Tackle-It--Basement "Bomb Shelter"

Side note:  I'm still trying to figure out my new photography editing software; so far, I can say decisively that I do not like it.  It should not be so confusing to simply save a photo and upload it to my blog.  The only way I could figure out--at this point--was to publish them to Facebook (of all places), then import them to this blog.  If you see photos below, you'll know I was successful in at least that!  Except that now, these photos--which are not beautiful by any stretch of the imagination, but are meant solely for this blog--are on Facebook for my friends to see!  Sigh.  That may very well be my next project...

For now, I will focus on what I accomplished this past week.

Last week, I had canned some green tomato salsa, jalapeños, and pepperoncinis.  But when I brought the jars to our basement "bomb shelter," as we call it tongue-in-cheek, I saw that there was absolutely no room for them.  Empty jars were set haphazardly on shelves, certain items had two different resting places on the shelves, and my one-time organization had faded to general disorder.

Time for a project!  Our storage shelf system is really just one individual shelf system, and my husband assured me that the shelves were rated to hold several hundred pounds.  I think my food weighs more than that, as each shelf has gradually bowed under the weight.  Fernando bought and cut some pieces of wood to shore up the shelves, and with a little modification--thanks for the help, Danny--this new "system" seemed to work on one shelf.

Danny and I worked together to empty one entire shelf, and he carefully placed the pieces of wood under the shelf.

We then undertook the fun task of organizing all the food I had canned!  I had not realized just how many jars I had canned and collected in just a few years!

I also organized the jars in boxes and box lids to keep similar food together and contained.  I thought it would be a little easier to tell things apart.  Maybe I need to label the boxes...

The shelf is bowed up, but it will settle down with the weight

Well, at least one plain box is labeled!  Apples.  Yum.  Speaking of which, there are even more apples waiting for me to process them!

Back to life,
Christine

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captured by Christine Anne

Tackle It--I break, I broke, I have broken

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I wasn't going to post today, since I haven't completed any projects I could really take a photo of.  But after the day I had yesterday, I felt that I needed to post.

Here is a synopsis of my Monday:

• I got locked out of the house when I went into the garage to put some recycling in the bin and the door locked behind me.  I had to open the garage door, go to the front door, and ring the bell until Fernando (who had been working out in the basement) ran up to see what was going on at 6:45am.

• Thomas had a major attitude issue (a.k.a. sin) to deal with

• As I squirted spot remover on a pair of grass-stained jeans, the squirter insert popped out and more than half a cup of smelly liquid spurted all over me and into the washing machine.  I changed my clothes, and had to wash the load two times to get the smell out.

• I decided to can the jalapeños and pepperoncinis that had been sitting in bins, then couldn't find the protective gloves.  I sliced the jalapeños anyway, only to find the gloves after I was done.

• Jacob grabbed a plate from the cabinet, and it slipped and broke.

• Joseph left a lower cabinet door open, and Danny walked into it, cracking the door down its seam. 

• One jar of jalapeños broke in the canning pot, sending spurts of liquid out.

• My parents came for dinner (chili was already made), and I overbaked the cornbread.

• As I reached up to grab something out of the cabinet, I burned a chunk of my hair on the flame from the canning pot.

• Fittingly, at the end of the day, Jacob hollered from his bathroom, "I just broke the soap dish...!"

The ten jars of jalapeños and six jars of pepperoncinis on the counter were testimony that something good really did occur on Monday.  And that's why I decided to blog today.

Yes, it was a "project" that I needed to get done.  But, more than that, I think we all have days like yesterday, filled with frustration and one more thing.  Sometimes my agenda for the week--or for the day--doesn't coincide with the Lord's agenda.  But that doesn't mean He isn't good.  Why do I say God is good only when something good happens?  If it is true that God is good (all the time), then God was good yesterday.  So I declare:  God is good.

Back to life,
Christine

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captured by Christine Anne

Tackle-It--What if the Shirt DOESN'T Fit??

Last week's warm weather prompted me to pull out a few new blouses that I had recently bought at clearance prices for next summer.  When I bought them, I knew I'd have to tailor them a bit.  Again, my caveat:  I AM NOT A SEAMSTRESS!  I have just figured things out on my own.  My figuring may be wrong, but it works.

Isn't the blouse above pretty?  I love the sleeve and its button closure.  Unfortunately, these types of sleeves do not fit around my arms, which just happen to be larger.  I personally think that clothing manufacturers do not realize that when they make a size large blouse, the arm opening in the sleeve should also be large.  (Yes, I wear a large.  I'm broader in the shoulders and, well, too blessed to wear a medium.)

As I searched for and tried on and discarded and searched some more for feminine blouses that I can wear during the warmer seasons, my mind's wheels were turning.  Could I somehow alter the armholes so they would work for my arms?  I unbuttoned one of the blouses' arm buttons, and the fit was comfortable.  Could I somehow make this opening larger?  Hmmm...

