Hour-a-Day April: Days 23-24

Day 23 (Wednesday): I actually didn't time myself today, but every time I was in the kitchen, I washed a couple more dishes, and I made decent progress. I also made bread and muffins and dinner, and folded some laundry. Then Jeremy had to work late, so the evening was kinda just spent in survival mode. Nothing spectacular, but a pretty good day. If all days could be like this, I would at least keep my head above water.

Day 24 (Thursday): A friend came over in the morning, which was a nice treat. We chatted while the kids played, and we prayed for each other. We talked about my HADA projects, and she said something along the lines of, "It's nice to get things like that done, but the trouble is keeping up with it every day." Which is totally right, in a way, but it got me thinking a bit. Is HADA a waste of time? Is it worth the time/effort/energy to try to catch up (and even, dare I dream, get ahead?) when two weeks later, the laundry is all backed up again, and the sink is full of dishes again, and someone dumped a bag of cheese on your clean kitchen floor? But I think the answer is yes. (Or no. Darn, I should have asked two questions with the same answer.) Yes, it's worth it, no it isn't a waste of time. It's worth getting to the bottom of the laundry pile, even if it's only once a year, so you can find that sock that's been missing for months. It's worth organizing your closet, even if it's only once a year, because maybe you'll find some clothes you had forgotten about, and maybe, for a little while at least, you can get dressed in the morning without having to dig through a pile on the floor to find the least-wrinkliest shirt. It's worth cleaning under the appliances, even if it's only once a year, because maybe, just maybe, you'll find the source of that mystery smell. HADA won't magically make me into one of those people whose house is always spotless. But, accepting who I am, it gives me the chance to get to the bottom of things once in a while, even if it's only once a year. And it's a nice reminder of how much I can get done when I put my mind to it, and how much can be accomplished in just one hour.

My friend answered some of my gardening questions, and I felt inspired to do some digging after she left. I am a total gardening n00b, but I figure, if I keep doing stuff, something is bound to work eventually. So, I dug up all of the scattered grape hyacinths and moved them all to the front row (where they will probably die, but at least I tried, and maybe they will be in a sorta line next spring). I dug up all the sprouts that looked kinda like sunflower sprouts, and made a little circle with them in the middle of the garden, around the shepherd's hook that holds the bird feeder (hence the volunteer sunflower sprouts). Then I planted some carrots and some swiss chard. I started digging up an especially rocky section of garden that I hadn't done anything with last year, but I didn't quite finish. I made a little wall of rocks under the edge of the porch. Maybe, if I find enough rocks, I will succeed in blocking off one of the rats' possible entrances. (Probably not.)

Dorothy helped off and on, and John Wallace played pretty happily in his play house for a long time. When Valerie got home from school, we transplanted four of our tomato seedlings to our outdoor pots. Not sure what we'll do with the other eight, yet. Jer had to work late again, but I got dinner together, and left him with all three kids when he got home so I could run to the store for a few more gardening things I wanted. I might not have much of a green thumb, but it is fun to try and create life and food from seeds and dirt.

24 days down, less than a week to go!