Craft Supplies and Dangly Charms

Today is a snow day, the second of this winter.  I wouldn't mind but it should really be called an ice storm day and I'm not much keen on them.

Over the weekend Tom and I have been putting the basement back together.  All the stuff that was temporarily stored in boxes in the office and family room is now back down there, mostly in the right place.  While we were unpacking I went through all the kids craft supplies, games and Halloween stuff and filled 3 bags with bits and bobs for donation.

Craft supplies are something we have a quite a few of and I find it difficult to keep them tidy, it's not easy to make opened bags of feathers, sequins and pompoms look attractive but I've done my best and got it all to fit in this storage unit.

I found a lot of Rose's unfinished craft kits so this morning in the newly cleaned and tidied basement we made dangly charms.  Here they are and that's 1 kit down.  Only 4 to go.  And yes, that is a crop top, before you ask I just don't know.

That's what I do on snow days, how do you spend yours?
Kirstin

The Basement Part 2

Over the weekend I've been very busy in the basement as we now have less than 2 weeks until men arrive to frame it.  Arghh.  Will I get everything out in time?  Things are even tighter because I've set myself the 'goal of the month' with Elm Street Quilts of finishing a quilt top and that is due very soon.

Today's offering comes in the form of 3 lists.  First is the donate list, all packed up and delivered to the Salvation Army Thrift Store

• Set of green plastics in-trays
• 2 framed Dali prints
• Cranberry glass bonbon dish
• 2 small picture frames
• 1 pair curtains
• 6 pillow covers, not used since 2005
• dog lead, found in the garage when we moved in and doesn't fit the kids
• Ornamental toy car
• Plastic bag of clothes
• Shelf with coat hooks under it
• Brush and shovel set for hearth
• Assorted Christmas ornaments and lights
• Coffee machine
• Miscellaneous plastic toys from McDonalds

This list went out to the curb on garbage day.

• Broken iron
• Broken kettle
• Broken mason jar, broken since 2015
• Suit case with broken handle
• Half a pound of party balloons

And this lot has been packed into a big plastic box for a yard sale in the spring.

• 4 Christmas side plates
• 3 glass vases
• Set of 6 wine glasses
• 5 glass ramekins (kept 14 which is still pretty excessive)
• 4 matching mugs
• 2 cup and saucer sets
• 2 antique cups
• Assorted coasters with cats on
• 'Fashionable Coasters' 20 of them in a now very rusty tin

I also found these items and couldn't bring myself to bin them.

You just never know when a moustache might come in handy, especially an edible one.

Memory Boxes

Last week when my contractor suggested December 3rd as a start date for our reno's I panicked and spent a while flinging things at random into boxes in the basement.  After some deep breathing and a coffee it occurred to me that wasn't the best approach so I went through the kids memory boxes instead.  That took a while because some of the stuff was pretty cute, I particularly like the things they write about us on Mother's and Father's Days.  According to Rose I am a chef and a chauffeur, and my favourite thing to do is watch Downton Abbey.  Oh dear, so much for 2 degrees.

I threw quite a bit of stuff out because I couldn't remember why I'd kept it, but I also kept some pretty ridiculous things.  For instance I have all of their school reports from age 4 onward.  Maybe the time will come where you have to present a full education portfolio to get into University and my children will get into Oxbridge, Harvard or similar as a direct result of my hoarding.  Ha!  I'm sure I'm not alone in this kind of hoarding but it would be good to know that for sure.

I have kept a few of the kids tiny clothes, like Rose's teeny, sparkly dance shorts that she would still be wearing now if I'd let her, but I think these might be my favourites, Jacob's first pair of shoes.  How did he get so grown up?

Books

This week I have had some news which has put rather a rocket under the clearing out project.  We are having some home improvements done, did I mention this in any posts yet? I can't remember.  Anyway, it's been a bit of a trial but I finally found someone who can do the work and he can start rather sooner than I anticipated.  I need to completely clear the garage and basement by December 3rd.  Gulp.

On Wednesday I cleared out and bagged up 169 books.  I have found this a bit hard because I do like books, but if I'm being really objective there are a lot of them in the house that will never, ever be read again.  For instance, textbooks from my first degree, I graduated in 1995 and haven't opened them since so I think it's probably safe to let them go.

I've also had the kids go through some of theirs.  Jacob has been very good and decided to donate almost everything he owns, all he seems to have left is 'The Game Maker's Apprentice', which is so old and dog-eared he can barely read it and 'Calculus for Dummies'.  How did I create such a nerd?

Tom has also done his bit and thinks he can live without such riveting reads as 'Exploring Corporate Strategy' and 'Affiliate Program Management - an hour a day'.  I fear he went though hell to get his MBA.

Rose is going through a big reading phase at the moment and finds parting with her possessions difficult so we put the stuff she doesn't read in a box and I'll take it away when she's forgotten about it.

We still have quite a few books but I feel that a house isn't a home without at least a few.  I went through the house and estimate around 250 remain.  Some more can go if I can figure out e-readers and how to own or borrow e-books.  If anybody reads this and has any observations on that I would be very interested to hear from you.

Beginning the Basement

I was considering not putting pen to paper today, I've been slowly getting on with all the sorting and throwing out but none of it has been either monumental or exciting.  Still, I committed to posting on Tuesdays and Fridays so I shall note down briefly what has been done.

I finished sorting through my magazines and after much deliberation and typing out of vital recipes I have thrown 43 out.  All I have left are...

• 5 Christmas issues with lots of great recipes that I will definitely make, honest
• 1 Vogue knitting magazine
• 2 gardening magazines
• 1 Halloween edition with good pumpkin carvings
• 8 Vogue patterns magazines
• 1 quilting magazine with some really good scrappy patterns

I've not actually got rid of the rest yet, they are far too heavy to put out in the recycling all at once, also Rose and I have been using them as a step for her to practice kick overs off.

Yesterday I sorted out the non-sewing/knitting craft stuff in the basement.  I have rid the house of a large bag full of...

• Unfinished craft kits
• Multicoloured feathers
• Opened bags of sequins
• Dried up glue
• Hundred year old fabric paint
• Miniature pompoms
• Tiny bits of paper
• Pencils whose lead snaps when you sharpen them
• Dried up markers
• Tiny, grubby used erasers

And much more stuff too numerous to mention.  In order to quantify it and get it into Tally Ho! I decided to weigh it, 2.247 kg of rubbish plus some recycled paper and card and a box of wooden beads far to 'childish' (her word) for Rose now she has reached the grand old age of 10.

I found a couple of little gems while I was looking through stuff, here is a tiny piece of art that my sister sent me when I was at University.  It is about the size of my hand.

And here is a postcard my Dad sent me from Norway.  I wonder what happened to his favourite green cord cap?  I do hope it had a happy second life out there.