Blowin' in the Wind

Everything's great.  Really. Surprisingly, it is. I still feel discombobulated and unsettled. I'm pretty sure I'm in the place (or close enough to it) where Tammy was when she had to completely redo Ghosts in the Snow before publication. And Ghosts in the Snow is a beautiful masterpiece. So, yes, I feel as if I'm completely redoing Polar Bear on the Loose. More wild bear time. More troubled transition to figuring out human culture. Conflict. An antagonist (or two). I agree these are essential to the story. Sigh. Chopping some things and adding others.  I'm so darned s-l-o-w at this. I'm frustrated by myself. I have to figure out this writing thing, but I feel as if I'm running through tar pits as I try to figure it all out.

But what's great? The glass inventory is done (except for a few more pieces I found in the dining room last night as part of this month's decluttering effort), so January's decluttering task is declared a success. This month's focus is on the dining room. Most of the dining room is stuffed with Mr. L's car part and Legos and his glass, but I have enough things in there that need to be dealt with, because there is no reason to have anything other than a few trinkets in the dining room. I'm also dusting and doing a general sprucing up of things in there as I work. I found my Leica camera in the antique icebox. I'd been looking for it to send to my uncle, who collects cameras. I'm trading cameras for 1/16th scale models of the '46 Mercurys. My decluttering goal for this year is on track.

Surprisingly, and at a great risk of jinxing us, Mr. L must have set a goal for himself to be more agreeable with me, because since the first of the year, we've had far fewer flare ups between us (I set a similar goal). I know we should talk these things out, but that rarely seems to work. I have mentioned his agreeableness and how much I appreciate it, and he said he's been trying.

USAA is displaying my credit score on my page now. It said it had three positives and three negatives.  The three negatives are no recent mortgage information (I'm not going to get a mortgage to improve my credit score.  No way.); no recent loans (this could be a problem, because someday, I might want a loan, and I remember the troubles I had getting one when I hadn't had one--I'll probably finance my next truck and pay it off over six months or so); and no carry over balances on my credit cards (this should be fixed after the last several months when I've been carrying over some balance, but I'm still not wild to do this). All this to say my financial goals are on track.

I've started programming the evening meal into LoseIt! in advance.  This helps, because I can see what's planned for dinner and as I track throughout the day, I can keep myself from going over my goal much more easily.

The city must have had troubles programming the new water rates into the computer, because our water bills, which usually arrive on the first, didn't get here until the 4th this month. Our new standard water bill is $210 a month. Averaging $70 a month each  for water, sewer, and trash (we have three, and one doesn't have a sewer charge, so the actual price is really higher). I don't like to pay it, but I can handle it.  I think of all the people in town who struggled to pay the old water bill, which was between $30 and $50 a month, and am sad for them. The city needs to replace their water plant and infrastructure, so I couldn't protest it when they put the increase before the city council, but...man.  Once I paid that, I was able to schedule the last bill for the month, so bills are paid.

I did no actual work at physical therapy on Tuesday.  I talked with the therapist who offered me a set of what I think he called "off-load" braces before giving me a couple of sheets of isometric exercises to do which will help strength my supporting muscles to help my joints be more stable. I love the new braces. I can almost walk normally with much less pain. They're big and bulky, but, oh, they make such a different.  I'm tempted to hug that man at the end of the month during my follow-up visit. I also stopped at my primary care physician's office and asked for the orthopedic consult.  They're supposed to call me when it comes through to schedule an appointment. After a couple of days, I've been able to get my recumbent bike time back up to twenty minutes.  I had some chafing problems with the new braces, but I'm getting them worked out (ordered some sleeves to wear underneath, but in the interim thigh high hose work well).

Yesterday was gorgeous outside, so I did a little more of my winter yard work.  I did it during the two hours I could wear my new braces, and it really helped.

The Week Ahead:

• I need to tackle the Wildlife Management report this week. I want it done before we depart for the Grand Tour. This means selecting and printing photos of the work we've done, copying receipts, and finalizing the report and printing it. This is not hard work. I keep delaying it.
• We need to begin looking at taxes.  I'm not sure if we have all the 1099s yet or not, but I think we do. We'd like them to be done before we depart for the Grand Tour, too.
• Keep exercising and staying within my goals for calorie intake. I'm hoping the civilian doc will not hold my age and weight against me, but I do understand less is better for this procedure. I'm discouraged by my past failures, but I also understand that doesn't mean I can't succeed now and in the future.
• Keep moving forward with Polar Bear on the Loose revision to the revision.
• Weather is supposed to be gorgeous this week, so I plan to get more yard work completed.