To Do list
My first attempt to alleviate the "what to do next" problem was to make a list. Here it is:
√ Adjust water heater
√ Clean kitchen
√ Vacuum bedroom/bathroom
√ Recycle milk cartons
√ Water plants
√ Fix RAID array in server
√ Blog about day
√ Make grocery list
_ Fold laundry & put away
√ Do laundry
√ Grocery shopping
√ Confession
√ Pickup mail
X Work?
√ Glue broken pottery
_ Fix Judy's watch
_ Trim tree branch
_ Check out Steve Stone's bike
√ Wash diapers
_ Fix bicycle pump
√ means I finished it; X means I decided not to do it; and _ means I haven't done it yet.
I made the list Saturday morning. I didn't think I'd finish it all that day and I was right. Here it is Monday and I've completed about half of it. Some things I didn't put on the list until Monday.
Too be fair, some of the tasks were going to take a long time. "Fix RAID array" is one of them. I started Saturday, but kept running into one problem after another. Today, I finally realized one of the disks is just plain bad and I needed to swap it for a new one. It looks like the RAID will be rebuilt in another 15 minutes. Then, I have to copy the data back onto it from the backup disk, which will take a few more hours.
Some of the tasks aren't that appealing or important (to me). "Wash diapers" definitely falls in the first category. "Fold laundry & put away" falls into the second. What do I care if the laundry is taking up space in the living room? I don't spend any time there anyway--it's too cold (that's probably ammunition for another chapter).
Some of the tasks require better weather, like "Trim tree branch" and "Check out Steve Stone's bike". The eight inches of snow from Saturday is only half melted and most of the dirt roads around here are a quagmire. So is the yard, for that matter. I'm sure it's not yet up to the job of supporting the ladder I need to get to the tree branch.
When I'm done with this post, I can check off "Blog about day"!
Menu for the week
The only logical way to make a grocery list is to start with a menu. Breakfast is the easiest to plan--it's always cereal and milk. Maybe juice. Probably coffee. Lunch is pretty easy too. It's either a sandwich or leftovers. Either one might be accompanied by carrots, a fruit and yogurt. I should also take some pumpkin bread either to have with coffee in the morning or as a snack in the afternoon.
Here's the simple dinner menu I came up with for this week trying to use up stuff that's in the refrigerator before it goes bad:
Saturday - Pizza, salad
Sunday - Grilled chicken w/gravy, brown rice, broccoli, carrots
Monday - Hot dogs, sweet potato fries, salad
Tuesday - Beef/onion/pepper sandwich, green beans, mandarins
Wednesday - Grilled fish, brown rice, broccoli, salad
Thursday - Turkey burger, sweet potato fries, green beans
Friday - Soup, bread, salad
Saturday, I was torn between Mokuteki or frozen pizza. I didn't write pizza on the grocery list, so I ended up with neither. I had a chef salad and whole wheat bread instead. Sunday, I wasn't that hungry at dinner time, since brunch was so late (~3:00 pm). I had a sandwich. Monday was the first night I ate what was on the menu!
Other things to write about
_ Observations about life in Japan before, during and after the crisis
_ What happens as I work on the To Do list
_ Anything unusual I do or try during my time alone
This solitude is not any entirely bad thing. It's just different.
* Checked off three more To Do list items on Tuesday.
* Washed the diapers on Wednesday, checking off one more item.
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