"When It Comes" - TOMORROW - Theme for July 2026

Tomorrow is….

Out on the…..

Maps are….

Orchestration of….

Running toward….

Roaming the….

Options tested….

Wondering what….

“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?”

~ L.M.Montgomery

Notes to Self

 

“Get the organized-brain person on board”

Anxiety about upcoming Christmas contributions sends the chaotic part of my brain into a twirl and a panic. 

“Put your daily routine into gear”

(I have to give myself directions sometimes)

A good day’s work rolled out:

Feed the sourdough starter 

order groceries for Christmas

Set bread dough for baking in the afternoon

Bake the bread

Shovel powder dry snow off the balcony

(There was a blizzard yesterday)

Make granola for the next 10 days

(Just about missed an ingredient, but I fixed it)

and everything in-between

My last note to self:

“Brush your teeth and go to bed.”

“You must find the place inside yourself where nothing is impossible.”

~ Deepak Chopra

In Pieces

Up-ended organization fell 

like pieces of a puzzle 

making a mess of 

the hours of a day ~

but the sun spread her glow

in an unblemished sky. 

As the sun descended to sleep, 

loose pieces gathered together,

and order was restored.

“The order I found was the order of disorder”

~ William Saroyan, Armenian author

Afternoon Outing ~ Regina's Big Book Sale!!

Laundry, make the bed, do my exercises, feed the cat and go to the Big Book Sale. But as the morning wore on, it became afternoon. Afternoon ~ when I get kind of sleepy. My avoidance mechanism threatened. After all I don’t really need any more books. And I don’t have anymore book shelf space. They would be heavy and it’s really hot and I’ve never been there before and…….. listening to all that chatter was really getting annoying. Laundry done, no time to tidy the place ~ but that can wait ~ I’m not expecting company.

I saw the big blue and yellow Big Book Sale sign! I had arrived at the Highland Curling Club. People going inside empty and others coming out ~ bags of books leaving with them. Inside, where once were sheets of curling ice there were long rows and tables of books! Organized by author, categorized by type, children’s books, fiction, history, self help and so much more..… almost overwhelming. I wandered….picked up this book and that book….put them back. Then I thought of cook books. I pulled out the little map I was given when I arrived. Then, like a fridge magnet headed for the fridge door, I headed for its location. Right beside the Tally tables - that’s where they add up how many books you have and send you to the cashier. Do I need more cookbooks - well, these three, I do. I’ve never had one about Mustard, or about Barbecue tips, or about peppers. And they’re only small, I can fit them in …….

“Some books should be tasted, some devoured, 

but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.”

~ Sir Francis Bacon

Desk Drawer Memories

Brass keys that once opened the locks of long forgotten doors. One loose staple that strayed from its little blue box. Polished multicoloured rocks. Bits of paper ~ their purpose? A beautiful green lacquered stamp holder with delicate red flowers. Its purpose? For rolls of stamps not used for many years, it is a treasured gift. File folder labels ~ red, green, blue and yellow. A pastel turquoise tiny stapler laying on its side beside a quite stern looking brown staple remover. And a single pad of sticky notes with a nail clipper and file on top. All of this tossed and jumbled in one desk drawer. As I pulled everything out leaving an empty, dusty side drawer, Harry James Big Band was playing. The vocalist, I think it may have been Bing Crosby, sang the words ‘the album of my memory’. Well, a cluttered desk drawer is not exactly as ordered as an album, yet is still full of memories. Some of the memories, like the keys, are lost in the fog of too many moves. Why do we keep keys?!

With each drawer that I open, I find tiny slivers of memories. It may be a memory of what my intention was, like keeping my file drawers in order. Or it may be a precious gift. Then again, it may be purely utilitarian, like my stapler and staples. Whatever their original purpose or use, they wedge into the tiniest of corners and cracks, much like memories of how to peel apples or knead dough. Marie Kondo, the Japanese organizing consultant, is known to say something like, if it doesn’t bring you joy, dispose of it. I quite agree. Going through this one small drawer, was rather bitter-sweet. A saying of my own is to find the soul within the task. So, clearing and organizing this small bit of clutter, will use these principles. Memories will always stay ~ well almost always. Re-purposing those precious items unhappily relegated to messy clutter, may be a solution. The scary potential of this joy and soul finding belongs to tomorrow’s project.

“Every time I open the drawers it’s a trip down Memory 

Lane, which if you don’t turn off at the right exit, merges 

straight into the Masochistic Nostalgia Highway.”

~ Sloane Crosley, writer

Gone?

There are safe places for everything ~ 

logical and accessible places.

