AMANDA'S BASKETS: Twenty-Three Days and Counting Down!!!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Twenty-Three Days and Counting Down!!!

PICTURES OF THE DAY:

This is what my studio/office looks like right now...a grand mess. I had hoped to have the guest room packed by the end of this weekend as well as a good start in my office, if not finished. Well, that deadline blew right past, as you can tell.

This was the opening weekend for the musical and it just took too much time (and energy)! Thus, I didn't make it. The guest room only has a few things left to pack, and I will probably be up late watching the returns tonight, so maybe there is hope.

My studio/office was going good until I hit a major snag in the moving process today. I was packing my things in small plastic containers which I had planned on packing in the vehicle that we would be towing. WELL......that went by the wayside when I found out that I could not rent anything to tow the vehicle because I have a Ford Explorer. I didn't realize that the major roll-over case in the late 90's had an impact on renting, but apparently it did. Thus, we are having to drive both vehicles out.

And that means I can't pack it full. So, now I am removing my things from the plastic cases and packing them in boxes to be mailed out. Fun! Just one in the line of many snags to this temporary move. But we are going forward.

I did get my fabric packed for storing. This is what I decided to keep out of the four shelves of fabric that I have...

In most cases there is only a small single piece about 5" by 8" of fabric. Of course, I am going to also bring the charm packs that I picked up on my Shop Hop, so I will have about three times that amount of fabric.

I am only taking two things to set around. The pictures aren't great, but the items mean a great deal to me. Having been there on 9/11 means that it was a major experience in my life...

I have been taking a load of stuff to storage each day. Up to 99 boxes and lots and lots of small pieces of furniture, etc. At least that part of the moving is going well. Actually, all in all, things are going fairly well. The logistics are kind of crazy.

First we pick up a truck on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Move a couple large items to storage. Pack up the things for our son who lives in NYC. Then pick up a trailer to tow one of the cars to NYC. Leave for NYC around 4am Thanksgiving Day. Unload the truck at our son's place. Take the truck and trailer to a U-Haul Center (which is open). Drop them off (after taking the towed car off). And continue on our way to Utah with one other major stop to see another son for a quick meal at a restaurant close to Highway 80. Sounds like fun!!! Right???

Well, check in tomorrow to see how things are progressing...

And thanks for visiting...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

MAGAZINE IDEAS

(New) One article in the Farmer's Almanac 2024 is a list of trends. One I knew about is the trend to downsize in just about every area. Another trend that I was surprised about was called ''The Human Library' which offers people on loan to talk about specific subjects. Finally, more folks are adding pets to their family and as a result, stores are adding more pet food, toys and medication to their offerings. There's also a nice garden article which suggests mixing vegetables and flowers together for success.

RECIPE IDEAS

Have you every made Cherry Dump Cake. It calls for 2 cans of Cherry Pie Filling (21 ounces), a white cake mix, 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted & 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans. In a 9 by 13 pan, spread both cans of cherry pie filling. Add the melted butter to the cake mix and break apart the resulting mixture and crumble it evenly over the pie filling. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Fast, easy and very delicious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if you want to establish better habits, then decide what habit you want to work on. Again, try an easier one first for that good feeling of success. Let's consider more exercise. Start small. Don't try to run a marathon right away. Set the amount of time, the type of exercise and when to do it to begin making sure that it is within your reach. If it works for you each week add a bit more. Walking is one of the best ways to get good overall movement but there are many exercise videos on YouTube of varying lengths and difficulty to check out. Change your exercise routines to eliminate getting bored. For hardcore exercise with weights, give yourself a day in-between to recover. Even on days you would rather not exercise, do it and see if you feel better. It takes an average of 66 days to establish a habit. Just think 66 days to establish a good habit for a lifetime. Sounds like a good thing to me...how about you?