Wed – 28 Dec/16

We are back to being up by 7 a.m. – at least on Craft days.

The sewing machine was needed today so I drove Charlotte to the Craft Room. The early morning fog had now burnt off leaving clear blue skies; however the high dew point overnight left the car covered in a heavy layer of moisture as if it had been in a downpour.

 

Charlotte arrived before 9 a.m. She was the first there this morning. The park post office is next to the multi-purpose building. The boxes are in two banks of boxes on the outside wall. I checked our mailbox before returning to the car. I went to see if the activity calendar for January was out yet. It wasn’t. Later we would learn that they no longer put the calendars in the mailboxes. They are now in a holder on the other side of the Post Office.

Back at the RV my first task for this morning was to install the new coat hooks that I had purchased yesterday at Lowes. I would first determine if they would be suitable.  My concern was that they would be too large and not leave enough room to secure them to the overhead cabinet. I was relieved that they would fit and proceeded with preparing for the installation.

The next order of business was to start the computer. I have a collection of nearly 200 audio books (Audible). I started several years ago. Almost all are in the Crime/Mystery/Espionage genre. I will listen while I work at installing the coat hooks.

My listening choice for today is Robert Ludlum’s, “The Bourne Sanction”. This is a Jason Bourne novel written by Eric Van Lustbader. Eric assisted Ludlum in his final writings and now continues on with the Bourne series after Robert’s passing.

A bonus, with audiobooks, is that the narrator assumes the tone, accent and inflection of each character. In this case, Jeremy Davidson, does an excellent job changing voices as the words flow seamlessly from each character in the novel.

Next, I located my cordless drill case, picked the smallest unit, inserted a Phillips screwdriver bit and began removal of the old coat rod. Once off, I then centered the first of the five coat hooks on the overhead cabinet and secured it with the provided screws. I then installed a coat hook at each end of the cabinet. This made it easy to center the remaining two hooks on each side between the middle and an end hook. I “Eyeballed” center and soon another hook was in place. I repeated the procedure and securely fastened the last hook on the other side. All was now done. I then placed a variety of coats, previously on hangers on the coat rod, onto the hooks.

Each coat hook has two ends that spread out from the center at the bottom. These ends are at a 45 degree angle to each other, allowing for at least two coats per hook. Now the hooks hold a variety of light and heavier jackets, raincoats and sweaters. This new arrangement takes up less room than previously, yet each coat is still within easy reach of the door.

The heavier winter coats were placed for storage in an outside compartment until needed next year.

Next, I put the drill battery packs on charge and began to prepare lunch.

I had just enough time to prepare lunch (Tuna Fish Salad) while listening to the end of Chapter 10. Then it was time to return for Charlotte.

We enjoyed lunch while listening to the local TV news.

A cold front will arrive starting Thursday evening which will drop the temps to the mid-60’s F on Friday. That means it is “Our Duty” to enjoy the great weather today (and tomorrow).  We have been trying to change ASAP (As Soon As Possible) to WWFLI (Whenever We Feel Like It); however that is easier said, than done.

 I thought a little quiet reading might work. Santa (AKA, family) provides a “Bathroom Reading” gift each Christmas. This year’s gem was “Strange History…Mysterious Artifacts, Macabre Legends, Boneheaded Blunders & Mind-Blowing Facts.” That was good for about 10 minutes of reading; but it serves best at what it was intended for…Bathroom Reading.

Bonus: TMZ, on TV, was boring enough that Charlotte was able to have a short nap while I am thinking of postponing tasks, plugging in my earphones and listening to a few more chapters of my audio book.

I have come to the conclusion that “Work Ethic” is like “Conscience”. If something needs to be done, and it isn’t, a feeling of “Guilt” takes over. Actually, I do not think it is guilt as much as the need to achieve. The feeling of satisfaction, accomplishment and self-worth acquired when a task is completed successfully is a necessary component of happiness. It is similar to OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder). It just is!

Recognition from others is important; but it is not our main focus. We must be able to internalize satisfaction from a task well done. That is what gives us enjoyment. I am sure this is why Charlotte enjoys crafts and quilting. It is also why I enjoyed installing the coat hooks in the RV this morning.

Conclusion:  We will be combining ASAP - As Soon As Possible and WWFLI (Whiff-Lee) - Whenever We Feel Like It. Our new approach will be AIDT (Aid-Tee) - All in Due Time. After all, we are retired!

Well, that was a waste of time; but it did keep me from doing any ASAP tasks.

We have decided – no more trying to do less in an effort to “Try to Relax”. From now on we will do whatever we need to, want to, like to or have to – as needed. No more thinking we should be “Taking it Easy!” No more feeling guilty for working too hard.

The truth is that we will just keep on doing what has worked for us all our lives.

That ends the rant!

Charlotte finished her well needed nap and woke in time to watch “Dr. Phil”.

We then went for an Orange Ice Cream at the Sunsational Orange in Umatilla, FL. Next it was to Advance Auto Parts for car cleaning stuff.  We crossed the road to Publix to pick up two (36) packs of “Green Mountain Breakfast Blend” Keurig Coffee Cups – they were on sale for a good price. Our last stop was Walgreens at the other corner. One of Charlotte’s curling irons quit working this morning. They only had one; but it was the correct size (diameter). All the time we enjoyed the fantastic weather with the top off on the Del Sol. It was still 78F at sunset.

We made it home in time for the evening news. I finished the blog while watching Jeopardy. It would then be a TV evening to wrap another great day here in Florida.