Be

regular

&

orderly

in your life

so that you may be

violent

&

original

in your work.

Gustav Flaubert

S is for Stray note & a Story to remember, cautionary.

Morissey (The Smiths) is singing to me. Let me, let me get what I want this time...

Just found this... I think it was from my visit with Marie Ricks. Ironic that it is clutter from her visit. This faded index card has been taped to my studio window for ages. NO. I never read it. Not ever. No more taping things "up."

My studio is in my sites for next clean up/out. I am desperate to get to work. Art work. No more cleaning out crap.

The note:

-Working blind.

-Some women leave a mess. They don't want to address what is behind it. Here is a story: C & Co. went to clean up/out/move a close relative... she isn't well. The latest find were +30! half eaten ice cream cones in the freezer. You know, they were being saved for "later." Later rarely comes,if ever. Who would want to eat a half eaten, re-frozen, paper covered, weeks old, soft-serve ice cream cone?

-- Music has changed to Average White Band: Play That Funky Music -- the play list is called Fun & Done.

[Is any of the following {heading} really worth keeping/organizing? Wasting space with? Just Do IT!]

- Newspaper. [I do save the funny pages(only) for a bunch of good reasons. Right now I'm cutting out funny ones to make a "funny page" for ward missionaries... never know what to write to them.]

- Mom's inbox, school papers [Sign 'em and get rid of them! If it needs to be kept put it in the right binder or file.]

- To file

- Pending

- Fit it/repairs [H: Just do it ASAP. Don't let it linger or pile up.]

- To do

- Letters [? Do people even write those anymore? Again, just do it and forget it. FAST!]

- Gifts. [H: get them, don't buy them and stash them for the future. Wrap them , with a nice card and get it there early. If you are invited last minute and don't have time for a gift, that is just too bad.]

---> Focus on bringing house to HOUSE OF ORDER. On Finishing [Landing]

FURIOUSLY!

M is for Missing ... K & J!

K is coming home on Tuesday night! Wa-hooo! I haven't laughed once, not once! since he has been at camp! Boo hoo hoo. Well, maybe once... I miss his silliness, having his friends around, his singing, talking about the news with him and the cello! He broke his right middle finger at camp, not sure how that will affect his cello-ing. His hand is taped up like a sharp shooter.

Tonight N & M were singing a song, well, 2 songs, not at all similar to each other though sung at the same time ... for J! They miss him the Most they say. He is both of their [?] best friend and their favorite brother. I can write this because I know that tomorrow they will say that K is their favorite ... what a fickle family of favorites. I miss his sweetness, his spontaneous kisses, his imagination and believe it or not his whistling! I also miss reading to him.

We've saved a few weeks worth of the funny pages for them both to fight over!

I don't miss the extra laundry, which I am getting 100% caught up on -- now that I've rinsed my last tie dye ever. School starts Wednesday for J! (C & I are really happy for him. The new school will be fantastic!) I'll just drop J & N off and take K & J's bags from camp directly to the Soap Box Laundromat and let Joyce work her magic -- then I'll come home and incinerate the boys' shoes. :P

House Update: My goal was to have the house "landed" before school starts. Every room.

GARAGE: Getting more and more there. H Bike, huge fan, wire equipt., tie dye materials, clay etc. now have a place to call their own. The entire space is now overrun with school supplies & donations, and of course the tub/misc. stuff to sell. Tie dye and clay are neat and tidy and put away. Still need to move and sell or donate the tub, then I can park INSIDE the garage. Huge sofa-holding-cardboard boxes are gone. Donation stuff needs to go.

DINING ROOM: Almost useable for working in. Will have Project party to celebrate the landed room. Sewing projects are in boxes, fabric is folded and tidy, do-dads are in boxes. To mend pile needs attention and to be done, at night.

LAUNDRY ROOM: So close! The floor is visible (a flood helped). Must iron all the wadded up stuff and fabric for quilt edges. Moved it into the family room, which violates a new rule: All laundry stays in Laundry Room -- didn't want to get dye on it as I rinsed out the tie dye. Amazing amount of clothes, table cloths, towels, getting rid of lots of it actually.

MASTER BEDROOM: Perfection. Simple. Empty. Clean.

ENTRY WAY: Clean. Counter useable for the "don't forget as you go out the door" spot! L------ville is up and looks fun, complete with new architecture, touched up buildings, stars and N's new fort. :)

D is for Dolls -- 1880's Victorian Paper Dolls

http://www.victorianornaments.com/Dresden%20pictures/MakeOrnament%20pix/3dollsheetlargeAcrobat.pdf

Wish I could show the picture...

Click on the link, print the page, cut out, fashion clothes, assemble and marvel that you took time away from your yicky dirty dishes, grocery buying/putting away/cooking, laundry washing, kid totting, podcast listening, FB reading/writing day to make something so lovely.

