Art · downsizing

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…

dresstree.jpg

I have had the idea for the “tree” for roughly 4-5 years now. It was to be a display for an ornament show/sale and I never got around to using it, so I finally did it here at home.  No more waiting!

I also had to get a couple of projects done to get out in the mail. One to a flamingo lover who also loves anything sparkly –

momwreath

And the other one is for a baseball lover. I saw the ribbon a few days ago and immediately thought of baseballs and knew I had to somehow come up with a wreath for it.

skipwreath

I hope both recipients enjoy them!

On the moving front, about 1-2 more trips in my Subaru Outback and I should have the storage unit cleaned out and be done with it! It’s just a matter of getting it all put away in the “attic” space off my studio and the work room downstairs. Once I get done with all that and get everything situated I can then get on to even more art work. And presently that consists of needle felting.

If all goes well I’ll be taking part in an Artists in Residence program at a local museum associated with the Smithsonian. Wish me luck!

 

downsizing · Moving

How to turn your excitement into drudgery

So, we started the process of buying our awesome log cabin back the first of July and the original closing date was July 31… that didn’t happen. I know everyone says closing on a new home is stressful and they have stories, but this has just been more than the usual I feel.

We are now on our fourth date to close. Allegedly we are closing tomorrow, Aug 28 – I say allegedly because at the moment I don’t have a time to show up and sign papers, only a date. And until I am sitting at the table with my husband signing papers I don’t trust it. (see the first sentence of this paragraph that this is our fourth closing date…)

The septic system was tested roughly the second week of July, realtor went out of the country on vacation and had someone else in the office supposedly handling her business in case anything came up. Realtor gets back in country on Wed, Thurs she reads the report from the test (and I have my suspicions that it was there prior to her leaving actually) to find out the septic system failed. We were to close that following  Tues.

Finally get a perc test done, we pass, and a new septic system is going to be put in, but first 3 trees have to be taken down. Nothing for 11 days. When questioned the realtor then says – I had no idea on the trees to know I had to schedule someone to remove trees before work could start on the septic system. So, she basically checked out for almost 2 weeks and we were at a standstill. Finally the trees get taken down. Now the contractor for the septic system is fighting wet areas and putting a mound system in at another location and has to finish that before working on our higher/drier location. When questioned he says, well I can drive by to see if it’s dry enough to work the location and possibly put it in while I’m waiting for the other location to dry some. Pardon me but – Duh!

So now we get the new septic system in, with the distribution box now sitting about 5-6′ into what was our driveway with an access pipe sticking about 6″ above grade in the middle of the driveway and the distribution box then spans out to the drain field the other side of the driveway in the area that used to be where we were to park our vehicles – oh, and there was no driveway to speak of. Well, my husband says that’s not correct because we have the two top sections where you come in and leave, it’s just all that in between stuff that’s gone.

Realtor gets another contractor out there to work the driveway when my husband contacts her to say, I really need a driveway. Contractor goes out there. Starts to work, gets pissed at what work the septic contractor left behind and stopped. Driveway contractor called the realtor to say he can’t work with what was left behind and the septic guy has got to fix things. Now the realtor knows my husband wasn’t being a pain for asking for a driveway… So sometime today (no time on this yet either) my husband, the realtor, the septic contractor, and the driveway contractor are all supposed to meet out at the cabin to figure out what the heck will be done to give us a basic circular driveway. At this point we don’t care about parking, we’ll figure that out after we’ve been in the cabin for a bit and have lived with it and know what we want then, but right now just give us a driveway that we can use, okay???!!!

Supposedly this is not to hold up closing tomorrow. All parties have agreed that the work will happen/continue even after the sale of the cabin. sigh But this is the kind of crap that has just been constant and non-stop since we began this whole process of buying the cabin. I knew there would be hiccups, but this seems to be extreme!

