Cleaning out 10-27-18

One of my friends is very organized and every year she starts in January and gradually goes through her entire house - every closet, cupboard, drawer, desk. box, etc. - until she has cleaned out everything.  I don't have the discipline for that and neither did my mother or any of her sisters.  My Aunt Cornelia, who lived on a potato farm in Idaho, used a sweeping out method.  When she decided it was time, she would throw everything she wasn't interested in keeping on the floor and sweep it all out onto  the house wide front porch.  The husband and kids could retrieve whatever they wanted in the next day or so and then it would be swept into the yard where the hired help would use the skip loader to bury it somewhere on the farm. I suppose they could take their pick also.  She did this once when we were visiting and I collected all the books I could carry home to Portland with me.  Still have a couple!  

However, ultimately everything must be sorted and culled and I am, after all, eighty years old now.  My time is getting short.  So, as a start I actually cleaned out a drawer in my kitchen - the "silverware drawer", as it is called, but it is really the flatware or stainless steel drawer.  I emptied out the flatware on the counter removed all six dividers, it is a wide drawer, washed them well, dried them, and arrayed them around the counter to dry completely.  Then I went about my day without going into the kitchen again until I fed KoKo his dinner at 5pm.  What a surprise to see all that stuff on the counter!  I had completely forgotten to go back and finish the job.   So, I replaced the dividers, sorted the flatware, put it back in the proper places, took a photo, closed the drawer, went in to sit down and play with KoKo for a while.  Big job done!  

Now, some might say why does a single old lady who doesn't entertain need all that flatware.   I don't, but it isn't bothering me to have it in the drawer.  What would it be like to open that big, wide drawer and see only six knife, fork, spoon sets?  Silly.  There are pieces there that belonged to my mother and grandmother, though not stainless steel, and they remind me of those long gone ladies whenever I see them.  That is worth something to me.  So, I will try another drawer and see what I might pass on to the Salvation Army, but maybe I will just keep it all.  To remind me of the past, perhaps.  The official organizers say if I haven't used something in a year I should get rid of it.  But they don't live in my house, nor does anyone else!  So, I will keep things as memories, even if I never use them again.   If I have ten years left I might get through every closet, cupboard, drawer, etc. before I'm gone.  But I doubt it.  Pity the poor people who come after me to clean it all out.  I should make a larger effort, right? 

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Procrastination 08-25-18

Time goes by so fast that I am continually amazed at what I have not done!  Ten years ago with the help of my friend Liz, I started organizing my sewing room/studio/catch-all space.  This picture was taken during that process.  All the bags and the big pile of fabric are scraps.  Liz teased me that every other bag, basket, box, and drawer was full of scraps.  I did disperse some of them, but still have way more than I will every be able to use.  Salvation Army in San Diego has a program where they collect fabric and thread scraps and sell them to "jobbers" who eventually sell them to manufactures for paper making, stuffing various objects, making insulation, all sorts of things.  I have checked around locally, but no Salvation Army facility near me has a similar program.  So, when I drive to San Diego next time, I am going to stuff my car with scraps and gift them to the Salvation Army down there.  One year they gained over $50,000 just from scraps.  Hope they will be happy to have them. 

Although my sewing space doesn't look like this anymore, it actually looks worse because I never put things away.  I need to apply myself - soon.  It seems there is always something more pressing, or interesting, going on.  Woe is I. 

If you have scraps you want to do something with you could make some fabric twine to use for tying packages or....  whatever. 

https://mypoppet.com.au/makes/scrapbusting-handmade-scrap-fabric-twine/

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Friday Food on Saturday! 08-11-18

I don't know why I missed posting last night.  I didn't go to bed early.  I was still sorting yesterday and again today and managed to clean out six boxes.  So, I'm making progress.  I repeat - "get busy and organized your stuff, lest you get hit by a bus."  Of course, it will take me months to wade through my mess.  So I shouldn't be admonishing anyone else!

Crusted sturgeon w/risotto, asparagus and coleslaw at Hops - Kalispell, MT  06-06-12

The first and only time I have eaten sturgeon, it was fantastic, but it isn't something I usually see on menus.  This small restaurant in Kalispell was a real find and I ate there several times during the week I was there.  When I returned in a later year the place was still called Hops, but it was an entirely different menu.

