About to Enter Week #4

I've been "semi-retired" for a full three weeks now and the time has flown by. Things are starting to happen around Casa Clarke too, I'll tell you. In the spirit of "things have to get worse before they get better" there is significantly more clutter at the moment but that is because most of it is on it's way out to a new home or waiting to be placed in it's new permanent home (like my scrapbook gear and the sewing machine, remember the sewing machine? It's still in the dining room!**

So how does it feel???? Baby it feels GOOOOOOOOD! My desire to get things done has returned and I feel like I'm in charge of my life once again....can you spell L-I-B-E-R-A-T-I-N-G?

I'm also still a little in awe of the fact that my "getting organized/purging/lord, the whole house is a junk drawer feeling that it would take several months of time off to accomplish the clean-up has become a reality...
Oh, I'll be as busy as ever but doing things that I WANT TO BE DOING, THAT MAKE ME FEEL GOOD, THAT MAKE ME FEEL LIKE THE PERSON I TRULY AM!!! So if that means knitting all afternoon - so be it. I have two baby blanket projects (crochet) commissioned and the (absolutely fabulous, gorgeous, and delicious) yarn has come in - what am I waiting for?

Not that there haven't been times when I've come close to having second thoughts about my retirement from the fast lane. As a matter of fact, I had a "moment" in Steinmart on Friday when I happened upon the cutest dresses that would be perfect to wear to the job I no longer have. Luckily I had a friend nearby so I could go over and confess that I had the "moment" and laugh it off and move on vs. stewing about it. By the way had a lovely time shopping on Friday mainly for clothes for my "new life" lol.....have to stock up on garments other than dress slacks, skirts or yoga pants!!

Seriously, one of the many things I'm very thankful for also is that I've not only accepted but embraced the idea that breaking big jobs down into manageable tasks is the way to go. The old me would not have plunged in but instead stayed stuck on how many storage bins do I need and how will I ever afford a million storage bins??

To close I'd like to send a shout out of thanks to the lovely people who are members of the Cascades, VA Freecycle group - you all rock - I've found great new homes for some of my beloved but no longer needed treasures and have gotten some really cool stuff that I put to good use...from lightbulbs to a faux leather jacket for Jackson to cleats for when I was "coaching" mini-soccer and bye bye to the Little Tykes Kitchen, the toy BarBCue that talked (so obnoxious...unspeakably obnoxious), the dollhouse, bag of childrens' books, Med Size Legos, etc. all gone in a few hours.

I'm also grateful for the opportunity to meet one of the teachers from the jr. high school that Jackson will be going to...how fortuitous since she teaches English and he loves to write!


**Yep the sewing machine is waiting for me to take down the bathroom curtain that continues to mock me because even after I took it apart and restitched it, it still hangs a little bit crooked. And you know I have to Chester up up and fix that sucker, right?

Speaking of the sewing machine..I'm contemplating the totally ridiculous...re-upholstering a sofa and love-seat all by myself. To say that that the deceased members of the Singer family are rolling over in their graves whenever I take out my machine is an understatement...but I think I can pull this one off. My desire to achieve it will surpass all obstacles (and lack of sewing talent and ability to do anything in a perfectly straight line....tune in next time for the next segment of "Cynde tries Upholstery"