A New Month!

Welcome February. A new month! We've noticed that our days have been getting longer and the sun is out a bit more. Despite the Winter storm yesterday, today is chilly but sunny, with blue skies and sparkling snow. My first day of a week off and I have so many tasks on my long list to look at and then decide which ones to do, in between naps and working on the dollhouse in the art studio. My list:

* create new schedule for my new hires (2 new grief counsellors) while incorporating my other counsellor and myself in to the mix. We are now a lovely team of 4.

* re~organize our home office. Time to do a little purge and reset the desk at a different angle. I have a lot of Zoom calls through the week and I'm ready for a change of scenery.

* take down the Christmas trees this coming weekend. Family is not happy and trying to convince me to leave them up. To be determined. I've stated that gifts of white chocolate will entice me to move the take down dates to another time.

* gather receipts and documents for our accountant for our taxes. In Canada, taxes are to be filed by April 30th at the very latest. We usually do this in March but I'm going to get it in earlier this year as the next few months are going to be crazy busy with renos, landscaping and the Festival. 

* figure out our RRSP contributions (Registered Retirement Savings Plan) for 2021 (you can contribute up to February 28th for the year) and set up my auto withdrawals at work on our ADP platform. My employer is now doing matching contributions and I'm excited to double my amount each year until we retire. Getting closer all the time.

* purge our master bedroom closet and front door closet. Lots of clothes are sitting and it's time to pass them on. 

* work on our half bath to get it ready for the board and batten. A little wallpaper, a little paint and wood pieces to fit.

* we're super ahead of the game for the Festival but there is still a few things I'd like to tick off my list while I have the time. The more we do now, the less we do later. I'd really like to sit back this year and actually enjoy the Festival. I want to do this with our preschool too. Get ahead of the game and then when the weather is great again and we're outside more, I won't feel torn to be enjoying myself when things need to be done. My new motto for 2022: do it well before it's due to be done! I truly have the time to do this well.

You might be wondering why I chose the photo above for today's post. It just spoke "Spring" to me and it feels like we're getting closer to the season of renewal and change. Part of my week is also to take some time to "reset" how I look at work. I now have a chance to stop working so incredibly hard and start to give my team more tasks, especially with new energetic members on board. I shouldn't have to work at night and on the weekends. Though that time is at home, I don't see other staff members doing extra work on their off time. Here and there, yes. But every day, no! I've put a message on my email and will do the same with my phone and nothing will get done until I'm back on site next week. We'll see how long this lasts as I've become a bit of a workaholic ~ easy to do when you love what you do and you're always trying to achieve the best ~ but it's not sustainable. I'm so very tired and worn down and I'm sure why I haven't been feeling the best. Here's my chance to make this change. Wish me well! I'm on it ....

What to you do to make changes in your life?

When do you know changes are needed?

~ Chy

List Update.

Hello blogging buddies. Now that my week off has concluded (it was a great week), here's the progress of my long task list:

* install all 4 rain barrels

* book the deck installation

* finish organizing the art studio

* work on deck (flatten/add rock)

* set up fire pit area with flat rocks

* set up dh's workshop in the garage

* purge, clean and organize the garage

* install the pickets on the garden fence

* spread the pea gravel that was delivered

* create way to encourage the peas to climb

* finish the gallery wall in the guest bedroom

* check out why the rain gutter  is not draining well

* have an electrician hang the lights in the art studio 

* finish the gallery wall in the hall in the great room

* clean out the freezer for the first time since the Fall

* search for the fabric to make curtains through the house

* find someone to paint the walls and ceiling in the garage

* move items from basement storage to the garage storage

We couldn't install the 4 rain barrels as the ground was too wet from the recent rain. The same with checking out the rain gutter ~ definitely something is blocked but we hope the rain will end by tomorrow and then start to dry out so we can complete both these tasks. Hopefully!

Looking for fabric we moved to our new list. We decided the garage and the landscaping were more important at this time. In it's place, we did move all the paving blocks from the spot they've occupied since last Summer to their new spot to house the fire pit and the Adirondack Chairs we bought. 

I've put a call in to our electrician but no response just yet. I've asked our son if he'd like to help paint but he's mulling it over ~ paid job, so hopefully he says yes. If not, then we'll find a local painter. Here's hoping we can keep it in the family!

The freezer clean out is the last item to tackle. I hope to do this tomorrow as if there is anything we need to throw out, Sunday is the day we take our compost bin down to the road for pick up. I don't anticipate throwing out much, maybe a frozen bag of peas that was lost in the bottom. We've been so good using the freezer, eating everything we buy. 

That's my progress report. Hope you've had a chance to get all your tasks completed this week. Time to make a new list!

Tuesday Tasks.

Some days it feels like I'll never get my task list done. Landscaping has been a big focus the last few months but it's a tricky one as it moves from list to list. Weather can create havoc some days. Our gate guy is back to day at 3 to weld the holders for the gate and fence pieces on. It looked good the other day as we all checked the forecast. Now it's supposed to rain. Ugh! I started to stain the front veranda yesterday as it was sunny and 18 degrees. An hour in, the sky went black, the wind picked up and I had to quick. Came inside to discover a wind warning had been issued for our region, something that didn't exist hours before. Even had the weather guy baffled. I got one section done and after today, the weather does look good again, so it's back on my new list to finish. I'm proud that almost all of our outdoor work is now complete. Final coat of stain on the veranda, a few more little bushes to plant, then the big garage clean and we'll be all ready for the white stuff to fall.

The list? Each day it changes as I add items on and cross items off. Yesterday I was working from home. Got up, showered got ready, made the bed, out the door by 8 a.m. to drop kids at school. Stopped in at my Centre to retrieve phone messages, made a couple of calls, chatted with my crew, then headed out. Stopped a the grocery store and filled up my wicker basket that has become my shopping basket with dinner items and some fresh fruit. Drove home, put the food away, did a bit of a tidy from breakfast, unloaded the dishwasher and then set out my laptop and phone for the morning. We were expecting to have our freezer delivered between 10:30 and 2:30. There's a whole other post and today, we don't have our freezer so I'll share the story later. It's a funny one, kind of.

Spent the morning finishing up a Power Point for a workshop we have on Thursday and in between, made many phone calls. I'm realizing now I forgot have lunch yesterday but I did snack a bit. Continued on in the afternoon then took a break to meet with the gate guy, plant a little blueberry bush, then worked on the veranda until the weather changed. At that point, dh came home with the kids and we all went in as the wind started to create havoc outside. I made dinner again (wow, I'm getting good at this!) and then we settled in to watch the hockey game while I worked more on my PP and sent out replying emails to all the ones that came in over the afternoon. It was a busy day but all good stuff and I'm thankful my list was much smaller by the end of the day. Today, i have to drop kids off, drive into the Big City to provide counselling to 4 kids at an inner city school, then head to my office to work with my crew on the final prep for the workshop tomorrow, then back to our little hamlet to provide counselling to a family in their home, then pick up kids and head home for what I hope will be a nice quiet evening. No hockey, no meetings, just a kick back, put our feet up night. I love nights where we just get to relax and truly looking forward to this one. Well deserved.

Wishing you a beautiful and colorful Fall day. Thank you for stopping by my little corner of the world.