Goals

Only Beautiful Things

Arts and Crafts, Goals, Home and Renovation, Personal

We all know that I am currently ill, and abed atop a hot water bottle.

However, I don’t want to talk about that today. Today, I resist torpor and complaining. Today I only want to talk about beautiful things.

I have to thank my dear friend, Madame K, for asking about my projects, and how things are going. It reminded me that I am not made of illness. I am made of creativity. She always knows just the right thing to say.

You see, my trade is creating beautiful things; whether that’s a cottage kitchen, live music, a flower garden, students excited about the possibilities of music, or a musical based on a 1728 play. And, I am privileged to have been able to spend my life as a creator.

So, with illness and frustration aside, I walked around the house today and took photos of things I’m working on that I find beautiful.

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The front yard flower garden. I’m definitely an English cottage garden type person. (No surprises there.)

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A (mostly) finished corner of the kitchen, with our now-exposed huge beams. I had to fill in the space at the top of the wall, of course. I stained new rough-hewn wood to match the old beams.

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Another kitchen wall. Still needs some paint work, but I left the little cellar door rough on purpose. I like to see the history.

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A staircase wall in progress. Because I decided to go with stucco in between dark-stained beams, (Tudor-style), I went with artwork that reflects that.

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And that’s all I know about that! I’m off to rest and have a little bit of dinner. Yep, at 4:00. =)

The Tortoise and the Hare

Garden, Goals, Health, Mobility, Musician, Personal, Psychology, Shopping

It’s the old story I suppose — feeling a little better but acting like you feel a lot better.

I noticed today that pretty much every time I was home this week, I was sleeping. Like, all the time. So I reviewed my week.

Sunday is a five hour day, and much of that is playing the organ, hyper-focusing, teaching some parts, handling social anxiety when in a group. Blah blah.

Monday, I didn’t have anything going on officially, but I had errands to run and a bunch of music stuff to do at home. I wrote an arrangement for one tune and started on another.

Tuesday was a palliative care doc appointment and a run to the store on one side of town, and then a run to a store way on the other side of town. Then, 90 minutes of teaching and some house cleanup stuff.

Wednesday was a nutritionist appointment, and a bit of teaching. In between, I did some leaf blowing and dug up and replanted the three plants in the front yard. (Unknowingly, I originally planted them in a very buggy spot. The bugs were eating them.)

Today is Thursday, and of course, I woke up exhausted. I had a prescription to pick up, and a few things to grab at the store, so I forced myself out and did all that so I’d have the rest of the day with no commitments. Ugh. I was getting to the point where I was unknowingly dragging my feet and tripping every once in a while.

Real Life of course, does not go away. Adding to the usual tasks, there’s medical stuff that has to go on in between times, my food to be monitored and cooked, and pills to remember to take on a schedule. Not a huge deal, but another set of things to think about that all take time. Never mind liaising with Jonathan and getting basic household stuff taken care of. At least I moved the plants. 🪴

Yep. It takes a bit of time and effort to keep me standing, alive, friendly, and looking like I can accomplish something. And now, of course, as I’m reading this weekly roundup, I’m thinking, “What’s wrong with you?!” Simmer down!”

I had to pick up a prescription (it’s nearly my hobby at this point), so I grabbed a cup of my favorite coffee and grabbed some ice cream for a sequestering treat . (Recommendation – Oreo brand Cookies & Cream.)

I can’t believe it’s 2 o’clock already, however, now we rest for two days! If an asteroid hits the planet or the Hudson River breaks its banks, Tell Jonathan. He’ll wake me up. 😴

Creature of the Night

Goals, Musician, Personal

I’m a nighttime person.

Undeniably, part of the reason that I most enjoy the late hours is that everyone else is asleep (and leaving me alone). I understand and appreciate the privilege in my schedule — I have time to do things I enjoy, I can do some of my work while I am resting, and in fact, I enjoy my work.

I like where I have arrived. There were unavoidable years of survival jobs and work in music which necessitated long hours. There was returning to school to learn new instruments or improve skills. I’m thankful for all this, and also thankful that it’s now in the past.

I have a been assistant to a broker on the trading floor of a private bank. I have been a buyer’s assistant for QVC. I have been on corporate national tours. I have worked in retail at a record store. I have been a classroom teacher. I have been the receptionist for the office of a celebrity talk show. I have been a pit musician.

With all this past (and plenty left out), days are calm. Almost invariably, this is what my days look like.

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9:00 am

10:00 am

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12:00 pm

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2:00 pm

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6:00 pm

11:00 pm

2:00 am

Wake Up, shower.

Answer work emails, book work, planning, etc.

Composition, orchestration, recording time.

Teaching private students (piano, theory, music exploration).

Rest, watch a play or documentary; or DIY work.

Read, write a blog post.

Bed time.

I suppose the moral of the story is that it’s best to work hard honing your (practical) gifts and putting them into practice, working toward a long-term goal of peace and enjoyment.

Or at least, it worked for me.