simplelife

The nice thing about having an organized space is that disaster is possible. But not permanent. This past weekend we hauled out the Bernina and I designed, sewed, and, and dropped off 3 crate covers and crate pads at the Dutch Bike company. Took about 3 hours to do them all (design and cutting has to be perfect so the sewing is a breeze.) Cost me $30 for all supplies and I expect to get $60 for them either in merchandise or cash when they sell. Told the company they can charge whatever, as long as I get $10 each. They had a similar but more basic cover for $25. Might pick up some work for spending money. It sucks not to have income. The office is easy to tidy up. Meanwhile, the basil is growing like crazy in the sunny south window. Cheerful to have green with a purpose. I snip off stems whenever I need them for cooking, and because the plant is in my office, I can remember to water regularly. Wilt. Water. Wilt. Water. Poor thing. Flourishing in spite of me. Rescue dog Spike has fou...

Since we cleared, cleaned, and sorted the office, life has opened up. Not only am I working on the dissertation, but I've adopted the most wonderful rescue dog to keep me company as I study. With the office in a mess, it was easy to distract myself from studies and keep busy without doing anything. Now that it's in place, time stretches in front of me each morning and wants to be filled. I was lonely - it was too quiet and there were too many words left over at the end of the day. (Pity W, who has used up all of his at NU.) Spike's a great dog, gets me out the door for 2 walks a day that add up to 3-4 miles. That's enough cardio and sunshine, for sure. (http://bichondogs.blogspot.com ) I bought a folding Pilates reformer machine that I use almost daily. It folds up and stashes when I'm not using it. I would NEVER have had room for it with the messes in both my office and the reading-guest room next door. How I am enjoying my spaces. The rest of the house is so...