Making up for lost time

Two weeks sick in bed means lots of stuff went undone. Plus we had the exterior of the house painted this week. I feel like updating the blog has been last on the priority list.

And there IS a list! It's been very satisfying to cross things off as they're completed, especially the Keynote project. (P.S. I LOVE KEYNOTE. Love it, love it, love it.)

When I added it to the list, I also added percentages, because creating a presentation like this isn't something you can knock off in an afternoon or two. When I crossed off 80%, I felt really, really good. I knew it would get done, and I knew it would get done on time. I wrapped it up three days ago and have been rehearsing it.

Here's the thing: I've never done anything like this before. In previous jobs and volunteer positions, I've never been required to present a couple hours' worth of information to a group of people who are expecting good, solid content. In my job, I was always a worker bee. Volunteer posts meant I took minutes or wrote checks or got someone else to come in and present a program.

So I'm nervous, and hoping it all comes off without a hitch. Fortunately, the audience is Democratic women, who are very forgiving.

The meeting is tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it, for sure, but I'll be glad when it's over.

I started walking again this week, thinking I would start out slowly and work my way back up to four miles a day. But Tuesday was the first day, and it was so nice outside that I just went the distance. I kind of wiped myself out for anything else productive that day, but I did the same thing Wednesday (and then went food shopping) and Thursday (followed by a thorough sweeping of the porches after the painting crew left).

Lest you think that sweeping a couple porches is no biggie, our back "porch" is actually more of a patio that extends from one end of the house to the other. (Floor plan here; the back of the house is the living room side.) I can't even guess how much distance it covers. But when it's 90° out, with relentless sun beaming down, it was quite the job.

After tomorrow's meeting, I should be able to get back to work on the interior painting. And maybe if it rains a bit – thus softening up the dirt – I'll get some weeds pulled. They really took over the landscape beds. It was bad before … it's just awful now.

BUT … it's lily time. And they really are lovely this year. See?