Yopping Update #21 - Sewing things up

So I finally finished sewing together the onesie that I finished knitting back in August.  This included having to sew in a zipper.  It only took two tries!

I also finished the Surprise and it too was sewn up and completed last night. 

If you are on Ravelry you can see the finished pictures of the two Surprises.  Otherwise, dear Readers you will have to wait until after Christmas!

Other things sewed up this week:

1) I finished my teaching with the West Coast Institute.

2) I finished my three days of subbing in Grade Three on Friday.

3) I led my first Twelve Step Meeting as it was six months since I started attending the meetings.

We are continuing to de-clutter the basement - tomorrow we will make another dump run, and the installer has given us Tuesday as the day our bathroom will be done and the toilet will be back where it belongs (and out of the bathtub).

Tomorrow I head to the last session of mentoring 120 km from home and will be back on Tuesday (and I WILL have a bath in my new bathroom!)

Then we have exactly one week to get everything done that needs to be done before we leave to visit our daughter and await the arrival of our grandchild.

Oh my, it will be a busy week.

(And I have to go to the dentist - ugh, but also get my hair cut - yay)

On my needles I have a pair of socks for my dear husband, and one zodiac potholder.  I imagine that they will become my airplane knitting.

And of course I have to take some projects to knit for the seven weeks I am away.  I am thinking to take some little kits from my Simply Knitting magazine.

To follow the other intrepid yoppers go here.

Yopping Update #20 - Should I? I Should.

Yes, it is Tuesday, and yes I am three days late with my update.

It has been quite the week.

Firstly I taught for five days at the teacher training institute, and while it was wonderful and everything went well, it was exhausting.

I did a little knitting on the surprise - and actually have finished all the knitting as of last night, but now it needs to be blocked and put together.

Will that happen anytime soon?

Probably not.

We are getting new floors installed and hit a snag today because the subfloor in the bathroom is rotten and needs replacing.  Finding someone available to do this on short notice has made today very stressful, but hopefully we are back on track as of tomorrow.

Except tomorrow I start subbing in Grade Three for three days.  I could cancel, but clearly we need the money for this little 'hitch' in the plan.  I am such a mercenary.

Last night we spent emptying the fridge and the pantry so the appliances could be moved for the above mentioned floors.

My stress level as been off the charts and my stomach is on a steady diet of Zantac  Oh joy.  Oh rapture! Not.

Also, now we don't have access to the kitchen for dinner tonight - so I guess sushi?

Thank goodness we have a second bathroom.  Currently our toilet is sitting in the bathtub.  Thank goodness the second bathroom has a shower.  Grade Three will appreciate that.

What does all this have to do with my title?

I have been struggling with all the shoulds I pile on myself.  I should go to the pool.  I should go for a walk.  I should blog. I should read blogs.  I should listen to podcasts. I should journal.  I should read that book.  I should study my Croatian.  I should go to bed earlier - and so it goes.  I have decided that what I should do is stop 'shoulding on myself'.  So there's that.

On the plus side all the cleaning of the basement and all the trips to the dump and recycling depot have resulted in lots of fitbit steps.  Yaaaay?

So at the moment I am sitting in the living room surrounded by my kitchen table and chairs and all the pantry jars and window sill plants.  The fridge and stove are on the back porch.  Did I mention the toilet is in the bathtub?  How is it that in the process of cleaning and decluttering it looks soooo much more cluttered and, well, not clean?

I am going to start another knitted present, so also a surprise Knitting is my lifeline when I can find the time to sit and unwind a bit. Here is some hemp for my next two projects.  One will be red and natural, the other blue and green.

Oh, and crying - that helps too.

However, whatever will be will be, and in two weeks I will be in the air heading to see my daughter and her very pregnant belly.  I am looking forward to this trip, just not to the getting ready to go part of the program.  Packing always makes me anxious.

I am sure my yopping buddies will have some cool projects to show you.

In the meantime I will show you the colours of the project I just finished.

