I'm ready

Ready for all kinds of things. Getting a job (at long last). Crossing things off of my to-do list. Having the dam* state agency (agencies) finally make good on some of their talk and vague promises and insincere concern regarding Karl. Losing some of this weight, which accumulated during Harvey's reign of terror. Finishing projects - which, truth be told, could be considered the same as "crossing things off of the ol' to-do list," right?

...maybe.

I have actually been crossing stuff off the list for the past couple of weeks (yes! really) - getting little things done here and there around the house, and in the sewing corner. Every time I knock something off the list I get such a sense of accomplishment....and then I sabotage myself for the next thing by wondering WHY I didn't do it before now?! My euphoric phase barely gets off the ground before I kick my own butt over the delaying I managed to do beforehand.

What I need to do is give myself permission to wallow in that accomplishment...really take the time to have pride in the finished work, and enjoy the fact that I managed to get it done, instead of rushing to harsh judgement over having taken so long to just do it in the first place.

I've mentioned before how I always seem to derail whatever task I set about to do by thinking about the other dozen or so things I should be doing instead. I rarely let myself invest fully in something without some bit of guilt about undone work waiting elsewhere.

I finally finished mom's lap quilt - a project I have let slide for a couple of (probably more like a few) years. But, it was packaged and sent on it's way to Marquette last week, and should be in her PO box some time mid-week.

Here are a few photos of the final project.

Pretty simple quilting, an undulating crisscross, and in the corners a large feather motif (an afterthought, more or less).

The colors are some of her favorites - deep greens, and brick red and rusty reds, too. Not my best work, but I began it so long ago, I wanted her to see what I could do and that my quilting wasn't just a way to spend money and waste time.

The overall size of this scrappy quilt is 51" square, and yes, the block pattern is a Log Cabin in the "Barn Raising" or "Town Square" configuration (it depends upon where you are in the USA as to what you may call it).

Anyhow, it's done!! and the boys also finished their Christmas thank you notes to mom, so I was able to stick them in the box for a little extra cheer!

I also finished mending Brian's fitted flannel sheet (something that has been on the mend pile for ages, it seems). Figured I may as well, since all I ever did was shuffle it from the ironing board to my bed during the day, and back to the ironing board when it was time to go to bed. Took up a lot of room and time, and was really just a rotten reminder of what I have been meaning to do but never gotten around to.

So much wasted time over such a long period.

Also managed to get the Christmas ornaments put away. Not only that, but I also sorted the many boxes into appropriate catagories (reds, golds, blues....you get the idea), and all of the boxes are on the shelves and labeled and out of the way!! The trees still need to find their way to the garage for the rest of the year, but I did get the worst of it done...so yea!

Tonight, I cleaned the dickens out of the tub and caulking - which is next on the list (replacing the caulk, that is).

I wandered Home Depot one day while waiting for Karl as he attended yet another 'evaluation' in Southfield (one of four days). I love HD - and Lowes - and even though I couldn't use half of the stuff in those places without lessons, I love the idea of the tools and supplies all lined up on the shelves. So much really cool inspiration and know-how haunting the aisles and waiting for some willing participant to come along and be creative!

Anyhow, I bought caulk and a caulking gun, which I will put to use as soon as I return from Gram's. So to prepare, I cleaned the gunk as best I could, and will strip the old cracked caulk when I get home, just lightly cleaning all the surfaces once more to be 100% ready to put down the new bead. Tonight's prep was to make the next cleaning a breeze (plus, it looks so purdy). I even went to the extreme of taking down the poorly hung shower curtain rod and re-installing it correctly with new anchors and all! I felt pretty doggone handy afterwards, and I enlisted Karl's help while performing the rod work - much handier and more efficient (not to mention, not as aggravating) having somebody there to hand you things and take over the screwdriver work when you wrists and forearm get tired. Plus, he had fun doing that little bit of manual labor (and no complaints!) and working with me. Even though there is still the tiniest little bit of a dip to the rod (but nothing like it was), I am perfectly happy to have the liner not draping along the bottom of the tub and coming in contact with the exterior curtain as it gets wet during a shower. It always wicked the water straight to the floor, and the boys never noticed this until they stepped out of the tub after their showers into a mini lake or a soaked bath mat.

I just feel so empowered and happy with my little improvements and accomplishments! They may have been a long time in the off-ing, but they are ticks on my checklist in the "done" column.

Yes sir, I am ready!