machine Dixie and the guardian Chester after being bathed.

* Change out Clothing for Summer  PASS  I got everything dragged out and changed over.  I threw out a few worn out items and will be glad when I finally get a few more pounds off for good so I can donate a few more clothing items once our thrift stores open back up.

* List Items on eBay FAIL  No motivation at the beginning of May and then since I was going to be out of town I figured wait until I was back to list anything in late June.

* Pack my Bags to Get the Helloutta Here!  FAIL  Nope I didn't get my luggage packed even though I got the Summer clothing out since I didn't know for sure until the last minute whether this trip was going to happen.

* Plan Goals for 2020  PASS  We have very few goals for 2020 at this point in the year.  Maybe a vacation in the Fall and a few house projects with an eye toward moving.  I am working on getting the ball moving on that moving/relocating goal this week.

That's about it for the highlights from my May.
What did you(or didn't you)get done in May that was on your list of stuff to do?

Sluggy

The To-Do List.....March Update

Let's not be so late this time and take a look at how the March To-Do List turned out, shall we?


* Pay Bills  DONE--Paid on time or this month many were paid early as we were out of town for half the month(when some were due).

* Read 1, 2 Books  DONE--I read this one..........

"The Mormonizing of American: How the Mormon Religion Became a Dominant Force in Politics, Entertainment, and Pop Culture" by Stephen Mansfield

I found this book very enlightening about a religion(yes it's a religion and not a "cult" as many still think)I knew little about.  Written by an author who is not of that faith but it was a very even handed study nonetheless.  The author interviewed both Mormons and non-Mormons for this book.  A lot of history and backstory in this as well as modern day stories of Mormon followers.
I couldn't put this book down, it was like a drug....ok, maybe a Diet Coke. lolz  (Sorry I couldn't resist the joke, Kim.)
I highly recommend this book to anyone curious about Mormon culture, teachings and history.
And then this one............

"Uncle Sam's Plantation: How Big Government Enslaves America's Poor and What We Can Do About It" by Star Parker

Written by someone who grew up poor and ended up in the ghetto "culture".  She was a welfare mom, or as she says, suckling at the teat of government for her very existence.
Ms. Parker raised herself out of the system that keeps an underclass of Americans dependent on government handouts, or as she terms it dependent on "Uncle Sam's Plantation".  She started a non-profit called CURE(the Center for Urban Renewal and Education)to address what she feels are the issues that have destroyed African-American family life and move adults and families from a life of dependency on Government programs to personal freedom and responsibility.  While I don't agree with some of her agendas I do think she is one of the few people who has a clue how current social policies are destroying our country.
No matter what side of the political bench you are perched on(or not)this is an eye opening and thought provoking book.  Check it out!

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

I gave away two boxes of goodies in March.

* Mail Giveaway  DONE  I know one arrived safely....still waiting on the other winner to acknowledge their box arrived.

* Plan rest of 2019 Trips  DONE  I am calling this one done.  We went South in March for two weeks.  There is a week long trip planned to New Hampshire in June.  Perhaps our eldest son will visit sometime this Summer.  We may go to the Family Reunion end of September and there is a girls trip planned for early October to the beach.  Other than that we are being homebodies this year(unless something comes up).

* Open new CD  DONE  The old CD monies finally processed and we got most of the proceeds put in a new CD at a different bank with a higher rate.
Go me.

* Go on Trip  DONE  That trip is in the books and thankfully our time in Myrtle Beach didn't coincide with college Spring Breaks. lolz  We did some things in Charleston(didn't get down to Savannah GA however), met up with Hubs siblings, got to reconnect with a friend of mine from high school, did 2 different battle fields in NC, spent a couple of days hanging out with my brother and sister in-law and then our eldest son in VA.
It was a low-key, hop in the car and go somewhere, kind of trip.  The best kind IMHO.

*  Purge Inserts  DONE  The "possibly gonna use" Qs got cut out and all the old/expired mostly Q inserts got trashed.

