I am going away sometime this week, and I need to have some hand work to do. I am looking at my WIP's and they are all machine work or need an iron, this is kinda frustrating. I don't have a crochet project that is ready to work on, and I am really needing something to keep my hands busy.

I am thinking about taking the 'secret project' I started the other week. I have a little more machine piecing to do on it then it will be hand work, I just love crazyquilting.

The plans for getting away keep changing. At first I thought we were leaving Monday morning, then it got changed to Wednesday morning. Now my man is only getting two days off and they are Saturday and Sunday. Wow, good thing I am not a control freak, I wouldn't be able to cope with all the changes. I really am looking forward to getting away from it all. I regret that I am going to miss my good friends anniversary barbeque on Saturday, but some things just can't be helped. I would love to have the best of both worlds, but I don't think J would be up for meeting 30ish new people on the maybe only weekend he is going to have off work this summer. And frankly I don't know that I want to share him with those 30ish people, I would rather get away just me and him. Find some quiet old forestry road to follow, look for a flat place to pitch the tent and not have to deal with any other people.

 I am almost sure that we will find some place with a view, being that we are both outdoorsy people and love water and trees, and those usually go hand in hand with mountains. I am taking my camera, will see if any pics turn out.

This has been one of those posts that I start and save and work on the next day and save, etc. I hope it doesn't end up sounding too choppy I have been working on it for almost a week. My internet connection has been really sketchy for a couple of weeks now. I am not sure what is going on because I piggy-back on the landlords wifi.

Hello World!

I have been putting off doing some difficult laundry items. They have been building up in my laundry basket and each time I do laundry they don't get done and go back into the basket. Sometimes they all get together and hang out under my kitchen table for a few days, then go back to the basket. They also like the bucket in the bathroom, but they always end up back in the laundry basket, unwashed. So today I am going to figure out how to clean them....

I have done a bunch of research online (where else do you go when you need to know the old world secrets). I am going to boil my laundry. I can feel you laughing at me. I have tried this before with the dirty dishcloths, you know the ones, that don't come clean and when you pull them out of the drawer you smell them and throw them back in the laundry. This seems to be a curse in my family, maybe it is just that we won't admit defeat and throw them away. Well I don't want to throw them just because they stink. I tried boiling some a few months ago, okay couple years ago, and they got much better. So now I am going to try it on other stuff, like facecloths and undershirts. I have this one shirt that I have been wearing to work for a while, and the pit-stains are nasty, the shirt itself is thrashed there are wear holes around the collar and, well it is just worn out. What better item to test a new process on! I took a couple of before pictures (not posting yet in case it doesn't work, so no-one will see how bad it really is) and I am going to get it clean then post after pictures. Again, I can FEEL you laughing at me. If this works I'm going to start a Laundry Revolution. I am that excited about it. Maybe I could work for the thrift stores to start off with, I am sure they throw a bunch of stuff because it is too stained to sell. Then I can work a private 'practice' nursing stained clothes back to health and cleanliness. Then maybe, I would give seminars and motivational talks to teach people how to do it themselves. Wow, what a dream.

Okay back to reality.

I really don't expect anyone else to actually be interested in this anytime soon, but I want to reduce the amount of waste that I send to the landfill. It really is all interconnected.

Went to the beach yesterday with NeighborDavid. It was very nice to get out in the sun and see some of nature, even if it was on the busiest of my local beaches on the first stinking hot Saturday afternoon in July (everyone else and their dog thought it was a good idea too). I try to avoid the busy beaches, I much prefer the smaller less commercial ones. I want to feel the water and see the sand, experience the Beach. I'm not there to people watch, I want nature.

So I am feeling a little inspired. I think I am going to pull some of the puzzle off the wall and stitch it together. I would like to get enough blocks pieced to get the last of the unpieced blocks on the wall. I will have to dig through my dig-photos to find the layout pics I took. But that shouldn't take too long. I never let my quilting stuff get too hidden.

Life is throwing me curve balls and I am just gonna have to learn to catch. (cause I sure aint batting)

Wow life is just throwing me all the opportunities right now. 'Ask and you shall receive.'

I have been asking for change, been hoping for manageable change, been getting BIG life changing change.

I know that it all is life changing change. But I don't know if I am ready for this.

The most recent is the job... I am done. I have been so frustrated and so worn down by this job that I am afraid that I don't have the energy to find something else right away. I have no idea what I want to do or what I am suited to do. I have been doing the same job for 12 years and it feels like that is all I am good for. I have worked in other industries and not liked them. I like the idea of working close to home, not being on the road. And not having a big commute. I even like retail. I like working with customers, enjoy the merchandising, even the warehousing aspect of the job was fun. I don't want to deal with the big corporation social politics anymore. Things just got so out of hand, it was like highschool only worse, cause back then the teachers had to tell you how you were doing.

So I have some options:

1. I can feel sorry for myself and wallow in it for a few weeks.

2. I can see this as an opportunity and get started living the life that I really want.

3.  I can get honest and find something to pay the bills and start working towards getting the life I want.

So here is what I am gonna do:

I have put out some feelers and might have another bit job lined up, I know it is not what I want to do but gotta pay the bills. I am going to explore some of my crafting stuff and see if it is a viable option for business. I will not let this get me down. I am better than this.

I was talking with my neighbor and he had no idea the situation was as bad as it was, makes me feel a little better. That I really have been keeping up that much of a front. I really want to get honest and live my true life. He also didn't know that I am a quilter and a creative thinker. It felt pretty good to do some showing off. I know that I am doing some really beautiful work, but sometimes you just need to hear it from someone else.

Things are only gonna get better for me. I can feel it this time. I realize that that stupid job was clutter in my life and now it is time to let it go. I feel so much more at peace today than I have felt for many years.

Maybe I am ready for this. (Turns page, starts new Chapter!)

I wrote that I was going away for my long weekend. I am so glad that I went. I needed to get away. Went up to Penticton for three days, got to see my man, and get to know the town he's gonna be living in for 5 months. I realized just how much I miss the Okanagan Valley. It is so beautiful up there, I forgot to take pictures until I was leaving town, I was so wrapped up in the moment.

Just driving down the 97c into Westbank, the smell in the air changed. It smelled like vacation. I think I will be going up there to visit a little more often this summer. And it doesn't hurt that my man is up there working so I will have a place to stay, with someone I care about.

Needless to say I had a great trip and am wishing I hadn't come back to the city.