Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Baby steps, Positivity | Leave a comment »
Time Flies
Posted on 07/09/2022 by Grumpa Joe
It seems like just a few minutes ago I woke up. Yet here it is almost noon, and I am just getting to my desk to write something. Time is important to me, and at this age I relish every moment the Lord grants me. It is my opinion that when time “flies” everything is going well, and my happiness index is high. It is when time slows to a “crawl’ that I believe something is seriously wrong.
An example of what I mean when I say time is at a “crawl” is when I am in severe pain as when I had a kidney stone traversing my plumbing last year. It seemed like eternity to get to where it was headed, and I thank God it was a small stone which kept moving. Had it stopped along the way time would have stopped for me, and my happiness index would have dropped to zero. As it was my happiness was almost non-existent. I guess that is what Einstein meant when he postulated his theory that time is relative.
The planet earth is a mere 4.6 billion years old, and the universe is calculated to be 13.7 billion years. When we look at an average life span of man on earth of 78 years we are but a tiny drop in the bucket.
Take an average human who is 78 years old and divide by 4,600,000,000 years then multiply by 100 equals 0.00001695 percent of the total time we exist. I don’t think we can measure things that small using normal devices. Given such a short life span we have to really put our lives into high gear to amount to anything. I guess that might be why it bothers me when I lose a morning to mundane activities instead of amazing, exciting, meaningful actions. What is more surprising is that even with all of the time I waste, that I can count my accomplishments with pride. What scares me is that the time I have ahead of me is far shorter than that which I have lived. It tells me to get off my ass and accomplish something before the last grain of sand passes through the orifice of life’s hour glass. It tells me to take those baby steps, and to take them very fast.
Filed under: Aging, family, Motivation | Tagged: Baby steps, Earth, Time, universe | Leave a comment »
Working In The Garden
Posted on 24/06/2013 by Grumpa Joe
Monet garden in Giverny, Eure, France (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Recently, I have used other people’s work on this blog. My time in the garden takes its toll on me and the result is a lack of energy left to write. My Lions Club work suffers also. Here it is the third day of summer, and I am still planting annuals in the 2013 Monet Vision. Hopefully, the plants will have enough daylight to survive and thrive before the first killing frost.
Spring came late for me because I spent most of it in Arizona. When I finally did arrive home, the temperatures in Illinois were much the same as what I had in February. The temperature reached 100 on the day we left. After spending three months in tee shirts and shorts, I suddenly found myself looking for warmth. Another delay occurred because my sister-in-law suffered a stroke shortly after we returned. We spent a good bit of time visiting with her and were at her bedside when she passed. Before I knew it, June had arrived and established itself before I pulled a single weed, bought flowers and even considered getting into the garden.
All of that stuff is over now, and I attack the Monet Vision daily with vigor, which runs out in a few short hours. So when I read a news articles like a Zombie, and it appeals to me, I re-blog or link with a minimum of personal expression. Hopefully, I select topics that appeal to my followers.
Being in the garden gives me time to think and to set goals. My list suddenly becomes almost impossibly long, but I will take the goals baby step, by baby step and get the important things done. The Monet Vision is at the top of the list, next is blogging, third is work on my novel, and forth is the workshop. Oh, I completely forgot, Peggy fits in there too, and I also have to squeeze in a few moments for physical fitness like walking and bike riding. No, wait, I need to find time to spend with family and friends too. I can’t neglect personal relationships for mundane things like the workshop, blogging, and physical fitness. After all, imbibing Winking Owl with my old fart buddies takes precedence over everything else including Peggy(please don’t rat on me by telling Peggy I said that), and the Monet Vision.
Yesterday, it rained and I watched a Wabbit under the eaves eating bird seed dropped from the feeder. He looked familiar to me, but larger than the last time I saw him. Yes, it is the same Wabbit, it is Aga Bambi, last seen eating Petunias from the 2012 Monet Vision. Not a problem anymore, I’ll call the IRS and ask them to send a FBI drone over to keep the garden under surveillance. If the drones spot any signs of terrorist activity, they can tell me to take positive action.
