Hotter than July

Hotter than July !

I started with the lead in on Tuesday …and yes that was the hottest its been this year – a solid 25 degrees by 9am and then up and up and not in a good way – not for me at least . The hospital run was a mission ( first time I decided to use the rollator instead of just a cane)  Getting to the Rehab clinic was the journey – and in 37/38 degree heat certainly my challenge for the day ( week!) Getting out an hour or so later and it was a solid 40 degrees – I have the rollator permanently in the trunk of my car now !!

As suspected the Botox injections have stopped adding additional benefit but on the plus side I will be getting some “industrial” strength option in September. I must say once the muscles recover from the electro/injections/reaction they do feel a lot better – or perhaps its because its cooler ! ( Today in the mountains …35 degrees), fortunately my bunker is cooler inside than outside and its only the occasional foray outside to recover the “Beast”  aka Lilly the Pug from terrorizing the farmer next door’s grandchildren through the fence ( Lilly doesn’t do laughing and playing well !) its been ok .

I must say I discovered something impressive this week. I try to grow things outside to keep me motivated …clearing weeds , snails, and hopefully rearing tomatoes and as such started “growing the seeds “ some time ago . Well I was dreading a total failure – none of the seeds germinated since the end of May and I was realizing my farming skills were not quite on point. 

On Wednesday we had a surprisingly beautiful start to the day – a cool 15 degrees ! Making the most of the cooler weather I dived outside and supervised by the Destroyer and Beast proceeded to discover that I had …5 seedlings. (That’s still not the point of this but wait…there’s more )

So, I have suddenly a few happy tomato plants that I have managed to separate and repot. In my frustration of the lack of germinating plants I literally squeezed a few different tomatoes ( seeds) in a few spare pots a week ago ( Hoping for something) .

Surprise surprise in the past week there are literally hundreds of shoots in all the pots .

This made me wonder – despite all the care and attention , special soil , from the ‘special “ seeds only a few “just” made it . The handful of no hope seeds in a bucket of soil almost All made it ?

I guess the problem was my own ambition from the start. When I thought of sowing the seeds ( Tears for Fears flashback moment) I was picturing mature plants brimming with delicious tomatoes. Reality is that the process is not necessarily that simple – step by step you need to pay attention and accept some losses . Then its a few weeks  wait (normally) for the germination to proceed to get some seedlings , then separate the strong from the weak, give them space to grow , separate and wait and if you are lucky some weeks later the plant is strong enough to endure. If you stop the feeding and nurturing …the plant could just die despite the progress made. Given the best attention and support and the dream …the flowering plants laden with delicious fruits could just be achieved.

Then there’s the pots of the “others”, I guess the natural will to survive and procreate drove them , perhaps the higher temperature caused a grow or die scenario ? …to be continued.

Sounds a lot like Life !

Sum up: Do this now

For starters, remember that “just dive in” is advice that requires nuance—planning is good and necessary.

Next, realize that perseverance is like spinning your tires if you don’t have the right plan.

Finally, try applying these six techniques to plan more effectively:

1. Slow down your start — don’t be in a rush to execute
2. Reduce your vision to a narrow, near-term objective — and embrace the minutiae
3. Thrash your way to a simple plan — and force yourself to decide what not to do
4. Don’t set goals without goal systems — the goal is the outcome, the system is the journey
5. Choose one focal metric — this will help you drive results day in and day out and avoid getting distracted by the big picture
6. And remember, it’s never too late to stop and plan