Planning Ahead

Recently I was going through some old e-mails at work.  They seem to accumulate at a fast pace, no matter where I receive them.  One of them was one of these daily motivational type e-mails that someone occasionally sends to me.  Before I deleted it I skimmed through it and liked what it said because it dealt with planning ahead and staying ahead of yourself, both items that I seem to need help with these days.

The e-mail started with the remark, “The time to repair your roof is when the sun is shining” and I had to smile at the image in my mind of someone on their roof in a driving rain trying to fix a leak!  I did some checking on the phrase and it is actually a quote attributed to John F. Kennedy.  The concept of planning ahead and taking care of the necessary items before they become problems is well illustrated.  You get the meaning, loud and clear.

For some reason in the last few years I’ve lost the ability to think too far ahead of myself.  I have everything written down on the calendar and I know what is coming up, and what I have to do to be ready for the event or deadline.  That is good, but that is where the organization seems to break down.  I find myself running right up to the last minute with everything, and then have to rush into the next project or deadline.  I know days or even weeks ahead that something is coming, but I can’t seem to start getting ready for it because I‘m working on the current deadlines.  It is a repeating cycle.

I think the problem started because I fell into the convenient trap of procrastination, what a monster that is!  This started in the work place where I assumed the habit because others around me procrastinated.  Then it spilled over into home and personal activities.  It is so easy to look at something and think, “Oh, I’ll do that tomorrow.  No rush, I don’t feel like doing that today.  Tomorrow will be okay.” Putting things off got me started on the wrong track and it became an easy path to follow.  It is easy to procrastinate, real easy. 

The problem compounded when I found myself too busy to sit down, think through activities, and plan ahead.  I had too many things to do, too much to think about, too many places to go, too many, too many, too many of everything.  If I needed a plan or a to-do list it was just a quick note jotted on a scrap of paper.  Now, this system worked but not efficiently. 

The motivational e-mail offered the following advice as a solution:  Let your advance worrying become advance thinking and planning. Gain the advantage…through the medium of time. 

I think I just like the idea of remembering when it is the best time to repair the roof!

 

 

The Life of Lacey





Playing on the roof at dusk and observing the human below keeps Lacey busy during the evening.

A nap on top of the human's car is always a good choice.

Of course, the best thing of all is a nap in a sunny spot in the garage.





 

A few more words and I'm done on this subject

I feel compelled to add a few more thoughts about last night's post on the computer demise.  Now, this really isn't the subject matter that I want to put on this blog, but I feel like writing this so I have to humor myself and let the words leave my fingers!  Just like those nandina berries last year that I couldn't leave alone.

So, I lost the computer.  The pictures weren't an issue, thankfully.  But I did loose several e-mails that I hope I don't need.  I lost a few contacts; I had never put a lot on the notebook so I didn't suffer too much loss.  And I lost my web favorites, probably the hardest thing to re-establish.  The documents that I think I had on the hard drive were mostly research related.  I also lost all the formatted references I had accumulated in Word.  But, what's lost is lost.  Like the old saying goes, there' no point in crying over spilt milk.

The lesson I'm getting is that I need to organize information.  If I want to rely on digital retrieval, then it has to be in order and stored securely.  A process has to be in place. In re-creating some of the information I realized that I need to get a list of logon's and passwords together and store securely, too.  I know you aren't supposed to do that, but how else will I remember all of them?  What about going back to paper storage, I'm thinking about that as well for a back-up?  I know that paper can be lost or destroyed, but is sure seems simple to start putting contacts into the old paper day-planner again.

Final thought:  Am I addicted to the computer?  Or dependent?  Is it a security blanket for me? Is it a convenience?  Or just a connection with the world? As I picked up the broken pieces Sunday night I was horrified that I had no access to the cyber world and was almost frantic until I plugged the new one in.  The question is:  Could I live without it?

One of life's lessons

Life is a learning process.  Once again, I've learned a lesson in a not so great manner. 

Since last July I had been working off a notebook computer. Its small size was ideal, easy to carry around and travel with or take to school.  I had gotten used to the small keyboard and the quirky mouse.  While the picture quality wasn't great, it wasn't bad either.  There wasn't a disk drive, but there was everything else.  I had Windows 7 and Outlook 2010 on it and I was content.  It served its purpose. I knew that I needed to replace the old, large laptop that ran very slowly, but wasn't in a hurry to do so since I had the notebook.

All that changed Sunday night when the notebook met its demise on my deck.  I had dropped it several times before and it had been knocked off the arm of the sofa a time or two.  As it fell I really didn't worry as I thought it to be pretty sturdy.  Or so I thought until I watched it smash into several pieces.  Uh-oh, it's a gonner! 

I now have a new, full size laptop with Windows 8 and Outlook 2013 thanks to this little mishap.  Once again I've had to go through setting up everything like I want and I've had to learn where everything is on the new system.  Fortunately, the only data lost was all my e-mails.  I had been saving most everything else to a memory stick or an external hard drive, but did loose a few documents.  I had a few pictures on the notebook, but as far as I know they were all stored on the external hard drive.

