The axe to the root

The first step in any plan is to apply the axe hatchet to the root of the problem.  I am starting small; hence the hatchet.  :O

First step is get back on the gluten free band wagon.  Kitchen organizing is happening and my gluten free flour mix and how to book are back in a prominent place on the kitchen counter.  I will have to learn how to bake using a scale as the Rooster is kinda busy but he will share his scale.  :/  You are what you eat is better translated you are what you digest!   The fact I am not worse is definitely due to the Rooster's diligence with the home grown meat, fruit and the vegetables.  I've also signed up for a program to fix my eating/lifestyle transgressions.  Now that I've acknowledged the error of my ways I can see doing this.  The focus is food not pills and powders.  andwhoo hoo!  The Rooster has been on the right track as his bone broth is first on the food list! (Yes, dear.  You  Are  Right.  again!)  It won't be easy but it doesn't look distastefully hard and the lifestyle section won't have me looking for a fitness trainer. phew!

The birthday girl's request for a kitty cake was conveyed to Grandad who passed on the request to the bakery.   He had meant shape and thought that was what he'd get.  He came home dismayed  but I assured him she would luv it.  And sure enough it was a hit!  That was hopefully my very last diet splurge as I think we may be done with the birthday season. 

The reading marathon is now limited to brief articles and occasional book reviews.  There may be a dvd marathon though, especially if the rain keeps up!

The big planner has reproduced smaller opportunities and I am quite excited about the possibilities.   And all these new things do involve some planning.

First up will be clearing the forest of paper products so I can get the grand kiddies's smash books back to them.  Their mum is thinking to give the smash books a break for the year and has a calendar in mind for each of them.  Works for me.  pant! pant!

The darn wind took an axe to my clematis tower.  My handy dandy Rooster says the base is rotted so that will need replacing.  Weather permitting,  the exercise program looks to be planning itself!  What else needs chopping down!

Achilles' heel

An Achilles heel is a weakness in spite of overall strength, which can actually or potentially lead to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, idiomatic references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to downfall are common.    wikipedia

Truth be known I have a couple!

It has been incredibly cold and rainy this spring.  I don't do cold real well.  So I've been huddling under a blanket and...

I wish I was as committed to my hobbies as I am to reading.  I had managed to 'control' my reading for the last few years and I was doing so well I treated myself to a 'free' e-book site.  Not good.  Especially with chilly and snugly added to the equation.  I did get a great list of art books for the grand kiddies and got them in from the real library.   I have a good focus for the next year!  Now libraries, even small town ones,  have due dates and require drives into town during their work hours.  A download is just a click away.  vbsigh  So I deleted my link 24 hours ago and so far so good!

When we are able to get out and cut grass we get that done but another downpour puts the greenery on a dash for blossom or bust.   This wooden tower fell over with the soggy soil, old wood, high winds and heavy, lush vine.   :(  So now a new structure is added to the list.  Two steps forward and one back.  grrrr  Actually just one hour east of us they were evacuating cottages because of fires.  This weekend they evacuated because of flooding and road washouts.  sheesh!  I shall be thankful as wade through the grass by the clothesline.

 But help has arrived as the grand kiddies spread their own sunshine all around.  Who can resist that???

My Rooster can't run as fast as he used to.  Shoot, neither can I.  So our son in law has the barn doors on his list.  'Course our fields are soaking wet so my farmer actually ordered some top soil so we could get to the flowerbeds on the south wall of the house.   I did add a few more cement pavers to an open space and I think I may have the dogs kafoodled!

When we can't go out we stay in and my Rooster goes into handyman mode as old plumbing meets new technology.  It didn't help that I ordered the farm sink a few years ago and the new improved sink fits the new style of Ikea cupboard I chose.  eek!  Its all good.  My guy is of the old school who can improvise and now can swear in Swedish!  The pull out drawer under the sink needs 1/4 inch  to clear the plumbing.  Since the leaks are all stopped, tweaking was NOT an option so I have a little notch cut in the back of the drawer.  Ha, garbage pail will hide that!!!

