To-Do List.....April Outcome

Another month in the books so let's see what go accomplished or not..............

* Pay Bills  DONE  Always first thing, then we move on.

* Read 1, 2, 3 Books  PASS 
Since I read a record 4 books last month I hope to read 3 in April what with Coronavirus and all but I only finished off 2(though I got about 1/3 of the way through #3).

First I read this one..........

"Everything All At Once:How to Think Like A Science Guy, Solve Any Problem and Make A Better World" by Bill Nye

I have always felt a connection to Bill Nye-first my kids loved his "Science Guy" shows on TV-especially my daughter who grew up to be a scientist and second because his mother went to my college alma mater(and was recruited from there to work in a secret code breaking department during WWII-the Dean of my college, Dorothy Stimson happened to be a cousin of Henry Stimson, whom FDR brought back into government as his Secretary of War once WWII broke out, so with all the men off fighting Henry asked his cousin if any of the ladies attending her school would be smart enough to help out behind the scenes and Bill's mom, Jacqueline Jenkins, was one of those selected).  And who doesn't love a man in a bow tie? lolz

Anyway, this book took a long time to slog through.  Basically it's a book on how to think like a nerd.  Be forewarned going in that Mr. Nye is passionate about two things-space and climate change, so much of it involves those subjects.  There are some interesting biographical tidbits and peeks at his early career that I found lovely.
After I got through with this book I decided that Mr. Nye is an odd duck overall but I am glad I read his book.
3 Thumps Up

Then I read this one........

"Beethoven's Skull; Dark, Strange and Fascinating Tales From the World of Classical Music and Beyond" by Tim Rayborn

I needed a "light" read after Nye's book and this didn't disappoint.  If you like the macabre and strange read this book.  It's all about the strange tales of famous(and not so famous)musicians/composers in history from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
Who knew that Anton Bruckner had an unhealthy obsession with dead bodies?
Or that Arnold Schoenberg suffered from Triskaidekaphobia(fear of the number 13)?
I even found one of my direct ancestors in this book!(Of course I did, I am related to everyone. lol)-William IX, the Duke of Aquataine, my 27x Great Grandfather.  He was a Troubadour, one of the first of the Middle Ages who's musical works survive into today.  

This author has written a book in a similar vein about theatre called "Skakespeare's Ear" which I'll have to find and read as well, because....theatre!
4 Thumbs Up

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

I actually held Two Giveaways in April........

* Mail Giveaway  All mailed and received.

* Clean the Masterbedroom  DONE
Hubs helped me do a thorough Spring cleaning in our bedroom the last week of April.

* Clean the Masterbath  DONE as well.  Well except the bath as Hubs has to do that one.

* Make Face Masks  DONE  I made about 16 masks(maybe a few more)I didn't keep records of them all.  In PA we were required to don them early on, especially if you worked at a drug or grocery store.

I made a few for friends at Rite-Aid before corporate got them PPE.
A couple of them were fighting over this one above. lolz

I made myself some masks..........

I made one for Ex-College Boy and when I sent Eldest son toilet paper in March I threw in a mask as I figured he'd need one eventually down in VA.

I sent this lot to Daughter in LA, both elastic looped over the ears small ones and larger tie behind the head ones for work(these cover more area with less gaps).

I didn't make tons for donation as just making these many killed my hands(I had medical issues with my hands).  If I get a "good hand day" I'll make more.

* Take Load to Food Bank  DONE  The Food Bank finally called me back and they were at least at the beginning of April still accepting food donations and not just money so Hubs took what I had gathered  up...........

All that baby food I got back in February.

And then stuff I bought(or got for Free on Freebie Friday until they stopped doing that until further notice)for donation and foods I gleaned from the stockpile.

* List Items on eBay  FAIL I figured with this pandemic folks wouldn't be buying stuff on eBay much unless you had TP or hand sanitizer for sale or other essentials so I didn't bother to put anything up there.  The bouts of anxiety last month didn't help either.  When I didn't  have a pressing task I was pretty much paralyzed and didn't get much done other than what HAD to be done.
sigh.

