Rest?

Rest?

Judging from my Facebook feed, I am not the only one having a hard time with the idea that in the current climate, resting is the thing to do. That doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying the opportunity, it just means that I find myself at odd times looking around and thinking, “Wait, wasn’t I supposed to be doing something?”

Take today, for example. I got up about 30 minutes late and then dawdled getting ready. I took the dog for walk 1, then worked my way through some email. Soon, walk 2 came up and out we went. I did some writing, watched church, lunch, then a small nap, then another walk (3 in case you’re counting). On my walk, I saw relatives visiting my neighbors and I stopped to chat (social distance appropriate, I swear.) The talking lead to some help being exchanged (more about that in a minute) and then I did yard work. A final walk (4) and then I’ve been doing laundry, tidying up, and generally preparing to go back to work.

I didn’t drive. I didn’t go anywhere. In all that space, you’d think I would have managed to do some painting. No. But I  thought about it, and maybe that counts.

My basic excuse for why I’m not taking advantage of this “rest” period in some creative way is that moving is taking up all my mental space. Fair enough. But it’s not the whole story. I simply just feel exhausted and adding anything new feels really hard.

Moving: Status

As I write this evening, I am no longer sleeping at my Salem house, but living down at the beach. I have to go into the Salem office on Mondays, but other than that, it’s okay to work “from home” and right now the closest thing to home I have is the beach house.

I’m still making at least two trips to Salem a week, however, because the move is not finalized. Friday (a few days from now) the movers will come and take the big and bulky stuff to a storage unit (this is the plan right now.) I’ve moved almost everything small and portable out, but it’s the big and bulky that lingers.

And as I write this, I do not know for sure if I will be moving to the house in Keizer. Last Friday we did the inspection, and while the inspectors commented what a nice, clean house it was, there were more than a few “deferred maintenance” items that start to accumulate into real money. I’ve ask for a price reduction and I haven’t heard back. We’ll see.

Entertainment

Instead, I am spending my free time cataloging the birds at the feeder at the beach house. It’s amazing that after only four days of having the feeders back up, I’ve already got such a variety of visitors.

Yardwork deferred

My other main project is to tackle some yardwork. I want the yard here to be as low maintenance as possible, for obvious reasons. However, there are a variety of areas that have gone either to weed or invasives. For example, the driveway and front walkway.

Dad would lug home pieces of “coral” that would wash up on the beach in winter and line the driveway with them. In the years since his stroke and then death, they have tumbled and generally been mobbed by weeds. So, I’m moving them aside, digging up the weeds, and replacing them to better enhance some of the things Mom did (such as the paver patio.) My goal is three rocks a day.

Bragging Rights

And finally, while the Watercolor Society of Oregon show was cancelled due to COVID-19, the juror, Michael Reardon, agreed to judge the show digitally. Imagine my pleasure upon learning that “I Feel Pretty” received an Award of Distinction! This is my first award from WSO! I feel so honored!