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.