I'm on a mission and I can't be stopped

I’ve been on a kick for a week now, sorting, organizing and trying my best to arrange my home in a more orderly fashion. I think it’s because throughout the past two months I’ve been a tad bit overwhelmed with clutter while canning. Now that’s behind me I seem to be on a mission to streamline things…well, as best I can. And when I say I am done with canning this time, I really mean it. I thought I was done several times, but ended up with a few more quarts of this and a few more pints of that. The week before the wind storm I canned pear sauce. Then last Monday, the day after the storm, I got a bargain on a big ol’ box of peaches. How could I resist? Nearly ¾ bushel and I paid $5 for them! So Monday night and Tuesday morn I was canning peaches. I love peaches and was thrilled to find them marked down so low. A few were over ripe, but 99% were just fine and all nice big, tree ripened peaches. Tasty! Earlier I had called around local orchards and they were going for $36-38 a bushel. That’s way beyond my budget so finding a deal like I did was awesome! And how about this; I had just enough jars left to can them…just enough. So yes, I am done now because I am out of canning jars. That, my friends, is hard to believe because I had a load of jars at the beginning of the season.

Anyhoo, about the mission…I have reworked the kitchen a little to suit me better, switched things from one cupboard to another and somehow I actually found storage for my small appliances; the crockpots, the food processor, the blender, etc. I still haven’t figured that one out because I actually eliminated the sideboard. Trust me; I’m not questioned how, just celebrating the fact, lol! Today I unintentionally worked on the living room and rearranged enough to make it feel more spacious. With the cooler weather here and more time being spent indoors as the weather turns to fall, I needed to feel less closed in. The truth is, despite my simplified life, I have too much stuff and too much furniture. I am limited as to how I can arrange things and still maintain my own sense of aesthetics. But I pulled it off and managed to open the living room up a bit for a more spacious feel. Damn I am good! *snicker* I did take note as I was reloading the shelves with books and pretties that I need to go through these particular things and get rid of some of this excess stuff. But for the moment I am just going to feel good about what has been done.

My mind has been drifting to the holidays already. That means I must be picking up on my crafting soon since we give primarily handmade gifts. I have always enjoyed the creative process and my skills come in handy, especially on our budget. Not only when it comes to gift giving, but also in our everyday lives. Recently I crocheted a scarf for the top of the toilet tank. I felt it needed a little something to make it a little prettier. I happened to have some green cotton yarn on hand so I worked up this “doily” in a simple V stitch.

I also like to make shawls and have a couple I’ve made for myself and use regularly. They’re the nicest things to wrap up in on a cool morning or evening. I use mine in place of a robe around the house. I especially like to take one along when we go to the concerts in the park during the summer. The evenings can get quite cool and they are the perfect wrap.

Well, speaking of wrap, I think I’ll wrap this up. But before I do, check out the boys, Timmy and Arther. I think they’ve adapted well to one another.