Time-Saving Devices

Back in the "old" days, before frost free freezers; I always defrosted my freezer on New Year's Eve.

It was the perfect chore for that time of year since you could put all the stuff from the freezer into a cooler and then put it outside, and you would be sure it wouldn't melt while you finished the labor intensive task.  But trust me on this one, it was a job that needed to be done at least once a year.  Otherwise, the inside of your freezer just got smaller and smaller from the ice build up.  What a life!  LOL.  During that same time period, I was a regular "out and about" kind of person on the party scene, so, we considered New Year's Eve to be "Amateur Night" and didn't want to have anything to do with it anyway.

Fast forward into the modern age of conveniences, and New Year's Eve has become a night to stay off the roads and stay at home, with some popcorn and a good DVD.

This one will be somewhat special, because there is a Blue Moon.  So, here's howling at ya.............

Seasonal Music — Peaceful and Cheerful

I have a nice collection of Christmas and Holiday music that I enjoy listening to at this time of year.  Not that I am terribly religious, because I am not; but the wintery-themed songs are always cheerful--Sleigh Bells, Winter Wonderland, Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, etc. and quirky songs like the original Alvin and the Chipmunks recording from the 60s. LOL!

I'm taking a break from TV and especially the "news".  Relieved to hear that Sean Goldman has been reunited with his father for Christmas.  With that happy news to sustain me, I can stay away from the TV for a few days and not have to endure the daily report of murder, assault, terror, torture and violence in this crazy world.

My kitties are content, we have plenty of food, the apartment is warm and there is still some snow on the ground.  I thank the Universe for the small blessings that make a big difference in our lives.

Peace and love...........

If you're happy and you know it—let me know.

A couple of days ago, I was bemoaning my life, etc. to someone I haven't seen in awhile and their response to me was:  "Life is a struggle.  I don't know anyone who isn't struggling."

Is this true? 

The very idea of stuggling forever isn't very comforting or uplifting.

I'm a Pisces and eternally optimistic, so I don't want to believe it.  I think that maybe the happy, contented people are avoiding my friend who is struggling and that's why they don't know each other. 

Surely, there is someone out there who is happy.  If you are—please let me know.  I would love to hear from you.

They say that ignorance is bliss, so is our dissatisfaction because we know too much?

Peace out.

Sleeping less and enjoying it more.

Finally moving past some heavy depression. 

For a couple of weeks, I was having an impossibly hard time falling asleep and then I was sleeping away most of the next day. 

The past couple of nights though, I have had some very vivid, but very pleasant dreams.  It appears I'm subconsciously feeling more hopeful.  And life does go on.

One Holiday Down -- One to Go

I managed to make it through Thanksgiving, inspite of everything that has been going on with me.  I said goodbye to my oldest cat last week--very sad.  Hopefully, I am moving forward now, and will resist looking back.

The weather was exceptionally nice for the big Macy's T'Day Parade, so, a good time was had by all.  I will wait until Monday to get back to my usual routine of chores and errands and just try to clear off my desk, catch up on the shredding for the recycling and purge more clutter.  Life does go on and we still have to deal with it!

I cleaned out a lot of unnecessary files on my computer, and now it seems to be running faster and much more smoothly.  Don't let technology get the best of you!!

There is a good probability I will be selling items on eBay soon.  Here is my eBay "Me" page that will give you some of my history on eBay and also a better idea of what is going on with me:  http://tiny.cc/eBay_Me_Page  I will let you know when I have some listings.

Talk soon..............

Saturday, rainy Saturday

Listening to Diana Krall on Pandora. Wow--she really captures the mood.

Trying a new white wine tonight and making homemade chicken soup with vegetables and German kluski egg noodles.  Should turn out to be a nuturing, comfort-food evening.

My spoiled brat cats woke me up several times during the night last night, but now they're zonked out.  Thanks a lot.  If I could sleep on their schedule, life would be perfect.

Heading for the kitchen now....................

P.S.:  The homemade chicken soup and the Chardonnay were mmm, mmm, good!!

P.P.S.:  It's still raining. LOL.

If it's not one thing, it's another

Well, time has really gotten away from me. Everyday it's another chore that has been waiting for awhile and is past due to be completed.

My biggest time consumer is taking care of my cat family that are all rescued street cats.  Making sure that my living environment and theirs is clean and comfortable is a lot of work!!  My oldest has diabetes which requires insulin twice a day.  He has been doing very well, but for some reason, out of the blue, he was throwing up in the bathroom just before I tried to go to bed.  That was new, but unsettling.  One of the younger boys is hyper anyway and very attached to my oldest, so he got all worked up and I had to give him something to calm down.  Stress, left unchecked, eventually turns into something far worse, so that is something that I always want to nip in the bud. 

Then, only about an hour later, there was a traffic accident right in front of my apt. building.  Gee whiz--screeching and crashing.  A very large bread truck was left of center (it appeared) and a yellow cab tried to get out of his way and turned sharply to the right and smashed into a parked car.  What a mess.  I didn't think I was ever going to get settled down again.

Oh well....life in the big city.

