Remembering My Mother

My Mother

Today is the 9th anniversary of my mother's death.  I still miss her every day and dream of her almost every night.  May she be free from pain and suffering, hurt and sorrow.

Organizing Cleaning: Room vs. Task

Every time I clean the house, I debate with myself, weighing the pros and cons of cleaning one room completely at a time, such as tidying, dusting, and vacuuming the living room, before moving on to the next room, vs. completing one task, such as dusting or vacuuming, throughout the house.

Seems like each has its good points. Doing it one way, a room at a time will mean that at least one room gets completely cleaned.  Doing it the other way, one task at a time means it is easy to do all the vacuuming when I have the vacuum cleaner out.

On the other hand, there's also a "half done" aspect to both (unless I do the dusting and the vacuuming all on one day).

I guess for some people who live in a 2-story home, it might make sense to do all the downstairs areas on one day and the upstairs areas on another day. But I live in a single story house with a fairly open floor plan - it's harder to divide the house into sections, although I guess I can treat the public rooms (living room, dining area and family room) as one section and the 3 bedrooms and hallway as another.

There is no right way or wrong way to clean, of course. It all depends on what we find to be convenient and works for each one of us. It's just that I am not quite happy with how I'm doing things and looking for a better way.

So, how do you organize the weekly cleaning, especially if you are unable to clean all the rooms or areas in one day or one weekend? Do you "do" one room at a time, moving around the room in a clockwise or anti-clockwise manner, before moving on to the next room?  Or do you tackle each task, but do it throughout the house? For example, when you empty the waste baskets, do you empty all the waste baskets throughout the house, or just the one in the room you are cleaning?

Wednesday, February 4

Today, there was thick fog shrouding everything when I woke up in the morning and during the morning commute.  Later, the fog lifted, but it became hazy, again, in the evening.  But, in between, we had very pleasant weather.

I had a good day at the office.  I was also able to run a couple of errands during the day.  I went to the pharmacy during my lunch break and I went to the bank during my afternoon break.  Later, I paid a couple of bills and went through the day's mail.  I also read a few more pages in one of my library books and watched a TV program (in addition to news).  I still need to water the houseplants and clean the litter box before I get ready to go to sleep, tonight.

And that's it!   Nothing very exciting, but very much the norm for a midweek working day. 

How was your Wednesday?

Tuesday, February 3

It was a nice, sunny, warm day, today.  I wore my new knitted top to the office.

During my lunch break, I walked to the library (I'm blessed to have a library just two blocks from my office) to return last week's book and borrow two new ones.  One is a book about the ship Mary Celeste and the other book is a biography of Mary Todd Lincoln.  I read a little bit of both books.  I also found another book I want to read (based on the Civil War diary of the author's great grandfather), but I will borrow it another time.  Two books at a time is sufficient!

 In the evening, I watched a couple of TV programs and video chatted with daughter.  Seems like the evening went by very quickly! 

How was your Tuesday? 

Craft Projects Queue

Seems like for every craft project I complete, I have another half dozen or so patiently waiting their turn!  At any given time, I have a number of on-going craft projects. 


I just finished knitting the short sleeved top, that I posted about, yesterday, and waiting patiently for its turn is another partially knitted blouse (I need to finish knitting the front and then, make sleeves).  And since that knitted top has a lace pattern which requires a bit of concentration, I started knitting a scarf with more leftover yarn from the blue and white striped knit top, to knit while watching TV, etc.

I recently put together a quilt, but there are 2 more quilts waiting to be worked on! One is a new quilt that is in progress, a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt top; the other is an old quilt needing repairs.

And this weekend, I pulled out and laundered some of my mother's crocheted doilies to see what I can make with them...

Then there are all the sewing projects I want to do, which I haven't even mentioned!


How do you organize your craft projects so that they get done in a timely manner instead of languishing in the closets and bins?

Latest Knitting Project

Knitted Blouse

My latest knitting project; a short sleeved blouse, with a crocheted flower pin.  Ideal for spring.   Made with leftover yarn from this project:

 

Heart Sweater

One more craft project completed!  On to the next!  I've only about half a dozen "works in progress" from which to choose!  LOL.

Anyone else has multiple craft projects going at the same time?    

February Monthly Goals

I posted my New Year goals in January, instead of monthly goals, but now, it's time to start posting monthly goals, again.  My goals are distributed among the various segments of my Balance Wheel, to make sure that all areas of my life are being worked on at the same time.  Here are my February monthly goals:


Spiritual: Continue with daily devotions/meditations; attend the monthly prayer meeting.

Environment: Outside: continue to spruce up the garden. Inside: Continue to clean and declutter (work on the 3rd bedroom which functions as the guest room/crafts room/home office).

Daughter:  Continue to be supportive with on-line visits; no in-person visits are planned for February.

Family: Commemorate my mother's 9th death anniversary; Get together with family once.

Friends: Get together with friends a couple of times; e-mails & phone calls.

Career: Continue to work on assignments in a timely manner.

Finances: Keep a spending log and refine the budget.  Keep to the grocery budget of $75. 

Health: Make a doctor's appointment; Get more sleep (aim for 7 hrs. a night, instead of the current 5-6 hrs.); Improve diet (add more fruits and vegetables); Get in more exercise (walk around the block during my morning and afternoon breaks; climb a flight of stairs and work up to 2 flights on work days); Lose 5 lbs. (and keep it off!)

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies: Finish Works In Progress:  Finish sewing up the blouse I've knitted; finish knitting the white lace blouse; Sew on the hexagon quilt top; Unpick the lilac knit top and reknit it.

Productivity and Time Management:  Start implementing cleaning routines.

Some of my monthly goals remain the same; others change a bit from month to month.

Do you make monthly goals?  If so, what are your goals for February?