Moving In

Sunroom's basic arrangement

We moved in mid-September!  It's so great to be back home.  My neighbor, Wendy, came by right away to help me get started unpacking.  Next, my dad and Donna came for several days with their sleeves rolled up to help us tackle stacks of boxes.  It was such a help to get the kitchen unpacked.  The living room came next and we could even enjoy a place to sit.  Then, we tackled the laundry room / mud room with its giant storage spaces to help us tuck away items that need to be close by, but not in view all the time.  Dad brought countless boxes upstairs to clear the basic living areas.  I'm sure his decision to live in a single story house was reconfirmed!  What a workout!  Last week, Sharon dropped by and helped me get the linen closet filled and more boxes out of the house. 

It's so nice to have the extra encouragement, along with conversation and terrific ideas as we work.  As an added benefit, it also helps me donate more items.  When someone asks me where to put something that we don't really use anymore, I can take a fresh look at it and realize that it doesn't fit our lives.  If I'd worked alone, I might tuck it away somewhere and move on without thinking much about it.

There's still more to do, but we can slow down a little and live here as we unpack more each day.  In fact, we've definitely been doing the living part here.  Our guest room was empty the first night we were here.  It was empty again last night too.  But the ten days in between were filled with family and a couple of teenagers.  I've loved having a few extra people here.  The house seems to be glad too.  We've not felt cramped at all and it's been nice to have the extra laughter.

The quilting studio is semi-set up now, but missing a vital element.  You'll notice the longarm frame is assembled.  The t-shirt quilt is still on a roller.  It's awaiting me to try adding the binding while on the frame, which is a new trick for me.  I've draped some canvas over the quilt to keep the sunshine from fading it until I'm ready to start sewing again. 

The big table on risers is temporary, just to see if it would fit.  I'd like to have a large area for pressing and perhaps cutting also when I need to use the larger mat.  My first phase will be to make an ironing board top (which rests over the current cover) using wood and batting to increase the surface size.  The larger cutting area isn't used often and I can tiptoe into the dining room and use that table occasionally when squaring up quilts, etc.

My sewing table is in the corner, right next to a little extra space for cutting.  You might have noticed that there's no sewing machine yet.  I've waited for two reasons.  I didn't want to get too distracted from unpacking and getting settled.  Also, I'm thinking that my little thrift store purchase might look a lot better if I sand and paint it a cream or white color.  That brown just doesn't go well.

Once the machine is on the brown table, I'll mentally add the painting to my to-do list, but it probably will remain there for ten years.  So I feel it's something I need to go ahead and handle first.  Don't you hate those roadblocks, where you sense a project is just too big and you don't want to get started?  How silly I must look from God's point of view when I think this project is overwhelming!  Many of you would counsel me to "eat this elephant one bite at a time" by removing the drawer pulls first.  Then drag it outside and begin sanding it.  I hope to share photos of this process soon ...

We still have a few loose ends to handle with the rental house, the builder, utilities, etc.  So for now, these take priority.  I'll enjoy the journey along the way and look forward to sewing again when I can.


Enjoy your day!

- SeeingStars