Week Fifteen, October 2009

Technically, this weekend was not scheduled for anything. I had kept it open "just in case" something came up around my son's birthday. I should have known better, they don't have much time in their lives for us any more. That's ok .. my "retaliation" (though not on purpose), was to forget which day was his birthday!! LOL!
There are still a lot of things to be done, but at least I know I'm ahead of where I was last year, or many of the years before that. I do enjoy my fall decorations. But, if I want to put up 18 to 20 trees, I can't do it all the weekend after Thanksgiving (especially not this year since we're doing a birthday party for Mama that weekend). Plus, as much work as it is, I want a good 2 months to enjoy them before all the work of packing up again!
Basically, the house is decluttered. There will always be little "pockets" of stuff that need to find somewhere to live. But someone could come into my house now - without a reservation in advance - and I wouldn't be embarrassed. The downside of clutter-free, however, is boring. I walk through my clean rooms, and don't feel good about them. I just feel bored. The problem is not the clutter or lack of it. There's just no "life" in this house. Jimmy mostly just sits around all day making messes for me to clean up. He has the paraphanalia to do lots of different projects, but he just doesn't bother. The most active he gets is to mow the grass. I come home from work and mostly stay in my room, other than dinner (he does do that ... because I refuse to come home from work and cook while he sits around doing nothing), or if I'm cleaning or doing laundry or something. The TV shows we each like are dramatically different. Plus, he has no interest in the computer. Plus, in "my room" as well as my TV and computer, is my sewing machine! :) And we rarely have anyone here to visit. No one to see or care if the house is clean or not. I really hope people will come by to visit this year when the decorating is done, but will have to just wait and see how it goes.
OK, I'm getting a bit side tracked here. There are still a few areas I'm working on. This morning I rearranged a book shelf, and then moved cook books from a kitchen shelf to the newly emptied one. Then I took things out of some crates piled in a difficult-to-access corner and put on the bookshelf. That accomplished several things: (1) it got clutter out of the corner; (2) it got some things, especially baggies, where they are easy to see and reach; and (2) it freed up 3 crates that I can paint and use to have a better area for my container plants when it's time to bring them inside for the winter.
I've also done a load of laundry, which I will put up as soon as Jimmy is out of the shower (my closet is in the bathroom).
Today my plan is to dust and vacuum everything; clean the bathrooms; and do some baking, some sewing, and if the weather clears enough, a little painting. A friend might come by this afternoon (she has offered me a larger TV for my room. It's in her van, so she wants to get it to me rather than leave in the van too long), so everything is flexible (as long as I do the cleaning first!) around that.
Yesterday was a good day in terms of Christmas, but not much else. I went very early in the morning with some friends to a huge community - wide yardsale. (multiple homes, you had to just drive around to them). I got some great bargains ... most of the Christmas for one of the grands, some Christmas things, and a few other just plain good buys (a large Foreman grill for just $5!!). I also took a friend to a quilt show, which we both enjoyed. Later, though, after some shopping, my car wouldn't start. The starter died. Her cousin came to our rescue, and my car was towed (and I had an interesting - meaning hair-raising! - ride in a pickup towing the car), and will be fixed tomorrow. I managed to lock the keys in the car, so couldn't even bring any of my new purchases home.
At least I know I won't be tempted to go off anywhere today! LOL!