Reorganizing can clear one's head

I don't know about you, but I'm a creative person. Which means - I'm kind of a messy and cluttered person.

Sometimes this makes me nuts. And like most messy people, I look at the mess and think 'I've got to DO something about this!' 

And then I procrastinate. It sounds like too much work. Pain and suffering. Ugh! Not having it.

Not today!

So the mess continues to make me crazy.

Until I lose it and decide to REALLY do something. 

Here is what was making me crazy:

So pretty!

This is where most of my tatting and other hobby materials exist. Mind you, I live in a flat with limited storage - and this is the one and only hall I have. And it's the thing you have to pass to come in.

Obviously MUCH has been dumped in these shelves. And not just tatting - work things, sewing and knitting/crochet tools, and a ton of miscellaneous junk.

(I'm not going to discuss my Pez dispensers now. I collect them because they amuse me. Sue me.)

A couple of those boxes on lower shelves were full of tatting thread and other supplies. 

So.... I finally got off my arse and went to work.

Corralling the thread

First I took charge of my thread - which was WAY outta control! I sorted it by brand, size, and color combination. Some time ago I got these nice boxes from Handy Hands and they are now a big help. I labeled all the boxes on the ends. The crochet sized balls went into other containers.

Then I looked at the beads and findings. Most were dumped into a big plastic container but there were a bunch in other locations. I didn't need everything so I contacted a friend who is a beader and have shipped her a box full. She should be happy!

A tiny selection of the beads

I put all the UFOs together.(Be honest - we all have UFOs.) I found I have a ton of tatting bags so I put those together too. Then I got all my shuttles in one box and found another to put tatting tools like picot gauges and crochet hooks. 

I never need to buy any crochet hooks again. And probably not any shuttles either. It will be a very long time until I need to get thread. 

And I sorted through all the miscellaneous stuff, giving some away and throwing out an ginormous amount of trash and junk.

Tidy!

Ta-da! SO MUCH BETTER! I freed up two whole shelves and several big containers! 

More importantly - I can FIND things when I need them. 

And I feel a big weight off. Whew!

Now onto the Pez collection....

Finished

I finished my latest tatting. It's done in Lizbeth Blue Ice. It ended up being about 4 inches across in size 20 thread.

 It's the little Tray Mat No. 7354 from Favorite Crochet & Tatting Designs, Book No. 205. Pretty, isn't it?

And Larry brought me a present for my collection - isn't he a good boy....

Hee!

Le Stash

I have wound up all my HDT and carefully put it away.

It is labeled with the color name, artist, and size.  I've tried to sort it by color.

Here is a bit of my other stash.  I have a good deal of DMC Perle 8 and size 80 tatting thread that is not included.  And we don't talk about beads.....

OK Tatters - show me your HDT stash!

Yesterday I got a wild hair and went to the fabric store.  It's dangerous there.

I came home with these things (and others....).  I've decided to make a couple of purses with the material shown.  (The big piece was a remnent and the other was on the $4/yd table.)  I HAD to have the Pez 'cause I collect them.  And the little silver beads looked like they could be tatted into earrings and a necklace.  (They're dragonflies.)

But I can't sew until we/I finish with painting the guest room.  Which has stalled.  The Stooges' cousins, Amy and Tricia, are here at the moment, and I'm employing Amy to help me with the trim.  She is very tidy and precise, and was happy to be able to earn a few extra dollars.  Once the trim is done, I have to clean the carpet.  It is NASTY.

I like the blue paint.  It is restful.

After that I can move furniture into the room and set it up.  And I can have a little space in there to set up my sewing machine.  In the past, I've had to set up my sewing machine in front of my computer keyboard - not a happy thing.  The kitchen table isn't an option - we eat there!

And then I can make my purses!!!  Woo-hoo!

Curly gives me a laugh, an evil laugh

Last week the high school principal calls me at work, saying that on the last day of school in December, Curly was seen (by the principal) using his cell phone during school hours, a big no-no.  The standard procedure is to have the phone taken up by the school and have it held in the office until a parent picks it up.  The kid then gets some sort of punishment, which varies depending on how often this has happened before.  Curly has had his phone taken up a number of times this year.  So the principal asked Curly to hand over the phone.  And Curly politely declined.

What?

