Ordinary Time

I've mentioned before that I feel I am in an in-between time right now with children having switched to learning via dual enrollment and my role becoming rather miniscule. Earlier this week as I was working in my studio, I looked around me at the hundreds of books that we used for homeschooling and stored in my studio and realized that I could close that aspect of my life. While the memories are all very good memories, the sheer weight of it all was becoming a bit much. I didn't want to be surrounded by it all all the time anymore. Plus, I could use the space.  On Friday I began the process of moving books off of shelves, made a huge mess in the middle of my studio, became overwhelmed, and left it. At that moment I didn't really know if I could physically or emotionally tackle such a daunting task. J. offered to help and we came up with a game plan which involved tackling every bookcase on the second floor, both in the studio and out. By the end of the day, we had sorted an...

One day last week I had a day with nothing on the calendar and no project at home that needed my attention. It was the perfect day to work on something that I had been putting off because I didn't want interruptions once I began... Finishing up little odds and ends of projects that we're lying about the studio and getting things put to rights. So that is what I did. The little projects were the last 2% of many different things that I hadn't bothered to completely finish, so I couldn't put them away. I washed skeins of yarn, I completed various notes on projects and filed them, I completed weaving a swatch for my ongoing breed study project so that could get filed away, etc. It wasn't even things that warranted a picture.  This allowed me to clear the decks a bit. I realized that I needed a dedicated staging area for future weaving projects, so I reorganized a bit and made that. Things are much more organized now and it makes me happy.  The large inkle loom needed a ...

I don't really have much to share with you, last week being kind of taken over with buying and bringing home a new horse. That's one reason, but here is the other. This is the table in my studio. And from the other side. I have now reached a point where until I get this sorted out, I absolutely cannot work in there.  Some of it is projects (yes, plural, and that is part of the problem), some of it is unrelated, non-crafting items that need to just be put away, and some of it is new crafting items that need a home. Right, about that. A spinning/knitting store near me is closing its doors after many years. I'm kind of sad about it because I've found really interesting spinning fiber there. There is a 50% off everything sale until everything is gone. That's a mark down to take advantage of even if I currently don't really need anything. It is definitely a stock up price.  (We won't visit the fact that spinning fiber is not really something I need to stock up on...

I've been thinking a lot about the idea of enough, as in already having enough. I don't think we as a society are good with this idea. We are so steeped in the idea of more, better, newer that we don't even realize how much it affects us. Now, admittedly, some of this idea of enough stems from my miserly frugalness. Years and years of needing to be very careful with every penny will do that. I realized back then that I could choose to see life in one of two ways. Either I could look around me and see all that I didn't have or I could look around me and be thankful for what I did have. I usually chose the second, though I'd be lying if I said I didn't succumb to the first every now and then. To remain in the second frame of mind, I learned I needed to do certain things. I cancelled all subscriptions to any shelter magazines which filled me with dissatisfaction. I also stopped looking at any catalogues which came into the house. We didn't have television recep...

Yesterday I spent a good chunk of the afternoon really cleaning our bedroom. It was kind of... not clean. J. was a little concerned a spider might wrap me in a web while I was reading, so it seemed perhaps it was time to do something about it. I don't enjoy cleaning (I'd much rather read or sew or spin or weave or spend time with the horses or practically anything), but I'll admit that it is nice to have a clean and orderly room again. Because along with the cleaning comes the dealing with the piles of stuff that get set down places since it is hard to dust around them. One of those piles was the set of paintings I bought from China a few months ago as well as the nativity paintings by H., K., and Y . All of this was sitting on my desk waiting for the day when I would finally get around to getting frames for them. Today was the day since I didn't want them to languish on my desk for yet more months. J. went with me and we managed to hit a sale on frames which made the p...

When you clean up a room, you sometimes discover that you don't have the storage solutions that you need. You think maybe a trip to IKEA when you can leave your house again might be a good idea. As you think about different storage solutions, you realize that you need to move out a filing cabinet. In order to get rid of the filing cabinet, you have to decide where to put the files that are in it which you still need. So you decide to move the giant filing cabinet upstairs to your bedroom because this way you can have a place for the files and your husband can have a space for his work files. You (or your husband and son) move the large filing cabinet upstairs. Of course, things never fit quite like how you imagine them in your head, so you need a new plan. If you move one desk, a reading chair, and two large bookcases, you could use the filing cabinet to create a wall and allow your husband to have a slightly larger work space. Moving all those items seems more than you can handle ...

