No, this post is not about growing marijuana. It is about getting lost in, deep in, or tangled in 'weeds' that choke the joy out of life. Weeds can refer to so many things we are dealing with or dislike.
I get lost in the weeds (one source defined as wandering into obscure and unimportant details when one is researching a subject) when looking for the meanings of a blog title I am trying to decide on.
Life is messy and unpredictable, but being able to find joy amongst the weeds of life (financial problems, depression, frustration, a health issue, etc.) is a vital tool. The message from the book Margaret’s Unicorn, by Briony May Smith, is that while in the weeds, we can become stronger, more resilient, and find ourselves.
The
term "stuck in the weeds" is a colloquial expression used when persons
are concerned with small details, which often prevents them from
understanding what is really important. Getting
stuck in the weeds can be a little like getting stuck in the mud, where
you just keep spinning your wheels and getting no where, or maybe even
you dig yourself in deeper. I have gotten 'deep in the weeds' - Totally immersed in or preoccupied with the details or complexities of something, like all the details involved with purchasing, owning, and maintaining another property. Joe keeps reminding me, you are putting the cart before the horse, or we will worry about that when we get to that step. I need to be careful not to get tangled in the nitty gritty details that aren't even of any significance yet. But I do love dreaming and visualizing all we could do with an acreage. But maybe more importantly to consider before making this decision, is imagining all the work, obstacles, and hardships we might face.
In the weeds often refers to when a chef is overrun by tickets, or a waitress by tables. I am in the weeds as soon as I enter the kitchen to prepare a meal for anyone other than Joe and I. So, I planned for us to get carry out lunch and dinner. The 'kids' picked up Subway on their way here, and Patty joined us for a late lunch. I did throw together a toss salad and a fruit salad, but that is not cooking.
Next we headed over to Terry's to show Courtney the property. Patty had stayed at the barn to work the afternoon shift of chores. This is one of the stalls in Terry's four stall barn. Joe, and especially Will, were intrigued by the machine shed. Terry's husband Billy has many cool and useful tools and 'toys' in there.
Once home we settled in for some R&R. Joe and Will played a game of chess. And it wasn't long before Courtney was napping.
Patty arrived as the game was coming to an end. And once Will defeated Joe, in what appeared to be a fairly close match from my perspective, we ordered dinner from Reds.
After dinner we all watched a movie (can't remember the name). It was entertaining but not worth recommending. Then Will and Courtney hit the road for home. It was an enjoyable day, a good visit, and nice to finally meet Will.
Sunday 1/24 - As I was getting this blog post started, I saw a large bird swoop down and land in the pond's marshy area down back. I immediately recognized it to be a Bald Eagle. I had to get up and go into the living room to get a better look and take these photos. It grabbed something in the weeds at the water's edge, and while it was flapping its wings, I thought it might be stuck.
But then it flew off.
I had leftover hamburger on my salad for lunch with Monita trying to convince me to share (video).
I had Patty pick me up on her way into work at the barn and I horsed around with Amiga for a little bit. I wanted to be sure she was okay after the worming. I sat on her bareback while she found some decent grass to eat.
After some grazing time, I rode Amiga out in the front yard where Karin and Teri had the Icelandics grazing.
Kaylah had come out on Banner and as I was riding back to the barn, she and Patty were conversing, probably about the horses. When Patty was done with barn chores, we headed home.
Joe watched football and I watched a movie I really enjoyed, but can't remember the name of it either.
Monday 1/25 - It was a rainy day, all day, with the wind picking up in the afternoon.
Sometimes I get lost in the weeds playing games here at my computer, completely loosing track of time, and wasting the day away. This is especially easy on a rainy day. But I started a cleaning project mid-morning. After gathering a bunch of lost mice toys from under furniture (that I then store in my bedside table) I got to work on litter boxes. I was planning to switch the smaller box in the laundry room (because it is used a lot more often) with the larger one on the balcony. I ended up thoroughly cleaning all three boxes.
One at a time, I dumped the remaining good litter out of each box and into a bucket. Then I gave the box a long soaking followed by a rigorous scrub in a Pinesol solution. I also cleaned the lids including the filters. I had to set tops and bottoms over heat vents in the floor to get them to dry quicker. I did a load of laundry during some of the wait time, and also went to the gym. I had a good workout, and at the end had tried a new exercise for my back. Well, I ended up overdoing it, so came home with a sore back.
After filling the last, well cleaned litter box, and putting it in the laundry room, I was done for the day. I needed a rest, so held off on finishing the laundry room litter box area. I needed Joe's help anyway, but he had left on a long walk with Maggie. This larger box does not allow enough room for the cats to get in the door so I had to angle it in. The smaller box had more than enough room, but also enabled Maggie to get her head in and steal cat poop. Since this box was too big, I planned to revamp the entrance to allow the cats in but keep the dog out. Some sawing of the old typewriter table that the box is under would be necessary.
We had salads for dinner, and then watched two episodes of Blue Bloods.
Before climbing into bed early to read, I took the only four photos for the day. In this last one, the cats are waiting for me to slide under the covers and get the mouse toys out of my bedside table. Monita tries to help herself when I open the draw to get the toys out, seen in the first two photos.
