Washing and Waxing: The Weekly Hodgepodge

 Want to join the party?  Truck on over to From This Side of the Pond  for the Hodgepodge link-up!

What's something fun you're looking forward to on your May calendar?

May 15th, I'm participating in my first ever cycling related event.  In conjunction with the Cheaha Challenge (which I'm not crazy enough to attempt), Northeast Alabama Bicycle Association offers a Ladiga Cruise ride.  It's a fun challenge ride on the Chief Ladiga Trail.  I've got the choice between 12, 25, and 50 miles.  I know I can do 25, but 50?  We'll see.

May 22nd is the Lion's Club Run for Sight.  I've done the 5k version of this race a couple of times, but someone got the insane idea to change it to an 8k (5 mile) race.  AAAHHHH!  Oh well, my mantra for this year is "If I can do the Canyon Climb, I can do anything." 

What are some images that come to mind when you hear the word mother?

I plead the 5th.  I'm trying hard not to go into my yearly rant about motherhood.  You already know I'm not anti-motherhood.  In fact, I love kids and wanted to be a wife and mom.  But for obvious reasons, that isn't going to happen.  My hardness comes from a culture which dictates that wives and moms are the only "real" women, and rest of us subpar females need to get out of the way.  But I said I wasn't going into my rant didn't I?

What's something beautiful you own or have seen that's made of glass? 

The stained glass windows at the church come to mind.

Was today typical? If not what made it unusual? 

Yes, but that's a good thing.  I had a good day at work and a fun work out with the Silver Sneakers class.  that kind of "typical" day I like.

What is a quality you wish you could have more of?

How much time have you got?  The word genial comes to mind.  This world (and the people in it) can make one very bitter and depressed.  I fight it every day.  It's something I've been praying about.  I used to have a tender compassionate heart that broke way too easily. Now, I've swung the other way to where very few things move me to feelings of compassion, while it seems too many things move me to anger.  Petty things that seem like nothing to others explode in my mind as proof of my needing to be off this planet.  My heart is still way too hard and my mind still too dark.

And no, this being Mother's Day weekend doesn't make it any better (see question 2). 

What's the next major purchase you need to make? Will it happen in the month of May? 

Probably a washing machine.  The current one is hanging on by a thread, well, by a piece of masking tape. However, the purchase will not happen in May.  The problem is all the new machines are "high efficiency" machines, which means, they suck.  Many do not have agitators, so the clothes will not get as clean as they should.  Those machines require a very expensive special detergent.  The worst part is, the machines determine the load's water level, which is never enough water.  Call me a control freak, but I don't need a machine to tell me how much water I need to wash my clothes.  Some loads are dirtier than others and require more water and soap.  It's ridiculous.  I'm going to hunt for a used or refurbished "old style" machine.

What responsibility/job/work did you dislike while growing up but has proved helpful to you as an adult?

The only chore I disliked as a child was cleaning my room.  I still hate it.  Not because I don't want to do it, but because of my schedule, it starts looking like an okra patch before I have time to work on it.  Then, I seems to take days to get it into some sort of  manageable order.

Insert your own random thought here. 

My Lose Your Quit Quest went well in April.  The month of May will be a catch up month where I finish, or at least make some progress on, things I've started.