* Work on Health Goals  DONE sort of......I've been in maintenance mode since December and doing well.  I got an appointment at Hershey medical center for an HS clinic but that's not until July. ugh.  Just trying to get through until then but all other health issues are status quo.  I am going to be going on a short term diet regime once the Daughter moves out next month.  More on that at a later date.

*  Plan Home Projects-Timeline  FAIL  Hubs and I have talked loosely about what project need addressing but haven't put a timeline together.  We didn't feel like debating all this while on vacation so we'll be hashing over projects and time frame in May.

*  Purchase Porcfest Tickets  DONE  We purchased the event tickets before the prices went up(Early Bird Special anyone?lolz)and the motel reservations are in place.  Eldest son is still on the fence about going but there is space in our room to accommodate him if he decides to go.
PORCFEST is an annual social/pseudo-political gathering for Libertarians.  Think political convention meets Burning Man. lolz  Hubs has wanted to go for years but it never worked out that we could get there.  This year we go.  The porcupine is the mascot of the Libertarian party thus Porc-fest.  
This should be an "adventure" in every sense of the word........


So how did your list of goals for March turn out?


Sluggy

To-Do List....the December Update

*   Pay Bills  DONE  Boringly paid on time or early and no interest charges.  Boring is good sometimes.  ;-)

*   Read 1, 2 Books  DONE  I actually read THREE Books in December.......

"Grover Cleveland-The Forgotten Conservative" by John Pafford.
The one review on Amazon dumps on the book and it's author.....I agree that the book is way short but to rag on the author because he's obviously politically conservative?  Um, who else would write a book on a conservative POTUS?....certainly not someone with extremely liberal views! lolz
Short but very informative.  Grover Cleveland is truly one of the "forgotten" presidents even with him serving 2 terms.  Forgotten nowadays because of his unwavering conservative principless in office and that US modern society thinks "conservative" anything is a dirty word.
One of the few late 19th century and 20th century POTUS who did NOT usurp the Constitution and use his office to garner power to upset the balance of justice over the other 2 branches of government.  
A man of his convictions and a lot of common sense....not something you see much in politicians nowadays.

A short read but worth taking a look at to get a sense of the man.

Then I read...........

"Mary Boleyn-The Mistress of Kings" by Alison Weir
I thought going in that this book would be a fictionalized novel drawn from the little we know of the historical person of Mary Boleyn, the sister of Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn.
But no, I was pleasantly surprised that the book, written by a well known historian and author, 
deal with the facts that are known of Mary's life and then posited possible rational suppositions from there.
No great surprising outcomes/facts were reached.  The reader is given the facts and suggestions of possibilities and left to draw their own conclusions.  It was thought provoking and would make a good Book Club selection...but of course I am biased here, because Mary is my 3rd cousin through marriage.  ;-)

And lastly I read this one............

"Death Come To Pemberley" by P. D. James

Not being a big Jane Austen fan I wasn't greatly invested in this read but it was enjoyable.  James is a well-known crime/mystery writer in the UK and abroad.  She used Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" as the jumping off point for this book.  It will help your enjoyment of this novel if you have read/are familiar with the P&P world/characters and the Jane Austen style.
I think P.D. James nailed the Austenesque style but with staying true to her own voice.
This book was made into a PBS show a couple of years back too.


*  Make Xmas Card List  DONE but a little FAIL too
I made my list but realized after mailing out my Xmas cards that I neglected to include a few folks.   Sorry about that! eek  I will be writing letters to them in January instead.

*  Write and Mail Xmas Cards  DONE but a little FAIL too
Ditto what I said above.

*  Get Out Xmas Dishes  DONE
Got them out, washed them up and used them for a few meals at Christmas.

*  Put up Xmas Tree  DONE
Got it up but the decorating took waaaaay too long since the kids didn't help. grrrr

*  Decorate other than Tree  DONE
I ran out of energy on this and we only also got the banister garland-ed(not a word), 3 of my Santas put out, the Xmas runner and the Crystal reindeer and sleigh put on the buffet and my Bavarian Whirligig set up.

