Art Studio

Got a little sad when I realized that over two weeks had gone by with NO work from me on the ButterFly project . . . then I realized how emotionally challenging the last couple weeks have been for me, concerning the events on April 9th.

So, I hugged myself, inside and out, and took a deep breath and started in again.

Amanda and I just finished 2 hours in the Art Studio.

I forgot to take a "before" picture, which would have really helped, because some of the areas STILL look pretty muddled, which they are. Remember, the goal of this project is NOT to organize and decorate. It's to sort through and get rid of any emotional bombs, and to toss and recycle as I go . . . and to KNOW what is there.

One more pass through the art studio and this part of the work will be done.

I appreciate that today, Amanda insisted we persist until I had some work space cleared on my wonderful art table.

MOre done

Amanda and I danced with Elllie Phant for 2 1/2 hours today. Made progress on the desk, and the bookshelves. I've got a bunch in the trash, to go to Senior Center Rummage Sale, to church, and whatever.

A Great Big Mouthful

Amanda and I worked together today, for a total of two hours. We mostly opened up space in the office and the utility room. Much work still remains in these areas, but I'll let the photos speak for themselves. (The utility room poses some problems, because I had a huge infestation of mice earlier this winter, and all my "cardboarded" food is in those two totes.)

I should have taken "before" pictures in the utility room, because the doorway was almost blocked, and I couldn't get to the washer and dryer to do laundry.










I also updated ElliePhant. The areas with colored patches are the rooms I'm in progress on . .

Half a Bite

One of those days. Didn't roll out of bed until 10am. Missed dance class at 8:30.

Except for brief financial meeting with Matt midday, I sat in my chair and worked crossword puzzles until around 6pm. Cried off and on. Wrote in journal a little. Mostly just breathed.

Finally around 6 pm Amanda called. The load lifted some.

I was able to put on a worship music cd and hop on the elliptical for 5 min.

Then downstairs. These two white bins were full. Now the trashcan is full and I have a handful of sweet things saved, to put in my journal. A few sweet lines from Ed J near the end of our time together, reminding me of how "good" I was to him. Several wonderful encouraging cards from Sharon.

I'm grateful the tide turned today, even if ever so slightly.

Magic Time

Well, with the time change this weekend, I ended up with 45 minutes of EXTRA time :)

Here's how it happened: I had very little sleep Saturday and Sunday nights, so when I was adjusting all my clocks one hour forward, (losing an hour), I somehow discombobbled on the little alarm that I use to tell myself when it's time to go somewhere.

So Sunday I was talking to Amanda when that alarm went off at 5:15 pm, telling me it was time to be picked up for house church . . . only it turned out that it was actually 4:30!!! So Amanda, quick on her mental feet, challenged me to work those 45 "extra" minutes on some ButterFly stuff . . . and I did!!!




I printed out one of the bazillion great elephant pictures Sharon had emailed me, and using that as a guide, I sketched a big Ellie Fant for my progress chart. I paper-glued in colors to represent the areas of the house I've already sorted . . . the pink splotches on her rump represent the bit-by-bit progress in the Rainbow Room. I love Sharon's idea of ending up with a Rainbow elephant, instead of a chewed up one (bite by bite).







The poem was one I unearthed recently in some sorting.

The bird is from the Welcome sign Amanda made for Sharon and Jim's visit.










Then I went downstairs and Mooooooooooooooooooooooooved the file cabinet and the office desk. As you can see, I have MUCH to sort to make that desk safe and workable . .










INch by inch . . . .

One more box

Had a great idea recently: use the fresh, just awakened energy right after I get out of bed, to tackle a chunk of the ButterFly project. For the longest time, "first thing in the morning" was my special prayer and study time. But my life is developing in such a way that I'm praying all through the day. And with several study projects, I'm also reading throughout the day.

So it is working very well to leap into some ButterFly work right after waking (on those days when I don't have to be somewhere early on.) I'm also finding that the chunk of ButterFly work that seemed quite daunting the night before, is not quite so intimidating in morning light.

A laundry basket was almost heavier than I could lift. I sensed it was full of stuff that would rouse response in me, versus a box full of old newspapers. And it was.

More than an hour later, the basket is empty, the trashcan is full, and yet the bed and floor are still covered with stuff to save, now sorted.








I was hungry and tired (more mentally than physically), but I pushed through and delivered all the dozen or so piles to their designated places. The Sunshine Room is now ready for the next wave of sorting.

LIttle Bit More

I'm proud of me. Midway through my 4th week of ButterFlying . . .and the second room is cleared of unknowns. The Kiwi and Sunshine rooms are not "done" in that they are not decorated yet. And I still will go through the hanging clothes and the bookshelf in the Sunshine room, but my biggest desire for this project is to have all the floor spaces cleared of boxes and tubs, and for me to KNOW exactly what is in each room. So, for that standard, those two rooms are DONE. Whew.




Here's a peek at the Sunshine room closet Before.

















And here's an After shot . . . I wonder how long it will take for the impress of that h e a v y tub to disappear :) And didja happen to notice what a rainbow of clothes I have????










Monday and Tuesday I started on the Rainbow room. This one sorta terrified me, because I knew it was densely packed with papers, etc. I also knew (hoped) I'd be encountering a lot of "me" in my writings, which is good, but also discombobulating, in that I feel I've sort of wandered away from my writing self . . I am searching her out again, for sure, but it's just sort of an odd feeling.







Had a great idea to use the newly tidied/simplified surroundings of the Sunshine room for at least some of the Rainbow room sorting. Worked in there several hours yesterday. Found a stash of quite a few of my journals from the past few years. Was astounded at how colorful and "wild" they were. I MISS that part of me . . I am so glad to be finding her again.



I really appreciate the support from the two of you . . . my rational brain tells me how much I've gotten done so far. And that even if I stopped now, every box and tub I've sorted so far would still be "done." And yet some other part of me says that yes, I have gnawed off and chewed up one whole leg of that giant elephant, which is quite an accomplishment . . . and yet there still clumps around my house this humongous THREE-legged critter . . .

Yes, Sharon, I liked your idea of having some sort of large visual, like a thermometer, or whatever, on which to chart progress. I had the same idea when I started, but chose to put my first batch of energy into the sorting itself, instead of into "bookwork" about the sorting . . but now I am feeling the neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed of some sort of visual--something that admits the whole huge project, yet allows me to mark off when I've managed to finish a chunk. I'll keep thinking of what I can do . . .