Whatcha Been Doing?

Several folks have called and written

 and asked "Whatcha Doing?"

I've been invited to a "sew in" B-Day bash soon

 and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to

work on a quilt I started YEARS ago.

I used to sew all the time and then life, 

issues and other interests got in the way

 and I stopped quilting entirely.

I love the fabrics in this quilt..very much

my old primitive favorites but it will still

go quite nicely in my blue and brown bedroom.

It requires 96 blocks and I am at 64 as of today.

Every block is random and includes plaids and checks

in browns, beiges, blues and a touch of yellows.

I opened the basket where the blocks and strips

 were stored and just 

threw them out on the chair and desk

 and started sewing.

I'll see how far I get before the sew in and

then an entire day there just may "get er' done"

Sew a side, trim/turn, sew a side, trim/turn

and so on.

A Log Cabin

I just toss them to the floor as they are completed.

Funny they look crooked here but they're not. I did 

not cut the strips with anything but abandon 

so the plaids and checks do not always run straight.

I wanted it that way, to appear primitive and I 

will most likely overdye it when finished also.

 I was thinking I will add a solid border with some appliques 

perhaps because I love doing those also.

I miss doing needlecraft.

Maybe this will resurrect my first love.

Needle and thread

A painters pallet of fabrics

It is all connected

In other news I shared a lovely day on Monday

with a photographer Tracey Perry, 

who shot my home for a Holiday Book 

to hopefully be published next year.

It is a major undertaking and I will keep 

you posted as I proceed.

I am thrilled to be able to get 

Christmas taken down, and do some more purging

and a thorough cleaning of the house.

I have NEVER had it up this long before,

it has made me a little antsy.

Because of my organized box system

it will come down lickety split.

WOOT!

So that's my story

What's yours?

Getting There

I'm getting there.

Only do a wee bit each day, 

enjoying the process.

My organized box system 

makes it so simple.

No need to pull it all out;

at most two small boxes per tree. 

This year, lots of greenery,

lots of snow.

Enjoy your weekend my friends.

Z

Nothing is Safe

Nothing is safe around here.

From the purge/tidy monster.

Not pantry, utensil drawer,

fridge or laundry room.

Not obsessively clean, but frequently tidy,

that's me.

A little known fact about this gal.

I came within a whisper of joining the military.

Yep, me! Took the tests and everything.

I was floundering post college days

and the regimen appealed to me.

Gosh, ya think?

I still like everything lined up in neat rows,

bedding tucked snug,

mirrors polished.

I hear my Dad's voice

"A place for everything and everything in its place."

Pop was a fan of Ben Franklin,

(but there is no definitive proof he was the first to say this,

I checked)

I guess this Mackintosh did not fall far from the tree.

Tidy

It makes me happy.

It makes my life

easy and simple.

I step back and inspect, 

"ahh, now that's better"

oh crap..thunder...

HOWIE!!!!!!

Truth in Advertising

Remember how pretty, tidy, everything 

was just a few short days ago? 

Although not technically a vignette, it was

 photographed to it's best advantage.

Well then, along comes Chania with her photo challenge

and though it sure isn't pretty, it is what it is

NOW.

After three weeks of dumping stuff from a client's house

and selling it off several nights a week, this is the mess 

as of an hour ago with one of my trees waiting for it's stand, 

my Trader Joes  groceries waiting to get into the house,

boxes I've saved for a friend who may be moving soon, and 

general mayhem. Sheets cover stored boxes because 

shoppers get too nebby ( western PA term - nosy) 

and start asking about contents. Sale is tomorrow.

 Three full pickups of stuff has already been sold.

By Monday it will be empty and my pretty,

tidy garage will be back just the way I like it.

 Pretty pictures will return also.

Please visit Razmataz for more truth.

Rituals

Although organized and tidy, as we have discussed in prior posts,

I do not consider myself a ritualistic type.

No one day is similar to the next except in the fact that

they are usually busy days.

The last few weeks I noticed an inclination toward

a daily pattern in many aspects of my life.

Is this due to age or necessity? Am I becoming a

"set in her ways" kind of gal, and

is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Minutes after my feet hit the floor in the morning I am

found here. This cup, this coffee, this creamer.

