Monday, June 19, 2023

June 19, 2023 Monday--11am

Good morning!

Well, we don't have a donation pickup until June 29th.  So I really have been taking it easy!  Found out I was more shot than I had realized.  Had several nights where I have slept 9 or 10 hours.  So I guess I am reluctantly glad to have some time off from the heavy duty P&P work.

I did set up letters finally!  When I was so busy with P&P I'd collapse after and be too tired (and sore) to even write letters...so I got very behind.  I had 16 set up and now I have 9 left there stacked up.  So that's the silver lining to not being able to do any P&P right now...been doing paper chatting all week.  :)

You may notice I have actual CatTV on with squirrels at a bird feeder for Miss Allie.  Now that I am not feeding the birds this summer, we only have occasional bathers to watch.  The robins are true water lovers and usually come mornings.  Anyways, now Allie gets real CatTV shows to watch sometimes.

I got the results of the CTScan and urine analysis (looking for cancer cells) and I am still free and clear!  SOOO very nice to hear.

Wednesday the small barrister bookcase sold in the living room!!

A lot of dead philodendron leaves behind there--lol!

I did manage to empty the other two end tables in the living room.  Just had to do a little something...even if I just emptied them and stuck stuff in plastic baskets to sort through later--lol!

When I am sitting in my chair on R&R this is what I am looking at.  The studio.
I said I should take some before pictures in there.
Kind of overwhelming.

The tall skinny IKEA drawer unit by the door will be going with me.  You already know the bottom half is full of ink and pens--lol!  The top half is currently full of clear stamps--but I will decide what I really need to have with me till I move.
So much to go through.  
Can hardly see the surface of my art table.
Those two IKEA drawer units under the die cutting table will be coming with me, too.  I will also be reorganizing them both to hold lots of goodies to tide me over until I move.  ;)
My little red-legged glass table will stay until I move and then be sold.  I'll need it to hold a few things for me in the meantime.
And then there's the closet!
I really do have my work cut out for me.
There are even ink pads behind the door on the wall!
Oh, and I didn't even get a good picture of the opposite corner walls.  

Okay--just did.  The wall by the window has punches and scissors hanging and a couple of shelves with gesso and glue and odds and ends.  Above the die cutting table is my shelf unit...
...my glorious, colorful shelf unit...filled with mostly paints and sprays.
I got it on sale many years ago on Amazon.  It is made for CDs!  This narrow set of shelves was one of my better purchases.  I want to be able to look into my studio after I move and gaze upon these shelves over the die cutting table through the door.  (Now that I won't have a closet in there, that can actually happen--whoohoo!)

I'm saving the studio for the last P&P inside.  Going to be the hardest for me to purge.  But I have gotten better at letting go since I first started in my bathroom and will be as good as I am going to get by the time I hit the studio--LOL!

Anyways, Miss Allie cracks me up.  I haven't had the bird seed containers on the end table by the patio door since the warm weather got here and the birds had easy access to food and weren't coming around very much.  But I had left the cloth piece there (an old arm cover for a couch) that I had under them.  I finally removed it and Allie suddenly loves to park herself on that end table.  She is so funny about what she will not step on!  She didn't want to step on that fabric on the empty end table.  

She is also freaked out over that middle end table now being U-Haul boxes.  She used to get to "her" chair from my chair by using the folding table and then stepping on the corner of the end table.  She will not step on the cardboard box.  She either retreats altogether or she works up to a leap from the folding table.  So silly!  But that is Allie.

Anyways, ever since the end table has been completely emptied it is her favorite place now.



Silly girl!  But a happy girl!

Gerald slid the owner's manual for the sauna under my door this week.

I did order some new micron drawing pens...but had no extra spoons to sit down and make some stationery...yet.  But here's the books I didn't pack away.  

This one just has drawn flowers and that's it.
Most are black and white...
...but some are colored.
I like these two because...
...they have step by step drawings.
One book has flowers.
The other has cacti and succulents.
I thought some of the step by steps may have kind of leapt a bit at the end. 
Then I got this book...
...where I saw how far... 
 ...and fast...  
...a step-by-step...
...can leap!  LOL!
I still appreciate having the steps, regardless.

In the meantime, when I have some energy...I now have these baskets on the kitchen counter to sort through from drawers and end tables.
And I found a bunch of old writer's magazines I haven't read in one end table--lol!
I can skim through those little by little.  Whatever my eyes will tolerate.  Don't want to just toss them without going through them, you know?