* Hem Hubs' Shirts  DONE  After trying on a shit ton of shirts it was determined that only 2 needed to bee taken up.  In between mask sewing, when I had to change to a color of thread that matched the shirts in question, I worked on those shirts.  Done and Hubs is pleased which is what this was all about.  Though there was a time or two I just wanted to hack him up with my scissors.......*shhh, don't tell him.

* Plan/Goals for 2020  PASS  Well unless you've been sleeping for the last 8 weeks you know why this hasn't been finished.  We did work on it some but with not knowing when it will be safe for us to travel a component of our Plans for 2020 can't be scheduled.....the component related to us moving.  
Once Ex-College Boy is back to work he will be moving out(not right away but sometime later this year)so we can begin repairs/renovations on that bedroom and the main bathroom which gets us closer to the finish line with having the house ready to list.  So there's something.
I am so tired of this stay at home order and I want to travel.  I keep threatening to drive to Kim's Sissie's house since it's pretty close and I wouldn't have to stop to pee anywhere or get gas.  lolz  I could stand to stare at her four walls for awhile rather than my own for a bit. lolz

I am hatching a plan to go see Sonya Ann this coming Winter too.....unless she moves to somewhere cold(but that ain't happening if I know her). ;-)

Eldest may be moving sometime this Summer and starting a new job in the Fall but with the global pandemic that's all up in the air still too.

While we sit here contemplating our navels we've been talking about where to move.  Besides the probability of back down to Virginia or one of the tax-friendly states I've identified there is also maybe staying in PA, but further South in the state and not here.  Not living on a mountain in PA means less snow than here and I am sure we can find someplace closer to Maryland but in PA that has less expensive housing.
I don't know and it's all still up in the air for us.

So what did you get knocked off your To-Do list in April?

Sluggy

April To-Do List......Update

Let's see how we did on April's list of stuff to get done..............

* Pay Bills  DONE  First thing I do every month(or when the bill arrives that month)  Generally I sit down every two weeks and pay what arrived during that time.  That helps me stay more organized and not forget to pay something. ;-)

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

It's a retelling of the California Gold Rush from 1848-1853.  It relies heavily on first person sources, diaries and memoirs of a varied lot of everyday folks who traveled to CA during this time who were intent on profiting off the event.  Very few made lasting fortunes mining the gold.  It was an interesting time and the author feels the spirit of innovation and the free spirited society still resides in and helped shape what CA is today.  There is also a bit of the unsavory that helped make CA what it is today if you hold to this author's suggestions here.
I especially liked the actual excerpts of the diarists over the author's take on "what it all means" and conclusions.

I also read this one.........

Gumption by Nick Offerman(actor and manly man extraodinaire)
This is his follow-up to his successful "Paddle Your Own Canoe" book.  This sequel(if you will)is more a vanity piece for him.  It's basically 21 chapters, each  about a person he admires for some reason(s)and how/why this person defined/defines "gumption".
He starts off with dead historical folks and then quickly veers off into current celebs/famous folks he admires who he considers full of gumption.
At times I think Nick Offerman is full of something other than gumption but hey! it's his book.
I won't say anything else bad about the man who gave us Ron Swanson. ;-)
This book shines at times and then there are the other times......not bad for an actor overall and a fun read.

I also started in on two other books in April and hopefully I'll get those polished off before May is over with and can let you know about them.

* Purge Coupon Envelope  DONE

Every 3 months I clean out the coupons inserts but every month I clean out my coupon envelope(it's a pencil case I life hacked for this purpose).

* Sell Stuff  DONE

 This sale was basically pure profit as the shampoo didn't cost me anything out of pocket at Rite-Aid.

This sale was at a loss and was something I was just trying to get out of the house. lolz
Both sales meant stuff left my house so I am good with it.
I do need to get back onto the local Yard Sale site and get some things sold there now that the weather has improved greatly.

* Sell House in LA PENDING
All the repairs have been made, contracts signed, we are just waiting on their mortgage company's appraiser to sign off on the repairs(taking their everloving sweet time on this!) and to close.  
Can't come soon enough for me!!

