Five things that make me happy:
- Having my son home from Japan. I am sad that his month-long adventure is over, but I just love having his energy back in the house again.
- Rearranging furniture. I spent half an hour decluttering and rearranging the furniture on the front porch last night. The seating area is now so nice and inviting. I just love getting a fresh new look without spending a dime.
- My step-father is downsizing his law office, and my mother has been crazy busy finding new homes for all his old office furniture and supplies. Most notable rehoming? A couch and chair that she sold to the TV show Grimm. They will used in the office of a new bad guy character. So cool!
- My last two library audiobooks have been overwhelmingly fantastic. Girl in Translation, by Jean Kwok and Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. I highly recommend both books.
- All the attention that my first Huffington Post blog piece is attracting. I don’t want to count my chickens before they’re hatched, but it looks like I’m going to film a piece for a national morning talk show.
One thing that’s pissing me off:
- I have noticed that I’m watching entirely too much TV lately. There is no way this is good for me, (unless of course I get to spy my step-father’s old law office furniture.)
Now you. What’s making you happy and pissed off lately?
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Aaaah. The self imposed TV limits. Just remember the fact that you are even paying attention to how much you are watching means it’s probably not as bad as you feel it is… You want to talk about removal of clutter, could you imagine how the spaces in our houses would transform without these big glowing boxes. Furniture arranged at angles and distances for better viewing and sound, as opposed to friendly conversation and functional use of space. Not to say that everyone should just throw out their television, or that I do not watch it. However, one thing that I noticed threw a bit of water on my heated affair with the boob tube was simply not having one.
A few years ago I was travelling and ended up living in the Bay Area, in a beautiful house in the East Bay. An enormous Victorian, complete with huge ceilings , claw foot tub, and wood floors throughout. I had a few roommates to share this space. All of us young, and unattached to anything other than our freedom.
As with most our age we all had computers, as well as deep passions for music and movies, and when we weren’t in our garden, having great conversations, or cooking together, often we would hunker down for quiet alone time in our rooms and watch a movie or show on Netflix or Hulu. Sure, I was behind all of the latest episodes that my friends back home were talking about in Facebook posts. But I was able to sit down on a quiet night and get to really fall in Love with characters and a story, watching three or four episodes in a row, and often time the shows of my choosing were ones found on Hulu, which at a basic membership is free of charge and posts shows often no later than the following day or week.
I never felt deprived or behind, in my keeping up with current times and culture, a huge part of which is sustained through entertainment and it’s characters in this country; and I never really thought about the fact that we didn’t have a TV in our house.
Until I came home to visit, and it felt like all everyone had to talk about was their TV shows. Describing people and events with a passion and a peculiar sense of identification. So, because it was what they were doing with their time, to spend it with them, I watched with them. Tried to follow the drama and relationships of Housewives of Whereever, and so on. What I noticed was that I had lost the attention span for TV all together. While watching online one has the option to pause, finish later, or switch to something else and not be limited to time station times.
Now I don’t have a husband and understand that sports events are often televised once at specific times and that is one downfall to not having a TV. But perhaps limiting what is watched on the TV such as news, weather and sports or special occasions like the Olympics as most of Television is Re-runs anyways.
Overtime, I feel it becomes less entertaining and often even hard to tolerate if its not something that you really enjoy watching, rather than just filling the time and quiet with artificial company.
Sorry so long winded 🙂
Our TV is in our spare bedroom, deliberately not in our living room. I too get annoyed when homes have common areas dominated by TV. There’s nowhere to escape from it!
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. 🙂
Katy
I’m happy that:
-My transition into loving iced tea sans sweetener is going well
-It’s been two months since any bubbly addiction (aka Diet Coke) has touched my lips
-I can do the tree pose in yoga fully (heck yeah)
-My training for a 5K is going well, I may not be the fastest but I’m doing it
-I scored vegan-friendly hiking boots at Goodwill for $2.50. They look like they’ve never been worn and cost $60+ new
One thing I’m not liking:
My stupid fridge has been randomly getting very cold and freezing my greens. My last box of CSA greens went wilty within a few days when I can usually keep them for a week or longer. I love my weird, old vintage fridge and I hope we can get it fixed 🙁
Have you tried soaking your “wilty” greens in cold water?
Katy
Well, one woman’s pissed-off-ness is another woman’s happiness! Here in the UK you can’t help but find yourself watching the Olympics on TV every now and again, and it’s all more entertaining than I imagined due to the strange sports that I hadn’t realised were official Olympic sports. Pissed off that my middle-aged memory and blocked hayfever nose allowed me to accidentally pour 4 pints of white vinegar stored in an old milk carton down the plug hole, thinking it was water…Trivial I know but pissed off never-the-less!
With the Olympics on tv I’ve totally relaxed my tv rules for myself and the kids. I figure in a few weeks it’s back to school and normal life.
Big big congrats on the national,tv appearance! I’ll be watching for sure!
Loving things lately:
My sister made it through her surgery; although is healing slower than she thought. Hopefully she’ll get the picture to go slow!
Watching Downton Abby on DVD, which I’ve never seen before. It’s wonderful!