 Salmon in caper sauce - Lunch at Solare - SDiego  02-01-13 

In looking through my photo files I find that I mostly have pictures of sushi, sashimi, or cooked fish.  I usually do eat fish when I am out because I don't do a good job of cooking it myself.  When a friend and I were on a road trip she finally asked me if I was going to eat salmon every day.  My answer, "If I can!".  And I did.  

I should have taken a picture!

This was a special day at my house.  The Salvation Army came and took away a pile of "stuff".  I tend to not put away, give away, throw away, much of anything.  So, there are piles of stuff sitting here and there and occupying drawers and cupboards all over the house.  Not including the "workroom", which is the living room and dining room of my house - it is the biggest mess of all!  And I didn't tackle that - yet.

But last week I called and set up an appointment to have the SArmy truck come.  So, I had to get some boxes and fill them with things I no longer use, but other people might pay money for.  There were several computer bags that I found unsatisfactory, a box of books the 2nd hand bookshop didn't want,  a large box of men's socks that are the last remnant of my late husband's clothing and have remained in his dresser all these years, a box of dishes my aunt sent me because they had originally belonged to my mother (they came from detergent boxes in the 1940s), all sorts of bowls, vases, candle holders, decorative cookie tins, a few clothes I have never worn and a bunch of other "stuff".  I felt so good about it I had to call a friend and tell her.  So proud of myself. 

My mental health has not been great the past year, but I may have started just the right combination of antidepressants and think that I am feeling more positive and active.   If you haven't had Depression you can't understand how it undermines one's daily life.

I hope this is the beginning of a huge "dig out".  At 79 I know that reducing my possessions is an important thing to do.  It might take me years - groan.

 

This is the late Corky who I nannied for 16 years.  He is helping me quilt!

He was very different than KoKo.  I miss him still. 

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Fabric excess 08-19-08

There is still lots of fabric stashed in unknown places around my house. As I mentioned before, I have been sewing and quilting for a lot of years and I am a saver (NOT a hoarder:>)))). Liz is tackling her own house and just cleared out her kitchen and had it painted, including cupboards inside and out. So, she is not here to crack the whip and I tend to do a lot of lolly gagging. So, it will take a lot more time to get everything reorganized. Right now I have so many boxes of stuff to dispose of that I need to do some disposing before I can pile up more boxes. I have five boxes of fabric suitable for children's quilts in the van to deliver to a guild philanthropic project. But still another ten file boxes I hope to contribute to the BCQG Xmas sale and auction. A little early, but maybe someone on the committee will be willing to store them for a few months. Then I can fill up more boxes to follow those boxes. Although this is all quality quilting fabric some of it is forty years old w/colors and prints that are currently out-of-style. I hope someone can use them.

Simple things 08-08-08

The only things I have to write about tonight are things that will surely only be exciting to me! The painter has completed the siding and the stucco and will start on the white trim tomorrow. There is LOTS of trim and, as you know, it takes longer because of the masking required. However, the grey color is perfect.

Jeff, the painter, asked me what color to paint the weather vane which is original to the house. Previously it was dark green to match the shutters, which will not be reinstalled. I told him a medium blue and left it to him. He chose this lovely pale sky blue - looks great against the blue California sky and I really like it. It will probably disappear when the sky is grey, but that's okay - I'll still like it. Notice the mourning dove on the roof peak over the garage, he was there when I went out and still there when I came back in - just coo-coo-cooooooing away.

Another REALLY exciting event was that I found my checkbook! With moving things around and putting things temporarily in boxes, it had just disappeared. I knew it had to be here because I don't ever carry it, it always stays at home. It was, of all places in a basket that I had filled with a small project that I might work on if I watched TV. But I haven't had the time or energy to do that for weeks until tonight when I thought I would watch the opening events of the Olympics. Out came the basket and there was the checkbook. I can only guess that it fell in accidentally when I put the basket in the office to get it out of the way while we were moving stuff. Simple things can be exciting!

The Cutting Table 08-01-08

I'm still moving things around in my house. When Liz and I cleared off my cutting table (which I haven't cut on for at least ten years), removing boxes, baskets, stacks of fabric and mysterious plastic bags, she told me I should take a picture of it, in case I never cleared it off again! So, I did.

