Big project: cedar chest done

 I never meant for that cedar chest project to take as long as it did.  In fact, I wasn't even planning on working on it at all, except I opened it to cram more stuff inside and found all of the destruction.  And once I got started on pulling things out of it, it seemed to morph into this giant stinky pile of sadness.  So I let it sit, spread out all over my garage for several days.

On Sunday I perked a pot of coffee and got back at it.  And with breaks to eat, pee, or cry it took me about 6 hours.  I paused and sent The Girl the photo above.  I was close to being done but I could barely think. The inability to move and make decisions was real.  I had to push myself through it.  It was like the ghosts of the past and the responsibility to keep these things safe were pressing in on me.  I have a feeling that organizing these sorts of things is not even close to being over.  

I paused to reflect on this.  I know Hubby would have been overwhelmed, too.  And I think I have been as careful and respectful as I can be.  Its an enormous responsibility he left me with.  I did not take pics of the contents, but someday I may scan some things for my kids.

There are two boxes and a trumpet sitting on top of the chest now.  Those have new homes they will go to.  {And the things against the wall nearby are going out on the next big trash day.}  You can smell mothballs ever so faintly in here.  There is empty space for storing a few more things my children and future  grandchildren may want to see someday.  But for today, I'm done.

Gina

Empty Nest Menu #105

A steak dinner with your feet up in front of the TV is a great way to end the day...

Check out the roasted garlic! 

Mark would've loved this - he would have been 61 today.

Monday - Freezer meal, fresh veggie {Grief Zoom 7 p.m.}

Tuesday - Grilled Chicken, chopped salad

Wednesday - Take-out? {6 p.m. counseling}

Thursday - Dinner with The Girl

Friday - Tilapia with peppers and onions, skillet potatoes, carrots

Saturday - TBD but I have plenty in the freezer to cook

Sunday - TBD {lunch is wine club pick-up}

Gina

5 thing Friday - crafts, tees, cedar chest, purses, wreath

 On Wine Wednesday, The Girl and I socialize and debrief, and she shows me all of the crafty things she's been working on.  I continue to be amazed at all of the sewing skills she learned off You Tube during the pandemic.  She puts my craftiness to shame.

I mean just look at that.

Speaking of crafting, my next big project (after the cross stitch prayer) is to make a tee shirt quilt from Mark's eleventy billion Dad tee shirts.  I washed all of them (OMG the stench of mothballs - not for the faint), then cut them down a bit.  Then I ordered a large square ruler to use as a guide and some interfacing for tee shirt material.  Some of the shirts I just cannot cut.

The one that says "Coach" that he wore for each of his babies' births.  The tie dye one we made him one summer so that he could match the kids when he took them places on summer weekends.  The "Best Dad Ever Hands Down" one that has my kids (and my) handprints in fabric paint on the front.

Tripping down memory lane here.  I pause often and cry.

The cedar chest project is a slow go.  The patch job is not beautiful and I am giving it time to fully dry so I can figure out if I care about it that much.  Its the things in the chest that I was trying to save, not the chest itself.  Which, as it turns out, has extensive damage on the outside, too.  Bummer.  It will work for its intended purpose, its just not pretty.  I resolve to reach a stopping point this weekend, because the next phase is scanning many old documents and portraits.

I put this bottom bar in my closet to good use by hanging my purses and tote bags on it, but something seemed off.  Aside from the fact that I need those hangers, it looked messy.

Behold - the power of 3 inch binder rings.  They are strong, open and close easily, and slide along the rod like buttah.  I am pleased.

The inspiration for my next front door wreath - I am taking down winter decor this weekend and moving forward into pre-Spring.  Is that a thing?

Happy weekend!

Gina

The urge to purge - clothing

On Saturday I got a little carried away doing laundry and decided I needed to straighten my drawers and purge some things I would likely never wear again.    January is such a perfect month for doing that!  It didn't take all that long and it made me feel productive.  Once I get the deadwood out, I can see what I need.

I *think* I have a lot of clothes and variety of things to wear, until I actually have to find something and it doesn't match, or its stained, or its not right for the season, or it doesn't fit...and one of the things I am determined to do this year is get my things in order. That includes my clothes and the storage for said clothes.  I hate shopping for clothes, so wish me luck!

Gina

Empty Nest Menu #104

 There's no law that says that leftover crab* puffs, warmed in the oven, and a bowl of mixed berries can't be breakfast.

Think of it as a deconstructed fruit and cream cheese pastry and serve up your coffee to go with.

Monday - Freezer Meal {7 p.m. Grief zoom}

Tuesday - 5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Chicken Legs, (freezer) skinny mashed potatoes, (freezer) veggie

Wednesday - Wine Wednesday with The Girl

Thursday - Teriyaki Salmon, fried rice, bok choy

Friday - Chicken Sausage with quick cook quinoa blend, collard greens

Saturday - TBD {grocery shop, take winter decor down}

Sunday - TBD {church?}

Gina

*there's never any actual crab in crab puffs!

5 thing Friday - resin art, Spam, craft closet, friend, cooking

 Sweet resin art made by Dutch!

She made all of us one for Christmas - some were clip-on fobs, some were keychains.  My mother always called her crafts "tacky homemades" but I treasure these types of gifts.  Dutch decided not to continue her Etsy shop, so now we are the lucky recipients!

I cleared all of the zombie apocalypse canned foods out of the barn at Highlands and decided to enjoy some Spam and potatoes with a fried egg.  Say what you want about Spam, I like it.  Does that mean I will start buying it regularly? No.

Part of what I love about being at home on weekends is that I get to be creative.  And now I have a storage space that supports that.  Everything is organized and labeled and I could not be more pleased.

There is a sweet cafe in downtown Giddings that my friend Carol and I like to meet up at.  Apparently they are known for pizza?  We always have sammies.

We ate lunch and chatted for a couple of hours.  Then exchanged "New Year's gifts" and decided to meet up again before too long.  Her daughter is getting married in April, so I might see her a couple of times this year.

Slowly, I'm on the road back to myself.

She's been telling me that she's doing more cooking at home, so I gave her some of my tried and true recipes, along with a pullover apron and some other kitchen goodies.  I think I might go get myself one of those aprons as they can be useful for cleaning, crafting, etc.

Which I am SURE I will be doing this weekend!

Gina

Disaster looming

I guess I could have chosen a less dramatic blog post title.

On Sunday I was intending to clear space in the cedar chest.  My idea was to make space for the most important mementos I want the kids to have someday.  Pictured above is a fraction of them.  A little overwhelming.

And in the process, maybe clear out the shelves directly above it, because what person needs 2 water buffaloes, 2 water coolers, 2 lunch coolers, and 3 full size coolers IN ADDITION TO the Yeti cooler we were using for Highlands?  

{That's a rhetorical question.}

I need this garage to work for me.  And I need the storage.

I started by pulling everything out of the cedar chest, then came across a layer of what I think used to be a framed certificate and a stack of irreplaceable photos and mementos but who could tell as there were so many larvae and so much debris and rot.  I used the shop vac to clean out the dry crap (chewed up paper and wood pulp), then wiped out the inside with a 20% bleach and water solution.

Moths?  Bark beetles?  Not sure.  Whatever it is, they have eaten through a swath of cedar leaving tracks and pits that may well lead to the outside of the chest and now it is up to me to figure out how to repair it.  My plan:  bug bomb the garage, use wood putty that I tint brown to patch and repair the damage, then seal everything, place them back into the chest, sprinkling moth balls liberally as I go, and hope for the best.  I'm not moving that thing into the house. I guess I'm just glad I discovered it before everything was a total disaster.

Gina