4.11.2015

Sewing Saturday

He who works with his hands is a laborer.
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.– Francis of Assisi

I saw this quote the other day on one of my "must read" blogs..Alabama Chanin Journal.  It became part of my thought processes so much in the past few days, I had to share it.  The newest book by Natalie Chanin arrived from Amazon on Tuesday.  Beautiful clothing with such a hand-made twist.  I've written about this style before and I still am captivated by it.  My cleaning and organizing distractions have taken me away from working on my cardigan, but I hope to get back to it soon.  After all, the Country Living Fair is coming up in less than two weeks and I really wanted to wear it then!
Wish I could flounce around in this type of clothing every day!

4.06.2015

Miscellaneous Monday

I got involved in a little cooking this weekend...Chicken Cordon Bleu casserole, courtesy of KnowKitchen.com.  The recipe is here.  Easy and delicious!

I also found a recipe on a fellow-Indianan's blog, The Cottage Nest.  I'm going to bake those delicious-looking cookies this afternoon when I go home.  Gooey Butter Cookies...perfect with tea!

This cooking and baking is a bit unusual for me...seems like I've either skipped meals, or have had Market Fresh sandwiches from Arby's for the majority of meals in March.  If I don't cook, I don't make a mess.  I certainly didn't need more messes to contend with!

I'm guessing that I must be hungry...all I can think about is food right now!  Guess I should head to the breakroom for lunch!

4.04.2015

Sunny Saturday

April seems to be continuing with the theme of March...work!  This time, it's both at home and at the actual job.  I was supposed to be off today, but one of the scheduled workers did not come in.  That means I had the "pleasure" of working today.  Saturdays tend to be very slow at our little branch library, and since I worked all week and didn't think I'd be here today, I didn't save a project to work on.  There was an entire list of things to do at home...still clearing, cleaning, and organizing.  Some days I see the light at the end of the tunnel, and some days it is obscured.  

I will say that it is nice to have a renovated bathroom!  I don't think that I mentioned in my last post that the upstairs neighbor's bathroom floor fell through my bathroom ceiling (again).  It caused fairly extensive damage to my bathroom and floor, so I now have new sub-flooring and new vinyl plank flooring...and a new commode...and a new ceiling.  So very nice!  I think that the last time this happened was in 2008 or 09, but it didn't cause nearly the mess and damage.  I think that all is well upstairs AND downstairs.

Book recommendation...
Better Than Before:  Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives by Gretchen Rubin

The book makes lots of sense...and since I'm looking to change some habits, it is the perfect book for this time in my life!


4.01.2015

Oh, my...


Finished entryway

March was a long, long month filled with lots of actual physical work for me.  I've been attempting (this time for real) to simplify things around the house.  I've managed to live with so many things for so long that, as the Febreze commercial goes--along similar lines, anyway--I've become "nose-blind"...actually more of a visual blindness to my surroundings.  I can make one small corner semi-perfect, and that's what I see...I don't see the clutter, messiness, and "stuff" that has filled the remainder of the room.  So sad.  And so lazy on my part.  It seems like I've been walking a narrow little path through my house, similar to what a hoarder would do.  Shameful.

So...for the past month, I've been going through the house, throwing things away, organizing, and putting boxes of books together to donate.  I still have a ways to go, but I feel better every day in what I've accomplished.  It's been hard, I've been exhausted, and I've felt overwhelmed many, many times.  I would say that even if I didn't work 40+ hours a week outside the home, I would be further ahead, but I know that's not true.  I would just sit around and be truly overwhelmed.  Breaking things down into 20-30 minute segments (unless, of course I'm on a roll!!), and then taking a little break seems to work best for me.

Not that I'm an actual hoarder***, but I tend to keep magazines and books...yes, I had Victoria magazine from the very first issue until they stopped publication the first time...and many, many years of Country Living and Martha Stewart Living...assorted others, too.  They are now resting comfortably in the recycle bins, ready to leave the neighborhood at Monday morning's pick-up. While all of that tossing doesn't add up to lots of square feet of living space, now there's a bit of room to breathe.  So far, twelve cartons of books have been donated.  Many more, soon to come, but I need to collect a few more boxes for them.  What else got tossed?  Project information, papers from five years of "higher education", and just plain old junk.  Seriously...Tupperware and the like seem to just multiply like rabbits.  I can never find the piece that I want, and if I do, the lid is nowhere to be found.  NO MORE!

Why did I let myself end up in this mess?  Beats me.  It seems to have gotten way out of control in just the past six months or so.

***Hoarder...do you do any of these things?
1.  When you exchange gifts with someone, do you ohhh and ahhh over the ribbon snippets they've used, then go home and put said snippet in a jar or container for future use?  Maybe that use is just to "look pretty"?
2.  Do people know to bring you their recycling items because they know you can do something with them, or can create a library program using the items?
3.  Do relatives drop things off at your house, whether you want them or not...items like outdoor tables, chairs, etc., when you already have outdoor furniture?  Do they do this saying that Aunt So and So wanted you to have this?
4.  Do you save magazines because there are really great recipes, home decor ideas, gardening tips...whatever?  Or do you rip out the pages and organize them (in never-to-be-found files)?

I was guilty of many of these things.  All I can say now is thank goodness for Pinterest, Zinio, iPads, and digital music.  I get magazines on my iPad via Zinio and my public library...no piles stacking up, and no paper clutter.  If I find an article I want to keep, I save the picture and article in my photos section of the iPad.  Easy.  No fuss, no muss.

I'll admit that I was quite amused by the Maria Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  I like the idea of clearing up one area of your life at a time, and I really do like being thankful, but thanking each and every piece of clothing, dish, or whatever is a little too much.

The photo for this post is an "after".  The "before" is way too embarrassing!  Real life, though.


Catching Up

  It's been awhile...as usual, not much going on.  As I look through photos on my phone, I decided to do a little blog post. Last Monday...