My DD#2 has persuaded me to let her help me downsize.  I told her I have been but I'd have another look around.  Ahem!   Now every week I cart a truckload of stuff, weather permitting,  for her to store in her basement until... ;>)  Now she has made lots of money selling stuff that I had already passed on to her. (She is a real minimalist)  Course some stuff needs to sneak past the grand kiddies as 'everything' is their favourite.  lol  But she has sold some old toys I had passed on and has bought them new/better ones.  The Rooster has made me carry a few things back into the house and one yes-no-maybe so is on hold in the girl's bedroom while I reconsider.  $25 so far and a dresser is pending!   But things really are feeling more spacious.

Because...

We REALLY are downsizing.  We have had to admit that we are not able to keep up to the maintenance this amount of acreage requires.  It has been a process and my farmer has taken a bit longer to 'let go and move on'!   I'm always up for a change and can hardly wait to see what is gonna happen.

My personal/physical achille's heel is actually my hands.  I am afflicted with eczema and that is such a bummer for mixed media.  But one must suffer for ones art!  Right.  Also cheating on the diet contributes so I'm back on the wagon and that will also improve my overall mental well being.   I have two rooms to paint and the kitchen to touch up but I'm optimistic.  Garden soil is a problem but I now have good leather gloves.  I should have got those years ago as they are SO much better than the cute cloth ones!

I know my regular blog friends are gonna groan.  When I confessed my transgression to the Rooster he just shook his head. Full disclosure-   But I bought another planner.  Start today.  I know. I know. What can I say. There is just 'something' that makes me feel warm and fuzzy about personal planners. I do plan on scheduling 3 blog posts a week as this 'whenever the fancy strikes' plan isn't working.

If I swear in Swedish will you believe this is the last one?  Okay, okay. But I think I'll blame it on my heel!

In the beginning

Beginning a new year, clean page, etc.  could also involve some disclosure.  So...

My relationship to my God is important to me but not something that I want to blog about although frankly, my life revolves around what pleases Him.  I belong to a small home fellowship and we decided to change things up by meeting on Saturday evening rather than Sunday morning.  No doctrinal basis for our decision except personal convenience.  The time change and the busy summer schedules had proved the change effective so when the fall time change drew near we were liking the results and have decided to continue.   This affects my blog. :0  I now have Sunday free to plan!!!
 

Believe it or not, I really have kinda fine tuned my hobbies.  KISS is my 2016 word and as I can only keep so many balls in the air, this is the plan.

 AND if I do have a general plan for how the week plays out I am more liable to get things done.   So Sunday I'll layout the plan.  I am also hoping to use some of the day for sewing if the Rooster is busy on his own hobbies because I am once again committed to the ufo busting Vicki instigated.
 
 Monday will showcase my passion for taking pictures with a nice vignette.  I had gotten a fancy camera last year but it was definitely not simple nor even handy most of the time so in the spirit of KISS I had traded it in for my current pocket sized Nikon which I am totally happy with.  It also turns out that our new mobile cell phone takes excellent pictures.  So I have got things covered and if I want to increase the learning curve I can read the manuals.  ;^)   But I will also be pursuing photo worthy projects in mixed media for later in the week.  House work permitting!  I do have to disclose that the Rooster and I have not been laying about eating holiday snacks.  Following his fine example we both have substantially simplified and thrown out lots of clutter!  So house work should be faster and easier as I won't be moving piles of stuff ahead of me as I clean. (more about that in the future)
   
Tuesday is a quick post on Treasures as I continue to document my early quilt projects.  I can schedule these ahead of time so I will have a 'free' day to pursue studio time.   I did join a year long mixed media workshop.  Wanderlust.  I want to increase my understanding of various mixed media mediums and bump up my productivity level.  I should have some things to show for that long term commitment!  Hopefully by the end of 2016 I'll be more comfortable with the moniker 'artist' and what kind of artist I want to be.  ;^)

Wednesday is free right now as my work schedule has changed.  I can use this day for planning art 101 with the grand kiddies and my once a month craft class.   Another year long class I joined was The Documented Life Project.  This year's 'unplanner' is similar to something I did a few years ago and actually kept up with for over half a year.   The format is a smaller binder and, well, is frankly quite intriguing but more doable.  It seems likely that it will generate ideas for the grandkiddies smash books as well as indulge my messing about with mixed media.  And heck, I might just be forced to publish scratched off to-do lists!!! 

