a hippie with a minivan

Nablopomo 2012

I have decided to do it… For the fifth year in a row, I am going to blog each day for a whole month.

Well… I will try my best! I really find that it is going to be a challenge this year… Actually, I guess it seems to be a challenge every year, but I have always completed it by the end of the month, so I know I can do it!

And to start off this brand new month and this new challenge, I have decided to give my blog a fresh new look. There are still a few little things that I need to work out, so the blog might be a bit buggy for the next day or two while I work on those issues, but for now, I am loving the way it looks! What do you think?

I would love your opinions of what you would like to read, or what features you would like to see with the new look.

Is Anyone else doing Nablopomo this year? Share your link in the comments…

Back in the sewing room…

When we decided to sell the house last february and had a few visitors come see the house, my sewing was put on the back burner. My sewing room became a storage room for things that I was wanting to sell and I thought that I would need to start packing up sooner then later, so I didn’t want to start on any new projects anyway. The longer things dragged on, the more things accumulated and the task of clearing the space and getting back into sewing was a bit depressing and overwhelming. A few weeks ago though, I finally decided that I was going to do it. One day, luckily on the “oversized items” garbage day, I decided that the old oversized TV unit that was holding my fabric quite messily was going to go. I emptied it onto the floor and I asked Simon to help me take it to the curb.

What was left in my sewing room was a total mess. I should have taken a picture but even i didn’t want to see it. That is when I emptied two of my shelves on my bookcase which prompted my post on stuff, as the shelves that I emptied was full of magazines that I was having trouble letting go of. I was able to place all of my fabric on those two shelves but was still a bit overwhelmed by the rest of the mess.

Over the next two weeks I did a little at a time and then yesterday, I finally pushed through the last bit of e mess and am now so happy of the space. Though the space was not yet done last week, just the potential of it already had my creative juices flowing, and I decided a few days ago that I was going to finish the quilt I had started making for Wilhelmina last year so that I can give it to her for either Xmas or her birthday. I can’t believe that it has been sitting there waiting for me for nearly a year and half. I started on it when Willa was just over a year old and then with her being a toddler and into everything I slowed down, and then her health issues last year and everything else, I just never went back to it…

Now that I started sewing again, it feels so good! I love being at the machine! I just go into my own little world and it is so relaxing.

I am also thanking myself for what i had already done. I might have let the sewing room get out of control but I didn’t let my things get out of order. My plan was still on the wall where I had easy access to it, all of my fabrics were together and prepared, I had pre-cut most of my fabrics and stitched together my dresden flowers so that I wouldn’t lose any of the pieces. (actually, I did that a few months ago because I didn’t want to lose any pieces if we moved) and basically, I proved to myself that I can actually be very organized.

Yesterday, I finished piecing together the squares that will be around the center… I had already done three of them but finished the 7 that were left… These are the images from last year, but they still look the same except that I have also quilted the sash between the blocks.

Today, I finished one of my dresden flowers that will be one of the four corners. The flower itself was already sewn, I just needed to cut the fabric it would be on, cut the backing, make a “sandwich” with the batting, press it, pin it, sew it, make the center and quilt it..

I have three more to go but if I can do a bit each night I could hopefully be done my major components by the end of the week. After that I need to decide how I am going to quilt it. Another thing that I did today was make a few scrap “quilt sandwiches” which I practiced my freehand quilting on. I am still not at all comfortable doing it but I do love that even though I make mistakes, with the pattern that I am practicing, you cannot see the mistakes unless you really look for them. But of course, doing a practice run and actually putting the foot down on my hard work are two very different things.

Earthquakes and other things…

First… we had an earthquake a few days ago… OMG!! I know that it might not be much for others but the epicentre was not too far away and it measured at 4.5 and lasted at least 15 seconds… For some, that is nothing, but when you are not used to earthquakes and don’t expect them, it is something to talk about. It was Simon’s first earthquake and my third, it is really not something that we expect to feel so it really took us by surprise. It was just after midnight and I was still awake and Simon was just coming to bed from having fallen asleep with the boys. We heard a big bang and it sounded like a truck was scraping the road and our bed was shaking. Our bed is on the floor in the basement so it really should not be shaking! Simon got up and looked out the window and of course saw nothing and it was then I said it must be an earthquake.. I went on facebook to see if I was the only one and wrote an update and within seconds saw many more that felt the same. Facebook was buzzing way before the news actually hit.

