It’s Official

It’s official, I will not die with the biggest quilting fiber stash.  I told John today that I would make face masks until we no longer needed them or I run out of fiber. After listening to Bill Gates speak on television tonight it might be as long as 18 months.  So much for traveling in our retirement.

Tomorrow marks the lasted change in our life’s.  The proposed craft room will be a long term temporary pantry complete with a small freezer.  I am sure we can convince the fiber to get along with the pantry supplies.

I have a big day of sewing and remodeling planned for tomorrow so it’s time to get some sleep.

Goodbye 2015

It has been a very busy and sometimes hectic year around here.  We finished our kitchen remodel. We finished the craft room remodel. We did a lot of decluttering.  Teri thought the house looked like it did 20 years ago with the exception of the new kitchen. A few dozen items were knit for charity.  All in all I think we had a good year despite a few bumps in the road. I would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy 2016.  

A Finishing Touch

Today Mike Levy from The Blind Guys here in Tucson installed our new Hunter Douglas Vignette Modern Roman Shades with the new Power View Motorization. The instlation went very smoothly and they fit the space to perfection.  The pebble is easy to use and we can even use or pads and phones to adjust the blinds. 

But I need to digress for a moment. John did our homework. He researched every Hunter Douglas shop in Tucson. We interviewed 3 Hunter Douglas shops in Tucson before we picked out The Blind Guys. We are very happy with the results. Durning the day the fabric has a red brown color and at night it looks more brown. 

The smaller blind is run off a battery pack.  The larger blind is running off an AC plug.  All that is left to do is to take down the curtain rods from the last window coverings, that will be done after our vist with Teri is over. 

I would like to make it very clear the we did not receive any condersition from either the Hunter Douglas Company or The Blind Guys.  The money for the  blinds came out of the money we budgeted for the kitchen remodel.  

On another note just when I thought I was over with the deep cleaning, I found more things to recycle. I am also making another trip to Goodwill this weekend. It seems to easier to get rid of things that we don't need anymore. 

Finished

Eric's bathroom is finished the faucet and pop up drain were put in today.  

A Place for Projects

John spent part of the weekend putting up a shelf in the craft room for me.  I filled it up with projects waiting to be started. It took me less time to fill up the shelf then for John to install it.  I think I have enough projects to keep me knitting for a while.   By moving some of my projects off the first rack, I have more room for larger items on the first rack.   

Slowly things are either finding their way to a better place or out the door. We finished the rest of our Bookmans runs today. The rest of the books will go to Goodwill on Friday along with a few other boxes. 

More Progress

Today I started out very early. I emptied 4 more boxes. Then found homes for most of it. A number of things made it into the Goodwill Box. Some even made it in the trash, it was beyond reuse. I now have a diaper box of things ready to go.  Amber also came over and started packing up the living room.  I know it's really weird. I am unpacking the kitchen stuff and she is packing up the living room stuff. This is to get ready for the next stage of remodel. The new carpet in the living room.  After lunch we went through my shoes, there is a good reason for this. Ambers fiancés unit at the base is having a shoe drive. So John and I gave Amber 27 pairs of shoes for the shoe drive.  Yes most of them were mine. No I will never get back into the Aa and A width shoes.  I have lost enough weight so that the wide shoes no longer fit.  So the bright side of this is, the shoes will find new homes, and I have more room in the garage and my closet.  This is what 27 pairs of shoes looks like. Yes that is a large outdoor trash can bag.  

Patching and Painting

Today the master bathroom and sitting room wall were patched and painted.  I have the before pictures but not the after pictures. The paint fumes were to strong.  They did not use the low fume paint as requested.  I think I will be sleeping in the den to escape the fumes.  

I found one shelf missing when I went to put away today's boxes.  So the work planned for today did not happen.  The bright side of that is that we are all sick and it gave me time to rest a little more. I think that we will all be laying low until Monday.  

More Progress

John got the painting finished today. He got tired of waiting for the contractor to finish. I was trusted to help label the cables for the electronics. Then this evening he and a couple of friends moved the tv to the other side of the room. 

Peeling Away the Decades

Today I spent cleaning the craft room and bookshelfs. Surprisingly by just putting 8 inches of old books in the Bookman's box, it felt like a big weight has been lifted.  They were all books about parenting a child with disabilities. How to get through individual education plans and how the various diagnosis would affect our life's.  Now that Eric is an adult they are no longer needed. 

I then went on through the piles that got moved into the craft room at the beginning of the remodel. A lot of things were just dumped in mass n the floor.  So every single item was gone through one by one. This is the type of cleaning that I hate with a passion. Magazines are being sorted. Books are coming off the shellfs with books that I want to read being put on the shellfs.  The before and after pictures don't show much progress today, but you can see more carpet. 

A Bad Ear Day

Not much got done today. I did finish the bookcase, but ran out of steam. I did spend part of the day dealing with an ear infection and will slow down for a few days.  I would also like to say go Candy, you can do it too. Candy is following my lead in redoing her craft room.  I can't wait to she her vision of her "new" craft room. 

