Let's wrap up this year - I've had to engage help this month with getting the house back together and re-organized.
That turned out to be a good decision because it made me feel better, and not so overwhelmed. Also, it motivated me to step up and deal with some of the uglies as well as motivate Mr. R. to tackle some necessary projects.
BATHROOM - deep clean and re-organize and make it sparkle for the season. I had help from Mr. R., resealing and help with tackling some mold issues.
DONE! and DONE!
Like removing and then adding new silicone around the bathtub, sink, and window.
There is no more satisfying feeling than three days later...yup, it took me that long to clean and organize everything even with help...
I lit a scented candle and added fairy lights to a winter decor hurricane glass to bounce and reflect the light off shiny, sparkling white tiles.
LIVING ROOM - deep clean, re-organize and decorate for the holidays. - DONE!
New Gallery Wall - DONE!
What sparks my joy is not minimalism but a lovely display of my Holiday china - and yes, dammit, I do use it. - DONE!
Decorating and deep cleaning is finished - got about twenty more books to sort is all. DONE!
All the cabinets are cleaned and sorted inside and out. YAY!
BEDROOM - is good enough. I worked on it the first week of December - so I'm calling it DONE!
Parts of it are now deep cleaned and everything else is clean and orderly.
I finally found the flannel sheets I wanted and my jewelry collection and shoes are sorted. Nice win!
Clothes closets will have to wait until January to be deep cleaned, sorted and reorganized, and/or donated.
KITCHEN - is still moving right along.
Only two tasks remain - WOW that sounds unbelievably good actually.
1. Three more drawers to sort - all of them the deep and difficult, overstuffed kind:). It can wait until January.
2. Re-paint some of the cabinets - I'm actually looking forward to that, but it will not happen until Jan/Feb 2023.
ALAS
I wish to add a #3 - which is to add lighting and either paint or do other things to make it more attractive on the inside or do something with the large glass front.
It will be a fun, creative project for FEB 2023.
DONATIONS GALORE - about ten boxes, YAY, and several trash bags of paper clutter.
THE HALLWAY BOOKCASE finally made it to the top of the list. It was a dirty beast! We conquered the beast! DONE!
Three boxes of donations and a trash bag full later I now have two partially empty shelves and one almost empty shelf. The other three shelves are filled but not overcrowded.
CREATIVE PROJECTS - Drumroll please - THE GALLERY WALLS PROJECT
1. The gallery wall in the dining area is DONE!
It looks fabulous, totally makes me happy just looking at it!
2. The gallery wall in the living room is DONE!
3. The gallery wall in the study is still in progress.....
I can't begin to tell you how much pleasure I derived from this project and yes, originally it was only supposed to be in one area of the house but took on a life of its own. I've been planning this for over two years. Extremely time-consuming and satisfying. I'm still putzing with it and left room for additions.
It's been a process of elimination and change. I discovered new favorite artists along the way which was exciting.
I learned how to frame and re-frame thrifted frames, tricky business - surprisingly my nearby Goodwill was a gold mine. I'm not much of a thrifter but I was all over the half-off Senior Day and lucked out with some great scores.
It was difficult to find contemporary frames on Amazon of decent quality that looked good and mixed well with fine art frames. I'd forgotten how much of a difference the right kind of frame can make.
I now have prints, canvas, and printable art downloads, objects d'art, vacation pics, mementos, and special interest "cool stuff" that I want to combine into vignettes all over my small study and into the hallway next. FUN!
This too will have to wait for Jan-Feb - but I'm fine with taking my time. I found a cohort to help with hanging and arranging the art and concoct those little artsy vignettes, a photographer which also reawakened my interest in photography. Oh boy!:)
In the New Year, I plan to finish one of my colorful glass bead projects and maybe do a little Macrame to keep things interesting.
GARDEN - ongoing
I decided not to do any true fall gardening since I needed to concentrate on the house's exterior and interior.
So I had some help with finishing outdoor projects and cleaning up the yard to get it ready for spring gardening.
GAZEBO -
cleaned up and decorated for Christmas complete with an archway flanked by two big candy canes (lights). DONE!
So fun to sit outdoors in the evening and enjoy the Christmas lights, listen to the fountain, and sip or munch on something.
SECRET GARDEN - cleaned up the furniture, blew out leaves, and did some cutting and maintenance. DONE!
Still enjoying the new-ish swing chair and the wall of lights and the refurbished fountain.
The recent storm did some damage and created more work, ugh!
POTTING AREA -
1. Clean-up - hopefully, next week
2. Reorganization - maybe next week
VEGGIE GARDEN -
Clean-up re-organization - in slow motion - progress:)!
Hoping to plant two or three tomatoes soon...
KITCHEN PATIO - ALMOST DONE... or maybe I'm just being too optimistic:).
I had some help in creating a new paved area alternating with gravel. This needs to be reworked and changed and mosaic work repaired.
It's on the list after the veggie garden but I may get Mr. R. to tackle the veggie garden while I work on the patio mosaic and lay a small new path through the gravel since the kitties really hate to walk on this new gravel area.
BAKING COOKIES - yup there will be cookies and I already have the tins and baking supplies.
Old-time Butter Cookies - that will keep a few weeks in a tin (4-6 weeks) and just get better and softer.
Chocolate chip cookies - for Mr. R. - the recipe on the baking soda box is amazing - who knew?
A few decorated Christmas cookies with sprinkles - for Mr. R.
Coconut Macaroons for everyone - us, the neighbor, family, and friends.
A hundred-year-old French recipe that I found in an old German baking book is everyone's favorite.
It is actually rather easy but takes a little time. Gifted in a cool tin, chosen with the recipient in mind, each macaroon sitting in its own festive cupcake (paper cup) looks impressive.
Scheduled for Wednesday next week!
Thinking of baking an old-fashioned Bacardi Rum Cake on Thursday - if not I'll do it for New Year's Day.
Possibly a spice cake and or apple pie this weekend we'll see.
STUDY
Paper clutter - ORGANIZING and I've been hunting for a bookcase of some sort and/or something that can support my printer. It is a tricky corner with poor access and electrical wires, outlets, and boxes. But I may have found a solution...utilizing a different cabinet that I already own and adding simple open, but sturdy metal shelving in that inaccessible corner.
Also working on the gallery wall art, frames, and decor.
It already ate up a lot of my time, but I still have little to show for it.
For the remainder of the month, the goal is to deal with the paper clutter and organize/clean up the glass cabinet, then next year, rearrange and purchase new furniture in early January.
Oh,
@Serendip - I do hope you get your notebook back. I once lost my designer project notebook with special info and phone numbers at Ikea and it was gone for good.