This episode reminded me of the importance of backing up anything I might ever need to refer to again.  In addition, I realized that I need to print out any e-mail that I might need. I had been telling myself for some time that I needed to make sure that I had everything backed up on a storage device and on cd's, now I know that this is a necessity. 

Lesson learned:  back up, print, and, for pete's sake, don't let the computer jump out of your hands onto a hard surface!

May? Doesn't feel like it!

What a small blessing!  The calendar says it is May, but we've been given a small gift here in South Texas.  The weather has been  unseasonably cool this spring; in fact, it feels like a real spring! No complaints from anyone!  We all know the hot weather will be here soon enough.

Last year when February first rolled around that was the end of the cool weather.  It just got warmer and warmer.  This year I was afraid the same thing would happen.  We have had a few warm afternoons with temps in the upper 80's, but then it will cool back down.  A fierce storm went through night before last and the wind was howling until earlier today.  This morning we set a record with 45 degrees; right now it is 68 beautiful degrees.  Is it fall already?  It seems like it; the air is cool and crisp and the sky a magnificent deep blue.   But it is May, so the calendar says

Last night I pulled out the sweats and enjoyed another comfy, cozy evening curled up on the sofa with the dogs.  I had to pull out a pair of boots to wear, too cool for open sandals. Turn on the heat in the house and turn on the seat warmer in the car, too. How nice to have one more chance to use those winter things.

I think there is a trade off here - we had almost no wildflowers this spring, but we are getting a long, extended cool season!

Indian Blanket

Solitude

I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Solitude is good company, isn't it?  I think so.  I treasure my solitude, my time alone is precious to me.  It always has been, even as a child.  It didn't matter if my friends were around or not, I was perfectly happy playing by myself.  As an adult, I feel the same way, although I have to note that too much solitude is not good either.  I need solitude, but I need people, too.

Sometime after I got Sawyer and Blossom I developed the habit of going outside with them every morning and drinking a cup (or two) of coffee. This is one of the things that having dogs changed about my life!  Weather permiting, we do this every morning.  Sometimes it is still dark, sometimes the dawn begins while I sit on the old glider, on the weekends it is already daylight and the sun is rising.  It is a quiet time and although I'm usually not fully awake, it is a peaceful way to start my day. A little solitude in the morning goes a long way to get me through the day.

Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

A few weeks ago at an art show I saw a sign that said, "Nothing is certain" and then continued on with a saying or something.  I didn't take time to stop and read the sign, but thought to myself that that was the truth.  I rolled those words around for awhile in my salad-spinner brain.  We live in the present moment, unable to go back in time, but not knowing what the next second will bring to our lives, or to our world.

Monday afternoon I walked into my manager's office.  Without taking his eyes off his television, he stated that there had been an explosion at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.  Stunned, I stood there watching the chaos and the frenzied aftermath.  Last night the top story on the 10 o'clock news brought the news of another explosion, this one also killing people and injuring many more. Stunned, I sat and watched the rescue efforts. Today the pictures of the devastation told the story of last night's poweful fertilizer plant explosion.

I've thought back to other events that stunned.  I remembered standing in another office on a September morning watching the World Trade Center tower burning; it would be a long, numbing day.  I thought of the afternoon last December when news of a school shooting stunned all of us.  And the morning news of a shooting in a Colorado theatre some time before that.  Nothing is certain, is it?

Once again I've tried to sort it all out.  How can a loving God let these awful things happen?  Why do they have to happen?  Why can't we all just live in peace and consideration with one another?  I firmly believe there is a reason for everything that happens, everything.  I firmly believe that God is in control, but still why all the suffering?  I don't know.

This morning I read an article on Fox News that spoke to me so I share it here, if you want to read it . Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled  When I saw the article's title I thought of John 14:1. I had read it this morning in a devotion book.  It was for yesterday's reading, but I'm a day behind.  When I clicked on the article, it did feature that verse (imagine that, the Bible being quoted) and was a heart warming and encouraging article. 

No, nothing is certain in this world.  But we move on, stunned sometimes by what happens around us, always remembering that our hope lies in our faith.  Let not your heart be troubled.

Bluebonnets

The bluebonnets, as with most wildflowers, have been sparse this spring since we had no rain last November.  I feel like I have discovered a small treasure whenever I see even a few blooms.  I did find a few clumps along the way to a dog show in Austin on Saturday, and snapped a few pictures.  The season is almost over so they will soon be going to seed.  Hopefully, there will be rain next fall to start the crop on its way to a more bounteous display!

Sometimes...

a girl just has to do what a girl has to do.  Sometimes you just have to break out of the normal routine and do something different.

It all started last night as I left for obedience class with Bentley.  Sawyer had a melt down; he really knows how to pull my heart strings, too.  He had his saddest face on and was barking at me with the bark he uses to fuss at me sometimes.  I felt bad, so I mentally promised myself that I would load him up real soon into the car and take him to our favorite park to walk the trails. 

I've gotten out of the habit of walking (again) and need to get back into it. All the dogs need exercise, especially Sawyer who has packed on a few too many pounds for some reason.  I need the exercise and fresh air, too.  I always seem to have an excuse on the evenings when I don't have to go anywhere and none of them are really acceptable.

