Life is about having FUN!

I don't know if any of you read the comments, but I have a super supporter named Elle! She's been through this journey with her Mother, where she had to clean out that house in one day! It sounds like Elle took charge of her life many years ago, and what she possesses today is pretty much what she needs—although she seems to find things from time to time that they no longer need, and they're gone. 

So, I have a love/hate relationship with her! I want to be like her, and I KNOW I'll get there. But she keeps reminding me of things I'm ignoring! Picture frames—I was in denial about picture frames, but she mentioned them yesterday, and YES—I have picture frames to cope with. Thanks, Elle. I appreciate your comments. Knowing I can CONQUER this stuff, you are proof of that! Thank you! 

As Peter Walsh would say - "It's All Too Much." That's the title of the book he wrote in 2006. He calls himself a clutter organizer. I have a "few" organizer/decluttering books in my library, and I'll browse through them and the magazines. Then they will be gone. The issue is that now that the floodgates have opened and I've realized that these are just things I no longer need or want to keep, I don't have as much time as I would like to deal with them. 

That's because there's too much stuff to deal with, as I have my work to keep up with, and so on. So I'm going to do what I can! What I get done is more than what wasn't done the day before. Imagine how much time I would have had if I had never let it get this way? A tidy house takes seconds to clean, and doing each small task when needed is better than having boxes and boxes to deal with now. It's never too early or too late to start this process! Remember - you can not have regrets - just move forward and enjoy the process! 

I've had several audiobooks on hold, and of course, TWO arrive on the same day. One is a novel, and the other is a book on productivity. I decided to download both. Oh my --- the book is called Feel Good Productivity by Ali Abdaal, a physician turned writer. I'm happy to report that I'm already doing many of the things recommended in his book. Make things FUN, or give yourself a reward. I'm learning to take that approach to decluttering, and I'm hooked. 

Teach others. I've done that for over 20 years, and that's how I became so "smart" about quilting. I often agreed to teach something that I had ZERO knowledge of. But I learned quickly (thanks, Dad!), and thankfully, I'm a good communicator, so I can communicate that knowledge to others. Teaching is also a motivator for me to learn. And I love Ali's comment that we don't need to be the guru of the subject; we just need to be one step ahead of the students! Been there, doing that! All the time! And I'm open to learning from the students! It's how we all grow! Do I have the right way? For me, but not necessarily for others. 

I'm only a quarter of the way through the book; what else can there be? I might pick up a couple of tips - we'll see. But one thing I'm noticing about my productivity these days is that I suck at multitasking. We just don't want to admit it! Oh - I get that I can put a quilt on the long arm and then do something in the five minutes while I wait for it to stitch the row. Is that multitasking? Then I'm super good at it. 

I'm not good at attempting to do EVERYTHING at once because it's not working for me! And guess what? What I do is NOT rocket science. Ali also mentioned that if we are stressing over what we do, then it's not fun, and we need to evaluate what we are doing. I hear people madly sewing Christmas presents, baking, or whatever else they "like" to do because the Christmas season is approaching. 

If what you are doing is stressful, and you are NOT enjoying it, then STOP doing what you're doing! Do you need to bake hundreds of cookies each year? Or make a new quilt for every family member every year? Did you ask those family members if they want another quilt? 

I will make handmade gifts on request as I will do for my future son-in-law (T-shirt quilt). But otherwise, my daughter said they do not need more quilts. OK --- I'll find something else to give them. 

I'm not productive (sewing) when we have Monday sewing or virtual sewing time, so I've stopped sewing during those times and have started doing tidy-up jobs or repairs! Yes, I'm bound and determined to prove Messie Condo wrong. I'm wearing my mended socks and gloves and am very happy that I mended them. 

Yesterday, I took apart dog harnesses to recover the metal hardware. All four were damaged in some way and had been replaced YEARS AGO! I'm pretty sure you can guess whose harnesses these were. 

Woron out dog harness

Chewed harness

So I started with the seam ripper - wow, those stitches are tight! —and later, I used the scissors. 

Worn out strapping

I recovered quite a bit of hardware. This is from one or two harnesses. 

Recovered hardware

And all the strapping went into the garbage. 

The strapping is gone

Yes, accomplishing this took a while, but I LOVE these menial tasks. It was a slow and methodical process with ZERO stress, and tossing these in the garbage would have given me zero satisfaction in dealing with them. But taking them apart was a soothing and relaxing way to visit with my friends on Zoom. Guess what? I'm attacking those boxes of junk in the office while I get to visit with my friends. WIN-WIN. The sewing can wait for another time. 

Why are we in such a rush to get everything done? Slow and steady is my motto; perhaps I don't get as much done, but I do it right, or it won't get done. If you would have felt more comfortable tossing everything, that's your choice. 