I purchased a few blouses, brought them home, and went to work on the first one.  I first removed the button from each of the sleeves.

I placed each side of the closure end to end, and sewed it closed.  That created about a half inch more of room.

Then I had to somehow cover up the fact that I sewed the closure shut.  I knew I'd have to sew one button over the button hole to make it look like it was closed with a button.  Well, how about using three buttons?  I sewed one button over the hole, a second one over the seam, and a third one an equal distance to the right of the second.

The sleeve pulls on my arm just a teeny bit when I reach my out straight out in front of me.  But it is not at all uncomfortable, and the solution was a good first try.  I have sewn only this blue blouse so far, with about three more to finish.  Hopefully I'll get this technique down and have four wonderful bargain blouses for this lovely warm weather so late in October!

Back to life,
Christine

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captured by Christine Anne

Tackle-It: Kitchen Cabinets

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I had several things on my to-do list last week, and most of it is still on the list.  Organizing two of my kitchen cabinets was a surprise!  I casually mentioned to Fernando--very sweetly now, I'm not a nagger--that it would be nice to someday soon have a new shelf in two particular cabinets in my kitchen.  We had bought the wood (composite board, actually) right after finishing the kitchen, ahem, two years ago.  The two cabinets at issue contained just one shelf, so things were stacked pretty high.  An extra shelf would help distribute the weight of all the items, and make getting things easier.

I was surprised when Fernando said, "I'll be right back."  I asked, "Where are you going?"  And he answered, "To the garage to cut the board for your shelf."  *wife melts into a puddle*

He measured twice, cut once, et voilà, a new shelf!  He then ran out to Home Depot to get another piece of composite for our secret cabinet--named because it's hidden under our kick-out countertop area.

Boys pulled everything out of the cabinets, and I put it all back--except one Tupperware pitcher because I had several pitchers already.  Here is a photo of what I call my peninsula cabinet, which is opposite the secret cabinet.  (You can see the open door of the secret cabinet behind the right-hand peninsula door.)

No "before" pictures, because I forgot; however, it didn't look much different.  There is now a new shelf, and I can get things in and out much more nicely than before.  And I even re-organized a few things for a better fit, so things don't look exactly like the above photo!

Yay for an organized kitchen!

Back to life,
Christine

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captured by Christine Anne

Tackle-It: Science Supplies

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Box of science supplies

A few years ago, I loaned out this box of chemistry supplies; it was returned to me just a few weeks ago.   The box sat on the counter for a few days, then I moved it to the basement, on the floor in front of my homeschool cubby-hole cabinets.

Cubby-hole cabinets with box of science supplies

Thank the merciful Lord that I had already gotten my cubby-hole cabinets cleaned out and re-organized a few weeks ago!  I love these cabinets, which were originally literature cabinets that Fernando's company was throwing away in their dumpster.  Are you kidding me???  Each cabinet has 16 cubby-holes perfect for organizing things--especially homeschool things.  These cabinets are a prized possession, and have been put to incredible use for, oh, eight or ten years now.

If you look at the cabinets like a Battleship game board, cubby-holes A5 through A8, plus B8, contain my science supplies.  The top of the right-hand cabinet also holds boxes with science supplies.  When I first organized this, I made an index of supplies, named each cubby-hole and each box, then found a spot for every item.  I labeled each cubby-hole:  Bin 1, Bin 2, and so on, and the boxes in each bin as Box A, Box B...you get the picture.  And that index exists today!

But, when I bought the chemistry supplies, and Jacob ended up dropping chemistry, the box of supplies never got cataloged or put away.  Shortly thereafter, a friend asked to borrow them, so the box made a trek to her house.  And now that Danny had embarked on the chemistry journey, necessity spurred me to finally get these supplies indexed and put away.

Science supplies needing a home

Though there weren't that many things to put away, it still took time.  A few of the items were duplicates of things I already had indexed, such as eye droppers and beakers, so those were easy to put away.  I cleaned out the two cardboard boxes of jars, vials, and beakers (sitting on the top of the cabinet), since there were more items than we would use at any one time.  Most of what I recycled were glass jars; several of them--16-oz. former jelly jars--made their way into my pantry for storage or freezing.

Index of supplies

I indexed all new items on my science supply list by adding them in with pen, then placed the items in their new homes.  My index is alphabetical, and shows:  (1) the item, (2) how many I have, and (3) where I can find that item.  For instance, if I need assorted wood blocks, I go to Bin 1, and pull out Box A, and I will find the blocks.  Simple!

A place for everything...

The funny thing is that my "after" picture above doesn't look all that different from the "before" picture; the box is missing, and that's it!  That means that everything got put away.  :)  (Not to mention the fact that my "before" picture is really the "after" picture of my previous clean-the-cabinets project!)

Science supplies :)

Above is a close-up of most of my science cubby-holes.  It's so simplifying to have these things in their places.  A place for everything, and everything in its place.  I would add more to this motto:  If it doesn't have a place, don't give it any space.

