[Salinger]

Hey AP

 

Hope your Saturday is going well

 

Love you x

[Artemis Prime]

On 10/5/2024 at 11:24 AM, Radost said:

Seems like you're on a real roll this week, including rolling with challenges like your back. 

Thanks! I think I have finally realized that life is very often a series of adverse circumstances (...or perhaps a series of unfortunate events?) and if I only do things when all systems are at 100%, I will not very often do much of anything. So rolling with the punches it is.

 

On 10/5/2024 at 11:24 AM, Radost said:

I still love that you're reading The Hobbit to your horse. Whereabouts in the story are you?

We are at Riddles in the Dark. 

 

 

[Cheetah]

17 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

rolling with the punches

 

Same here.  Good work!

 

[Artemis Prime]

Hello, all, final week of the challenge!

 

Saturday - got a good workout in, then had class, then got my stair stringers hung. Unfortunately, putting the treads on took a bit more notching and ripping than I had hoped for, which means it took longer, so I got it halfway done Saturday. Negatively, though, I tangled with some poison ivy during fence work on Friday (it was on a tree that fell on my fence, but was dead so didn't see it until I had already gotten up close and personal. So my arms are very itchy and kind of driving me nuts.

 

Sunday - Had church, then Sunday school. Stopped at Rite Aid on the way home and picked up some Caladryl, which is drying up the poison ivy, but not as quickly as I would like. Finished my staircase yesterday afternoon! Rain rolled in before I got a picture, but I'll snap one later. Read and worked on a jigsaw puzzle for the rest of the day.

 

Week Four Roundup:

Quote

Ordination - Just keep watching for psych eval news and make a more concentrated effort on class work. My head is way too fuzzy with my poor sleep lately to digest heavy theology, but I'm hoping to address that today.

My psych eval is scheduled for November 15. Treaded water on classwork, but really need to catch up.

 

Quote

Strength - Lower, upper, lower week. Think I am changing up my lower days, instead of doing heavy squats and deadlifts on the same day, think I will do squat/RDL one day and deadlift/lunge (or maybe reverse Nordic curls) on the other. Will need to ponder whether that means I am consistently doing 2 lower days (which means weeks with 2 upper days would have 4 workouts - not something I'm opposed to, but do need to consider the extra time commitment) or if I am okay with greatly reducing the frequency of my squats and deadlifts.

Got all 3 workouts in. Think I'm going to switch to 4 workouts/week, since deadlifting at home is nicer than at the gym. But not until next challenge.

 

Quote

Barndominium - Have my first stair stringer marked and ready to cut. I'm pretty sure I have it marked too long and will need to trim it down, but can't be certain until the cut is made, and better too long than too short. Goal this week is to get both stair stringers cut and installed. Plus calling the electric company guy since I didn't do that last week, and if I'm really motivated perhaps call my uncle as well to get his input on some things.

Stringers cut and installed and treads finished! Left a message at the electric company but didn't get a call back and called my uncle.

 

So that's pretty much 3 for 3. I'll take it!

 

This week:

Ordination - Reading week for class, so need to turn my Reading Log in on Saturday. Don't think that will be too hard once I buckle down and get to it. Also need to register for diocesan conference in November and let my professor know I'll miss class that day. Also should return a call from a classmate. It's his first online class and he's having a bit of trouble with it. I'd like to say I don't mind helping him, but honestly I kind of just want to tell him to figure it out.

Strength - Plan is to work out Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. 

Barndominium - Main goal this week is to pin down the electric company and get some kind of plan there. Also call the electrician my uncle recommended. Possibly, depending on time and weather, put some deck railing up.

 

Monday - not feeling like doing much today. My arms are very itchy and it's making me crabby. Going to run a couple errands at lunch, need to drop my truck at my mechanic's tonight for inspection. Class work/game prep/reading in the evening.

Tuesday - gym during lunch, assuming my poison ivy continues to dry up at the same rate and isn't bothering me so much tomorrow. If they are still driving me nuts, might pop into urgent care and get something stronger for it. Dinner with my sister.

Wednesday - Spiritual Direction at lunch. Probably at my neighbor's in the evening.

Thursday - workout at lunch. I think it should be small group week, but no one said anything at church on Sunday, so we'll see. 

