Week 52/2024: The last week of the year
Week of 23 December 2024
The last (full) week of 2024. This involves finishing up at work, getting ready for Christmas, doing Christmas, recovering from Christmas.
Kramstable got some very exciting news, which isn’t mine to talk about, but will involve some massive changes in 2025.
The last week of the year
Have yourselves a merry little Christmas
We had a quiet family Christmas in the park. There wasn’t too much recovery needed.
I got some cool presents.
Especially this one.
And we had some amazing sweet things from the wonderful Honeychild, not all of which got photographed, but I will say this. If you ever get an opportunity to try Toni’s key lime pie, you must, absolutely, no questions asked, do this.
Cleaning out my room
Because it was the last week of the year, aka the ‘shutdown’ period, I spent the entire day on Thursday tidying my room. This has been a constant source of stress for me for many months as I’ve just chucked everything in here in piles on the floor, on my desk, behind the door. I’ve hated looking at it and I’ve hated being in there, and yes I have Too Much Stuff. And I still do, but most of it has been put away in its correct place so that I can actually get in the door and sit at my desk without being covered in clutter.
As part of this process, I found my ‘lost’ glove liners that were in the City to Casino bag that was sitting on the dining room floor. . . since the 2023 City to Casino . . .
I also worked through piles of stuff in the hall outside my room that were there because (ahem) there wasn’t enough space in my room for it all to go. And some of it was in that liminal space between being in the house and being disposed of, when you’re never quite sure how or where to dispose of it . . .
While I was sorting my shoe rack, I found seven pairs of worn out shoes that needed to go and that I’d made no effort to get rid of because I feel bad about throwing things out. Even if they are worn out and useless.
(Note. There is a shoe recycling bin in the sports store in Centrepoint in the city. It would not have been too hard to take the shoes there. At least, you’d think it wouldn’t have been too hard. It seems that it was.)
What to do with all the plastic?
I also found a pile of old mailing satchels and post bags. Once upon a time we could take these to the soft plastic recycling place, but then we learned none of this stuff was being recycled and, after that nowhere would take it. So it just piled up in my room because I felt terrible throwing out plastic.
But what else does one do with these things? Maybe someone could use them. I’d better not throw them out, I might need them for something some time.
It’s not my fault everything is packaged and mailed in plastic and nothing is made with re-use in mind (although some of the mailing satchels actually are now—if ever I needed to mail anything in one of those, which I never do).
Perhaps it’s my consumption habits that I need to question rather than packing materials.
But wait! I have to consume to support The Economy.
This is too much to think about right now. All I wanted to do was clean my room so I could actually work in a space that isn’t floor to ceiling clutter. (Note comment above about my consumption, and what may have led to this situation in the first place. That and way too much paper.)
Finally.
I achieved a tidy room, though there is no photo to prove it. There are still a few things that need to be rehomed before I’ll be completely happy. But I can see the floor now, and I can work on my desk, and that makes me feel a lot better.
Dead plant, it’s time to go.
While I was clearing out the hallway mess, I decided that the dead plant, which had been in the house since we moved here in 2017, had to go.
(‘Replace the dead plant in the hallway’ has been on my ‘to do someday’ list for many years. It’s a long list.)
I contacted Amanda at Plantz Indoorz for advice on what I could put in its place and she was happy to help. I took the pot down to the shop, she showed me some options, and I came home with a new Zanzibar plant, which I am assured is ‘practically indestructible’.
To be fair, Amanda did not say this. The internet did. Amanda said it will survive in low light and doesn’t require a lot of watering.
I think we’ll get on just fine.
In the mean time, if you’re looking for an indoor plant, Amanda has a great selection at Plantz Indoorz to purchase or to hire, so go and see her. The Swiss Cheese plant I got from her earlier in the year is still going strong with minimal interference from me. And if all goes well with ZZ and I don’t kill it, I’ll get some more help from Amanda to greenify my study and my bedroom over the coming months.
Week 52 summary
Habit tracker
- 15 minutes morning exercise sequence (7 days): 4/7
- Hip exercises (5 days): 6/5
- Go outside before 8 am (7 days): 7/7
- 2 walks or bike rides or a combination (6 days): 6/6
- Long walk (1 day): 0/1
- Walk 8,000 steps (7 days):7/7
- Evening exercise sequence (7 days): 6/7
- 9.00 shutdown (7 days): 5/7
What did I learn this week?
Britain’s first women police constables were employed in 1915. This followed the establishment of volunteer women’s police forces the previous year.
I learned this after watching the movie Wicked Little Letters starring Olivia Coleman and Jessie Buckley, on Friday night. This movie was based on a true story of a series of offensive letters sent to women in Littlehampton, Sussex in the 1920s, a case known as The Littlehampton Libels.
The British Archives provides details of the real story (warning contains spoilers and offensive language). Police officer Gladys Moss, portrayed in the movie by Anjana Vasan, was the first female police constable appointed to the West Sussex Constabulary, taking on the role in 1919. She was also the first female motorcycle cop in the country, though in the movie she rode a normal bike.
It was a really enjoyable movie.
I also learned that my granny trolley which was one of the things clogging up my doorway, folds up to about half its size and doesn’t actually need to sit across the doorway.
Who knew.
What did I notice this week?
The solitary green rosella I saw last week came back.
I noticed flicking through my journal that I’d seen it (maybe the same one, maybe not) by itself earlier this year. So they’re not always in pairs.
Then this week, a couple of days later, there were three in our back yard. It looked like two adults and a juvenile.
Cool!
What was the best thing this week?
Seeing the rosellas.
What am I reading this week?
I didn’t read anything this week.
What am I watching this week?
Rankin: An Introduction to Photography.
What am I listening to this week?
I was mostly listening to old playlists on Spotify. But I also listened to the bonus/demo disc from the Pet Shop Boys 2024 album nonetheless and, well, there’s a cover of All the young dudes. Because why not.
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