My daughter and son-in-law in their new house. They didn’t think it would be possible for a couple more years, and it turned out they were wrong!
Getting close to our family beach vacation.
What I’m hating lately:
Is having to work my part time job with 19 year olds who think that life owes them and they shouldn’t have to fill candy jars or help guests when asked. Or show up on time either! Gee is that what getting paid for doing a job is all about?!?!?!?!
Oh, Katy. My TV/computer addiction is out. of. control. I think it’s an age thing for me. I’m 63 and if I don’t want to do anything but sit and watch/read, by golly, that’s what I’m going to do. You wouldn’t believe the conversations I have between me and my rebellious self. Such a waste of time, but when I start thinking of all the other things I should be doing, or even want to do, I just get kind of overwhelmed and it’s so easy to escape. Might need to seek out a senior therapist to save me from myself.
I read “Girl in Translation” several months ago. What a wonderful read it was. Just finished reading “Grace”. It was good too.
TV? I cut our cable several months ago and now if I want to watch something it is on my computer. I was never a huge tv watcher, but even less now. I also find I am much more selective. Loving your blog posts. Driving to POrtland in a couple of weeks.. looking forward to spending a day at Powell’s.
Making me happy- perfectly sunny/breezy weather. It’s excellent walking weather!
Has me beyond PO’d- My bicycle, the thing most near and dear to my heart, was stolen from my yard this weekend. I am super upset and I don’t get how someone could keep a bicycle that has a Muppets sticker and is specifically built for my 5ft self! Super unjust.
Congrats on all the good that has come from the HuffPo blogging! 🙂
Mama Cloth, Diva Cup (you buy tampons?!!!!), and Family Cloth
I’ve been reading your blog for five years (although I’ve taken a several year break in there when we took a 2.5 year break from having the Internet in our home.)
Keep up the good work! Inspiring.
(I was once on your blog in my thrift store find!)
No, I use a “Moon Cup.”
Katy
Ok. Will look into the Moon Cup when my Diva Cup’s silicone wears out (but that’s years away, I hope!) I was just surprised in your article when you said you buy tampons. But I guess you were just being funny. 😉
Look again, I said “No used tampons.” 😉
Katy
5 things I’m loving, hmmm
1- my hubs and son repaired our driveway and it looks great
2-summer weather finally came and we had a cookout for dinner
3-I’ve got a stack of really great library books that I’m getting “paid” to read (free Starbucks giftcard for reading 3 books)
4-I “found” a shirt I’d forgotten about, on the mend shelf in the laundry room, just needed a button, and now I’m wearing it again (like getting something new)
5-I worked coffee hour at church this morning and salvaged almost a gallon of coffee about to be poured down the drain. I brought it home and froze it in quart containers — free coffee for the week
1 thing I’m hating–
I’m all out of chocolate! And starting to feel desperate!
Free Starbucks gift card for reading three books?!
Lucky.
Katy
Wow! Your family’s furniture on Grimm! That is so cool!!!!
I am enjoying being “home” (as in my hometown, which is no longer home for me) with my mother and sister, even though I arrived very ill. My sister was wonderful and took great care of me. I’m grateful for that and also the thorough and gentle, pleasant doctors and nurses at the walk in care center and the very helpful pharmacist as well who patiently answered my questions. (Oh and I guess I should also be grateful for my health insurance!) After the antibiotics had time to do their work I felt well enough to go yard saleing with my mother, and we got some wonderful baby clothes, a tub and a full bedding/mobile set that looked barely used and some other baby items for my cousin who is expecting a boy in early December. Watching her go through the items today and delight in them and express over and over how much she couldn’t wait to have the baby was really touching. She was told years ago she would never be able to conceive so this baby means the world to her, a little miracle. I’m so happy for her.
One thing making me mad:
Neither doctor nor pharmacist warned me about Nasonex not meshing with the predisone they have me on. I’m pretty sure the interaction between them led to these horrible sores inside and just under my nose which HURT like h– ah..ahem.. the dickens.
5 Things That Make (Made) Me Happy
1. Getting to meet you in person earlier this month 🙂 ( Remember Melanie’s friend from back East)
2. A Decaf Double Shot of espresso in a small cup with whipped cream on top
3. Making a delicious home cooked meal with produce from my garden
4. Watching a beautiful sunset
5. Making lavender wands and sachets from my lavender harvest
One Thing That Really Pissed Me Off
Having to wait way too long at the Department of Motor Vehicles today to turn in my license plates……Please take a number and have a seat! And wait and wait and wait!!!!! Urgh!
That was fun to meet you as well. And did you not go to the DMV armed with a good book? 😉
Katy
“Outliers” was fantastic, I agree. Read it a few years ago — it’s been passed around the family from parent to brother to sister, etc. I’ve given it as a gift a few times as well — just such a great book. Does Gladwell read the audiobook? That would be interesting…
He does the read the audiobook. I am going to put “Blink” on hold at the library next.
Kayu
Hi Katy, I just found your website/blog. It’s very interesting. It awesome that you really made an art out of recycling. Basically you can totally find anything and everything used for a great price so why get knew. Keep up the great work.