A Week in the Life of a Crazy (by Design) Woman

I admit to being crazy. It’s a benign crazy, harmless and I’m sure it’s even sweet to some sympathetic onlookers (who would be much younger, I imagine). But I truly believe I’m losing my - well, YOUTH for one thing (and there go the marbles!) and my “edge” for another. My mind? I think it’s in the danger zone… 

After the move, which was full of list-making, planning, cleaning, phone calls, worrying, sleepless nights and packing (ad nauseum), I decided to take a vacation from that hectic life and ease into the new life of retirement. Except that in my efforts to just glide along and not overplan or overthink, I keep hitting bumps in the form of chores, errands, must-do’s, appointments and new “adventures”. I can’t resist me a new challenge it seems. But first, let’s dive into the Rainbow Scrap sewing I did this week. I’ll be linking this post to Scrappy Saturday in the morning to join in with our international friends who are also working on yellow blocks for RSC’s Yellow April.

I actually managed to finish the rest of my planned yellow blocks for April, as well as a single 6” block of crumbs I never sewed for Red February (no picture of that). But below are my three yellow crumb blocks and two 12” scrappy Star blocks in yellow. 

And then I tackled the strings and got twelve 6” (finished size) blocks - and even got the papers removed! I have no plans for the string blocks yet, but I do want to keep the strings in check, so I faithfully sew some every month. 

I also used a lot of crumbs and bits and strings to make one 4” x 60” yellow column. Eventually I’ll have enough colorful columns (of varying widths) to sew into a decent-width quilt. 

With my April RSC blocks done and the backlogged blocks caught up, I plan to turn my attention to the Anne of Green Gables gift quilt (story and picture of first blocks here) I want to work on. Also, I’m going to try to baste at least one of the quilts in the closet that’s waiting its turn. I have a backlog of three tops with backs, five community quilt tops with backings donated by others for me to quilt, plus three new tops received this month, plus a set of Zipper blocks to sew into a top, PLUS at least a half dozen RSC block sets to make into tops. 

And you may remember that last fall I numbered all my quilt “kits” (self-made bagged sets of matching chunks, scraps and yardage in coordinating themes/colors). Thirty-six of those, and my goal was to make up three of those kits each month into quilts. That happened in January, but then all hell broke loose with the packing and selling of the house, the moving and unpacking, etc. I’m still traumatized and trying to get my groove back. So, that quilt kit plan is totally off the rails. And I’m feeling overwhelmed….

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Last Saturday we shopped for bathroom light fixtures and a patio umbrella and stand. And I picked up paint chips to begin selecting bathroom colors. On Sunday, my friend Ruby came over to sew (Cousin Kimmie was sick). It was a beautiful day, so we first sat inside and talked, then sat outside on the patio and had lunch and gabbed, then went for a walk, and only then - in the early afternoon - did we sew! 

On Monday, Bruce had a doctor appointment with his head doctor and was finally able to get his ADD/ADHD meds refilled. It’s been a loooong 8 months, but the manufacturing shortage is apparently over. He feels so much better and can focus on things again. His 12-year-old attention span has reverted to an adult attention span. I attended the monthly meeting of our HOA’s Board. I was asked to make some remarks about our New Owner experience, and made some observations that apparently led them to like me (or see a sucker?) I was visited by three different Board members during the week and have been asked to join the Board. I believe I agreed to it - hence the doubts about my sanity. But more on that as the situation develops.

Here are some pictures I took of the wild area around the HOA Clubhouse on Monday. The green area and creek are a short block from our condo along the west side of our 72-unit condo complex. The creek is Little Cottonwood Creek - the same creek that runs through Wheeler Farm that was a block away from our old house. 

Here’s the view looking left, with the clubhouse and pool deck visible on the middle left. 

Tuesday was Weight Watchers for me, a good meeting but I didn’t weigh in. Now that I’m a Lifetime member at goal, I only choose to weigh in once per month, although I attend the workshops weekly. In  the afternoon, Bruce and I both treated ourselves to pedicures because - we deserved it. It was a first for Bruce, and he enjoyed talking with the salon owners and workers about Viet Nam, their home country and where Bruce served in the US Army for 8 months before returning to the States to serve out his remaining tour at the NSA (National Security Agency). 

On Wednesday we both worked around the house hanging pictures (me) and organizing his shop (Bruce). We were also on the phone and the computer - making address changes to various places (all the un-fun, big hassle stuff like insurances, voter registration, drivers licenses, health plans, etc). 

On Thursday we had an electrician in to install new lighting fixtures in the bathrooms (yay!) and consult with us about ideas and needs for the kitchen/dining area remodel. We’ll be working with him as we move forward. I spent that afternoon up at the Clubhouse playing cards (Hand and Foot) with the ladies. There are about a dozen regulars. 

Friday - today as I write this - was grocery shopping, laundry and sewing. It was a good, “homey” day. The Billy Joel musical special was re-broadcast on CBS, so we watched it again tonight as we had done on Sunday night. That first time they aired it, the network cut off the last two minutes, and apparently they were flooded with complaints from all over the country. You don’t mess with the legions of fans of  a musical icon! (A lesson that a certain orange person could stand to learn). 

One more picture - the sitting area just beyond the kitchen/dining area of our condo. I had a picture of the living room as well, but it was too blurry.

I took this picture - with nothing on the wall above the couch - to show my son Shane where I want to hang a painted cityscape that we’re commissioning him to do. He used to paint portraits and cityscapes before he got into computers, but his heart is still in art. 

Starting next week, we will meet here with three cabinet company designers to begin getting ideas and design plans roughed out and get bids for the kitchen remodel. 

But other than that, there’s nothing going on…. Haha. See you next week!