My husband made this wonderful ash table top for me about thirty years ago. It sits on top of a dresser and a two-by-four 'structure' set back to back. It is the perfect height for me and I never get a backache when I am cutting on it. The suitcases no longer have a home, so I am trying to find space in a closet for them.

Within a few days we had moved all the quilts from the guest bed to the cutting table. All of these quilts will not fit on the shelves because of their width.

Here is a view of the shelves w/rolled quilts stored. The shelves are only forty-six inches wide and there is no way to make them wider. I'm still trying to think of a way to roll the large quilts and store them on shelves. Thinking, thinking, thinking!

I hope you were able to access and enjoy the pictures from Quilt Festival Long Beach for which I posted the Web Album URL on yesterday's blog. Let me know if you have trouble viewing it, Picasa seems to be experiencing some problems. If they would only stop making changes!

All of the Quilt Festival pictures 07-31-08

Without know how I did it, I managed to get all the Quilt Festival - LBeach pictures on one album. I wonder if I will ever be able to repeat this feat of almost magic in the future. You can see all of them at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/DELQLTS/QuiltFestivalLongBeachCA072708?authkey=yll2yUpTJSE

The captions, naturally, are all my very own opinions. I didn't take as many pictures as I usually do at a QShow, but not because there weren't other wonderful quilts. I had six hours on Friday, about two hours on Saturday and I only went back on Sunday to retake a few images. I was going to visit Corky and his parents at their house in SE LBeach.

Liz was here today - cracking her whip again! Boy, I wish I had her energy! We drove some old paint and chemicals to the toxic waste collection place, which was a good thing because I REALLY needed to sit down. We also dumped all the scraps out on a sheet on the new workroom floor and pulled some bags of all one color - red, green, blue, yellow, etc. There are too many scraps to go in one big bag - it would probably weigh as much as Miss Chunky! And I doubt that I could even pick her up. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25937546/

Loaded shelves and scraps 07-19-08

Boxes of fabric filling the shelves. There are fifty-four large boxes and fifteen small. And some miscellaneous baskets and paper boxes. So neat and tidy. Will I ever be willing to mess it up? Will I ever be able to find anything? I will need to buy two more of the extra large boxes like the one on the very top shelf which is where the batting will live.

What is left over is scraps - piles, baskets, boxes and bags. I think I will just divide them up into three bags and donate them for the Beach Cities Quilters Guild Xmas auction in December. I did this about a decade ago and it was a popular item on the silent auction tables. There are other 'scrappers' out there!

Shelves complete at last 07-14-08

The last shelving unit went up rather quickly. It might be we learned enough on the first two - or maybe we are just lucky. If there ever is a next time, I'll pay someone to do it!

LOOK, we emptied three large boxes and two small ones. With the exception of one box of orange fabric on the left, all the bags under this table are full of scraps! I am addicted to saving scraps, if not to doing something with them.

However, in emptying the boxes we made new stacks of fabrics - like this box of lights with an equal number of lights sorted on to the top. Even after culling it will still make two boxes - you can never have enough lights.

Here are three boxes of 'motifs' which I have been collecting for decades! I do use some of them, but I still intend to make at least two 'I Spy' quilts. As you can see I have enough piled on top to fill another box - more culling.

Liz was here all day today again, still cracking the whip, is there another friend in all the world who is so kind and helpful? In addition to organizing we have enjoyed talking fabrics and colors and designs and sharing laughter, but she still won't make any decisions for me! My brain is very tired tonight.

Still at it! 07-13-08

This is how we left it when we quit on Friday. I was honestly on my last leg and Liz had to get home to fix her husband some dinner.

Corky checked out what we had done. He looks a little bewildered, doesn't he? Poor guy didn't get a lot of lovin' that day, but I made up for it today.

What he likes to do most of all at my house is lay on the hot cement patio. Even when the air temp is in the high 90s - and the cement must be at least ten degrees hotter. Occasionally he has come in by himself, but usually I have to pick him up and carry him in the house. He is one HOT dog.

I took him back to his house today and also went to the Container Store to replace a set of poles. We couldn't keep the fitting that holds up the shelf from sliding down and decided there was something wrong with that one pole. We had put two shelving units together, what was with this third one? We'll try again tomorrow - with a different set of poles.