Thursday is my day with the kiddies and any errands I can incorporate.   Usually I am beat when I get home and this is a good evening to catch up on the free books for my e-reader that I discovered a few weeks ago.  I LUV reading but I am going to be seriously limiting those 'free' ones that are the start of 4, 6, 8  book series!  yikes.  I have no time for those.  :(

Friday indulges my luv for home decorating.  I have had an epiphany that spurred on the whole 'throw stuff out' frenzy of the last few weeks and has me incredibly excited to make our home 'ours'!  I shall work my way through the house each season but I have definitely simplified the whole process.  I will start at the entrance and work my way around but I do hope that it is noticeable that I have a whole new studio set up.  Eliana spent a week with me and I had her help me split my work spaces into one room for sewing/beading and another for all the wet mixed media/scrapbooking stuff.   Because the incentive was for her to actually get some sewing done her slow start moved up a few notches about the time I began to flag and I give her full credit for keeping us both hard at it. 

This gal is all about- Yes, I can!

A needle threader was later added to the supply list.

A new needle case and a fun project.

So that is the plan and I believe there is some kind of quote about half done/well done...

This will do...

“I wouldn't know where to start."
"He who chooses the beginning of the road chooses the place it leads to."
"Thoreau?"
"Harry Emerson Fosdick...”

This week's blog is brought to you by the letter P

Typically this would stand for Planning but for the Rooster's cryptic remark, albeit meant to be helpful, that I am not even a starter as opposed to a finisher.  I am a planner.  And that, dear blogging friends, has brought my head up with a mighty jerk!  :O

As I've said before, blogging has been a wonderful pathway of finding friends,  discovering new techniques and motivational tools but especially for learning about all kinds of new things.  Foremost has been learning about myself.  It has been most enlightening.  Therefore when my Dearie said that I was a planner all kinds of misplaced pieces suddenly slid into place. 

But even I know that the ultimate goal is finishing. It was even the word of the year some time ago.  Really!!!  ;^)   But you can't finish if you don't start.  duh!  So much as I luv planning, I must start.  So no Planning.  At least not first up.

I want to talk about Plan Ting.

My Rooster has reduced his farm chores down to the place where he has picked up my... oh dear, I hate to say it... my plans for the yard.  ahem.  We, as in 'he' leading and 'my' scurrying behind to say but, but...  have started to implement yard changes.  We divided and conquered the lectures during our first ever garden show.  We have acquired vermeculite and perlite and know the difference between them.  After many years of poor results with shelter belt plantings we have gathered pots, a custom potting mix and a manageable amount of young trees that will find permanent and prepared homes this fall.  Meanwhile they will receive TLC in a central location with good access to water. (I used to scatter them all over the yard and forget where I'd put them.)  The Master list keeps us (him) on track when the short list has been accomplished.  The short list for planting ends June 15th when we will be switching to structures. Workroom!  woo hoo!!!   oops, focus- planting!  lol

The Rooster is foremost a gardener, as in vegetables.  But as he is new to raised beds this is a bit of a learning curve for him.  He knows his soils but keeping moisture in the elevated  soil is an whole different thing from clay subsoils and torrential downpours!  :{  That and keeping the dogs from using his freshly tilled earth as a runway!  :[   Aside from the fact that I am gluten intolerant we have been changing our eating habits.  We are eliminating processed foods, downplaying grains, embracing what we grow best, and using our own or local produce.  My dearie is the menu planner and spare time cook.  I had not planned that when we married but I'm sure a happy chick with the way things turned out.  He'll take all that garden produce and turn it into soups and stews  for ready made winter meals. :) 

I need to start some seeds so I can incorporate them into my new luv, containers.  I learned all about using edible plants along with  decorative plants in containers for easy garden landscaping.  Those gosh, darn dogs have also been in my flowerbeds.  :[  I need a few carrot, beet, and swiss chard seeds for my plan.  It will hopefully cut down on the flower budget when we go for transplants and I rather doubt they'll have carrot greenery!  ;^)

So for today I am potting, and planting and kinda playing.  Does that count as starting???  ;^)

Tuesday's try!

