Very Long Day

I've been awake and going for many hours now. I got up a little after 5 this morning and have been in pretty much constant motion since then. I got a lot of garden tour things done today. It's going to be a great tour. I just get a little worn out the last few weeks when there's so much to do that's last minute. But, there's no other way to do it so I just have to go with it.

I've got a huge stack of postcards ready to send and I'm printing more. I send them to people who've attended previous events. It's our single biggest expense for the tour, but it does let people know. Direct mail is by far the most effective form of advertising - other than word of mouth - but it's very expensive. I'm sending postcards so people don't have to open the mail to get the message and I can also clean up my files because they go first class for only 24 cents and I get the returns.

I'm looking forward to taking a little time after the tour to work on my life. It is completely out of control. I'm literally working every waking moment on tour things. I haven't even unpacked from DC, other than to get the essentials out of my bag. Actually, I've had suitcases in my living room for more than two months - there have been so many small and large trips that it hasn't seemed worth carrying them upstairs only to bring them back down and unpack them. I'm looking forward to getting everything where it belongs.

I have so much to do upstairs, and at the moment downstairs too. I'm not sure how people manage to keep their houses tidy when they're really busy. I certainly can't. When I'm working normal hours I can do OK if I actually put attention to it but when I'm traveling a lot or working many hours like now I just can't manage the house too. So, it just goes to pot and then I have to work like the dickens to get it under control again.

But, I'm going to be home for awhile now so maybe I can focus on life a bit. After the tour I'll need a little bit of rest. Then I can get some of those things done. My next major project is a fundraiser tea at the end of August so I have some time to plan for that. Of course, I have a newsletter to get out in July and a grant to write, and an Altrusa event. OK, what am I saying? I'll have the pressure of the garden tour over and that will be good. I can say that for sure. Otherwise there is always another project on the horizon.

I was looking today at the travel voucher I have. It's dated later than I thought so that's good. Of course, air travel is so expensive these days I don't know if I'll be able to afford to use it. I hope so. But later this year. The exchange rate with the Euro is still pretty bad so going anywhere in Europe is probably out. And from how things look, that's probably only going to get worse. Oh well, something will come along.