I’m a homebody. I have ADD. I’ve done nothing this week because I’ve had appointments and have been pulled away from my routine (such as it is) by those, and other things, every day.

My introverted homebody-ness borders on being a hermit. I’m able to go for a long time with no more outside contact than occasional texting. I’m not really sure how long, and it probably varies because I do like and need human contact sometimes, but I get more now than I need or had before I moved near family. Another introverted person said it best–being around people is energy sapping for introverts whereas extroverts are energized by being with others. So while I’ve enjoyed all my appointments and visits, I’m tired.

I’ve been trying, to no avail, to make the people around me understand how important an imposed routine is for me to control my ADD (ie. to get anything done). It’s not that I don’t want to do something while I wait. I’d love to! The problem is that by the time I’ve settled into whatever it is, the wait time is over and I end up rushing to, and/or am late for, whatever I was waiting for. Neurotypicals just don’t get it. I understand their logic and agree it makes complete sense. Do A for N minutes and then stop and do what you needed to wait for. Somehow it just doesn’t flow that simply. I honestly don’t know if I’d like it or not, but life would be so much simpler if it were like school classes, marked by bells. Spend so much time doing A. A bell rings and you have five minutes to move on to B. You don’t have to be doing the same thing every day, but the routine is the same. If you’re saying “So just do that. What’s the big deal? Use a timer,” you’re neurotypical. Things are pretty much straightforward for you. I’m not. Things aren’t. Timers and alarms are so easy to ignore, if I even hear them on a mental level. (ie. Sometimes I look back and say “Oh, yeah, the alarm went off,” but it never registered when it went off.)

One of the things I managed (well, actually was distracted to) do this week was read about ADD and time. I have long held the theory of spacetime that everywhere is here and everywhen is now. Come to find out that is an ADD sense of time. We have this thing called hyper-focus where there is no time (all is now), which explains how I can be making something in GIMP for a “few minutes” only finally, really to look at the clock and realize five hours have passed. Apparently those of us with ADD “feel” time rather than see it linearly. I can see it linearly in a timeline, looking back to see what happened when, but, yeah, mostly I just feel it. It happens in clumps, not as regularly spaced intervals.

::Sigh:: All the preceding paragraphs are an example of ADD time and distraction. While I waited the 30 minutes after taking my thyroid med before I can eat, I was “only” going to check my mail for a response to a question about that med. It’s been over an hour and I cleaned up today’s mail and came here and wrote. The “responsible adult” in me says my time would have been better spent vacuuming and mopping the kitchen floor . . . and yet here I am, still writing. ::sigh::

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Later

Originally, the plan was to visit Kris in the hospital. When Debie got here, she said she had to go to Lowes first. Okay. Well, by the time we finished at Lowes her legs were starting to give out, so we never made it to see Kris. Maybe tonight. Otherwise I’ll go by myself, or drag Iqbal along, tomorrow.

While we were in Lowes, I did manage to pick up a couple of half price potted planters for the deck. They go nicely with the big filled planter I got for my birthday. Monday I switched out the loungers for a couple of iron side chairs. I still have to paint two more table chairs before I’m done. The side chairs take up less space and can provide extra table seating if necessary.

The deck is simply too hot for lying in a lounge chair, anyway. The balcony is on the East side and covered, so much more pleasant for lounging in the afternoon. I wish it were wider than a hallway, but that can’t be changed, unless I had a LOT of money and wanted to do a reno. I don’t.

I tried to set up my art room computer. I haven’t figured out the problem, but the monitor and computer aren’t talking to each other. The monitor, says it’s okay and I hear the computer running and its fan and light are on. The screen remains black. I need to get down there and redo all the connections. Hopefully that will fix it. If not, I’ll call my computer tech. She said she’d be able to come look at it. Hopefully, if I need her, she won’t need to take the computer in. I’d like to be able to get working on it even if I don’t have an internet connection in that room, yet. It’s probably better without one, anyway. Less distractions.

The sewing room is mostly cleaned up and the art room is about half done and I’m just sick and tired of cleaning. I had to laugh. Recently, I was talking to my BFF in Rochester, NY and we got talking about my art and sewing. She told me that years ago, when her mother was trying to teach her embroidery, crochet, and knitting, she finally told her mother that she’d much rather go scrub the bathroom than do needlework. She didn’t mean that needlework was that much worse, but that she actually liked cleaning better. And she cleans for a living and likes it! Gosh! I wish we lived in the same city. I’d hire her in a nanosecond to clean my house.

And speaking of needlework, my crocheted afghan is now about twenty inches long. I’m still not through the second large skein and I had five skeins, so it’ll be a nice size. I’d like to be working on it every day, but some days I get caught up with something else and just forget about doing it. If I were more of a TV watcher I might have more done–unless I was watching something that I needed to pay close attention to, in order to follow. For example, I don’t think I’ll be able to watch Wheel of Time when it restarts and crochet at the same time. But it’s easy to crochet through the soccer, true crime and paranormal shows Iqbal watches and the rerun light dramas I watch late night to crochet to.

It’s going to start getting hotter again starting tomorrow. One of the chores I didn’t get to this week is planting some flowers that are in too small pots. I guess I’ll be doing that in the heat. I don’t want to lose them.

It’s certainly not hot out there now. It’s perfect summer evening weather. I watered half the front and will do the rest after dinner. (WOW! We’re eating late tonight. It’ll be after 8 when we’re done.)

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Huh. I forgot to hit “Publish.” Oh, well. Nothing has changed–except I started the third skein on the afghan.