Friday, September 4, 2020

Friday Stream of Consciousness

Tomorrow my son will jump on a plane and fly to Texas and return on Monday. While there, he will participate in a small, socially distanced draft party. He has not seen his sister since February and since the hospitality industry doesn't get holidays off, he's not sure when he will again. This is opening our house bubble much more than it has been to date. It's been six months in isolation around here and if there's going to be a time, this is probably it before the weather changes again and flu season.

We have no intention of everyone locking ourselves in bedrooms for fourteen days. I'll wear a mask to pick him up in the car and we will most likely separate as much as possibe (he'll be mainly working to make up for the long weekend). Human contact, especially with family, is on occasion a necessity.

I left the house yesterday-with a cloth mask covered by a three layer disposable (not totally paranoid, thinking that the disposable lessens my washing needs since I only have four cloth). I walked into the isolated area of my pharmacy and got my senior flu shot out of the way while they still had it. Then I walked into the fabric store and grabbed some fabrics. I'm  I'm going to start testing patterns and this was the first.  Then I went to the mobile phone store and upgraded my phone. Every place was mask required, limited numbers, paperless and the whole shebbang.  And I still probably won't leave my house again till moving day unless it's for an in the trunk delivery. Living with people who work has me keeping my bubble closed.  Plus which, I know I was lucky yesterday not to encounter the maskless few or other issues while I was out and about.  


It's called Modern Maze. Was gonna make it a modern Christmas quilt but changed to the brights!


My name is Barbara. I live on a fixed income. I am the queen of getting stuff for free or almost free and never paying full price while living richly.  Except for fabric, good perfume, the occasonal pedicure and a gourmet restaurant experience. Adding to those exceptions is the admitted fact that  I am a serial phone upgrader. Yes, my phone was one year old, but the new one has a better screen, camera,  faster speeds and 5G. Fortunately while it extended the life of my phone payoff, it did not increase it and it was already in my budget.  I am who I am.

I may have downsized my closet too much.  After hanging up every top piece I own (literally) I have eight short sleeved tops, about six tanks, six long sleeved tops, five sweaters, two heavy sweaters and about four cardigans. I'm telling myself to wait until I get there so I can remind myself of what I'll really need.  All the downsized, outsize, stretched neck clothes that are out of the closet are now on a shelf to be used for wrapping. 




Last night I was sitting up in bed and looking at the disaster on the other side of the room in my (pretty darn large) bedroom. Black bags full, a temporary metal shelf full of things to give away, stuff to be packed later and shipped in the second load. And this is from a gal who has already seriously downsized  far beyond the average retiree and is not a collector of stuff. My organizational solution has been to put everthing from the smaller sewing/room office that is not going in the bedroom for staging, pack things in the sewing room I'm not using, and go from there. Today I began a priority list of what has to be done.  Thankfully the things that have to go on this first trip are one pod and a large SUV packed to the gills.  If I have my clothes, memorabilia, a few pieces of furniture and craft stuff, and some holiday decor then I will survive. As the song says.

As if I don't already have enough to keep me busy, I'm starting a craft/sewing/creative dedicated blog.  It will be slow at first and I need to get articles written in advance.

On the keep yourself moving on the home front, I've created what I guess is my own interval training. I found a pile of five to ten minute aerobic/strength/balance videos from silver sneakers. So in between all the sitting and sewing and knitting and reading, I'm getting up every so often and either walking ten minutes or doing one of the above.  Something being better than nothing and all that.

Especially since I'm about to have leftover pizza for lunch and possibly an oreo for dessert.  Because, as I commented on another blog, there is no substitute for potato chips or double stuffed oreos. Healthy or otherwise.

16 comments:

  1. We certainly differ on the phone front. I cling to the old one as long as I can because once I've learned how to use the darn thing I don't want to change. I had to this time because the brand I was using no longer makes phones.

    I like the colors of the new fabric, and the quilt is lovely. You've got lots on your mind and I'm impressed you're able to keep everything straight and even start something new!

    Take care and stay well!

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  2. Did I understand you right when you wrote: "All the downsized, outsize, stretched neck clothes that are out of the closet are now on a shelf to be used for wrapping" to mean that you're using your old clothing for packing material like around dishes, etc.? If so, that's kind of brilliant.

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    1. Absoutely. Learned it multipe moves ago. And since I'm a quiler I am also unafraid to use fabric for packing. It washes. old sweats, you name it.

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  3. I am a clinger. My first cell phone was in my possession for 7 years, the second one which I just loved was 10 years old before I upgraded. The last two have been until the end of my contracts. I hate trying to figure out something new.

    Love the quilt colours.

    God bless.

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    Replies
    1. All the Samsug phones are very similar and you can change seamlessly. (no sure about appple, I refuse to do apple), this one s he first one where the volume button was moved.

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  4. I have suggested to people downsizing to move that they use the old clothing and such, to use for packing. I moved nine times in 12 years, I think. And, each time I used dish towels, husbands tshirts, sheets, washclothes, etc to cushion dishes. It works so well, and barely need washing. Yes, we used clothing, too.

    I like the fabrics. The blue and orange quilt looks like Auburn colors and several other schools' colors.

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    1. mind you, I ONLY use old clothes I dont care about, no good sheets, good quilts or bedspreads or the clothe hanbing in m closet.

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  5. I love the colors in the new fabric and look forward to seeing the work in progress.

    I also upgrade my phone frequently. I don't do a contract, rather pay for it in full and when upgrading trade in the old phone towards the purchase price of the new one. What can I say - I like tech toys.

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    1. Yep. Traded the old in for the new halfway into my contract. price will be the same, payof part of the bill will be longer but it's already in the budget. And after 30 months I get a 400 dollar gift card. It will be bright. I had thought about holida coors but I figured a modern quilt needed modenrn brights.

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  6. Ps, glad you stopped by, hope chec out your blog.

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  7. Excellent! I did the same - used my clothes and linens as packing materials for the breakables. No way they were getting a free ride😉.
    Good luck with your move!

    Deb

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  8. Downsizing has become a dirty word in our house. Every time we can't find a kitchen implement or other household item, we give a little curse to our overzealous downsizing of three years ago. And yet, somehow our admittedly-smaller house is still full of stuff! P. S. Thanks for the reminder about the flu shot.

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    1. I'm realy not downsizing at all these days, Nothing much I want ot get rid of. What I don't take son will pack for second shipment pod when I'm settlled (china and the like). Im in the pace of having to get stuf when I get there because there is only so much I can pull out of this house............

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  9. Love the bright fabrics!! Can't wait to see the finished product.

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