Weekend Warrior: Another "during" update

Hi! Thanks for all your kind comments and support so far. I am still working down here. This is quite a task! I have been taking photos as I go, and will post some tomorrow. I got through a lot of boxes and piles, only to fill other boxes and make more piles. I am keeping sight of my goal though, no matter how long this takes. Dy helped me a great deal by reminding me to think about the kind of art I want to make down here, and to really just keep the materials that will be used for that kind of art. A great deal of the stuff I have been tossing has been in our art cupboards for 5 to 10 years! I have to admit- I still have concerns about getting rid of some of it- spools and spools of ribbons, skeins of acrylic yarns by the boxful, piles of felt squares, etc. But if we haven't used it in 5 years, I am not goin gto miss it right? Right? I saved it for the kids, but that isn't the stuff they use- as long as I have tons of paints, papers, and sculpey, they are happy, so why is it so hard to give up the huge box of ribbon bits and bobs?!

The other thing I have to do is think about how I want my space arranged (thinking of moving the tables around to make more usable space), and how to best store the supplies I really do use often: fabric, paint, collage materials, fibers, paper, etc. The Dude came with me to the hardware store tonight, and I got some ideas, and he is going to help me come up with some storage solutions for the things I use the most. This is where the Studios magazine is both helping and harming- I will be happy if my after photos look as good as the before photos in the mag, lol. But the mag had lots of low-budget ideas for storing and organizing, and I do have a lot of options already.

One thing I have decided, with help from Dy, is that I want to put some of my fabric on the shelves behind the design wall. Mostly the stuff I love the most (batiks, japanese, bright colors, etc.) and want to be using for fabric collage. The unusual fabrics will still live in the plastic bins on the fabric wall, as well as some other supplies. I am not sure where I will store my books and bead boxes, but will figure that out this week.

The Dude is going to help me fix my wire baskets (I have some that don't have the side rails, that I got for free.) so I can put them under my paint table, and that will get rid of a lot of my paint table mess.

My paper cupboard is much more useable, but the little paper drawers need to be re-sorted and labeled. This is where my embellishments, and little doodads live, but they are a mess because I just throw stuff into any drawer after I use it- lots of that problem down here- little tubs and boxes with misc. stuff from a finished or set-aside project. Gotta get a handle on that.

Funny thing- it is hard to do this organizing and live my regular life too! As for what happened today that didn't involve the studio: I worshiped at the church of flannel sheets again this morning- sigh- this is getting to be a habit as I haven't been in 6 weeks, but I only got about 4 hours of sleep last night, being wide awake until 4 am.

After a nice brekky of avacado and bacon on toast, and a hot bath, I fetched Mama and she folded an entire couchful of laundry (I really should have taken a before photo of THAT!), helped with the dishes, and scrubbing of the kitchen, kept Piano Girl company while she baked bread and banana bread, and chatted with me while I made homemade chicken rice soup. We sent her home with two tupperwares of soup, half a loaf of bread, and lots of kisses.

The Dude and the Boy started the patio project, too. I will get photos of that tomorrow. I also owe the ladies on the WTM boards a photo of what I see from my front door. I better go charge my camera battery.

That's all for now- the Dude leaves for a trip tomorrow, so I want to go snuggle with him while I can, and get some rest tonight. See you tomorrow with photos. Not sure when I will post, as the Girls come for art playdate at 1 pm, I still have to get the studio ready for our big project, and I do want the kids to do some school tomorrow- it is Spring break at the high school, so the Boy will be able to focus on Green Dragon classes for a while.

TTFN,
LB

Weekend Warrior: A "during" update

Well, I am pooping out, and don't feel like I got half as much done down here as I would have liked. I filled 3 boxes and a black garbage bag with stuff to donate, and half a black plastic bag with garbage. I cleared out many rubbermaid tubs, large and small, and decluttered the storage shelves in the little pantry under the stairs. I put supplies I don't use often but don't want to get rid of in those shelves, and labeled as I went. I cleaned up the paper cupboard, and there is room now to put other papers as I come across them.

I also made supper- we had roasted chicken, rice, green and yellow beans and carrots, and baked squash. I think part of my being tired is that there were various bouts of yelling and frustration on all parts, as the Dude and I tried to do our own projects in addition to supervising (read nagging) the kids getting last month's jobs done- The Boy finished up his wood stacking/chopping chore, and cleaned the moss off the roof and cleaned the gutters; the Girl got her baby chickens moved to the garage, and then cleaned up from them being in her room- all floors mopped, doorknobs sanitized, room aired out, etc.

