List 52 - Week 14

I'm joining in with Dreamer's 52 list and am choosing small tasks that I've been avoiding and would like to do/finish. My list is written in my organiser and I hope this will give me a kick up the backside and spur me on. My fourteenth week task is:

14. Finish tidying those shelves.

I've been tidying things and moving things for weeks and now I've decided that they look an awful lot better. They will always be a WIP but now I'm keeping on top of them. Do you like my new storage boxes?

This week I've also planted the mange tout. The weather is warming up now and the time to plant feels right.

xx

List 52 - Week 13

I'm joining in with Dreamer's 52 list and am choosing small tasks that I've been avoiding and would like to do/finish. My list is written in my organiser and I hope this will give me a kick up the backside and spur me on. My thirteenth week task is:

13. Find a home for this new wool and while you're at it sort out the wool you have already.

Yes, that's a rather good idea. I have 2 large and 3 small drawers of wool. They were all emptied and the yarn piled in a big heap on the floor. This was then sorted into collections of the same wool, DK, 4 ply, cotton and fancy.

I'm still in the process of bagging up all the wool and then I shall make a List of what I have. My stash should last me for many years.

xx

PS I'm still knitting a pair of socks started weeks ago. I'm on the toe of the first sock at the moment trying to get my head around grafting stitches.

So much to do. If I only had time, if I only had time.

xx

List 52 - Week 12

I'm joining in with Dreamer's 52 list and am choosing small tasks that I've been avoiding and would like to do/finish. My list is written in my organiser and I hope this will give me a kick up the backside and spur me on. My twelfth week task is:

12. Tidy the cupboards in the kitchen. Take or give away any unwanted or unused items. You need to know exactly what you have in there!

I sorted out the cupboards and separated DD's 'bottom drawer' items (crockery, bakeware, glasses, teapot, pans), other items were sent to the CS. 

Spurred on by neat and tidy kitchen cupboards I also blitzed the under stairs, the sideboard and the airing cupboard.

Whoa, steady - I still need some chaos.

Now my task is to stay tidy -

not a chance of that then!

xx

List 52 - Week 11

I'm joining in with Dreamer's 52 list and am choosing small tasks that I've been avoiding and would like to do/finish. My list is written in my organiser and I hope this will give me a kick up the backside and spur me on. My eleventh week task is:

11. Shorten the dress you got from the Charity shop umpteen weeks ago. It's been hanging around the Lady Cave too long.

The dress was being thrown in the rags bin because there was a tear in the material near the edge of the dress so I asked if I could rescue it. Yes, of course, but when I got it home it went in the 'to do' basket and hasn't emerged until today.

Armed with a tape measure, a pair of scissors, a quick unpick, matching thread and a needle, I set to. There was a border around the edge that had to be cut carefully away. I kept it attached to the dress because I was going to sew it back on once I'd cut the dress to length.

Shall I cut here? Always measure twice so you only cut once.

I only have short legs! The edging was sewn on by hand and now I have another dress for dancing.

Job done - tick!

xx

List 52 - Week 10

I'm joining in with Dreamer's 52 list and am choosing small tasks that I've been avoiding and would like to do/finish. My list is written in my organiser and I hope this will give me a kick up the backside and spur me on. My tenth week task is:

10. Visit your followers. You've tried to visit everyone quite a few times but have never worked your way through all the list. Now is your chance to make amends.

According to the beginning of my followers' list I have 318 followers. The number at the end of the list says 301. (Who knows where 17 of you went?) I know that not all my followers have blogs so -

"Hi and hello to you and thank you for adding my blog to your list. I don't know if you regularly visit but I appreciate your interest."

I don't know how long it will take me to go through all the list but now it's on the 52 list it's top priority.

To the regular commenters -

"Hi and hello to you and thank you for taking the trouble to add a comment even if it's just IRYPT (I read your post today). It's really exciting to see the 'comments awaiting' note.

To my newest follower

"Welcome to my blog. I hope you will visit often."

To my followers who have blogs - 

I shall be working through the list - it may take a while!

xx

List 52 - Week 9

I'm joining in with Dreamer's 52 list and am choosing small tasks that I've been avoiding and would like to do/finish. My list is written in my organiser and I hope this will give me a kick up the backside and spur me on. My ninth week task is:

9. Continue tidying your shelves. If you're not careful they'll end up a mess before you've finished the last cubby hole.

Right. Time for the shelves again.

All came out onto the floor but it was a while before it was stowed away. Such a lot to look at and sort - books that may be needed, diaries, School magazines ...

