Winter Days

The best thing about January and winter are these amazing plants. Camellias rank up there as one of my favorite flowers, and the fact that they adorn the not so favorite months is a plus in my book.

Winter is here in northwest Florida and I do my best to enjoy it. I have learned over the last decade to make it the season of sorting out closets and starting up tasks that I might not do any other season of the year. It has worked for the most part. I have cleaned out one large closet and painted it which was a big win for me. I have been busy each day with other similar things to make the cold days more productive. 

Other than the usual chores and decluttering, I have stitched, read, and worked on some projects that would be good to get done while I can't get outside. The weather has been crazy here so having these projects has been good to distract from the lack of outdoor time. I thought about this thought the other day...I always wonder how people get so much cross stitching done. I think I have figured out the solution to that. Their house is in order and they aren't sentimental fools like me who have loaded their closets with stuff that should have been let go ages ago and they spend their winter days stitching all day. That is how they do it!

With that said, I must say my house is pretty orderly and my closets are so organized but the stuff in them is me not being able to unload things that should have left long ago. 

Exhibit A

Movie camera and movie projector complete with original paperwork. Both of these items were purchased by Mother in probably 1966 ---maybe '65. I have had them neatly tucked away for decades ....yep decades. They look brand new. Both even work. I never plan to make movies with the camera and I have sent off all of our home movies and had them placed on flash drives so I won't be pulling out the home projector any time soon for movie night. 

I have set a goal of trying to let go of that kind of item in 2024. Surely there is a collector out there who would love them. If not at the end of the year I suppose I will donate them. I don't really want to make tons of money but would rather sell them that donate them for some reason. I have advertised on Ebay already with no luck, so I am trying Facebook Marketplace. We will see what happens. Along those same lines, I really thought I had all pictures and movies and anything related in order until I pulled down the slide carousels from Jeff's parents downstairs. I thought they were empty and I was going to try and get those gone too. When I opened the boxes they were all full. I have already gotten them ready to send off to Legacy Box, so hopefully that is truly the last of that kind of thing. 

On our one closet that we pulled out and gave away a bunch of stuff and painted, I kept about 3 items and put on the top shelf. If they have not been used by June, I will rid myself of them as well. None of them are hurting anything, but I am just still reeling from clearing out 2 houses in 17 months and don't want things we will not use left for kids to clean out. 

Exhibit B

This is a handy dandy stacking container for food. I remember Mom using it in the 1960's for Homecoming at church, trips to the lakes or beach. She was going to get rid of 10 years ago when she moved down here and I picked it up and brought it home. Haven't used it once. It is really cool. I showed it to the kids who thought it was cool, but I bet none of us pull it out to use.

*****

That is what I have been up to since the 1st. Jeff is finding his way too. I have kept him busy with some of that decluttering and sending him to Goodwill and the grocery store. I think he will have enough around here to keep him busy until he figures out how much outside of the home activity he wants. Then I think he will have more options that he probably even wants. 

We kept both Miles and Palmer for our first day back babysitting. They were angels together and honestly it was a really easy day.

So for some fun pictures. I have stitched a little on Miles's Advent calendar...

and on The Ole Florida Sampler. I am thinking that house needs some backstitching for definition, but am waiting until I stitch all around it.

I have been reading and working on the goal of finishing my ancestry book for my kids this winter. I have about 2 months so I am trying to set aside some time each week for finishing that up. I think I can do it if there are no big life interruptions.

That is the pretty boring life of Sandy, but I am contented with it for certain.

Oh and I left up my cardinals in the snow for January in the kitchen. Counter with my planner and papers that I was sorting didn't get moved for the picture. Real life!

Until next time, 

Sandy