Spring is springing!
Apr. 27th, 2014 10:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mousmeI'm feeling a bit more energetic these days. I suspect the extra sunlight is helping with this. I'm nowhere close to 100%, but I'm better than at the beginning of the year, and noticeably better than I was around mid-March, before the days began to truly lengthen. On work days I still don't see the sun much, but I do spend an hour or so each day in the car in the light of day, whereas all through the winter months it would be dark when I left for work and dark by the time I headed home. So that's an hour more of sunlight each day that I wasn't getting before.
So it looks like at least part of my problem was the usual low-grade not-quite-SAD that I always get in winter. I only changed my diet a little bit, and only about four days ago, so I doubt that accounts for the fact that I feel only partially like road kill instead of entirely like road kill. I don't remember the SAD being quite as bad as this before, not since the winter of 2008-2009, but we haven't had much sunlight this winter, and because it was so cold I didn't go outside even on days when it was sunny. So I guess I need to make a note for next year (not a mental note, because I'm sure to forget it) to make a point of going out even if it's freezing. I'll just dress in more layers or something.
With the advent of spring I'm getting the itch to garden again. If the weather holds I'll be able to get out into the back yard to clear out the rest of the dog poop (remember the oceans of poop? Yeah. I still need to get back to that) and the dead leaves that fell right before the first snowfall. If I can manage it I'll also rake all the gravel that the snow removal company dumped on my lawn back onto my driveway, where it belongs.
Btw, local folks, does anyone have a recommendation for a good paving company? I need to get the driveway paved by the end of the summer or mid-fall at the latest, before the weather gets bad again.
I also need to get the fence built on one side of the yard. I had to have the large pine tree in the back yard chopped down last year, as it was mostly dead and posed a significant risk to life and property, but now it means the opening into the neighbour's yard is even bigger than before. Last summer it became obvious that Bean won't stay in our yard voluntarily, so putting up a fence is paramount. It will also keep out the neighbours' dog, Démon, who likes to come poop in our yard, much to our annoyance. He's a sweet dog, but I don't want to clean up after him as well as after Sergent. I discussed this with our neighbours (the fence, not the poop), and for a moment I thought I'd reached an understanding with the guy: if I bought all the materials for the fence, they would arrange to have it put up. Alas, his wife had very different ideas on the subject, which means that I can't rely on them after all. So I'm going to hope that it's not too crazily expensive and get an estimate from Home Depot. It's not because I love Home Depot above all the others, it's just that I have a HD card that I can charge most of this stuff to if I have to. ;) Luckily I don't have to fence in the whole yard: just one side, and then install gates on either side of the house.
I don't think I'll have much time for anything other than clean-up and maybe turning the soil, but I want to get out there and start digging around again. I'm thinking of starting a mini-garden here in Ottawa, too. Just a few potted tomato plants and some fresh herbs, or something. Last year my job seemed to be the biggest impediment to my participating in a lot of the gardening: I only get one weekend out of two off, and so by the time I'd be able to get to the garden the work was already done, because it couldn't wait for me. So I figure the one way for me to get my gardening fix is to give myself an easy way to have a few plants to myself here in my little pied-à-terre here in Ottawa, preferably ones that won't mind going for a few days without water. I may ask my landlady if she minds if I do a little gardening in their otherwise unused tiny back yard. Because my room is actually the former den, I'm pretty much the only one who has access to the yard anyway, unless they go through the front gate. Also, let me tell you, having the kitchen on the second floor makes barbecuing really awkward, supposing there even is a barbecue.
Apart from prepping the garden for summer, I've decided to take a day this week to put my papers in order. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I used to be very organised about my paperwork. That was four years, two addresses and one flood ago. Since then my paperwork has run amok, languishing in sad piles and opened envelopes and in a bunch of cardboard boxes of varying sizes. It's pathetic. I used to be a secretary. Filing is my superpower! So I'm going to exercise that superpower this week and get my stuff in order.
I'm considering selling some of my books. It's not like I've had time to read lately anyway, let alone re-read my books, and the extra money would come in handy. If I sell enough, I could then even sell a bookcase or two, which might be more lucrative, though I'm not holding my breath. I'm not sure that selling them online is worth it: none of the sites I've looked at seem to deliver a good return. I may try local used bookstores instead, since I might be able to sell for something approximating half-price. No matter which way I look at it I'd be losing my shirt, since I bought a lot of these books new, but everyone is a victim of depreciation, I guess. The other advantage of selling locally is that I wouldn't have to go through the hassle of entering all the books, titles, ISBNs, etc. into my computer. I have a fair number of books (though not as many as lots of my friends, and certainly a lot fewer than the 13,000+ books my parents have!), and the task is a daunting one.
I don't suppose any of you lovely folks have experience selling used books online? Any advice would be appreciated on that front. :)
So that's about it for now. I have other thoughts about time and procrastination and time management, but they're all still pretty rough, and not ready to be written down.
