Wednesday 13th March

 BUNGALOW (or rather, time to seriously sort ourselves out)

long before we go anywhere near getting the gas fire (that we haven't used in years) serviced - this one; 

Or replacing the bedroom carpet (no, I'm NOT sharing a picture of that!)

We need to concentrate on getting STUFF out of our house first.

Today, after browsing a bit, and reading a couple of book samples on amazon, I was inspired by a man who got rid of thousands of items from his house in the USA in a matter of months.

I've made a list to get myself started; I want to remove 10 things in these 20 categories;

1. The shelves by my worktable
2. The dining room table
3. The pine cabinet of filing drawers
4. The shelves above the piano
5. Items of (my) clothing
6. The Kitchen
7. The larger spare bedroom 
8. Thee small spare bedroom 
9. Hall/stairs/landing areas
10. Craft stash
11. Pens and pencils
12. Trinkets
13. Ephemera (old cards etc)
14. Plastic food storage containers like tupperware
15. Top junk drawer
16. Middle junk drawer 
17. Bottom junk drawer
18. Garden sheds (my stuff)
19. Music books.
20. Bookshelves in sitting room

I've already done, in fact exceeded, all of numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, 11, 14 and 19 today! It was astonishingly easy, although I do know that this is only the beginning of what needs to be done.

This heap of sweaters had been filling up the bottom of my chest of drawers for decades; the aran one was knitted for me in 1970 by my godmother, but I didn't like wearing it because people used to keep poking me to turn the bobbles inside out - ow! I knitted the lopi ones back in about 1980 and kept them for sentimental reasons. At the bottom is the maxi cloak I had when I was about 15, way back in 1971. It's all still heaped on the bed, but I will take a couple of bags up tonight and get them ready for a charity shop run.

Someone is coming on Monday to look at the saxophone and also take as many books of piano music as I am ready to relinquish. Goody goody!

KNITTING 

I wanted to get the poncho finished by 14th March, and it was done today;

Here are to two identically sized pieces laid short side of the lighter, yellowy piece to the long side of the dar piece ready for the first seam;

Now I have rotated the whole lot, keeping it flat on the table ready to sew the short side of the darker piece to the longer side of the lighter piece

So that it has become like this;

or this, depending on which way round I wear it.

So, progress! Second sock attack starts tomorrow.