Monday, December 16, 2019

12-16-2019 Monday-11:30am

Good morning!
First of all I spelled oxalates incorrectly.  So I went back and changed all my misspellings last time (oxylate is wrong).  Sorry about that.  But I'm sure those of you who googled it got to the right spelling automatically.  I hope.  ;)  She says as she wipes her grainy watery eyes--LOL!
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  Okay--I did remember to take a "before" picture of the bathroom shelves.
I started on the new plastic tubs for the far left corner. 
The tubs are in the kitchen department at IKEA.  Actually are dish pans but they were the perfect size and have built in handles.  I love repurposing!  ;)
I puttered away and got the three new plastic tubs done before Leah came over Tuesday night.
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In less than two hours my bathroom shelves were transformed! 
I will have permanent labels later for the top five new covered bins but for now I have yellow post-it notes taped down with Christmas washi tape--LOL!  Used IKEA's dimensions and--man!--the five of them just fit snugly up there.  But they did fit.  I can see why Leah likes those top bins with the zipper covers.  It is so nice and clean and organised!  Loving it!
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It has been cold.  Was -20F Tuesday night.  The birds are here off and on all day long when it is below zero.  I often keep my blinds like this so that I don't scare them off as easily because they can't see me quite as readily. 
I always feel badly when I frighten them off when it's so cold and they really need that extra fuel to stay warm.   
Annie will occasionally lunge at the window just to watch them all fly off in a panic.  She can be such a stinker!
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Wednesday I went down to sign a new lease for January.  Found out they arbitrarily decided to change the lease dates of everyone in the complex on my particular type of rental assistance to January 1st.  Easier for the owners or the management (whoever made the decision--I fully suspect the new management), but there is no worse time for a renter to move up here than in the dead of winter.  I brought that up and she said that if you knew you were planning to move and wanted to move in the summer you could just not sign a lease and go month to month in the meantime till summer.  (And hope they don't raise the rent randomly in the meantime.)  
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They still want a 60 day notice, of course.  Well, at least it's not just me that got a bad deal...but really?  I've never heard of a rental place just changing your yearly lease date.  They get by with a lot when you're poor.  I'm still really, really glad to be here, though.
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On Thursday Leah came over and worked on the gatefold table!    
She got the main part together but only one drawer.  Putting each drawer together involved a lot of hammering and that's not a good idea in an apartment complex late at night--LOL!
But isn't it awesome! 
I had been telling Ian about how he could use it like a desk when he's here... 
...and then we had a Gramma Day on Saturday!  Ian got to use the gatetable to work on a sticker workbook.  I caught him contemplating the partridges... 
...a shot of his ponytail (like his uncle Chuck)... 
...and just having a good time.  :) 
When Mama came to pick him up she came in for a while to put together the other five drawers for the gatetable.  She and Ian were a team. 
Was a lot of noisy work to be done.  :)
Ian did get tuckered out hammering after while and chose to either hold pieces together or hold the (plastic) nails so Mama could do the hammering.  Because he was such a good helper he got to do the really fun part at the end...put all the drawers into the gatefold table.  
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I still can't get over how great Leah looks! 
She has lost so much weight and is feeling lots better.  I am just so very, very happy for her! 
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Anyways, here's the gatefold table all together... 
...with the six drawers. 
They are nice deep drawers. 
Not sure what we will keep in them yet.  We'll decide that when we get to reorganizing the studio this winter.
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Meanwhile, I've been working on both setting up my new bullet journal and addressing birthday card envelopes for 2020 so my table is a bit full.  It's a constructive mess.  ;) 
I did finish getting January ready to go!  The monthly calendar spread... 
...the monthly tracker page/monthly goals & correspondence page... 
...and the weekly goals & doodles page/days of the week page.
The last two repeat until the following month.  I guess the bullet folk call those last two roll-over weekly spreads.  I saw somebody on youtube using something similar and that is what she called it like it's a thing now--LOL!  Cool!  You use the left hand side as a kind of to-do list for the week and the right hand side for anything that is specific to a certain day of the week.  (They switch the sides, but this is how I've been doing it for so long I didn't want to change that.)
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I can't tell you how awesome it is to have my very own printed version of the bullet layout I have been using for the past few years.  I'll find out how it is to be using a binder system with that lumpy middle section.  I'll sure know how much it annoys me by the end of the year.  The nice thing is that if it is annoying I can take the pages out to write on if I really wanted to--like I'm doing all the prep stuff right now before I put the pages into the journal.  If the disc type binder doesn't hold up well taking sheets in and out I can always use a regular binder next time.  I do have those kind of hole punches, also.  Anyways, I already loved filling it out!
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You probably didn't notice but I have a "blogger" icon on both Mondays and Fridays starting in January.  I have tried this idea before then got sick and it went by the wayside.  I plan to do the usual Monday Newsletter blogpost but then on Fridays I want to try doing a Question Day.  I have found several lists of questions that you can answer about yourself, your history, your family...your life, really.  I plan to start that in January.  I hope you might find it interesting.  :)
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The other additional sticker on my January calendar is a pen nib on Wednesdays.  I have been wanting to work on my calligraphy classes...well, seems like forever--LOL!  So, I decided to just pick a day and try to devote at least half an hour to working on those online classes from TPK (The Postman's Knock),
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I may have bitten off more than I can chew, but wish me luck.  As Leah pointed out, not having to draw out all of those bullet pages every month will save me some spoons--LOL!  A new year is right around the corner.  I am definitely thinking positive.  (Although I tend to do that against any and all odds--ROFL!)  Maybe this will be the year that things will actually change for the better, right?  Yes!  Yes!
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Have a wonderful holiday week, my friends!  Do you have any plans for changes or something new in this coming year?  :)
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"One can't believe impossible things," Alice said.