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

* Mail Giveaway  DONE  And the winner started enjoying her goodies this past Thursday. 8-)

* Finish Redoing Passwords Book  DONE

I got all the current information transferred into this nifty little spiral notebook.  I can't show you the insides for obvious reasons. lolz
This one should hold up better than the last book as the covers are plastic not thin cardboard/paperboard and not as likely to be torn off as easily. 8-)
It does feel good to let go of all that old out-of-date information and there is plenty of room before I get this one filled up.

* Plan possible 2018 Travel  PENDING  Still working out the kinks and maybe changing direction on this one.  Stay tuned.

* Work on 2018 Goals  FAIL  Well we are at a place where it's very difficult to plan any more goals for this year(mostly).  So much is up in the air.....this house sale, travel plans, College Boy's plans, etc.  We are sort of in a holding pattern at this point in our lives.   Maybe once we nail down the travel itinerary and the house sells we can move forward and think about the future.

Mostly we got what we needed to get done in April.
I'm now working on my To-Do List for May and am posting items on the side bar as I figure them out.

What did you get marked off your To-Do List for April?

Sluggy

To-Do List....February Update

Not a lot on my plate in February.  It's a short month and the dark and cold don't motivate me to do much other than stay warm.  Add in a rough month for my health this year and it's a good thing I have a short list.  8-)

Here's the list and what did or didn't get accomplished.

* Pay Bills  DONE  If nothing else gets done, this does.

* Read 1 Book  DONE  I read this one........

Brothers by George Howe Colt

It was better than I expected it to be.  I didn't know this writer beforehand or his family but got to know them intimately in this book.  His younger brother, Ned, was a reporter for NBC news for a decade or so and was held hostage near Fallujah during the Iraqi war with his team for 3 days in 2004(this event was detailed near the end of the book).  Ned died in Feb. of 2015 of a stroke.

Having had some talks with Hubs about his family/siblings and their dynamic recently due to his sister's issues and treatment of us, we have talked about how children raised in the same environment and by the same parents(and those parents treating each child evenhandedly), how each child can come away from their childhood experience with such different perspectives and values.  This book and Colt's discussion about his siblings and himself brought that lesson home for me.
Colt also talked at length about famous brothers through history-the Thoreau brothers, the Wright brothers, the Booth brothers, the Marx brothers and the van Gogh brothers to name a few-and how their fraternal bond shaped them all.  Very interesting book if you are a fan of psychology or any of these famous brothers.

I also got another book read this month...........

American Rose-the Life and Time of Gypsy Rose Lee by Karen Abbott.
Since I was a kid I was enamored of the Broadway Musical "Gypsy" which was the singing and dancing fairy tale version of Rose Louise Hovick's life.  Gypsy was a nationally known strip tease artist.  The author actually met with people who knew Gypsy and Gypsy's mother, Rose Thompson Hovick, including Gypsy's sister, June(who died in 2010)to garner information for the book.
Again, this book was very interesting and a "the true story behind the show and film" look at a dysfunctional family.  The mother, Rose, turned these two daughters into psychologically damaged goods and all three were survivors-both of the times they lived through and their family dynamic.  There is also a fair amount of information here about the history of vaudeville and burlesque and some of the large players such as the Minsky Brothers.
This book got me interesting in reading June Havoc's(she altered her last name from Hovick)memoirs(she wrote 2).  I doubt if I'll read Gypsy's memoir as she spent her life hiding her true self from the public.
I've got a sort of connection to June Havoc.....she starred in the original production of "Pal Joey" on Broadway and I played Melba Snyder the reporter in my college's production of that show and sang/performed the number "Zip" which was a satire on striptease and Gypsy Rose Lee and one of my audition pieces while I was in the theater world was "That Terrible Rainbow" which was one of June's numbers from "Pal Joey".  8-))

* Hold Giveaway  DONE

* Mail Giveaway  DONE
Crystal finally braved the snowstorm and her sickness misery and retrieved the box from the post office.  Use it all in good health!

* 2 Clothing Alterations  DONE

Daughter went to Sallie's a found some dress pants she needed for presentations in her Business class and to wear on her Science conference in March to New Orleans.
The only problem was they were too short so I needed to let the hem out as much as possible.

Whomever owned these pants before had been short and had hacked off the fabric in the hemmed portion with a knife or something(there was a line of stitching at the base of where the fabric was turned for the hem and all the fabric was jaggedly cut off there)before turning the pants legs up and hand stitching very badly a new hem.  I had to take out the old hem and then encase the jagged rough ends with seam binding just above where the line of stitching was before hand stitching a new lower hem.