Part of the stress also comes from the fact we need to get in there and stain the inside logs before my husband heads out of country for several weeks now days after closing.(since maintenance on the logs/chinking/etc. fell to the wayside as the owner got older and she couldn’t keep up with it) With the original closing date we had a month to accomplish work and get furniture in there before he left. Now, we can get staining done, but then I’m stuck doing little stuff here and there and waiting for him to return to finish the move. I have plenty of family and friends who have offered to help with the move, but I really don’t feel like doing this by myself. I did enough of that type of thing while he was active duty Navy and I’m not wanting to let him off the hook this time. He needs to “share in the joy” with this as well. LOL It’s his home too.

sigh

So, what should be a joyous, happy time has just turned into a chore to just get done and checked off a list. I feel cheated.

downsizing · Moving

How quickly it adds up!

As I’ve mentioned we were a military family, and as such we moved around. Part of that was you had to “make weight” for your moves. Each pay grade is allowed a certain weight for your household goods when moving, if you go over that you pay out of pocket for that “tonnage”. (Or at least that is how it worked when we were moving)

So that forced you to keep things streamlined while moving with the military. You always made sure you kept it below your weight allowance. It forced you to be brutal at times and not hold onto that stupid tiki drink umbrella from whatever party you went to before so-and-so got transferred to their new duty station that you had held onto to remember that night and what fun everyone had.

And then my husband retired and we not only have stayed in this house for almost 11 years now, but it is the largest house we have ever live in! So you can imagine how things just amassed and grew over the years. Now I’m paying the price for that! LOL

I’ve made quit a few trips to the Thrift Store already dropping things, the kids have gotten things, some stuff has had to go to the dump. (That pack-n-play for the grand baby that sat in the basement storage area for 5 years now then when you open it and it’s moldy – yeah, not passing that on to anybody! It goes to the dump!)

I’m getting to a point with my packing where I need to possibly clear a room and then start “loading it” like it’s a storage unit or something. Start getting boxes out of other rooms so I can function and pack in them better, clean them somewhat, and just go through things easier than working around boxes, packing material, things pulled out to go through them…

I’ve never hated moving until now. I need to remember this at our new home and not allow things to grow like this again. Might have to take on the tactic some folks use with something in, something out…

Art · downsizing

Challenge Day on Tour de Fleece…

So yesterday was to be a Challenge Day on Tour de Fleece (TdF) since it was also a Challenge on the Tour de France with them climbing mountains. Chain plying, or Navajo plying, has always scared me because it looked so involved and trying to control the yarn while you “chain” it, keep spinning, and so on – well, lets just say I think I know how Bambi felt in that scene where he went spinning across the ice with all four legs sprawled out!

Add to the confusion I’m a lefty so I don’t “see” things and comprehend them the same way sometimes. There are times they get turned around backwards and it may come out great, just backwards; and sometimes it just comes out jumbled! Semi-dyslexic lefty hazard. LOL

I persevered and for my first chain ply I don’t think it came out too bad. There is definitely room for improvement, but there always is, that’s life.

Now I have to get back to work and make a run to the thrift store to drop some things, pack more stuff for the move. I think a local move from house to house is more of a pain than moving long distance! And trust me, after moving around with the military for almost 25 years I’ve made my share of moves!!!

I’ll still get my “play time” each evening during the TdF to spin some each day but I do need to get things packed and ready to move into the new house.

downsizing · Moving

Something’s Happening Here…


It has been quite the whirlwind here! In a matter of days, and I mean that, as in like 3 – we drove past this beauty, called the Realtor to get a look inside, put in an offer (there had already been an offer put in by someone else the same day we put ours in), got a verbal acceptance, had the inspection and are now waiting for the VA Appraisal! Yes, my head is spinning!!!! 

I really fell in love with this place! We’ll be doing work on it slowly over the next couple of years to bring it out of the 80s and make it so we don’t feel like we’re living in an episode of Ponderosa or The Rifleman! 😊 But we’ll get it there eventually. It’s secluded, quiet, shaded, a very large lot for the area, and just hit all the ticket items we had. We found the unicorn. 