Miss Allie wants you to know she still does use her various cat beds...
.
...even if the end table is her favorite spot during the day.
I love that the geraniums are bright spots of red out there now.

Put all my new drawing pens and some not so new ones together in a couple of my pen cups.
I hope these will last me the next 15-20 years like the last ones did.  
As of this weekend they have all been delivered...sets of blacks in different sizes and colored pens.  I am all set!
They are living on top of a rolly cart by the pantry next to my daily journals...
...and the drawing books reside on the bottom shelf.
All set to go.  Just need to feel refreshed and energized.  :) :)

You realize how old you are when some things you purchase are probably going to last you the rest of your life.  Kind of a sobering yet funny thought.  Well it makes me chuckle, anyways.  ;)

Turned out Dagan had to work this last Saturday and Trent was busy so nothing done on the build.  I think we all needed a break anyways.  

But!! 

 Last but not least...as of yesterday...the possibly exciting news is...the sauna is probably sold!  A couple is supposed to drive up from Minneapolis tomorrow to pick it up.  On Facebook Marketplace you never know until they have actually shown up with the cash, but it looks quite promising.  I would be so happy if it was sold.  That's my biggest ticket item, so I was willing to lower the price.  Fingers crossed!

I'm not going to worry about getting anything done this week...or at least try not to--lol!  Still on vacation from P&P.  Might do nothing extra but catch up with more paper chats.  Slept nine hours again last night.  Enjoying this forced break once I surrendered to it--lol!  ;)  And I think my body needed this break. 

Have a wonderful, sweet, precious week, my friends!  :)  :)  

11 comments:

Rita said...

I have no clue why blogger decides to suddenly change font sizes...even after I have looked at the preview. Always startles me when I am reading along--lol!

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

Good to hear you are cancer free, downsizing is such a big job and hard work, do you ever look around and think how did I accumulate so much stuff, I do. Allie is a crack up for sure

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

You have made a lot of progress. I have to admit you have a TON of art supplies. And those new pens are having me green with envy. Lucky you!

I hope your sauna sells this weekend. I also hope you don't overdue any purging and packing. Time to rest the body. Take care and have a healthy week. It was great to read about your cancer free news, too.

DJan said...

I can see why you get so tired just thinking about all you still have to do before the move. I'm simply astounded that you seem to attract so much stuff so quickly! And so very glad to hear that the cancer is in the rear view mirror! Yay!!

Far Side of Fifty said...

So happy for you with the cancer free news!! You must have needed a break...I think the ozone has been bad and makes me more tired than usual. Keep on keeping on, Allie is such good company for you! :)

Victoria Zigler said...

YAY for still being cancer free!

Yes, I'm sure your body needed the break. You definitely still have a lot to sort though. Thanks for making me feel better about all I still need to deal with. LOL! Oh, and I hope the people do come for the sauna.

Animals - especially cats - are funny sometimes. They have their ways things must be done, and things they like a certain way, and that's that. Allie is a very clear example of that.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

This is a long, protracted move. You will be glad when it’s all over with. Congratulations on the cancer-free results. Onwards and upwards!

Janie Junebug said...

I enjoy any stories about Allie. Our pets are such funny creatures with what they will and won't do. When the dogs are outside, I can leave the backdoor cracked and Franklin or Princess will push it open to let themselves in. Penelope won't. She stands on the deck and stares at the door. I guess pushing on it is too frightening for her, no matter how badly she wants to come in. I hope the sauna is gone. I, too, often think about things that might be the last time--this is the last time I'll need to buy something because it will last until I'm gone or this dog might be the last one to join the family. At least everything points in the right direction for you to be here quite a few more years so you and Allie can continue to have a happy home together. Yes, the studio will be a lot of work, but you have time. The geraniums are beautiful!

Love,
Janie

Jim and Barb's Adventures said...

Great news on your tests coming back clear! Now, if you can just get that sauna sold! I can see why you are overwhelmed, that is a lot of stuff to go through.

Rajani Rehana said...

Beautiful blog

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

First, Rita, such good news on the test results and the cancer-free diagnosis which is certainly such a relief to learn, thanks for the updates. You deserve to take as much time as needed to rest and great to read that you have been able to sleep more than before. Hopefully, the sauna can be listed now that you have the manual back and good news on the bookcase sale...slowly, but surely, things are going away.

I have to comment, my friend, that you have a serious amount of supplies in your studio and I am sure you will find lots of nooks and crannies in your future home for most of these. Forgot to mention that snail-mail letter arrived this past week, thank you. I will be catching up within the next week or so.