A Birthday and Organizing 07-11-08

Liz's birthday is July 11th and I bought her a birthday cake from one of my favorite bakeries, "Creative Cakes" in Long Beach. This one is carrot cake and is decorated in their usual flamboyant style. Unfortunately, Liz could not come today, so we will celebrate one day late - tomorrow.

Liz Williams in the mustard fields off I-5 at Lost Hills - April 2006

I think this is a great picture of Liz - she is always ready for an 'adventure', so one year we were coming home from Asilomar and the wild mustard was glorious. We decided we needed a closer look, exited I-5 and found a road that wandered off through the fields. We just walked around taking pictures and looking at the different plants. Nice memory.

Here are the extra shelves and another shelving unit strapped down in the back of the van. I picked them up yesterday, but haven't taken them out yet because there is no place to put them right now. I had to move some things around for the termite guy and he moved even more things. I hope this takes care of the termites for a long time. Liz and I will unload and, it is to be hoped, assemble everything tomorrow.

Corky is here until Sunday night. Right now he is disgusted because I am not in bed. He doesn't sleep in/on the bed, but I think he wants me in it so that he can keep an eye on me.

One shelf unit up 07-09-08

Liz came this morning at 8:30 and we worked flat out until 4pm. We did stop for pastrami sandwiches with the meat left from the sandwich I bought at The Hat yesterday. They put so much meat in each portion that I can get four meals out of one sandwich. And it is such GOOD pastrami.

Two people are definitely needed to erect the shelf unit - three would probably be better. We managed six shelves, but only four come with each unit, so I need to go back and buy four more shelves. And I might buy another unit - three will fit across the wall. And I THINK the three will hold all the boxes except a few very special project boxes I will keep under a table. I even did some 'culling' and you see an empty box on the top shelf next to the batting box. Of course, the sorting table I showed in a previous post is still covered with piles of fabric divided by color. And there are several other large piles of fabric here and there. But I have vowed to not buy more boxes, so I will be doing serious culling.

My brain is not functioning this evening, it is striped raw by all the decision making I had to do today. That Liz, she is a big help, but she refuses to make decisions for me. Not nice, eh? And my body is weary. So, off to bed, only to face another marathon tomorrow. But without Liz, so I might be able to have a little sitting down time.

Bad Habits 07-07-08

Sometimes I think I have more bad habits than the average person! Especially now when I am faced with all the junk I keep - forever! One REALLY bad habit is pinning things to walls. I have three in the dining room, which is where I sew, and one in the front hall next to the door. I can't remember when I last cleared them off - probably a decade. After all, nobody comes in my house except the plumber once every year or so. But now I must take everything down and make some decisions about keeping or disposing. And where shall I put what I keep?

This wall is home to half a dozen small quilts waiting to be quilted and also lots of 'special fabric'. Like the piece in the top middle - red and white striped fish with blue tails on a black ground. I love this fabric, but I haven't found the perfect place for it. In the lower left corner are a few San Blas Indian patches someone gave to me - wonderful birds.

On another narrow wall are these orange fabrics. I love orange and keep thinking I will make an orange quilt. I've shared cuts of different oranges with fellow guild members, but they actually MAKE the quilts.

This is truly a junk wall. There are a couple ribbons from shows, a postcard from the "Put A Roof Over Our Heads" (the Alliance fund raiser last year) and below it a great fabric I got in a grab bag somewhere, higher up is a funky angel I made a few years ago with waxed thread hair that fans out beautifully and, at the very top, a photo of a quilted car cover that was displayed at a number of quilting events some years ago.

This is a narrow wall behind the front door with mostly gifts that people have given me. And a few things that I purchased - the exotic lady on the left made by doll maker extraordinary Judy Hasselkus of Mission Viejo, CA, and the three little lapel dolls by Debra Lunn. The flamingo is actually a coin purse - a sort of "in" joke from a friend.

I know I need to set aside an entire day to de-pin my walls - an awful lot of decisions. Corky has gone home and Liz with be here on Wednesday, so things should get moving again - rapidly, not at a snail's pace as they have been this past week.

Discoveries 07-06-08

I have experienced this before and I know that many of you have also. When cleaning out for any reason after a long period of collecting stuff, I run across things I don't remember. Usually the brain sorts it out and I remember what, when , why... etc. But sometimes not.