It is a log cabin so first thing off the bat is we have to go in and chink or seal all the spots where there are cracks or gaps inside and out. Then to mitigate the overwhelming, in your face wood we’re white washing/staining the walls to brighten and lighten it up in there. I know, gasp, we’re painting the wood! Do a Google search for white washed log cabin interiors and tell me that doesn’t look nice?! Thinking of actually going a soft very light tint/hint of grey or blue to the color and not stark white. We want to get that done before we start moving furniture in there. We will eventually pull up the carpet and put down flooring so we’ll cover the carpet but if we get paint on it, no big deal, it’s coming out. This will be a large focus of my creativity for the coming months I’m sure. 

So now I’m waiting, not so patiently, to get that Appraisal done so we can keep moving forward. I have to slam into fast forward with my packing and purging here at this house. And hopefully it all comes together at the right time!

downsizing · Moving

Hello, Is there anybody in there…

Just smile if you can hear me… Ahhhh comfortably numb. (Yeah, you’ll notice a lot of song lyrics/references and movies quotes in my posts! 😄)

Finally back home from Florida. Crashed last night after a long stressful week. What do I do tonight??? I wake up at about 2 am and can’t get back to sleep. It’s now 4:18 am and I’m wondering if I will get any more sleep tonight or if I’m doomed to be a zombie tomorrow. Or technically today.

Caught up on some things yesterday like laundry, mopping, things that kinda fell to the side while I was gone. 😊 Still have a little more to catch up on but I’m still exhausted from lack of sleep down in Florida which surprises me that I can’t sleep right now. Figured I’d crash again tonight. Oh well…

This weekend we’ll probably be looking at a few homes, just drive bys to see if we even want to bother with going inside. Looking for curb appeal, parking situation for both vehicles and the RV, and a safe yard for the pups. Check those boxes and we can progress to the inside.

I’m still working on packing up the house. I’ll be catching up on color coding the boxes here in the coming weeks. I have red for boxes that are fragile, then I need to pick up colors for the studio, bedroom, kitchen, storage, etc. Then I can put a strip on opposing corners of the box and we’ll know by sight easily where they go on moving day.

Time seems to be speeding up on me. I have Tour de Fleece coming up July 7-29! I will have to slow down, take time to spin during that time frame and enjoy the “Zen time”. Otherwise things will be on fast forward though. And I will probably be comfortably numb…

downsizing · Moving

Good Morning Viet Nam!

errrr, actually Seminole. But hey – can’t resist a good movie quote, never could! LOL

Taking a break from things for a short bit while I stay with my folks awaiting some news from medical tests my Dad had. Keeping fingers crossed for good news. In the meantime we are enjoying each others’ company.

I’m also taking this time to scout Zillow for listings back home and send copious listings to my poor husband to “yay or nay” or “maybe I’ll drive by to take a look see… Finding the “Goldilocks” one is nigh on impossible. But we’re giving it the good try.

We may end up with something a bit larger than we really want just to have an easier resale when we leave for good. We do have to consider that and what sells best so we’re not left hanging when we want to retire for good, pull up stakes and go to our “100 Acre Woods”.  Until then I’m blowing up my husband’s email with – how about this one, take a look here, maybe this one??? LOL

Before long I’ll be back to my pups, back to my art, and back to be able to help with the house search. I will be glad to get back to my routine!

Art · downsizing

Remains of the Day…

 

Just a couple of my pendants from the show this past weekend. Sorry there weren’t more updates but between getting ready for the show, my husband getting sick, me fighting that off and being in the grips of a migraine last night this morning my computer time has been at an all time low.

Had a pretty good showing and I’m encouraged with the response to my work from the show this past Sat. I’ve signed up for a couple of shows this Fall in Sept. and Oct. I’m looking forward to those once the temperatures have cooled off a bit and it’s not so brutal outside.

On Monday I managed to get several more boxes packed up. I am having trouble making heads or tails of things in my studio so I started moving boxes out of the studio into a spare room. I also need to pick up some colored duck tape and start color coding things. A strip of red on any boxes that fragile and then pick a color for each room.  I’m far behind on going through things. sigh

Anyway, I’m also working on adding my jewelry to my Etsy shop so keep an eye out there if you are interested in buying any!

