Halftime

It is football season, but I feel like I'm stuck in halftime. I don't mean that my life is all cheerleaders and marching bands. Wouldn't that be nice? No, I mean that everything is only half done. The laundry is washed and dried, but not folded and put away. Four out of seven raised garden beds are cleaned up. Three out of eight dining chairs are recovered. Just over half of my windows are washed. And that's probably not even half of the things that are half done. I won't even mention the knitting and crafts projects that are half finished.

I can't figure out if I'm busier (doesn't feel like it), more scattered, distracted or unfocused (could be), or unmotivated and tired (very likely). There are so many things that need doing that I dabble here and there and get many things started and nothing finished. I'm also setting my daily goals too high, so it's hard to feel satisfied when everything isn't accomplished.

How do I fix it? I need to go back to my lists. To-do lists work really well for me, and I get a sense of accomplishment when things get crossed off. I've also got to work hard at seeing a project through from start to finish, and I'll start with finishing up projects that are already started. If I do this, I think I'll feel more on track in a week.

On a positive note, I'm a little more than halfway through NaBloWriMo and I haven't missed a day. Writing every day is a daunting task, and I'll be scaling back when the month is over, but it did give me my writing mojo back.

Cabinet Revelations

My blogging friends were a prolific bunch this weekend. I had a lot of reading to do today to catch up since I've been busy working. As I expected, it took nearly three days to clean and organize my cabinets. They look soooo much better and everything feels more convenient even though I made very few changes.

I got rid of a lot of stuff. It's hard to part with things... everything has a story and memories, but I have to remember that just because the THING is gone, doesn't mean the story is gone too. We had two drip coffee makers, we haven't been drinking drip coffee at home in almost seven years... GONE. There were a couple of vases that I received as gifts that I didn't like... GONE. I have a big pile of stuff to sort; what will go to goodwill and what should just be thrown out.

I used to be a Pampered Chef junkie. I think I went to something like 20 parties in a year. I practically owned the entire product line. I had a couple of things that were brand new and unused in ten years. I'll try to resell those. I'm glad I've overcome my PC addiction.

There were a few things I couldn't bear to toss. One was an oyster knife even though we've never eaten oysters at home. Maybe we will; it's probably much cheaper to eat them at home. I made rediscoveries... things I haven't used in a long time because I forgot I had them. They'll get a stay of execution until the next clean out to see if a more convenient location will bring them into use.

Going through my pantry cabinet, I realized that I shouldn't have to grocery shop for about a month. There is way too much stuff in there, and I need to start planning meals around it. There's a surfeit of egg noodles, so we'll have some beef stroganoff soon. I've got to figure out what to do with two cans of coconut milk. I think I have an Asian recipe that uses it.

I'm taking a day to tidy the rest of the house because the clutter monster took over while I wasn't looking. Then it's back to the master list and more deep cleaning.

Progress and a Knitting Update

I feel much better hearing that so many of my internet friends feel like I do. Misery really does love company. I made my list, and managed to stick to one project all day... kitchen cabinets. I've almost finished tidying and cleaning the bottom ones.

Our kitchen is huge. We have 16 cabinets, 14 drawers and 2 floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinets. I have at least 2 more full days of cleaning before they're all done. I'm taking everything out, cleaning the inside, re-organizing and cleaning the outside. I'm getting rid of a lot... bye-bye sippy cups, plastic bowls, storage containers without lids, lids without storage containers, broken things and things that haven't been used in say five or ten years. It feels good.

To show that I'm still a little scattered and can't stick with one thing...

It occurred to me the other day that I haven't done a post about knitting in... well... forever. I do love knitting, and I'm working on something almost every night. I knit in scattered fashion, too, so I have four or five ongoing projects. I do have to have a portable project that doesn't require a lot of concentration for car trips and long wait, and I leave more complicated, pattern following projects for home. I have finished a few things recently.

A pair of socks for me,

A pair for Pipsqueak

A shawl in angora and mohair (I wish it was a little longer, but I ran out of yarn),

And mittens.

Scattered!

What is wrong with me?! I can't seem to stick with anything lately. I actually forget what I'm doing sometimes until I get back to that area and find the remains of whatever I was doing sitting there. I've started cleaning up my office, straightening and cleaning kitchen cabinets, recovering dining room chairs, making greeting cards, making jean bags, and who knows what else. This afternoon I started thinking about spring cleaning Pipsqueak's room, which would involve pulling everything out of there and doing a thorough cleaning. It was then I became aware of what I was doing and slammed on the brakes.

Maybe it's spring fever. There are so many things I want to do, but I've been busy with meetings and appointments the last couple of weeks, so I've had little time for big projects. Whatever, it is, it's got to stop because I'm getting a lot of things started and nothing done.

Tonight, I'm going to make a list. (I love lists!) I will write down all the projects I want to do for the next two or three months. I always get a feeling of accomplishment when I make a list and get to cross something off. My list will help me remember what I've been working on and give me choices so I can do something I really feel like doing. I'll make a rule that I can't have more than three projects in progress at one time.... okay, maybe four.

Something Old Will Be New Again

Something has been bugging me lately. Actually, a lot of things have been bugging me, but I can only de-bug one thing at a time. I am in a de-bugging mood, so expect more projects soon.


Our dining chairs are family heirlooms over 100 years old. I love them for their soul and their profile... they're comfortable and not too big and clunky. However, (here comes the bugging part) the fabric seats are filthy. That's the worst one, but none of the eight are great. I tried a couple of home upholstery cleaners that barely made a difference. When we had our carpets cleaned a few months ago, I had them try to clean one, but the suction pulled up the candlewicking. Monday, I decided to remove the fabric from one and try washing it in the washing machine. I could see from the tack holes in the wood frame, that the fabric had been replaced a few times. While I'm fixing them, I'm going to tighten the support straps and check the padding, too. Some of the seats feel a bit saggy.

After washing, it got cleaner, but not as clean as I'd hoped. It was a lot of work removing all those tacks, so I decided it was time to find replacement fabric. I picked up some samples at Joann Fabrics yesterday, and held a secret ballot family vote. Each of us got to pick two favorites. And the winner was....

Both Sweetie and Pipsqueak had chosen it. I did not, but since I picked all the choices, I guess I can be happy with any of them. They chose it because it was the most similar to what we have. I, on the other hand, am trying to conquer my fear of color in decorating, but there are plenty of other areas where I can use color, like that ugly yellow kitchen floor that I can't wait to replace.

I'll post a photo of the finished product in the future.