What a PITA!
Daughter also bought a blue Women's dress shirt which was missing a button.  The shirt looked brand new and it appeared someone got rid of it due to the button missing only.  There was a spare button sewn into the bottom of the shirt so it was just a matter of removed the spare and sewing onto where the button was missing. lolz
I also had to resew another button as it came off in my hand when I was handling the shirt.  Factory machine sewn buttons are held on with a tiny bit of stitching which is prone to unraveling so always check your buttons when you buy a shirt and hand sew them for security.  It only takes a minute or two(and really, shouldn't everyone be taught to hand sew a button)and may help you avoid the embarrassment of one popping off at an inopportune moment. ;-)

* Load to Sallie's  DONE  Hubs finally hauled up a load of cast-offs and got them out of the living room.

* Redo Passwords Book  FAIL  I've been looking at the book I bought to redo my passwords/User IDs in but I just haven't gotten the umph to actually do this yet.  For sure this will happen in March.  It shouldn't take me more than an hour or two to wrap this up so I can't believe I am procrastinating so badly with this.

* Do Taxes  IN PROGRESS  I handed off taxes to Hubs(after gathering the initial paperwork)as he wants to handle it now that he's retired.  He is driving me crazy though as he works on it in drips and drabs and doesn't just DO IT!  And he insists on using software(that we have to pay for!)while I did it for years and years myself the old fashioned way.   Our taxes aren't so complicated we need to pay to do them but he's afraid of being audited and things doing them and mailing them in is now a red flag as most folks electronically file.  Whatever.  Just freaking get them filed already!!!

* Load to Food Bank  DONE  I finally got a good day when they were open to accepting donations and hauled up 6 jugs of laundry detergent, 4 bottles of shampoo and 4 bags of assorted canned/boxed/pouched food.

* Plan possible 2018 Travel  IN PROGRESS  A few ideas have crossed my mind but nothing has gotten to the make reservations stage yet.  I am just feeling uninspired about traveling right now.

* Work on 2018 Goals  Again, IN PROGRESS  We've got one big goal we've been working toward-selling the house in LA.  Keeping it another year and having Daughter and BF rent it from us after she gets her degree doesn't make sense to our bottom line so it's going back on the market with a better realtor.  I want it sold this year, period!  Dealing with people in Louisiana in a business relationship has been one headache after another and I want to leave it behind.

So that's what's happened here in February.
How was your month?  Did you conquer any goals last month?

Onward and upward to March's To-Do List!

Sluggy

To-Do List....July Update

Let's peek at how July's To-Do List  went, shall we?

* Pay Bills  DONE  Everything got paid and on time.  I just don't want to even SEE August's credit card bill however. lolz

* Pack for Trip!  DONE  I am sure I overpacked but oh well.  Better too many clothes than not enough.

* Go on Trip  IN PROGRESS  Havign a wonderful time, wish y'all were here.  Seriously!  I need someone other than Hubs to talk to. lolz

* Plan CB's Fall Housing/Food  DONE  Housing is set(and much cheaper than the last 3 years)and we've got a plan for the foodstuffs.

* Mail Eldest's Birthday Present  DONE  I mailed it out so that he got it the day before his birthday.  I sent him some craft beer nuts and a Birthday check....plus a bag of Smarties as that was his favorite candy as a kid and I always send him those now.  8-)

* Read 1, 2, 3, 4 Books  PASS  I read 3 books.  Didn't get to the 4th book though as I didn't have enough reading time in the car as I thought I'd have.

This was a quick read.....a short novella of YA fiction.  Interesting.

This novel got finished on the road last week.  Funny and dark.

And I can't for the life of me remember the first book I finished in July way before we left on this road trip.  Being on the road for so long just does things to your brain.  I'll have to wait until we get home and then I can find the book and list it.