Again, for some that experience earthquakes on a regular basis, a quake of 4.5 is nothing and may not even hit the news, but for people that don’t expect it and almost never have experienced it, it is something that is quite unnerving and unexpected!

In other news, though I haven’t had any sales from my site yet, I have two sets of cards that have gone. One, is my mom… does that count? The other is to one of Simon’s co-workers. He brought some to work and just placed them on his desk without mentioning anything and one of his co-workers inquired about them and took a set, while others took my business card. It is a slow start but I feel confident that things will start picking up soon enough. I got a call this week from a restaurant near me inquiring if I would like to advertise with them (I would have done it, but their minimum was a year and was a bit more expensive them I was ready to pay and we want to be gone in a years time and they didn’t have any options with less time/money) but the fact that they called me and that they heard of me from somewhere is something! I also got an inquiry about portraits that seemed quite positive, so I have a feeling that things might be moving soon.

In the same news type of news, I decided to get a new lens. Lenses are expensive, especially good ones, and the thing about this lens in that it is great for portraits but the fully automatic version is over a thousand dollars which I do not have. However, there is a manual lens that is at a great price and I decided to go for it… and have not been disappointed. Being a manual lens means that it is a lot more work, and there is a big learning curve, but I have been so happy with the results after much trial and error.

Here are a few shots…

A few new pictures…

I love the colours of Autumn…

My fab four…

Xavier

Khéna and Colin

Willa being shy…

Les Iles de Sorel…

I would have had more pictures but it started raining not long after we got there and everyone wanted to head back to the car… I have to get back out there before the leaves are gone!

How do you let go?

I love the idea of a clutter free home. A home that has things to look at, books on the shelves and even a few trinkets. A home that looks lived in but is not overly full. The balance between too much and too little and a home in which everything that surrounds you is something that is loved. My goal one day is to have that home and slowly, very slowly, I am getting there. I go through periods of time that I get rid of tons of things and have no regrets, but then there are times that I have great intentions but can’t seem to follow through…

Moving and pursuing the dream of the bus means that we have to get rid of everything that we don’t need. We do plan on keeping a few extras to either store until we have a permanent home or tow behind us if possible but our plan is to get rid of most…

But what to do with them?

I am ready to get rid of all of the baby and kids clothes that the kids have outgrown. I have no problem giving it away to friends that need it, and I do that. But the rest… well ideally it would be great if I can sell a few items. I have 3 large Rubbermaid’s full of clothing (I used to have at least 3X as much!) Some I given away, some have sold and gone, and the rest just sits there. There are no organizations around here that I would want to donate clothes to. So there they sit…

And what about books? I read in English, there is no english library, there are little english speaking people around here which means that there are no little bookshops that I can try to hand over my books to. I have a ton of books that are perfectly fine and are great books but I just don’t need or want anymore. I also have tons of magazines… like a few years worth of Mothering and the old Homeschool Horizons magazines… what to do with them?

I have way too much clothes too.. I wear the same pieces over and over but have others that I just have trouble letting go of…

I think that some of my problem has to do with “what ifs”… What if I need it? What if I miss it? What if the kids would like it later?, some has to do with a dream that I have that is not shared by others… (like toys that I wish I would have had and I love, but the kids are not into) Some has to lack of community to pass things around to., and there is small bit that has to do with a small pang of wanting to get something back for it, especially when we are trying to find sources of money to fund our dreams.

I saw some great advice a while back from a family that sold their house and most of their belongings to be on the road. She had tried selling things and handing things away but was still having trouble and holding on to too much and then finally came to the realization that it came down to her owning the stuff or the stuff owning her. Once she realized that she was able to let go without any worries. I am way closer to that point then I was a few years ago but I am not there yet…

So how do you let go?
What would you do with things that you can’t find a home for (like books or clothes)?
Where do you draw the line of what is “sentimental” and how much of that you can keep?