I am tired, my feet really hurt, and my heart is heavy, but I guess it is some progress after all. I think I will keep going a little bit here- at least take some photos to post tomorrow.

Weekend Warriors: before pics part 2

More before pics. Scroll down to the post before this one if you don't know to what I am referring. Much of the problem is how much stuff I am trying to store, and the fact that like items are not being stored with like items. Lack of labels is another issue I will try to deal with this weekend. Can you tell I was also inspired by the special issue of Studios magazine?

Weekend Warrior: before pics part 1

Okay folks, both Miz Booshay, and Amy (there is a link to Weekend Warriors at Amy's blog) are participating in Weekend Warriors this weekend, and they both inspired me to take up the challenge. This was on my to do list anyhow, as I am supposed to be teaching a class in the studio on Monday, and it is horridly scary down here!

I am not going to comment on the individual photos right now, just going to post them, and then get to work. I will add comments above the photos later- if I spend time doing it now, I will never get to the hard work and there won't be after photos. I cannot believe I am saying this, but if you dare, you can click on the photos to enlarge and see all the mess, sigh.

Update: tournaments, trees down, and spring fever win out over screen time.

Well, here we are- another week gone by with no blogging. I have to say, I don't even have any excuses this time. So what did I do last week? Piano Girl had her first piano competition, the Simon Fiset, last weekend. She didn't place, but enjoyed the experience, and learned a great deal. She is working up a description of her experience to post. I also was very sick last Friday- I won't go into details, but it was thyroid-related. I did a tiny bit of gardening, and some garden planning. I chopped and stacked wood till the cows came home, and supported the Dude while he chopped down the birch tree and our oldest plum tree. I have been cleaning the house, and doing more decluttering, slowly. We got some schooling in last week, too, but not as much as I would have liked. I have even been sleeping. That's been nice.

My break from the internet (I am really fighting an addiction, here folks. Sigh.) made for boring blogging, but it was nice to be a part of the world and get away from the screen to breathe fresh air, and engage in hard labor, and wear freshly-laundered pants and sweaters.


Our up and coming rest of the week: The kids don't get to go to Youth Group tonight, as the Boy has a band concert. Piano lessons all day Thursday, and then I have a Mom's Night Out Thursday night. Looking forward to that. The Boy has his National Qualifiers on Sat. It looks like I will end up driving, and being there all day, even though the Boy's events aren't until the afternoon. I seem to have become a speech-team-mom-lady. I do love the Coach, and this fine bunch of kids. ( I am finding that winter is extremely busy to keep up with all the kids events in the winter. Speech and piano competitions both happen during Feb and March.) My birthday is Sunday. Not sure what plans are for that day. I think it might rain. We shall see. A visit to Gramma at the very least.

I haven't been doing any art- I go and sit down there, but nothing is happening right now. I feel a bit pressured to create, and feel the "blockage" of all the creative ideas floating in my head, but not coming out of my hands. There are so many areas of my life I am trying to pull together right now, all the juggling of dirty floors, and dirty clothes, dirty dishes, food to cook, gardens to plan, kids to teach, etc. It is so easy for me to jump into the "I'm overwhelmed" story, and to just get locked up. Winter is not a great time of year for me.

I have been experiencing a bit of Spring Fever lately. The kids played outside a great deal last week- I felt bad that we weren't schooling, but they had such a great time running, playing, using their imagination- up in the treehouse, out in the back yard........ You know- these are teens I am talking about, still actively playing. How cool is that? Gotta make time for that.

I do have some photos to post, but gotta get going right now. Kids are still sleeping, sigh. They'd sleep till noon if'n I didn't wake them.
LB

Tidbits: Clean studio and menus

Oh my gosh, am I tired!!!!!!! But the good news is the house looks really good!! More stuff done tonight:
*Most of the basement was swept and vacuumed (Dy, did I tell you how grateful I am for your suggestion to get a wet-dry shop vac? I love it!), with a focus on the studio and the stairwell.
*A fire has been laid in the wood stove for tomorrow, and both woodboxes are full.
*All the legos, knex, lincoln logs, and dollhouse stuff was cleaned off the toy table and put away.
*All the table surfaces in the studio have been cleared off, the supplies for all the homemade cards and gifts I didn't get around to making for Christmas have been put away, without any guilt attached.

Both kids are exhausted and tucked into bed- they have been helping me clean the house since Thursday! Such hard workers, really. There were some skirmishes, but overall, they have been helpful and obedient. They are both saving money for big things right now (Interlochen, and airfare for Speech and Debate National Comp.), so I will "pay" them each a hefty sum for all the hard work that was above and beyond their normal chores.