Yopping Update #19 - More secret wips

There has been knitting this week on the mystery present - and I would guess I will finish it sometime in the coming week.  I have wound yarn to make two more zodiac double-knit pot-holders also for Christmas presents. 

I bought another suitcase on Thursday so it is laid out in the spare room and I have started to fill it with things I am taking on our trip.  The duffel bag is already filled with goodies for my daughter and the baby.  So much knitting! 

There is so much I want to bring her that I am afraid there will be little room for clothes for my dh and me.  Oh well.  There are stores in Croatia.  Right?

We have continued on our cleaning spree and last Wednesday we booked to have our kitchen and bathroom floors recovered.  The upstairs cupboards and drawers are all sorted and now we are tackling the dreaded basement.  There has already been two trips to the recycling depot and one trip to the dump not to mention donating items to the urban refurbish store and I have another big box ready for goodwill.  I also pulled up the ratty carpet on the basement stairs. Whew!  After thirty-six years in the same house there is a LOT to clear away. 

It will be wonderful to come home in January from our seven weeks away to a clean and de-cluttered house.

This coming Wednesday I start a five day teaching stint - teaching teachers-to-be.  I am looking forward to the teaching, but it does mean I have some serious prep to get to in the next two days! 

I have been journaling my 31 days of Self Love, but as yet it has just been between me and my hard copy journal.  I just don't feel ready at this time to put it out into the blog-o-sphere. I am using my favourite journal by Philip Simmons called "Learning to Fall".  It has so many inspiring thoughts.  Today's question: "Where do you need to slow down and take your time.?"  Oh my - in SO many areas. 

The highlight of my week had to have been the tea party I had with my honourary grand-daughters and their mom.  I had given them a tea set that had been my daughter's when she was younger. 

We made cookies and then had proper tea like proper little ladies!

That night I spent on their couch and the two girls decided to sleep on the floor beside me.  A delightful sleepover to be certain. 

Okay, now I really have to go do some prep.  I have fifteen hours of teaching ahead of me between Wednesday and Sunday.  Eek.  Wish me luck. 

To follow the other intrepid yoppers (who have probably done much more crafting this past week then I have) go here.

Yopping Update #18 - Lotsa Progress, No Pics

The Houlland is finished, but not blocked so pictures will come sometime in the future. 

The present that shall not be named or seen here until after Christmas is coming along very well and I would say at this point is about 40 percent complete.

Mostly this past week (besides working away for two days) I have been cleaning out cupboards and re-lining shelves and I am impressed with myself for doing it and the finished product.  I am on the last (and hardest) cupboard but will finish it on Wednesday when I get home. 

I have decided that I will not be turning the three baby doll fleeces I have into usable fibre, and the three bags just sit there in my closet and mock me - so they are being given away. I have kept enough to make a fairisle toque.

We took three bags of clothes to goodwill today, and five items to the re-furbish/re-use-it store.  Earlier this week we took a big old printer to the recycling center as well as two boxes of used and partial paint cans.  As I cleaned cupboards I put things I never use and never want to use in boxes and they went to goodwill as well.  I have a few trinkets for my honourary grand-daughters that I will give them tomorrow. 

Ah, it feels good to de-clutter. 

And, the kitchen is so tidy I even feel like cooking which is usually my dh's job. 

So now I have time to blog, and knit, and adjust to the time change that happened this weekend.  Ugh. It is so dark out now at only 5pm! 

I student of mine has come up with a journaling journey and has given 31 topics that revolve around the idea of '31 Days of Self Love'. 

There are 31 days before I go to see my daughter so it seemed like destiny is asking me to do some  writing (and not just fretting about what to pack, and are all my ducks in a row for the seven week trip).

Stay tuned - some of the writing may just end up posted here on my blog. 

To follow other bloggers you can see their progress here. 

Well, maybe just one pic:

This was our Hallowe'en door ready for the 30+ trick or treaters that visited us last Wednesday.