Ten on Tuesday- Happy Happy

Wow...how did we go from it just being New Year's to more than halfway through the month??? I think the empty bottles of DayQuil and NyQuil littered at my feet might be a clue. Somewhere on January 2nd the sinus crud returned and my voice started to go. Within a day or two it moved into my chest and then it went downhill from there. The month has been a blur of normal life hampered by illness to a level that if it didn't directly relate to what I need to do to get paid or to keep the Minions alive and in school, it just didn't happen.

And that would lead us to todays Ten on Tuesday: 10 Things You Are Happy About Right Now

1. Feeling like a functioning human being for the first time in weeks. I still have a residual cough, but I am a far cry from not being able to leave my bed. 
2. The sun is shining- this cannot be under-appreciated by those in the depths of a North East winter who suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder.
3. I've started crafting again- Little Miss received some dolls for Christmas. Dolls desperately in need of wardrobes. And since they aren't the standard size for doll clothing patterns, I'm getting a chance to really experiment with pattern drafting and alteration...on a much smaller scale. It is far less disheartening when the clothing doesn't fit at all when it is only about a square foot of fabric. I've scavenged scraps from the theatres' costume shops and look forward to having fun with this. I've also convinced Little Miss to wear the tube socks I knit for her, that she had a sudden aversion to because of "the lines"...also known as the ribbing that makes the socks possible. Now the pair she has is the first she grabs, so it is time to knit more. Plus the knitting and sewing queue that is tempting me now the Christmas tree is out of my sewing corner.
4. I'm happy my eye/vision issues aren't as bad as they potentially could have been. And now I can add Nero-Ophthalmologist to my list of doctors whom I get to visit and banter with. (No, really. This guy is a pip)
5. My crock-pot bouillabaisse came out pretty good. I've not had much luck with crock-pot recipes. I love the theory behind it, but it just doesn't work in my reality. Unless it is pot roast, it just seems to always become a mass of inedible crud. BUT the recipe out of The French Slow Cooker just might make regular rotation. It isn't a Throw-in-Pot-and-Leave-All-Day meal, but it is a good Stay-At-Home-and-Barely-Think-About-Dinner meal. And it is lovely left over for lunch.
6. I have a drawer full of delicious holiday candy all had at 75% off. Peanut butter M&M's and mint truffle Hershsy's Kisses are my new guilty pleasure. 
7. Downton Abbey
8. I finally started reading the Outlander series. (Thank you Knitmore Girls)
9. My husband doesn't have to work late. And shouldn't have to for a few weeks, at least.
10. For the first time in, probably, months I can say that I am not gripped by depression. I can't even begin to say how amazing that feels. 

I would write more, but I must go paint a dragon head. (I love my job!)

2015- Let the New Year Begin

It's 2015.

I know deep down inside that whole changing of the year is arbitrary, and one day is hardly different from the next. Despite knowing this, with the way the last few years have gone, I embrace the opportunity of having a fresh start.

I packed up Christmas yesterday. Fittingly, I wrapped up the whole task just before midnight. And this year I did more than just tossing it back into what random box I had pulled them out of. Last year I had started the task of organizing and weeding out my decorations. This year I have essentially completed the task. The Minions each have their own box of ornaments containing ones given by Grandparents or handmade by themselves. I also gave them choice of the ones I no longer really wanted. Or still want to see on the tree, but wish to distribute to them now. Our tree is mostly their ornaments now. I am partial to the old school glass bulbs...the kind that don't mix well with adventurous children. So my ornaments are all packed away in their own labeled boxes. I was able to consolidate into ornament totes and discard a lot of extraneous packaging. I even weeded through and organized the wrapping paper, gift bags, ribbons and bows.

So with the tree gone, I am able to engage in my favorite annual pastime: Moving Furniture. With all the renovations this has been a regular pastime since May. I was forced to do copious shuffling of things to get the tree in front of the window in the living room. Now I find myself with more space. Especially since I am reclaiming a wall I had mostly vacated in the summer, believing it slated for demolition. That project being pushed off, I can use it again. Now it is the game of 'What-Should-Go-Where'.
Perusing Houzz earlier today, I found a picture that gave me some new thoughts on how do deal with television placement in our living-room. Our house is cursed with a long, narrow living-room that is cut up with a fireplace and doorways...one of which is the main entryway. Not an easy space to work with. Complicating things is that our ancient by today's standards TV (19" tube TV circa 1999) is starting to show signs of giving up the ghost. So is the DVD player (wedding gift c.2002) and the VCR. Yes, you read that right. We still own a working (of sorts) VCR. Therefore I am trying to accommodate future electronics, of which I have no sizes. Frankly, my ground plan of the house with it's little furniture cutouts aren't cutting it anymore, in regards to deciding layout before dragging heavy furniture around. I really need to bite the bullet on one of my insomnia nights and make a scale model of the house. I need to start working in 3D to surmount some of the challenges of this house.

Or I could just win the lottery and rip the damn thing down to the studs and build the house I really want. Wouldn't that be nice?

Well it's getting late and this is the second time I've written this post due to some screw up with the Blogger app....off to bed and on with the new year.