Then why is it so hard?

I have whatever is the opposite of ADD. It's not really OCD but it must have some cute acronym.
I have always struggled with "keeping all the balls up in the air." I get into one thing and want to do it until it's finished. But so little in life is ever really finished.
Maybe it's also due to the fact that most of my adult life I have had jobs that required that I multi-task or juggle many different tasks or drop whatever I am currently doing to respond to some crisis. Maybe I respond by wanting to concentrate on one thing.

So.. laundry doesn't get done... The house doesn't get cleaned... And I forget to write this blog. It's hard to shift gears sometimes. I haven't made anything in a month because I am up to my eyebrows in Wu family pictures.

Anybody got ideas about how to maintain balance? The only thing I can come up with is setting limits on myself, creating a schedule.

Digging Roots

I have been spending almost all my time for the last month scanning, restoring and posting Wu family pictures. They were everywhere when we moved Chris's parents out of their home of 50 years.
Until the late 1970s, I didn't know this family at all so it's been an amazing journey to discover their history through these pictures. This is Uncle Pete who, according to the back of another picture,"ran away to join the circus." He was Frankie's great uncle, her mother's brother. I can tell from the pictures that he lived and played music in Chicago and had a beautiful wife who was also musical.

Even photos of people whose names and histories I will never know are fascinating to me. I think about how they chose what to wear, if the portrait celebrated a special event and what they did after their portraits were completed.

So do you wonder how I can spend so much time restoring these pictures? Here's a small before and after. To save the original images, each of the speckles on the original has to be removed individually.

It's incredibly time-consuming and makes for sore fingers, elbows and shoulders. I hope that someday someone will be as excited to find someone they wanted to know about or an image that speaks to them even though they know nothing about the person in the picture.

Since I am spending so much time on these, I'll try to post my favorite image of the day. All of them will be on flickr.

We're Going to Kansas City

I can't believe we were in Kansas City for three days and didn't go to Stroud's. We did have some tasty Q at Oklahoma Joe's which is in a gas station. But our best meal, by far, was at Lin and David's house. Lin made yummy mashed potatoes and grilled corn on the cob and shrimp. She catered so kindly to my allergies. It wasn't just the delicious food, though. It was so nice to sit out on the deck and watch the fireflies and have a pleasant conversation - politics aside.

It was especially nice to cuddle up with their new puppy, Bentley. I couldn't stop even though I knew I would pay with allergy symptoms later. Look how cute! Who could resist?

Dr. Wu seemed to enjoy himself although, the next day, he worked very hard to express his disappointment that there was no steak! I took the blame.

I spent every minute I could in organizing, cleaning and posting the Wu family pictures. 1980 and 1981 are online. Since we got married in 1981, it brought  back a lot of good memories.

Chris sat with his dad for a while looking at photos from World War II. It took a while to engage but then he could remember lots of good stories.

We planned to take him out for the steak he missed, but he was too tired. Plus, it stormed like crazy.

During a break in the rain, we walked Dr. Wu to the frozen custard store. His caregivers are the best! We are so lucky! They really love him and take fabulous care of him.

Nothing Tips Like a Cow

After lunch at Chipotle, we went to Mom's old house to see how Angela and Vern had fixed it up. They took out a wall between the living room and kitchen, moved all the plumbing, added and fireplace, and combined two small bathrooms into one luxurious spa. But the thing that really blew me away was the finished basement. It was a scary, moldy place and now is bright and clean. Definitely added living space.

We had dinner at Young's Jesey Dairy (Great ice cream!!) and then took Elvis to visit the cows and goats. This calf was enjoying Tasha's petting and then decided her dress was very tasty!
Tasha ditched us to go out with friends and we called it an early night.
I woke up at 4 am completely alone in the hotel room. Chris's keys and wallet were still on the desk so I was pretty sure that I had slept through the rapture. I found him in the lounge where he had escaped from my snoring. In my defense, I had a bad cold. I let him go back to the room and I stayed up. I was too freaked out to sleep anyway.