* Inventory Freezer  DONE  I pawed through and added to the list I made for Daughter when I went to VA in May(after crossing off what she/they cooked then).  The kids are well stocked plus I gave them cash for what they needed to buy.  It will be interesting to see once I get home what actually got used/spent.  I suspect there will have been many nights of Chinese take-out knowing my Daughter.  ;-)

* Repair LA House  IN PROGRESS  Like everything else in Louisiana, nobody down there does anything with ANY sense of urgency.  So dealing with Lowe's and their installer through our real estate agent is taking FOREVER!!!  Lots of phone tag and nobody but the realtor gets back to us.  Frustrating is an inadequate word for this process. ugh.  But we are working on it as we travel across the country and now back toward home.

* List LA House  DONE  The house is listed and on the market even though there is still work to be done on it.  Anybody seeing the house is told what we plan to fix/update and SOME DAY it might get finished.

* Transfer LA House Utilities  DONE  Again, it took FOREVER and a day to get the utilities in our name.  The water people cashed our check but still no word on whether they actually turns on the water.  Will have the realtor check next trip she makes to the house. ugh.

* Pick Up New Glasses  DONE

Here are my new "readers".  If you can't tell they are purple on the outer edges and clear toward the middle.
And here are my sunglasses.........

Again, purple frames, if you can't tell the color, as it was dark in the car.

Happy with what got done(or started)though it wasn't a very long list in July.
August's list will probably be just as brief.

What did you get accomplished in July?  Any big projects or just "regular life" stuff?
What didn't you get crossed off your list that you wished you had gotten finished?


Sluggy

August To-Do List......Update

Here's the update on my August To-Do List.  I post a To-Do list on the side bar of my blog's homepage every month.
Let's see how ol' Sluggy did this month on her list, shall we? ;-)

* Pay Bills  DONE  
Everything got paid and on time, as per usual.

* Bike Something  FAIL  
Well I did do 1 mile. lolz  Must get back on this in September.

* Read 2 Books  DONE
Finished the first book and read another one.  Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani and Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.  First one was good, the second one was excellent.

Me reading Olive Kitteridge while in Maine, so apropos.....lolz

* Pick Produce and Use it  DONE
Besides the tomatoes we've eaten raw off the plants in salads and sandwiches I made a rustic tomato sauce with the bulk of the maters(2 x gallon Ziploc bags full)and used half of in the Manicotti I served for dinner on Tuesday.  I'll use the other half to simmer my homemade meatballs today.  The zucchinis have been used up(or grated and frozen for later).The acorn squash is in the root cellar mellowing and waiting until cooler weather to roast them.

* Go to Farm and buy produce to can  DONE
I only processed and froze 5 lbs. of green beans this Summer.  The farm no longer has PYO tomatoes so the price is too dear to buy canning tomatoes.  

* Can Produce  DONE Sort of
No canning since I froze the veggies.  I will be canning my Pepper Relish in September.

* 1 Doctor's Appointment  DONE
Waited 3 months to get that appointment with a specialist.  Lots of rx changes ensued.  The jury is still out on whether this will help.

* Pack College Boy  DONE
I was minimally involved this year and thus, CB forgot some items but not many.  Next Fall is his last Back-To-School so I hope I can just step back and he can handle it all himself.  Perhaps he'll heed my advise to make a list in 2017. ha!

Hubs does the actually "taking" in the rented cargo van.  I get to pick Hubs up from the rental location when he is done.  This year I got caught in a massive traffic snarl trying to get him.  The Rental place is right near the Arena and a Jehovah's Witness Convention was letting out at that time from that venue.
Thanks Jehovah!

* Take College Boy back to school  DONE
CB is back ensconced at college....after an hour delay locating CB's wallet.  His shirt is appropriate as I was about to "launch" this child after an hour of searching for his wallet.

* Sew Something  FAIL
Nope didn't have the urge to sew in August.  Perhaps September will see me pull out the supplies and have a go at making a shirt.  I really need to.....

Only 2 items I didn't get to.

On ward and upward to September!

How did you do with your To-Do list for August?

Sluggy

TO-DO List.....November Update

Let's see how I did with my November To-Do List.