I haven't yet bought my 2014 calendar.  The free ones are not very pretty or else the spaces are small and they transfer marks to the brand new month underneath.  :(  Last year's pretty bought calendar barely made the monthly switches as I tend to look at the Rooster's plain and serviceable free calendar that is in the kitchen.   Planners for me have been the notebook type with a two page spread of the month that gets buried in the paper surrounding the 'puter.  :O   If I am planning my week I generally just scribble sections onto any available scrap of loose leaf found in the previously mentioned pile.  This year has a 'strict budget' on the top of the things to accomplish this year so I thought I just might draw my own grid.  I have some specific things happening in specific months and I need to know when I can sit around scrolling through blogs and when I need to be making progress on this year's commitments!  ;)

Then I saw Jan's postings on the her new journal, here and here.  I am still wanting to make art journaling more of a daily practice.  I did enjoy making  the 2 big binders from two years ago but I got behind at the very end and they just became way too big.  I also find myself organizing my week in a more purposeful way.  so...

I checked out the Document Your Life Project on the Art to the 5th blog.  I seriously need to curtail art supply buying, much as I'd luv the Moleskine planner.  hmm???   A search through all my mixed media sketch books yielded only one that qualified and of the 60 pages I still had 54 that were not tampered with other than some colourations around the edges.  Must be meant to be!  :)

So I am drawing grids and mapping out the week's focus AND making art!  At least I will be trying to!

I'm also trying to be a 'puter techie!  The tutorial videos are very slow so I thought to tweak my settings. HA!  I have given up as I went from slow to no go! This morning I hit the restore button. vbsigh!  I did try!  ;)

Tah Dah! Way TO go!

I am beginning to see the value of forward planning.  I am not too good at thinking while I am running full tilt.  Then when I grind to a halt I'm disoriented.  But if I have a general focus and some projects preplanned then I can quickly get back on track.

I don't seem to have a calendar upstairs.  But I can certainly draw up my own.  May is going to be a big month and that will take serious planning to prepare for.  I am trying to keep each month's focus in mind and work around the fixed dates and take advantage of the lulls.  I'm not a detail planner but a specific focus and some general daily goals seems to be working and gives me a heads up to the busyness that is looming.  I planned with company in mind but quickly adapted to 'home alone' mode.   I had already taken steps to set up and organize a few zones; always ready to go, so to speak.  I was able to not only tweak them but actually try them out.  Now when I get to spinning around and start to lose my balance I already have my general plan in place and the zones are ready and I can refocus easily and get back to the task at hand.

Now I can show some actual results and not just photos of gathered supplies and  instructions.  woo hoo!

Mini has some patchwork pieces at the ready for quick piecing when I just want to be sewing something.  This is just pick up two pieces, sew them together and repeat.  Great for when you need something to do but you are feeling kinda fuzzy.  I can push Mini back into her corner spot and pull her back out easily.  This will also make a dent in the ufo pile!

I'm trying to keep the cutting table clear and that made it easy to got the quilt sandwich prepared and the binding cut.  I have three completed projects in the fabric department.  The wee runners from Wednesday and the big hot pad are completed.

I have my applique supplies in a container and my light at the ready!  I have been trying to clean up my fingers and get all the rough edges smoothed back for applique.  I may have to think about some of those thin plastic gloves for mixed media even though they make my hands itchy.  My hands are my Achille's heel.  :(

I don't really like getting my hands all messy because I know they then need time to heal up but sometimes ones fingers are the handiest tool!  lol  I'd really like to leap in and do big canvas collages but I'm settling for elementary school with cardboard cereal boxes.  I spread the whole box out flat and thought I could crop them but the reality is that these are practice pieces from all my on line classes.  Lots of fun!

We've only just started January but I'm feeling like I have at least gotten out of the starting gate!  A do have a ways to go but I AM going! 

I will, I will not.

 Once upon a time I had some control over my life.  The Rooster crowed once and left for work at 6:00 am and returned at 6:00 pm.  The day was mine. :)  Not so now. :(  The Rooster still crows, leaves for work, and returns.  But some of my chickies have returned at various times as well and the youngest is now back in the coop  with his girlfriend.  They need a little TLC before they can fly again.  My time is not my own and I have had to admit my stamina is not what it once was.  I do need my 8 hours of sleep, a healthier diet and some warm up stretches if not some kind of exercise program.  :o  I need to get some control back and the choice is mine.

 Since I am now willing to accept this as the new normal I have decided some things.  i.e. -  I will grow up, act my age, set an example, etc.!  ;)

I will look ahead and accept that there are things I cannot change.  What is, IS.  I will not look back and moan for what I only imagine could be better and probably wasn't.  Hopefully I can learn from my mistakes. I do want to focus on what is, not what was nor what could be but NOW.