I'm feeling pretty optimistic about summer. Maybe it's the extra sunlight, maybe not, but I'm not complaining. I'm looking forward to the warmer weather and to getting outside more.
So it looks like at least part of my problem was the usual low-grade not-quite-SAD that I always get in winter. I only changed my diet a little bit, and only about four days ago, so I doubt that accounts for the fact that I feel only partially like road kill instead of entirely like road kill. I don't remember the SAD being quite as bad as this before, not since the winter of 2008-2009, but we haven't had much sunlight this winter, and because it was so cold I didn't go outside even on days when it was sunny. So I guess I need to make a note for next year (not a mental note, because I'm sure to forget it) to make a point of going out even if it's freezing. I'll just dress in more layers or something.
With the advent of spring I'm getting the itch to garden again. If the weather holds I'll be able to get out into the back yard to clear out the rest of the dog poop (remember the oceans of poop? Yeah. I still need to get back to that) and the dead leaves that fell right before the first snowfall. If I can manage it I'll also rake all the gravel that the snow removal company dumped on my lawn back onto my driveway, where it belongs.
Btw, local folks, does anyone have a recommendation for a good paving company? I need to get the driveway paved by the end of the summer or mid-fall at the latest, before the weather gets bad again.
I also need to get the fence built on one side of the yard. I had to have the large pine tree in the back yard chopped down last year, as it was mostly dead and posed a significant risk to life and property, but now it means the opening into the neighbour's yard is even bigger than before. Last summer it became obvious that Bean won't stay in our yard voluntarily, so putting up a fence is paramount. It will also keep out the neighbours' dog, Démon, who likes to come poop in our yard, much to our annoyance. He's a sweet dog, but I don't want to clean up after him as well as after Sergent. I discussed this with our neighbours (the fence, not the poop), and for a moment I thought I'd reached an understanding with the guy: if I bought all the materials for the fence, they would arrange to have it put up. Alas, his wife had very different ideas on the subject, which means that I can't rely on them after all. So I'm going to hope that it's not too crazily expensive and get an estimate from Home Depot. It's not because I love Home Depot above all the others, it's just that I have a HD card that I can charge most of this stuff to if I have to. ;) Luckily I don't have to fence in the whole yard: just one side, and then install gates on either side of the house.
I don't think I'll have much time for anything other than clean-up and maybe turning the soil, but I want to get out there and start digging around again. I'm thinking of starting a mini-garden here in Ottawa, too. Just a few potted tomato plants and some fresh herbs, or something. Last year my job seemed to be the biggest impediment to my participating in a lot of the gardening: I only get one weekend out of two off, and so by the time I'd be able to get to the garden the work was already done, because it couldn't wait for me. So I figure the one way for me to get my gardening fix is to give myself an easy way to have a few plants to myself here in my little pied-à-terre here in Ottawa, preferably ones that won't mind going for a few days without water. I may ask my landlady if she minds if I do a little gardening in their otherwise unused tiny back yard. Because my room is actually the former den, I'm pretty much the only one who has access to the yard anyway, unless they go through the front gate. Also, let me tell you, having the kitchen on the second floor makes barbecuing really awkward, supposing there even is a barbecue.
Apart from prepping the garden for summer, I've decided to take a day this week to put my papers in order. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I used to be very organised about my paperwork. That was four years, two addresses and one flood ago. Since then my paperwork has run amok, languishing in sad piles and opened envelopes and in a bunch of cardboard boxes of varying sizes. It's pathetic. I used to be a secretary. Filing is my superpower! So I'm going to exercise that superpower this week and get my stuff in order.
I'm considering selling some of my books. It's not like I've had time to read lately anyway, let alone re-read my books, and the extra money would come in handy. If I sell enough, I could then even sell a bookcase or two, which might be more lucrative, though I'm not holding my breath. I'm not sure that selling them online is worth it: none of the sites I've looked at seem to deliver a good return. I may try local used bookstores instead, since I might be able to sell for something approximating half-price. No matter which way I look at it I'd be losing my shirt, since I bought a lot of these books new, but everyone is a victim of depreciation, I guess. The other advantage of selling locally is that I wouldn't have to go through the hassle of entering all the books, titles, ISBNs, etc. into my computer. I have a fair number of books (though not as many as lots of my friends, and certainly a lot fewer than the 13,000+ books my parents have!), and the task is a daunting one.
I don't suppose any of you lovely folks have experience selling used books online? Any advice would be appreciated on that front. :)
So that's about it for now. I have other thoughts about time and procrastination and time management, but they're all still pretty rough, and not ready to be written down.
I'm feeling pretty optimistic about summer. Maybe it's the extra sunlight, maybe not, but I'm not complaining. I'm looking forward to the warmer weather and to getting outside more.