The trials and tribulations of modern technology

My Internet (DSL) connection has been giving me fits!!  For the past week, the connection has just been dropping off intermittently and then I have to log on again.  I have tried everything I can think of, but it seems to work when it wants to and not work when it is not in the mood.  I'm actually starting to think it might be Windows, since it seems to be the most sluggish when I open more than one window at a time.  Great!  Time for an upgrade of my computer, I guess.

I just tried to buy something on eBay, but my connection hung me up and so, you guessed it, I missed the bid.  I always tell myself that "things always work out for the best,"  and in this case, maybe that was true.  Most of the day, I debated as to whether or not I should bid on a fairly expensive item that I don't need, but just wanted to get to complete a set that I have started.  And the closer I got to the end of the auction, I actually started to feel uncomfortable.  The other advice that I always try to follow is:  "when in doubt--don't."  That was not the only one they made, so hopefully, I will see an even better price on the same item sometime in the future when I can better afford it.

Thank you eBay Angels!

Cleaning and purging progressing

Yes—I am making progress, I'm happy to say. It greatly improves your attitude when your living space is more civilized!!

I'm feeling much better

I watched something funny on TV last night and tried to put the bad day out of my head.  Had a good night's sleep and woke up feeling productive again. Thank goodness. Yesterday was a total bust!

Lots of things need to be done everyday, so I can't afford set backs anymore.  I'm getting better at handling difficult people.  What a life............

Autumn is Arriving

Got paid for that big data input job that I did, deposited the check and went shopping for a few odds and ends that I have been needing. Purchased a couple of items on eBay that I have been "watching" for awhile, and the cats got a new toy! LOL

Having enough money really makes life a lot more relaxing.

The weather in NYC has been awesome--75 degrees and sunny. It is the last day of Summer and Colorado got there first snow storm today! Whoa. I'm not ready for that yet.

Finally, I can sleep peacefully

I have been working on a very long and boring freelance project that has dragged on for a couple of weeks. Some days, I didn't work on it at all because I just didn't want to look at it anymore.

Anyway, it is finally finished and now I can get some guilt-free sleep. Before, I was staying awake all night and sleeping all day because I was so depressed about the project. There were over a thousand questionnaires for a total of more than 25,000 entries of data that I had to transfer onto an Excel spreadsheet. But.........IT'S DONE. Hallelujah!!!!

So, good night!

Arlington Cemetery

Well, I did the whole Ted Kennedy thing, via the Internet, for the past three days. I didn't plan to get involved, but it's hard to resist history, especially when his whole life was a part of my own life as I grew up. I attended Catholic school and, of course, the Kennedys were a huge deal for us.

Yes, I saw John Kennedy in person when he was campaigning in Ohio. Our family took a vacation trip to Washington, D.C. that summer, saw all of the sights, and toured the White House. Life was much simpler in 1961. Then, only two years later we all stared at the TV for three days and mourned in disbelief with the rest of the world. I saw Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed on live TV! It's hard to even imagine all of that now; but, it is still as vivid as it was then.

Too sad.

I have the same birthday as Ted Kennedy, although he was quite a bit older. On one hand, Pisces have the pleasure of enjoying everyones' happiest times, but on the other, the inability to turn off emotions when it comes to other's pain. It's rough sometimes—extreme empathy. But it is the reason that he was so beloved by his family, friends and colleagues—in spite of his often times regrettable behaviour. He was a "forgive and forget" kind of a guy and that is a rare trait.

Elizabeth Taylor is a Pisces. She has loved and lost, many times throughout her life. Now, she can no longer bear public pain; so chooses seclusion from it. Her friend, Michael Jackson would have commemorated another birthday today. She felt his pain. I felt sorry for him—I could relate completely. Hounded until the end and unable to rest. I get it.

It's all too sad.

May there be peace one day.

Later...................

Living in a Large Storage Unit

As everyone probably experiences when they are younger, we don't think about death being imminent. We feel as though we will live forever.

As we get to that age where close relatives have died, schoolmates are dying and even old boyfriends are nevermore--that's starting to feel scary. Lately, celebrities are dropping like flies. All the money in the world can't buy more time. Maybe, all the money in the world, makes things worse.

So, the day that I knew would eventually come, is finally here, and I am powerless to contain the inevitable admission: "That's it, I can't take it anymore."

I want a fully functioning life!! I'm not willing to give up my hopes and dreams and plans. I'm also not willing to give up my NY apartment, so I have to make some tough decisions.

Here's some advice:

• Get your cramped little NY apartment organized. It has become nothing more than a large storage unit because there is way too much stuff for the space.
• Start packing "future use" items into boxes, to be put into an actual storage unit.
• No more fooling around.
• Do the work that needs to be done and actually accomplish something.

The clutter is choking the life out of my creativity and severely jeopardizing my sanity.

OK. Now I feel better and I'll keep you up-to-date on my progress.

Later...................

Hello World!

This is my first post, but I might as well get started. I used to do alterations and repairs on jeans when I was finishing up my last year of college.

It was a great business and I may get back into it again when I can get a better location for a shop. With the way the economy is changing, a lot of us with the entrepreneurial spirit are thinking creatively again.

Eventually, I hope to have some interesting "fashion accessories" made out of denim in my Etsy.com store. I'm registered as BlueJeansDoctor, but not set up yet. I'll let you know when it is happening. Later..............