1975 and More

Today was spent doing laundry, I only had 7 loads today. All but the last 3 are finished and put away.   One of the loads was the last 2 rag rugs for the sale on the 21st of October at the Tucson JCC to benefit the Taglit program. All I have to do is trim the little bits and pieces.  I also finished one scarf and started another scarf.  

The big news of the day is that I started working on the next phase of the remodel, yes I know the kitchen is not finished yet.  I am so excited that my craft room is our very next project, that I started working on that project today.   While I was sewing the edging of the rag rugs it occurred to me that I had a whole lot of cake decorating patterns that were so politically incorrect that they had to go. Don't get me wrong, they were ok to make in the mid 1970's, but this is not the 1970's anymore.   So I gained a whole 5 inches of shelf space back.  Yes, they were recycled. It may not sound like much, but it is a start.  

Rumor has it that the rest of the cabinets and the granite are arriving tomorrow.  

Electrical and More

Today work continued on the electrical work. The wall was partially opened and the plumbing was started.  Three layers of lenolium were also removed.  John and I traded off spending the day with Eric in his room, because he had the day off.  

Be Careful How You Ask For Things

Yesterday Eric had me up at 4 am, because he kicked his covers off and was cold. So I asked Eric last night before he went to sleep not to wake me up at 4 am again. He followed my instructions to a 

T.   He did not wake me up at 4 am, but instead at 3 am with the wild eyrps.  Yes, I know it was not 4 am and that being eyrpy is just a fact of life. I still wonder if I had said don't wake me up before 6 am if the results would have been different?

On the bright side, I am caught up with all the eyrpy laundry at the moment. I also got to sneak out of the house for 30 minutes to pick up a Brugers Bagle breakfast sandwich and a cuppa tea.  I also picked up a hot Starbucks treat too, so that I am in the tea this morning.  It still won't be enough to keep me awake, but it's a start. Did I mention that it started raining at 7 am? And because Eric is sick today, that I will not have to get Eric and his chair from the car to his day program while trying to keep us and the chair dry.  

So today I will knit and do finishing work. Then I will count rows in the finished basket for the one million row challenge on Raverly. Then try to get as much as possible in plastic bags and containers because the demolition on the kitchen starts Thursday morning.  So anything I don't want to be dusty will have to be in the craft room or in plastic containers. Yes, I will take you along for the  journey, sometimes with just pictures.  

On the Road to Recovery

Eric is doing better. He is back on formula again.  To say it was a rough week is an understatement.  I hope I really get time to recharge before Eric gets sick again.  I really hate being to tired to move or knit at the end of the day.  

We picked out the kitchen counter for the remodel today.  Now all I need to do is finish packing up the kitchen and guest bathroom. Empty the pantry floor.  Get the rest of the stuff ordered. Easy peasy, I think.  

Well I have more to say, but I am just too tired to type anymore.  

Sunday / Monday Morning

As I write this, I am waiting for the asthma meds to kick in for Eric.  I am hoping that it is only post viral asthma, so that I have time to clean Teri's room this week. Not to mention make a few rugs, some spinning and other knitting.  Possibly even weaving a few scarfs.  Maybe even a few errands.  

Today I almost finished one rag rug and was disappointed that I still have enough supplies for one more rug.  So I will warp the loom as soon as I get this rug off the loom. Hopefully I will be finished and deliver this project before Friday.  

I am also hoping to have another cabinet mostly emptied sometime this week.  We are getting a little closer to getting the kitchen project started with each passing day.  We don't have the new cabinets and drawers yet, but plans are being made as to what each one will hold.  So my hope is that with more storage space and less stuff, I will become more organized.  

Since it is almost 2 am and Eric appears to be settling down, just maybe it is time for a short nap before I start my day at 6 am. I am not sure weather to say good night or good morning so take your pick.  

Unusaly Good

Yesterday was an extraordinary day in my Etsy shop. I have sold out of all of my hand spun yarn. So last night I started spinning more. It will take me a few days to restock. I will be making skeins with more yardage, so if you have a color preference please let me know. Also let me know if you want some art yarn, as the majority of the skeins that I have spun never made it past my Tuesday knitting group.

Things have reached a new level of crazy and will get crazier around here. We are redoing the kitchen. The memories of the last remodel project 6 1/2 years ago is fading. So we are taking the plunge again. This time I have a bit more time so I will be decluttering the kitchen as I pack it up. I hope to get rid of things that I do not use or don't know why I have them. There will be some exceptions of course like my grandmothers grinder, I have good memories of her using it. My cake decorating supplies will also be off the chopping block for the most part. I still do make an occasional cake. I just wonder what I have hiding in the backs of the cabinets after 21 years in this house. Just maybe with more cabinets and less clutter everything will fit into my cabinets once we finish.

I need to go get ready for tomorrow.