We are on fall break this week. When I was doing the planning, I knew that K. had an orthodontist appointment on the 14th, and since it was in Chicago, I knew it was going to be a multi-hour extravaganza. I also knew from experience, that I would be ready for a short break about this time, too. Boy, was I right. We've managed to keep up with our schedule, but a fact that most non-homeschoolers don't know is that it is nearly impossible to keep up with house stuff while homeschooling. Even those of us who are pretty relaxed with our schedule find it challenging to do both homeschooling and house. There just isn't time. So that coupled with the fact that you are using your house all the time, adding to the chaos, makes it even more difficult. This is where I was at last Friday, but then I was gone all day Saturday, Sunday was busy getting ready for H.'s party, and yesterday I was gone all day again at K.'s orthodontist appointment and visiting a dear friend. Do yo...

Here are A. and D. They are busy with a project. Being concerned about the development and welfare of their younger siblings, they have decided we need a new household job system. I've had different systems for children doing work around the house for years, but just never got around to figuring out how to make it work in our new house. This concerned A., because she felt the younger people needed the character building having household jobs created. She's probably right. So, this evening, she came up with a new way to make the household jobs work. Each morning, each child will draw for which daily job they will do. Each Saturday, they will draw for which bigger Saturday cleaning job they will do. She assures me this will be FUN! We have decided that people may trade jobs if both parties are agreeable to the change. Trading privileges will be revoked if whining and complaining results. I said great, make it work, and that is what they did. A. is writing out a detailed li...

I've spent the day dealing with food. Not cooking food because I did none of that, but planning, buying, and organizing food. There were some pretty good sales going on, so I ended up going to three grocery stores today and doing a bit of stocking up. At one point, as I was in line at the cashier, a woman gets into line behind me and asks if I am having a party. She was probably a little disappointed and a little confused when I said no, it was just my usual week's shopping (which it was... I had done the stocking up in the other stores) and left it there. I don't need to explain my large family in the grocery store . Many grocery bags later when I get home, I discover that all my stocking up groceries are going to be a little difficult to fit into the pantries. This is why, at 3:30 in the afternoon, not too long before I should really start cooking dinner, I do this: Yes, I emptied the entire contents of the food pantries into the kitchen and dining room. E...

Last Sunday I went to the store and bought these: That would be two paper calendars. A larger one to put in the kitchen for everyone to see and use, and a smaller one that I can carry with me which fits in my purse. Up until a year ago, this is how I managed all our family scheduling for years. Then last year, when we had to move to smart phones because of our eternal issue of lack of wifi out here, I switched to the calendar on my phone. And that was okay. It worked. I don't think we forgot to go anywhere. It was handy to have it with me all the time, and not have to carry a separate calendar. In theory, there wasn't anything really wrong with it, so I kept using it. Until my phone decided to degrade instead of upgrade twice in one month, and pushed me over the edge of all reason. I realized just how dependent upon the silly thing I had become. When it wouldn't work, I was stuck. I couldn't see my calendar to know what I was supposed to do. I couldn't call...

I can't think of a parent who hasn't heard these words. I know I have. And since I am also always on the lookout for blog fodder, it only takes one request to get me to write a post. In this case, the question was asking about our What to do binder. It's officially names the "I don't know what to do!" book. See? It's pretty much a large binder that I filled with instructions for all sorts of activities. I came up with it as a way to store all the interesting ideas I came across, because I am an information hoarder. It also meant that my children could flip through it to find ideas to occupy themselves. As wonderful as Pinterest is for keeping track of good ideas, it is not so great for children to browse through. Inside of pages and pages of ideas from magazines that I have saved over the years, sorted into sections. There's general craft ideas... activities sorted by season... cooking ideas, party ideas, costumes, and science exp...

