Tag Archives: Miscellaneous

I started the New Year off pushing myself beyond my physical comfort zone. I went with my very well-conditioned and in-shape daughter for a hike to the King’s Mountain State Park in North Carolina. Amanda has hiked in the Andes Mountains of Bolivia, South America. She

considers a jog across town not too physically challenging.  At my suggestion, we went for a “hike” together because I knew she would enjoy it.  The park is about a 45 minute drive from our home.  I thought it would be a good place to go for a leisurely walk. It was a beautiful day and after many dismal days at Christmas, I had cabin fever and felt I had a fair amount of energy pent-up.  Little did I know that it would be so physically challenging and leave me breathless.  It was only a 1.5 mile long hike. However, the climb to the summit was quite rigorous. At the top there is a memorial to the wounded and killed at the Battle of Kings Mountain during the American Revolution so it is well worth the effort.

Even though I realized how out of shape I am, I enjoyed the challenge and know that if I continue to push myself it will only get easier.  I hope to find other interesting hiking trails that offer a similarly demanding physical workout in the coming year.

One of my new year’s resolutions is to get things organized at my house.  I think I will start with the attic.  They say that it is best to start organizing the area that bothers you the most.  That way you will not give up on a project before you get started because you are too overwhelmed.  My attic is the worst because it is where I stash things when I don’t know what to do with them.  When it is out of sight, it is out of mind.  Things have been out of my mind for a while because it was too warm in the summer or fall months to go in the attic.  At Christmas, I had to drag things out of there and was reminded at how horrible it had become.  Now that the weather is cooler, it is the perfect time to tackle that area.

We have only been in our house three and a half years. I went through things and pitched a lot before our move but our attic is still overflowing.  Yes, we even had a yard sale a little over a year ago.  How does that happen?  Some of it comes from two in-laws who emptied a storage unit. Other things are from my mother’s move from her big house to a condo.  I had a booth in a store for a year and unloaded the best things. We sold victorian chairs, small tables and assorted antiques. I participated in another sale before Christmas. Thankfully, my daughter wanted the larger furniture items when she furnished her apartment.   Yet, there still remains quite a pile. These items are not what I call junk.  They are still quite useful and are treasures for someone.  I have window treatments, towels, pillows and comforters. These came from my former house which had a different color scheme than the one in which we now live.  I have wreaths, garlands, flower arrangements, baskets, bows, and miles of Christmas lights. I have enough gift bags, boxes and wrapping paper to last me the rest of my life. I have pictures, knickknacks and china that I no longer have room to display. We moved to our house to downsize but it still seems that the contents of my house have expanded beyond its capacity. I plan on donating a large portion of the things in the coming months and know that I will get a huge sense of satisfaction once things are cleared out. My satisfaction will come especially knowing that someone will enjoy them.