Yarns and Wires

What does one do with one’s self, when there is nothing that must be done, nothing, anyway, that is both necessary and not distasteful?  I am bored.  Un-engaged.  Ideas that come to mind – jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, mind games – are truly pastimes, pass – times.  Some – TV and the like – are even sinkholes for life.  The things I generally enjoy are nothing but pass-times – knitting, reading, sleeping even.  But it is so sad, to simply wish for life to pass, that today were Friday, or the weekend were over, or finally here.   How many of us go through life that way?  And, isn’t nothing-to-do a state I have worked towards, by avoiding repeating engagements?  Am I now sorry?  I think not.  I think, rather, that I need to find some sort of engagement beyond the house, the DH and myself.  Just not one with a schedule.  What will that be?  Perhaps tonight I will dream, and tomorrow I will have more than a blank.  If not, well, there are drugs for that.

Day 2 failed, too. Went to bed too late, I don’t know, just don’t have it this week, whatever.

Spent 220$ for the next 2 months to go back to the studio, first day tomorrow. When your masseuse says, “Gee, you are really reverting…” I’ll take that for what it is, which is “Your lazy ass is getting flabby again”. Motto of the week: Blech. (NOTE: This must be said with the tongue sticking as far out of the mouth as humanly possible.) Which is how I feel now. I’ll find a way to make it work, though.

We picked up all the (non-humane) sticky traps and immediately had a mouse come out from under the dryer to drive the dogs nuts – it is the only way left out of the central wall of the house. So, more sticky traps will be bought and put back down (they are too smart to get into them), and we’ll hope they find their way under the (raised) house and out into the wild. I haven’t heard any more in the treadmill, and that’s a start. If they stave to death, well, I’m sorry, but there is only so much I can do. Co-habitation with mice is not a valid option. And we did let 19 back into the population – that’s about 3 and all of their spawn…

Also today we had someone in to measure windows to replace with double-paned glass. After the insulation this winter, I’m not sure it will really save much. Our energy usage is down, but fees are up, so we pay the same in spite of the very special, space-age foam insulation above and under the house (which may the be source of the trapped mice). Blech. Will have to see what the cost is…

Baby steps, baby steps. Maybe tomorrow morning, instead of simply waking and going through the motions in my minds eye to get up, and do a few sun salutations, I’ll actually get up, put on the clothes I laid out yesterday, walk to the back of the house and DO the sun salutations. Or not. After all, it’s Thursday, and every slacker knows you shouldn’t start a new habit at the end of a week.

Well, in answer to “how many mice can live in a treadmill?”, we are up to 19 caught (and released) with 2 more that I have seen in the back room.  Still none in the foodstores, for which I am immensely grateful.  They have learned to get the food from inside of each of the humane traps we have used, and get out again.  It is terribly difficult to starve them, when you have four dogs on an open-bowl feed plan (meaning food is down all day and you eat what you like when you like).  We’ve been picking it up all night, but watching our dogs ignore mice noise during the day doesn’t encourage me that the mice don’t eat all day.  But, then again, maybe that is why they are not yet in my pantry.

So, the treadmill took an excursion outside yesterday, and the hole in my office floor (which is not even 1/2 inch square), which provided them access into the center wall of the house, is plugged up with an aluminum disposable pan and a stack of heavy books.  Will that do it?  Only time will tell.

Meanwhile, the drain on our tub has stopped working.  You can drain the tub, but only while holding the lever down.  Duct tape doesn’t even suffice.   Short showers are now in style!   Hopefully we can get a plumber quickly.

Today I spent time researching how to build a sustainable landscape, and quickly decided that I don’t have the energy to set one up.  Maintain one, possibly, but not create it.  So, I will be looking for Baton Rouge area landscapers who are willing to do a small job, with solid prep and a long-term plan.  I’d like to get far enough along to have a fall vegetable garden in September and October.

Over the weekend, I came up with my new year’s resolution (for July).  I have quit visiting my yoga studio due to price hikes, and have seriously lacked the self-determination necessary to continue my practice at home.  If I go to the studio immediately after work, there aren’t interruptions.  But coming home and changing clothes inevitably leads to a nap.  Or the DH making dinner plans, and I don’t want to be the party-pooper.  So, the only time that it is entirely my own to command is the space in the mornings before work.  That time when I get my very best sleep.

But, if I get up when the alarm goes off the second time, instead of the fourth time, I’ll have 10 minutes to start my day with.  Not much, but it is somewhere to start.  So, tomorrow, 7:10, I will be up, doing a few sun salutations and a few minutes of meditation.  It’s a short week – only 4 days – so I think a good place to start.  I’ll post my progress here, hopefully as some kind of accountability that I desperately need to improve that self-discipline!