Random 5 Friday: The last day of January

Happy Friday to you on this last day of January! Can you believe the first month of 2014 is almost over? It seems to have flown by.

I’m joining Nancy of A Rural Journal for Random 5 Friday. Check out Nancy’s blog to find more posts where bloggers share their random facts.

 

Snow on the camellia bush.

One

We had another snowfall this week. We were supposed to get mostly flurries in our area, but we got more than that.

The roads were treacherous Tuesday night. I had to work at the newspaper office into the evening, but Larry came to the office and followed me home in case I had trouble getting up any of the hills. I made it fine, but it was nice knowing he was behind me.

Two

My work week at the newspaper wasn’t as hectic as I thought it would be. A trial set for Wednesday went to a plea last Friday.

Three

My schedule seems to be different every week and can change at the last minute. That makes it hard to have a lot of week-to-week routine.

I am working on finding a more peaceful morning routine. It’s hard for me to get up early before it’s light outside, but I feel so much better when I get an early start.

I have got to stop hitting that snooze button.

What time do you get up in the morning?

Four

My skin is suffering from the cold, dry air of winter. My hands look like claws. They’re not like they were when washing OCD ruled my habits, but they are dry and rough. I have dry patches on my face, too.

I probably don’t put enough lotion on. I don’t like the thick feeling of too much lotion, and it seems to make my face oily if I’m not careful.

What lotion do you use for dry skin? Do you know of anything that moisturizes without leading to breakouts?

Five

Chase Bird loves to curl up in small, dark, warm spaces, especially during the day. To accommodate him, we arrange a kitty blanket over different chairs, wherever he’s hanging out, so he can hide away and sleep.

Here’s one we fixed in the den. It’s where Larry usually sits when he’s watching TV. But he gives up the chair for his Chase Bird.

The influence of my childhood reading

Having to empty one of my bookcases to move it for the heat pump work was an inconvenience. But on the positive side, it has allowed me to look over some books that I haven’t opened in years.

Some of those books are ones that I received as a child.

I was a bookworm from an early age. I remember being fascinated with books even before I could do more than recognize the letters of the alphabet.

OCD has bothered my reading on and off, but I always find my way back to the love of reading.

Trixie, Honey, Diana, Jim, Brian, and Mart find mysteries to solve even while on vacation in Arizona.

I found my first two Trixie Belden mysteries among some books that my oldest brother had read when he was a young boy. Those Trixie Belden books started my lifelong love of mystery books.

I eventually collected most of the series, but over the years, through a lot of moves as a young adult, I’ve ended up with just two.

I took the whole box of Little House books with me on vacation one time and read my favorite parts as I rode in the car.

When I was in the third or fourth grade, I received the Little House books for Christmas. I read and reread those books so many times. I can still remember many of the stories.

This is the second book in the series, where the Ingalls family moves out to the prairies.

I got in the habit as a child of writing my name in my books. Here’s my signature as a child:

Nancy Drew was another favorite series. I collected a lot of them, and still have them. Password to Larkspur Lane was one of the best.

This book had some scary moments. Nancy helped rescue some elderly people being held against their will.

I’m still working on organizing my books. I’m moving them around on different bookcases, trying to give them a logical order and trying to keep them neat enough to enjoy looking at.

Here’s what I’ve done so far. You can see that I still love mysteries.

On the top shelves, you’ll find Sue Grafton, Kathy Reichs, Meg Gardiner and Lee Child. On the bottom shelf are my Trixie Belden, Little House, and Nancy Drew books.

I’ve recently discovered the mystery/thriller novels of John Sandford. I’ll be adding his books to the shelves soon.

What did you read when you were a child? If you read mysteries now, who is your favorite author?

Let’s not leave out anyone

You may have heard in the news last November that a Virginia state senator, Creigh Deeds, was attacked by his son at his home before his son killed himself.

The CBS news program 60 Minutes did a story on Creigh Deeds and Gus Deeds Sunday night, and it shed more light on what happened in November and how the U.S. is not equipped with resources to properly care for those with mental illness.

In a segment called “Nowhere to Go: Mentally Ill Youth in Crisis,” Creigh Deeds tells his story about trying to get help for his son. Creigh Deeds got an emergency custody order, which lasted just six hours, to get his son to an emergency department in Virginia, but he and his son ended up going home without the help Gus Deeds needed.

The next morning, Gus Deeds attacked his father with a knife before shooting and killing himself.

The story notes that most people with mental illness are not violent. The story focuses on those “who are a danger to themselves or others.”

You can view the segment or read the script HERE.