Friday - took the day off (Monday is a holiday, so 4-day weekend!) Hopefully will be pretty much all barn/fence work. Class work. Forbidden Lands in the evening.

Saturday - no class, so just need to polish up and submit the Reading Log. More barn and fence work.

Sunday - church, Sunday school, then a free afternoon. 

 

I am 332 points away from levelling up! Which reminds me - finally got around to ordering my reward for the last challenge, which was levelling up my gym flooring in the basement. The plan was to buy a stall mat, since that is the most economical solution, but I went with gym tiles instead, because they're easier to move if I end up relocating my gym tot my apartment, and I can buy additional tiles to expand it as needed. 

But as I was saying, 332 points away from this challenge goal and the Kensui weight vest! The last Vampirate is down and I have 3 Shadows left to fight, so finishing them off will almost hit that goal all on its own.

[Everstorm]

24 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

life is very often a series of adverse circumstances (...or perhaps a series of unfortunate events?) and if I only do things when all systems are at 100%, I will not very often do much of anything

 

Well said

 

2 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

I tangled with some poison ivy during fence work on Friday (it was on a tree that fell on my fence, but was dead so didn't see it until I had already gotten up close and personal. So my arms are very itchy and kind of driving me nuts.

 

Oh no.  Poison ivy rash is miserable.  My sympathies.

[Heidi]

On 10/5/2024 at 8:35 AM, Artemis Prime said:

Also discovered a gorgeous piece of property for sale near me and once again made a plug on discord for a NF commune. One of these times they're gonna go for it, I just know it.

Look, I was already researching the growing zone and things . . . . 

 

I hope the poison ivy is getting better -- I've never had it, but have seen others get driven bugnutty for over a week from it. Jewelweed seems to help, but I don't know if you have any of that laying around. I used to steep it in the bath for the kids when they had been out in the fields climbing through who-knows-what. And jewelweekd soap helps dry the itchiness portion of poison ivy right up.

 

Hooray for nearly leveling up!

I think your approach to everything remains very solid -- long term goals, with "what can I do right now" task list. 

#DruidApproved.

[Artemis Prime]

23 hours ago, Everstorm said:

Oh no.  Poison ivy rash is miserable.  My sympathies.

I am very susceptible to it, so I've gotten fairly adept at gritting my teeth through it. I don't think a year has gone by that I haven't gotten at least a touch of it, but it's been a while since I've had this much of it. Still, we're on the other side of it now, although a few spots are hanging on stubbornly.

 

22 hours ago, Heidi said:

Look, I was already researching the growing zone and things . . . . 

Yessss...do ittt!!!

 

22 hours ago, Heidi said:

Jewelweed seems to help, but I don't know if you have any of that laying around.

We do have some on the property, but I've never actually done much with it. The Caladryl seems to be doing the trick, though.

 

22 hours ago, Heidi said:

I think your approach to everything remains very solid -- long term goals, with "what can I do right now" task list. 

It's the first time I've done long-term challenge goals that span the whole year, and it's working very well for me. Before I always did habit building for 5 weeks, saw some improvement, but then would move on to something else for the next challenge and the newly-established habit would drop off again.

 

 

Didn't do much last night, had a very Monday case of the Mondays. Did some reading, watched some CR, got my truck over to the garage for inspection today. And that was pretty much it.

 

Today: arms are still a bit itchy but improving, so going to try the gym today. Dinner with my sister tonight, but a little lag time while I wait for a ride to go pick my truck up (I don't think it needs anything to pass, but ?) so will either do class work or game prep with that time. Probably. Or I'll just hang with my horse and read another chapter of The Hobbit. We'll see.

[Heidi]

I like a lot of things about the 25-acre (with a pond and a cabin), but I also love the price of the 11 acre with nothing but rocky soil and the promise of hard work.

Which one is closer to you?

[Artemis Prime]

22 hours ago, Heidi said:

I like a lot of things about the 25-acre (with a pond and a cabin), but I also love the price of the 11 acre with nothing but rocky soil and the promise of hard work.

Which one is closer to you?

The 11 acres is closer at 3 miles, the 25 acres is roughly 6 miles I think.

[Artemis Prime]

Tuesday Report!

