on a mission....

Oh goodness. Have you ever decided to do one thing and then find out that you need to do several things to DO that one thing?

I wanted to put my mountain bike downstairs for the winter. Or at least for these subzero days. So the first thing I had to do was make sure I had a good spot. At first I just pushed a few things around in the little basement. Then it got serious.

I got out the shopvac along with a broom after rearranging things. I moved the fall and spring stuff to the bottom of the pile and moved the Christmas stuff to the top. I rearranged the gear hanging on the hooks. I made a mental note as to which items were no longer needed.

I vacuumed, I swept, and I went at it with a purpose.

Hubby stopped me as I came back upstairs and said, "I'm hungry. When's lunch?" I gave him the death stare and said, "I don't stop until the bike is downstairs."

He huffed and he puffed but...

knew better than to try and stop me.

When a woman is on a mission, no man can stand in her way! Or...he shouldn't!

In order to carry the bike safely down, I needed to take everything off the stairs that I'd dropped there because it was more convenient than putting it away. 

Now I took the time to put everything in its place and clean the shelves that I put it on. I took inventory of the items on the shelves and put the older canned goods in front and the newer ones in back.

I stacked put the distilled water on the bottom shelf in the order it should be used and faced the labels of other goods so a glance would be all I needed to grab something.

I eventually came back up to get the bike.

Hubby: "I'm hungry." 

Me. Another look. "Then you make lunch."

Big sigh. I explained that if I didn't get it done then, I'd put it off.

I wheeled the bike to the door and took it down. The storage area now looked nice and clean except for the cobwebs in between the rafters. I reached for the shopvac and stopped. I guess those webs could wait for my next burst of energy.

That was the start of my day. I was in that sort of mood to organize, clean up, and rearrange.

I even got the chair out its usual place and set it in the living room.

It is waiting for me too....

No one starved. Lunch was made.

Charlie begged...

...and life goes on.

Gun Season and Christmas Chair

Maybe I won't complain

....about deer hunting this year. Hubby demands that I stay out of the woods for the whole season, but I have ways I can get down into the creek and explore the dry runs. They are deep and they are like being in trenches, except they are full of mossy boulders.

Generally, this is what I call the 9 day Clean Up. I wash ceilings, walls, and take down all knick knacks and sort through the boxes in the basement. I bring out all the heavy winter stuff and hang it on hooks after washing it. I sort through gloves, mittens, and face masks. I find my winter ski goggles and brush up the snowshoes. 

I clean out the little hutch in the living room and rotate out the items on the shelves so I can put in some Holiday decorations. 

This generally only takes me a day or two to do. The benefits of living in a small cottagel

I need to decide how to set up the 'new' Christmas Chair. Am I going to use the Coal Scuttle as my 'tree of bare branches' this year? Or use parts of the old fake Christmas tree?

I don't know, I may just wing it. Clean and organize first and then figure out how to take our tiny living room and perk it up.

My old Christmas Chair's seat has finally split into two. So I went out this summer and found another derelict chair in the shed. It is a Bent Hickory Chair that was going to get a new seat at some point in its prior life. 

It was stored in a wet environment so the bottom of the legs were rotted off.

It seemed Perfect for a new project.
I sawed off the rotten part and then added pads on the bottom so the legs wouldn't scratch the new floor in the living room.

I painted the wooden seat which was supposed to be a cane seat, I guess. However the flat surface will work perfectly.

Below is Charlie showing off the whole living room on the day the ripped out the carpet and put down the new floor.

And here it is with some of the items back in place.

Over the years, I've used the corner where the concentrator now resides. It was perfect and out of the way. The old concentrator was replaced by a Huge one and it has to take up residence in a place I do not want it.

Decisions! Decisions!

What about that old trunk I disparaged over this summer? It is a great spot to fold laundry or add fun little touches in the kitchen area.

Last year's Chair/Tree was by the window. 

Oh...the anticipation!

Time to get to work....