In this photo, Joe has used the circular saw to cut the hinged board to four inches. And he is in the process of fixing a bracket to the table to hold this board that is hinged, to stay in the up position.
Then I traced the hole from the litter box at the correct height and used a hand jigsaw to cut it out. In this next photo, I was working on sanding all of the edges.
I dusted and wiped off the table and brought it back into the laundry room. Monita was right there to check it out.
Stevie soon joined her.
Another project done and to check off my to-do list.
After lunch I went to the barn to ride Amiga. The only photos I took of us, were from in the saddle.
We had gotten so much rain Monday and overnight, that the front yard was way to squishy to ride on. So I rode around the gardens and let Amiga have some green grass. As Amiga and I were about back to the barn, Jan rode out on Cash to join us. We decided to try the trail and went up to the bean fields. The larger one, which drains better, had decent footing where it crested at the top. I had turned Amiga from a standing position to go around Jan, when she suddenly came up lame on her front left foot. I hopped off, checked her foot, and didn't see anything. I got out my hoof pick and cleaned her hoof, only noticing a little stick and a small piece of gravel. Then I hand walked her and she seemed just fine. I got back on and Jan and I continued riding.
We chatted quite a bit and just moseyed along out in the field.
Once back to the barn, I got the mud cleaned off her belly, legs, and hooves, gave her a Prevocox, and put her in her stall for the night.
I couldn't believe how light it was while heating up a frozen dinner at 5:30. The evening consisted of two hours of TV time with Joe, watching Blue Bloods.
Babe was soaking up the sun and warmth.
Just look at all her little toes!
I kept our pace slow, partly so we wouldn't run over Chester, but also because I wasn't sure if Amiga had lingering soreness and besides, it was still wet, muddy, and slippery in spots. After the top part of the Holly trail, I took Amiga into the fields by the ghost town. She got to graze some and we did some slow gaiting too.
By the time I got back to the barn, a little before 2:00, the wind had really picked up and the temperature was dropping. As I was leaving, Patty arrived to work with Zorro.
I knew if I sat down when I got home, I would never get back up to go to the gym, so I kept my momentum going. I changed from barn clothes to tights and t-shirt and was at the gym by 2:30. The first 25 minutes were slow and un-energetic, but then I got a second wind and had a great workout. I even added more of the new back exercise and also 45 minutes on the elliptical. My back was a little sore again, but I think this is what helps strengthen it where I have osteoporosis in my lower lumbar. At least I hope so.
Thursday 1/28 - Old Man Winter had returned to these parts. It was 26°, windy, and we were getting a dusting of snow at daybreak. I looked out at the sad affair of the back yard - the Lenten Rose were drooping in the cold, the concrete lantern needs fixing (with some dirt under the base) to level it, and there are tons of sticks in the yard and more leaves in the flower beds.
I had decided to lay low for the day; no barn, no yard work, and probably no gym... with no guilt.
I finally got all three marble games completed. Previously, I used the internet instructions Carol sent to do the first board and by some kind of dumb luck I was able to complete the second board, in just 1:49. Today I used an internet video to do the third board, after days and hours of trying to do it on my own. I had to mentally rotate the video 90° to have the starting hole in the correct position, so it was still rather difficult and took over 20 minutes.
I still do not have a gold star for finding all the hidden surprises. That is the only thing I have not completed in the Curio Collection. But I am ready to quit with this site. I want spring to come and no more Covid so I can get outside and go have fun like I used to and not sit here at my computer so many hours a day. I am very lucky to be able to go to the barn and the gym though.
Well, I did get away from my computer, but I only moved 30 feet into the living room to start the jigsaw puzzle Cathy gave me. It is going to be a tough one with all these white pieces. Once all the pieces were flipped and sorted, I took a break and fixed lunch, which turned out bad. I heated up some ham and bean soup I had in the freezer, but did not realize the beans had not been cooked yet. They were just from the pot I had soaked overnight a few weeks ago. Anyway I cooked them as best I could, overflowing my dish in the microwave several times, and still not getting the beans very soft. So I ate rather hard navy beans.
Friday 1/29 - It was even colder this morning, at 18°. But the moon was very bright and it was kind of neat walking Maggie in the moonlight. With January being almost over, we can spring forth into February, and enjoy longer days and warmer weather (I hope). It's also about time to really get going on yard work again. In no time at all, I will be worrying about real weeds. I can be a little compulsive about neatness sometimes, and let little things that I see as imperfections, drive me crazy... like at the moment, getting ALL the sticks and leaves off our grass and out of our flower beds. And soon I will be worried about getting ALL of the weeds eradicated.
I worked at the puzzle white edging and sky pieces for a few hours, but only got this far. Every edge piece seemed to fit until I got to the last
one or two and they didn't fit together. I re-did it I don't know how
many times. So frustrating. If you look closely at the pieces I circled, you will see the areas that are wrong.
I struggled to get through my work out, needing extra rest time after each machine it seemed. But I got it done, went to Food City on my way home, and had leftover bean soup that had been cooked much longer the day before, and was much better.
Life really has been moving along quite smoothly for me. Other than the gnarly weeds of a tough jigsaw puzzle, lack of energy during a weight workout, trying to get Amiga to stay in the trailer while the butt bar is put up, or working through hurdles and uncertainties involved with buying investment property, life is good and I have no complaints.
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