*  Hold Giveaway  DONE

*  Mail Giveaway  DONE

The winner received it in a timely manner even though it went out right before Christmas. ;-)

*  Sew 1 Project  DONE

I actually got an unfinished sewing project completed in 2018!!!  I know it's shocking. lolz
I put myself under a deadline for it so it got done....otherwise it would probably still be sitting up on my machine table.
I had these jams for my brother to finish.  I told him about them, took them to VA in October so he could try them on and I could mark them to hem and put the elastic in the waist and gave myself a Xmas deadline so he could unwrap them for the Holidays.

Hubs is holding them up for the photo.

I even put this Vogue Menswear tag in them....I got those years ago when I bought a Vogue Menswear pattern or two.  After my brother opened them he was confused because he didn't remember trying them on in October when we were down in VA and he thought I had "bought" them for him since it has a Vogue label in them.  Hehehe  Maybe my sewing skills are so good the jams appeared to be factory sweatshop produced? lolz

*  Clean the House for Company  FAIL  Well a little cleaning got done(bathrooms mostly and some dusting)but I hurt my leg right before Xmas and Hubs made me try to stay off it and nobody else here did much of any cleaning in my absence.  sigh  The house was clean enough I suppose.

*  Purge Inserts  DONE  Got the old inserts purged and purged my clipped coupons out of my coupon case(aka pencil case).  Only about 6 inserts left in the stack.

*  Go Through Xmas Gift Box  DONE  Got if gone through and all the gifts in there wrapped or put into the stockings.

*  Finish Shopping  DONE  I really didn't have much to buy coming into December(I'm a shop ahead person for the Holidays.)  There was no pressure to hit the stores for another.  Hubs always waits until the last possible minute to give me his list and then it's scramble time to get something he wants...drives me crazy.  I usually do that shopping online so I don't have to face the crowds in the stores.  Hubs and I did shop a little store browsing/shopping at our leisure.  No pressure, just the way I like it.

*  Wrap Presents  DONE  Everything got wrapped/bagged.

*  Mail a few Xmas Gifts  DONE  Only had a few items to mail out and I got them all out in the post in time to be received before Xmas.

*  Plan Winter Holiday  PARTIALLY DONE  Well I did some thinking and planning on this but Hubs has been dragging his feet with imput or ideas.  Nothing is booked yet so still up in the air.
Sonya is not ready for a visit yet so the SW is out so we have less ambitious ideas for where to go/what to do.  I really do want to go somewhere out of the snowbelt in February so I'll continue to work on this in January.


So that's it for what got done in December.  Nothing very ambitious and mostly having to do with Christmas time.

I hope y'all got everything you needed to do done last month!
I'll be back in the coming days with my Yearly 2018 Goals and how all that turned out too.

Sluggy

To-Do List.....August Update

Let's take a look at how I did with my August To-Do List........


*  Pay Bills  DONE  Even though we were away when a few bills needed to be paid(or didn't have secure internet access to pay them online)everything got paid and on time.  I figured out what would come in while we were away and left the Daughter signed checks so she could pay those bills.  The sticky bill was College Boy's tuition.  There was a tight time frame when it had to be paid AND they don't let you pay via check/snail mail.  Luckily we were at Kim's house when that window opened up so I could do a bank transfer online there.

*  Enjoy my Trip  DONE  Let's just say I enjoyed the HELL out of my trip!!  There were a couple of bumpy "incidents" and one really bad day when I was sick but overall it was a fantastic trip. 8-)  And y'all will get a full report on it in the fullness of time.

*  Return from Trip(booooo!)  DONE(unfortunately)  We got home safe and sound on Aug. 15th.

*  Unpack from Trip DONE  Well the laundry part didn't take very long as we kept up on dirty laundry along the way(thanks to the B&B stay, Kim's house, one load at a motel in SD, and Sonya Ann's house).  I could have packed half as many clothes it turns out but going that long from home with changeable weather I didn't want to get caught short.  We really didn't bring much home in the way of souvenirs(ok, I got a load of t-shirts tho).  I bought very little alcohol(though Hubs bought TONS)and many "souvenirs" I bought were either food or Xmas gifts so those got put away easily.