Related articles
- Monet’s Irises (averageus.com)
- How To Plant An Urban Garden (proplants.com)
- The Benefits of a Meditation Garden (proplants.com)
- Visiting Monet Mansion & Garden (uniquescreen.wordpress.com)
Filed under: Biography, family, Garden, Wabbit Wars, Writer | Tagged: Arizona, Baby steps, Cell, Claude Monet, Drone, Garden, Giverny, goals, Illinois, June, monet vision, Plant, Terrorists | 3 Comments »
The Man Cave Blocks a Writer’s Mind
Posted on 19/11/2010 by Grumpa Joe
I find my self in a horrible writer’s block. The ideas are not coming. Maybe it is because I am preoccupied with a building project in the Man-cave. I have had this project on the books for five years, and decided it was time to make it happen. Building a finished room is not easy for me. I watch the DYI programs and get the idea that building a complete house only takes thirty minutes to an hour. That is not the reality, especially if you are a one man contractor, carpenter, electrician, etc.
After my Lions Club projects wound down, I set the goal to complete the Man-cave by Thanksgiving. It would be simple; just take a simple baby-step everyday. The deadline for next Thursday is not realistic, but Christmas may be a reality. That is, if I don’t go overboard on decorating, both inside and out.
The man-cave is the final project in a series of projects that I envisioned when I moved into this house. Once it is complete, I will begin using my wood shop to do some intarsia art-work. I haven’t done an intarsia piece in ten years, but I still have the desire to create art from wood. A couple of my pieces are shown below. I also have a burning desire to design and build whirligigs. These clever devices combine woodworking with wind powered mechanical motion. Since the whirligig constitutes yard-art, the goal is to have one in place in my 2011 garden.
In between all of this physical activity, I still take baby steps toward completing a new book titled “Nightmares from Obama.” Combine that with publishing a new serialized Christmas story for Grumpa Joe’s Place, and it is no wonder why Grandma Peggy feels like she is a widow again. All of these projects and self-imposed deadlines have me stressed out. No wonder I suffer writer’s block.
A single line from a hymn keeps running through my mind, “One day at a time sweet Jesus, one day at a time….”
Filed under: family, Hobbies, Memories, religion, Warm and Fuzzy, Writer | Tagged: Baby steps, Jesus, Whirligigs, Writer's block | 1 Comment »
Accomplishment!
Posted on 18/11/2008 by Grumpa Joe
Sorry for the delay in writing new posts. I have been trying to catch up on my “other” projects. My Lions work has suffered through the pre-election days, and now I must put it in gear to give the Lions their due.
I find it useful at this time of the year to reflect and prepare an accomplishment report of my activities. I just completed one for the Lions Club. I will begin preparation of my personal accomplishment list soon. Why is an accomplishment list useful? When I worked for a living, the list served to remind me of what I had completed for the company. I had fresh recollection to remind my boss at “review” time just what I did for the company.
Usually, at the end of the year, I beat myself up thinking that I have not accomplished any of my goals. It is natural to remain unsatisfied when the new year stares you in the face, and asks “what’s next?” Disappointment takes over as the predominant emotion, and a feeling of despair follows. I begin to question why I wasted a year without any hard fast results to show off. That is why I began to list my personal accomplishments. It is encouraging to recall, and see all of the “baby steps” I did take, and all of the projects I did complete.
It is easier than you think to do this. Just sit in front of your computer, and start. I use the word processor, and begin by listing the first thing that comes to mind. Such as “I initiated a BLOG. I BLOGGED 85 times. I set up a new website for my club, etc. The list goes on for a couple of pages until I run out of recollections. I number each item on the list to give me an indication of progress. Usually, I don’t run out of ideas until I reach one hundred and fifty.
If you chose to start a list of your own, I recommend that you include all the important areas of your life. I recommend using your “High Payoff” activities list for this. When you concentrate on how you spent your time in a specific arena, the recall flows, and your accomplishments build. Of course, if the list in a specific High Payoff activity is short, it points to an area for improvement.
By the time I have finished this excercise, I am energized and ready to begin planning another year of goals.
Filed under: family, Garden, Memories, Motivation, Travel, Uncategorized, Writer | Tagged: Accomplishment, Baby steps, goals, high payoff activities, Lions Club | Leave a comment »
