Did I not make September goals? It appears that I did not. If I did, I buried them in another post rather doing a stand alone post. So I've no idea if I really accomplished much, besides reintroducing Zone work.
Zone work has worked very well for me. I'm glad to be back to that means of focusing on my housework.
We didn't do a big shop in September and I actually ended the month with a little money leftover. While we didn't do the 'big' shop we did shop as we needed things and we reminded ourselves we were not shopping for much each time we went. Result: money leftover. A little bit added to the pantry but mostly just going through the month.
We had a lovely vacation week. So lovely that we're planning to do it again...but not just now. It was one of the most relaxed weeks we've had in the longest time.
Well, never mind September, I'm here with a new list of goals for October.
First of all, I have pulled a stack of books and put them by my chair. I may not complete any one of them, but I plan to be reading in each of these during this month:
Tamar Adler's An Everlasting Meal which I read about six (yikes!) years ago and had to take in small bites as it was so full of though provoking information, cookery and brilliance.
Laura Ingalls Wilder: Little House In the Big Woods . I was inspired by The Daily Connoisseur to read the Little House series with an eye on the homemaking and homesteading work.
Grace Livingston Hill" Rainbow Cottage only because it was at the top of the stack of books I meant to read and see if I wanted to continue to keep it or pass it on.
R. A Dick: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir which John made me think of reading when he mentioned how the howling wind about the balcony door reminded him of the movie.
D. E. Stevenson: Sarah's Cottage which is part of a sequel of books I think but I haven't all of them. I love the way the houses in Stevenson's books are characters of the book as well. I highly recommend Amberwell and any other of her books titled for the houses they center about.
Does it seem odd I've started with books for my goals? Well, it's because I have found myself caught in the 20 minute world of YouTubes for too long and I guess I could spend that much of my time (or more hopefully) reading my books. I need to remember how to 'get lost' in a book, as I once upon a time used to do. It's hard to get lost in a video with frequent commercial breaks. I don't mind a bit that vloggers may earn a bit from their ads. I wish as much for my own blog, though that just isn't happening. However, a book has no commercial interruptions and there's a deep seated peace and lack of dissatisfaction that comes from reading, unlike the frustration and sometimes envy I experience in watching vlogs.
Spend each Saturday of this month seeking out new composers and listening to music. Ludovico Einaudi was a discovery for this first Saturday and it was lovely!
Work up a wardrobe for October and get it set up, accessories and all.
Genealogy Notebooks. I have now got two composition books of notes that I need to jot down on various relative pages. I also want to work up a timeline on each relative. It's so hard to weed out misinformation and out and out errors if you haven't got a handy timeline on a relative which would prove the impossibility of a birth, death, etc. based on errors others have made that were picked up and repeated from family tree to family tree rather than working to find the facts.
Plan for the holidays. If it seems presumptuous, John has already brought up Christmas day dinner.
I love to do some small gifts for the children and grandchildren who gather with us. John insists we give cash but it's not fun, it just isn't! And with time to think and plan, I might well do some little something for those who will gather with us using my own allowance. Amie also loves a gift rather than cash for herself, as cash tends to go towards family gifts or needs and not to things one might like to have for oneself.
This is a multi-fold planning session. Gifts, foods which I like to gather a bit over time rather than all at once, decorations, guest lists, etc. all need to be planned out.
Scrape peeling paint off the back porch. There's nothing more to say about this except that if I have a whole month, perhaps I might accomplish it!
I need to start cleaning out some of my potted plants, determine which I'm willing to try and overwinter and put all of them in a sheltered place where they will be protected from the wind and yet get some rainwater. I also must decide where I'll house those that are to come indoors...It's a difficult task.
Make a house and personal wish list. This will help me to focus when I do have funds for shopping or come across good sales. For the house, I'll included measurements, quantities, etc. I'm often stumped as to how big I need something to be and miss a good purchase because I am not prepared with facts to help me make a decision.
This too is a bigger than first glance goal. I want to make out lists for the months ahead...Spring and summer both. I know that while my outdoor chair cushions have held up well, they are getting worn, flower pots needed, plants I might like to grow from seed or order from nursery, paint is needed, etc.
My personal wish list will include any items wanted for kitchen work, study, wardrobe, etc. I can give John a list for Christmas for some things like books. Items I know I need to replace in my wardrobe (nightgowns, robe come immediately to mind).
Family Day? John has been semi-planning for a family day since May. It was bypassed in May and June, July and August were blurs. He mentioned it again in September and we went on vacation instead. I'm going to plan one for October or November and then I'm going to look over next year's calendar and try to plan one for each quarter of the year.
