How Am I Doing on My 2023 Goals List?

 

1. Revisit 23 ufos in 2023. I have 33 on the list on my sidebar. More on this later. Pulled out and put in a few stitches on 7 so far. 
2. Build a Son Room onto the house. It has been a dream of mine for like most of my life. Waiting for the contractor to bring the blue prints for approval. 
3. Take part in To-Do Tuesday because I have to be writing to-do lists. Not every week but regularly.
   
4. Stitch for at least 15 Minutes a Day. Keeping track and doing about 78%.
5. Blog weekly. I have so many ideas. More like bi-monthly. Took a break while I was away and doing jet-lag recovery.
6. Meet with my writing accountability partner. This time remember to pray for each other as we share our writing goals each week. We took a pause end of Feb because we were both going to be away so often. And we both had the same health issues at the same time and she lives 2 time aones away.
7. Take part in monthly Virtual Writing Retreats with Christian Book Academy. Two out of four.
8. Write some simple words (profound eludes me most times I try). Maybe the most profound words really are the simple ones. I have 3 unfinished manuscripts. Not much progress yet but I have joined a new writing accountability group and it is amazing how I am now progressing. We meet daily for 2 intense weeks of prayer and writing. Working through some forgiveness issues.
9. Launch the How to Stay Married for 50 Years blog. It is set up and ready to go but I still have to finish editing the posts. Cannot do that with a house full of guests and while I am on an airplane. Maybe for April? But then what do I do about comments while out of the country? This for Inklings group of 11 Christian writers meeting for 11 days to write with God. Progress is happening.
10. Lead my Women's Small Group well. We will be doing a workbook called Hearing God this winter. Done and planning the summer book study.
11. Keep a Gratitude Journal. This will be the homework for my women. I wrote in this often in the winter, but for some reason, forgot for a couple of months. I need to be more grateful on a daily basis. 
12. Participate in an online 34 Day Rhema and Movement Challenge from Rhythms of Colour in January. Totally out of my physical abilities so was dropped from the group. 
13. Take Ava to Garmisch Germany for a Christian Women's ReAlign Retreat in March. How exciting that it is during her spring break. Still have to book the plane tickets. This was so exciting! My daughter joined us for an amazing week. 
14. Go to Scrub Stitching in Baradine Australia with my Sweetie in April. Still have to book plane tickets. This was another amazing trip. This time with my Sweetie. Will have a proper post written up for next week. 
15. Visit the Royal Easter Show in Sydney as guests of the Guernsey Cattle Society of Australia. My Sweetie agreed to go to the quilt retreat after he had been invited to judge the cattle. I plan to find some quilts to look at. Was disappointed by the number of quilts on display but overwhelmed by the artwork. 
16. Cataract surgery in May. Have to wait until after our flights. Then cannot fly for 2-3 months after. Right Eye done May 9. Healing rapidly and wonderful to be able to see distances clearer and colours are more vibrant. Can hardly wait for the left eye to be done in 2 weeks. I did get out and drive yesterday and bought a gazebo and flowers.  
17. Women's Retreat in June on the shores of Lake Erie. I am the group leader and organizer. I have ideas and plans. It is going to be amazing. I anticipate using ideas from the Retreat in March. Still working on the details. Looks like there will be 10 of us.  
18. Vermont Quilt Festival in June. That will be a road trip with sisters, meeting friends, workshops, and shopping. We decided we were too busy to go then it was cancelled. Maybe next year. 
19. Take 3 for our 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration. The date is set for July 1-4, 2023 long weekend. The venue is here at the Farm. We are planning a tent, a bouncy castle, a live band, an open house for neighbour's and friends, a BBQ for family, games and adventures. The plans are in process. 
20. Launch Bertha's Flowerpots SAL possibly in July after the houseguests are gone.
21. Take Devan to visit family in Poland in August when it is safe to fly again after my eye surgery.
22. Shipshewana Quilt Retreat in November. Booked 4 spots and a big room. 
23. Ministry trip to India for Christmas. Have to wait until after the party before I can make plans. 

