2006-10-21

Housekeeping Day Three found me working with Gary most of the brilliantly sunny, cool morning. We were working on the curriculum and the schedule for the Midwinter Gathering, where we will be discussing the archetypes. We worked through a lot of details and eventually got both pieces of text the way we wanted them. Gary typed all the changes into the initial text which he had written and shipped it up to me in the bower office. I got busy and edited that. Then I created a Gatherings Newsletter out of both pieces of work, plus some comments from me, and sent that back down to Gary. He will send out the newsletter. We found that we only have four slots left for the Gathering, as some people have already signed up, so we will let the newsletter subscribers have their chance at coming before we put the Gathering up on site for the general public.

After sending that off, I spent the rest of the morning working on the large goal of clearing the upstairs office of paper. I was awash up here. I got up here later than I intended because our guests, who had come in after I went to bed last night, had arisen – my brother, Tommy and a friend, Blair, had come to run in the Louisville Marathon - and while Jim cooked a carrot dish for our week’s food, Tommy made breakfast and we all enjoyed a great conversation, catching up on family news.

I had not gotten too far on things up here when Jim called lunch. He was early because there were two football games on, both starting at noon, and he wanted to be ready. In great happiness, he watched U of L win and Nebraska lose by one dropped ball. Louisville had a very bad first half and ended up triumphant, while Nebraska had their team beaten until the last moment, where they fumbled the win away. It truly isn’t over until it’s over.

I did not stay too long downstairs with football but came back up and hit the paperwork again. By bath time I had completed the job. What a great feeling! All the snail mail letters which I owed were answered; all the paperwork filled out and returned; all the doctor stuff dealt with; all the household needs ordered. My happiest job this afternoon was ordering bandanas for Mick. He uses them constantly in his work, as handkerchiefs and as neckerchiefs, and his previous supply had dwindled and the remaining pieces of faded cotton were starting to fall apart. And he needs the hankies. This time of year, keeping his neck warm is job one in the early morning. As the earth cools, here in Kentucky it stays humid, so it’s cold and damp, not just cold. Bandanas work well for outdoor workers. I found a web site that sold them by the piece and ordered many different colored paisleys for him.

Looking around the office now, writing this entry, I can see bare desk, bare table and yet again a bare table! All I have left is a stack of calls to make Monday to doctor, lawyer, lab and accountant and one item to purchase for Mick which he chose from a print-out I made for him from an on-line supplier of Smartwool socks, which he prefers for work. It is such a good feeling to be caught up!

I think that the worst of my feeling overwhelmed has been that I couldn’t get close enough to know the quantity of work was which was yet to do. Now I do know. The books are caught up as of Friday. The desk is clear but for two items. The e-mail has 49 letters waiting for me to come play. And I have yet to have a wrap session on my Christmas gift project. This is, for me psychologically, so much better than I was three days ago, where all I knew was that it was a lot. The chaos made my brain numb, or at least that is how it felt.

I have one more day to improve my lie before getting back to a normal schedule – perhaps I shall make a dent in the present-wrapping tomorrow and at least quantify that by counting how many gifts I still have to wrap! My mind does love those numbers.

Tommy was gone most of the day visiting people he loves, childhood friends he has kept ever since, coming home to us for a shared dinner and more football. Blair was gone also, to Indianapolis. We all converged in time for the Gaia Meditation. I sang “Shalom” for the ending prayer.

After Jim finished his kitchen-cleaning, we headed up for a late night snuggle. It felt so different not to have Sedgie! We miss our wee bairn. The other three kitties snuggled all around to help us feel better. It was a lovely end to a really good day – it feels so good to climb out from under this stack of paperwork. It’s like being buried in peanuts. None of it means much, but the weight is massive! Now for the moment, I am free!