Decluttering is so much fun!! (for real!)

Now you see why I'm not a gardener! I got the names of these flowers wrong. These are hyacinths, not hibiscus. Why did I do that? I know these flowers, but obviously had a moment. Oh yes - flowers - love them, but not my thing! I just enjoy the beauty! Thanks for catching that! I went back and changed it! 

Hyacinths! 

And I spotted another TREE that's in bloom. What kind of tree? No clue! And I don't really care - it's just pretty! 

A blooming tree in the neighborhood

A lot of things happened yesterday! If you remember, as I was writing the blog, I moved several boxes from the office to the kitchen counter. It looked like this. 

A mess of things to tidy!

And what usually happens when I do that is that it stays that way for days. I get all fired up and then - I get distracted, lose interest, and it all goes back to where I pulled it from. 

BUT not this time. By 9:20, after walking the girls, it looked like this. 

It's almost all dealt with

And by lunchtime, this was all gone! Yes — this decluttering is going to happen, and then I won't have to worry about it. I'll just need to stay on top of it! It makes me so happy and I can literally feel my life lengthening by dealing with my crap!

There are a few extra boxes at the door to be dropped off - one to be shredded, and a few for the thrift store. 

Now that all the items designated to go somewhere have been taken care of, it's time to find more things to get rid of. 

No danger of that - here's what the table in the office looks like. 

The table in the office

Yes -- we can actually see the edges of that table, which is good. Now that the other stuff is gone, my head is clear to deal with this stuff. And the best part is that there isn't really anything left on the floor that could go on the table. So when I clear a spot, it'll stay clear. Or so I hope! Remember, you MUST deal with everything! 

I'm happy to report that I'm not shuffling most of this stuff. In other words, I'm not putting things in the basement or the garage. I'm getting it out of the house! 

This is the top of the buffet, which has a few items to deal with. 

The top of the buffet

And there's the desk - still a disaster, but its turn will come! 

The desktop

And this is all that remains on the floor in the office. 

What's left on the floor

Those boxes are empty, and I use them for my sorting. I could technically put them in the garage so it looks neater in the house, and as I need a box, I can pull one from the shelf in the garage. I might do that today. That will leave three things behind the boxes, and I might just deal with them today. Oh yes - the more you get into decluttering, the more you want to get rid of! Just gone! It's been hanging around way too long. 

Then I can tackle the table, the top of the buffet, and that darn desk. All that will remain is what's on the bookcases. I'm getting there. Slow and steady - that's me! I'm also very methodical and need to go through everything. And you can't even yell at me for that because it's happening. If nothing was being done, then yes, you could yell. But I'm making progress, albeit in a roundabout way. 

The difference from a few years ago is a miracle! And I feel so much better about the space. I can't wait for the day when it's all clear. But that won't happen for a year or two at my pace. And the best part? When I bring the mail into the house, I deal with it right away. I don't think anything hits a surface unless it's supposed to! 

Wait -- I have this, which is currently at the front door, ready to be thrifted. If anyone wants it, it's yours. It's not functional - purely decorative. But it's been sitting in the office for a while, waiting for its turn to find a new home. 

Up for grabs

And I will NEVER knowingly buy anything that comes in these "decorative" boxes. These were sheets or something, and what a ridiculous packing system. I'll buy sheets that come in those zippered bags, but I'll never buy one in a stupid box like this again. I don't even know if they are recyclable, but I put them in the cart anyway. 

Stupid packaging!

WAIT -- I should write to the company to tell them how silly these boxes are! The ridiculous thing was, these weren't even on the shelf at Sleep Country. The staff had to go to the back to get the boxes, and then they wanted to give me a huge bag to carry the stuff home in. I refused the bag several times, as I already had my own shopping bag. Hey, people -- we're trying to reduce packaging. Cell phones and iPads are another item that comes in ridiculous boxes that never see the light of day on the shelf. Well, cell phones for sure. 

Something bad happened this morning. I have three Zoom sessions today, and I've been working on the presentations. Everything was going just fine. Except when I needed to grab some slides from one to put into another, and WHAT? One of the presentations with the changes was not there. I'm using autosave, and the files are stored on my OneDrive, but it reverted to the files from last month. NOOOOOOOOOOO

Thankfully, with the help of my handy filing system, I was able to recreate the presentation in about 20 minutes, but it was still a pain! I was all excited about how well everything was going. It could have been me, it could have been a gremlin. We'll never know, but let's hope that it doesn't happen again. 