So looks like a lot of progress on goals for this year so far. That makes me happy

My To-Do Tuesday list is short:

1. Get a quote from the plumber for adding a 2-piece bathroom in the closet that used to hold my quilt stuff. Ingenious idea to put it there in the hall. It will be easily accessible from the sunroom that we are waiting for just outside that hall door. Today sometime.
2. Sit outside and stich a few more Lucy bits. The summer heat has arrived.
3. Continue to clean up the geraniums that I over winter every year. Next winter they will all live in the sunroom. I cannot carry anything heavy so will need help to move and place them throughout the flower beds.
   
4. Write everyday. 
5. Write up a blog post about my trip to Australia. It is half written. I did not take my camera because I could not find the battery charger and I took very few photos with my phone. I cannot seem to figure out how to move photos from my phone to my computer. I need a 10 year old. 

This should keep me out of trouble for a few days. 

Blessings,

Chris

Overwhelm

Overwhelm is what my life has been filled with this spring. Trying to complete 2 quilts. An amazing trip to Australia. An incredible trip to Germany. Jet lag recovery. Celebrating grandchildren birthdays. Cataract surgery on my right eye. Three weeks of rainy days and clouds.

I went downstairs this morning looking for some colourful card stock to make a few posters to put up on my quilt room walls. 

• be AWARE
• be HONEST
• be INTENTIONAL
• be STRATEGIC
• be FOCUSED

So I started systematically sorting through the papers in the cubicles under the printer and found 5 colours. Great. But I also found, among other things like construction paper, copy paper, A4 copy paper, lined school note paper, colouring books, bright coloured paper, pastel paper, fancy dancy writing paper, quilting paper including newsprint, wash-away interfacing, round sticky labels for jam, full page sticky labels for needle-turn applique, dust bunnies galore as well as manuals for each of the 3 printers that sat on top, and countless other stuff, I found the knee lift for the Bernina and the draft copy of the manuscript for the book I am writing about my adventures in India. So, I picked up only a few papers since I am not to lift or carry anything heavy after the eye surgery and headed to the kitchen to have some breakfast. I got a sink full of dishes soaking and scrambled some eggs that I eat with salsa and washed all the plates then filled the sink with more dishes and headed upstairs to look through the papers I brought up. Then I pulled out the project box with all the rest of the India book  notes and found - drumroll please- the Plan-It curriculum that I had not seen in 3 years, so I kept looking through notes and discovered the 23 suggestions to taking control of your stuff and time so you can be more productive.

I like the number 23 this year. Among other things on the list is to complete the task at hand so I went back downstairs and put away the clean  plates and filled the sink with more dishes to soak. I last washed them Monday night after I had the call telling me the eye surgery was moved up 3 days. With the eye surgery behind me, I spent 2 days napping and watching movies with my sunglasses covering one eye since it was blurry and the lights were too bright and it felt all scratchy and I am not allowed to rub or scratch just put 3 different kinds of eye drops in 4 times a day. I was not able to read nor write but I did manage to post a couple of selfies and glue baste a few Lucy hexies. And now there are chainsaws buzzing outside my window as they are cutting down yet another tree. My brain has been composing countless blog posts and all I really want to do is rub my eyes.

Some of the 23 things are suggestions like make a to-do list and keep it visible, de-clutter on a regular basis, write things down and listen to music. I do all of the above except maybe not declutter so often. And I do make my bed every day. Another item on the list is to simplify my life. And this is where I am today. I am not allowed to drive until the surgeon gives me permission which may not be for a couple of weeks and then the left eyes is scheduled for May 29 and so another 2 weeks after that. This simply means, stay home girl - you are going nowhere for a while. Stay home? I like that. But I also have to stay out of the hot tub. 

So the moral of the story is - in my present state of overwhelm, I have been given the gift of time. Of staying home and that with a purpose. I have committed to a writing group of 11 Christian writers for 11 days writing together with God on one specific project. My goal is to get all the How We Stayed Married for 50 Years blog posts completed, edited, and printed off ready for proofing. I started a new blog a year ago for this and plan to begin releasing weekly posts July 2 after our Big 50+2 Anniversary Celebration. We begin meeting on Monday so that gives me 4 more days to declutter my desk and finish those dishes. I plan to resume regular blog posting next week with highlights of my trips. There will be only the 2 of us here for the next few days and, now that 3 weeks of rain has come to an end, my Sweetie has been out on his tractor most of this week already. Getting ready to plant corn. And he gets his own meals. 

Now, where are those eye drops? 

Blessings,

Chris