Dear Jen update

There is nothing to report about progress in the office except that I did deal with a few things sitting on the floor beside my chair. I must get that pile dealt with before I dig into one of the containers on either the filing cabinet or the desk. I'm excited to tackle one, but I had three Zooms yesterday and two today, and there was a wee bit of prep involved. 

All the homework except one email is done, and the two presentations are ready today. Yep -- I'm trying very hard to keep on top of things. 

I have a pattern to finish writing this afternoon, and the coming week is devoted to writing and quilting quilts. But I'm sure I'll be able to sneak a few 20-minute sessions in between those tasks. 

Here's another trick I've been working on to help decluttering: visualization. Yes - I can visualize myself working on the sorting. I have it all laid out in my head, and whether it works out that way or not, I see the process. I even see the box of paper on its way to be shredded! And trust me - I want it done. I'm tired of seeing it, I'm sure you're tired of me talking about it, and it's time to put the paper mess to bed. I'll continue dealing with the paper until it's all under control. Well, that is a BIG dream, but they say to dream big! 

Once I'm done with the desktop, a "few" small boxes of paper are stashed in the cupboards here, so those will get dug out. I'll leave the odds and ends for later. Let's get the paper under control. That's my goal, and I WANT IT DONE! 

And remember that quote from yesterday. 

A quote to live by

And here's something to add to that. Do you realize that you are also the master of your happiness? If you're not happy, what can you do to change that? That's a topic that we don't have time for today. 

Here are my blocks from the Dear Jen quilt. I was a bit disheartened when I put these few blocks on the wall a couple of days ago. Instead of creating a checkerboard of light and dark backgrounds, it looked like a hodgepodge. But I'm trying to work with busy prints for the background. How can I rescue these blocks?  

A hodgepodge of Dear Jen blocks

They were more likable as I finished additional blocks and put them on the wall, arranging them in light/dark checkerboard fashion. 

This looks better

 It will be a busy quilt, and I may put a tiny solid black sashing between the blocks. I still need to audition for that. I aim to make two of each block, although I have three versions of one block. The block is the same; it's just that the construction method was a bit different for all three. And I need to switch around the top left block - the colors are inverted! DUH!!! But I still have seven blocks to make this month to complete my homework. Then it'll be time to work on the next round of blocks because in December, all four classes fall on the same day, and if I wait to finish the homework, it'll kill me! 

I may also remove a few of the busier black-on-white prints, as they are messing up my light/dark pattern. I have lots to work with, so no problem there. 

This morning, I was working on another block; this is all you can see. 

Trimming a block this morning

We started this project yesterday. Thankfully, it's a small quilt, 15" by 20", more or less. I've been intrigued by the darn patterns for a while, and well, now is the time to work on them. It's really quite simple, but the fabric requirements are crazy. I think there are 69 different fabrics in this piece. 

Legit Kits

Rather than buy a kit with so much extra fabric in it, I'm using my stash—or, I should say, my scraps. So this happened on my nice, clean ironing surface. 

Some of my pink scraps

 I'll sort and organize that later today or tomorrow. Then everything has to be labeled, and I can start to paper piece. I can't wait to get started! I'll be using solids and prints mixed together. 

Speaking of getting organized, I told Miss Murphy that she had better get herself together. She has TWO toy boxes in the office. Does she need two? So I dumped them both out, and we're sorting. Most of it will go in the garbage. We'll decide which of the boxes to keep. 

Mom -- decluttering is so boring!!! 

The good news is that she gets to go to Petsmart and pick out a couple of new toys! She's excited about that but not too keen on helping me sort. I kept her teddy bears and will find the old ones in the backyard and toss them, as they are thoroughly disgusting now. 

We noticed these signs in the forest yesterday morning. Hmm—there was no warning, and we have no idea what they sprayed for, although there is a contact on the sign that we could call. It was only off the trail, but how can you control where you spray pesticide? We stuck to the main path yesterday. 

A sign in the forest

I wasn't looking forward to my afternoon walk. I had no errands, but it was too nice to stay in the house. I was bored of walking alone, so guess what? The girls each got an afternoon walk, and Murphy picked up a stick. She's not a huge fan of carrying sticks around, so long before we got home, the stick was history. 

MOM - I found a stick!!

We returned to our EXIT Game puzzle last night, but although the next jigsaw puzzle is together, we still need to find the code. These are multi-step puzzles; we will not win any speed races, but we are muddling our way through them. 

However, I discovered that I was putting my items on the OUTSIDE of my backpack. 

The items on the OUTSIDE 

They should have been placed on the inside. It doesn't matter in solving the puzzle, but sheesh—I'm not good at following instructions. 

THE INSIDE

So, another successful and happy day is over, and there's another one ahead of me today! I can't wait to get started, as I have loads I want to get done!

I hope you're doing OK with the decluttering. You may not get to declutter daily, but try visualizing how to make it happen. If the task is too physically daunting for you, why not invite your children, grandchildren, or a friend(s) and offer them lunch while you direct them to clean up? I bet they would be THRILLED at the opportunity, knowing that you are taking responsibility and control of your things rather than leaving them behind for someone else. Give that a thought!!! 

I would be happy as a clam if my mom had suggested that. I'd be on a plane once a month if I knew she was willing to work to clean up her mess! Besides, you can make an adventure of it. It's bonding time, and your child is going to start respecting you a whole lot more!! You can set out rules if you want that they are NOT allowed to judge!! I won't judge if you consider me to help! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!