Space

My brother and sisinlaw have been yammering for some photos of the basement renovation. I’m not all settled in, that doesn’t happen until the art is on the walls, the stuff that needs to be stored actually is, and things are tidy. Bags surrounding a table, stuff strewn on the floor, and no art mean I’m still living in disarray.

But I want to move on so I’m going to post the photos of how things were Sunday and be done with it.  Pardon the disarray but you get the idea. The last three photos are reminders of what it looked like.  It wasn’t just bad because of the fire. 

Please note that Miss Mitty is sleeping on the bed.  She hasn’t hid under the bed since we moved the furniture in.  Once when I was pounding particularly loud, she did go underground but came right back out when I was done.  This speaks to me the most about how important this move was.  She reflects my feelings very well.  We are very alike.  Finally we feel safe and in a place that is our own.  Her demeanor has changed significantly since having her teeth worked on and even more so now that we’re mostly settled.  She’s is the old Mitty and boy did I miss her.  Yay!

I would also like to point out one of the unforseen furniture arrangements that I’m pretty tickled over.  Across from my altar is the tall dark bookcase with books and supplies (not all of either by a long shot) and in between them is a large round table.  I had thought I would leave that space open and store the table but I see that now as a Homer Simpson moment.  I am in squee heaven over having a large round ritual and working table.  Couldn’t have made this more workable if I’d tried.

Suddenly

his week I hit a wall. I’ve been working very hard physically for over a month now, I got fired Feb 12th and Dad’s stroke was the next Sunday and the fire the Sunday after that.  The wall finally smacked me in the face.  No energy.  I’ve had 5 boxes from upstairs to unpack and it’s taken me 5 days to do it.  I look at all of it and wonder where I’m going to put stuff. I sold all my bookshelves you know.  I’ve puttered around a bit, every once in awhile I get enough steam to do a project like that closet and then I crash again.  In front of me this week is painting the spackle patches in the bathroom and installing the three shelves, towel racks, toilet paper racks, and the temporary carpet until we get the new linoleum.  Don’t seem all that interested.

I am itching to get back to crafty stuff but am still in a limbo. So much is still in storage and I haven’t had the energy to deal with the craft room.  I know some of you are hankering to see it but it is a very slow slog for me.  But slowly the urge is starting to percolate.

My dear long time and recently back in my life friend, Breath of Fresh Air Leslie, has a knitting meetup group.  As long as you’re doing something textile related you can go. Which is good since my brother and I decided that socks are no longer working for him.  I picked up the Bohemian blouse I’ve set aside and started hemming the rest of the pieces in prep for the embroidery and then the faggoted seams.  Leslie took a photo of me, one of my new favorites.  I have to say this photo really captures me.  Needle in my mouth, hands pressing linen, biker jacket on the chair, vanilla latte , hair in disarray, amulets and talismen around my neck…

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Cancer this week

Sci-fi author Neil Gaiman sometimes invites his readers to get involved in his creative process. While working on the story “Metamorpho,” for example, he Twittered, “Trying to decide if broccoli is funnier than kohlrabi in a list of vegetables.” When a number of fans suggested “rutabaga” instead, he took their suggestion. (Thanks to The New Yorker for that report.) I’d like to borrow Gaiman’s approach, as you’re entering a phase of your astrological cycle when you’ll have maximum power to shape your own destiny. So here’s my question: What accomplishment would you like your horoscope to say you will complete by May 15?

I wish I knew.  I thought it was all about getting a new job, then it was about cleaning up after the fire, but before that it was about getting my unemployment benefits.  Right now, I’m back to focusing on getting my unemployment benefits.  It’s been 6 weeks since I lost that horrible job and they say to be prepared to wait 6-8 weeks.  A friend of mine waited 13.  I have enough money to get through 13 weeks but then it’s going to start getting a bit scary.  The money would have lasted longer if I hadn’t had to spend money on the new apartment.  Worth every penny and some new tools that will last me years.  I can live with that.  I love tooooools.  Unless of course they are human.

