Good News

We celebrated Oreo's 1st birthday this weekend, he's bushed. Ha hahahaaaaa.

Today was good, trying to get back to our routine after having all those unscheduled staycation days.

Looks like the drywall will be repaired next Wednesday (that's the good news). So here's what my next few days look like:

-tonight is grocery shopping
-tomorrow pack and load car
-Friday through Sunday camping
-Monday we'll do our first "Monday Chore Day" and get the bathrooms, vacuuming and weeding all done in one day and doing our routine
-Tuesday is doing our routine
-Wednesday visit friends and landlord will fix drywall
-Thursday and Friday routine days

Next week is going to be a great time for me to get back on track with our cleaning and schooling routine as well as my health routine (which I've been off for awhile). And now that many projects are completed, I can spend my energy toward the final tidy phase!!!!!!!! I'll be working on picking up!

Of course, I've started a new projects and tidying list, but I won't start those until these are done. :)

Next week:
IN PROCESS-go through cubbies
IN PROCESS-help my daughter purge and organize her room
-go through several bags and boxes of plushie accessories and organize
-another afghan (waiting for yarn to arrive)

DONE-finish taxes
DONE-finish quilt (gift)
DONE-finish handmade napkins (gift) 
DONE-finish a huge crochet project (gift)
DONE-finish handmade pillowcases

The Dining Room Floor

 

We've had the fan on 24/7 for about 10 days. The cardboard is covering where the landlord cut holes in the wet drywall. I thought it was the shower leaking, duh, it was the water dispenser! After 13 years, it sprung a slow leak. It wasn't leaking at the old house and I don't think it was leaking for more than a few weeks. The floor looks so much better! We feel horrible about creating this damage, it just makes me sick. I'm eager to have the floor nice and dry, the drywall fixed up and be able to return the Expedit to its proper position. By default, I'll have to organize all the cubbies! YAY! And find a new place for the new water dispenser!

The bookshelf has some damage, but we're going to leave the damaged part on top instead of near the floor, I think I'll put something up there so we can't see the black water damaged edges. I'm just so glad we caught it when we did so it didn't get any worse!

Seven Pillowcases Finished

The pillowcases are all finished!!!!!!!!

I did have to add a quick project, I found more fabric that belonged to the napkins, so I finished the last napkin and made a sweet little table runner with the last of the fabric. I'll give those to my friend this week.

Washed the quilt, turned out SO nice! I love the drape and feel. I would like to make myself something like that!

I can't believe it when I look at my list! I did have to add another afghan, though this one will be a lot smaller...long story, but I'm actually looking forward to it. I've ordered the yarn. There's a possibility there might be another, as well, but those will go quickly and it will give me even more time to listen to more Ranger's Apprentice!

So what is left is going through the cubbies and helping Sarah with her room and plushy stuff. AWESOME! This is really exciting!

As I cross things off my old project list, I am starting a new project list. But there's always things to do and these fresh new projects aren't weighing me down. I have a new outlook on projects and I'm being very careful not to add things that I really don't need to be doing (like making myself a cute quilty blanket)!

Status Update:
IN PROCESS-go through cubbies
IN PROCESS-help my daughter purge and organize her room
-go through several bags and boxes of plushie accessories and organize
-another afghan (waiting for yarn to arrive)

DONE-finish taxes
DONE-finish quilt (gift)
DONE-finish handmade napkins (gift) 
DONE-finish a huge crochet project (gift)
DONE-finish handmade pillowcases

WOW!

Next week is going to be really good...full speed ahead on these last (big) projects!

Returning to Our Routine

Staycation was good, but I still feel derailed because the Expedit is in the hallway. It will be so nice when that all gets back to normal (soon)?

Tonight I'm working on the pillowcases and listening to more Ranger's Apprentice. The crochet project is DONE (la la lallaahaalalaalaaaaaaaaaaaaaa)!

Update:
IN PROCESS-go through cubbies
IN PROCESS-help my daughter purge and organize her room
-go through several bags and boxes of plushie accessories and organize
-finish handmade pillowcases
DONE-finish taxes
DONE-finish quilt (gift)
DONE-finish handmade napkins (gift)
DONE-finish a huge crochet project (gift)

Staycation CONTINUES

This has been so good!

We are going into week two of our staycation...it might get extended even further, we'll see. Here's where we are:

IN PROCESS-go through cubbies
IN PROCESS-help my daughter purge and organize her room
-finish a huge crochet project (gift)
-go through several bags and boxes of plushie accessories and organize
-finish handmade pillowcases
DONE-finish taxes
DONE-finish quilt (gift)
DONE-finish handmade napkins (gift) 

Wednesday (tomorrow) is a busy day. Thursday we're babysitting for the first half of the day and the second half, we're going to my Mom's to paint two walls for her. Friday will be another day for projects. I'm feeling REALLY good about getting free of these dangling projects!

Sarah loves to celebrate holidays, special occasions and birthdays. The next event on our calendar is Oreo's first birthday. Yes, the cat's birthday. Today Sarah made him a special catnip-filled pillow. Oh my word, Shadow is already onto it! She finally wrapped it and HID it! He'll be receiving it in a couple weeks. :)

I'm feeling ultra motivated now that a few things are finished. Ah, just thinking about the hooks being up, the taxes being DONE, and a few projects brought to completion makes me feel R E A L L Y good.

I just didn't realize I don't have to live like this...I've always had so many things in process and always starting new things. I'm excited about the prospect of FINISHING many of these projects and perhaps WAITING to start anything new (though I already have a list going)!

I feel like I'm coming into a new season...a season of freedom. Thank you Lord, I'm looking forward to it!

Staycation Day 5

We've made good headway in Sarah's room! We emptied out all the stuff that was on her floor. It is soooo wonderful for her to see her floor, the beginning of good things.

On Day 2 of our Staycation, we discovered the water dispenser in the dining room had been leaking. On the h.a.r.d.w.o.o.d floors. WOW. We had to empty and move the big Expedit, relocating it to the playroom/living room and hallway! That kinda took the wind out of my sails. BUT it certainly is going to help me finish the cubbies for that Expedit! It might take a week or two to get it back because the floor has to dry.

We haven't had my family over for dinner in YEARS. We hosted my Mom's birthday tonight and had a great dinner on the patio and a campfire, what fun we had! I need to blog a bit about entertaining...it used to be so difficult, but having everyone over was really pretty simple since the house is pretty organized and tidy. We needed to do a little picking up so we could vacuum, but everything else was ready to go (except for the cooking, of course).

As of Sunday night, here's the status on my projects:
-finish a huge crochet project (gift)
DONE-finish quilt (gift)
DONE-finish handmade napkins (gift)
IN PROCESS-go through cubbies
IN PROCESS-help my daughter purge and organize her room
-go through several bags and boxes of plushie accessories and organize
-finish handmade pillowcases

I gave my friend 16 handmade napkins for her birthday LAST YEAR. I actually only gave her TWO and had intended on finishing the other 14...soon. Well, I just finished them! Hooray!

Another project was started in July for a different friend's birthday and I just completed it. I made a quilt with cheater fabric for the top. I've made patchwork quilt tops that I've sold on Etsy, but never have made a quilt with the batting and backing and binding. I gave it to her without the binding and then told her I needed it back so I could finish it(!) I started hand-stitching on red bias tape, but it was really ugly. I went to a local quilt shop and received instruction on the binding. I learned how to quilt using YouTube, but the binding was kind of beyond me and I needed someone to show me. Ah! What a difference THAT made! I decided to remove the bias tape and made my own binding and attached it. It is NOT the world's most beautiful quilting job, but I'm proud nonetheless!