 

Bad news first - my truck did not pass inspection. Silver lining - I have the money to pay for the repairs, but it is going to make it tight to get a horse this fall. I still might be able to swing it, but with my new one-step-at-a-time approach, I'll get my truck fixed, get my fence ready, see which of the horses I've bookmarked are still available, then take stock of finances and see what's feasible. 

 

Better news from yesterday - got a good workout in, landed a decent hit on the Shadow, got Morning Prayer points and the Shadow failed its save, made arrangements with the electrical company to run a line to my barn, and cooked dinner for my sister for Create Food and Water points which is a 3rd level spell! I am 279 points away from my goal and have a Shadow sitting at 2hp. 

 

Today's Plan:

Got Morning Prayer this morning, have Spiritual Direction at lunch, helping my neighbor tonight. Was really hoping to land a better hit with Word of Radiance and finish off the Shadow because Guiding Bolt is one of my best damage dealers and seems like such a waste on a Shadow already so close to death, but ah well. The math rocks weren't feeling it this morning.

[Ranger Hal]

1 hour ago, Artemis Prime said:

Bad news first - my truck did not pass inspection. Silver lining - I have the money to pay for the repairs, but it is going to make it tight to get a horse this fall. I still might be able to swing it, but with my new one-step-at-a-time approach, I'll get my truck fixed, get my fence ready, see which of the horses I've bookmarked are still available, then take stock of finances and see what's feasible. 

One thing at a time sounds like a good plan!

[sylph]

3 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

see which of the horses I've bookmarked are still available,

Is there, like, horse eBay?

[Heidi]

1 hour ago, sylph said:

Is there, like, horse eBay?

EBay wishes it were as cool as horse trading sites.

 

5 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

Bad news first - my truck did not pass inspection. Silver lining - I have the money to pay for the repairs, but it is going to make it tight to get a horse this fall. I still might be able to swing it, but with my new one-step-at-a-time approach, I'll get my truck fixed, get my fence ready, see which of the horses I've bookmarked are still available, then take stock of finances and see what's feasible. 

This is Wisdom.

Sorry about the truck, of course. Glad you can fix it and that it will get tended to before winter-proper. 

5 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

The 11 acres is closer at 3 miles, the 25 acres is roughly 6 miles I think.

So, let's just say an out-of-state, absent-minded and absent philosopher wanted to buy a patch of rocky land nearby for the sole purpose of owning it and having a small cabin-in-the-woods thing.

Have you walked this particular piece of land?

Is it something that you think is worth buying? 

I of course would not be moving from Virginia, so the next question is: how far away is the closest Amtrak station and is there Uber?

[Artemis Prime]

21 hours ago, Ranger Hal said:

One thing at a time sounds like a good plan!

But that requires, like, patience and prioritization and an acknowledgement of my own limitations. Why can't I do everything at once!

 

19 hours ago, sylph said:

Is there, like, horse eBay?

Several, in fact, but I recommend staying away from the auction sites. The classified listings are the way to go. And all the trail-riding outfits are selling off the stock they don't want to overwinter, so even though truck repairs are putting a hitch in things, I think I'm really going to try to make this happen in the next few weeks.

 

17 hours ago, Heidi said:

Glad you can fix it and that it will get tended to before winter-proper. 

Yeah, it's not fun, but it's good to get it taken care of, and still cheaper than replacing the vehicle.

 

17 hours ago, Heidi said:

how far away is the closest Amtrak station and is there Uber?

Well, this is a sticking point. Pretty sure the closest Amtrak is in Pittsburgh, and then you have about an hour of driving, which you could probably get an Uber for, but that would be a pretty penny.  I used to drive past that property pretty much every single day, but you can't see much from the road and I've never actually been on it. From what I know of the area, though, it's a rocky hillside created by glaciers which makes it interesting and probably a fun place to hike through, and most likely a decent place to have a cabin in the woods. But if you have any aspirations for any type of farming, it's probably not worth it.

 

 

Wednesday Report!

Had an excellent session with my Spiritual Director and spent some time reflecting on how much work internal stuff is.  It sometimes feels like I am more tired than I should be, but I think I tend to only look at physical exertion and discount the mental and emotional labor I am doing. Over to my neighbor's - got her barn cleaned and she has boarders right now, so helped a 16-year old kid with his trig homework, which led to the realization that I have not taken trig in 17 years, or in other words, longer than this high school kid sitting beside me has been alive. Ooof.