OH -- here's a flower that I do know. The trillium, which is just about to bloom. 

Almost-in-bloom trillium

I am certainly not about fuss, especially in the kitchen. We had some Calphalon pots and pans, which were supposed to last forever, or something like that. Even though we used wooden or plastic spoons, the inside of two of them is disgusting. We've probably ingested a ton of metal. Anyway, time to replace them, so I went to Homesense and found two inexpensive Cuisinart pots. If they crap out - no worries. 

But while I was there, I wandered around for a bit, and here's all the stuff I didn't buy, but would have in a past life. 

The plastic Buddhas would look cool in the garden! But not bright enough! 

Plastic Buddhas for the garden

The miniature 3-D kits, which are $10 cheaper than at Indigo. I already have one that I haven't done yet, I don't need another. 

Miniature 3-D kits

Markers - who doesn't need a new set of markers? I don't, so they stayed in the store, but I wonder if they work on the digital cutters? 

Markets -- lots of markers!

Funky reading glasses, but alas, they did not have my strength (1.25), so I didn't buy them. 

Funky reading glasses

And let's not forget these large letters. I don't know how many I've purchased over the years. I don't need more! 

The letter E

So yes, I only bought what I went for and I'm pretty proud of myself for that! 

However, I went to the library to pick up a book that I ordered, and I came home with three. At least they are free to borrow, and they do have to be returned! I also took pictures of about five other books that looked interesting and will add them to my list to read. That list is enormous and seems to grow almost exponentially!

I put on shorts this morning when I got up, but I've since put on pants. It's a bit cool even though the temperature is 13 - it's cloudy and I think it's going to rain. 

My sad, faded shorts

So the only fast fashion that happens at my house is running shoes. I've had those shorts for eons! And they still fit (a bit big, if I might add!), but there's nothing wrong with them, except that they've faded big time on the legs! They are no longer black but have faded to a brown color. I'm sure DH is mortified when I wear them, which is probably why I keep wearing them! But they are still functional, with no holes or tears! I have sweatshirts in the same condition. They are faded, but why should they be replaced? 

I'm not into shopping for clothes at all. The most boring thing in the world, and such a waste of money to buy new, when the old still works. 

On the other hand, I replace my running shoes several times a year as they wear out. As you saw last week, the treads were entirely gone on the previous pair, which means they were long overdue for replacement. I wonder what we could do about recycling them? 

Anyway, I noticed that on this pair of HOKAs, they have changed something. They have reinforced the second hole at the top. I bet lots of people are using those little holes. I do! 

Reinforcement at the top

You loop the laces through that hole and then use that loop as a hole. It helps prevent your feet from sliding into the toe box and causing lost toenails. Especially handy if you have a lot of downhill to do. I learned that from walking the Camino! Of course - AFTER I had issues the first time. 

Creating a second loop

Oh, one last thing, and speaking of the mail. We got this letter in the mail yesterday. 

A letter from the government!

You all know what that is for - jury duty, but who got the letter? Apparently, DH has something in writing (he insists he has a picture of it) that he will never be called for jury duty again, so it wasn't him. I've been called twice and had to stay for one day the first time. The second time, I was interviewed to be on the jury, but I was rejected because of what I do. A bit too artsy fartsy for the lawyer. And I've never been called back. Drat - I like going! 

Nope - this was addressed to my 87-year-old MIL, who, well, as far as I'm concerned, needs to be in assisted living, but DH is in denial. I'm not going there! Of all the people to be called, and this is not the first time - her name seems to come up very frequently! 

Here are the links for the Virtual Retreat this weekend. I forgot to post them yesterday. 

Saturday, April 26 - starts at 6 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82693702241?pwd=QpQkm8Ppppy1XwCPOqva1bcgJCWKdP.1

Meeting ID: 826 9370 2241
Passcode: 795071

Sunday, April 27 - starts at Noon

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81073536036?pwd=uxRqMnK1aSKrmrcSO78w8QQs5g44eA.1

Meeting ID: 810 7353 6036
Passcode: 596838

And on that funny note, I'm out of here! Hopefully, the presentations won't glitch out, and everything will be fine! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!!

It's our duty!

The excitement for yesterday was a power outage at work.  It happened about 3 PM and we are all working away and POOF - the power is gone.  There is some major construction (apartment buildings) on the corner of Highway 7 and Weston Road. Apparently a crane hit one of the power wires and no more power for a large area.

