Today's Tasks

My mother used to say that my Grandma Rose was a driven woman who would get up at 3:00 a.m. just so she could be the first woman on the block to have her laundry hanging out on the line before any of her neighbors.  She had endless energy and was not happy unless she was doing something, be that sewing, cleaning, or cooking.  Mom said that Grandma Rose acted like someone was behind her with a whip.  I have found that the same idea seems to apply to my darling husband who is always fretting that we are not getting enough done.

Really? Not getting enough done? Is he serious?  I present to you what we accomplished since we got up at 6:00 this morning:

I had a 7:45 a.m. doctor's appointment, but since we were up early, I suggested that we stop by the drug store to order some medications for me.  By 7:09 we were in and out of the drug store and on our way to the doctor's office.

A little detour to the gas station resulted in a full tank of gas for the Toyota.  Then we continued on to the doctor's office.

Since I arrived at 7:25, I actually was called in a little after 7:30.  The doctor does not totally agree with one of the medications I currently am taking, but he agreed to continue the course of care prescribed by the rheumatologist at Mayo Clinic for now.  I have noticed a change in my eyesight which he dismissed as due to the Prednisone.  I guess I just will have to live with blurred vision for a while until I can get on a lower dose of that steroid.

After the doctor's visit, we returned to the drug store to pick up my medication, and then we were back at Gladys to "start the day."  Are you keeping track?  We already have completed three tasks before 9:30 a.m.

Once we changed into work clothes, we worked together to screw in the track that will hold the closet doors in the guest room.  We bought a Johnson track because we are very pleased with the ones we have for the pocket doors in the kitchen and in the master bathroom. Task Four complete.

With the track secured in the closet frame, we turned our attention to painting.  While I painted a second coat on the guest room door jamb, Rick tackled the larger job of adding another coat of paint to the guest room door and one of the closet doors.  Once again, they rest drying in the Florida Room.  Check off Tasks Five, Six and Seven.

Rick works on the drawer construction for the night stand.

While the paint dried, Rick started to assemble the first of the Ikea night stands that we purchased yesterday.  Once again, we were impressed with the design and engineering of the product.  While the wood is just pine and therefore inexpensive, the night stands are built well enough that they are sturdy and strong.  Stand one was finished by 11:20, and stand two was done shortly after noon-- with the exception of drawer knobs.  As I mentioned yesterday, neither of us liked the black drawer knobs that Ikea provided, so we decided to shop for new knobs later in the day. Tasks Eight and Nine were completed before 12:30 p.m.

After lunch, Rick scraped the wall around the guest room closet where the old casing had left a ridge in the paint.  Don't you hate that when that happens?  He hauled out the blue paint to do a little touch up work, and ended up touching the white ceiling with his brush when he was painting around the top of the closet opening.  Oops!  Time for the ceiling paint to touch up the touch up!  In the end, I am glad that the ceiling paint made an appearance since we had a couple of spots in the living room that needed attention also. Check off Task 10 (and, inadvertently, 11) from the "to do" list.

I have been waiting two days for the paint to really dry in the upper storage section of the guest room closet, so today I started to rearrange and to put away the items that we had previously stored there.  Rick helped me move all of the items that we had stored in the upper master bedroom closet also.  Some went into the bathroom closet, some went into the guest room closet, and some went into the garage.  The master bedroom closet storage area is now completely empty, so I am sure that Rick will be antsy about tearing apart that closet next.  Filling the upper storage area in the guest room completed Task 12 for the day.

By mid-afternoon, we both needed a break from the house, so we decided to venture out to Lowe's to look for drawer knobs.  I had a specific knob in mind, but I tried to tell myself to be open-minded to what Lowe's might have available.  We only needed four knobs, but I knew what I hoped to find, and I also did not want to pay more than $20.00 for the four.  Luck was on my side because we quickly found the small, oval, brushed nickel knob that I had in mind, and the four of them, with tax, only cost us $11.00.  Sweet! We finished Task 13.

The night stand with the new knobs.

The completed bed and new night stands.

From Lowe's we traveled to AAA to purchase season tickets to the Kennedy Space Center.  Rick researches everything to death, but he has saved us lots of money by doing so.  News flash: if you are a AAA member, you can purchase season tickets and then buy Mega-tour tickets for the Space Center for less money than buying a two-day pass.  Stephanie is coming for a visit in a couple of weeks, and we all agreed that the Space Center would be a different and enjoyable experience.  Rick and I are as  old as dirt, so we remember the Russian Sputnik and the first flights of John Glenn; Stephanie grew up during the Apollo and Space Shuttle eras.  We all are looking forward to going to the Space Center.  Purchasing the tickets took care of Task 14 for the day.  Are you tired yet?  I sure am!

Since Rick completed the night stands, we were once again presented with a gazillion little (and not so little) cardboard boxes and cardboard packing pieces.  Our recycling was hauled away just this morning, so with a lot of creative cutting, I probably could have fit all of the boxes into the empty recycling bin.  Rick had a better idea, though. We just loaded all of the cardboard into the trunk of the car and hauled it to the nearby recycling bins that the city puts out for residents.  Cross Task 15 from the list.

Our final venture for the day was a fast trip to the grocery store.  Have you ever gone in for one item and come out with a cart load?  Yup.  That happened to us tonight, thanks to the sales and to the "oh, yeah, I need that" remembering in the store.  Shopping for groceries completed Task 16 for the day.

Keep in mind, all of these tasks were done before dinner time-- and we generally eat early! Rick still lamented that he did not have time to flip the doors and add another coat of paint to each one, but his energy level was finally on empty, and I am just ready to sit and finish this blog. (Mark this as Task 17.)

While I was writing this, Rick went online to catch up on the blog.  When he came back into the living room, he said, "I just read your blog.  You know... we have done quite a bit, haven't we."  You think?