V-a-c-a-t-i-o-n!!

I love vacations and this is a two week vacation at home. As you might or might not know, we have a fifth season in the Rhineland, which is Carneval. Not like the one in Venice or Brazil or the Notting Hill one. This is before easter. It is a bit like Halloween, but without going from door to door. For the latter we have St.Martins. But this is carneval and people invent or make or buy costumes and go to parties and stand at parades (where you can catch sweets and flowers and toys and sausages) and generally have fun. And that is very nice for the people, who are in the carnival feeling.
Unfortunately more and more especially young people, but old and mild aged ones as well, use this time mainly to drink themselves into a coma. Or shortly before it into a stage, where they do not think, but are able to rid themselves of rude behaviour and any fluid they had in their body in a very disgusting way.
Recently it looked, as if those people are overcrowding the ones who like carneval for the fun of it and the tradition and all the good things it stands for. That is not only very sad: it is the reason, why I prefer to take a holiday and not
enter the town I work in.

So I am having a holiday and I traditionally use this holiday to do my spring-cleaning. Since I am not going to leave my flat from Thursday to Tuesday, I have a lot of time in my flat. I can't just read or knit or paint or play or read, though all of those things are fun and I did them yesterday and today. Therefore I do something sensible with my time. I start easy on Monday with a fight against dust. Then Tuesday I have a couple of appointments and so only do the dishes. Wednesday I shall mainly wash my clothes and towels and such and doing the dishes. Thursday I shall clean my windows and my bath and kitchen very thoroughly and do a wet-cleaning of the floors. Friday I shall clean out my closet, get rid of some stuff, order other stuff and hoover again and iron my washed clothes and put them away.
Saturday I shall sort my papers and decide, what will stay and what will go and I'll start the shredder on them. Sunday I won't be able to use the  hoover, but I do have a good broom. So whatever paper-trash fell on the floor from the shredder-action, I can sweep up with the broom as well.
Monday I will simply hang about and be lazy, because everything will be done.
Well, I'll do some easygoing cleaning on the kitchen and bath. Tuesday it is dustfight-day again. Wednesday I shall generally straighten everything up.

BUT on Monday I shall also do my reckoning and I will plan my budget for March. I have been very lax in February and will be a deal stricter in March.
And I shall make a meal plan for March. A general one at least. Then on Wednesday I shall go to market and buy what I need for the meal plan and start my work on that food. And further I have not thought as yet.

I have joined Pacer and started on Saturday. Saturday I had about 259 Steps, today I had more than 10.000 steps, because I was walking. That racks up the steps, I should say. I do not know, how it will work on the next few days. For the cleaning days I hope for at least 6.000 steps a day, I made no higher goal so far.
But cleaning means a lot of walking about, so I have great hopes. And though I do not leave the house, I do leave the flat. :)

Anyway. I had a hard working week, because I wanted to get done as much, as I could before my holidays and I managed it. I stayed after 6.00 pm on Thursday and so worked up a Plus of 10.23 hours for this month. That is o.k. for me. I will up that number by 20 hours by the end of March. Should work out.

My friend and colleague had to succumb to the flu going around these days and she did get written of sick. And that is far better for her! Now she only has to stop working at home and she'll be healthy in no time. :-) OR work less...

Other than that I can only write, that I bought a new backpack, since after eight years of intensive use, mine started to disintegrate. I found one in the same style, with the same assets, only in another colour and a little more stiff. I hope, that the stiffness will go over time, but I can live with it.

 I did say, in the beginning, that I would not write about religion. I do break this now, to ask for your prayers in your way for some very ill people, who can use some positive power from any corner in the world. If you are not a praying person, send some good thoughts to people with a tumor, terminal cancer, virus-infection in the knee and all who are in pain or worry in the world. You might not feel, as if it helped, but I am sure, they will feel it and their thanks will reach you in some way.
And with this I end this break and won't come back to it. You may rest assured, that you have my heartfelt thanks, if you even just thought about it and didn't laugh!