Plan an apple day. When we used to travel to visit Katie and Sam and Bess in Athens we'd stop in Washington at a Farm stand that was only open during apple season. I could get my favorite Winesap apples there. I haven't had one in years now since they all moved from the area about 2015. I'd asked John to plan a day trip up to get apples, but in thinking it over, we might be able to do the same thing more locally via the state farmer's market or a local peach shed that is now staying open through fall. So we're going to see how that goes but we're definitely planning a day to go seek apples.
Begin my Essential Oil and Herbal Studies. I was trolling about the Hopewell Oils site and noted that they offered education and tutorials. I want to learn to use not only what I have on hand but also to purchase and learn to use several that Lana has recommended in comments over the last few years. She's been very generous to share her knowledge and I want to begin to take advantage of that and learn for myself.
I have had on hand for years now a lovely book on Herbals. I'd like to learn to identify and use what we have here on the land so that too is going to be a study I work on this month. I fully expect both oils and herbals to go on far longer than a month however. I feel they will go hand in hand.
Finish my Pre-Algebra work. I fell out of the habit in July when I was keeping Caleb daily and frankly I've struggled to find my way ever since. The work isn't difficult. In fact, I'm surprised at how easily I am grasping it but getting back into the habit of studying it is the difficult part. I'd like to finish this study so I can say I've completed it.
Begin my end of year work. This is where I assess what we did financially, how our pantry held up, household things that were attended to or need to be attended to, personal goals, etc. All of this is done with a view of how we can operate more efficiently in the next year. It's an important step in planning as well as we might for the year ahead.
Start work on my recipe notebook. After watching a Jordan Page (FunCheapOrFree) about her master recipe folder, it occurred to me that I'd get best use of the many recipes I use regularly if they were all in one place and not scattered over several different books. It would also better help me to plan meals. I end to flip through only my notebook but rarely do I flip through the cookbooks unless I'm looking for a specific recipe. I'm also going to print off those recipes online that I pull up routinely and any I try that John raves over.
If I seem to be heavy on lists and light on work that's about right for this time of year.
11 comments:
If all you did in September was go on vacation that was huge for you two after all the time you spend giving to your family and others. I hope you can go again soon! I have been blessed by others who have poured knowledge into me about natural treatments and so I pass it along gladly.
We have to finish up a project we started too long ago in our upstairs bathrooms. We will need to get the plants on the deck sorted out and on the dolly soon so that we can get them in the garage easily when the temps drop to freezing. I need to send baby gifts to our middle son and his wife and a toy for the 3 year old grandson too so he is not left out. Friends here have handed me gifts for them too so it will be a big box! I am hoping to spend some time at the lake this month before it gets too chilly to enjoy the outside there. Hubby's brain injury has really been an issue lately so on the one hand it will be hard to get him there but he really needs to go since it is so healing for him. I also need to send a meal most weeks to our neighbors across the street.
I am really not sure what to do about Christmas gifts this year. Our Germany kids have tickets to come home for ten days but are not sure they will be able to do so with the virus restrictions. Weight restrictions on their luggage will keep us from giving them much and most will be money if they do come. Our kids with the new baby coming are not sure since they will also be in a move with the Air Force to a new duty station in January. We will likely go to our youngest son's along with her parents for Thanksgiving. It all just feels like more 2020 which is all just up in the air all the time. But, y'all know what I mean.
We have done gag gifts with money inside, Christmas decorations with Money inside. Move night with DVD popcorn, pop and pizza gift cards. Game night with a new game or puzzle, popcorn, pop and pizza gift card. One year is was big pans of lasagna and home made bread. This year as requested it will cookies and candy, and most likely home made noodles and homemade bread
So glad you were able to go on vacation. I'm glad it was a relaxing trip too.
With the virus, we didn't even go camping since we would have to use the bath house and restrooms along the way. But hopefully everyone will be more careful now, that they know it isn't a hoax since even the president can get so sick.
As far as presents, I have done the gag gifts with money inside too. It is actually a tradition with my nephew, and I think he gets a kick out of it. I think this year, I will wrap money up in a toilet paper roll since there was such a shortage. There are several funny poems that you could use. We surely need some laughs after this year.
Lana, I hope you get to finish that bathroom work up this month. I should be all up in the air about what to do with gifts too given the circumstances you're facing. I hope the visit to the lake house goes well for you both.
Kathy, We really enjoyed our stay. It helped a lot that the condo where we usually go was having a 24 hour lapse between visitors leaving and next arrivals and were cleaning extra hard. I know this to be true because twice our neighbors on either side left and the amount of noise from furniture being moved and cabinets shut etc went on for hours, lol.
