Great Storm Clouds

 #1 - A few neighborhood families have started taking a walk in the morning before at home school.  Today one of the girls seemed to still be dressed in her flannel onesie with earmuffs on her head.

#2 - I only had a few groceries and the co-op is only a mile away so I biked there.  On the way home I was thinking about how on one street the there is a slight elevation at one intersection, but a couple streets over the slight elevation is a bit north.  I would never pay attention to these things if I were in a car.

#3 - Michael called the city a few weeks ago because he suspects that the shaking that sometimes happens to the house when a big truck rolls by is because of a pothole.  Today the county came to fill the hole.  

#4 - We are in a pretty good place with my dad's house.  There is still more to do, but the quantity of things that I have no idea what to do with is limited.  I am going to bring a big box of that stuff to the Tool Library next week in the hope they will have a use for it, and if not I'll have to figure it out.  But for now, most of the stuff at least has an eventual destination and so I feel ok with spending some time outdoors this weekend.

#5 - Great Storm Clouds - Trevor Hall - thanks Micheal

 Not sure why I can't get this video embedded, but if you could use an encouraging song - 

https://youtu.be/s0hj99x4iWw

great storm clouds

 holding rain

it’s part of nature

to hold a bit of pain

all in all that rain falls

and then we watch

 a new thing grow

Delegation

#1 -  My cousin said a week or so ago she may be available to help at my dad's next week.  I want the help, but often I am figuring out myself what to do with things, so it's hard to delegate. 

We have some old home VCR tapes that supposedly my dad converted to DVD.  I know where the VCR tapes are, but I have never found the DVD. 

So I've waited to get rid of the VCR/DVD player and thought maybe I could figure that out at some point if I had time.  THEN I thought of my cousin and this would be a PERFECT project to delegate. 

 She said today that she will come next week and try and that is a relief!  I will be so grateful if she can figure it out so I can throw away the tapes, get rid of the VCR and continue cleaning out other things while she figures it out.  THANK YOU KRYSTAL!!!

#2 -  My brother is great with using Craigslist - today someone picked up a printer and hopefully some yard waste cans soon.  #3 - Actually they just picked up those cans now.

#4 - My nephew just started kindergarten and apparently he has been throwing a bit of a fit about going when I talked to my brother yesterday.  "Does he get enough sleep?" was my first question.  I've long been surprised by my brother's family and their flexibility with sleep.  Apparently it works fine for my niece, but maybe my nephew is more like me and needs an earlier more consistent bed time.  I said it will take some time and effort to see if it helps, but it is worth a shot.

I don't think one day is enough to judge.  However they did get to bed earlier last night, had a good breakfast and had a better morning.

#5 - Books also helped, my brother suggested my nephew pick out a few books to read outside school before going in.  Great positive incentive!

Eventually Equal Zero

 #1 - My Dad's slide projector I finally pulled out and it worked and I was enjoying it.  Then I'm not sure what happened.  Well I kind of know and I tried to fix that, but then something else was off.  I started getting frustrated, so decided to write my gratitudes.  Will it be enough to switch my attitude?

#2 - It seems if you keep taking things out of a house and not bringing them in, according to math it would have to eventually equal zero right?  That's what I said today as I brought more to the thrift store and tomorrow I'll bring more to metal recycling.  It definitely feels more spacious in the basement at least.

#3 - Signed up for the point of sale inspection which is required before selling my dad's house.

#4 - I started playing guitar last night and continued playing more this AM between things on the computer.  I was playing along with Trevor Hall, a musician my partner introduced me to that I love.

#5 - There have sprung up quite a few tent homeless encampments at various parks this summer.  I received an email for some supplies that are being requested for people staying at them from the outdoor group I belong too.  One of those was a tarp which I need to get rid of from my dad's, so maybe I'll bring it there?  Then another email

"I know our hearts are in the right place, but please consider another viewpoint for helping the homeless. People who work with the homeless would prefer you not make it slightly more comfortable for them to live outdoors, but rather do things to get them to a better place. Instead of donating materials to enable them to encamp outdoors in areas not sustainable for long, please consider volunteering or donating to a homeless shelter.. "

 Which also makes sense to me.  This made me finally do some research on what has been developing all around me.

"What comes next for those living in dozens of encampments in Minneapolis parks?

That’s an open question in the city right now. In June, a number of people who had taken shelter in a former hotel amid unrest following George Floyd’s killing moved to Powderhorn Park, in south Minneapolis, when the shelter closed.

After several days, the city park board voted to let them — and others camping in city parks — stay for the foreseeable future.

Now, the park board estimates some 560 tents are spread across Powderhorn Park alone, leaving many residents and neighbors wondering what the future holds."

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/07/09/council-president-bender

 

Blue Mounds State Park