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Greetings all

Mostly sun today. DH had a dental apt this morning and since it is a half hour one way I was left with blissful control of the tv. He likes it quiet in the morning and I am a news hog. So just me and the dogs for a bit. Tomorrow is more structured; scrabble in the morning with a dental appointment for me and also for Tesla. Beaucoup bucks going for dental work in this house. I should not have made those on the same day but it is doable. DH will take her in early in the am and I will pick her up later. That is after I get a bunch of fillings. Crap.

So Liz and Peps geez, spread sheets for your daily chores!!! But yeah it is the way to get stuff done and it is so satisfying to check stuff off the list. I actually sort of do this on a paper list on which I arrange the errands sort of like a travel itinerary nearest to farthest with the tasks or items under each heading. They say making lists is one of the seven habits of highly successful people. Wonder what the others are? Looking at jokes on facebook is probably not one of them.

Have a good and meaningful trip to Martha's vineyard Liz.

Yeah Paula don't skimp on the calories right now. You are at a good weight.

Wow DD, now I am worried about organ donations. Seems like in every basically good think there is an element of ******y. ( i tried to play that word in on line scrabble but the computer would not let me). See how nice a Monday can be?? Newspapers and coffee are excellent.

Horrific weather reports all over the nation. Extreme heat, giant hail and floods.

So I worked at the studio a bit and got payroll and reviewed financials. We have a board meeting wed and that is when the reallocation of space will be discussed. It will likely be a long meeting so large mug of coffee required.

Not much else. I stopped at the hippie grocery for a pot pie. Life is good.

Diane S

This organ harvesting dilemma is not a new thing. I withdrew my organ donation status on my driver's license because there were some major, major issues throughout the US where treatment "may have been" withheld for the sake of organ donation. BTW, this was especially prevalent in Florida. Not okay by me. I'm all for it, just like you are, but not until AFTER all possible avenues of recovery have been exhausted.

Taking a break from finally reading the paper to post from the porch. Maybe that can be the name of my blog (do people do that anymore?): Postings from the porch.

Liz, I hope your trip to Martha's Vineyard is lovely, and that you and your DSD find some comfort in taking time to honor deceased DH. The Jewish blessing, may his memory be a blessing, seems true for your family.

Peps, you articulated my thoughts about how this summer is different than other summers. Yes, the approach of August brings no sense of omg, summer is slipping away. I like the term school summer. I'm going to use it when people ask. DH keeps saying, your life is a weekend now. Truth.

Paula also sending good thoughts that no bad sushi got you or any of your family.

Diane you are so wise to avoid unnecessary meetings at the studio. Not my circus, not my monkeys, such a useful attitude.

CC, Kirby in Michigan looks like such a happy guy.

Today started cold and rainy. Felt very Irish when we went for coffee. I have a lightweight sweater that says summer on it, that is suitable to wear only a few certain days. Today was one of them. Now the sun is out, and the sky is a lovely shade of blur. After coffee we ran a few errands, whi*****luded buying a new set of pans from Costco. Our current non stick are flaking, so we're probably poisoning ourselves. These are ceramic insides. Hopefully they will last longer. If not, I've saved the receipt, because Costco is very generous about returns if you are not satisfied.

The paper had a very intriguing and troubling article about organ donations If someone is brain dead, they are removed from life support and stop breathing quickly. No controversy. But something called circulatory death happens when there is not clear brain death, but someone is in a coma and deemed not going to recover. Families do make decisions ethically, to remove their loved one from life support, and then they do pass away. They were not going to recover, they can't live without the machines. If they pass within about an hour, they can be organ donors. There are numerous reports where the transplant team may have jumped the gun. One doctor testified a supposed corpse was brought to the surgical room, and when he started the organ harvest, he discovered a beating heart. Other medical people worried that patients weren't left on life support long enough to truly determine if they could recover. Others reported families being asked about organ donation before they independently made the decision to remove life support. Very unethical, and could interfere with true consent. I am absolutely in favor of organ donation, and I've told my family if at the time of my death if there are any viable organs to donate, they'd better do it! But I thought organ transplants involved the highest level of ethical practices. Another thing to be concerned about in these troubling times. Now you can all be concerned with me, as I share this cheery news story!

Even with my heavier than normal reading, it is sublime here on the porch. A friend will be stopping by in a it for a little visit. DH is off on a bro date with his BFF. My BFF is bringing home a frozen lasagna to cook for dinner. I have a couple more sections of the paper to entertain me. It is a Monday of many small delights.

I know! He really wanted to lay out there this morning but he'd be barking at the fence guys constantly.

When we were planning this years trips (small and large) I did an Excel spreadsheet where I listed the tasks to be accomplished for each trip, who was responsible, and assigned priorities (1,2 or 3), A tool from my project planning days but it really helped in focusing on getting stuff done. Here is an image of a piece of it:

I still have work dreams 2 years after retiring. They are less frequent but I noticed an uptick after meeting with my work colleague last week! We didn't even talk about work much and she had a totally different job working at home reviewing medical charts!