Small steps

Dear me, progress is so slow on the room clearing front. I did, however tackle the large sheets of paper and bits of artwork which had accumulated on top of the shelving, Old C&G designs, rolls of paper and general "stuff". Threw a lot out but still have a lot to store. Any suggestions where I might find a second-hand plan chest? How do you store the large A1 or A0 sheets of paper and card?

Still knitting

All of that clearing up leaves me in need of a bit of therapy, so I took out a bag of Colinette yarn I've had in my stash for ages, and began to knit a large shawl on 7mm needles. It grows very fast indeed, but is quite heavy on the hands and I must say, I prefer working with sock yarn!

I don't know which side of the work I prefer

Later that day...

Well, it's a start. I thought I'd begin with some of the most challenging shelves. This corner is almost done.

Still some way to go, however, and I haven't even begun to pack books yet (there are as many on the other wall...)

Where is it all going? In the garage.

Work in Progress

We're lucky to have a large "playroom" at home which I shared with Edward when he was younger. Ever since he went off to university, we've talked about smartening it up and putting it to better use - over the years it has become a bit of a dumping ground for cast-off computer equipment and other stuff we couldn't be bothered to find a better home for. I think it happens to us all - if you've got a spare room, no doubt you too find it hard to resist putting "stuff" in there!

We decided ages ago that it should be our study/office, since that seems to be where we spend most of our time these days. Added to that, living in an open-plan house means that a room with a door is very precious and a practical place to play music. So, our current study will become a music room, and the computers and paperwork will go downstairs. The main part of the room will be an office and I will keep my workroom along one wall as previously.

This is "my end"; my studio/workroom, how it was last week, with part of Mark's 3000+ CD collection alongside. As you can see, finding a place to work has become a little challenge in itself!

And yes, those large sheets and rolls of paper did once fall on my head as I tried to remove one...

Three, getting on for four, years later, Edward has graduated from university and we still haven't done a thing about this grand scheme, except to talk to the builder about putting in a new wooden floor and underfloor heating. As you can see, though Edward has moved into his flat, he leaves behind his old TV and other stuff too (bless him!) - maybe we should have started earlier!

A week ago, the builder suggested that it was about time we began the project and since he had a month in his schedule, how did February sound? (I think he quite liked the idea of an indoor job during the cold weather!) We are set to have the room empty and ready for him to begin work on the 12th and boy, is there a lot to do!

Yesterday, we made a start, though. I put away all my machinery (including my new Embellisher, boo hoo), disconnected the computer, hoping that I can remember how to get my POEM embroidery machine all set up again when we put it all back. We put all the dead computer stuff into the car to take to the recycling place today and arranged for the two old sofas in the room to be collected by the other recycling service next week.

This is how it looks now.

Some way to go, I think. Today I will try to clear some of the shelves.

Guilt Free Shopping?

Yesterday we had business in Swindon, so took the opportunity to pay a visit to the outlet mall there to "invest" in a large piece of Le Creuset we've been intending to buy for some time. The promotional signs all had this "Guilt Free Shopping" tag, which both of us felt rather uneasy about.

Why might we feel guilty about shopping anyway? Because we're buying something we don't need? Perhaps. But hopefully we've thought about what we're buying and as far as our own buying habits go, I think we're past too many impulse purchases. Maybe it's because we might be tempted to buy something we can't really afford, which I think is far more likely to be the cause - in which case is the Mall itself really right to absolve us of such guilt?

I'm going to get uncharacteristically puritan here and say that I don't think shopping should ever be guilt free. Most of us have far too much "stuff" anyway - I count myself as top of that list - and whether the guilt is induced by financial, social, ethical or any other conscience, I think we should never allow our shopping to become totally guilt-free.

All of which is illustrated by the fact that we have no idea just where we will store our new (very) large Le Creuset casserole.