 

Was very tired last night - see above re: mental and emotional labor - so I read enough of the book club book for me to have the gist for today's meeting and went to bed. I was planning to work out at lunch today, but the whole office now knows that I am leaving, and even though I am still invited to continue attending book club meetings, I have no idea if that will actually happen or not, so I'd like to not skip my potentially final gathering. I'm off tomorrow, but I can still get a home workout in to make up for today's.

 

That means I'll get social points today, will probably spend the evening on class work.

 

158 points to go! (Although recent developments mean I'll probably not actually get my Kensui weight vest right away, but it will go on the list of approved purchases once funds allow.)

[Salinger]

Hey AP hoping work goes well today. Sending love xx

[Heidi]

On 10/10/2024 at 9:22 AM, Artemis Prime said:

But that requires, like, patience and prioritization and an acknowledgement of my own limitations. Why can't I do everything at once!

ImInThisPictureAndIDontLikeIt.jpg

 

On 10/10/2024 at 9:22 AM, Artemis Prime said:

From what I know of the area, though, it's a rocky hillside created by glaciers which makes it interesting and probably a fun place to hike through, and most likely a decent place to have a cabin in the woods. But if you have any aspirations for any type of farming, it's probably not worth it.

This describes the land of my 12 acre farm back when I had a farm. I did a lot of rehabilitation of the land. It's possible, of course, but it takes a LOT of work, patience, and planning.

My long-term vision for any piece of property would be a place where I could eventually build a 2 to 4 stall barn with an apartment upstairs and have grazing pasture and a hayfield, this might not be the right option. Sounds kind of perfect for a witch's cottage, though, so I'm not counting it out altogether. The immediate benefit of a piece of land is owning a piece of land. Rocky is fine -- just scrape a nice 50x100 ft section and level it enough for a foundation (6x6 beams with gravel) that a small cabin can go on, with a greenhouse and a deck. If you want to get fancy, we can build a 6-8 inch high (or taller, if wanted!) stone perimeter wall(from the many rocks revealed in the scraping) and get dumptrucks of soil for a proper garden. This is what I did, and it's a lot simpler than trying to rehab the soil directly.

 

[Artemis Prime]

23 hours ago, Heidi said:

just scrape a nice 50x100 ft section and level it enough for a foundation (6x6 beams with gravel) that a small cabin can go on, with a greenhouse and a deck. If you want to get fancy, we can build a 6-8 inch high (or taller, if wanted!) stone perimeter wall(from the many rocks revealed in the scraping) and get dumptrucks of soil for a proper garden.

Oh yeah, that's totally doable in this locale.

 

23 hours ago, Heidi said:

it's a lot simpler than trying to rehab the soil directly.

Most definitely. Our property was strip mined, so had approximately zero top soil left and we've rehabbed sections of it rather nicely but we've also been at it for...*checks notes* 33 years.

 

 

 

Thursday Report - 

Enjoyed book club, got social points, and according to my spreadsheet did approximately nothing after work. It's kind of a blank in my mind as well, so that checks out. On to the next day!

 

Friday Report -

Took the day off work. Felt kind of antsy and restless most of the day. Did get some cleaning and classwork done in the morning, but felt a bit shaky to be lifting. Ate lunch, which helped immensely, then fired up my new fenceline trimmer. It's a bit of a beast, but it does its job. Also, now that I have it, as long as I stay on top of things future trimmings should be much easier. Got a good chunk of fence cleared. Worked on fence posts, still haven't gotten any pulled, but they're starting to wiggle. Also did some figuring on my deck rail. Ended up not having Forbidden Lands last night, so my mom and I played a board game and I went to bed. A good day.

 

Saturday -

Made sure to eat breakfast this morning, so not feeling as jittery as yesterday. Plan is to finish updating here, do some classwork, go lift. Do a little more classwork. Go clear another stretch of fence. Eat lunch. Hang deck rail. 

 

Jem and I are about 100 pages into The Hobbit, should get some reading in today as well.

88 points to go!