… and children's books that can't possibly be thrown away. Perhaps I should put a few on Ebay.

Oh look this page is in 'Modern Teaching Volume 3' from around the 1920s. And they think the teaching of phonics is something new!

I like the beginning of this poem.

All my stamps are in this basket. I've not used them so much.

Perhaps they'd better go.

Here's my diary from 1972 - I can't remember Peter, Susan or Tom.

Now that's better. There's still a pile of books behind the books but it looks a lot neater.

Pity about all the stuff I've squashed in somewhere else!

Right - Ebay here I come.

xx

List 52 - Week 8

I'm joining in with Dreamer's 52 list and am choosing small tasks that I've been avoiding and would like to do/finish. My list is written in my organiser and I hope this will give me a kick up the backside and spur me on. My eighth week task is:

8. Make a start on tidying up the back garden. It's not been cleared from last year's vegetable growing. It will soon be time to plant again and if you're not careful the growing season will have come and gone!

It's a fine day, cold but sunny so I'll clear the runner bean wigwam and cut back the asparagus. We've still got plenty of leeks to eat and there's beetroot to be cropped as well.

There, that didn't take long, did it! I can see some new asparagus shoots just breaking the surface of the soil.

And there's some beetroot to have with our tea tonight.

If it's fine tomorrow I'll clear another section. Leek soup again, anyone?

xx

List 52 - Week 7

I'm joining in with Dreamer's 52 list and I'm cheating this week as I am choosing a task that our friend has been avoiding. So the seventh week task is:

7. Journey with DH to our friend's and stay there while they lift the greenhouse off the ground and slide in bricks to stop the wood of the greenhouse rotting because it's been sitting in puddles of water.

I don't have to do any work with this one - only watch on the sidelines and offer support. Much thought went into how to lift a fully glazed wooden greenhouse safely in order to slip bricks underneath. A gadget was made specially for the purpose (not by me).

I took the opportunity to go for a walk along the sea front and into the village.

sea fix and rainbow fix

walk fix

snowdrop fix

devastation left from the gales

sea fix again

and again

pretty church fix

snowdrop fix again

sea fix again

crochet fix

reading fix (plus sweetie fix)

greenhouse fixed

safely up on a layer of bricks

Come to think of it, I did achieve something today that I'd been putting off for a long time.

I ditched the book that I was reading (and not enjoying) and started reading a different book. No more will I carry on to the bitter end. If the book does not 'grip' from the start then it goes straight away. The CS has benefitted from about 30 books that I've been avoiding for a while. I'm not going to read them now as the subject matter does not appeal.

As an added bonus today we were treated to dinner out by a grateful friend.

:)

xx

List 52 - Week 6

I'm joining in with Dreamer's 52 list and am choosing small tasks that I've been avoiding and would like to do/finish. My list is written in my organiser and I hope this will give me a kick up the backside and spur me on. My sixth week task is:

6. Start to tidy the cubby holes in the wall unit. There are 16 holes so tidying one at a time will make the job easier. Be ruthless and throw out or recycle anything that needs to go. Your excuse of 'these are working shelves' doesn't cut it. Start tidying today!

OK, I hear you loud and clear. Let's start with the overall picture. Oh, 'tis groaning, groaning under the weight of 'things' that will come in handy sometime.

Righto - number uno. Here are items packed in with no order or design.

Take out and sort.

Now I can't get rid of the purring pussycats yet. Those stick on eyes may be of use - I'll put them in my craft basket. Perhaps I should put the knitted cosy on my iPod.

Oh my, look what's behind. This Lego is supposed to be going on Ebay. It just needs checking, photographing, weighing and listing. Perhaps that's another job for List 52. Not today, I'm tidying.

My theme will be tins so I'll put my pens' tin and my buttons' tin on there with the others. That will free up space elsewhere.

They will join the black and white cottons' tin.

Do you like my star buttons? They arrived all the way from China in January - rather too late to put on top of my crocheted Christmas trees.

The small white box holds my German tree decoration. I couldn't put it in the loft, it's too pretty.

These catering tins are very useful for storing felt tips, pens and pencils.

I seem to have a collection of scissors too but they always come in handy, don't they. This pair folds up.  I should really attach it to my keyring.

There now. Not everything went back. Some items were thrown and some re-housed in other places. No doubt I'll find them again when I tidy another cubby hole. I added Captain Scarlet as there was a kind of red theme going on as well as a tin theme.

I wonder how long it will stay this way!

xx