We took a walk in Cliff Park so I could take some pictures of Elvis. I remember exploring the cliffs when I was a child. It seemed so big. Not so much anymore.
We had brunch at the Simon Kenton Inn. We stayed there the last time we were in Ohio 18 months earlier. Boy, have they expanded! It is completed surrounded by beautiful rolling hills of corn.

After brunch. we went to Mom's apartment and I looked at pictures with her. At first she didn't even seem to try to remember anything but then it seemed to click and she could remember lots of details.

Then it was back to Columbus and dinner with Patty and Jim (and, of course, more kitten pictures!

News Flash: Summer is humid in the midwest

So, remember Flat Stanley? Robin has 3D Elvis. We took Elvis to Ohio with us and the pilots made him feel very welcome. Although they did express some concern that their friendliness might lead to them looking for new jobs.

Stepping off the plane in Ohio was like entering a sauna. It was tempting to catch the next plane back to the temperate climate of home. But duty called and we soldiered on. We drove to Westerville to see Jim, Patty (and Rocky, of course!) When we drove up, a pride of cats lounged on the neighbor's porch. They were so photogenic that Jim had to come out and ask us who we came to see. 

Elvis had to hang out with the Joes (more pix on Flickr) and when Patty got home we went to Cheescake Factory where I enjoyed a Georgia Peach and the four of us shared a slice of strawberry cheescake. Yeah, we had dinner first but you know what's important.

We drove to Springfield conked out and got up early for breakfast before we picked up Mom and Lynds. CHris, of course, had a tip for the best breakfast. When we located it, the doors were locked and the building was for sale. We ended up at Elton's which was populated by big folks in overalls. The food wasn't great but the atmosphere was a slice of Ohio.

We got Mom and Lynds and set off for Wright State and Tasha's graduation. After sitting in traffic for an hour, just to get to the distant parking lot, we were waiting for the shuttle bus when the skies opened and drenched us. Everyone in line and on the bus was friendly and took events in stride. We walked into the auditorium just as the grads started walking in. Angela got there early and saved us seats. It was a huge graduation and they called every single name! An impressive feat! The only way we could actually get a shot of Tash was through the Jumbotron. After, when offered anything she wanted for lunch, Tasha opted for Chipotle. Dork.

How Do I Spend My Day?

Considering that, a few months ago, I spent 10-12 hours a day away from home, you might wonder what I do all day.

I spend the hour I used to commute in the morning at the gym. First, I gradually increased the number of days a week. Now I go 6 days a week. Now I am working towards being able to work out on the elliptical for the full hour every day. Then I want to replace half an hour every other day with weights.

I spend the hour I used to commute in the evening working outside. My flower beds in the front look pretty good. The herbs by the garage are ready for cooking when Mike comes home. The patio is now a welcoming place to sit and relax over dinner instead of a garbage dump. The vegetables are doing well (despite the melon-loving bugs) and I harvested some pea pods for our salad last night.

I spend the nine hours I used to work for the library in doing stuff that I enjoy: playing with photos, making art and jewelry. I am really spending most of the time catching up on all the chores I have been unable to do for the last five years. And trying to maintain order in the craft room. All the stuff I brought home from the library has been waiting for a new home. Those long-postponed chores, like Wu family photos and slides as well as our own photos and memorabilia, are taking a lot of space.
I think it'll be another month or so until I feel ready to "start" working.

My First Crop

Fresh picked at noon and very yummy. I also planted another melon (since the bugs are especially fond of my melons), a cherry tomato and some majoram. That's REAL food, my friend!

I have been working hard on Wu family photos and designing a web page for the Rainbow Women's Chorus until my arm hurts. Yhis is one of my favorite photos. It's Chris's brother Bill probably around 1956.

I am trying to get my craft room / studio cleaned up so I can work. These pictures have been calling my name for years.  I have also been scanning some pictures from when Michael was a baby.  It makes me realize how lucky we wereand still are. He was a funny and energetic baby and has grown into a wonderful man.