My big sister, her husband, and their son are coming over tomorrow at 3 pm. This is big, amazing news, and I am very excited. Their visit was the perfect excuse for this thorough deep cleaning (which I wanted to do, but really lacked the motivation for these last two months).

The menu for tomorrow afternoon's supper (thanks again Dy, for helping with this!) is as follows:
*Salmon poached in a thyme, basil,lemon, and wine concoction
*Roasted veggies (broccoli, golden beets, fennel bulb, cipoline onions, garlic, zucchini, etc.)
*Sundried tomato and garlic polenta rounds
*Homemade pesto-cream (mock)sauce
*Salad
*Rolls
*Ambrosia for dessert

I have everything done and ready, so I think I should even be able to get to church in the morning if I go to bed RIGHT NOW. Think good thoughts for our get-together tomorrow- my sister told me that if I tear up (over the loss of her youngest son in Nov.) that she wouldn't come over again, so wish me luck. My goal here is to be an open space for trust and communication for my sister and her family, and to start the healing process here.

TTFN,
LB

Tidbits: Sinus headaches, and more cleaning

The Papa Dude got home about 9:30 pm last night, and he and my Mama stayed up late visiting and chatting over Auntie P's chex mix and beer. He was so glad to be home, and the four of us were very glad to see him, too. He woke up this morning, though, with a terrible sinus headache that he has been keeping at bay all week. I brought him breakfast of sausages and challah french toast and industrial strength coffee, as well as a handful of decongestants and sinus pills, and he is feeling a bit better. But I called the P family and canceled the wood gathering event for today.

Instead, the Girl is helping Gramma mop all the floors, and the Boy is down the hillside, carrying up some cut rounds that were felled last year. Last night, as we were all sitting around the kitchen table, I noticed a couple of places on the kitchen walls that did not get scrubbed as well as I would like, so I will tackle those.

I will be taking Mama home in a couple of hours, and then I think we will head down to the studio- it could use some cleaning too! What are you doing today?
LB

Tidbit: cleaning update

My Mama has been here since about 11 am, and we have all been cranking steadily since then, with just a break for a lunch of leftovers and finger foods.

All walls and doors in the kitchen, living room and entryway, the foyer in the bedroom wing, and the bathroom are all clean! We have changed my bed linens, washed, dried, and folded many loads, and I hung up and put away all the clothes that were laying on my dresser and rocking chair in my room. The Girl's room is clean, and the Boy is currently working on the nightmare we call his room.

There is still a great deal to be done, but my mama is willing to stay the night, and help me again tomorrow, while the Papa Dude and the kids go over and chop and chip some wood with/for the P family. I personally think it will be a great deal easier to clean tomorrow without dealing with the kids.

I think I am going to be ready to start painting very soon! I really wanted to get a handle on the clutter and lack of organization still in the basement before I paint, but it is tempting to paint now that the walls are ALL CLEAN!!!!

Okay, Gramma wants me to take her to get her hair cut (maybe I should get mine cut too?), and we are out of tp, pt, and Magic Erasers. Man, I hope "Mr. Clean" got stinking rich off that particular invention! As Ree would say, I heart them. I love them, and want to marry them and have their babies. Not really, but they are so worth the cost! And FYI- don't use the brand that says it compares to Mr. Clean's Magic Erasers, because they don't! Ask me how I know.

TTFN,
LB

Tidbits: Insomnia, deep cleaning, and a cranky pre-teen.

It is 3 a.m., and I am still awake, which is weird, as I have been up since 4 a.m. this morning. I hate it when my Dude is traveling and away. I do love being able to sleep in the middle of the bed, but it is colder- I always seem to need an extra quilt when he is away, and it is hard to get to sleep in the first place. Tonight I am hearing things every 2 minutes. Hard to relax. I am glad he is coming home tomorrow. I need me some sleep!

We had a delightful time with the Godparents yesterday. Lots of food, and games, and catching up. Auntie P's sister was there, too, and it was a delight to get to visit with her, as well as her borrowed puppy dog. I do loves me a doggie fix. Almost as good as a toddler.

Today was not a super day. The Girly and I butted heads most of the afternoon. It was frustrating, and I do not feel like I did a good job having patience or grace. But, we did manage to get a bit of cleaning done. I washed the walls and doors in the entryway, and picked up and swept the living room. The kids (mostly the Boy- he worked very hard today) started working on the bathroom- they scrubbed the tub, inside and out, the ceiling, and 2 of the bathroom walls. We also did the dishes, and kept the laundry going. Tomorrow, I am getting Gramma (I hope), and she will focus on the laundry, while the kids finish the bathroom, and I work on the living room some more, and then hopefully move on to the kitchen- the walls need to be washed, as well as the cabinets and the floor.