NOVEMBER

* Have Car Tuned FAIL--I couldn't get an appt. at the car shop until Dec. 1st, but it's done now. ;-)

* Reorder DMEs DONE--Ordered, arrived and they've bill my insurance.  They offered to send me a 90 Day supply so I consented to that so that I won't have to refill early in the new year when our high deductible resets and we are paying fully out of pocket for DMEs.  When I got the invoice it says I am now on a automatic reorder schedule they also signed me up for.....oh, hell no!lolz  I'll be calling them in January to get off of that as I order when I need stuff.

* Clean Living/Dining Rooms DONE--Well it got done "enough" to get through company coming for Thanksgiving but isn't a thorough cleaning.  When College Boy is here for school break I'll get him to help me with this when we take down the Holiday trimmings.  For now it's off the list.

* Cancel XM Radio DONE--Actually Hubs had to do this as the account was in his name.  But then again, it's on my list because I had to keep nagging at him to take care of this. lol
I am not in the car enough to justify paying for satellite radio anymore.  

* Wash Windows PARTIALLY DONE--I got 4 done and the French doors downstairs plus CB did the front storm door.  I'll save the rest of them for 2016 as this is a good January activity while CB is home.

* Get 10 Items up on eBay FAIL--Nope, I just couldn't bring myself to do this.  I don't relish the thought of dealing with eBay so close to Christmas and going away in October meant I didn't get anything listed that month, which is when I like to list for Xmas(and have all the listings close by the end of Nov.)  Perhaps I'll put some non-Xmasy items up in January when I have lots of free time?

*Sew 2 Pair of Pants DONE--I got all the cut-out pants sewn up.  Of course some of them aren't hemmed yet and the PJ ones don't have elastic in the waists as I need CB home to measure for that.

* Bike 30 Miles DONE--I set a modest goal for this and surpassed it even with half-assed effort.

38 Miles done.
Go me. 

* Gather Salvation Army Donation DONE--

* Drop of SA Donation DONE--Got it delivered before Thanksgiving.

* Gather Food Bank Donation DONE--Between grocery items I had picked up in the 2 months before November, toiletries gleaned from my stockpile, and the things bought on my November Food Monies here is what went over......

* Drop off Food Bank Donation DONE--Got this delivered before Thanksgiving too.

* Clean out Basement PARTIALLY DONE--All my inventory from my ceramic shop business is still sitting in our basement since moving here in 2000.  This includes many, MANY ceramic molds as well as unpainted bisque.  We got all the bisque out of the collapsing cardboard boxes(except for 4 boxes)and it's now sitting on wooden shelves and boards.  We also found most of my gnome collection mixed in with this business stuff and that is now reboxed and in the garage until I figure out what to do with it all.
Another surprise(a pleasant one!)we found down there is my ceramic Nativity set which I had made back in the late 1980's before I had kids.......

It disappeared shortly after we moved here in 2000 and I had given it up for lost.  When we first moved in all the stuff that we didn't have a place for yet went into the basement.  I had thought everything but the ceramic supplies and the eBay inventory had come out of there that first year in this house.  As I emptied my storage units I always hoped I'd find this set somewhere among all the eBay inventory, fabric and toiletries I had stashed in there but never did.
This just made my day!
We still have wooden pallets that need to be broken up, brought out of the basement and gotten rid of down there and a whole lot of cleaning to do with the floor so this will get done over the Winter so I can cross this Job off my list.

* Hold a Giveaway DONE--It was held in November and a winner picked....

* Mail out Giveaway Box DONE--It was mailed out and received before November ended.

* Pick-up CB from School DONE--Hubs and I both went to fetch College Boy....and lots of his stuff too!

* Cook Turkey Day meal DONE--I was very organized this year and everything came out well.

* Take CB back to School DONE--I got one photo of him this time, right before left to go back.
He looks excited, doesn't he? ;-)

* Make Xmas Card List DONE--Now all I have to do is to actually WRITE THE CARDS! Can you tell this is not one of my most favorite things? lolz

* Make Xmas Gift List DONE--List was compiled over September-November and as of Nov. 30th most everything has been bought/acquired.  I have one more present to purchase and a couple of checks to write and the list and procurement are complete.
Yay!


I've already got my December TO-DO List up on the side bar(pretty fast for me, right?lol)and I'm plugging away at that too.
The Basement Cleaning moves to Dec. but the Window Washing will wait until January's List.

How did you do at getting your November TO-DO List completed?

Sluggy