[Heidi]

One of the things that I really like about your approach is how there is a quiet reasonability built in. This is really evident in how you have been able to prioritize rest and eating for healing from being sick, and also be choosy about what you take on. You made progress on The Things, and didn’t drive yourself into the ground to do it. This is elegant.

Nicely done.

 

6 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

Our property was strip mined, so had approximately zero top soil left and we've rehabbed sections of it rather nicely but we've also been at it for...*checks notes* 33 years

Omg, yes, this exactly.

On our farm, I did some calculations on how long it would take to rehab the soil directly, and came up with 50 years.

So, woohoo! You’re more than halfway there!

 

[Artemis Prime]

19 hours ago, Heidi said:

You made progress on The Things, and didn’t drive yourself into the ground to do it. This is elegant.

Nicely done.

Thank you. Until you said this, I hadn't reflected on this at all. It was sort of what I was hoping would happen with the spell slot limitations, but it hasn't been a focus of my challenges. It is nice to realize that some background progress has been made. That said, I probably pushed a little harder than I should have yesterday, but that's okay. Progress doesn't have to be linear.

 

Saturday Report!

Got classwork and a workout done in the morning. The workout killed a Shadow so I am now at 14,022 points and have hit Level 6! After lunch I cleared a big stretch of fence line (went much farther than I intended to, but it was going well so I kept pushing, see above) but I now have most of my fence cleared. I also got the top of my deck rail up. And read some Hobbit. Meant to do more classwork after dinner, but I crashed hard in the evening.

 

Sunday -

Skipped church this morning to go to Urgent Care and got a shot for my poison ivy. Should see drastic improvement in the next 48 hours. But now my arm hurts, so I was going to do an upper body home workout today, but we'll see how it feels after a few hours if that actually happens or not. I could do a little more deck work, or inside barn work, but I'm kind of feeling like today might just be a book and puzzle day. With copious napping. I also have an assignment due tonight, which I'm 80% of the way done with, so if nothing else, I'll get that polished up and turned in and get Borrowed Knowledge points.

 

I also realized I've been terribly remiss in posting barnodminium pics.

 

Stairs done last weekend:

 

Yesterday, with the deck railing started:

 

And the view from the deck:

 

 

The house does have a better view, being up on the hill, but I could get used to this view.

[Heidi]

Oh, I love this barn!

It’s just as I imagined it, complete with tree to the side! What sort of tree is that, anyway?

Very nicely done.

Rest up —you’ve plaited through a lot, and you need rest in order for the medicine to work its magic.

❤️ 

[Artemis Prime]

7 hours ago, Heidi said:

What sort of tree is that, anyway?

It is a wild cherry tree. The cherries are very tart, but I might try to do something with them next year. The pits are so tiny that you don't really have to seed them like you do cultivated cherries, so maybe I could make them like a berry pie. We'll see. I wish it was on the west side of the barn (opposite side of the deck from where it is) but for other reasons (mostly related to how the water lies after a heavy rain) that was a better place for the building, so the plan is to put a maple tree on the other side. It will be a long time before it's shading the deck, but that always makes me think of a Chinese proverb that my Spanish teacher kept on her bulletin board (not sure it is actually an authentic Chinese proverb, but that's how she had it labelled) This world will grow great when old men plant trees in whose shade they shall never sit.

Maybe I'll add that line to my signature below.

 

 

Final Report!

I lay around like a slug for a few hours, then managed to do some classwork, and enough sun broke out I was tempted outside. I got some brush cut, did some figuring on which trees I want to keep in my pasture and which ones I want to fell, and...drum roll please...pulled some fence posts!!! I got the most critical ones out, but they were coming easily enough, I hope to get another chunk of them out tomorrow. I did pinch the meat of my palm in the first one and gave myself a rather nasty blood blister, but they came out pretty smoothly after that, so I've decided I just needed a little blood sacrifice to get things moving. Came back in, had dinner, finished up and submitted my class assignment, and am calling it for the night. I didn't get a workout in, but the Shadow missed its attack, which I always take as a sign that skipping the workout was a good call.

 

So, with the fence post pulling and the Borrowed Knowledge points, I end this challenge at 14,092 points, or almost 100 points over my goal! Tomorrow I think I will make another post dissecting things and discussing what can be done better next time, but for tonight I am just going to bask in my victory as I stand atop a pile of defeated Vampirates, watching their Shadows dissipate in the sunshine.