"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen.  "When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day.  Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
Lewis Carroll

15 comments:

Rita said...

My comment to get your comments--appreciate every single one! :)

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

Chew nice and slow and steady, strange that they could change the date for the lease signing

Janie Junebug said...

What a change with Leah! The shelves and the table are great.

Love,
Janie

Jon said...

I'm such a poor speller that I would have never noticed your mistakes. And I never heard of oxalate.
Wow, -20F is COLD. The last time I experienced anything that cold was during a blizzard in the Ozarks. I feel sorry for the visitors in your Bird Cafe,

I really like the shelves that you have - I need something like that.
Stay warm!

Deb J. in Utah said...

Hi Rita. I love your folding table with the drawers. So handy! Everything in your bathroom looks so neat and tidy. Ian's ponytail is so cute and very trendy! Have a good week!

Bonnie said...

Thanks for showing the before and after transformation on your bathroom shelves! It looks great! Isn't it amazing what a difference a few containers and a little organization can make? I used to use dish pans for organizing things a lot but these days it is hard to find them. My kids always had some for toy and game organization.

Those deep drawers on the gatefold table are great. I don't think it is possible to have too much storage space!

I love to hear your excitement on setting up the new bullet journal. Having those pages all printed will save you a lot of time I'm sure.

I hope your week goes well. We have a busy one planned.

Far Side of Fifty said...

What a wonderful workspace that gatefold table is! You have been busy!

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I was just thinking how GOOD Leah looked when you mentioned it. In fact, I didn't recognize her at first. She looks amazing.

That table is awesome. Wish I had an IKEA, but I doubt I could afford that table (grin). My craft budget is $60.00 (USD) a year, so you do the math.

Have a super lovely Christmas dear Rita. Enjoy the holiday, dear.

DJan said...

Leah does look wonderful, and that folding table is the best. You have a lot of stuff but it's very well organized. Love the new bathroom look! :-)

GrandmaG said...

Leah looks amazing! Like a new person. Keto?

TammyVitale said...

dear goodness - that temperature! How can any creature live outside in that? How can any human live with it even inside? I'd never go out. Ever!

and omg I am in love with that table! IKEA....I could use one for my tiney cottage and one for here - I"ll have to check the dimensions. It's just awesome! All except the putting together part!

And yes, Leah looks amazing. What's she doing for that? I managed 40 lbs but now am stuck and it's making me crazy.

Stay warm!

Divers and Sundry said...

Those tubs fit perfectly. Great find! What a difference your new bins make. I know you're pleased. Brrrr! So cold! I know the birds appreciate you :) Y'all did a good job on that table. You couldn't have found a better one for your needs. It's so small when it's all folded up.

Joy@aVintageGreen said...

Rita your revamped storage area is to dream for - so organized. Drop leaf storage table - WOW and it will be so handy for Ian projects and extra flat surface when you are working on projects too - and so much storage!

Leah is an amazing person.

The bird cafe is working hard - and Annie is sure helping keep things moving (ha).

You are getting so many things organized and ready for the New Year.

Hugs.

Joy

pearshapedcrafting said...

Now that is organised! I do love IKEA storage! I imagine Annie loves giving those birds a fright! Leah does look good - I've lost about 12 pounds over the last 5 weeks and my blood readings are coming down too! We looked at a similar table with the drawers although we are still wondering whether to change! As for new things - you already know we won't be going up North so much! Chrisx

Harvest Moon by Hand said...

The gatefold table has such a clever design! You are so organized! You had some frigidly cold weather there!