Saturday, May 24, 2008

Ponderings

Yesterday morning I had an hour or so to simply sit and journal. It was wonderful as it had been a while since I did so. I got the time because my internet access was down and I was having my coffee - can't do other chores and drink coffee at the same time. Anyway...there are some things I've been pondering lately and would love any insight you all want to give me.

First off...the least involved question. What ways are available to fight allergies - worst in the spring when tree pollen counts are high - that do not involve drugs that cause drowsiness as a side effect? Most over the counter allergy stuff either does very little to help or knocks me out sleeping.

Secondly...what realistic ways have you found to cut your gas usage? With gasoline at $4.00/gal (I was thrilled to pay able to pay $3.89/gal Thursday night - that's just wrong!) I'm looking for ways to cut back. The challenge is that Stretch is in Gospel Choir so is out every Sunday while Squirrel takes TaeKwonDo classes at least twice a week. Squirrel can - until school lets out - ride a school bus and get dropped off for class. I still have to go pick him up. Stretch has to be both dropped off and picked up every time. Biking is not really an option simply because he is in dress clothes. For Squirrel it's an 8 mile bike ride which I'm not willing to have him do yet - not to mention that he's got a large equipment bag that goes with him. We live in the country which normally is wonderful but there is a minimum of a 2 mile distance to anywhere for us.

Third and final question...what are some realistic ways to make one day of the week an actual "rest day" that does not involve a mountain of chores that don't get done other days? Being a single working mom I find it a challenge to say the least. Also what does a "rest day" look like? Is it simply "no chores" - vegging out in front of the TV or is it more - Doing something fun as a family, having time to be "creative" - with beads, scrap booking, cross stitch, "playing" in the dirt, simply having time to journal or to sit and read? I realize that each individual and each family will have different ideas of what is restful...how does one balance those differences? For me...a huge part of a rest day is not having to cook a huge meal and not having to clean the kitchen afterwards. I have no problem grilling or doing something really simple. That gets old sometimes though.

I am looking forward to reading your comments on this.

3 comments:

Linds said...

Hi there.... petrol here is well over $11 a gallon, and we are all trying to find ways to cut out as much as possible. Keeping the revs on the counter below 30 makes a big difference, but that means driving slowly and not changing gear much, but then I think most American cars are automatic.

I find that I am consolidating my trips, and I try to do as much as I need to when I have to be out, so do all your shopping etc when you have to do a run for your boys.Here, we have much smaller more economical cars, and that may be an option, I don't know.

Food prices are soaring too, and as my income is finite, I am watchign every penny. There are some excellent frugal blogs around, like Like Merchant Ships, with lots of links to good blogs with excellent ideas.

Sorry I don't know about the allergies!

Rest day... When I get home on Friday after work, I try to domost of the chores around the house, and the washing. That way, on a Saturday, there is generally time to try to fit in a few extra things. My Sundays generally are my rest days. I read, potter in the garden, visit with friends, do some writing or sewing, and generally relax, although we often go for walks too. BBQs in summer, or cold meat and salad mean that I don't have to cook really. Also, we eat a late breakfast, and then have our main meal somewhere about 4-5pm, so I don't have to sort 2 meals! It works for us.

Have a great weekend!

Charley "Apple" Grabowski said...

For spring allergies my husband uses a special nasal spray a couple of weeks before pollen season starts. It really has worked well for him the last two years.

We started combining trips and really trying to cut back when gas went to $3 a gallon. I've found that using my cruise control whenever possible saves a little. I'm thinking about staying at work and hanging out in the break room with my computer between my morning and afternoon routes to save 18 miles a day. Next year I may apply for a job in the school between routes. I live so far out that it is hard to find someone out here to carpool with but I do pick up two other women on the way and they chip in for gas.

There are only two of us now so chores don't take much time. We don't have a specific rest day but on the weekends we can pretty much do what we want until the grandsons come on Sunday afternoon. When my kids were home we always did as Linds does and had only two meals on Sunday.

Jane said...

Glad you found my blog.

One thing that can help with allergies is eating local honey. There are a couple of other things that we've found that help. They mostly involve strengthening the immune system and easing inflammation. (I may have to blog about this!)

We try really hard to make Sunday a restful day. I often do the "fun work" that I have waiting--like baking or refinishing furniture--or I scrapbook or read.

I always feel like I *should* be cleaning while I have the chance, but I don't. :)

I try not to have to do much cooking on Sunday. It's often leftovers from the rest of the weekend.