I will manage my endorphines.  I will not waste creative productive opportunities.  Sound confusing?  Well, I discovered that reorganizing, planning, and beginning bright new ideas makes me high. I luv that feeling.  But then I come down hard when it is time to actually do it and I am dismayed that I somehow lost that 'luving feeling'!  I will begin to put off short term pleasure for long term gain. Btw, that is my Rooster's mantra! ;)

I will continue to simplify and sort. Clutter confuses and distracts.  But I will not loose focus, climb on the endorphine train, and derail! I'm a great starter but not a great finisher.   Hark, do I hear my longsuffering Rooster crowing.  Half way through a creative curve he will straighten up, look me in the eye and say, "You've done it to me again, this is NOT what we are supposed to be doing!".  He is very focused unless I razzle dazzle him with my fancy feather movements!  lol 

I will use a timer.  I will not write out elaborate schedules, plans, or timetables with colour coded papers, pens and stickers.  Okay, the stickers are an exaggeration but you get the idea. :o   I will figure out how much time I have most days for work and play. I will figure out the best time to do things.  I will not do what I want, I will do what is best.  I have been known to pick cleaning, which is my happy place where I day dream about what if..., rather than do something I'd rather not do.  The only list I will attempt is a time log for what I did in hopes of improving and focusing. I will set the timer and try some discipline.

I will have reasonable expectations.  I will not be fooled that writing down my to-do/wish list means by some magic it has been or will be done.  I am an optimist.  I am married to a realist.  Surely something has rubbed off on me and I could become an optimistic realist.  lol 

I will commit to a general (realistic) plan.  I will not get bogged down in la la land embellishing the landscape!  :(   Five things!  Simple priorities! One big project a month.  Hardest thing first. Clean up worktable every night. Finish something!

I will get back to basics and a good balance.  I will not clutter things up nor complicate things. 

I will use my supplies and purchased classes.  I will not buy more supplies nor more classes. 

 I will manage my time.  I will not waste it.  I will find out what works for me.  I will limit some things.

I will DO it!  I will!

T'is True!

Monika, over at My Sweet Prairie, says the shadows in winter are blue.  T'is true!

We did some culling but there are still lots of chickens (and the 2 ducks) over in the 'real' coop and I go out every week day after lunch to feed, water and collect the 7-8 eggs the girls produce.  But it isn't as easy as before because the path is blown in and kinda deep now.  BTW, the Rooster checks things out on the weekends!  Probably to see if the hens are still letting the rooster rule the roost!  lol

T'is also true that a kiss makes things better.  In keeping  things simple and sweet (KISS) I can reduce stress and save money!

I am still simplifying, focusing and shopping at home. I want to do 12 books this year and if the focus for winter is home decor then the books need to reflect that.  These aren't necessarily the best books but they are in my own library at home or from the local library.  First up for January is storage as I need to continue the whole house purge.

Before I have to commit to the final colours for the front rooms I wanted to just get the room we are using somewhat settled in my mind.  So I gathered out anything that isn't blue green and then I put anything I came across and wanted to keep that is blue green in there.

Not anywhere near done as I haven't even purged the bookcases as of yet.   But  I am learning that if I empty everything that is NOT the primary colour choice, shop the house, consider 'what if...' and then build on a good base I can tweak and break 'the rules' later. Also having lots of the primary colour in the room helps with picking a good paint choice.  T'is true.

This also helps as I round up all my ufo's.  I think I have found them all and I am trying to find a realistic plan for breaking them up into 12 months.

Knowing that one room is bluegreen helps me set the priority for 2 wips!  One just needs binding.  woo hoo!

I am starting to feel like I have a grip on January and 2013.  Plans always change but I'm definitely benefiting from having some planning in my life.

"Would you tell me which way I ought to go from here?" asked Alice.
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get," said the Cat.
"I really don't care where" replied Alice.
"Then it doesn't much matter which way you go," said the Cat.
- Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865), novelist and poet (1832-1898).


If you don't know where you are going, how can you expect to get there? - Basil S. Walsh


A good plan is like a road map: it shows the final destination and usually the best way to get there. - H. Stanely Judd


 T'is true!