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Progress on the Home Front, Choosing to Donate

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Just popped in to say that I am still hard at work emptying the house to ready it for sale.  After the garage was filled I was lying awake one night and wondering why it was I felt I needed to have a yard sale.  Previously when I decluttered all of the goodies were given to charity shops, the church, and thrift stores.  It felt good to unload and know that other people would get some benefit from my donations.

So why did I want to have a yard sale this time?  I guess it was feeling that in making this next move, a little extra cash would come in handy.  Or maybe I was trying to hold onto the past. Changes, even ones I initiate, can be hard to accept.

That's when I realized that all of the extra stressors were making me feel a little "less than."   So I decided to can the yard sale idea and go back to giving all the stuff away.

It's hard to let go, but time is in short supply and more valuable than using it to organize yard sales that might not draw in the cash buyers. Private sales through Craigslist are another option, but around here the site is crowded in that it's hard to get noticed once you are 8 or more pages deep in the day's listings and more often than not, the person never shows up.  In the end, the scales were weighed and donating it all was the verdict.

When it's all over and done with I hope to look back at this stressful time and chalk it up to experience. It's not easier to give it all away, especially with the sadness over the years of memories invested in the stuff. There are items from my Mom and her Mom that I'd rather keep if I had the space and the will to dust, but they aren't precious to me in the way the people are precious.  It's all stuff and it could be gone in an instant if a fire or tornado had struck.  Still, it's the person's spirit which endures after all the china, books, knick knacks, and so on have disappeared.  I'd trade it all for more time with them.

It's almost not funny, but the employees at the Goodwill drop off center recognize me.  They are happy to get the boxes and bags and have a little chat.  Later this week Habitat for Humanity is coming to pick up furniture, tools, and appliances.  I'll have more for them to pick up as the time to move gets closer.  

One of the tips I read somewhere was to photograph the item and then give it away.  I might try that. You could never call me a hoarder, that's for sure!  It's going to be so Zen around here when it's all neat and tidy once again.  Ommmmmm

See you soon...

Summer Ending? Time for More With Four

Happy almost end of August and summer, too!  Time to enjoy all that's left of warm weather and summer vacations for those of us living above the equator.  If you're south of the equator, please send us some cool weather, but not too cold.  I'd like some gorgeous autumn leaves in a month or so.

Alrighty, you know what today is.  It's that day of the month, time for "More With Four or Inspired by Four Letter Words."   Anything you make, create, cook, felt, paint, bead, write, or what have you that has any number of word(s) which can be described with 4 letter words- nice ones not the naughty kind - we want to see!  Add your blog post link to the linky below and head over to the Pinterest board  for more fun where we eek out every last 4 letter word we can think of to describe the creations.

ETA:  I deleted the linky.


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This month I have run out of time to show you my Inspired creation- another ring - due to the house move prep, the sprained foot which made me take a 3 Day Time Out and now, getting a Jury Summons.  Is the Universe telling me something?

I got the Jury Summons last week.  I won't know if I have to go to Jury Duty until next month.  I do have a feeling that I might get called this time.  Ever since I moved here, I have been sent the summons nearly every year, but have not actually had to serve.  Since I have so little breathing room left before the move, I hope that this summons will not have to be acted on.  I'll let you know.

I guess you could say my inspiring 4 letter words this month include:   Jury, Duty, (sprained) Foot, Time, Rest, Move, More (boxes), Able, and Pain.   I'll be round visiting and thanks for being here!

Your Nearly Free Wall Art Idea a Poetry Inspiration

Do you have $1.00 (plus tax) and an empty picture frame?  That's all you need for this look.

This is the follow up to Paint Your Own Wall Art, A Home Seller's Tip.


decal framed wall art

While decluttering to prepare the house for sale, I found several wood picture frames.  The glass was gone as well as the backing, I had been saving frames to make a Vision Board or Inspiration Board.  I'd also thought of making message boards or just framing groups of aceos or other small works with these frames.

Just hang your empty frame and place the vinyl wall decal inside. That's it.  If you want to decorate the frame or put the decal under glass, those are nice additions.  I'm running down the clock, so just framing it was the way to go for me.

I first saw these decals in one of those $1.00 stores, although in this store, most prices were higher.  I didn't get my first choice of decals since I didn't buy it when I first saw it, but this one seems to have an appropriate message.



The decal came as one connected phrase with the little bird, flower, and butterfly separate.  I moved these around until I got the look I liked.  You just easily peel it off the wall, there's no mess or sticky residue.