Back to life,
Christine

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captured by Christine Anne

Time for a Project!

Do you need encouragement to get all those unfinished projects completed?  Need some help or ideas?  Click above to visit CelticMom, the hostess for Tackle-It Tuesday, to learn more and to participate!!

Ahh, I feel like working on a project today!  I think I'll sit at my project desk--where I make cards and work on scrapbooking--and make a card for Tim and Evy's wedding this Saturday.  Last week, my main project was to clean off, de-clutter, and organize my project desk so that I could do a project!  :)

I wish like mad I could've taken "before" and "during" photos, but I couldn't until Saturday--oh happy of days--when my dear "Ellie" arrived by overnight express from the repair company after 31 days of absence.  But I digress.

I worked on this project with my friend and project accountability partner, Helen.  We call each other at a particular time, share our projects, then work for a designated time, calling each other to check in once during the project time, then once at the end.  I thought I was simply going to de-clutter and put everything away, but ack, there was dust on everything.  So I grabbed the dust cloth and cleaned each item before I set it on the floor.  I had to damp-wipe the desk, which was pretty messed up.  Once the desktop surface was clean, I replaced the lamp and a few larger items.  I put every small item in its place (a place for everything...), then started arranging the larger items (bins and holders and such) on the desktop.

I had purchased two stackable trays for my rubber stamp ink pads, but you won't see those in the picture!  The story:  I stopped at Joann Fabrics earlier in the week, and happened to see the trays.  I bought two, and the cashier let me use both a "40% off one item" coupon and a "10% off total order" coupon!  So I paid only about $7 for both of them.  They didn't hold the ink pads like I wanted--they were wide enough but too deep--but they would work.

Then, on Saturday, I did some power garage-sale-ing with my mom, and happened upon a stackable three-tray set-up.  I asked the lady how much they were, and quickly paid her the 50 cents after my shock wore off.  They were filthy, but they easily washed up and they fit two side-by-side stacks of ink pads.  Perfect.  You can see the three stacking trays on the right-hand corner of my desk below.

My clean project desk is calling me to work!

On the desk, from left to right:  lamp, storage caddy for brads/eyelets/etc., ribbon box (90% off at the scrapbook store), stackable bins with ink pads and other supplies, and a phone (because it has no other place to go!).

Tim and Evy's wedding invitation sits on the wooden project board, waiting for me to make it into a wedding card.  I have just two things left to do:  purchase another CFC bulb for the two-bulb lamp (it has only ever had one bulb in it!), and return the two trays to the store for a refund, yay!

This week's main projects:

• Make Tim and Evy's wedding card!
• Finish sewing a modesty panel in my dress for the wedding this Saturday
• Get chemistry supplies (recently returned to me) put back in order on my homeschool shelves

Trust me, there are other projects calling my name, but the above have deadlines.  Really soon.  So I need to get to work!


Back to life,
Christine

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captured by Christine Anne

Tackle-It Tuesday!!

Visit CelticMom, the hostess for Tackle-It Tuesday, to learn more and to participate!!

Project Update
Well, I'm still without a camera, and I'm dying to take pictures from last week.  Now I've got some projects for this week, and I still can't take pictures.  So, a story from last week will have to suffice.

My friend Helen asked me to participate in what we are now calling our "Suspenders" Accountability group.  It's just the two of us for now, and--oh, wait a minute.  I need to explain what we're doing!  We are, like CelticMom, tackling projects that need to get done.  Here's how we worked together for even more accountability:

We chose Friday night from 6:30-8:00pm, 1.5 hours, and told each other what project(s) we would work on.  She chose filing and cleaning off her desk, and I chose decluttering and organizing my homeschool cabinets.  She called me at 6:30, we shared our projects, hung up, and began working.  After 45 minutes, I called Helen to give a progress report, and to hear her progress report.  A quick two-minute call, then back to work.  At 8:00, Helen called me back and we shared final progress reports, and chit-chatted for a few minutes.

We were both working, and we were both calling each other.  We knew we had to stick to the task--it was a date and we were holding each other accountable for the time.  We both felt wonderful to get 99% of our projects completed!  I got rid of two overflowing boxes of books and supplies (I've given some away at church, and have sold a bunch of art supplies).  My cabinets are organized and labeled.  :)

Now that I've described what we did, here's why Helen calls it our "Suspenders" Accountability program:

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.

For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion.

But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Praise the Lord for Tackle-It Tuesday, and the accountability it holds for me!  Try grabbing a friend, setting a date and time, calling each other, and getting a project done.  Most of my projects get put on the back burner, and I never have time to work on them.  They keep getting pushed aside for more urgent things, or simply become forgotten.  But, when I set a date with a friend, I know that that project is my goal for that particular time.  And it gets done.  No excuses.

Happy Project Day, ladies!  May the Lord allow us to live simpler lives before Him, for His glory!!

Back to life,
Christine

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captured by Christine Anne