The name of my blog is Living Simply Free. What I meant by that was that I had found the time I had been wasting previously when I downsized. Time to do whatever I wanted when I wanted. Time not to rush around with my head spinning with all the things I needed to get done. Sounds good right? Well, life gets in the way some days. I have plenty of free time, but because of that I have been giving plenty of it away helping others.
As a result I recently found myself multi-tasking through a couple of chores with not such good results.
I take time each afternoon to visit with my good friend and neighbor who is undergoing chemo and radiation for cancer. Yes, she has a life partner she calls her “man” (yes it’s a man), but he doesn’t always know what to say to her and she feels stifled by the limits to his sensitivity so I want her to know there is an ear waiting for her when she needs it.
I’ve also been spending more time with the grand kids, they live so close to me, although their recent move added an extra mile to the trip (3.5 miles now). With the purchase of their new home there has been watching the children while they moved, cleaned the home they were leaving, and then helping them to paint the children’s rooms, and refinish furniture to properly fill the home.
There is still a garden which needs tending and prepping for winter, and a few things I want to get a head start on for the Little Cove come next spring. And of course sewing projects, and restoring more found furniture to find new homes for.
So what happens when you are tired? Cold? And are trying to get some work done while getting a pot of water on for a cup of tea?
You mess up big time!
It was so cold I needed a cup of hot tea. I headed over to the cabinet where I store all my things, seriously other than my clothes everything I need to store is in my Ikea Hemmes cabinet. I pulled out my electric pot and carried it to the sink where I removed the top, and began filling it with filtered water from the tap.
Just when I deemed I probably had enough water for my two large cups of tea I wanted, I removed the pot from the water to check my assumptions. Did I mention I was working at the time? My mind wasn’t on what I was doing as it was still on work.
As I peered into the pot to check the water level, what do I see but the electrical cord! Completely submersed in the water!!
You see for neatness sake and the ability to always know where everything is, I store the cord inside the pot. That way when I need to use it I simply remove the cord, fill and plug it in. I only need to grab one thing when I reach into my cabinet.
Lesson learned: Quit trying to multi-task. Things will get done and I definitely would have saved more time having remembered to remove the cord than I ended up spending trying to figure out if I wanted to use the rice cooker to heat my water or wait till I thought the cord was dry enough to plug into the socket.
Now that I shared my embarrassing story, do you have any that reminded you to slow down?
Life In A Minimalist Farmhouse 
Lois, that is so very sensitive of you to visit your friend everyday. Husbands, wives, loved ones just don’t always have it in them to be sensitive to the difficulties of such struggles. Part of that is when you’re the spouse, you’re living right there in the middle of the illness and often don’t notice the little ups and downs, it’s just too close. Part of it is that it’s personally painful to fully acknowledge what may be down the road for your partner, and your marriage/relationship. And part of it is some people are just not skilled at being sensitive.
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Yes her man has moments of being afraid of losing her and at the same time I think wants to hide from it. So when she is worrying he tends to tell her to stop rather than listen. At the same time, while she’s in having her treatments he is lonely and worried and ends up coming down to visit with me. They are a funny couple but I love them
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I’m striving for mindfulness, too . . . thank you for the real-life reminder. 🙂 And thank you for visiting your neighbor every day! You make the world a better place by doing that one simple deed.
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Visiting my neighbor is not a hardship, I love her deeply. Glad you got something out of my stupidity 🙂
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I could quit trying to multi task, but the truth is that I would probably continue to put the tea kettle in the fridge and the milk on the stove, even if I wasn’t distracted.
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I love it. I believe as women we are conditioned to multi task to get enough done in and around the home. My grandmother once told my sister to put the butter in the oven when putting food away. She meant the fridge, but my sister did what she was told without asking questions. The next day my grandmother while preheating the oven for dinner, melted the entire stick of butter which now coated the oven. She was so mad, she became known for the following quote “You knew what I meant”. She modified it at times to “Don’t do what I say, but what I mean”
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When I was in college, I was rushing around in the dark trying to get to class and I ended up with two different shoes on. I had a full day and couldn’t go back and change them. At least they were a conversation starter.
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Now that’s something I’ve never done. I hope you had a good sense of humor. I have been known to wear mismatched socks, so when I had my own home and did my own laundry I matched and folded all the pairs together so I could never do that again. Of course I rarely wear socks now, they just make my feet feel cramped.
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I’ve got you beat hands down!
http://ecocatlady.blogspot.com/2011/01/one-flaming-hot-diva-cup.html
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I did read your diva cup disaster. I give you win!!
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About this time each year I start to get nostalgic about fires… and I think about how wonderful it would be to have a wood burning stove or a fireplace. Then I remember my tendency to get distracted and forget things, and decide that keeping myself far away from open flame is probably the safest plan!
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My neighbor had a pellet stove. I loved it. You fill the bin with the pellets, set the thermostat and leave it alone. I want one big time. Of course they are backed up by electricity, so if the power goes out so does your heat.
I had an electrical fire that burned my home down in early 2001 so I fear messing with electric or living in a building where the electrical may be old.
Btw, did you ever replace your diva cup? 🙂
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