I used to buy whatever half-caf coffee I came across

but I have settled on this one it seems. I am NOT

a coffee connoisseur by any means., which you can tell

by my no frills machine. I just want 2 cups

that don't bother my stomach and send me into hyper orbit.

I've noticed I now use a soup spoon instead of a teaspoon.

What the heck is that about?

If I back up even one step I smack into these two.

As I enter the kitchen they are tossed a treat from the

dog treat jar on this cart to

tide them over until I pour the coffee.

Then, the looks of "FEED ME.... NOW" ensue.

My ex - ex mother in law ( you figure it out) had a weekly

routine that I found absurd way back when in my mid 20's.

Monday was wash day. Tuesday she ironed.

Wednesday she shopped with her two sisters.

Thursday was clean house day. Every Friday night they had take out pizza.

Sunday dinner was ALWAYS a beef roast, potatoes and green vegetable.

Her home was orderly, very clean and uneventful.

Now that I am about the same age as she was then,

I see a purpose, a rhythm that I now find appealing.

As we age, do most of us find comfort in the ordinary, the routine?

Does it take years of living to obtain the rhythm, the rituals that comfort us,

as our favorite family foods or a cup of coffee do?

Why do I still frequently wear the same torn, stained, paint spattered

faded red zip front sweatshirt purchased from The Limited over 20 years ago?

I have many others, but always reach for this one, as I did this morning.

Comfort ~ Ritual

good things

Worker Bee

Purge* Stage* Sell* Buy* Pack* Move* Unpack* Stage* Sell*

This is what the process has been for the past month with a client that I have moved three times before. This is the last and final home she will live in. This is a certainty. It is quite small by her previous standards and she was scared and sad and convinced it would be awful.

The moving van, moved her yesterday from 9-3. Before I left last evening, her kitchen was complete, everything in it's place, her bedroom and bath all cozy and pretty.. I wanted her first night in her home to be comfortable.

In the 11 hours I spent there today, I finished all the other rooms except for the guest room and organized her garage. yep..MY way! Soon I will hang all her paintings and measure for all the new blinds and curtains, but tonight there is not an unpacked box anywhere in her home, or stuff strewn about. The doggies are perched back in their favorite chairs and all the appliances and cable and phone and trash are all set up or installed.....Not bad for less than 2 days. I am a full service worker bee. buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz ( note the z's) Did I mention all the items she purged are stacked in my garage waiting for me to sell for her?

She was smiling tonight, and when I said "Didn't I tell you I would make it look cozy and wonderful? She said "Yes you did." I said "You didn't believe me?" She replied "Only half way, because this place was so awful." It isn't now. She is happy again, and safe in her cozy home that she can take care of and afford. As I left, she said she should have known better than to have any misgivings. I mean, we have done this same thing a few times.

I love this kind of job. My knees, my back, my muscles, my arms don't love it so much, but it is worth every single ache to make someone a home...

If I don't get back here before GOBBLE day:

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you and many many blessings.

Suzan

Storage Made Easy

Here it is:

The secret to my organization:

I started with an 8x8 sheet of plywood and had the

store rip it into fourths.

Using standard lengths of 1x 4's built shelving to exactly fit

those document boxes you get at big box stores.

Measure twice and cut once.

(BTW I have standard 2 car garage )

You can make these taller, shorter and adapt to fit your space.

Use all plastic bins if desired. The key is no wasted space.

Just enough clearance to slide containers easily,

and don't mix up a bunch of items just so you can stuff it into large bins.

Of course this same system will work with sturdy

metal shelving, found at Costcos or Sams. If I remember correctly

21 of these boxes fit on those shelves with the top row stacked two high.

I have done the exact same thing for clients, who wish

to be able to take the system to their next home.

My bins are placed on the floor so that mopping is a breeze.

Yes, I mop my garage, I was taught the "NAVY way".

I write contents on removable labels because storage needs change.

This is the only shelving doubled in depth, others are singles.

You can see here, where I've removed 2 boxes.

Notice the tags on the front of the shelves. Those identify the back row

at a glance. I bought bins and boxes as I could afford them and as I needed them,

so this can fit every budget. Yes, I had to have all the boxes match..so shoot me.

You can see several bins missing. Those are in the house

as I decorate that particular tree.

