The Good with the Bad

The Good: We had a load of leaves and straw on the yard when we moved in and Dave knew it had to be raked up or the grass underneath would die. This worked great in the front but when he raked the back yard, aka doggie yard, he found no grass. Surprise!

The Bad: Now that it has been raining for days, the mud is everywhere, and not just with the dog tracks. Two pairs of Dave's shoes are mud encrusted and drying out in the garage. Sigh.

So this underscores why  moving to a less perfect house was a good idea. The tile floor will get washed and the hardwood will be cleaned too. Next is washing the slipcovers on the furniture. All is fixable.

Finishing Touches

 O happy day! My new upstairs laundry room is complete and already hard at work washing clothes and linens. What a wonderful difference this makes. Since taking these pics I have installed a shower rod to hang clothes right out of the dryer and a shelf to hold the laundry stuff. And I moved all my toilette articles to the sink there, so I could find things when I need them. 

 We had this skimpy walk in closet in the master and I had Alberto the Magnificent install shelves for our clothes. We have a big closet in the Yarn Room for long pants/dresses etc, but these are our everyday clothes and obviously we still have room for more. This closet has a window and a ceiling light, the only lit closet in the house. 52 years ago they didn't need to see their clothes, I guess. Curtains went up to protect the clothes from the sun. 

 I love wire shelves and have four of them with one more on order. This was in Dave's room upstairs, temporarily, until the laundry got moved from the garage. Now it fills a great storage need, and gets that Christmas tree out of the Yarn Room. Having only a one car garage is such a boon, since it prevents collecting stuff by you know who. Those paint cans came with the house and so far not one of them is the gray wall paint we need, so why are we keeping them? Oy.

 I am most please to have installed my new knife rack.  It frees up a whole drawer and holds all my knives, keeping them much sharper than in the drawer.

 Most importantly, I got rug pads for the stairs and sticky pads to keep them in place. One is already undone, but easily fixed. This helped Tony conquer his fears of the stairs, meaning I don't  have to carry his little self.  22 pounds is a lot going up or down. 

I feel like we are finally moved in now, and it's such a great relief to have no more immediate fixes to complete. 

The big day to list our other house has arrived and we'll begin crossing our fingers for a buyer soon. Woowoo!

Thanks!

My knitting group at church, the Knitwits, has a monthly birthday lunch for members and then at Christmas time, we have another lunch party. For us with December birthdays it is a huge windfall of gifty things from everyone and really requires Thank You cards for the participants.

Since we moved, I can't find things like my box of notes, but I did find a bunch of envelopes and some sheets of bristol paper which I could cut down to fit the envelopes. 

And most importantly, I do have my box of collage papers  and stamps at hand. Here's some of the cards I made. So much fun! 

 

I changed my mind

At first I was thrilled to have all my baking supplies at the ready on this shelf, but now that the holiday baking is over and my 2018 diet has begun, I had to put baking on the back burner, so to speak. As I emptied the dishwasher and returned my pots to their spot under the sink, I thought, "Hey, I don't like this set up, why not make the pots easier to use". Since we had cleaned and decluttered the pantry/maintenance closet, I moved the baking stuff in and used that shelf for my pots. Perfecto!

 As you can see I have two more of those shelves. I got them at Walmart and are so easy to assemble and move and re-use for different items. I had one in our other house's bathroom and one in my other sewing room. Now they live perfectly in the pantry.
 All of the house maintenance stuff is on the existing shelves, and has been greatly condensed and cleaned up.
Currently Alberto the Magnificent is working on the upstairs bath to make it my new laundry room. the tub has been removed and the dryer vent, water faucets are in and today the work resumes.

2017 Projects

At the end of the year or at the beginning of the new one I like to collect the images from the things I made during the year, if only to remind myself that I was still creating. Some of these are finished quilts and others are still just tops.  The knits are all done and either sold or packed in my closet.
As I look over these items, I am aware that I made really different work, for me, this past year. All those minimal quilt designs and then the patchwork-y ones, are examples of the adventures I had trying out new ideas. And as for knitting, the vests were all variations of a theme which began in 2016. There were a few quilts I made for charity which never got photographed, so I must be more careful this year to keep documenting.
The things that really pleased me this past year are the new friendships I made with people at my church and at my sister's store. I treasure these above all else.
What wonderful things will 2018 bring? I'm ready to find out.
Happy Happy New Year.

Before Pics

 Three weeks into the new house and I must say I am making it my own, at last. Baking in this kitchen works out just great. The counter space is much smaller than the other house and therefore contains my mess much better.

While this is not a house I would have ever dreamed of owning, it is turning out to be just what I want. And will be even better when the laundry room gets moved upstairs, starting Tuesday. 

The rooms are so functional and full of character, (read sloping, creaking floors) and unique spaces. Two closets have yet to hold anything. That will of course change. Because of its imperfections, there is no stress getting everything 'just so' and ready for prime time. When I see something that needs a fix, I just laugh and continue on my way. How did this all happen? It's a miracle.

 Yesterday I announced that Dave should move his art space upstairs, which I accomplished quite diplomatically. I told him that the lighting in the other room was much better for his artwork, emanating from a ceiling fixture and two bright windows. It already housed his stereo, guitars, and tv. Now the great big studio room is all mine, muahahaha! I might even spread out a bit more...

 

 
The living room is empty, as we have the furniture on display in the other house.

 The coziest room is the sunroom of course, and it will be even nicer when the tree is down, maybe by tomorrow.

Dave attacked the pantry/maintenance closet, and got distracted, upstairs. He'll be busy all day trying to find things. 

  I made him hold still for this before picture. The drawing table, rolling rack, all the art supplies and stuff have yet to find a place.

 So nice to have this mess up and away, out of sight.

The master bath is so big, it could house a party, so I decided the murder mysteries could live there. And there was this niche which probably had shelves in it prior to our move, and I found a perfect instant solution. These drawers are Sterlite, and two sets of 3 hold my lingerie quite nicely (and cheaply.)

Little Tony waits in the driver's seat for a ride to the doggie park, which is not gonna happen. Too cold for me, let alone doggies.
So for the last day of 2017, I am feeling pretty darn happy and hope you and yours will have a great,healthy and happy 2018!
Happy New Year, with love and peace

Hurray! I made it!

Today I hit 70. And I still feel like 17. Wow!

By now I thought I would be more little ol' ladylike, but noooooo. I am embracing my wrinkles, gray hair and chins and happy to still have all my teeth. Nothing aches (at the moment) and I am happier than I have been in years. I have more of everything and that includes friends, and now is the time to look forward to what is still to accomplish and try to pack it all in the next 30 or so years I have left. 

I believe there will be much more giving stuff away, since you can't take it with you, and after four moves in ten years, with so much still unpacked, it looks like a great time to de-stash....as if.

++++++

We had a very nice Christmas with friends, family and doggies. Half our furniture is still at the other house, so we cobbled together what we had and it turned out so pretty.

I am so blessed with these crazies, my sister Brooke and niece Glory, and so glad to be living in the warm South, altho we do complain about how cold it is here. ha!
To celebrate this day, I am going to the other house to wash walls, do some paint touch ups, go to knitting and make a great birthday dinner of lamb chops, champagne and cheesecake! O happy Mel!