(not necessarily in that order)
Today was about doing five loads of laundry; creating our December Patreon video; recording the audio for the Christmas Eve play; and of course answering emails, etc.
The evening was our run-through for Saturday’s Christmas concert. Not surprisingly, by the time I got home I was feeling more overwhelmed than ever.
Then I happened to see this meme! I totally feel like the universe heard me and sent me the perfect message of encouragement. Thank you, God!
Yep, this was a slogging through it kind of day, from start to finish.
I resonated with the word, but had to look it up to make sure I was using it right. But, yeah, “to slog” is to walk or plod heavily; to toil. And “a slog” is a long, tiring walk or march; long, laborious work.
Which is how today felt.
It started with me oversleeping, followed by needed but unexpected calls and visits.
Then laundry, laundry, and more laundry.
Emails, organizing, details, and more emails.
Feeling tired throughout but trying not to let the crankiness take over. Sigh.
The good news is I got a lot done. The less-than-good-news is that I didn’t exactly stay centered in my inner peace and joy.
Oh well, all we can do is give it our best from moment to moment.
Finally a day with just a simple lunch of gnocchi with pesto at Silvio’s (Ramesha’s father). We would have only been there maybe an hour and a half total, except that today we had to do…
Yep, you guessed it…laundry. Which kept us there all afternoon
It was actually a good thing because had a chance to plan the program we’re doing for the Ananda group in Bellinzona this Sunday afternoon, on “The Power of Sound and Music on Consciousness.”
It’s kind of amazing how full this first two weeks in Lugano has been.
Today was a bumpy reentry back to the everyday world of laundry, errands, and grocery shopping.
All while feeling quite fatigued. And more than a little cranky (though I did my best to rein it in).
Ah, duality!
So, I was going to write about laundry, because that’s all I’ve been doing this evening.
In fact, I had made up a laundry song. The lyrics started out like this: “Laundry, laundry, I love laundry…”
But I realized I was singing it to the tune of a song from the Dr. Seuss songbook that I used to check out of the library when I was in elementary school. And, of course, it doesn’t make sense to share a song with a melody that no knows.
So, I went searching for what I remembered as the “Hungry, hungry, I am hungry” song, and I’m so tickled to have found it that I have to share both song and lyrics with you all.
Bottom line? I love Dr. Seuss just as much today as when I was a child!
The Super-Supper March Lyrics
Hungry, hungry I am hungry
Table, table here I come
I could eat a goose-moose burger
Fifteen pickles and a purple plum
I could eat three bowls of goulash
Half a pound of wuzzled wheat
I could eat a peck of poobers
Then I’d really get to work and eat
Oysters, noodles, strawberry stroodles
French fries, fish hash, one red beet
Lamb chops, wham chops
Huckleberry mish mash
Oh, the things that I could eat
Doughnuts, dump-a-lings
Blueberry bump-a-lings
Chocolate mush-mush, super sweet
Clam stew, ham stew,
Watermelon wush wush
Oh, the stuff that I could eat
Deep dish rhubarb, upside-down cake
I could eat a frittered flum
Hungry, hungry, I am starving
Table, table, table here I come
Today was entirely a puttering around, homebody kind of day, in which I never stepped foot outside the house.
I cleaned a bunch of (very) old stuff out of the frig; laundered four loads of clothes; washed lots of dishes; and watered all my indoor plants.
But I also had coffee and a chat with Ramesha; read my book; watched a few video clips; and dozed off for a while.
Now I’m going to watch a movie while I fold four loads of laundry.
It’s days like this when I’m reminded that, although I love people and can be quite the social butterfly (after all, my sun sign is Gemini!), at heart I’m an introvert and need days like this to restore my inner equilibrium.
A big piece of the puzzle fell into place today, namely….laundry!
I really wasn’t looking forward to tackling five loads worth of dirty clothes; in fact, I only completed four out of the five. But it still felt like a major accomplishment.
I also was finally able to get the latest booster (the bivalent vaccine), which feels really good.
And, finally, progress is being made on music preparations for Spiritual Renewal Week. All in all, a good day.
Does Mercury retrograde also affect laundry?!? All I know is I spent hours in the laundry room today and only got one load washed.
The washing machine looks deceptively normal, but pretty much everything about the process is a challenge.
The money goes into a black box that looks like something from the last century; the coins go in and it starts, but you really have no idea what’s actually going on.
For example, I came back expecting the load to be finished, but it still looked wet even though the door was open. So, I closed the door to see if it would resume. It didn’t, but I couldn’t open the door anymore. I finally pushed some buttons in frustration and…it started up again — from the beginning! Why, I have no idea.
Then, the symbols on the machine are different, but when you try to read the instructions they’re in Italian.
I spent a lot of time studying them because the second time I came back — after setting a timer to be sure and arrive before it finished — the machine had stopped, with the door closed, and nothing I did would get it to go again.
Finally, in desperation I added another two coins — and it started…at the beginning yet again. At this point I knew I couldn’t leave; I had to stay and try to catch the moment when I would be able to open the door and take out my clothes.
Actually, the instructions are in Italian if you’re lucky — sometimes they’re only in German! (The photo below isn’t very clear but it doesn’t really matter because most of us wouldn’t be able to read it anyway.)
I won’t bore you with every detail, but I did finally figure out how to get the washing machine to complete its full cycle and let me get my clothes out.
Bottom line? I truly do love the multilingual reality that is Switzerland, but it does make things more difficult when it comes to laundry.
I planned on staying home and getting the laundry done today (which was great).
Then I started sorting through various bags and bookshelves with the goal getting rid of unnecessary stuff and gaining additional space (which I did).
Imagine my surprise at finding this framed photo which had been stashed away since we moved in 2018. I had completely forgotten about it!
I’m guessing I was three or four years old at the time the picture was taken. I’ll have to see if my Dad remembers for sure.
There’s still an awful lot to do before we depart on Wednesday, but I feel good about the progress I made last night and today.
Most of our indoor plants have been relocated. I have a plan for the outdoor plants. Three out of four loads of laundry are done. The house is clean. I have a home exercise program created by my friend, Satyana, so I can focus on gently rebuilding strength throughout the recovery process.
And I’ve got a growing list of items I don’t want to forget when I do my real packing tomorrow!