I already have a project in mind for one of the buckles, but now I need to check my stash for something else. You'll see it later. This project has been sitting on the table in the office, waiting for a solution. 

Using rescued bits makes me happy, and I guess that's my pioneer spirit. 

I quickly found three harnesses but needed to find the fourth. It was in those junk boxes at the end of my desk! I finally found the fourth. 

Then I needed to find these swivel hooks, and I found those in a box in the cupboard. So all is good. It means that even with my shuffling, I have a pretty idea where things are - I may just have to dig a bit. The number of places things can be hiding is few! 

I have another errand for the shoemaker, and I needed these hooks to fix dog leashes—yes, Murphy's leashes. Notice that none of the issues are with Lexi—it's always Murphy. 

New swivel hooks

This broke from all her pulling, so I have new ones to replace the old ones. But I'm letting the shoemaker sew the leather back together. 

The broken swivel hook

I was going to cut the hardware off this beautiful leather shoulder strap from a briefcase I no longer own. The group convinced me to keep the strap and use it on a crossbody bag, so it's up for grabs if anyone wants it. Otherwise, it's with all my bag hardware. I should have put it with the briefcase when I gave that away. 

A leather bag strap

As part of my Monday repairs, I added a hanger to this lively artwork and hung it on the wall in Studio B. I believe I bought it over ten years ago in Newfoundland. And yes, it got shuffled in the office forever! Why? Now that I have the sawtooth hangers, it's easy to do these things. Now, I enjoy the picture whenever I turn the lights on or off, as it hangs just above the light switches. 

A "new" piece of artwork to enjoy

I walked to the doctor's office to discuss that bone density medication. Oh god—it pays to be precise. I told her I could not remember to take the once-a-week pill and asked if there was another solution. She said she could give me once a month, but would that be any better? I assured her I could take my pill when the dogs get their monthly meds. She quickly sent off the prescription to the pharmacy. 

Then she asked if I was having memory issues. WAIT A MINUTE! I meant to say that I'm not good at taking the pill at least 30 minutes BEFORE eating. OH -- she says - that's a whole different story! So, she canceled the first prescription and gave me another once-a-week pill that I could take with food. DUH!!! See how easy miscommunication can screw things up. And the memory question was a wake-up call. BE CLEAR!

That was totally my fault for not saying the EXACT reason why I was struggling to take that medication. All should be good. I can leave it on my desk and take the pill when I have breakfast on Sunday morning. Everybody is happy. 

Some people mentioned injections, and she said those are for more severe cases of bone density loss. I am nowhere near needing strong meds for that. So let's hope I've got everything in order and get a new test in six months. 

It was such a glorious day. I was outside in my sweatshirt, and there was no need for a jacket. I had to walk past this series of three new buildings constructed simultaneously. Oh my—look at that double or triple-height room at the front of this building. 

That's one huge sun-filled room

You can't see from this picture, but I swear there is a basketball net at either end. Why would they waste a fantastic space with a basketball court? I can imagine visibility issues with the ball? Well, I'm not sure - I guess I'll have to wait to see. 

Basketball nets at either end?

One of the other things Ali mentions in his book is pretending you have the confidence to do anything even if you don't. Oh my—I live by that almost every day. I'm a very shy and quiet person when I'm at home. Well, OK—if DH isn't home, I have a few wild chatting sessions with the dogs. However, I struggle to make new friends easily and have other confidence issues. 

But when I want - I can put on my confidence cloak, and I'm INVINCIBLE!!! How the heck do you think public speaking is so easy for me? My confidence cloak - without it, I would never venture on stage. And that fear of failure just doesn't exist in my vocabulary. If I "fail," it becomes a learning experience. It's a great book with lots of exciting concepts. 

My confidence was shattered the other day when we tried to solve one of the EXIT GAmes puzzles. It was a couple of days ago, and I had been running around and was exhausted. DH had found one of the numbers, but NEITHER of us pursued where to find the other two. Not actively, so we ended up looking at all three clues. DUH!!! It was such an easy solvable puzzle, and he had found the trick; we were just lazy. I was mad at ourselves for giving in. I won't go there - it was just maddening for me. So we didn't play the game for several days. Besides, he was out at dinner numerous evenings last week. 

So, two nights ago, we got back into the puzzle again. Oh my—we solved two glorious puzzles. But we could not have done it independently. Nope—DH has an idea, then I get an idea, and then back and forth it goes. 

Last night involved removing some of the puzzle pieces and using them to solve the clue. Good grief -- it was loads of fun, and YES - we got the correct answer. It took two tries, but we figured it out.

The EXIT game

I got more writing done and did a wee bit of decluttering. I have a few things to confess, but I've run out of time this morning. DH is sick, and if he gives that to me, I'm going to be mad! 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!