I've been cleaning up the entry way. Cleaning out the house. What a huge job. Found all sorts of important things that I've stashed away on those shelves since February. Lovely new discoveries.

More loud music and Boner of the Day (x96 radio) podcasts to help make it fun and get it (all) done.

Chores? Plan? Organized routine?

• Sunday: Journal, meal planning, couple & family council, personal study

• Monday: Clean bathrooms, water plants

• Tuesday: Create shopping list

• Wednesday: Mend, clean stove and microwave

• Thursday: Sweep and mop all hard floor surfaces

• Friday: Balance checkbook, dust

• Saturday: Vacuum, clean cars

Found the above at a sickening blog via Googling: family fun daily chores... I've had the slip of paper for ages and just finally looked it up. The post is from 2007 -- Vanilla something.

My children do things, just not really chores. I've tried. They are nice sweet young people. Our house is kinda messy, but clean. That is all ok. As I have more time at home, not homeschooling or running people about to 5 differnet schools and not digging out from under business/family/personal papers the house is getting neater and tidier. In the meantime my therapist Vanda visits every other week, with a crew, and washes everything down.

My recent favorite is listening to Radio From Hell x96's podcast of the Boner of the Day. I recommend passing out laughing while washing the dishes, or sorting laundry.

L is for Landing.

Made this pen and gave it to C's scout leader who was in the hospital. I keep visiting the craft outlet for more birds but Noelle probably beat me to them! Sigh.

√ = LANDED/DONE. Marie Ricks says that projects have 3 parts: Launching, Doing and LANDING. Most people forget to land. They make a list, go to the grocery store and then don't get around to putting all the groceries away, all the way. {I'm guilty.} Since I finished the tops of the iSpy quilts I have been concentrating on Landing all the unfinished, uncleaned up piles around this house -- creative & business relics. Soon I hope to remove the Project List on the sidebar. Summer is a great time to Land.

√ Fix huge pile of clothes on chair. Marie Ricks says this is a good evening project: wind down/boring. Don't waste good daytime hours.

√ I Spy quilts for SKJNM. Assemble.

√ The New bathtub is ordered and installed, well, almost installed. Need to order a tub filler.

√ Garden tilled

[] Garden 100% planted

√ Home-y garden for a Gnomie planted. Used clay remnants &

√ Bunny pen! Complete with lovely new floppy eared Coco, seen here with M & M, her adorable KV friend. Thanks C! It is perfect!

[] Photo albums!

√ Clean/organize up toys/fabric/quilt scraps in guest room, music room, dining room. Oh please, just make them "tidy."

[] Clean up toys, guest room, music room, dining room. Does this kind of job ever land?

[] Studio, make it work. Work in it.

[] Clean up & USE clay area. Magnet board stands, more small sculptures. Play.

√ M's Stick Horse!!! Her's is the one with the big white mane. Each child has one and there is one for a friend, made by a friend.

√ Messed with some BEEs! (reference to favorite movie the Point) We have a lovely bee hive. Now I have to land registering with the state.

Tough jobs... Make It Fun & Get It Done.

There are some things in life that just seem hard to do. Of course they aren't, and yet... finding the courage to actually clean the fridge can seem monumental.
A pal, who is not reading blogs, along with her mother, is focusing on living... GREAT point. Her mother told her, " Just to go out and play with your kids, AND DON'T TAKE PICTURES OF IT!"

Again, agreed. I'd love to print a copy of this wacky journal of sorts, that robs my real journal. So I must record the cleaning of the fridge. It is a rare chore done about this place. These pics don't show the true story, in all its grime.

B is for Bonnes Vacances.

As with so many things, I'm closing shop for the month of August. Hope to see you here, so to speak, in September. I might post a few random pictures now and then. LIKE OF THE WHOPSY COOL TUNNEL IN MY TOWN!!! I can ride my bike from my house to my gym (spin class of course) SAFELY! Whoa. I'm thrilled even though some of my neighbors have actually aged because of it. Wouldn't a surrey be grand?! (See photos below.)

Wrote and sent letter to Utah State Office of Education regarding USDB's inept administration. Also wrote to Deputy of Education at the Governor's office. Received thoughtful replies. (I'll post those on the Journey to Hear blog.) Received a reply from BYU, not so thoughtful, not such a surprise... saying he is glad that I have found great services at the U of U. Hope to step away from the computer and possibly pick up a paint brush, organize photos ( a speech necessity, not a hobby) and read to my children. How odd!

Perhaps you have noticed my desk is clean. It is staying that way too! I will leave you with a few shots of my studio, recently spiffed.


Margo took this picture. I love it:

H is for House of Order.

http://houseoforder.blogspot.com/
by Marie Ricks
Check this out. The post I read about pesky neighbor kids is really fitting for our summer chaos. Love the idea of a sign on the door: CAN'T PLAY UNTIL 11:00. Marie has a nice way of saying things. My sign would have said, just under the skull and crossbones, GO AWAY! Now.

H is for House of ORDER!