You see this? And this? What you are looking at is the winter wear for 12 people, all sorted, and tried on for fit, and stowed away. It only took a couple of hours, and there isn't even a huge pile for me to figure out what to do with after having outfitted everyone. This is also the first year that I haven't had to go rushing around trying to find gear to fit the ever growing masses. (Actually, I take that back. D. needs a winter coat. He needed a winter coat last year, and made due with cobbled together jackets and layers. I think I need to get him a real coat this year. Anyone have a men's medium winter coat kicking around?) And it's not even November, yet! Our motivation for getting this job done was not only the few snow flurries we had today, but the fact that all of the outerwear was stored in the crawl space under the house, with the exterior entrance. The exterior entrance which, if it snowed any amount, would be extremely difficult to get to.

[2025 me popping in to correct an inaccuracy. Heaven only knows where 2017 me came across the fact that Southdown Babydoll sheep's wool had a micron count the same as cashmere, but boy is that wrong. It's a Southdown breed, so has Southdown wool, a medium course wool with a much higher micron count than cashmere. Southdown wool is great for socks and hats and mittens and sweaters not worn next to the skin. It also turns out I'm not a huge fan of prepping and spinning it. (I tried a sample at one point.) So while Babydoll sheep are cute, you probably won't ever find them here.] Yesterday, J. finished the last shelf in the closet in the studio. This means that aside from the actual sewing area which needs a counter made for my machines, the room is done. Everything is stowed away. I wasn't quite sure that it was going to be possible, but we seem to have made it work. Want to see? Here's the view of the closet from the door. The fabric shelves I showed you a while...

There may not be much on the calendar, but I'm making the most of it by organizing places that will probably never see this level of organization in my lifetime. I am still working on stowing everything that needs to live in the room where we're storing the school, sewing, and craft supplies. The room, I should add which now boasts a less awkward name. It shall henceforth be known as "The Studio." Anyway, all of this organization is somewhat necessary, because it is not a huge room, and I am trying to condense three rooms from our former house into one. I am so close to showing you the entire thing... but not quite yet. I do want to show you what has taking nearly two days to accomplish. I have sorted and organized my fabric stash! See? (It's really hard to get a picture of all the shelves at once, since they are in a closet, and I can't step back quite far enough.) This is all my fabric, folded to uniform sizes, sorted into types, measured, and put awa...

(If you are just joining us, read Part 1 and Part 2 , first.) For everyone joining me in working on digging out an out-of-control house, how's your kitchen? Your laundry? Your bedroom? And biggest of all (and really the reason that we are doing this), how's your relationship with your family? Have you been smiling? Looking them in the eye when you have a conversation? Taking time to do things together? Are you working on being all on the same team? This last is super important, especially when we get to the point of involving the family in keeping the house under control. If you haven't nailed these things every day, it's OK. Remember, you are in the process of creating habits, and habits take a bit to really sink in. At least the good habits, the slovenly ones which require no effort, take no time at all. Think about how you are creating habits when you are deciding what to do. You are creating the habit of putting things away in the kitchen right away. You are c...

(If you missed the first part, head to Part 1 , first.) Are you ready to move on? Is your kitchen cleaned-up? Have you been continuing to put in that load of laundry? (Yes, I know the clean laundry is starting to pile up.) How are you feeling about your relationship with your children? Have you been smiling at them more? If you can feel pretty good about your answers to those questions, then it's time to move on. Step 1: Let's tackle all that laundry next. A few notes on logistics, for at least how laundry works around here. My older people do their own laundry, so I just do H.'s on down. For those who can fold and put away their own clothes, I pile the clean laundry into baskets and let them deal with it. I fold everything else, though I only put away my own clothes and sheets and towels and things. Even those who have a bit of trouble with folding can put away their own laundry. Think about how your laundry system is or isn't working and delegate where needed. My ...

There was an old sailor my grandfather knew Who had so many things that he wanted to do That, whenever he thought it was time to begin, He couldn't because of the state he was in.      -- A. A. Milne I often feel like the old sailor in this poem, being surrounded by lists and piles of things to do, wanting to tackle it all, but sometimes sitting down and doing nothing because it all feels so overwhelming. Usually this comes after a particularly stressful or busy time of life, when either things have gotten out of control because of too little time or because of too little emotional margin. I know for a fact that I am not alone in these feelings of despair and helplessness because of the state the house has become. The chaos in the house is often compounded by the corresponding state of family affairs which often seem to mirror the environment one is living in. It can be frustrating and upsetting to find oneself in this position. Since I have had the experien...