Cubby holes for the tiniest. 

Drawers for any size.

Files to organize documents  ~ until they get too full

Recipe cards tucked away ~ but not in the recipe drawer

All these safe places are firmly memorized…..

Our unfailing logic chooses these safe places,

in these homes where we reside every single day. 

Homes designed with our own organization in mind. 

Easy peasy. 

Right. 

And still keys vanish

Glasses become ghosts.

Cell phones have risen to ‘the cloud’

 ~ with the sound turned off

Kitchen utensils probably never were.

Where did I put that thing!?

“First up the lost and found has gone missing, It itself is lost, 

So please try not to lose anything until we find it.,”

~ Michael Scott, Irish author

Two Steps Forward

Two seconds for

a tiny pity party

then wash my face and smile.

Two hours to organize

today’s thoughts and plans

that change faster than I can guess.

Two shifts remain to be part 

of an amazing health care team

that flows with any changes in service.

“Some days are like folding fitted sheets…”

~ Nanette L. Avery

Guidance Counselling?

I am a master of busy work. Puttering is soothing for me. So what is the difference? In this next month of creating a workable daily plan, I came across this stumbling block as I counted out change put aside for laundry money. The goal was a good one - I do need laundry money twice a month - specifically loonies - so saving my change seemed like a worthy goal. Otherwise I would have to get to the bank for a roll of loonies. As I was adding up my quarters to see where I stand, the ‘busy work’ thought pinged in my head like an alert on my cell phone. Am I really saving time? Or am I setting myself up for more ‘busy work’ than the time it would take for a trip to the bank, sometimes along with another errand?

All that aside, I really do like puttering. There is a soothing quality for me to puttering about my home with minor tasks, or fixing tasks, or whatever I wish to do. When I am in doubt of true meanings, I go to online dictionaries and in this case a real, old hard cover dictionary (Copyright 1976 - it’s not that old!) - just in case they disagree. You know how the English language morphs and changes. Sadly, it would seem they agree. From my 1976 Websters: ‘putter: 1. to move or act aimlessly or idly. 2. To work at random’. Not exactly the same wording on the online dictionaries, but the meanings are quite the same. Online Merriam-Webster:  ‘to spend time in a relaxed way doing small jobs and other things that are not very important.’ And believe me, I can work at random or doing small jobs for hours, until I want to pick up a book and read. Or let my iPad distract me.

For the purposes of creating guidelines for daily planning, puttering can be included, however, my thought is that a timer is needed! There’s also no one here to be the boss of me, nor would I want anyone else to be the boss of me. Seriously though, I do have three important projects that I wish to complete. Frequently a timer when writing has been very useful. Paying attention to that timer when I’m puttering and busy working also useful. Not always successful, but it has worked quite well for me - when I pay attention. At the same time, I know that putting blinders on, staying too focussed for too long is as dangerous to project completion as unchecked puttering. (Puttering can get a lot of household tasks done.)

I’ve just returned from a great weekend away with my kids in Vancouver. Yesterday, we had a lovely outing with friends for Dim Sum in the morning. Later in the day we had an Oscar party with the tenderest, most delicious pot roast and rich, fudgy chocolate cake - there was salad, potatoes and gravy but the first two mentioned were definitely the stars. Time spent like that is another issue to consider when ‘going deeper, not wider’. Time taken with family to let the work of the previous days or weeks settle in, to deepen family bonds and just plain relax and laugh. All the project work, and even puttering tires a body and mind out!

Based on this bit of enlightenment, I am revising my Daily Plan from my March 3rd blog post. Rather, re-titling it and making a couple of additions seems more realistic. Any good plan starts with guidelines, and usually much discussion to find out what they are. In that light:

Guidelines for Daily Planning

1. Be prepared
2. Allow for flexibility
3. Balance project work with puttering
4. Be alert for busy work
5. Set a timer - begin with 25 to 45 minutes.

Oh my goodness, I thought this would be easy. Deciding to review one’s life habits with clarity, without judgement, and with kindness may just get the important projects done, while realistic puttering is allowed to continue. Busy work maybe needs to be pared away, but honestly I think it might be the same thing as puttering just not accomplishing as much.

“It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. 

The question is: What are we busy about?”

~ Henry David Thoreau

Open Dialogue

There seemed to be no opening.
No opening to take a breath,
to organize thoughts and plans

But...
on the other hand...
tiny openings with each request, chinks in carefully designed armour, loose brick in a wall of angry defense

Peeling back a seal of silence
long enough to hear and be heard,
long enough for dialogue to begin.............

“In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh