Powerless

This morning, the power went off unexpectedly just before 7:00 am. I was in the midst of planning to charge my phone, using up the laptop's battery power before plugging it in when the power waned and waiting for the furnace to kick in at 7:00 am, to take the chill out of the air. 

Then poof! The house was silent. Blissfully silent.

The dehumidifier I had running in the basement? Silence. The bathroom fan? Silent. Nothing. That is when I looked up to discover the clock on the stove was blank. The power was out.

Our power company sent a vague message saying they were looking into the reason behind the outage and crews were on the job, looking after the situation.

When after an hour, the power was still out, I started running through worst case scenarios. My phone could be charged in the car. If I didn't open the fridge door unnecessarily, the fridge/freezer would remain cold for as long as possible. 

Meanwhile, I was honing in on comparing a power outage to an all-out-communication outage. We have had a few recent outages that affected phones, internet, cable and cell phones. While I felt completely alone in my inability to reach out or be reached in any fashion, I uttered aloud, "At least we still have power. At least we still have power".

It was bright outside and the need for powered lighting was almost nil. Leave the bathroom door open and all is well. Water was functioning, I could have a bath, use the "facilities" and receive messages from the outside world.

All was well enough.

I opened my latest (and last) assembly-required cabinet for the closet in the Daybed Room, ensured all the parts and pieces were there and went about my day like I didn't need power.

The power was restored after an hour and a half. Just a blip in time. Life went on seamlessly without the assistance of a power source. I received a few messages from the outside world during the outage. I was not alone.

We are beyond fortunate with all of our conveniences of life. 

Paying a water bill is a privilege. We have have clean, running water and sewer system we completely take that for granted. There are many who do not have this luxury. Even within our own country.

Heat and power are two more luxuries of life we have on tap. Turn on a switch, turn up a thermostat, turn on the air conditioner, charge our various gadgets that keep us feeling connected and enjoy the ease with which we heat, cool and store our food.

Add to that, the various ways we keep our lines of communication open. Much of which is reliant on satellites and wireless connections. 

I miss the days when we all had a hard wired phone that was attached to a wall, not reliant on power or satellite connections. Yes, this could malfunction just as easily if the wire was cut. But there is something grounding in knowing there is a grounded connection.

I appreciate life's little wake up calls. There could be many, who slept right through this moment of powerlessness. Others who may have not had their morning coffee brewed before the the lights went out. 

Me? I simply wished I had charged my phone when I thought of it first thing this morning. Then began counting the many ways in which I was just plain lucky.

When one feels powerless, the best resource we have is to focus on that which we still have power over. Our thoughts, back-up plans and the mere simplicity of having most everything we need at our fingertips. 

Power or no power, I am simply thankful for that which stays the same. With or without the conveniences which make living a life pretty simple.

Thank you.

Back-up-plan #1

A functional and bright battery powered light

(including brand new batteries)

Back-up Plan #2

I'm feeling a little more in control now that I'm 88% charged

(and 21 minutes away from a full charge)

You Missed a Spot

We have a number of cool, dreary, wet days around here lately. I was happy for the reprieve from the demands of the sun but more appreciate of the bit of moisture we had. Not for the reason most people hope for rain, to nourish grass, plants and flowers, but to tamp down the dust-factor when I mow the lawn.

The lawn is so sparse, I am covered with a coat of dirt from head to toe, after mowing up a dust cloud that follows me and the lawnmower as I go. This dirt has to be hard on the lawn mower engine but it is the need for a shower after lawn mowing that is my motivation to find a way to limit the dust factor. 

The recent rain subsided a few days ago and I capitalized on the opportunity to mow before the wet ground turned to dust. Add the coolness of the day to the formula and it was a quick and easy mow. A half hour, from start to finish. That includes filling the gas tank and putting away the lawn mower. 

My kind of yard work. Short and sweet with minimal dust and sweat added to the mix. If it would have been nicer outside, I may have found an excuse to stay out and putter. But it was more about the "race" to me. How quickly could I be back inside and making supper? Lawn mowing barely put a dent in my after-work routine.

It looks like some sun and higher temperatures are in the forecast, just in time for the weekend. As much as I welcome the return of blue skies and sunshine, look at the first thing The Sun had to say to me this morning:

"You missed a spot!"

Taking Care of Your Future Self

I remember a time when my son came over to fix something around the house. He was looking around for (or may have brought) the tools required to do the job, when he found everything he was looking for all together in a spot in the laundry room. "Man, I take good care of my future self" he commented as he appreciated the foresight he had the last time he had tended to this task.

I think of this comment often as I walk through my little life. Taking good care of your future self is a much more optimistic way of looking at the same side of the coin, "Man, I hate always having to do this".

I go back to my training when I became a bank teller. It was highly suggested to always keep your work space tidy and organized. Knowing you always had the supplies you needed and exactly where to find them made life easier. This is a universal way of living life.

I have a back-up supply of the repetitive grocery, household, stationary and most car/garage items on hand. When I'm down to the second last item, it's already on the list so it's always there when I need it. 

I have a morning routine that doesn't change much from day to day. Morning coffee, morning smoothie, second cup of coffee, followed by some actual food item. Each phase of this little routine is followed by washing and putting away said cups/glasses/etc. As I put away each item, it feels like I've accomplished a small feat. Everything is back in its place and ready to go for the next morning.

My second job requires leaving the house an hour earlier in the morning. That lost hour is hard to regain so I do everything in my power to take care of my future self. As tough as it may feel to wash my hair the night before or make that lunch when I know I could squeeze it into the morning, I think of my son's words. I will be grateful for taking care of my future self the next morning when time is slipping through my fingertips.

Meal prep on the weekends; mowing the lawn when it doesn't feel like a convenient time; filling the propane tank when I'm already outside and dusty; any number of chores that feel like drudgery and I get little satisfaction or enjoyment from, I remind myself "Your future self will be grateful".

I know I need to incorporate some regular form of exercise into my routine and I have yet to make a change. The biggest obstacle I face is not wanting to lose any of my precious morning time, nor do I want to get up any earlier. I know my future self will be grateful but my present day self is pretty set in her ways.

It is so much better to frame things in a manner which makes it as easy as possible on yourself. What feels hard at the moment? Would your future self be grateful if you did it anyway? 

It Takes Two Hands to Clap

I remember Mom commenting on the excellent experience she had while in an emergency room during a brief hospital stay. It was a time when many were commenting on the negative experiences at hospitals so Mom was very appreciative of the care she received. She expressed her gratitude to one of her nurses and the nurse simply responded, "It takes two hands to clap". 

A memorable moment, a memorable quote. Mom recalled the moment and I have thought of this quote numerous times since hearing Mom's experience. 

It is a quote which reciprocates the compliment. While Mom had a very good experience on her end and expressed appreciation, the nurse was also a benefactor of Mom being Mom and simply being a patient who made the nurse's experience positive as well.

I was fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of the simple comment, "Thank you for being so nice" while I was simply doing my job at work yesterday. I sat up a little taller, smiled and quoted Mom's quote (and cited Mom and Mom's nurse as the source of such wise words). "It takes two hands to clap."

Thank you for being so nice to me as well. 👏👏

It is Almost Done

This is the tax season that just doesn't end. It felt like a long, hard process to wind up the year for a company, file all necessary returns and resign from that position. 

Of course, my resignation came with the caveat "If you need me to file your GST returns, I can be available for that", but other than that I highly recommended the new bookkeeper start from January 1st, to ensure consistency and a fresh start for 2025.

The new bookkeeper has been hired. All they needed was the back-up copy of the accounting program to get started. Easy peasy, I thought. I can just email it. 

No such luck. The file was too big for my email program to manage. I googled how to send a large file and was directed towards "clouds" and other such forums to send such a file. It would have been simplest, to put this file on a flash drive and hand deliver it. Unfortunately this would require both parties driving into the city, find a meeting spot and make the exchange.

If I had any other need to run into the city, this could have been a fun and easy little excursion. As it was, it would have taken three hours out of my day, at least $35.00 worth of gas, plus the cost of the flash drive. The expense of three hours was more than I wanted to bear but adding an additional $50.00 to the total? I hoped to find another way. And I did.

Thankfully, the file was sent electronically, received, opened AND the new bookkeeper was able to access everything she needed and was ready to go.

One crisis averted from the comfort of home.

One final, straggling tax return had yet to be filed. I had completed my work, one final check before it was ready to go, plus the presence of the tax payer. It was all checked, balanced, okayed and sent off. All from the comfort of home.

2024 has been wrapped up with a bow and sent where it needed to be sent. I have three sets of tax papers to return to their rightful owners and the piece of real estate that takes up in my upstairs closet will be free.

To-go pile ↑

The empty space it will create ↑

It is almost done. So long, 2024. 

Then it Rained

As much as I whined about spring and summer's neediness in yesterday's post, 

I forgot about the rain:

Cloudy days and Mondays ...

That would be today.

A day off of outdoor chores.

I guess I can't mow the lawn today after all.

Thank you, Rain.

Sludging Through

It is the weekend. A long weekend, at that. And I'm having a tough time tackling my one-thing, one-step at a time laundry list of to-do, should-do and must-do items on my eternal task list. 

Summer. Days are long, weather is warm and there is NO snow. You gotta love it. Right?

Well? I like it. I really do. But I find Summer to be demanding. Lawn to mow. Weeds to tend. Garbage bins of fallen pinecones. Windows. Car. Everything around here needs a good spring cleaning. Everything. The downside of it all is it never ends. Grass and weeds just keep growing. Pinecones keep on falling. Windows? I love them. I really do. They are just so needy.

Winter. Short days, cold weather and snow. Despite its drawbacks, it's more forgiving in some ways.

It may snow a lot for several days running. But there is always a break. Granted, that break may come with ice, wind, unseasonal melting creating more ice ... but there are reprieves. 

Snow is different than grass (yes, I am a rocket scientist, aren't I?). Snow comes in ebbs and flows. Grass just keeps growing until fall when it takes a bit of a break. Grass always needs something. Snow? Once it's shoveled, it's good (unless there is wind - that is another story).

Those short, dull winter days don't focus on your dirty windows and dusty house. Winter says, "Take a break. Relax. Save your energy for the next snowfall." Summer says, "Go while the going's good. Sun is shining! Take a good look at that dirt and DO something about it."

It is barely past the middle of May and I'm looking at this needy yard that surrounds my home. I like it. I really do. But really? I just washed windows. Now you want me to mow the grass and deal with the excessive pinecones too?

I sludged through yesterday. Slowly (and I mean slowly) but surely, I (eventually) washed all the windows on the main floor. Inside AND out. What gratitude do I get? The sun pokes around a new corner of the earth and says, "You missed a spot!!"

Aaaack! Summer? You are so demanding. I'm still glad you are here.