*  Read 1, 2 Books  DONE  I took 4 books with me to read figuring I'd have plenty of time with all that riding in the car.  Well I didn't get nearly what I thought I'd get read because Hubs wanted to talk, or navigational help or the scenery was too nice not to watch. lolz
I also bought 3 books on the trip(I think it was 3?)(Hubs bought LOTS of books!!)and Kim gave me a book when we were leaving her house.  One of the books I bought at a thrift store I finished after the time we got home........

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.  Highly recommend this one.  I never saw the film they made from it and I doubt it did the book justice.  I guess I'll have to see the movie now.

And this one.........

The Heart of Everything That Is-The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin  

I started this book two months ago and it took me forever to finish.  Not because it was boring or dull but it was so meaty it took a while to 'digest' it all.
It was so neat reading it after I had been out West where Red Cloud lived his life and saw his homeland with my own eyes.

The authors did a very good job of keeping the reader engaged in this book.  It's very factual and events were taken from primary and secondary sources from that time in history and not just heresy and a bunch of half truths some writers use as "source" material.
Since it was historical tome,  a biographical account of Red Cloud's life against the backdrop of how Native Americans were ultimately slaughtered by the Federal Government almost to extinction, you can predict the ending and the tone of this volume.  But if you enjoy historical works and you'd like a POV other than the official one taught in all the school history books(something we sure need more of nowadays)of what was happening in the Western part of this country during the mid to late 19th century, do give this book a try.


*  Repair LA House  IN PROGRESS  Oh gosh, where to begin.  We are STILL trying to get flooring replaced in the house in Louisiana.  We did get the tenants out of it the end of June. 

 Since we aren't in the area there to deal with arranging for the work to get done we thought we'd work through Lowe's since we have them here and in LA.  Well, it's just been a cluster f*ck from beginning to end!  It's like the Lowe's down there doesn't want the money/business or something....one problem after another.  It's such a long saga that I can't even begin to recount it.  We had hoped to get these repairs done while on the road but we are still dealing with them but hope to wind this torturous episode up in October.

We've dealt with Lowe's in PA(they did our master bathroom renovation)but this one in LA?  Good gosh!!  They are just reinforcing our opinion of businesses and people in the state of Louisiana and how the whole state has this "Let the good times roll, let's not worry about getting stuff done" attitude that is famous in the party town of New Orleans.  My Daughter lived in LA for 3+ years, we have made extended trips to LA and it's just a whole cultural attitude that is ingrained in the way of life there.  It's fine if you are on vacation or not trying to get something accomplished(heck I grew up in the South and I know all about the whole different business climate down there)but LA is just a whole other ball of wax!
I am sorry if this offends anyone from Louisiana but it's just how Sluggy, who has lived in and visited various other regions of the country sees it.  You folks are in a class all on your own there.  We've met some awesome people there and I'd love to party with ya'll but on a day-to-day basis?, no thanks.

*  Can Veggies/Make Pickles  IN PROGRESS  We came home to  a bumper crop of cukes in the garden....I don't think the kids picked a single ONE while we were gone! lolz  So I've been making pickles until they are coming out of my ears!  We've sliced and eaten them fresh too in vinegar and/or in salads.
As for the canning......we tried to get tomatoes a couple of weeks back but the mater crop up here has been slow getting ripened and is weeks behind this year.  I have all my jars and bands prepped and purchased new lids this past week.  Tuesday is D-Day for picking tomatoes at the farm field if the rain holds off.  By next weekend I hope to be fully stocked on canned tomatoes of various forms.

*  Inventory Fridge/Freezer  DONE  I jumped right on this chore the week we got home.  As Daughter really hadn't done any meal planning beyond the day we arrived home(plus having tv dinners for a couple of days after that)I really needed to see what she had used up and what was left.  Daughter did a good job of using what was here, mostly because she has an aversion to grocery stores and shopping.  I knew she'd keep under whatever I left her in cash to spend on groceries while we were gone as long as she didn't spend it all to get take-out pizza and Chinese food. lolz


So that's it for my short August To-Do List.  No fails this month but then again, it was a light-ish
chore list.

Did you get things done in August?  Is there anything you need to work on in September that you are dreading?  I have a few things in that realm for my September list. ;-)

Sluggy