Juls, that's a thought...I'll have to sort it all out in my head.
Terri, I am finally sitting down to write you a bit more about the materials I have used to help me learn more about essential oils and such. I love Hopewell Oils, by the way. I think that they recently had a “visit” from the FDA as their website unfortunately does not have any of the consumer reviews anymore, which were so very helpful and numerous. The suggestions for different types of ailments that each oil or oil blend may help have also disappeared. There still is a lot on the site. They aren’t the only ones that were targeted as my husband works for a supplement company and many providers who have recommended vitamin D, zinc and herbs for immune support in connection with Covid were hassled and threatened by the FDA for doing so.
The top oils/blends from Hopewell that I would recommend are Lavender, Peppermint, Tea Tree, Respiratory Relief or Breathe Easy (Breathe Easy is a gentler blend and suitable for children and elderly too), Plaque Defense, Top Gun, Arctic Ice (love this for aching muscles and joints), Headache Relief, Immune Support (gentle blend), and Tummy Soothe (gentle blend). For wonderful scents and just relaxing I love Sunshine, Peaceful, Citrus Blessing and Winter Scents. Lastly, an oil I use often and works better than the prescription antibiotic is M-Petigo. I still get impetigo once in a while and that blend is more effective so I always have it.
When I wanted to learn more about eo’s I bought Valerie Ann Wormwood’s book The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy. I like the education in how to use the oils and when. Chapter 2 goes into a very basic 10 eo kit of single essential oils that are recommended to blend for different ailments. The rest of the chapter goes into the different ailment eo recipes for this. Chapter 3 has the top 10 recommended single oils for antimicrobial, antiviral, antibiotic, antifungal issues and then lists the ailments and lots of recipes to blend and how to use. It’s a large book so i studied from it for a long time and still refer to it when something comes up (son’s dandruff just recently). I do like the Hopewell Oil blends as some of the single oils can be pricey and buying them in a blend makes it easier to use and makes it more frugal to purchase in a blend.
I also learned so much from other people commenting on Hopewell Oils, but alas this is not meant to be anymore apparently. One of my favorite ways of using Lavender and Peppermint is when anyone has a fever, I put coolish water in a bowl and then 2 drops each of Lavender and Peppermint. I swish it around and then soak a washcloth in it, ring it out and put in on their head. The smell seems to be calm and uplifting to them as well as soothing the fever. I always, always have pure lavender in my kitchen for burns. I use a drop or two of Peppermint and mix with a bit of carrier oil to put on upset stomachs if I don’t have Tummy Soothe (which has worked well for us).
As for herbals, I really like Rosemary Gladstar’s books. I am going through one now and am making a few recipes today from the lemon balm i rescued from the frost in my garden, along with other dried herbs I have collected. I bought her books on Thrift Books. Also, I love Mountain Rose Herbs Blog for recipes and to learn about different herbs. I made my first elderberry syrup from the recipe they have on there. An herb (weed) that you may find on your land is nettle, which is so nutritious when made into an infusion! It has so many vitamins and minerals in it! I just made an infusion yesterday and I will drink one or two cups a day until it is gone. I heard a women say that drinking nettle infusions changed her life and was curious.
Well, that’s all I can think of right now. I also love homeopathy and have been trying to learn more how to use that at home on my own. Joette Calabrese has a wonderful website about learning how to use homeopathy. Hugs to you and happy reading!
I also wanted to mention that my top 3 favorite homeopathic remedies that are readily available at health food stores are Oscillococcinum (flu, all viruses including Covid), ColdCalm (for general colds and sore throats), and Chestal (for coughs). These are homeopathic blends and are easy to start with, effective too. You always want to start to take at the first sign of not feeling well as it is more effective then. Adding elderberry syrup several times a day on top of the homeopathy has been very beneficial for our family. Well off to vacuum now!
Karen in WI, You can still access all the info on Hopewell by logging in. No idea why they changed that.
Lana, thank you! I haven’t bought any oils in the past few months, but have been on the site for information only. So glad to hear that! I have found all that information to be very helpful. I hope that your husband is doing well with his healing....we have learned that TBI healing will most likely last the rest of our son’s life and gives us hope that he won’t have to suffer at all someday.
Karen in WI,. I am so glad to hear that your son is expected to recover completely! That is so exciting! My husband has had a really hard time with everything relating to this crazy year. I don't expect that much will change for home at this age and we will always be up and down. But, it's okay. I don't know what we would have done without our oils!
Terrie, would you consider doing a breakdown on the end of year category. What you look at, how you access and then move forward into the next year. This would be helpful for us planners.
Anonymous, I'll look at doing at post on it soon. Thank you for the suggestion.
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