The January Cure

I decided to sign up for the emails from the January Cure from Apartment Therapy. There were about 20 tasks, with big projects happening on the weekend.

1. Floors -- I didn't do this completely. I did do a pretty thorough vacuum in the living room, even behind the couch as I laid out my new rug.
2. Make a list of projects -- I had that done already as I had made a long list of tasks to declutter my home.
3. Clean the pantry -- I groaned at this one. It was a weeknight task and I thought it was impossible to tackle since it meant taking everything out of the pantry to wipe it down. Turns out it took about an hour. No more random lentils from a disastrous spill in 2014!

4. Set up an outbox -- I wasn't clear on this one, but later found out that it's a place to put things and then come back and decide if you are keeping them or getting rid of them. Interesting idea, but not sure if I'll always utilize. Right now I just pile things by the door.
5. Declutter a drawer --  I decluttered the baking supplies instead.
6. Deep clean the kitchen -- I shuddered at the work involved on this. Wipe everything down and clean all the appliances. I decided to throw some bacon in the oven to cook, and then see how far I got. It's amazing what happens in 30 minutes. I cleaned all the small appliances, and did the door shelves in the fridge. All in all it was about 2 hours of work to clean everything. Felt good to get it done.

7. 10 minute observation and pick a project from the list -- I didn't do this. I do like the idea of sitting for 10 minutes in a seldom used spot and seeing what comes to mind.
8. Clear a closet -- Ugh, time for yet another freak out. The hall closet desperately needed attention. I had to work a split shift and wasn't sure I'd have the time. The assignment was to just spend 30 minutes and not worry if you got done. Well, I spent 30 minutes before going back to work and made huge progress and when I got back home, I completely finished the task. It felt so good.

9. Work on your project -- I decided to rest on my laurels since tackling the hall closet was one thing I'd really wanted to accomplish from my project list.
10. Plan a get together-- Plan to have people over at the end of the month to celebrate your hard work. I didn't do this. I have folks over when my place is a mess. :-)
11. Deep clean the bedroom -- The assignment was to move all the furniture to vacuum in addition to regular cleaning. I did all that, and finished decluttering the closet, nightstands, and knitting/crochet supplies I keep in the bedroom. It was about a 3 hour task, and Elsie was exhausted afterwards.

12. Media fast -- I had done that over the weekend. I needed a rest. :-)
13. Lighten up a room -- Remove one or more things from the living room to be reevaluated at the end. I mentally did this, but didn't do it until this weekend. I'm actually pleased to be rid of some knick knacks.
14. Cabinet clean up -- Clean out the medicine cabinet. I started on it, and finished it up the following weekend after finding some storage to help corral the stuff under the sink.
15. Look through the linens -- I had done this in December.
16. Deep clean the bathroom -- I read a tip to make a baking soda paste and let it sit for a few minutes on the grout and then use a magic eraser to clean it off. Worked pretty well for the stains on my grout. After cleaning the bathroom, I decided to treat myself to some new towels and rugs.

17. Catch up day -- Tackle office supplies which was on my project list. Again what seemed like an overwhelming about of stuff really only took about 30 minutes to go through and clean up.

18.  Landing strip -- I already have a system for where to put stuff when I come home, so I spent about 30 minutes just putting stuff away in the craft room. Again 30 minutes people!!

19. Surface sweep -- 3 minutes to just do a tidy up. I need to start doing this daily.
20. Empty the outbox -- Since I didn't do an outbox, I have a pile by the door that needs to go to charity. And that was the last task!!!

Holy cow can you believe it?! I barely can. I feel so accomplished. I dusted the bookcase and decluttered it today and also dusted the TV stand. I hope I can keep the momentum going and finish the rest of the tasks on my declutter list.

Finish it or forget it list

I don't feel like I made huge progress on my finish it or forget it list in 2016. I did rediscover knitting, and have enjoyed working on the lace scarves. I didn't tackle a single painting project. I'm hoping I get back into the swing of making things this year. I was in a bit of a funk for 2015.

Knitting

• In Progress--Hedgerow mitts. I finished one. Hopefully I can get the 2nd one done a bit faster.
• Ilse skirt. I would like to finish this one. It just languished after a bit of drama with the yarn)
• In progress--A week in the life of a knitter's cat--7 lace scarves. I haven't made any of these, but I happen to have 7 skeins of lace year. I'll use this to see if I still like lace knitting.
• Deco ribbon jacket--I think I need to let this one go. I tried two or three times and can't get the gauge right, which means it won't turn out the right size. My mom gave me the yarn as a present one year, and that makes it harder to give up. Plus it is a cool project.
• In progress--Felted rose trellis bag. I've had the yarn to make this for ages.
• Hemlock Ring Blanket. I've had the yarn to make this for ages.