Today, as I worked at the-job-to-nowhere I thought about my promise to take Sawyer to the park.  I decided that it would be the perfect evening to do so and resolved that I would not make any excuses.  Just load him up and go.  So I did, and I was glad that I broke with the normal routine. The temperature was around 70 degrees and the late afternoon/early evening light on the trails was lovely.  It was very refreshing and left me with some positive thoughts. Sawyer enjoyed the easy pace of the walk and being able to have limited snooping opportunities along the trails; it was good for him, too.

As we walked along I realized that taking time to do something you enjoy is very important.  Just working all the time at the job or chores drags you down.  Living only in the routine of life drags you down. Taking time out for a walk, or anything else, is refreshing and rejuvenating and lifts your spirit up.   I need to add "take time to do the things I enjoy" to my list of things to do regularly. Just break out of the routine and enjoy.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven Ecclesiastes 3:1

Serendipity

I was making pictures of another subject this afternoon when I saw this Mama and her babies, too cute not to get a shot.  Unfortunately, I was a little far away and had to zoom in so they are a little fuzzy.  I love little surprises like this!

Serendipity: the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for 

(Merriam-Webster, 10th edition)

How to irritate myself

Twice lately I've found myself trying to make pictures without a card in the camera.  Twice!  Both times I was just snapping pictures and finally looked to see what one looked like and there was the big banner across the LCD screen "NO CARD IN CAMERA".  I was irritated with myself but there was nothing I could do; no card, no pictures. Grrrr!

Where was the card?  Resting quietly in the computer at home.  Have I learned my lesson?  YES!  I can't stand to be without a camera!  From now on, check the battery and the card slot before dropping the camera in my bag.

Maundy Thursday/The Last Supper

Leonard da Vinci's The Last Supper

As in most years, our church had a form of a Last Supper re-enactment as part of the Maundy Thursday service. Tonight's version featured the setting of Leonardo da Vinci's painting, The Last Supper and featured a brief history of the famous painting in the beginning narrative. It was well done with various men offering a short soliloquy, followed by a reflection by one of the pastors and then Holy Communion.

 

Several  years ago, I had done a lengthy paper for a Western Civilization class on this painting.  I found the story fascinating and Leonardo even more fascinating.  The following are excerpts from that paper and I cited the sources at the bottom.  Since this is for fun I refuse to use footnotes!

Leonardo Da Vinci painted the original fresco on one of the walls of the Dominican monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan. Matteo Bandello, who was a novice monk at the time, recorded that Da Vinci would sometimes work on the fresco from sunrise to sunset without stopping and at other times would spend hours a day standing in front of the work with his arms folded across his chest staring at the figures on the wall. Bandello also reports that on one occasion he saw Da Vinci leave another job site and walk quickly across the village in the hot sun to the monastery only to pick up a paintbrush to paint one or two strokes.

Da Vinci based the figures of the Last Supper on real people, people that he encountered and people that he just saw in passing. Detailed sketches of faces and body features, such as hands and studies of the folds of cloth for Peter’s sleeve are found in Leonardo’s sketchbooks. He also made lists of possible reactions of the disciples, such as twisting the fingers of a hand or turning to look at a companion. Leonardo also broke with a tradition from the Middle Ages in which the disciples are shown as being stiffly linear in their arrangement at the table.

Work began on the fresco in 1495 and concluded sometime after 1497 (a fire at the monastery destroyed records so the dates are based on other documents). Sadly, within a few years the paint had already begun to flake and crumble. Leonardo had used a dry-wall painting technique that was appropriate; however, it was his experimentation with mixing oil and tempera for the painting on the dry plaster that was the cause of the subsequent flaking off of the paint. Working on dry plaster enabled him to work slower and to be able to re-paint but resulted in the paint eventually flaking off the surface. Moisture and dampness in the refectory also contributed to the incompatibility of the paint and prepared wall surface.

Restorations have taken place from time to time. Recent efforts have revealed many hidden details such as a hand drawn sketch done on the prepared wall before the final preparatory coat of gesso and imprimatura. Several authentic copies of the fresco have survived and have been invaluable in restoration efforts. The fresco is so fragile that extensive work is not practical. Today’s viewer sees only about 20% of the original version of the Last Supper and while it appears ghost-like on the wall of the ancient monastery viewers still witness the expressions and gestures of the apostles and the details of the table set for the meal that were painted over 500 years ago.

Sources Cited

Bruce Cole, Masaccio and the Art of Early Renaissance Florence(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1979) 208-209

Stefan Klein, Leonardo’s Legacy (Cambridge:Da Capo Press, 2010) 1-3

CharlesNicholl, Leonardo Da Vince Flights of the Mind (New York: Penguin Group Inc., 2004) 292-293

Jackson J. Spielvogel, Western Civilization: A Brief History Volume 1: to 1715 (Boston: Wadsworth, 2011) 255-256

Giorgio Vassari, Artists of the Renaissance (New York:Viking Press, 1978) 179