A few weeks ago I talked a little about fabrics that fade and here is another good example. This fabric is a commercially patched Indian Madras plaid. I don't remember where I bought it, but I have had this problem with Madras before. I made this vest (my favorite one - ever) in early 1996. I knew it had faded, but I didn't realize how much. Today I was consolidating some bags of scraps and came across the piece on the right. Although I have been wearing the vest for twelve years I didn't immediately recognize the scrap - it did look familiar. The vest has had a lot of sun and many washings, so I shouldn't be surprised, but I am.

Here is the vest and the scrap in a closeup. Wow! I guess I need to retire the vest which I have patched many times, but never with the original fabric.

I haven't completely identified this piece with thread painting on a batik print. I do vaguely remember doing this, but not why I did it or what I intended it for. I believe the idea was looking up at the sky through winter bare branches. After looking carefully at the location of the safety pin, I can see that I missed a double back on one of the branches and guess I marked it so I could redo it.

In the folder there was a strip from another quilt that I finished in 2002. So, I suppose I did this that same year. I have improved my control, but I'll never be an expert at thread painting. I've put this with my unfinished projects.... Box 3, I believe. That I should live so long!

No Shelves! 07-05-08

Sorry, I thought I would have a pictures of assembled shelves, but I discovered I cannot "DIY" and need someone to hold two uprights while I arrange the first shelf. And nobody much was home today. Just Corky and me. Maybe I can catch someone tomorrow after they return from church or wherever they have been over the weekend.

Racks for fabric boxes 07-04-08

Yesterday, before I picked up the Poodle Prince, I bought some racks that I hope will hold the plastic boxes of fabric. I didn't want to fasten anything to the walls since the living room will now be my workroom.

Here are four poles 74" high, there is another set of four elsewhere.

And here are eight shelves - I suspect I will have to buy additional shelves because I don't want to stack more that two boxes high on the shelves.

Tomorrow I will see if I can assemble these things by myself. If not, I can always ask one of the neighbors for help. I have great neighbors who are always willing to lend a hand and they also keep track of me since I live alone. I have a healthy fear of falling off a ladder and waiting for someone to discover me - which is why I always have my cell phone in my pocket. The old "plan ahead" mindset.

Organizing 06-30-08

I have been working at 'digging out' all day and feel that I haven't accomplished anything. I imagine that is because there is so much to do that I hardly make a dent with one day's work.

The one thing that I actually finished today is this little pillow for the Poodle Prince. His old one came apart in the washer a few weeks ago and he does like to have a pillow. I sewed the cover together last weekend and today I stuffed it and sewed it closed. It felt so good to actually be sewing something. Even something as small as this. Tomorrow I hope to sew some cut squares together and free up a design board.

Organizing 06-26-08

Another organizing day. Liz came around 9am (with coffee from Starbucks!) and we worked hard until about 3pm. It is amazing how much more room there is when things are put in some sort of order. Today we worked on the massive fabric collection.

I have always been fond of baskets and use them to organize and to tote things around. I also fill them up with 'stuff' and then never get back to empty them and put things away. All of these baskets were emptied today - now I need a place just for the baskets!

Just look - there is a carpet on the floor! With all the stuff piled all over it was hard to tell. On the right are all my portable design boards - each with an unfinished project. I store my fabric in Sterilite 32gal plastic boxes - full of fabric they are just about all I can lift.

There is a different color in each box and the boxes against the wall have all been tidied and are filled to capacity. The smaller boxes on the right front have yet to be sorted. I use these boxes when I go to workshops. Unfortunately, when I get home I rarely find time to empty them until the next time I need an empty box to prepare for another workshop!

This is our sorting table in front of the fireplace. Stacked by color the fabrics are moved into the appropriate color box. Just look at that nice stack of lights on the upper right - like most quilters I have too few light fabrics in my 'Fabric Library'. I have separated out some lights for a special box in the hope that I can find a light when I need one.

Of course, I have not 'culled' much yet. We decided it was better to sort by color first, then I will go through and pull fabrics to be given away. Liz can't help me with that part! But she has a class tomorrow so perhaps I can do some culling... and empty a box or two. Unseen in these pictures are about twenty more boxes that need to be tidied and culled - enough fabric for two lifetimes! I am possessed by a surfeit of fabric.