Painting

• Finish santa
• Finish Mary Wiseman landscapes
• Paint the stool
• Paint the chest
• Paint landscape for over the bed

Embroidery

• In progress--Make winter stitch club placemats

Misc

• Finish calligraphy for flower pirate piece
• Make holiday ornaments
• Make snowman decorations

Sewing

• In progress---Finish shark costume
• Make Washi dress
• Make skirts you have fabric for
• Make Dahlia dress
• Make towel cover up

2015 Craft Update

I seem to have been some what remiss in posting updates on what I've been making.

It wasn't an overly productive year. I picked up cross stitching, because you can never have too many hobbies!


I wanted to learn cross stitch so I could make this:


I also made some cross stitch presents this year. A keychain for my mom, and a bookmark for my dad.




I did a little sewing. I made an a line skirt, which I did write a post about, and made a pair of linen pants. I also made some shower caps for myself and friends out of laminated cotton.

I painted a snowman ornament which I taught at a program at work.

Capsule Wardrobe

Earlier this year read about a capsule wardrobe, and was intrigued. I knew I needed to tackle my closet, and I knew there was a lot that didn't fit. The idea of intentionally planning a wardrobe to wear for a season held appeal, and wouldn't be so overwhelming for my bank account.

I finally tackled the closet and filled up 5 bags of clothes and shoes. I felt lighter.

I decided on the following for the capsule:

• 2-3 skirts
• 2 jeans
• 6 pants
• 15 tops
• 4 cardigans
• 4 play t-shirts

This will be an interesting experiment to see how it goes. I'm really hoping this helps me find more of a style and also helps me buy clothes with a lot more intention.

Closet before:

Closet after (all those empty hangers are clothes that got purged!):

State Embroidery

I embroidered all the states I've lived in. I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. Just need to get them up on the wall!!

A-line skirt

I've had this skirt cut out for months and finally got it sewn. It's from The Essential A-Line book. I need to tweak the pattern a bit so it will fit me better, but it's promising. And another project finished.

I'm not going to discuss the issues I had with the invisible zipper or the fact that the zipper has now broke. Sigh. I have a finished, but unwearable (at least temporarily) skirt. Bah!

Bahamas Trip

I found a great deal for 4 nights at an all inclusive resort in The Bahamas.

I arrived Saturday afternoon, and spend a few hours under a lovely thatched umbrella enjoying the view, and took a nice walk along the beach. 

Sunday was more of the same. Turned out I needed some decompressing time, and to recover from a bee sting!! Walking back to my room after breakfast, I felt a bug get in my sandal. Before I could get it out, I got stung. It was a bee! I've never been stung by a bee before. I hobbled back to my room, got the stinger out and cleaned it up. It hurt like a son of a gun, so I read in my room and kept a cold washcloth on it. I did snorkel a bit off the beach at the resort. They have some rocks and a bit of coral close to shore and so there were quite a few fish. I signed up for a scuba diving class the next day.

Monday morning I went to the scuba class. I learned how to put on all the gear, and we headed to the pool. I immediately felt like I couldn't breathe when I used the regulator. I didn't feel panicked, but definitely felt like I wasn't getting any oxygen. The instructor verified all my equipment was working and told me to just put my face in the water and try taking slow breaths. After a while it became a bit easier, so I tried joining in with the exercises. I was able to take out the regulator and put it back in, but still really struggled to breathe. The longer I stayed under, the harder it got. I started to feel anxious about all this and felt like I was going to have a panic attack. In the end I decided not to try and dive as I knew I'd have to deal with the claustrophobia of being underwater as well as trying to breathe! The instructor was really patient and told me it just takes time for some people to get used to it. I arranged to do a snorkel trip the next day instead of the dive. I was kind of bummed about it, but I've always wanted to try scuba and now I know that I'll need a fair bit of work to get going with it.

Tuesday I went snorkeling. We took a boat about 10-15 minutes off shore. The coral was amazing. So many different colors, and tons of fish. It was fantastic. I wish I had spent more time taking snorkeling excursions. Tuesday afternoon I decided to go into town. I had cracked conch, which is fried conch and peas and rice for lunch. It was quite good. I was disappointed in the market. The sellers were pretty pushy and for the most part it seemed like the usual beach tourist stuff. I didn't stay too long before heading back to the hotel. Enjoyed the rest of the day at the beach.

Wednesday morning I took a nice walk, and did a little snorkeling off the beach. It was a little murky so not great snorkeling, but lovely to be in the water. Then it was time to pack up and head home.

The resort had a cruise ship feel. They had tons of activities, which they called "animations". Dancing lessons by the pool, exercise classes, volleyball, horseshoes, bingo, etc. There were nightly shows, which I never did go to. It was all inclusive. The food was mediocre, and by the 2nd or 3rd day felt pretty monotonous. It was easy to get drinks, and nice in a way that tipping really wasn't expected. The room was a bit old, but clean. Overall a decent place. It was very couple and family oriented, so not ideal for a solo trip. The trip into town was expensive and the food in town was outrageous, which made me appreciate the all inclusive hotel, even though it was lackluster.

Overall it was a relaxing trip and I enjoyed myself. :-)

Lots of pictures of blue ocean: https://plus.google.com/photos/116186384179569807967/albums/6151360770533998945