Digging Out

Why is it that the more I chuck out, the more there still remains? I’m up to 2-1/2 large green garbage bags of craptaceousness and it doesn’t look like I touched the pile. As a matter of fact I think it’s been reproducing when I wasn’t looking. And I’m finding it so hard to throw things out. I’m so dang sure I’m going to need exactly that piece of fabric right after the garbage truck leaves. Tell me again about how if it’s been in my stash for 20 years, chances are I’ll never-ever use it? “But it’s so pretty! And there’s almost a metre of it! And that pile of mini-scraps are all handwoven! So what if they’re too small to piece together!” It’s hard, I tell you. Very hard. But thanks, no, I don’t need help. I’ve got a stubborn streak in me a mile (sorry, 1.609 kilometres) wide. I WILL do this. And without the FlyLady too. (Her daily sink shining and getting dressed to the shoes even if you aren’t going anywhere is A Bit Much. And we won’t even discuss the Super Fling Boogie thing. I don’t work like that.)

I’ve come up with a good compromise for some things. I’ll put them in a labeled box with a note that if I don’t use them in one year from this date, they are absolutely/definitely/no excuses going in the trash. Think I’ll hold myself to that? No bets. All I can promise is that I’ll try to follow through.

Speaking of cleaning, T-Man cleaned the swamp out of our little water garden on the top deck and while it was off the deck, I started cleaning the goo out from under where it had been for about 2 years without moving. So of course that led to scrubbing the whole top deck because, heck, why stop halfway. I also finally got the 2 wall planters and one rail planter filled with annuals. This year I went for some new variety of impatiens instead of the usual geraniums. The flowers are oddly shaped and the colours are peachy-orangey. Hope the extra sun we now get because the pear tree is gone doesn’t hurt them too much. I also added some lobelia which I love. Peaches and purples are yummy together! I also got some more of my favourite coleus in several different varieties. I only had 4 left from the sad debacle of me trying to keep cuttings going over the winter with whitefly and aphids doing their level best to foil my every effort. And that was only because I snipped off some more tops from the infested ones and re-rooted them yet again. Luckily there’s always more at the plant shop. Heh. Sorry no photos because I’m too tired to get out the camera.

Where was I? Oh yeah, now the upper deck is looking quite spiffy and I moved the houseplants that needed to go outside. There’s new buds on my big disocactus so there will be more flowers this year. My little one (a rooting from the big one) had 2 flowers that finished while we were away in Alberta. There probably won’t be as many flowers as I had last year though. I didn’t exactly get the plant outside as early as usual because a) I wasn’t here and b) it was freakishly cold anyway so it was just as well.

More news about our old friend Wilfred the Wildfibre Moose: his presence has been requested for gigs all over town in the coming months! He will be at an arts centre, a yarn shop and a fibre arts gallery. Probably signing autographs and giving out weaving, spinning, felting and knitting advice as well as schmoozing with his adoring public. Congrats on your increasing popularity, big guy!

In other crafty news, I finally turned the heels on both Boring Black Socks so now it should be easy sailing. At least I can read and knit at the same time again. I get way more knitting done when I can get caught up on my reading.