Wednesday, February 17, 2016

The Attention Span of a Gnat

Yep.  That would be me.

Everyone has their morning routines.  Mine is basically stumbling into the kitchen and making a pot of coffee.  I am completely useless until I have at least two or three cups of coffee in me.  And don't even try to talk to me before then.  I snarl.

Coffee mug in hand, I will usually fire up my computer.  I'll check the news stories of the day and see what the weather has in store for my area.  I'll see if I have any email and then move on to reading some of the blogs I enjoy.  But somewhere in the middle of that my inner gnat grabs me.

This morning for whatever unknown reason, my glance caught sight of the basket I keep my latest crochet project in, which led me off the blogs and into a search for sales on yarn.  When you crochet (or knit) you always "need" more yarn.

From there I jumped to a couple of YouTube channels about scrapbooking.  I have been toying with the notion of making some scrapbook-type recipe organizers to use up some of the scrapbooking supplies in my stash and sure enough, I found a video on the subject.  Which killed another 15 minutes and another cup of coffee.

Then I checked Facebook.  I rarely if ever post anything there.  I check to see if my kids have posted any photos I might want to steal.  And now and then those same kids will post something that makes me laugh.  I am so glad they all were blessed with functioning senses of humor.

About that time I notice that a couple of hours have passed.  Well, crud.  I am still in my jammies and there are things I want to do today.  So after I have dressed and made myself presentable enough so I don't scare bejeebers out of anyone who might see me, I get busy.

Unfortunately, that gnat's attention span is still with me.

Take the other day, for example.  I was busy rearranging the shelves that hold my home canned food, trying to find more space to store the jars that are in boxes on the floor due to lack of space on the shelves.  While stacking jars of applesauce it occurs to me that an applesauce spice cake with caramel frosting sure would taste good.  So I take a jar of the applesauce to the kitchen.  And decide I need to find the recipe.  I sit at the table with my box of recipes and start looking for the one for applesauce spice cake.  And then the one for caramel frosting.  At which point I'm not sure if I have any powdered sugar.  While checking the cupboard for powdered sugar I decide that cupboard really needs to be cleaned so I can see what is on the top shelf toward the back.  Which leads me to finding a box of those paper cupcake liners.  Which gets me to thinking about maybe baking some blueberry muffins to have for breakfast the next day.  And on and on it goes.

I'm not so sure any more if it is that attention span thing.  Seems like it could be one of those "Oh, look!  Squirrel!" things.

Whatever the reasons, I guess I will just live with it.  At least I am never bored.

10 comments:

  1. That reminds me a bit of my own days now, except that I seem to accomplish much less.

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  2. Gorges...I'm guessing perhaps it is just another of those fun aging things. I suspect I would get more accomplished if I weren't so easily sidetracked. :)

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  3. Ha! I think those darn squirrels live here, too!! :o)

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  4. Chickenmom...There are days when I think the squirrels are holding their annual convention right here. :) Keeps life interesting.

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  5. oh my goodness...I can so relate...this had me giggling this morning! thank you
    can i throw in there that i find myself standing in the kitchen with all kinds of stuff in my hands and on my counter...saying to myself what the hell was i really going to do!! lol...again i can so relate!!!

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  6. That's funny, Mary...It is so nice to know I am not alone in this. :)
    I sometimes start out with a clear plan of what I intend to do and then before I know it, I am off in a completely different direction. Most times though, the sideways path I take is much more fun than the original plan. If nothing else, this "Oh look! Squirrel" thing keeps life really interesting. :)

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  7. I,too, can relate. It reminded me of talking with friends who thought retirement would be boring. I tried to explain how full my days are and how fast time just seems to fly by.
    So did you ever make the applesauce cake? That sounds like a winner recipe to me. Cheers, SJ in Vancouver BC

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  8. SJ...When I was getting ready to retire I heard much the same - how bored I would be. They were wrong. I sometimes think that a person needs to experience our lifestyles in order to understand.

    The cake? Nope. Got distracted (grin). Here is the recipe if you want to give it a go.

    Applesauce Cake
    1/2 C. shortening
    2 C. sugar
    1 egg
    1 1/2 C. applesauce
    2 1/2 C. flour
    1 1/2 tsp. soda
    1 1/2 tsp salt
    3/4 tsp cinnamon
    1/2 tsp. cloves
    1/2 C. water
    1 C. raisins (optional)

    Bake at 350 degrees.

    Sorry - I don't have instructions. Just mix up like you would any from scratch cake. This isn't one of those light and fluffy cakes like from a mix. It is moist and heavy. And really good.

    Easy Caramel Frosting
    Melt 1/2 C. Butter. Add 1 C. brown sugar and bring to a boil over low heat, stirring. Add 1/4 C. milk and bring to a boil again. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually beat in 2 C. powdered sugar. Beat to spreading consistency.

    Enjoy.

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  9. Thanks for the recipe! I wrote it down in my notebook and will put aplesauce on my shopping list.
    SJ in Vancouver BC

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  10. SJ...You are welcome. Hope you like it as much as I do. :)

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