I made these wall art pieces because I took down the paintings and photos to get my house ready for sale, but the ideas would suit anytime.  Are you saving broken things for those "some day projects?"

Paint Your Own Modern Art Directly on a Wall, Free $$ a Home Seller's Tip

That is one ambitious blog post title, "Paint Your Own Modern Art Directly to a Wall, a Home Seller's Tip." If I can do it, you can do it.  Maybe stripes, maybe swirls, maybe circles, whatever you like- give it a go. Why do it?  I did it to have something on the wall, instead of bare walls, thinking it was better to have a lived in look instead of a house with no soul look.  Also, I had the supplies so all it cost me was time.  There will be a follow up post on another nearly free wall art  coming soon.  The next one doesn't involve painting and is fast and easy.


paint your own art
Don't sweat the colors on the wall.  Make the house clean, tidy (as much as humanly possible), in good repair overall, and cross your fingers that the tide will bring in that one buyer who will make your next move possible sooner rather than later.  If it's meant to be, it will be- eventually.

Here's the deal.  If you have recently read the blog, you may recall that I am in the throes of decluttering, emptying boxes long stored, repacking, and setting aside stuff for yard sales and donations.


Added to that list are all the normal life routines, plus unexpected surprises (mostly pain in the neck ones) and others.  Now you know that I will not repaint my house inside and out.  It's already fairly neutral as I knew this day would come and I planned for one less job. So, let a buyer visualize their own colors, use the imagination God gave you.  Ranting at anonymous persons on HGTV!  


prepare wall to make art on a wall Which brings me to:   After several days in a row of being in the basement among the boxes I needed to come up for air and light, plus my mind needed a break from all the decision making of the fate of so many sentimental items.  Even the non-sentimental items were getting to me.

I had already taken down all of the paintings in the parlor and had this one blank wall that was nagging me.  I taped off a section of the wall and after cogitating on it while doing other things I decided to go ahead and paint it.



stripes painted on a wall mirror




I used ordinary acrylic paint from craft supplies. After painting the stripes, I didn't like the starkness and so I blended colors together and decided not to paint a border or frame, the floatiness looked better to me.   I used about eight bottles of paint, so that's eight fewer bottles to pack.  (Always intentional, lol.)


To make the wall even more memorable, I hung two mirrors off center over the stripes, first the round one and then the rectangle.  It's hard to take a photo with mirrors, these are the best I could make.  The rectangle mirror has the reflection from the table and window.

multicolor stripes on a wall mirror


Now, you may not like this painting at all, but my question is, "Which one do you like better- the one with the round mirror or the rectangle mirror?"   I'd like to know your preference.

Do you have a favorite house selling tip?



Working Around the Gremlins


You know how it is.  As soon as you decide to move, all sorts of things start to go wrong- with the house, the car, the pet, etc.  I wonder if the gremlins were just waiting for that moment to strike with their full force and mischief when you have made the crucial decision and you are faced with a notebook full of jobs to get yourself, the pets, the house, etc. ready for the move.

garage sale jumble



Sort of like a version of Murphy's Law:  If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something. or  If there is a worse time for something to go wrong, it will happen then. or   If anything can't go wrong, it will anyway. Check out more of those corrupted optimistic truisms at the link.


I walked into the room where I have my craft/art/sewing supplies and found a shelf had fallen off the wall.  It knocked the basket off the wall that was below it.  The shelf knocked down pictures, collages, supplies, etc. Some were on the floor, some in the trash can, some on the desk, chair, ...

I could find no reason why the shelf fell down. It wasn't broken, the screws were still firmly in the wall, too.   This happened without me hearing it happen and I was home at the time.  Even Lucy, who is suspicious of every normal noise and the abnormal ones, too- didn't hear a thing. Gremlin?

I don't mind about the shelf falling, nothing broke, especially not the lamp with that new curly bulb which would require HAZMAT Teams and all sorts of misery to clean up, no that was fine, thank goodness.

It's that thing which makes you doubt which bugs me.   Have I made the right decision?  I will never get all these jobs done in time.  Maybe I should change the date?  That last one is a big contender, and one I will be fine with.  It's about the journey and not the end.   I'm trying not to overlook daily blessings while I search the horizon for my big leap to come.

New End Studio sounded like a suitable name when I first started the blog.  I have been thinking to change the name in line with the new direction my compass is pointing.  That may sound corny, but it's true.  Name change is possible, but not the top of my list right now.  

How did you decide on your blog or business name?  Did you ever change it?