UPDATE: Power outage in Woodbridge; restoration expected around 6 p.m.

Vaughan Citizen

By Adam Martin-Robbins 

Nearly 3,000 homes and businesses in Woodbridge have been left in the dark after a crane made contact with a power line in the Weston Road and Hwy. 7 area.

Powerstream officials say approximately 2,800 customers faded to black at around 3:20 p.m.

The power outage is affecting the area bounded by Pine Valley Drive , Jane Street, Rutherford Road and Steeles Avenue.

A repair team has been dispatched and officials with the hydro utility say power restoration will be phased-in.

According to the Powerstream website, it is estimated power will be fully restored by around 6 p.m.

Had some more fabric to cut so moved everything from the back where there was ZERO lights to the front where we had lights from the front windows and merrily cut more fabric with those big scissors. No accidents with them today - I was careful.  We cut a LOT of fabric. Hey - we have a LOT of fabric to cut!!!!!

However the power outage was a good thing because I found a new way to get home. Normally I drive right past that intersection on my way to the 407.  However I learned that if I go three streets north of where the office is - there is the Vaughn Mills Shopping Center - thank goodness I am NOT a shopper and then you get right on the 407.  A LOT less traffic than the way I would normally go.  I like that!!!!


When I finally got home last night - I picked up the mail and I was perusing it as I walked back to the house.  Oh oh - is that what I think it is????   An official looking letter?????   I opened it up and yes - it is jury duty time!!!!!

My reply letter

Now jury duty is an interesting thing.  Many people receive this letter and freak out.  I am too stressed, I can't cope, I can't, I can't and find all kinds of excuses to NOT do their civic duty.

Here is the thing.  This first letter is just a prescreening letter - do you still exist - can you speak English, can you speak French - just basic questions. It is NOT a call to jury duty.  You send in your letter and then perhaps you will receive a letter giving you a date to come to jury duty.

I've got letters like this twice before and been called both times so this is the third one.  For me - this is an adventure.  The first time I went to jury duty - I waited in the jury waiting room and by lunch time the first or second day, I was told to go home. They had all the people they needed or the case ended up being mediated.  That was easy - I just sat in the chair and watched the people as I read my book or knit or whatever.  

You would be amazed at how many people (especially the men) fidget, whine and complain about the time.  For god's sake bring a book or now I suppose everyone has their phone to play with.

So there was absolutely NO STRESS involved in that first time, although the number of people who tried to beg off jury duty when they arrived at the court house was hysterical.  Seriously people - what is your problem!  

The second time I got called was a tad more exciting.  First off - I brought hand work and forgot that I had a big honking pair of scissors in my bag and you have to go through the metal detector so I was sent back to my car to put the scissors away. Yep - my car was parked at the farthest end of the parking lot. My FitBit would have been happy!!!!

Got settled in the jury waiting room and then they started calling numbers. At one point during the day, my number got selected.  Yippppeeeee - get to see some action now.  So a bunch of us went into the court room. The judge was there as were the lawyers for both sides and the accused.  I think it was a buglery. Once you are in the courtroom - you still are NOT on the jury.  Nope - there is another random number draw and you get split into groups of 10.  My number got called in one of the later groups and I was sent off to a room with 9 other people.  

One by one we were called into the courtroom and asked questions by the judge and the two lawyers.  They didn't like me - they didn't like the fact that I was a fibre artist!!!!   By this time, there were already 8 jury members selected and they were sitting in the jury box. And I got sent home.  It was pretty interesting and yes it was long and boring, but also exciting.

There was one woman in my group of 10 who was desperate to get on the jury.  I think she wasn't working and she wanted the experience of being on a jury!!!!   She was called into the court room before me and there she was sitting in the jury box when I got my turn. I am sure she was thrilled.


Anyway - I have filled out the form and sending it off today.  Will I get called????   The chances are good. And will I go???   Of course I will.   Now I do not want to sit on a trial that lasts for weeks - no one does. And I certainly do not want a trial that deals with nasty stuff - I don't do well with nasty images!   But the chances of me actually getting on the jury are so small - and it is our civic duty - what the heck.  Bring on the adventure!!!!

How much do you want to bet that now I blabbed about this - they put me in the jury box!!!!!


As Quilt Market nears and new fabrics keep getting designed and new stuff arrives - I am swamped!!!!!   Going to need to make lists for work.


On that note - I am out of here.


Have a great day!!!


Ciao!!!!