The Virginia General Assembly is now in session, and one piece of legislation that Creigh Deeds has proposed would extend the length of time of an emergency custody order to 24 hours. Another piece of legislation would “establish an acute psychiatric bed registry that will provide real-time information on the availability of beds in public and private psychiatric facilities and residential crisis stabilization units for individuals who meet the criteria for temporary detention.”

In the 60 Minutes interview, Creigh Deeds said, “There’s just a lack of equity in the way we as a society, and certainly as a government and insurance industry, medical industry, with the way we look at mental health issues.”

I agree with him. What can we do about that?

Here are some suggestions:

*Find out what is going on in your state with mental health services. Are they adequate? Do they meet the needs in each community?

*Support legislation that would improve services.

*Be a friend to those in your life who have mental illnesses. Be the kind of friend that you are to those without mental illnesses.

*Remember that there is much more to a person than his or her mental illness, just as there is much more to a person with diabetes than his or physical challenge.

*Seek help if you have any concerns about your mental health.

*If given the opportunity, be a voice for those who have mental illness. Remind others that those with mental illnesses deserve the same kinds of sympathy and help that those with physical illnesses deserve.

Thank you for reading this and for your support of me on this blog. 

A cold Random 5 Friday

Happy Friday! I hope if you’re in a cold part of the world, you are staying warm.

It’s time for another Random 5 Friday, a great meme started by Nancy at A Rural Journal. To read more random posts and to join in, click HERE.

One

It’s so cold here, some of the meager snow we got on Tuesday is still hanging around. As I write this on Thursday night, the weather people are calling for temps in the single digits by morning, with wind chill 0 and below. That’s cold for Central Virginia.

I don’t usually wear hats, but I’m wearing them these days. Gloves are a must, too. And layers.

What are you doing to stay warm?

Snow in the yard on Wednesday.

It was cold, but the sky was blue.

Two

In the continuing story of the heat pump, the contractor called early Wednesday and said they couldn’t come that day because they hadn’t finished up the job that took them away on Monday.

So they returned Thursday and got the new heat pump installed and hooked up to the electric heat. They’re supposed to come today and finish.

We will believe it when we see it.

Three

As most of you know, I work 32 hours a week as a newspaper reporter for a weekly newspaper.

I recently read something interesting. CareerCast came out with its list of the most stressful jobs in 2014. “Newspaper reporter” was number 8.

I had to laugh when I read it. My first thought was, why is a person with anxiety disorders working in one of the most stressful jobs?

From comments I read on the site, not everyone agrees with the list, of course. And I don’t think my job stress can compare to those who work in personally dangerous situations or who work to save others’ lives.

But it was all food for thought.

What has been your most stressful job?

Four

My job with the newspaper can be very interesting. We have such a small editorial staff—one other staff writer and the editor—that we all end up covering a variety of stories.

Just on Wednesday of this week, I conducted a phone interview with an expert on senior issues. Then I did an in-person interview with the fitness director at the local Y on mind-body fitness. Finally, I covered a visit to Altavista by Sen. Mark Warner, one of Virginia’s senators.

On Saturday, I will cover the local chamber’s annual awards dinner. Next week, I’ll cover a murder trial in the county.

Five

Chase Bird will be glad when the heat pump work is done. Every time the HVAC workers appear, he has to be put behind the gate in the back bedroom.

He still goes in there on his own to eat sometimes. We kept his water bowl and a dry food bowl in there even after he got full access to the house last fall. Sometimes he sits on a stool by the window or in a cat bed in there.

But it’s better when it’s on his terms.

Chase Bird.

Snow and expectations

“Whatever it is you're seeking won't come in the form you're expecting.”

― Haruki Murakami

I made a private vow that I was going to place less value on expectations. But, like a lot of things we decide to do, it’s harder than it seems at first.

We got our first real snow of the winter on Tuesday. I expected we would get at least a couple of inches.

We didn’t get enough to cover the grass completely.

I was disappointed. But the snow that did fall was pretty. And I still took some photos. The pictures aren’t good—I didn’t get much chance to be outdoors until after dark—but I still enjoyed it.

Snow outside the office in the late afternoon Tuesday.

Snow in our front yard in the evening.

A little snow on the bench by our side door.

The HVAC people came on Monday to work on the heat pump. I expected that they would complete the work that day.

They didn’t. They asked if they could go finish a more pressing job (and it was) and come back Wednesday.

I thought I couldn’t relax until the work was done and everything was back in place. But I can.

I’ve got deadlines and big stories to cover at the office. I expected to be able to relax a bit after gritting my teeth and getting through it. I had my schedule all planned.

