Saturday, March 20, 2010

Clutter

I am on a de-cluttering rampage, which might come as a shock for those who know me most intimately.

I like stuff. I have always liked stuff. Having stuff makes me feel safe and secure and this probably means I have lots of psychological issues (uh, duh, as the kids used to say).

However, due to the change in the seasons, the inspiration of a recently redone bathroom, or a recent viewing of ten minutes of the show Hoarders, I have decided to purge our place of some of that "stuff" I love so much.

So far, it has been moderately successful. The kitchen looks great, as does the living room (at the present moment. Just give it a day or two, I'm sure.). The teeny little bathroom we recently almost-totally remodeled looks fabulous and actually NEEDS a couple more things in it to complete it (more stuff? Yes please! New Stuff is in a different category than Old Stuff To Be Purged).

It has even extended to my photos, which are massively overwhelming me. The digital age has been glorious for photography, but lots of photos equals lots of data. And just lots of photos.

I want to get several pictures printed to hang, but choosing which ones seems like a massively overwhelming task. How overwhelming? Well, my dear brother gave me a wonderful Christmas gift involving me choosing a photo to print and I STILL haven't been able to do so. I've barely managed to sit down to attempt the feat three times, each time just feeling like it was an impossible task. Too many pictures, no easy way to sift the wheat from the chaff (since I don't have a good workflow for tagging favorites as they come in) and many of my favorites relatively inaccessible on another hard drive.

I think my next big project (that may or may not be completed, but would ease my heart SO much if I did finish it) will be to perform a COMPLETE backup of all my pictures onto gold DVDs or CDs so they last, complete with a binder (or binders) of index pictures, so I know which disc each picture is on. And copies of those DVDs in another location, like my parents' house. I think the hardest part will be getting the photos ready to burn to DVD. The thought of it makes me break out into a cold sweat.

I think I'll just retreat to the clutterless bathroom for now, thankyouverymuch!

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Ch-ch-ch-changes

So many changes! Well, not really, especially in comparison to last spring, wherein we house hunted, had two aborted attempts at purchases, bought a place, both looked for and got jobs, etc. But still! Some changes have taken place.

Braces are partially in place, more will be added over time, and so far, so good. I have to brush my teeth a lot more frequently and I narrowly avoided a truly classic moment of spinach smack on my front braces in an important meeting, thanks to a last-minute mirror check for that very reason.

Operation Home Improvement is back from a 6 month hiatus after the marathon that was the kitchen. We bought the most expensive shower curtain we've ever had (i.e., not vinyl and not from Target clearance), and will be painting our tiny tiny back bathroom tomorrow a (hopefully) lovely shade of gray. Actually, "Pelican," but who's counting? The most important aspect of this project is that it has a very high likelihood of being able to be finished, since the room is literally about 4 feet square.

We've been hiking a new trail every weekend for the past several weeks and it's been wonderful. Today we hiked about 4 miles along a trail with great views of the mountains, and Jasper had a fantastic time, as usual. It didn't hurt that it was over 60 today, with perfect blue skies. Everyone has spring fever. And it's supposed to snow again tomorrow (woo. hoo.). I'm so glad we were able to enjoy the weather today.

I finally finished Peter's quilt, which I have been working on for at least 2 years now, maybe more. I definitely work in fits and starts, but I was able to see this one across the finish line! If the light cooperates, I'll try to take a picture of it tomorrow. I'm really pleased with how it turned out, even if it wasn't exactly my own artistic vision being carried out (some clients are rather specific and hands-on in their art direction). Plus, I learned a TON about the whole process and the general idea of machine quilting, which will come in handy when I make my own quilt according to my own specifications.

And with that, I am off to bed, to get one less hour of sleep. Boo to springing forward!