Living in Tucson

 There are a lot of great things about living inTucson besides the nice spring and summer weather.  One of them is Bookman’s.  Bookman’s is an old favorite. It was the place to exchange things like books, music and a whole assortment of fun things. It was fully linked to the sustainability issue long before it became an issue.  It was a place I took the kids to exchange their books for new to them books. If they got an album that they did not like they could exchange it for something else.  I even pick up the odd arts and crafts supplies.  

For the last several years I have been using Bookman’s as a part of my house decluttering efforts.  I bring Bookman’s things like books, old jewelry, and other things.  In return I take store credit.  I pick up the occasional book, but mainly I get cool socks for the children’s clothing bank that I knit for.  The picture below is from the store credit I got from today’s trade. 

The other thing that is really special about Tucson is the yearly Gem and Mineral Showcase.  It takes place from late January to mid February.  It is one of the largest shows of this kind in the world.  Some of the shows are wholesale only. Others are open to the public.   We occasionally go to the public shows.  We get to see all kinds of all things lapidary. From raw rocks to highly facilitated gems.  

I occasionally get supplies for stitch markers and earrings. Sometimes jewelry findings.  Yesterday I got 5 charms to make one of a kind stitch markers for myself.  I pretty sure these won’t be at Joann’s or Michael’s anytime soon. I have even been know to buy some earrings. 

Now it’s time to go do some knitting.  

Allergies Part 3

 I was not able to get the perfume residue out of 2 pairs of my sleeping gloves aka my design,  Maxi Fingerless Gloves.  Also victim to this perfume problem was my sleeping sweater.  I tried everything until it was suggested that I make new sleeping gloves. I have a pair that needs to be seamed up. I have also pulled some worsted weight yarn from Misti Cotton, a beautiful cotton and silk blend. Then a special collaboration between Lola Bean Yarn and Spin Cycle Yarn in a worsted weight wool yarn.  

I have a solution for the sweater too  I have lost enough weight and inches to pull an older but still very nice sweater from my closet. Which means that everything old is new again at some point in time.  The only thing the sweater from my closet does not have is visible mending.  Maybe a few years down the road this will happen to this sweater too..

The decision was made tonight to put the charity knitting aside until I finish the new gloves and a couple of shawls that are works in progress for me.  The shawls will come with new patterns for you.  

It has been raining here for 2 days so far.  We have gotten 1 1/2 inches at the house so far. So instead of errands I spent the time finishing up my closet.  Today I found a bunch of earrings. I sorted them out to keepers and Bookman’s trade.  Since I don’t want to overwhelm them I will take in 6 pairs at a time.  I say this because I went through 50+ years of earrings.  I bet that you are not surprised that most of the earrings that I got in Junior High and High School did not make the keep pile. In fact a lot of really retro earrings are going to be leaving the house slowly for the next couple of months.  

Busy is Good

 I had a busy day today.  I traded in some books for store credit at Bookman’s on Speedway. I used my credit to add 4 more pairs of socks to my charity project for next winter.  Then I dropped off the ai fryer we decided not to keep to a local charity Youth on Their Own.  Then it was off to lunch and knitting with a friend.  

Four dog pillows got stuffed and all I need to do is seam them up.  Then one of us will drop the pillows of at the animal shelter.  I am on the last 3/4 of an inch on a hat before I start the crown.  I am not going to update you on all my works in progress, but there are quite a few.

Tomorrow I need to do the laundry that I ignored all week. Then some general house cleaning and organizing.  Just maybe I can fill another couple of bags to take to Bookman’s on River.  I probably need to start another goodwill box too.  

Have a happy and productive day.  

Yeah for Zenning

More stuff gone. Today I filled the entire back of my car with socks, hats, books and bibs for a charity run. Then when John came home we filled it again for a Bookman’s run tomorrow. Yeah for Zenning. Less stuff. Did I mention that I also filled and entire box for Bookman’s today while I was putting other things away?

Family Time

I am really enjoying some much needed family time.  This first holiday season without Eric is a lot rougher than I thought it would be and I knew it was going to be very hard.  To alleviate some of the stress I have been cleaning and purging stuff.  I also have some extra help which is nice.  I see a few Bookman’s and Goodwill runs in our future.

I have also been working on the blanket pattern that got sidelined when Eric went into hospice. I am almost done knitting the “wings”. Then just 4 corner blocks and the crochet edging.  Figuring out the yardage. Pictures and typing up the pattern.

Since I did not sleep well last night, I am going to bed early.

The Word of the Day is Zenning

As more stuff leaves the house, the house seems bigger to me.  Yes, the house is the same size, but there is less clutter.  We are now entering the less is more stage of our lives.  I am sure that this will bring great joy to Teri too.

I have found stores of odd things like toilet paper buried deep in the back of a cabinet behind swim towels. This was my before breakfast Zenning project.  I now have a bag of old but still usable towels that will make its way to the animal shelter.  I found 3/4 of a bolt of fabric for Eric projects that has been cut into dog pillows size pieces. Now to find the black thread and start making pillows. I think I have enough scraps for at least 6. After 6 I will have to go buy more poly fill.  I wonder if I can fill the whole center section of the van with pillows?

I have the next Bookman’s run ready to go.  I also have the next bag for Goodwill ready.  I think I need more large trash bags too.    I have a huge pile of books to go to Flowing Wells School District. The bibs are next.  That will make 1 whole shelf available for John.  I have a hard time reaching it unless I am in high heels.  I wonder why I waited so long to do this shelf.  No, not really.

Once I am through with this round of Zenning,I will start the major reorganization of the house. I will also get my hat patterns written.  Wish me luck.

In A Rut

I have to admit that I am still having a rough patch right now. Although going away for the Thanksgiving weekend to hang out with Teri and Tej helped a lot. I loved their new couch.  As soon as I sat down I was sleeping. I am sure I needed the sleep as the general comments were that family members have not seen me sleep so much in years.

I am still trying to deep clean the house 5 minutes at a time. I need to do another Bookman’s run. I have a whole lot of errands and all the time in the world, but none of the energy. People tell me that this will take time.

I did get the loom warped tonight..my only plan for the design is to use up the yarn currently on the shuttle’s. I got a little over 3 inches woven tonight. I also got the bead out to make some earrings.

Projects 75 to 99

The next 15 projects include 12 hats and 3 scarfs.  They all went to The Flowing Wells School District Clothing Bank.  There are also 18 pairs of socks that I got from trade in credit at Bookman’s.

3 UFO’s From 2016

This month I will try to finish 3 modular baby blankets that were started in the spring of 2016. This should be an easy endeavor because I only have to count every other row. I also love modular knitting.  I will add a crochet edging. I will also be writing up the pattern as most of my notes are ready to be typed.

As I finish  projects they will go into a box for gifts.  Right now there seems to be something in the water at Eric’s day program.  I think I will need a few baby blankets in the next year.  

I also managed to go through my knitting books today. I filled another bag for Bookman’s. So far I have cleared 12 inches of shelf space. I still have several shelves and a foot high pile of book covering a dresser.  I am still following the book Zenning in 5 minuets a day. I am trying to curate my knitting books to keep the ones most relevant to me, instead of getting every book as they come out.  The exception will be books authored  by friends.  Less is more.