 

[Elastigirl]

Way to smash the challenge!

[Artemis Prime]

Let's start with some weekly goal reviews!

 

Quote

Ordination - Reading week for class, so need to turn my Reading Log in on Saturday. Don't think that will be too hard once I buckle down and get to it. Also need to register for diocesan conference in November and let my professor know I'll miss class that day. Also should return a call from a classmate. It's his first online class and he's having a bit of trouble with it. I'd like to say I don't mind helping him, but honestly I kind of just want to tell him to figure it out.

Got my reading log done and submitted, registered for the diocesan conference, and let my professor know I'd be out that day. I did not get around to calling my classmate, but I'm okay with that. I was not in top form this week.

 

Quote

Strength - Plan is to work out Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. 

Worked out Tuesday and Saturday. Would have liked to have gotten that third workout in, but ah well. 2 out of 3 isn't bad, and I'm definitely feeling ready for a deload week.

 

Quote

Barndominium - Main goal this week is to pin down the electric company and get some kind of plan there. Also call the electrician my uncle recommended. Possibly, depending on time and weather, put some deck railing up.

Electric company pinned down! Decided to put off calling the electrician until the line is staked out so we know exactly what we're working with. Also got the deck railing started, which I think is the trickiest part, although there are some fiddly cuts left to be made. Lots of progress on fence work, as well, which I'm lumping in here even though it's technically not the same thing.

 

I felt like I lost steam around Week 4 and never got up to full speed again, but progress continued to be made on goals, which is impressive, if I do say so myself. I'm really working on not letting my mood or emotions dictate my reality, and it looks like it has been paying dividends as this didn't really feel like a successful challenge coming down the homestretch, but the proof is in the pudding, as they say. Good job, me.

 

Let's look at the Challenge Goals:

 

Quote

 

1. Become an Ordained Deacon in the ACNA

I'm taking a fall class on systematic theology which has just started, so I haven't formed much of an opinion yet, but if nothing else I will be halfway through my certificate program when this is done. Other goals include submitting my policy paperwork, scheduling my psych eval, and getting my school transcripts. Tangential but related things - meeting with my Spiritual Director, weekly journalling (still a new goal very much in formation) and chairing the women's retreat happening on September 21. I'm really excited about this goal and love how the other clergy and my parish are rallying in support of my journey to the diaconate. It's probably going to be another year before I hit this milestone, but I am working on enjoying the process and not being too impatient.

 

Fell a bit behind in my class, but caught up for Reading Week, so starting with a clean slate to stay up to date moving forward. I submitted my policy paperwork and scheduled my psych eval. Haven't gotten my school transcripts yet. Continue to adore my Spiritual Director, weekly journalling has not been weekly, but has been productive when it's been done, and the women's retreat was a very good day. I also volunteered - or maybe "volunteered" - to help at the diocesan conference next month, which maybe isn't my top choice for how to spend a Saturday, but it's part of being ordained clergy, so I guess I best get used to it. At least having it this time of year means the weather is more likely to be cold and dreary, so I won't mind so much having to be inside. I've also charted out my courses for the rest of the program, still waiting to hear back on a new type of course they're calling Residential Mentored which is more self-guided, assuming I can make that fit my schedule, I'll take Into to OT in the Spring, do some mentored community outreach for my missions elective that semester as well, take Intro to NT in the Summer, and be done! If the mentored class doesn't work out, there's another missions course I can take in the summer, but that's not my preference.

 

Quote

 

2. Strength GainZ

I was consistent with going to the gym over the summer (first time ever, I think, that my workouts haven't stopped over the summer!) but mostly did maintenance volume work. I am really enjoying the Candito strength/control program with its upper/lower split. The goal is 3 workouts per week.

 

I continue to like the upper/lower split, although I have tweaked a few things, mainly to address imbalances between my left and right shoulders and to avoid doing heavy squats and deadlifts on the same day. Plus give myself a home workout option for upper body. The linear progression is only going to work so long, but I'm taking a deload week for Zero Week and dropping 15lbs on all the main lifts to reset the progression some. I skipped roughly a week of workouts when my back was hurting and took yesterday off because of my poison ivy shot, but I didn't skip any workouts without a solid reason, which I'm taking as a definite win.  Things will ramp up next challenge as I'm upping my goal to 4 workouts per week, partially since with the weather turning I'll be more likely to get home workouts in.