Then I was reminded of another story responsibility on the very day I had set aside (in my mind) for relief.

I’ve got time every day to relax and do things I enjoy. I’ve got time every day to do the things I need to do. I’m grateful for that. I don’t need to wait for a far off day, after everything is “done,” to enjoy life.

Expectations don’t have to drive my life. Though I expect I’ll have to learn that lesson many more times.

How about you? Have you had your expectations dashed lately? 

I want my normal house back!

It’s not even over yet, and already I want my house back.

It’s in disarray. Things are out of place. And there’s a feeling of anticipation in the air, the feeling that it’s only going to get worse.

On Friday, the HVAC contractor came to the house and measured and looked around and decided where the hole in the ceiling for the new heat pump would go.

They are coming back today to take out the old pump and install the new. At least we hope they’re going to complete the process today.

This new heat pump is larger than the one we have now. Plus, Larry wants to install those attic steps. So the new, larger hole has to be in a different part of the ceiling: right where we have a bookcase full of books and my keyboard.

OK. I can deal with that, I thought.

It’s a heavy bookcase, made heavier with more books than the bookcase should hold. We’d have to pack up the books before we could move the bookcase.

This isn't the usual home for the keyboard.

On Saturday, Larry was going to cut the hole in the ceiling, do the prep work for putting in the attic steps, and get me to help him install the steps.

He had been working for a while when I went into the den. The keyboard was gone. It was now in the futon room/my office. On the floor in the den, there were pieces of plaster and plaster dust all over the large dust cloth covering half the room. Tools lay everywhere.

I didn’t say anything. I just walked out of the room. And took some deep breaths.

I don’t do well with chaos or even semi-chaos. I like things to be somewhat orderly. But I told myself I’d be able to get through a few days of things being upside down.

Chase Bird feels left out.

Poor Chase Bird was not very happy either. We needed to keep him out of the den while dust was flying and dangerous tools were lying about. So we closed the French door between the futon room and the living room, keeping him safe (or trapped, in his mind, I believe) in the other part of the house.

The measurements provided by the contractor didn’t seem to line up with where Larry thought the joists were. So he reluctantly decided to wait until Monday, when the contractor returned, to finish the hole. He taped up what he had done with duct tape.

It looks like we're in the midst of moving. 

I packed books. And packed. And packed. Larry put the boxes on a hand truck and moved them to the foyer in the front of the house. Thirteen boxes of books. And that’s from only one of four bookcases/shelves in the house. Plus, I have many books packed up in boxes already.

We carefully folded up the dust cloth so Larry could take it outside while I picked up pieces of plaster.

My grandfather built this bookcase. My father refurbished it when he and my mother gave it to me.

Then we allowed Chase Bird to come back in the room. He jumped up on the now-empty bookcase. I wonder if he thinks it’s now a bunk bed for cats?

To me, the empty bookcase looks sad. It’s waiting for the books to come back.

I’m waiting to get my house back.

Do you operate well in semi-chaos? How do you cope when you have to live in the midst of a work-in-progress?

***

My website for my editing business is now live. If you'd like to check it out, it's at http://www.tinafbarbourediting.com/.

Random 5 Friday

Happy Friday! I’m joining Random 5 Friday, a wonderful meme started by and coordinated by Nancy of A Rural Journal.

One

Thank you for all the kind comments regarding Larry’s trip to the ER. He’s doing fine now. He (finally) called his regular doctor today to make an appointment for follow-up as advised by the ER docs. His regular doctor is out of town until week after next, so he’ll have to wait a couple of weeks to see him.

Two

The HVAC contractor is coming over at 7:30 this morning to start replacing the heat pump, so I’ll be up and out early to get to the office.

He told Larry it would take about three days to install it. We’re scratching our heads over that one. Apparently they are not going to put in three full days on it. Today they are just going to measure and plan, I think, because he said he didn’t want to leave a mess over the weekend.

Three

During this heat-pump-installation opportunity, Larry wants to install attic steps into the crawl space over the den where the heat pump apparatus is. He’s going to work on that this weekend. My job—I’ve been told—will be to help lift the steps to the hole in the ceiling so Larry can attach them.

I am not particularly adept at jobs like this. Do you like home repair or renovation projects?

Four

I hope to have my website for my editing business ready to go live by Monday. It has certainly been a learning experience, buying a domain name and creating a website.

Five

I have not been taking many photographs lately. It seems like either the weather doesn’t cooperate or it’s dark outside.

If I take photos inside, they are usually of Chase Bird. I think he’s growing a bit weary of seeing the camera lens pointed in his direction.

What have you been photographing lately?