the life-changing magic of tidying...YUP!

Hello, fall (cue convenient Halloween cat)!

We've been busy busy busy here.  Todd hired excavators to do some much-needed work down by the pond, leveling out the ground, adding gravel, and seeding it for grass.  It sounds minor, but it was two days of work to get it exactly right.

Now it's ready for adirondack chairs and a big fire pit...perfect for fall! 

I've been busy too.  I like to downsize infrequently, but I was galvanized for action after reading Marie Kondo's The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.  I attacked my closets and filled 8 large garbage bags with clothes.  I divested myself of stacks and stacks of books.  The kitchen was emptied, and I donated countless cookie cutters, cake molds, and miscellaneous huh?s.  The real challenge was the craft room.

When you craft, people give you things.  And when you have a LOT of hobbies, you accumulate quite a bit of stuff.  Rubber stamps and paper punches that were never used.  Thick cardboard books for card making, still in the original plastic.  Cheesy religious stickers, bedazzled specialty paper.  Ugly acrylic yarn and stiff, unpleasant fabric.  Hundreds of plastic buttons and shiny ribbon.  I dragged all offenders into the open and assessed them with a critical eye.  Tabitha assisted from above while I sat on the floor and sorted. So helpful?

In the end, I donated bags and bags and bags.  Now, everything that remains has been carefully curated. Every bit of fabric, every skein of yarn, every piece of paper - chosen.  Since I got rid of over 300 rubber stamps, the ones left behind can actually be accessed easily and utilized...ditto the paper punches.  Every remaining yarn skein is knit-worthy.  After removing two large garbage bags full of fabric, what I have now is of good quality and ready to use in any project.  I have so much more room, and everything is so organized.  I LOVE IT!  

Relenting to logic, I frogged several knitting UFOs (unfinished objects) but found a great one to continue on with!

I've also shaved down my embroidery patterns, making space for what I really want to try.  Lots of practicing now!

I've also halved my vacation photo albums (8 albums...gone!) and bagged nearly every cookbook.  Less-than-soft sheets and towels, gone.  Unused table clothes and overused cloth napkins, gone.  Continuing the trend, I deleted most of my Facebook groups and tidied up my Friends list.  Without so much scrolling, Facebook now takes about 15 minutes of my day, tops!  All in all, it's been an incredibly busy - but productive - time!  Time for reflection, too.  Growing up poor, I never would've dreamed of having so much stuff.  I felt grateful for having had the opportunity to possess it, and happy that I was passing it along to someone who might need it.  

I haven't missed the continuing signs of fall outside.  Ignoring the 90 degree heat, I've observed an increasing number of geese overhead.

Although the garden is done in my mind, I do still go out to its edges sometimes.  Everything is finally going to seed.

Somewhere in that mad tangle is my little pumpkin patch.  I spotted my first one - the deeply-ridged pale orange Porcelain Doll!

I saw several tiny Jack-Be-Littles that are nearly ready for picking, too.  Hooray for pumpkins!  We've been out of butter...butter!...for an entire week, so I haven't had a chance to do any baking with our apples, but that will soon be remedied.  And, of course, the pumpkin baking will soon commence!

It's been hard to get into the spirit, though, with the unrelenting heat and high humidity.  This morning it was 72 degrees, but with 97% humidity.  Like walking into a sauna.  The cats are feeling it!

We are really, really looking forward to cooling temperatures.  October is my very favorite month (daily Halloween movies!  Fall baking!  Outdoor fires! Plaid!!), in part because it brings some relief from the relentless heat.  Phew!  Not long now.

Have a great week!