Hmmm what would I like by May 15th?  Whatever the universe thinks I need.  Instead of putting energy into what I want exactly and instead getting what the universe says I need and on its timeline not mine, I think I’ll just leave it alone.  It seems to me that I can just put out what I want (which I’ve done) and not put strings or dates or details to it and I’ll be happier.  So yes, I’d love to have love, money, and joy. But not sure that May 15th matters.  Let’s see how you work it all out universe.  In the mean time I think I’ll follow the advice from Under the Tuscan Sun. Go work on your house and forget about it.

Spring Rains and Time Indoors

The spring rains are here and everything is green. Plus the glorious colors of the primroses and tulips. The trees have done the bulk of their blooming so there are little spring petal snow showers ever where. The weather is warm and sunny one day and chilly and wet the next. Spring in the Pacific Northwest. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

These two shots are taken from my little craft room. My bedroom area is a bit darker, which is a mixed blessing. On the next warm dry day I plan on doing a very small bit of pruning that will give me a little more light but not do much harm to the gigantic rhododendron that lives there. It does afford me some privacy but since all I can see are glimpses of sneakers walking by up the hill, a little more would be nice. Slowly getting things organized.

Miss Mitty’s catbird seat.  She’s still spending a lot of her time under the dresser in her little round bed (she’d be under my bed if it was off the floor).  Hopefully, once things calm down in a couple weeks, she’ll begin to use this lovely bed. She does love to look out the window.

I spent Wednesday reworking the main closet. I have two. One is only 4 feet long and the other 5 feet. I got two closet organizers from the hardware store, they were on closeout for $10 each instead of $60. Very good deal. This closet, the 5 foot long closet, was made for shelves. Four wide plywood shelves the depth and width of the closet. That had to go if I was to use it for clothing. The painter had told me that he would rip out the 1 x 2’s before painting. He did not. He painted right over them. Grrrr. So Wednesday I ripped out all the 1×2’s, not easy and it left largish holes where I had to pry with screwdriver and hammer. So I patched and painted. Yes, there is a huge hole at the bottom.  It’s been there God knows how long.  Too big to just fill, needs some mesh etc… Not important at this point in time.  I then installed one of the new closet systems. I didn’t get a lot more hanging room but I did get a lot more shelf room.  I was exhaustified Wednesday evening.

The above was not my final configuration.  I had to wrestle with it a bit the next day to get something that worked for me.  Yes, I know.  I have 23 pairs of black shoes and boots.  Only 3 pairs in other colors.  Got a problem with that?  😉  My sweaters no longer reside in two tall toppling towers, I have all black sweaters on one shelf (yes I need one shelf just for my black sweaters) and the others higher.  My last housemate commented on all the black.  What can I say, it flatters more than any other color besides turquoise.  The only color as popular as black are the limey/mossy/acid greens.

Don’t hate me when I tell you that my closet always looks this organized.  It’s how I live.  My hoarder/disorganized/depression-era save everything parents gave my brother and me serious dose of aversion therapy when we were young. Neither of us has ever taken on our parents habits of storage and accumulation.  It’s not just my closet.  My craft room is always organized too unless I’m in the beginning stages of design when I pull out everything to see what works together.  I always put things back where they belong.  Do it that way and you only ever deal with it once.  Not over and over as you move things to get to other things.

The closet doors were shutters, which we had painted white. Unfortunately, the way the carpet was installed, we could not put the doors back.  All of the doors need to be planed but the closet shutters don’t have that easy solution.  The carpet installer knew this was a problem since it was he who removed the doors. I’m pretty unenamoured with some of the independent contractors we had. C’est la vie.

I used the curtains I got from Ikea that would have divided my bed area from my sitting area as closet doors. Will have to get another set some other time.  They need a good hemming but that can wait.

Countdown

Counting down…  I’ll make the venting rant worth your while with photos at the end.  You can skip the rant and go straight to the photos, they’re more interesting…

Tomorrow the carpet cleaners come for the little room and the stairway and then the installers come to put in the new carpet.  It’s going to be very nice and cushy, nicer than the upstairs.

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