Challenged

I'm in the middle of a stretch of involuntary overscheduledness, but I am.doing what I can:

Making little creative choices in how I do the things that I have to do.

Editing our possessions down a bit, to make room for things that matter more.

Taking a little time here and there to dream about what to do next.

Reading and research; prep work for upcoming projects.

Mop-up work to get some lingering projects done and out of the way.

Knitting weather

About all I want to do right now is knit my way through all my yarn stash. I finished the pair of socks, and used the leftover yarn to knit a little bag in a fancy stitch.

I inventoried the children's winter clothing, so I know what we need to get for them.

We received a couple of things by inheritance:  a scroll saw and a box of spices. My husband built a workbench for the saw out of scrap lumber on hand, but we still need to bolt it down.

I made a batch of castile soap. Like my two previous attempts at soapmaking, it did not saponify well on the first try, but only after I melted it down again and did another round of stirring. I don't think it is worthwhile trying to recreate cheap soap at home, but this five-pound batch cost me less than half the price of the store-bought version; I was able to buy the olive oil on sale. I was smart and wore boots for the soapmaking; a drop of lye fell on the toe of one boot and burned it. I also had the advantage of using my husband's digital postal scale, for accurate measurements.

I bought the remaining upholstery supplies for my chair, but I am enjoying being in the phase of the project that is right before the hard part, so I am stalling on moving on to the next step.

A neighbor was thinning out their hostas, and gave us a bin full. They nicely filled in one of our empty places, with room to grow. Another neighbor gave us a bicycle that their child had outgrown.

Pajama pants and halfway through the second sock

I received a few pieces of fabric from a big fabric stash clean-out. I used some flannel to make pajama pants. Another piece I will use to make another blouse. The other piece I will probably make into clothing too, but I'm not sure what. There was also a vest with some suede that I will reuse somehow.

I also turned the heel on the second sock of the most recent pair.

A while back, I gave my armchair frame a light coat of spray-on clear finish. I have decided that as a general policy I am not going to paint carved wood. The clear finish gives it some shine so it looks somewhat updated. (In my trend-spotting I am seeing more shiny and geometric finishes and forms.)

I've been playing the Everything in its Place game recently in my home, and also the Give it a Good Scrub game. I will say (again) that just wiping things down can make a remarkable difference in how my home feels.