 

Quote

 

3. Finish Barndominium

Things are moving slowly here, but I am picking away at it. My two main goals this challenge are to finish the deck and get electric run so I at least have a couple light bulbs this winter. However, after consistently failing to hit my challenge goals here, my plan this time around is to set very small, weekly goals to give me that nice boost of getting something done instead of constantly coming up short on a bigger reach.

 

The deck did get finished, minus finishing the railing, and electric did not get run, but progress was made on that front. Also ended up putting a lot of work into my fenceline, which will continue as I hope to have a second horse by the end of next challenge. The bite-sized weekly goals definitely helped me feel like I was gaining ground, so I think I will continue with that format next challenge.

 

A solid challenge all around, and levelling up definitely feels earned here. I'll be back later today to dig into some of the individual mechanics that don't tie directly into the big goals and see what needs tweaked for next time.

[Heidi]

47 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

I felt like I lost steam around Week 4 and never got up to full speed again, but progress continued to be made on goals, which is impressive, if I do say so myself. I'm really working on not letting my mood or emotions dictate my reality, and it looks like it has been paying dividends as this didn't really feel like a successful challenge coming down the homestretch, but the proof is in the pudding, as they say. Good job, me.

Good job, indeed.

Go you!

 

 

[Artemis Prime]

Ok, Mechanics Review!

 

Combat - matches my strength goal, already covered.

 

Exploration - this has not been happening, I did mean to start running again this challenge, but between back pain, poison ivy, and rainy weather, I didn't. This will become more of a priority next challenge, since the Thanksgiving 5k is now fast approaching.

 

Social - Very little social stuff happened. One of the problems with my week by week format rather than an overarching plan is that it's easy to think it's no big deal to miss one week, but then in hindsight to realize that I've been hermiting pretty hard. Next challenge I will try to get small group up and running again, and also need to get a visit down to my grandmother, and will give some thought to how best to fit in person gaming into my schedule.

 

Cantrips - Light fizzled out, but I have a plan for getting back into the swing of that. Morning Prayer has been going pretty well, though I do want to transition back into the full liturgy from the abridged version I've been doing. Mending was very hit or miss, going to swap that out for a new cantrip next challenge, and Toll the Dead did not happen, in part because I realized Vampirates and Shadows are immune to necrotic damage. Will also make more of an effort on this next challenge.

 

Level 1 Spells - Bless, Ceremony, and Sanctuary take up the bulk of these spell slots, and I'm okay with that.

 

Level 2 Spells - Should get more Borrowed Knowledge points if I stay on top of my class work. Want to give more effort to journaling for Zone of Truth. Colder weather also means more baking, so more Lesser Restoration points. And lastly, lots of brush and scrap wood to burn, but it's been too hot and dry for that lately. It's getting cool and damp now, though, so Continual Flame should also be able to happen.

 

Level 3 Spells - Have not been making the best use of these. Feign Death is fine to cast when I need it, but it's also a warning sign that I'm probably overdoing it. Sending also needs to happen a bit more regularly, both for business calls and personal ones. Daylight is also going to become more of a factor as the days get shorter, I guess technically I have been getting plenty of sun and could have been casting it, but the spirit of the thing is more to use it when it takes a bit more of a concerted effort to make sure I'm soaking up some fresh air and vitamin D. Lastly, I haven't been doing that much cooking, mostly mooching off family and supplementing with takeout. Nothing wrong with that, I kind of thought I'd be in my own kitchen by now, but again with the weather turning, I'd like to get back into cooking regularly, so Create Food and Water should be happening as well.

 

Channel Divinity - This has been going pretty good. Preserve Life hasn't really been happening, but Turn Undead has been my focus for now, and that's okay. As I'm now Level 6, I'll get 2 uses of Channel Divinity per long rest, so even more Turning Undead should be happening.

 

New Addition - Teaser! I'm adding something to next challenge, but you'll have to wait for the new boards to go up to find out what it is. Muahahaha!