Priorities
If you read my last entry HERE, you know I have a To Do list that's out the door and around the block. I should be prioritizing and starting to work on it right now, today. Instead....
...I decided to get crafty. I've had a project I wanted to complete for a couple of months, and for some reason I decided now was the time.
Five years ago, at my last Big Birthday, my family got together and gave me a year's subscription to Harry and David's fruit boxes: a dozen grapefruit one month, 15 ripe peaches another month, 30 delicious tangerines yet another month. You get the idea. These deliveries came in very nice cardboard boxes a few of which I started using on my desk, to hold unsorted mail or unpaid bills:
The boxes, unimproved, served me well for three or four years. Then, last fall, I bought decorative paper from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to give to my sister, Debbie, at the holidays. Debbie is crafty, and one of her crafts is making her own greeting cards. For that she needs good paper with interesting patterns:
There was some sort of mix-up on the Met's part, and I received two books of the Indian patterns instead of one. I was going to return the duplicate, but then I thought, 'I really like these patterns. Why don't I buy some Modge Podge and decoupage my boxes?' So I bought the Modge Podge and some brushes and, after a delay of several months, I covered the box I keep my bill-paying paperwork in with paper from the book:
The project took longer than I expected. I thought I'd knock it out in a day, but between fitting the paper to the box, gluing it in place, and sealing it with more than one coat of Modge Podge, I had to live with the mess for a couple of days. I was pleased with thee result but discouraged. I put my supplies away and forgot about doing another box.
Except that I didn't really forget about it. Every time I looked at that unadorned, To Be Sorted and Handled box, I gritted my teeth. Last week I got my supplies out, looked through my book of papers, and decided to do it, no matter what more worthy project it displaced:
Box #1 on right, Box #2 on left.
Covering this box went much faster because I had my steps already mapped out mentally and could just follow them.
Samantha started getting ready to move by spending Saturday going through her wardrobe and getting rid of everything...or almost everything...she'll never wear again.
I don't thinks she's done this since February 2006 when she moved in permanently. She still hasn't gone through all her shoes, of which she has many many, almost all athletic shoes. She has running shoes, lifting shoes, working out shoes, yoga shoes and heaven knows what other kinds of specialized footwear.
Sam would probably just chuck these two garbage bags in the trash, but I will sort though them, list them on a spread sheet, and donate them to the AIDS Thrift Shop. The Thrift Shop raises money for AIDS victims, the items stay out of the landfill, and I get a deduction on my income taxes. To be honest, the third reason is probably my strongest motivation, I'm sorry to say.
Because writing here is important for my mental...and maybe physical...health.
Per the Washington Post today:
Want to stay strong as you age?
So...thank you to everyone who reads my posts...I know you're out there...and an extra-special, cherry-on-top thank you to those who comment. Love you all, every dang one of you. FanSee
...I decided to get crafty. I've had a project I wanted to complete for a couple of months, and for some reason I decided now was the time.
Five years ago, at my last Big Birthday, my family got together and gave me a year's subscription to Harry and David's fruit boxes: a dozen grapefruit one month, 15 ripe peaches another month, 30 delicious tangerines yet another month. You get the idea. These deliveries came in very nice cardboard boxes a few of which I started using on my desk, to hold unsorted mail or unpaid bills:
The boxes, unimproved, served me well for three or four years. Then, last fall, I bought decorative paper from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to give to my sister, Debbie, at the holidays. Debbie is crafty, and one of her crafts is making her own greeting cards. For that she needs good paper with interesting patterns:
There was some sort of mix-up on the Met's part, and I received two books of the Indian patterns instead of one. I was going to return the duplicate, but then I thought, 'I really like these patterns. Why don't I buy some Modge Podge and decoupage my boxes?' So I bought the Modge Podge and some brushes and, after a delay of several months, I covered the box I keep my bill-paying paperwork in with paper from the book:
The project took longer than I expected. I thought I'd knock it out in a day, but between fitting the paper to the box, gluing it in place, and sealing it with more than one coat of Modge Podge, I had to live with the mess for a couple of days. I was pleased with thee result but discouraged. I put my supplies away and forgot about doing another box.
Except that I didn't really forget about it. Every time I looked at that unadorned, To Be Sorted and Handled box, I gritted my teeth. Last week I got my supplies out, looked through my book of papers, and decided to do it, no matter what more worthy project it displaced:
Box #1 on right, Box #2 on left.
Covering this box went much faster because I had my steps already mapped out mentally and could just follow them.
Samantha started getting ready to move by spending Saturday going through her wardrobe and getting rid of everything...or almost everything...she'll never wear again.
I don't thinks she's done this since February 2006 when she moved in permanently. She still hasn't gone through all her shoes, of which she has many many, almost all athletic shoes. She has running shoes, lifting shoes, working out shoes, yoga shoes and heaven knows what other kinds of specialized footwear.
Sam would probably just chuck these two garbage bags in the trash, but I will sort though them, list them on a spread sheet, and donate them to the AIDS Thrift Shop. The Thrift Shop raises money for AIDS victims, the items stay out of the landfill, and I get a deduction on my income taxes. To be honest, the third reason is probably my strongest motivation, I'm sorry to say.
Because writing here is important for my mental...and maybe physical...health.
Per the Washington Post today:
Want to stay strong as you age?
So...thank you to everyone who reads my posts...I know you're out there...and an extra-special, cherry-on-top thank you to those who comment. Love you all, every dang one of you. FanSee