Storage Woes

My storage woes are far from being over. Every place I look - Google Drive, One Drive, my laptop -- everything is red-lining! The biggest issue is I need help understanding what is going on. I have files that are sitting on my phone that are also sitting on Google Drive. Some of them do not download when I download from my phone, but I see that I can do that manually on the computer. I best try downloading today and then manually moving what doesn't come automatically. 

And despite deleting many emails, the storage space has not budged. Why is that? I see where some of it is an issue - when people send me pictures and do NOT resize them, those emails are enormous, but since I deleted all of last year (the homework ones), I should see a difference. Nope -- something is hiding somewhere!

What would be amazing is if I could figure out how to empty all those shared drives onto my backup drive so I could start fresh. I WILL figure it out, but I'll need some time. And time is NOT what I have this month. Tomorrow is the start of a HUGE marathon that will stop on April 1. Yeah me!

Something cute happened in the night. I woke up and had trouble going back to sleep, so I got out my phone to check a few things. I know -- I should not do that. Don't worry, I went back to sleep shortly afterwards. But while the phone was on, I could hear Miss Murphy enter the room. Oh shoot -- I should pretend to be asleep, so I turned the phone off. The next thing I knew, she had her paw on the bed. It was like she was saying, "Are you OK?" What a sweetie. I didn't acknowledge her, so she did the quietest little "Yip" as if to say, "I'm worried - are you OK?" I love it when they know that loud barking is not allowed, although that won't stop her if she spots a skunk by the front window at 3 AM. 

So I acknowledged her little "yip" and said, "I'm OK. SHH - it's bedtime," and she lay beside the bed and went to sleep. So did I. What a sweetie! Love you, Murphy!!!

Our kitchen has a pantry that we don't use for food. It's mostly stuff for the girls and the boy. Food, toys, etc, and my camera stuff. We also have pantry moths in that space, and I wonder if they arrive there because of the dog food or if they come in the dog food. I didn't find any infestation in the food, so they must just materialize. 

I had cleaned off the top shelf holding the camera equipment a couple of weeks ago, and I thought I'd look in another basket of camera stuff that was NOT on the top shelf and perhaps wipe down that shelf. 

Another basket of camera stuff

Oh boy -- there's a lot to be said about putting "like" things together. I found another digital camera and a case. The camera was placed in the electronic recycling -- OH -- I should also check for the battery charger and toss it in the box. I kept the case -- it has a belt loop and could be handy for hiking? I don't know, but I kept it. 

Another digital camera and a case

I found FOUR more unmarked open tapes, which I'll have to pay to have moved to a DVD. No sense leaving them for someone else to discover. I AM responsible for leaving this stuff in a mess. 

Four more open tapes

I found 2 more brand-new tapes, and they went in the giveaway box. The next thing I knew, the entire shelf was empty. 

Cleaning the pantry

Then I spotted a little nest of the pests, and well, everything came out of the pantry. DH was away in the afternoon, and I only seem to get this cleaning bug when he's not around!!!

The pantry is empty!

There was stuff strewn around the entire kitchen.

Tubs that were emptied and washed

Dog toys and treats in their baskets

The kitchen island was covered with stuff from the pantry

Little Bear just sat in this spot the entire time. Well, it was his dog bed, and he was happy to be part of the action, but he didn't have to lift a paw!!!

Bags of dog food and Little Bear 

The pantry - empty and washed down

I knew toys and treats were in there for the girls and the boy, but I didn't realize how much. So it's all sorted into "like" things -- toys, treats, and grooming supplies. 

Dog stuff

Look what I found! Why the heck would I buy TWO of these when she had not even touched the first one. Since the first one is almost toast, I have a backup. She's going to be so happy!

A backup toy for Murphy!

I found not one but TWO lunch bags with bicycles on them. This one is in the giveaway pile. I hate to give it away, but I have one, and while I used it all the time when we did in-person sewing, I don't use it any longer, and I think this one is brand-new. So I'll keep one, just in case! 