 

Art · downsizing

Rain, rain go away…

It’s been humid and rainy the past few days. I’ve been wanting to play with the resin and can’t due to the weather.  In the meantime I have been trying to match a certain color blue yarn and I do believe I came pretty darn close. Once the weather is nice and I have the time I’ll be trying it in some resin for a shawl pin to match the yarn.

So, or sew, in the meantime I’m working on some sewing projects and trying to figure out the logistics of working small again with all of that. I used to only have the dining room table to work with and projects had to be put away each night for dinner, then when we moved here I got – whoa – an entire bedroom!!!! And trust me that was amazing – but I quickly outgrew it. LOL When our son moved out I got the room over the garage which equated to roughly 325-350 sq. ft. of space which has served me well for many years – until the floor loom showed up. LOL You see how things have just invaded and taken over more and more of the house here! Luckily my husband indulges me.

It is time though to streamline and focus instead of the “shotgun” approach. But with my ADD/Oh Shiny/Hey that looks neat, I wanna try that nature this is difficult. Not to mention the stable of er, um roughly 20-ish sewing machines to pare down. (me, now sheepishly looking around and wondering if I have more possibly and have forgotten any) gulp Plus, I need to find friendly art that is smaller to travel well with me in the RV.

Anyway, it’s tough to get back into the routine of cutting fabrics and keeping things in a small area when you’ve had larger! LOL I did get about a dozen of my little snap bags made for the shop and will deliver those soon. I had a few cut out and waiting but some needed linings cut, I cut some new ones, and all needed interfacings cut. I’m also working on some new baseball bracelets to freshen up the display in the shop as well. (New View Fiber Works in downtown Leonardtown, MD – stop by if you have the chance!)

bags

These are the little snap bags that will be showing up in the shop and the bracelets below are somewhat ready. I’ve decided to rework some of them and “jazz up” the beading on them. More pictures to come on those. But you get the idea and I do have several that are headed to the shop as well.

bracelets

Still working away even though the rain has dampened the resin bug, but not down and out – too many other things to get done!

 

downsizing

Meet Lucy…

sold

Lucy is a 1922 Singer model 66 treadle sewing machine with a back clamp – unusual as most are a side clamp for the foot. She sews like, pardon the pun, a well oiled machine. I picked her up several years back from a family who had been storing her in the garage for I have no idea how long. Prior to that she had been in a kitchen. I could tell because when I opened the cabinet the backside of the machine (the top when you open the cabinet) was covered not only with tons of dust but a layer of greasy grime that comes only from sitting around in a kitchen where fried foods have been cooked and over time particles wafting in the air have settled on there. I cleaned her up and she has been amazing to sew with since.

As part of my clearing out and downsizing I am having to sell some of my beloved machines as I will not have the room to keep all of them. Machines with a family connection are off limits. But machines I have picked up over the years like this are (sniff, sniff) on the chopping block. I’m hoping this one was the difficult one because she was such a joy to sew with and she was the first one I sold of this caliber. I hope the next few don’t feel like this to sell. LOL

I do have the comfort of knowing she went to a nice home. I know I’m talking about her like a kid or a pet, but these machines take on a life. Anyway, a very sweet woman now has her at her home in VA somewhere. She is a quilter and always wanted a treadle machine. She had completed a puzzle with the “Red Eye” decal on a treadle machine and was so pleased when Lucy looked just like her puzzle. In fact, she asked me if I had named the machine because I kept referring to it as “her” while speaking about it when she came to buy it. I explained that since it is a Red Eye decal, I went to red head, Lucille Ball with her red hair and I always loved her so I named the machine Lucy. So she will continue to call her Lucy and she just so happened to be a redhead as well, so maybe it was kismet, she was just meant to have Lucy.

She was sweet enough to send me this photo of Lucy set up under her puzzle of the machine she dreamed of having one day and now she has both!

home2