A blur of days

Moved a tall hamper/basket here, in place of the folding table I had.

Made room for more shelves eventually in the bedroom, solved the 

'where to put the tall basket' question and successfully got something that Cleo 

cannot hide under.... She hid under the little table that the above basket replaced,

unbeknownst to us, and was locked in our library-chapel over night,

 using our futon for a loo. :(  Thus sans-covers, that have since returned to us

from the dry cleaners....

Above pictures from my Tuesday day trip to see a friend for lunch... :)

Festive vespers for the Feast of St Peter and Paul...

Morning liturgy.

Did 3 errands on way home, before I had a bit to eat,

but all went well and I managed a festive meal...

while living between 2 calendars, so it was still a fast-friendly meal! 

{I did my best to make a good festive meal;

for our local church's feast; I could not make the table look as nice

as I wished, the roses wilting were indicative to how tired I was feeling

by the time lunch was over!}

TJ's Marsala burgers, fruit salad, hummus, chips, green salad...

I had a full few days.

I went to see a friend for lunch and shopping,

I found a cute long knit black dress and shrug,

exactly what I was looking for.

The train to get there and back was at least 1 hour each way.

Then I went and met Mr Husband at our local church for vespers.

Then home and dinner.

***

Wednesday was liturgy in the morning,

then errands at small grocer near church, vet and dry cleaners on my way home.

Then breakfast quickly eaten and lunch made.

I had to rest after this; I have had 2 nights in last 5 days of really bad sleep,

and it was all catching up with me.

***

Wednesday afternoon and evening I made some more cards and wrote some letters.

All mailed today. 

Mr Husband is really conscientious about birthdays of family and 

god-family.... we are now caught up through end of July,

early yes, but we have a lot going on in July....
***
I almost forgot to mention my new sandals.
Am really pleased.  Got them via Amazon via Germany!

***

It's a pretty hot day today and I am trying to stay hydrated.

***

My dream goal of actually sewing this week may not happen at all.

I forgot, when I wished for that, of a big research task I needed to do 

on Monday, which took most of the afternoon.

I could not put it off, as time and deadlines loomed.

***

Today will include 2 hour long phone calls/meetings...

plus cleaning, 2 more phone calls...

***

And so, this book resonated with me:

Overwhelmed:  Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time

Something I have had to accept again and again is that even though

I have a very ideal situation, 

Wife, Stay-at-Home Homemaker, great condo, fairly near to NYC, Orthodox churches, 

and even Monasteries within a few hours drive, lots of crafts to do,

friendships being made and strengthened, 

I have SO MANY things I am trying to do, that this book,

while it is by a woman working and being a Mother,

resonated with me.

***

I still feel like I get a lot of indirect feedback that my life does not qualify for

 being busy or being overwhelmed with balancing a household and the 

many roles and things I try to do. 

No one is trying to be unkind, just FYI.  

I think they just find things incomprehensible and compare my life

to theirs...which is just not helpful.

***

Meanwhile... I am the godmother who brings gifts for my godson and family

for St. Nicholas and Christmas - 

because of things I could not control I was not able to go

when I normally do to Ottawa....

which means this task is still not done...

Shipping to Canada is insanely expensive if done via US Post.

I am still trying to figure out what month I can even go to Ottawa...

and have the quilt done and able to be sent with me!

***

And...

My other godchild is coming!!! Briefly, in August, DV.

I have Sunday School to plan for,

family things that take a lot of planning,

and just life things... 

***

I think part of how I feel is because I don't know

a lot of people who are in my exact situation...

i.e., homemaker without being either a Mom, Mom who home schools

Mom who is retired form homeschooling, Mom with kids, Mom with kids & working, or if not a Mom in any of these stages, not being any of these things,

is then working a full time job; 

my job in this stage of things is exactly what i am doing now, 

not at paid work, but doing a lot none the less....

***

Anyway, been thinking about this a lot lately

and working on getting a better internal state,

so, even if I am getting indirect feedback like I mentioned,

it does not bother me quite so much...

***

And, at the same time, I am thinking about

how to have the time I need for quiet, for rest that an

introvert has need of...

today, while I had various phone meetings, I intentionally had a quiet day,

I am very glad for that. 

***

And for the first day in many days,

I had my lampadas lit...