Long time, no see

Well, I have been rather remiss about writing anything for a while. I have been in a mental state which hasn't really allowed me to write for any length of time, much less think thoughts which made sense when put together.

Things should be easing up now. Some of the issues which have been hindering me are more or less resolved. The main one being the fact that my aide was moving, and which meant I was going to have a new one, and all the uncertainties involved.

My aide of eight or so years has now left. She came to my home for the last time about a fortnight ago. This Friday my new and future aide will be coming for a short visit, just so we can get a feel for each other. Then her usual time for visiting will be Thursday mornings. This means my weekly schedule, such as I had been working on for a good while, will need changing.

My Thursdays are now probably going to be my busiest days. See, I have also managed to start going to choir again after a few years' break. And that is Thursday evenings. And the afternoons will be knit group meetings once that starts again.

On the other hand, this means that Tuesday is now an empty day. Which can be used for a whole multitude of things.

Now, Tuesday was the day when we got the veggie box. And I have to admit, it hasn't worked well for me. Or not as well as when it was Thursdays. Because it meant moving my meal planning day from sometime in the weekend to a few days into the week, so I could incorporate the contents. I need to figure out how I am going to solve that pickle. I might talk to the lady running the veggie box distribution about moving the day. One solution, the one involving not getting the box at all, is not going to be used. Because I can tell by the amount of veg I have eaten since the summer break (aka hardly any veg at all), that getting that box is a good help for me.

I seem to be improving on the fruit eating though. Or drinking. I have started making smoothies several mornings of the week now. So I'm not going totally without natural vitamins. And as I now finally have bought my second freezer I will be able to get loads of applesauce for consumption in innumerable ways added to my list.

Tomorrow is 1st September. The first day of a new month, the first day of a new season, and also the first day of a number of challenges I've signed up for or decided to do.

I have decided to do my own decluttering challenge. This involves me taking a picture in the morning of some small area, and then putting up a second picture of it in the evening. The goal is that the second picture should look much better. It doesn't have to be perfect, just better. If I do that every day (bar my birthday), I should have a tidier home at the end of the month. At least, that's what I'm banking on. If you want to keep tabs on that, I can be found at otteatthebackofbeyond there. I'll be using #Septemberdeclutteringchallenge2015.

I am also taking part in Miss Trenchcoat/Alexis Giostra's #CharmedDSLR photo challenge. I may well be doing it with both my new phone camera as well as my parents' old camera.

And then I want to see if I can finally get to grips with the ListersGottaList challenge. I have been trying - and failing - for several months. I think if September fails too, then it might be time for me to give up on that challenge entirely.

Now, all that remains to see is whether all these good intentions bring me towards Hell or someplace else.

♪♪ Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat ♫♪

No, don't panic! December hasn't snuck up from behind to surprise you!

Yet.

Chances are, it will do so later in the year.

But yesterday I reveled in the thought that it was exactly half a year to Christmas Eve. I am a total Christmas loon, so any excuse for making Christmas related activities is grabbed.

I have actually already started preparing for Christmas 2015. I have prepared and wrapped a Christmas advent parcel calendar for a friend. So come November, all I need to do is pop them into a package, write a note and get it sent. I also know exactly what I'm getting my dad for Christmas, which is a bit of a surprise, as he is always difficult. It will require some experimenting, some test running, and then I need to order the pieces and build. So I have an idea I will do well to start next month.

Because December has this funny habit of sneaking up on you. I mean, we all know December comes after November, but it always seems such a long way off. Until suddenly there it is, staring you in the face.

I am planning on making every 24th from here on into a Christmas prep day. Making notes, plans, lists. In the designated notebook I have. Starting that notebook has been a good thing for me. I started it several years ago, and one of the first things I did was start to note down how much gift wrapping paper I had. By the time I had added up to some 58 metres and still wasn't done, I made a mental note to not buy any more. And spent the next years avoiding all areas with gift paper so as not to be tempted. I have been successful at not buying any since. Using it up has been more iffy. So I have twice in the intervening years gone through and sorted out a few rolls which have been given away.

I should tally them up this year, but I still know not to buy. There's enough for many years to come, still.

I also discovered back then, that I shouldn't buy any Christmas cards. So ever since, I've been avoiding those areas. Unfortunately I have seen fit to start making a few of my own. And in spite of wanting to send off lots of Christmas cards, never got around to it. Last year I did break the writing block and got a good number off. I am hoping to improve on that run. I am still rather worried it will take a few years before the stash of cards is gone though.

What was successful last year was the amount of food and baking I got done. Both for Christmas Eve itself, but also in general. And the experimenting and creating of my own recipes. I didn't get to any final stage, but I finally got to try out ideas I've been harbouring for years, and had a lot of fun too.

Fancy joining me every 24th (or 25th) in doing small preparations for Christmas? The more, the merrier. You know where to find me. I'll be right here. Having fun. And getting organized. While singing about poultry putting on weight.

Dehoarding and planning and crafting = a happy me

This past week has been rather turbulent. I have been dealing with unforeseen changes of plans, and a lot of decision making. And decisions is not something I am stellar at. Never have been.

This is one reason why my dehoarding progress is as slow as it is. Because I have to decide the fate of every single item in my house. Well, some perhaps not. I have, for instance, made the decision that  my Lego is exempted from dehoarding. I am toying with the prospect of having to give up my Playmobil. I am even willing to consider reducing the number of dinosaurs in my collection. But my Lego? No way!

I have been able to deal with some of my crafting supplies. Some have been rather easy. That was because of the unfortunate fact that paints do not last forever. So I have had to toss a good number of pots and tubes away, much to my dismay. I have also learned the hard way that gel pens are not immortal. There is still a long way to go before I have my crafting supplies under control, but there has been a rather fun development as a result of the dehoarding.

I have started using some of my things!

For many years I haven't been able to get to them, or it has at least been seriously complicated. And then there was the matter of having space to actually use them. And the feeling that I should be doing "sensible" stuff and not having fun. Problem was, I wasn't really doing much of the sensible stuff either, so I was just doing nothing, and being miserable to boot.

In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have forbidden myself to do things because "they are fun" and I somehow didn't feel I was allowed that. I got back into knitting some 7 or 8 years ago, and the amount of relief and support it gave me was priceless. Of course, it did land me a massive hoard of yarn.

There is still a long way to go before I get to grips with my craft and hobby hoard. For one, there's that huge amount of yarn which I have managed to acquire. Unfortunately, my knitting mojo has died a bit. But I think it may well get revived this weekend. I have also managed to get myself a sizeable hoard of cross stitching items. Blame my mum and gran for that. They were avid cross stitchers, and managed to infect me. Actually, they also are to blame for the knitting. At least in my younger days.

Now, I am having fun. I have started making and creating. I may well decide that this or that hobby or craft is not something I actually love, but that's fine. Because then I will know, and I will be able to start getting rid of the things and make room for the things I do enjoy. And this sudden burst of creating has come alongside an increase in doing some of all that sensible stuff. Because I am planning and structuring my days and weeks. So there's room for both the sensible and the fun.