Brand new lunch bag to giveaway

I found more film! But that's OK -- I still have a film camera from my grandfather. I should load the film into it and just go have fun! Thinking about the picture before you take it might be a good thing. We're so used to snapping thousands of photos (and filling up our storage space) that it might be a good exercise. I think I now have TEN rolls of film - black and white as well as color. 

I found a container with empty film canisters. Does anyone want them? I was keeping them to use as containers to put my broken and dead needles in, but how quickly do they fill? Not quickly at all. So these are going to go! I put starch in another one for applique, and it's pretty handy as they don't leak. 

Empty film canisters

Well, one thing led to another, and when I got the pantry back in order, except for a few things I still need to deal with, I spotted the bucket by the backdoor with dog stuff. Well, I could clean that up as well. So I did and was shocked when I realized that someone had used it as a fire hydrant! The bottom was rather rank, so I washed it all down, took the stuff inside, and stored it in the pantry. 

More dog stuff in a bucket by the backdoor

I found harnesses that technically need to be tossed, so I'll remove the hardware and then toss the pieces. I wonder if anyone could use the webbing -- it's good in most places. But Murphy has gone through so many harnesses; it's crazy! She seems to have settled down now, so that's good. 

I took the bucket and put it on the old treadle at the front door. All the leashes and harnesses went in it. I'm not sure I will like the jumble, but let's see how it goes. It certainly looks neater. I may move it to the foot pedal, but let's see how this goes. 

A container for the leashes and harnesses

I had to stop at the pet store as one of my errands, and I spotted a long rawhide that I knew Murphy would love. So, on an impulse, I got it for her. She didn't know what to do with it when I gave it to her. There is ZERO reason to fear that Lexi or Bear would steal it, as they have no interest in that. 

At one point, I spotted her at the backdoor like this, so I knew she was trying to bury it. Let's face it -- it was two feet long. 

MOM -- I had fun  with the rawhide bone

Later in the day, I looked out the window and had to chuckle. She was trying to bury it. Well, she placed it against some rocks and was scooping dirt onto it. And this is what she looked like. Have you ever seen such a happy face? Oh, Murphy -- it's a good thing we love you!!!!

MOM -- I HAD FUN!!!!!!! 

Later, she had dug it up and brought it into the house. It was cleaned off by now. She chewed it in half, and I grabbed one half and put it away. I'm not sure what happened to the other half, but I heard her happily chewing on it as I went to bed. 

Look at this little guy. He got a leaf stuck to his butt, and it wouldn't come off. The leaf was fluttering behind him as he ran down the sidewalk. I took it off, but it was so cute. 

GRANDMA - I got a leaf on my butt!

OK -- I don't think you can read this, and I should have cut and pasted it, but I got this email - can you see the name FEISHANG. OK --- seriously? That's such an obvious fake - I had to laugh. 

An obvious SCAM email

But what was disturbing was that they mentioned Comfy Cases in the email and said they had great bags, just like the ones at Comfy Cases, but theirs were better. Comfy Cases is a charity that makes pillowcases for kids. 

Anyway, that went in the trash bucket, or maybe it was in the trash, and that's where I discovered it this morning. 

Well, I have a dilemma today. Should I quilt a customer quilt (needs to be done), or should I do paperwork (also needs to be done). And what about my sewing and the prep work for this week. Which one is a priority? Determining the highest priority is hard, but I think the customer will win today. 

I have dinner out, and I have to pick something up later today, so that will kill the latter half of the day. Not that I have time for either, but at least both are in the same direction! Always double up on those errands; it saves time and gas!!

DH and I are on a roll with the EXIT Game Advent Calendar. Two more puzzles last night. Both of them took some figuring, but between the two of us, we did it. So we are now on Day 20 of 24, and we've only looked at two clues -- the first one, which I had to last year, and one more. We don't always get it right on the first try, but we're getting much cleverer. I hope we can finish the last five days this month. We both have crazy schedules, and I don't know how much dinner together time we'll have. Let's see, but the goal is to finish the calendar by April 1. Good luck to us!!!

On that note, I'm out of here! Loads to do! So, what are you going to clean today? Or sew? There is ZERO time to dawdle on time wasters!! At least at my house!

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!