2025 OneThing #55 - Put up Christmas Lights on the Porch - didn't happen

Wow. For two weeks in a row, I've not been successful with the thing I identified as my "One Thing." This is not an encouraging trend . . . So I'll write about what I DID get done.

I put up the oversized outdoor bulbs on the evergreen tree on the east side of our driveway. Louie had asked me to wait until he had trimmed some branches and I did. It's silly to do this, but it makes me happy. I also took down the "spring" lights over our indoor stairwell and put up some Christmas lights. This also makes me happy. But with a day and a half of "home" time, I neglected to put up the Christmas lights on the porch. I will still do it when we get home from the lake! But it got colder and I subbed yesterday. I don't think I'll ask Louie to do the lights up on the garage, etc. It's already mid-December!

I had put our Pack and Play on Craigslist for free and didn't get a single nibble. I brought that, the glassware no one claimed, a four-place mini loaf baking stone, and Lou's old lamp to Hands of Friendship. Getting rid of things continues. 

 

I spent a chunk of one of my home days sitting in front of the fireplace, sorting through Lou's papers. I'm getting closer to the end! I found about a cubic foot of empty cards and envelopes. I joked with Kathy Kendall that I'll have to come visit so she can help me sort and organize them!

2025 OneThing #54 - Draft wills and/or trust - didn't happen

This topic has been on my to-do lists for over a decade. It's frustrating to me that we have not yet gotten our "ducks in a row." Death is part of life and we want to prepare for our children before it's too late. 

We did meet with a paralegal to get more info about trusts. This was a follow-up to the dinner we went to in early November. I have a book from the library about DIY wills with not much info about trusts.

Our current plan is to talk with the boys (as we still refer to our adult sons) to get their take on this. We've heard the adage "pay now" (trust) vs "pay later" (wills). Sigh. I just want to get this done. I wrote my own will (and one for Louie) about a decade ago but didn't get them notarized . . . I keep thinking we'll hunker down and get our paperwork done. And we keep not doing it. I do have my own Health Care Directive!

So, I like to post about something I DID complete, so here it is. We talked about the fact that we last went downhill skiing about a decade ago. It was funny that someone asked us where we found our "retro" ski gear! We originally bought it brand new in the 1980s. Grin.

Once Louie agrees that we can get rid of something, I'm on it! I emailed Play It Again Sports on October 12 and got this response: "Thank you for the message Jeanne....unfortunately the ski equipment you mentioned would be too old for us.  Consider donating it to a thrift shop like Goodwill, Unique, Savers, etc."

 

Well, I know Goodwill doesn't take sporting equipment (that's how I got a new pair of snowshoes a few years ago! A guy in front of me was told they wouldn't take them, so I hopped out of my car and said, "I'll take them!") and I have dropped off a LOT of stuff at Hands of Friendship . . . so I looked on Craigslist for some reason and I found The Ski Guy in Richfield. After some messaging and texting, I was able to drop off FIVE pairs of skis and three pairs of boots. Booyah!

 

My photo angle is weird and makes the boots look larger than the skis. Ah well, on to the next thing.

 

 

OneThing #53 - November summary

It has been a good month! I am so happy that I've gotten back into a more balanced pace of life, with a healthy mix of work, leisure, productivity, and connection. 

 

Since I've blogged all these November weekly goals, I'll just sum up with an upgrade.

 

I had not finished stitching around my letters in my word for the 2025-26 school year. In fact, it's been sitting on my Juki sewing machine since that first week of November. So over the Thanksgiving weekend, I finally finished top stitching the letters down. I decided to add large green buttons for the "holes" in the letters a, b, d, and e. It probably doesn't show up well in the photo, and I'll definitely have to be careful when I get to quilting this, but I like how it looks. I plan to take it with me on my next trip to the lake so I can do some embroidery to make the letters look more like vines.

 

My verse for the month of November was Isaiah 26:3-4 which says, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord Himself, is the Rock Eternal."