And the principal has now handed out 5 days of ISS (In School Suspension), which would have started Monday (a snow day).  Fine.  I apologized for Curly's bad behavior. and went on.  Curly had punishment at home.

Yesterday I got a call from a school system phone number.  I hate those calls.  I know I'm not going to be happy.

The call was not from a teacher or an administrator, but from Curly.  He still had his cell phone, so why was he calling on this line?  Curly said sheepishly, "Um Mom, um, could you ask um Dad if he could um pick up my um phone from the um school office? Please?"  Hmm.  I knew Curly to be in ISS, which is a big, 100% no cell phone zone, so he must have been BAD.  "I'll ask your dad, but I make no promises."

Called DH, who was NOT HAPPY.  The phone may stay in the school office.

Ten minutes later, a second call from within the school system (the calls have the same prefix, so I know to dread them).  This time, it's the high school principal.  With Curly in his office.  Mr. Principal informed me that he went to lunch and saw the kids in ISS all sitting together.  The ISS rules are - no talking, no phones, no interacting with others.  Including during lunch.

Curly was sitting with the rest of the ISS group, but covered in his coat.  He had it draped over the front of him, with his head sticking out.  He could look down into the coat.  And he was texting to beat the band.  Mr. Principal spied this action and quietly stood in front of Curly.

Curly looked up and made a "sad puppy-dog face" (per Mr. Principal).  He was caught.  And his phone was taken up.

(FYI - Curly's girlfriend graduated at the end of December, so she is free to receive texts anytime.)

When the principal told me about this, I couldn't help but laugh.  I mean, it's so stupid.  It's like going to jail for doing drugs, then getting caught in jail doing the same drugs!

So this time, his school punishment is big.  Three days of out of school suspension.

Even bigger - his home punishment.  Because I am fixing his texting problem. 

(Curly, like many teens, texts 5 to 7 thousand messages a month.  I am not making this up.)

I am permanently blocking texting from his cell phone.  His phone may be used for phone calls and phone calls alone.  HA!  Curly is sooooo unhappy.  He's begging to pay me for the texting rights, I'll do anything Mom, don't do this.  Too bad, Curly.  You do the crime, you do the time.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Texting is now blocked.  Hee. 

And now for a little humor.  Have you seen this site?  I don't shop at this place - I avoid it like the plague.  And now I see that I might wet myself laughing at the customers.  How can they do that?

Also - DH brought me home three of these little things, thinking they were Pez.  They're not.  And these things are creepy!  The tongue moves on the snowman - euw!

Go to do TIAS day 4 at lunch.

Chilly update

It's still cold.  These ain't normal temps for my area.  Brr.

Larry and I ventured out late yesterday afternoon for the grocery.  Very treacherous.  Large sections of our main neighborhood road suitable for sledding.  Leaving the subdivision, I skidded all over the road.  But the main roads were passable - once you got to them.  We got our little supplies and got home with no problem.

I have to go out today with Curly, two scheduled appointments.  One to check his contacts and another (and this one is quite a drive) to see his psychiatrist.  Curly still thinks he can drive in this - and I'm NOT letting him.  I grew up in the mountains and know how to drive in ice and snow, so I'm not afraid of my abilities.  But the other drivers scare me.  (Curly scares me....)

I have a confession to make.  I collect something.  Not Tatting. A silly something.

I collect Pez.  I have a lot. 

This isn't all of them.  I need more stands - I have at least 100 Pez containers I haven't put up there.

I don't know how I got started with Pez.  They're funny and cheap.  I see them and I get them. 

It's a sickness.

I don't try and collect vintage ones - only what's current.  And I don't try and sell them or keep them MIB (Mint In Bag). 

I don't get every type of Pez that's out there.  For example, I have no Garfield or Teenage Mutant Minja Turtle Pez, because I hate them.  I just get the ones I like.  The sillier, the better.  And I love the Star Wars ones.

The really wierd part?  I hate Pez candy.  I mean, it is foul and nasty stuff.

An aside - Larry and Curly were horsing around just a minute ago with FOOD.  Curly picked up one of the crappy sliced fake-cheese slices, the kind in individual packages.  He was flinging it like a frisbee.  It went about 30 feet!  Larry was cracking up.  Those boys.....

Stay warm...