I still haven't used my easel, which honestly is all I really want to do. I think that may be why I was crabby and easily irritated today. I need to create. Need to make time for it to be important in my day to day life.

Okay, I am feeling tired now, and need to take advantage of that, and get some rest! If I can crash now, I can hopefully get 5 or 6 hours.

Two more after photos

This is now how the pantry area looks. The brown cupboards hold all my canned goods. The chair and table were just there for photo taking, and can go out into the room now. I still need to sort some of the stuff in those tubs on the left there, but most of them are empty. Yay! I made the Boy mop the floor and clean up the litter mess, too. This is my painting table, near the back door. Look how neat it is! This is the only table that has stuff under it, and it is all organized neatly. Yarns and fibers, angelina fibers, ribbons, etc. in the plastic drawers, and all my painting supplies neatly in the wire shelves. I love those wire shelves and want more of them. When I am painting, I can just pull out the bucket of brushes, and the box of paints specific to my need, and go for it.
Okay, now I am done showing you my after photos, and can get on with the creating!
LB

Studio After Deep Cleaning

From the back door again- sorry about the lighting- it was bright and I couldn't get it right. Notice the clear table surfaces, the lack of crap on the floor, and the empty space under the tables.Hey look! You can see (and use) the stove! And there are no big piles of junk next to it anymore! Look at that freshly vacuumed carpet!
Neat and clean table tops- ready to get messy with new projects! And everything that was piled here and there is put away and neatly stored.
Here is my paper cupboard. The plastic drawers and baskets on top are all full of collage materials- mostly cards, paper napkins, and specialty papers. In the bottom of the cupboard are kid-oriented craft supplies- perler beads, stuff to make flower fairies, felt, etc. The small drawers next to the paper cupboard hold more collage materials- chipboard shapes, skeleton leaves, paper flowers, etc. I love these little drawers- they are easy to access and keep these supplies (relatively) neat.
These are the shelves on the stairwell wall. They are tucked behind my design wall- two 4' X 8' panels covered in cotton batting and on casters so they move like closet doors. I can have both panels open, or one or the other only. I can move them to access all the shelves, or close them. I love this feature of the room. I really use the whole design wall. Notice how neat the shelves are- from top to bottom we have everything from silk rods and cocoons, to buttons and beads, to every issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors and Quilting arts, as well as other art technique books. I also have bottles of water (no sink in the studio yet) and wipes for easy cleanup, and cd's to listen to.
I think you can get an idea of how much better it looks, but I think I still have more pics. Do you want to see more?
LB

Studio Before Deep Cleaning

Okay, Dy convinced me that my faithful readers would still love me if I posted before cleaning pictures of my horrible basement. I will test the waters with before photos of my studio. I have one corner of the unfinished basement, that as most of you know, the Dude finished and presented me with this last Christmas. I have filled almost every inch of this space to the brim with art supplies. I have some art that I love, but I haven't put that up yet. Pamela, you can enlarge these pics, but it will embarrass me to no end, so just don't tell me that you did, ok?

First off, before I could do much of anything else, I had to deal with the piles of stuff. There were piles everywhere, 3 to 4 feet wide, and 3 to 4 feet high, of stuff that needed to be thrown away, or put away. This is what my fabric cutting/sewing/ironing table looked like. No room to do any of those things- and more piles.
This table came in very handy this summer, and fit right over the stove, giving me more usable space, but as we are heating our home with the stove this winter, I needed to ditch the table. You can see the chimney in the center, and the basement door to the left. The chimney is the "wall" of my studio, and where it ends. Back in the left corner behind the basement door is where the laundryroom is going to be, hopefully soon.
This photo is taken from the basement door area. You can see my messy tables, and my fabric wall. The wood cupboards on the left and in the middle hold all my paper/craft supplies.
Lookie here- more junk piles! And a filthy floor, and a view into the messy pantry area under the stairwell. On the right of the photo is the paper cabinet you saw in the last photo. It was so messy in the pantry area- this is where the litter boxes are, and there were so many boxes and piles of junk, you couldn't even turn around in there. Really yucky and a waste of space.
Notice how there are just boxes and piles everywhere. Not very efficient use of space at all. Check out the next post to see what it looks like now.
LB