That is the second part to how great this system is:

I can grab a bin or 2 boxes, whatever is needed to decorate

a room or a particular tree. I go to the garage and grab

just those containers needed and there is no jumbled mess

of boxes in the home or garage.

I store everything this way, not just decor,

and as a result the closets inside my home are not cluttered.

An added bonus; critters do not

like these painted boxes as compared to standard cardboard.

So there you have it.

Budget friendly if you add to it gradually, adaptable to any

size space and if you wish, totally portable.

I Voted!

Have YOU? Will YOU?

(I was reminded some don't have early voting)

and because I'm in the mood this Monday:
some things to ponder, no pretty pictures but it is still good
to exercise your brain matter

100 thing challenge

333 challenge

Neo minimalism

and no, I'm not advocating either side of the discussion,
(someone just emailed - most distressed at me), I am merely
advocating that we think, ponder, alternative ideas.
Yes, I did indeed just acquire a set of dishes but go back a few posts
to my sale to see the mountain of things I and others
recently sold and donated.
In the past year I have reduced my personal
belongings by 1/3 and will continue to pare down.
It's a process.

10.10.10

10.10.10

Ten things you can do in under ten minutes in honor of this once a century day.

Start folders for all those clippings you've collected.

P-touch or hand label 10 of your favorite categories

onto folders. Next time you clip, file away.

The next short 10 minute call, remove items from one shelf in pantry,

fridge etc. Wipe clean and replace items. If you did this with every call,

pretty soon, all bathroom and kitchen shelves would be TIDY.

Consider adding your email address to your profile so that

people like me can easily hit reply and send you a

sweet note thanking you for your comments. : )

Drop a quick note or email to someone that you should

have contacted a while ago. In 10 short minutes you

can make their day extra special.

Get a clean damp cloth and go wipe off all your shoes,

or your husbands or kids. Stop, think; how many months

have some of them been sitting, or hanging there collecting dust?

Purses are another option. Of course if you channel

Imelda Marcos, ten minutes may not be enough.

Update 10 pages in your address book, Rolodex, or email list.

Delete, add, change addresses and phone numbers.

Jot down your 10 favorite movies or books and vow to

view or reread in the next 10 months.

Disinfect the phones in your home. Don't forget the cells.

Doorknobs are another option.

Clean out your trunk- If it isn't too cluttered, you may

even have time to vacuum, or do the glove compartment.

Go through a closet and remove all unused hangers and

then hang them out of the way on one end. Just that alone

improves the look of your closet instantly.

Option 2: Go through and grab all pants or shirts, or dresses

and place them together. Later on in another 10 minutes you can

do it with the rest.

******

Life is busy, distractions abound. 10 minute bursts

are an easy way to bring it under control. You have permission ;0

to quit after 10 minutes, but please feel free to continue if you so desire.

I'm choosing another chore, my garbage can and recycle bins.

a little cleaner, a power hose and air dry. Bet I'm done in under 8.

Happy 10.10.10 everyone!

Suzan

Junk Drawer

If you lived in a house with shelves like this:

(yep, those spices are in alphabetical order)

you would probably expect to see a junk drawer,

like this..

...and yep, that is my junk drawer.

Now why would that be an issue? Well, the photo challenge

at Razmataz this Friday is Junk Drawer.

The challenge is an excellent exercise, perhaps meant to examine

our personalities or the quirkiness of our possessions.

What can I say? I'm tidy.

Not obsessive, not overly clean, TIDY....

and prepared, as you can see by the articles in said JD.

A wind up emergency radio and flashlight,

small tools easily assessable even though garage full

of tools is a mere five steps away, phone chargers etc.

I actually considered, for about a minute, "faking" a drawer, how

weird is that? That I would try to look messy? Now THAT

shows something in my personality, any arm chair

psychologists want to weigh in?

Oddly enough, I am not overly tidy in every area

of my life or my home. I hate filing away paid bills and forms

and at times they pile up for months before they are perfectly

put into their expertly labeled folders.

My clothes are hung by type, length of sleeve and by color.

I have at least 10 hours of ironing in a basket on the closet floor.

The pile has been there an equal amount of months.

so, if we are still examining the psyche behind my junk drawer?

I appear to have a split personality.

or

I'm just nuts.