Sometimes You Just Need a Break...

...from all of this sitting around. Sooooo, I'm heading out to the farm with Karolyn and Connie for a couple days of relaxation. I'll be doing pretty much exactly what I've been doing. Watching movies and stitching.

Yep, life can be tough.

Just Around the Corner...

...and the excitement is building!

Schedules and Accomplishments

My Schedule These Days

I almost feel guilty reporting this---because I think I could really become accustomed to this lifestyle. I'm a creature of habit. I like my little schedules. It wasn't hard to fall in to this one:

4:00-5:30 a.m.---Wake up; Make tea; Put on music; Check emails; Facebook; blogs.

7:00 a.m.---turn on GMA; eat breakfast; continue with computer stuff.

8:00 a.m.---get cleaned up for the day; make-up/maybe/rarely.

9:00 a.m.---turn on Kelly and Michael; check “to do” list and do a couple things; browse catalogs/order Christmas gifts; stitch.

11:00 a.m.---watch a show I have DVR’d; stitch.

11:45 a.m.---lunch; more tv; stitch; Netflix (Monumental Mysteries, Bates Motel, Foyle’s War and Scandal). I’ve watched many movies and documentaries. I’m trying to stick with just a few series so that I can get through them systematically.

2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.---put on music; read and nap.

4:00 p.m.---local news; computer stuff.

6:00 p.m.-7 p.m.—dinner; check emails; tv with Butch.

7:00 p.m.-midnight---more tv and stitching; check emails before bed; read.

As the pain recedes, I’m doing more. This week, I made dinner a couple of times. I've unloaded the dishwasher a few times and opened the dozens of boxes arriving. Mostly Christmas stuff---some wedding stuff, so that’s good.

Accomplishments

I can still manage to be productive from my chair! I'm a "lister" and love nothing more than checking things off or---in this case---putting things---"on"!

1. Completely caught up on my stitching class.

2. Waded through a foot high stack of magazines.

3. Culled my Netflix list--- I’m down to 21 items.

4. Watched dozens of documentaries and movies from Netflix.

5. Put together my timeline for the wedding.

6. Put together a very lengthy task list for the wedding---very detailed---down to who is going to help get the gifts home after the wedding. I don’t want to let anything fall through the cracks.

7. Watched umpteen Ted Talks that have been on my list for awhile.

8. Cleaned out files on my computer.

9. Planned AYM for 2016.

10. Planned a special project for my friends.

11. Got honeymoon information together for Mindy and Justin.

12. Made many wedding arrangements over the phone.

13. Read 3 books.

14. Started my Christmas shopping---actually, I'm nearly finished.

I wanted to start wrapping---the perfect thing to do from a sitting position. But apparently I'm out of wrapping paper.

15. Played umpteen games of Trivia Crack with family and friends on my iPhone.

16. Spent hours on the phone with Sandy.

17. Re-organized all of my fibers and floss bags.

18. Stitched a couple of Connie’s projects.

19. Started bow making for my Christmas packages.

20. Wrote the handouts for the AYM November and December kits.

21. Wrote the “welcome to Nashville” letter for the gift bags for the wedding guests.

22. Started working on plans for Katie’s shower.

23. Made some surprise reservations for Thanksgiving at Sandy’s.

24. Put together the Christmas lists.

25. Culled through and re-organized the photos on my computer---deleted 1201.

26. Downloaded about 50 new fonts and put them in the proper folders.

27. With Connie’s help---put together a December schedule for us and our friends.

28. Made the necessary reservations for the December events.

29. Kept up with the bills.

30. Handled all of the beach business.

I've gone out a little, but I'm still laying low. I know that the more I stay off of my feet, the quicker the fractures will heal. I have a really fun and busy holiday season planned. And I don't want to miss a thing!! I had my first, comfortable shower this week---meaning that I didn't have to balance quite so much to keep weight off of the ankle. I'm still taking the ibuprofen for pain and inflammation, but I can tell it's finally getting better.

Another One Bites the Dust...

I just got an email yesterday that The Scrapbook Village in Glasgow, KY is closing. Actually, it had a new name when it was sold a couple years ago. They had moved locations and downsized. I taught many classes there. Each January, we started off the new year with my organizational class. It was always a fun class with "students" driving all the way from Nashville, Louisville and Lexington.

Besides the physical store, Scrapbook Village hosted a couple of retreats every year at the state park. A few of my friends and I always enjoyed going---and having that time for uninterrupted scrapbooking. Now it's gone.

It saddens me that just about all of our scrapbook stores have closed. There are none in the greater Nashville area. Sadder still is the number of scrapbookers that are no longer scrapbooking. Every one invested a lot of money in this hobby---tools, pretty papers and every possible embellishment. They allocated prime real estate in their homes for their scrapbook rooms. I know. I helped set up so many of them. Now they are lonely, empty---collecting dust.

I started AYM ("A Year of Memories") nearly 8 years ago. It was the natural progression from my "Making the Most of My Memories"---4 week workshop. I wanted to prove that my system for organizing photos, memories and memorabilia was the best system out there. And I did. By year three, I had 39 members in 3 groups. As the stores closed, so did the interest. Slowly the 39 dwindled to the 10 I have left today. I still have a lot of stories to tell. I also know that for the current members in my group---this one layout a month is ALL they do. That's okay as they do have a completed album at the end of the year. Still, it's a lot of money and space tied up for something you do seldom. Even with that, several have not been able to put aside time this year to do even the one layout a month.

