Better than it was before............

I made up a song (I do that all the time) and it was while I was cleaning.  I had finished the project and although it wasn't perfect by any means it was "better than it was before" so that's my story and I'm sticking it to it! 
I had some appointments and one was over the telephone but the gal was supposed to call me at 10:00 a.m but she was a 'no-show'.  I did get a call back from Terminix though and they have agreed to lower my monthly pest control and my annual termite inspection significantly but then I have been down this road with them before and they never follow through so we shall see.
I don't seem to get as much done when my day is interrupted like that but I did manage to shampoo the dining room carpet but only where I could reach.  I need to do the rest after moving the furniture but like I said "it's better than it was before".  I used some old generic carpet cleaner and I don't think it did very well.  I am going to make my own once I use up the generic and there's going to be Oxiclean in it too!

 I also got the 2nd and final coat on the ceiling in the "used to be a closet but is now an alcove".  I got one coat on the side walls about half way down.  I used a brush as I didn't want to mess with the roller and tray it is such a small space.

That's all for today worth mentioning........leftovers for supper and some vegging out with the t.v.  No knitting podcasts though!  Maybe I'll watch Harry Potter.....the 2nd movie.  What are you up to this Friday night?

No power yesterday............

for most of the day and then when it came back on it was only for about an hour and then it went back off again for a couple hours.......thus....no blogging for me.  I was lucky to heat up some supper in the microwave! LOL!  But the roof is still on and we're all fine but there were many in AR, MS, and IL that didn't fare as well.....my prayers go out to them.  My old metal lawn chairs were tossed down the driveway and they have  never moved during a storm so it must have been pretty wild.  I can't hear much in this house it is so well insulated plus the girls are too feeble now to go down the basement steps.....I'm afraid they would fall.  I left the basement door open and the girls I stayed put in the family room which is in the middle of the house with no outside walls.  There were 70 mph winds evidently which took many power lines down and trees.  I saw quite a few downed trees and the power company still working on lines when I went out today.  
Today was Walmart and I treated myself to a few items along with supplies.......first of all.....I could not resist some Spring bulbs on sale and then herbs and lettuce for salads....

 and I treated myself to a few magazines which I have not done in ages..........but I was looking for a little distraction and inspiration as I have frogged 3 knitting projects this week and I am not going to be knitting for a good long time if ever again.  I love it but I cannot seem to be very successful at it so I am taking it as a 'sign' for now that I need to be doing something else.......

I have learned over the years that rejection is protection and/or direction so I am trying not to view myself as a failure but rather that I am supposed to be devoting my time and effort to something else and I think I know what it is.  Although, I was not sitting for hours knitting, just to take a little break inbetween chores but that might have been the problem too.  Maybe, I needed to 'focus' on the knitting more...remember my word of the year this year?  FOCUS.......and so I am but not on knitting...it is on moving forward with selling my house, clearing and cleaning.
Don't get me wrong...there will still be handwork and projects as I have gifts to make and a quilt for my bed and projects to finish but it just won't be knitting.  I spent too many hours knitting only to tear it out and start over again and again.  I can't afford to waste time right now as I have too many irons in the fire.  

So, tomorrow I have 2 appointments and then it is carpet shampooing time with the Big machine!  I wish I could clone myself but unfortunately that's not an option right now.  What I want to do is buy a house up North, move and then have an estate sale here and then put the house up for sale....it would make my life so much easier!  We shall see.  I hope you are all fine and dandy and I hope, if you are knitting, that it is going much better for you than it has for me! LOL!
Oh, I also got some Spring stickers for my bullet journal but there were no St. Patrick's Day stickers!  Dang!  I guess I'll have to use my own artistic attempt at some shamrocks.

 Happy Trails!

Productive day but Spring is ramping up with some storms!

My fabric came today!  Woo Hoo!  Here it is!  I can't wait to start the QAL (quilt along ) over on Brooklyn Knitfolk's Ravelry group.....it's for beginners and first time quilters so if you've ever "hankered" to make a quilt, here's your chance! 