Even though I read it aloud each time I went into my studio and worked on projects, it doesn't feel memorized yet. I need to exercise my brain and get these Scriptures deep into me!

November felt like a really good month. On to a new adventure!

2025 OneThing #52 - Share pics of glassware w/ family

I've learned my lesson! I can only choose my own thoughts, words, and actions. 

 

I still have most of the three boxes of glassware that Louie took out of the garage rafters a few weeks ago. They were items he had packed up from his parents' home after his mother died. We selected a few items that we especially liked and then I set out and photographed the rest in batches. I shared the pictures in a Google pics album and shared the link with his siblings and all the grandkids. About half of the items have been claimed! 

I removed those images from the album and now plan to share the album link with his cousins. Whatever is still left over after people have requested pieces will be donated to a thrift shop. Louie thinks some of the pieces may have been his Grandma Lilly's, so I want to be sure any sentimental ties are taken care of.

My son Alex thought the green glass might have been uranium glass, but I tested it with Louie's black light (yes, we own one!) and it is just green glass.

So I still HAVE all this glassware, but half of it is boxed up to go to other people. (Note I didn't make the goal to get rid of all the glassware; just to share images of it.) I'm getting there!

We also donated the hospital bed to a couple from Sioux Falls, SD. A different person came to pick up the plastic office chair mat thing. Today I will connect with someone in Richfield who really wants the Rollator-style walker. Progress!

2025 OneThing #51 - Write Personal Messages on Notepads for Stocking Stuffers

I did it! I wrote on one, then two more, then on Tuesday night (11.18) I finished all the rest! It may seem silly, but if I can plan ahead and work ahead, it makes me happy. I'm not posting a picture of the project, but here's one of my mom and dad.

When they went for walks to the park, they'd pick up aluminum cans for recycling. 

They'd pick up trash, too, and taught my boys to follow their example.

My parents were little kids during the Great Depression and I know that it made an impact on them. They saved almost everything! When my mom died, there was a huge stack of "scratch paper" - most of it mimeographed copies from her teaching days. It was more scratch paper than anyone could use! Last spring, I took it to a print shop and had them glue up an end and cut it into pads of notebook paper (four per 8 1/2" x 11" sheet). I've intended to put them in the Somers family stockings but thought it would be nicer to add a personal note. 

I'm glad I made it my "one thing" for this week. It feels good to have something ready for Christmas already! It also feels pretty good to be typing this up on Tuesday evening and scheduling it to publish at 1:00am on Sunday!

2025 OneThing #50 - Make a Pillow for Viv from Lou Shirts

I got this one done by Tuesday! The internment for Lou (with honor guard) was at Fort Snelling on Wednesday, November 12 and I knew I'd see my sister-in-law. This isn't the most attractive pillow, but I had given away too many of his nicer shirts for family members to wear. (She asked me to make a pillow from his shirts.)

I had first used a navy blue pajama shirt with a slight white crosshatch pattern, but I discovered that the fabric was so thin that it just wouldn't do. So I made the back and heart out of a flannel shirt and a pale blue pajama top. There's a zipper at the bottom so she can take it off to launder it or to see the other PJ shirt.

I have been very much in "get 'r done" mode lately!

It felt nice to give this to her along with some other items. It was nice to honor my father-in-law and be together with family.

2025 OneThing #49 - Send Mail to SOLC Missionaries!

This has been in process for two months or more! We encouraged our congregation to write notes, draw pictures, share Scriptures, etc. on the third Sunday in September for our "Missions Minute." Our church currently provides monthly financial support to four AOG missionaries. Not very many people participated . . . but I still wanted to send encouragement to our missionaries.

Then my October got away from me with Lou's death and my own note-writing procrastination. I'm so glad I set this as my "One Thing" last week, because that (and a canceled sub job) helped me to follow through! 

I typed up the short message from the missions committee to each of the four missionaries, I got copies made of the picture of us, and I wrote my own four personal notes. I got messages into envelopes, addressed them, and brought them to the post office on Friday to mail. 

It feels good to have this finished! Now on to a new goal for this week . . .