Thursday, December 22, 2016

I cleared off another surface today. It is a challenge to clear these surfaces without just cluttering up something I’ve already cleared but I more or less manage. There is just one more surface to go before I can re-arrange the furniture; I’d like to get that all done before Christmas. As I tidy up and put things away I see that I need to clean out a few of my drawers; they are getting cluttered and I suspect there are things in them that could be added to my Economy Shop bag.

Over the past few days I’ve said I was going to cross stitch at the end of the day but I never managed to get there – always tripping over things on the way across the room that I decided to deal with. But today is the day! Cross stitch here I come.

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

It was back to work today, but I have managed to avoid cleaning for yet another day!

I did Pat’s accounting and got the files sent off to the accountant this afternoon. It takes time to go through everything but it is easier now that he isn’t working as much. There is still a bit of tidying up to do on some of his paper files; I found my new filing cabinet arrangement works well, but I kept forgetting I didn’t have to get up to go to the cabinet!

Since the basket I had planned for my office tools didn’t materialize I need to find a spot for them. I have a shelf between my sewing machine and my computer that I think will work – once I’ve cleared off some of the stuff that is sitting there right now. There’s always something!

There isn’t much afternoon left but I’ll spend the rest of it with some cross stitching – once I switch my laundry loads.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

I finished up the crochet part of my basket last night before dinner – and then decided to pitch the whole thing! I had already ripped it apart twice and the bottom wasn’t stitching together well with the sides so I decided not to waste any more time on it. The yarn was purchased at the Economy Shop because it was a rich gold-brown colour and I thought it would make a nice scarf. But when I got the bag home and opened it the yarn was more like baling twine and certainly wouldn’t be appropriate for anything that was going to go next to anyone’s skin. I made one basket from it (my own pattern) but the rest of the yarn and the remnants from this latest basket will be filler in my next dog pillow.

I wasn’t going to go to the bee today but Pat persuaded me that I should go and wish my friends a Merry Christmas. I have loaned my car to friends who have family visiting and whose vehicle wasn’t large enough to transport everyone. I took my sewing machine out of the trunk before I dropped it off for them and I didn’t feel like loading it into Pat’s truck. Besides, I really didn’t have anything I wanted to work on, although in my cleaning I’ve dug out a lot of works-in-progress that I had conveniently forgotten about. In the end I took a hand stitching project and enjoyed the day.

I’ll be back to cleaning tomorrow but for tonight I’ll get back to some knitting.

Monday, December 19, 2016

I went back out to the shed in search of my Christmas mouse but again the boxes and tools atop the chest defeated me. I’ll have to wait until summer when I can shift everything outside and try to place the second trunk of Christmas “things” in an easier-to-get-at location. But look what I did find and attach to the tree!

In one of the boxes that came in yesterday we had some star lights and some coloured outdoor lights. Pat hung the stars in the lilac tree at the back, where we already have sets of white lights. The coloured lights went up on the front deck. All the decorating looks nice but when it gets dark it really puts me in the Christmas mood.

After doing my cleaning downstairs this morning I cleared off a couple of surfaces in my sewing room. The big job is still ahead of me but I managed to combine a few bins and ended up with one that is ready to refill. I know I have projects buried on the cutting table and desktop so it won’t go empty for long.

My back is aching so I think I’ll sit and finish (maybe) a crochet basket I’ve been working on. I think I’ll use it to store some of my desk equipment in; now that I’ve switched the cabinets I don’t have a handy spot for things like my stapler, scotch tape and all the other bits and pieces I need when I do my office work.