"Resorting" to launch 2012

Resorting ...

that is what my life seems to be about now.

A lot of time has been spent resorting

... like space ...

our upstairs den is a good example. It used to be mom's sitting room, but now it is my craft room.

The desk in this picture is mom's desk. We tried to get it into her assisted living room, but it wouldn't fit. So it now resides in my craft room. I use it to file mom's important papers and to do her minimal bill paying and bookkeeping.

There are no before pictures, but here are some after pictures.

This closet shows only half of the space my yarn stash occupies. Slide the door to the left and the other half is just as full - floor to ceiling. I was feeling pretty good about squeezing all the yarn into this closet ... very good, until I found another pocket of sock yarn stash that isn't in this closet. It looks like this ...

Yes, that is all sock yarn! Enough yarn to make 80+ pairs of socks!!

Where that bunch of yarn is going, I haven't figured out yet, but the closet is full up!!

Right now it is sitting on the floor of the craft room

making me feel guilty for having so much stash.

All my knitting, crochet, spinning and weaving books are gathered together in this new craft space. That feels pretty good. Easy to see and use.

On top of that book case is my weaving loom all folded up. Once the dust settles on all this stuff shifting, I want to set up the loom again. Beside the loom is a stack of magazines and patterns that need to be sorted and filed.

My filing system is loose leaf binders sorted by project type.

There is probably a bunch of stuff in there I could get rid of

given the time to sort through it all.

And my spinning wheel is now housed safely on a round table near the yarn and the fiber.

It is dusty and I need to give it a little loving attention. But it is nice to see it out where I could easily use it without interference from the various pets.

This picture also shows the other side of the overly full yarn closet.

And I still maintain mom's bedroom - the room that now houses most of her earthly belongings. It is ready for guests - since mom probably can never sleep there again. It still makes me a little sad when I walk in knowing that she doesn't reside there anymore. But she has adapted fairly well to her new room and home, so the "problem" of occupancy appears to be mine alone. It will fade with time I know.

But I fear the hole left in my life and heart, while smaller, will always be there.

I am spending a lot of time moving other stuff around as well.

Although I am not a hobby cook, I do cook every day.

My cookbooks have never had an adequate home.

Initially they were in a book case in the living room, then in a book case in the basement (a worse location), and then stacked in a kitchen cabinet ... closer to the action, but hard to see and harder to use. Our eat in kitchen no longer needs space for a walker,

so I brought up an old book case from the basement.

And for someone who doesn't care much about cooking, I have a lot of cookbooks.

I am "resorting" my alone time. I have really missed my walks. It is alone time and thinking time. So for the umpteenth time, I am heading back to walking. My little walking icon at the top of my blog doesn't show the 1.4 miles I walked today! I guess I am not working the app right. Or maybe the little person on the graph is bent over in laughter at the 1.4 miles I logged and can't catch her breath to show the total ... after all the goal is 1,000 miles by December 31, 2012. I only need to do 998.6 more miles! Only!! :-)

Other alone time is also changing. I used to value the hours between 8:00 pm and midnight. My mother and husband would have gone to their rooms for the night and I would putter around doing this and that. Now I find my body slowing down and settling into the quiet before sleep - around 10:00 pm. That evening time doesn't seem as precious as it once did.

Maybe I am focused on "just keeping busy" so my mind doesn't settle on stuff I can't control. Maybe I am finally free enough to do some long over due stuff.

Maybe I am resorting my empty nest to change the look and feel and push away emotions.

All I know is that at the end of the day I am very tired from all the "resorting."

Welcome to the new year everyone.

Welcome 2012!

A Kromski Sonata Spinning Wheel is on its way!!

After researching my options and thinking, thinking and thinking some more, I ordered my Kromski Sonata Spinning Wheel today. It was a big decision - and a pretty pricey piece of equipment for a hobby. But it is what I want to do and I am tired of putting off the decision. Procrastination ... not something I usually do!

I am pretty excited about it. But in a few days I expect I will be facing a big box with a spinning wheel in it, and I won't have any idea what to do with it after I cut the tape on the box. Thank goodness I ordered a DVD to go with it. And then on August 7th I will see my dear cousin Linda, who will walk me through how to spin. It is great having someone with experience who can help you.

Walking-wise - I walked this morning early. I was out for 55 minutes - almost an hour. I felt great. The weather was acceptable but I am so looking forward to the fall when the weather in the morning should be cool and crisp! I also went to Tai Chi practice this afternoon and I always feel like I really exercised my legs alot. Our instructor returns next week and we hopefully will learn the 6 missing movements - the tough ones - the ones that take alot of strength. I better put 911 and EMTs on speed-dial.

#3 Keep learning - Dancing with the Stars??? Probably not!

It has been a peaceful morning. Meathead and Grimace went home yesterday - eager to spend a quiet night sleeping in their own bed without Milo's insistence on playing. I think Milo missed the canine company but we all really did need a break ... ALL of us!! Meathead and Grimace will be back today and my daughter will return tonight (Milo will be very very happy) and so we will have a big sleep over tonight - and it will be alittle easier with an extra set of hands.

Keep learning: I have given alot thought to how to reach this goal. Once you leave professional life, you have to seek out learning opportunities independently. I think it is one of the biggest transitions you have when you retire - keeping your brain active and engaged. I can honestly say that I haven't done a good job of that over the first few years of my retirement. I have played around with the possibility of learning a foreign language. But somehow it doesn't fit with where I am in my life right now ... it would be alot like putting sliced pickels on a peanut butter sandwich. I like both but together it doesn't seem to make sense.

I have considered auditing college classes, but additional time away from home right now is not a viable option. Of course, when it is possible, I might take some formal art training. It would be fun and I have some unexplored and novice abilities in art. I think learning Tai Chi over the last year was a kind of learning opportunity. On the up side - I am reaping more of the physical and mental benefits of Tai Chi. But it took me almost a year to get to this point in Tai Chi, so I should not put on my list of goals - Dancing with the Stars!!! HA

This year I have decided to learn to spin fiber into yarn. This goal fits in perfectly with my interest in knitting. I have resisted learning to spin for some time ... concerned about the costly purchase of a spinning wheel, unsure if it was something I really wanted to do, alittle intimidated by the prospect of learning new jargon, new skills, new equipment ... maybe I was intimidated by the prospect of learning again. After much thought, and looking at various spinning wheels, I am sure that this is my next learning opportunity.

I will buy a new wheel rather than purchasing one second hand. Knowing next to nothing about wheels - it seemed to make sense to spend alittle more and get a new wheel - one that doesn't have hidden issues that an experienced spinner might spot and know how to deal with. I am also going to get a portable wheel - one that folds and can be put into a carrying case - and I want one that has some style - old style - and is made out of named woods - not ply board, plastic or pressed/processed wood material (as I have noticed in some well known wheel brands). The Kromski Sonata is a full size wheel that come is 3 finish choices. It seems to have a decent reputation and is a wheel that is not easily outgrown. It is a polish manufacturer - and I have polish ancestors - TA DA! Seems like a match to me! But seriously, all things considered, it seems to have all the elements I am looking for (the polish thingy was just a plus LOL). So the investigative issues are complete. Just need to order the item. I'll wait another week ...

And then, major learning begins - still alittle scary!