Somehow, scrapbooking has fallen by the wayside. I'm continuing to do my part---our stories are important. I believe that. I'm passionate about that. I want to remember the stories---and  more importantly---have my family remember them. What I wouldn't give to know more about my grandmother and great grandmother's lives---if only I'd have asked! I didn't. Now it's far too late. My grandchildren and great-grandchildren are going to know me---what I loved, what I did, how I lived. It might not seem important now, because I'm here. But 50 years from now, I truly believe they will cherish this bit of family history.

I called The Sassy Scrapper in Murfreesboro, TN---about 50 minutes from here. They are still in business. Now that I think about it, I haven't taught a class there in years. At the very least,  I want to go before another one bites the dust. Are ya' with me?

Let's make a 2016 New Year's resolution: Tell More Stories!

Not Much to Report

I'm not usually without something to say. But there's not much to report these days. I'm still just laying low and recuperating.

Broken Ankle and Toe Update
It's been three weeks now since my little fall. The pain is starting to subside. I'm still taking ibuprofen---my doctor said it would hurt for a long time. Still, this seems like it was a far less injury than my surgery---which seems completely healed. I've been given the okay to put full pressure on that foot. Probably the biggest improvement I've seen is that I can take a shower more comfortably.

The black and blue is starting to disappear too.

I was on it a little too much over the weekend. I'm laying low this week. I did go to stitching on Tuesday and will play bridge today. But other than that, I'm taking it easy. My doctor said I'll be in the boots for another 4-6 weeks. That was a week ago. However you look at it, I'll be out of them by Christmas. I'm just trying to take advantage of this rest time. I'm accomplishing quite a lot---but have so much more on my list---just as soon as I'm up and about.

Stay tuned...

Wassup?

Working on finishing my Halloween stitching by Thanksgiving. Then I'll pick up a couple of Connie's Christmas projects to finish---because, uhhh, that's just what friends do!

Watching Bates Motel on Netflix---and lovin' it!!

Listening to Opera to Relax Radio on Pandora. I listen to music constantly and was getting a little tired of everything. I was even listening to the Disney channel. I decided on some old fashioned opera to get me in an Italian mood. When I put that in the search, up popped "Opera to Relax." It's "hipper" than regular opera---music of today in a classical format.

Trying to figure out when I can realistically go upstairs. I want to get the Christmas wrapping paper down to start eliminating some of these boxes of gifts. Heck, I'm sitting around anyway, might as well do some wrapping.

Preparing for an upcoming trip to the farm next week. What could be more fun than sitting around stitching? Sitting around stitching with my friends!

Loving that I'm finally caught up on magazines and thumbing through catalogs. Well, until the mail delivers 32 new catalogs today.It's that time of year.

Revisiting what I really want to do in the way of Christmas decorating this year. By the time I'm out of these boots, I'll already be two weeks in to the holiday season. Is it worth going all out for just another 3 weeks?

Continuing to work on my plan to really clean out and declutter this house. I think I'm over the moving bug---just the sheer scope of the work is enough. Do we need this big of a house? Not really. But we are still using the pool. Still, I'm going to attack each room as if we were planning to move. That way I can get rid of a lot of junk now. Plus, I have a ton of boxes to make it easy! If I don't, the girls are going to hate us!

Wanting to take over the grocery shopping. Can't wait for that! And, here, I always thought I hated grocery shopping. But when you are at the mercy of other people and realize you can't get exactly what you want, you realize you'd rather do it yourself. Sometimes, you don't even know what you want until you are there!

Laughing at my ridiculous situation. Surgery on one foot, then fall and break the other. Laughing about it is all I can do. It's still unbelievable to me!

Brainstorming my ideas for A Year of Memories, 2016.

Re-organizing all of my stitching fibers and consolidating them.

Enjoying this sitting around time and making the best of it. 

Catching up on blogs, scrapbook videos and other video clips I've been meaning to watch.

Drinking my morning pot of Earl Grey Supreme.

Thinking about classes I can find to take. I love learning new stuff.

Wearing capris---still. They are the only things that fit over the boots.

Eating frozen waffles---cooked in the microwave so they get soft---such a quick breakfast.

Thrilled that Butch is on the boards of both homeowners associations where we have our Florida condos. I'm so happy that he's actively watching out for our investment!

Excited for the holidays and the family time that brings. First stop---Thanksgiving in Charlotte! Can't wait!

Reading Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah. Actually, I just finished it. She can "tear me up" like no other author. I cry so hard---there's always something so gut-wrenching---and you are in the middle of it!

Feeling like these breaks are never going to heal. But I did have a fairly painless shower yesterday. 

Dreading an upcoming colonoscopy. Has it really been 10 years? Merry Christmas to me!

And that's wassup with me!

The Best Medicine....

...is having your daughter, granddaughters and sisters come in town to nurse you for the weekend!! 

Okay, they didn't exactly come in to town to take care of me. They came in town for Mindy's "Around the Clock"  shower on Saturday. 

It was such a great weekend. The shower was lovely. Mindy got so many nice gifts. 

As we were socializing, my sister, Jennifer made this observation:

"Young people's boots---old people's boots!" We all got a kick out of that.

This picture was taken before the girls left on Sunday. Unfortunately, we didn't get one while we all looked "cute" at the shower. That's what I get. I know better! I put Morgan and Victoria in charge of taking pictures. I got exactly 6---and none of them were really what I wanted.

We took this one before we left the house. I do not have a picture of Sandy and the girls either. Janet took quite a few, but she's technically challenged, so I will not be getting those. No pictures for a scrapbooker is a tragedy!!

This made me happy:

The flowers that Justin send me last week were still beautiful for the weekend. 

It went by in a flash. The only good thing is that in just a little over two weeks, we'll be with Sandy again for Thanksgiving. 

Yep, the holidays are upon us!! That will really be the best medicine!