I have never heard of Boundless fabric but it had great customer reviews on Craftsy and get this.....inside my package they sent me a 40% off coupon code on my next order of Boundless fabric....oh yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about!
I got busy and worked on my dining room which had really turned into a big mess my sewing room.  But now I am moving it to the middle bedroom which will be my sewing/craft room.  This picture is AFTER I organized some things....lol!  There's a lot of work ahead of me on this project!  Also, getting ready for the Spring City-wide Garage Sale.  I need to call City Hall and see when it is....I missed the one in the Fall.  My theory is to divide and conquer while at the same time grouping like items together.....is that possible?

 This is a very old  hand painted Chinese desk that belonged to my grandparent-in-laws...is there such a word?  Anyway, my ex gave it to me for a wedding present.  The chair did not come with it.  There's a drawer and the doors open in the middle and there is a writing surface that comes down and little cubby holes for letters and there's a light inside too.  It's like having your own little post office! 

 I made lemon bars this afternoon as my sweet tooth was starting to get to me...........I'm cutting back on the sugar in these old recipes though and I added twice the lemon rind and twice the lemon juice...it just can't be too lemony for me! LOL!

See the stainless steel cannister and the old hand sifter?  The cannister belonged to my Mother and I remember it when I was little.  I'm sure there was a whole set at one time and how I ended up with this one is beyond me.  I've had it since my children were little......I'm sure it dates back to the 50's.

  I think my daughter got me the sifter in an antique store and it's great for sifting powdered sugar onto things...........you just shake it back and forth and that little thing inside goes back and forth....I have to be careful though as I can get a little carried away and the powdered sugar ends up all over!

I knitted on my shawl during my 'work breaks' but thought I had dropped a stitch twice and so I got my crochet hook out and picked them up only to discover at the end of the row I had 2 extra stitches!  Tomorrow I will try and tink back but it really looked like a ladder stitch was laying there just as if  I had dropped a stitch....I have no idea how I do these things!

Here's the error of my ways!  Not sure you can see it but it's there.....and I was making such good progress too....oh well, I will attack it tomorrow when I am fresh out of the box!  If anyone has any hints for how I do these things please let me know!  Would that happen if I went under the entire knit stitch instead of just the front loop?  Maybe I need glasses?

I'd better go eat supper as we are under a tornado watch and who knows if we'll loose power.  So far it's quiet but they predict quite a wild night and last night it hailed and there was quite the wind and lightening and thunder.  It didn't last too long and there were no big warnings but when they say tornado I get the weather radio out and it is all charged up and already on!  I hope you are safe and cozy where ever you are tonight!
Happy Trails! 

Spring blooms and a bullet.....journal that is!

They can say what they want but plants don't lie!  It's Spring in The Ozarks!  LOL!  This is my old Bradford Pear tree/bush.  It got hit by lightening years ago and it's never been the same....I wouldn't be either!  But I still love it.

The forsythia is blooming too but my pictures were blurred because there's a bit of a breeze today.  Here's what some call a weed but if you look closely it looks like a teeny tiny orchid or lady's slipper or lipstick vine or something.......

The hyacinth are blooming and I love, love, love the smell of them but I can't get my nose down that far anymore so I guess I will have to start forcing blooms in the Winter just so I can get a whiff! LOL!

Of course, the daffodils are still putting on a show too...........

On other plants, the clematis is leafing out along with the rose bushes and my lavender never really died back much or my other perennials.  It just never stayed cold long enough this Winter.
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I'm still reading the same books this week so I didn't want to post about them....what's the sense but I have moved onto the 2nd chapter in the NLT Bible....Exodus.  Also, I watched both movies that Connie from the Far Side of Fifty recommended (she's on my side bar)......The Great Alone and Harry and Snowman.  I loved both of them as one is about the Iditarod dog sled race and I love dogs and the other movie is about a man and his horse and I love horses!  True documentary style movies that I love.  I always think real people are so much more interesting than made up ones.  Everyone has a story and is interesting to me whether they think so or not.  Thank you, Connie, I really enjoyed them both.
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I finally got going with my bullet journal after looking on Pinterest and watching videos on You Tube about them.........here's what I have so far and it is so much fun too!  It combines my love of planning and list making with my love of colors and coloring...I really am going back to my childhood!
This is what it looks like after I glued some pictures and quotes on the cover of my pink composition book.....

