It's all about TEETH and letting go of your quilt patterns

 As predicted, I didn't even turn the sewing machines on yesterday. I hope today will be a more productive day! I also quilted a quilt, but you must wait to see it! Let's see - what did I do then? 

I have a major computer project on the go. I started it yesterday, and it's turning out amazing! Let's hope it continues in the direction I envisioned. If all goes as planned, you'll see the results next week. 

I had to make an appointment to get our travel shots, and that's next week, as I can't really handle any more appointments this week. I got an all-clear from the doctor, and it thrills my heart when issues get resolved and no surgery is required. That issue is a bit personal (not anything bad!), and I really should share it with you. I hate to say it, but the issue was fixed with physical activity, not surgery, which is huge! 

The big news of the day was all about teeth. Since they didn't want Lexi at the clinic until it was time for her surgery, when they called, I dropped everything and took her. She wasn't feeling herself when she got there because of the medication to calm her down. 

I've always said that Lexi is more like DH, but she's like me in this instance. I once had a sedative to get some implant work done. The second those needles touched the roof of the front of my mouth, my system was completely awake! When I handed the leash to the attendant, she knew something was up and dug her heels in. She did not want to be left behind. I hadn't put her harness on because she was pretty calm. Nope - she slipped from her collar, but that was after I ran out the door!

I got a call around 3 PM that all was good, but she was pretty sleepy, so they kept her for a couple more hours. No teeth extractions were necessary, so that was good. The poor thing! She was so groggy and couldn't walk, so Matteo (I love that name and super cute, very young vet tech assistant) carried her to the car. What princess wouldn't want that? 

MOM - I'm very, very sleepy

I carried her into the house and put her on her raised bed. A few minutes later, she attempted to get up, and the poor thing just flopped onto the floor. I continued to roll her and massage her back legs to get the feeling back into them. We just needed that anesthetic to get out of her body! Of course, someone wasn't happy that she wasn't getting all the attention. I swear, Muprhy is an attention seeker. She is the ADHD child. 

MOM - what's the matter with Lexi? Who cares! 

I let her sleep for a bit while I finished quilting the quilt, then went back up for more massage and gave her some small treats that she carefully nibbled and swallowed. 

When I turned around a few minutes later, she was in a different position, so that was positive. Then she just got up and wobbled out the door. Good girl, Lexi!

MOM - my legs - they don't work right! 

She walked around a bit and even attempted the two steps down from the deck. I later spied her under DH's feet as he ate a late dinner in front of the TV. She's going to be OK. 

Me, on the other hand? I need to go to the dentist! Sitting at the computer in the morning, I felt something strange in my mouth. Then, when I went to eat lunch, I felt something crunch. Yep - a chunk of one of my molars fell off. If I remember correctly, this molar is mostly filling, and one part cracked and fell off, which the dentist predicted would happen. Thankfully, it doesn't hurt, and I'd prefer to get it repaired at the end of the month. I guess I should make an appointment for them to see the damage and schedule the repair for later this month. 

I managed to rifle through all my quilt books and patterns. OK, the excess will blow your mind, and I'm not sharing this morning. As I winged through them, I found some amazing stuff: great patterns, great ideas for projects, and ZERO time to make them. 

Rifling through the patterns

But that exercise begs the question of what to do with all this excess. I need to devise a system to deal with it all. That will be something I can contemplate on my next several dog walks and spin classes. Do I sort out the very old that no one will ever want, and that's why they were on sale in the first place? I could always scan the cover (for the inspiration) and recycle the pattern if I find something remotely interesting among those old patterns. 

Those boxes hold so many dreams! But here's the thing about those patterns. It's not pretty how they were acquired. Outside of our quilting circles, staying home and sewing can be boring. I went through a period when I couldn't walk into a quilt shop without buying anything. A lot of times, I didn't care what I bought - I just needed to buy! 

I also blame DH because he never gave me a budget (he thought it was "cute" that I was so gung-ho). Well, I'm more to blame than him, but it was a contributing factor. And there would be days (way before I got into serious teaching) when I would be bored out of my mind at home alone, so I'd go shopping at the local quilt shop. And I always brought something home. That was when I wasn't comfortable being "bored" all day. Yes, I had two dogs, but I was bored! Isn't that just the most silly thing ever?

Those memes I mentioned the other day? They are not cute! Far from it because the excess I'm dealing with now will blow your mind! I can't imagine how many THOUSANDS of patterns I have. Yes -- that is thousands, not hundreds, not one box, but MANY boxes. And some of those boxes are super heavy - I could barely carry them from the shelf to the table to sort through them. 

We all need to think about why we buy stuff. Do we need or want it, or filling a void in our lives? Mine was to offset the tedium and boredom of being home alone. When I think back, that blows my mind. I'm now happy as a clam to stay home, never buy a thing, and just sew or read or let the girls entertain me. But at one point, it was bad! 

There are many great patterns, but I know I'll never do them in my lifetime, and those should be sold. It's going to be a long haul, but the best news of all is that I have the mindset that something needs to be done with them, and now. Letting go is the hardest part of decluttering, and I'm ready to let those patterns go. Wow—where did that come from? 

Wait—I heard of a great blogger who keeps telling people they must start downsizing their quilting stashes so the mess doesn't burden their families. I need to find that person. Wait—that's me! Yes, I'm putting my money where my mouth is, and I know what needs to be done, but I had to let go first. 

The decision to let go of the patterns is huge. Physically letting go will take some time, but it doesn't matter—the process has started. Then it will be the books. As I mentioned, I have about 15 years to make this happen, and I'm working on it! 

Don't be shy when it comes to the Virtual Retreats. Most people are from my classes, so if you've ever been to a class, you likely know someone on the call. And it may take sitting on the sidelines for a bit to understand how the flow works. It's not complicated, but sometimes watching and observing can make you more comfortable. Then it's easy to start by asking a question about something. 

That's it for today. I'm off to spin class. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!