“And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after the wind.” —Ecclesiastes 1:17

Taken inventory is usually an end of the year activity. For me this year it is the New Year decisions. Resolving to do more or do better is usually part of this time of year. And yet, I find myself feeling the need to “pare” down. To decide what is important and do just that. I usually have my garden planned out by the month, have my Bible memory theme verse picked, and know what crochet goals I have for myself.

Instead… you can find me on the sofa under my lapdog, listening to a book and crocheting some pillows for the sofa. Priorities are changing. I made a deciion to train a new puppy last fall, and Kona has turned out to be more of a time dictator that I thought.

Last week I had a real rough week with my eyesight failures and that slowed me down a lot. I’ll call it the dryer fiasco.

Dryer fiasco, hopefully episode one and done! So our fourteen year old dryer decided to quit heating up to dry the clothes so then it quit altogether. Stopping even after a few minutes of tumbling. So my fix it all husband decided to pick up the part from the part from the local dealer. Only to discover the part was incorrect after he pulled the entire dyer into one hundred pieces. Then he had to order the part on line. For the next few days the dryer would be a hole for me to fall into.

Okay for anyone who does not know yet, I am legally blind. Not stupid, but patterns of travel and navigation in my own home have been well established. So without a dryer in the hole where it should be, I fell into it, not once, but four times! It’s amazing how many times you lean up against something to put your shoes on. And winter boots are quite a tug of war to get on and off. So yes, after the fourth time, it simply was not funny anymore.

Then, one of the parts was placed on the kitchen table. There is this thing about small houses. The kitchen table becomes a fix it station, a work table, and a catch all. Never mind the fact that this particualr dryer part had sharp edges and a piece that bolted the tubular item together. Yeah, well, the bolts were sticking ourward toward the chair and when I leaned over the chair to pick up something—YEP, I scraped my face just under my eye. The item was in my blind spot again.

The last fall was the worse. I leaned over the washer area to pick up my slippers to put them on after being outside. Without the dryer there, the washer has a pointed edge, it is square you know. So yes, again the hole found me. I smacked my right cheekbone really hard. Hard enough to get a bloody nose and to cry for a good half hour. Great way to start the day. I took my little puppy, an ice pack, and layed down on the sofa to cry it out for a while.

Pain slows one down… hubby also. And unfortunately while he was working on the washer to give the pump it’s annual clean out, he pulled a muscle in his back and sternum area. So I wasn’t the only one the washer and dryer were beating up last week.

Weather stops things too. This past week the temperatures more than bottomed out. They went sub-zero. Thank goodness the greenhouse got a nice coat of snow and ice. It stayed very stead on the set temperatures. I think the average was forty six degrees fahrenheit. I was a little put out that the door froze shut. That was a learning curve. My jack of all trades took a heat gun down and opened up, then put a fan on the floor to keep the warm are “escaping.” Oh well.

A whole week since greenhouse had my eyes on things did not turn out to be so bad. Everything looked fine. I will water the end of this week.

Energy this week has been lacking. I tried to make a to do list and it sort of failed. My first option was to make the list by room and then I decided to reverty to by day.. So I put down the next dayof the week and then left the list blank. Lol.

The cold weather had me finish up a new sweater for Kona that actually fit him. And he did love it. But it is awful hard on his fur. Tie-ing it all up into knots. And he really hates the comb out on knotted fur. Poor thing. I am trying to comb him more frequently. Honey also gets lined up for the daily comb out. She loves being groomed so that at least is a good example for him.

Honey otherwise has become the most difficult dog ever for the “good” example. She returned to counter surfing. She returned to barking non stop when she wants to. She also returned to smacking me in my pain points by hitting me in the cheekbone this past week three times. The said same cheek bone that hit the corner of the washing machine while the dryer hole was there. Uff dah but an older dog can be so frustrating. Just last Monday she decided to eat my cinnamon rolls that I saved for breakfast. Counter surfing is her new “get even” if we take Kona and leave her in the house.

Today I tried turning over the new leaf. I woke up before the dogs did and read my Bible for the first time in a very long while. The anger zone was so tight yesterday, I decided I needed to change. Then I began remembering the yearly Bible reading schedule. Twelve books of Ecclesiastes, one for each month. Thirty one days of Proverbs lessons. Four seasons of the year for the gospels. And Psalms for the morning, noon, and night meals. The rest of the Bible can be read on a daily schedule of forty minutes or so a day.

So that’s how I was reminded of the vanity of life and striving after the wind. This year I am just going to slow down some to match the pace that my eyesight is setting for me. Less might be best. I think that is going to be my new motto for this year. Less is best. Yes, it is best to attempt to do less.