The first several pages you make into an index which means you can make each page or pages whatever you want and the index will help you find them again...very important! LOL!
 I tried to 'gussy' it up but failed miserably but I will get better with practice I hope..........

 This is my 'future log' (I am using a tutorial and a quick reference sheet to get the basic page layouts in place).  I only did one page today....tomorrow I'll be working on the monthly log and task list.......
I used some colored pencils I got for Christmas (Crayola Twistables....no sharpening involved!) and my Prisma color pens which I love but I need more colors.  I also want to get some Tombrow (sp?) brush markers.....the You Tube videos give you a list of the supplies they use.....it will take time to build up but did I tell you how much I love art and office supplies too?  Bullet Journaling and I are a match made in heaven especially since it is 'homemade' too.

I put some washi tape at the bottom..........

I was pleased with how it turned out.........

I'm no artist and some of these people have beautiful journals but it is darn fun and that is what I am all about now a days! LOL!
As for my day so far......I've cleaned up the house, washed, hung, picked and folded 2 loads of laundry, went to the store for some ground beef and chips for Sloppy Joes tonight, worked a few rows on my shawl, read some blogs and ran the Spotbot in about 3 places.....Annie had some 'hacking' accidents after her surgery.  I think it was the tube they put down their throat for anesthesia but she's fine now.  I also looked for a homemade recipe for Spotbot detergent and I found one, where else?, Pinterest!  I need to make that, iron my fabric to the interfacing for my project bag, make supper and if I have any energy left I would like to work on my front closet....remember when I started painting it many moons ago?  Yep, another WIP!  I hope you are having a great Monday!
Happy Trails! 

YOP Week #35

I almost didn't post today because I have so little to show but then again....I so enjoy other's posts that I figured I would anyway.   I'm not discussing my 'cursed' socks.....maybe next week I can relate the sad tale but this week it is too fresh! LOL!
So, I got out a project that is on my list but was languishing...my Multnomah shawl.......it is in the Dachshund colorway by Madelinetosh.  I love this yarn and how it is working up.  I may become a yarn snob yet! LOL!  If you notice, I have some floss there in the picture because I had just finished putting in a lifeline.  I'm not taking any chances with this baby!  It's fingering weight yarn but this pattern only takes one skein which is budget friendly in my book!

 I did cut out material for a project bag out of my old pajamas......remember this fabric?

I'm using a free pattern and tutorial by Hue Loco.......
I also splurged and bought material for a quilt for my bed which I got for 1/2 price on Craftsy so that was a real win!  It hasn't arrived yet but this is what it looks like........all reproduction prints from the 1930's...........LOVE!!!!!  I've made quilts for everyone but me almost so when I heard that Jaclyn of the Brooklyn Knitfolk podcast was hosting a QAL (quilt along plus tutorial) I jumped right in!  It hasn't started yet as we are just gathering our supplies so there is still time to join in.  She has a group on Ravelry and you just need to join and then print off the supply list and she has exact fabric amounts for all size beds.  Mine is a double/full.  I have had the sewing bug lately so this will be a great project for Spring.  BTW, Craftsy has some great deals on fabric!

 The other item I've been working on is my bullet journal.  I thought my planner was going to work but there is no room for all my zillions of tasks, projects and to-do lists.  So, I have been looking at starting a bullet journal where you basically create what you need as you go and you have an index.  There is no limit with a bullet journal!  I printed off a 'craft' page today........and a few others........

I'll just cut them out and paste them in mine.  Do any of you do bullet journaling?  Pinterest has all kinds of ideas and pages....it's really amazing what you can keep track of and you can do as much or as little 'decorating' as you want......I'm really into it right now and it is like the answer to a prayer!
That's all for this week folks.  Are you watching the Oscars tonight?  I'm not sure I can get it without satellite but I'll try.....after all, I got to watch the Superbowl! LOL! 
Have a wonderful week ahead and Happy Trails!