December decluttering and carols.

December was much quieter for me at work. Found it hard to focus, I'd already done my end of year push and finished some big projects so work was light and easy, wrapping up odds and ends. Therefor I turned my attention to decluttering the compactors and surrounding junk corners. I instagramed every day the things we found and rehomed. Old posters, chemical safety things, a box of wheels, things for soil testing, a box of rocks, book display stands. It was a huge job, but doing one thing a day made it easier to decide. THe options for each item were

1. Find someone who can use it (eg chemical safety things to chemical trainer)
2. Find a place where it can be stored with other things like it (eg stationary)
3. Sneak it into a storeroom for someone else to deal with later (eg the metal things we have no idea what they are)
4. Throw away
5. Consolidate (the files that actually need to be kept but can be moved so they all fit in the 1 compactor not spread over 2)

Kate joined me for this fun project. By the last day of work, we had got rid of so much stuff that we were able to let others take away a whole empty compactor, the biggest declutter of them all! It's going to be used to store machinery things in a shed somewhere. It just goes to show that plugging away one thing every day will eventually do great things.

I didn't grow my plant collection too much, but I repotted some small ones and kept everything alive. I did however start macrame, made a plant hanger to give to G for Christmas and bought an ivy to grow in it which is at my house until new year and she takes it home. Macrame is satisfying and easy. But you have to stand up otherwise the long ends get tangled.

The Christmas functions happened of course. I made peppermint bark for a work party, would not make this again but it was effective for this one time. There were 3 different secret santas which is always stressful. Plants were the hot gifts this year.

At Sal's place where we had our team Christmas do, she showed me this lovely painting an artist did of Tocal which she and Nathan had bought. Inspiration. Meanwhile yesterday I threw away the landscape I started last month that isn't working. I'd rather start fresh than try and fix something failing, when canvases are so cheap.

I helped set up our church street party carols. Thankfully it was lovely weather again (hot for the setup but cool for the evening carols) and it was a good evening with lots of people from the community amongst it.

We borrowed a truck for our stage this year.

I finished the watercolour of 2 chickens for Taire to give for a Christmas gift. I was pleased how it turned out! Very cute and dainty.

I decided that my beginner set of watercolours needed to be upgraded, if I get more requests for commissions it'd be nice to have strong clean professional colours. So on Boxing Day I did some reasearch and online shopping. The student set I have was $15 for 24 colours. The set I got was 6 colours for about $70 ON SALE!! They better be good! But they will last me for my lifetime I reckon. Watercolour is mostly water. I was thankful that I knew about Liz Steel and could buy her recommended starter set of paints.

The biggest event of December for me is my Carols in the Garage, it was the 3rd time this year. I invited friends from work for the first time, and a good number of Sydney friends came up for it. It was the same music as last year, with Julie on violin and Julia singing. There were 34 people which was biggest so far. Next year I need to do the garage set up the week before not the day of the carols, because it was much too tiring! But thankfully Kim, JK and Ann Marie were a lot of help with making salads and cutting out the new carol books and washing up and all those jobs. G went to a lot of effort to make the trip up despite her health which is amazing. I am so blessed by friends and friend's friends!

Elsie gave me a mossy rock for Christmas. It's struggling in the heat.

I was super tired after everyone left. We had family Christmas on Sunday, with JK, which was nice, but then it felt like Christmas really was done and it was strange that it was still in the future. Julia and Luke had their first Christmas with Luke's family.

I had a strong urge to catch up on movies, so we saw Bohemian Rhapsody on Christmas Eve, and JK and I saw Holmes and Watson on Boxing Day. The latter was quite dumb mostly, a few clever nods to Sherlock tropes though. JK stayed with me through Sunday to Thursday for both Christmases. We had pies and wedges for family lunch at my place on Tuesday Christmas and played rummikub.

We went to my favourite cafe in morpeth for breakfast on Thursday and it was surprisingly quiet, we had the best table with the best view and had a healthy breakfast and cup of tea. We took books as well. I have so many books I am trying to work through them these holidays. I've got a knitting murder mystery from the Mudgee trip, and I borrowed Redeeming Singleness and need to return it at Summer School, and I am also reading Enjoying God along with Ros, I got us both that. If I finish those 3 before work goes back, I'll be happy.

In the afternoon we went for our first holiday swim! Its swimming most days from Christmas to Summer School.

My big hat that I got custom made is still the star of summer.

I've got a blocked right ear and I'm slightly deaf. Hazard of swimming with ear wax. Stomach still not great from Mirena, had upset guts nearly every day of the last month.

I'm well into the holidays now, losing track of which day it is. It's hot, so lots of swimming. I'd also like to do some sewing, I borrowed patterns from Heather and mum to make shirts with cool bird fabrics from Nerida Hansen (my other Boxing Day sale purchase online). I'm excited to make a shirt from black cockatoo fabric. This is me instagramming my draft shirt I have been making out of old shirts, to test the patterns before I cut my special cockatoo fabric.

Oh the other thing I almost forgot was that I had the builder back to measure for the pergola which is going to go ahead since the bylaw was finally passed. The builder is planning to build it on 14 January, so not quite a complete achievement this year as was my aim, but so much progress to be this close anyway!

So that's it! Today is new years eve, tonight Georgina, JK and Heather are going to Julie's place to swim in her pool, make pizzas in her pizza oven, then go over to the river for fireworks. Living the dream. Tomorrow the girls will leave and Coralie will come back and I'll have a few days more to swim and craft before Summer School starts on Saturday.

Regarding how 2018 went, how I grew and what I achieved, I have no desire to reflect. Yesterday in the sermon at church Erich said what would you rate 2018 out of 5 stars, I think 2 stars, there was a lot of sickness and death. Highlights of the year were Julia's wedding and my family and friends, all the love in my life, and I guess I'm glad that I made time for oil painting and gave paintings to people. Beyond that I just want to move on really.

Regarding how 2019 looks and what are my goals and dreams, nothing. I'll just go back to work and do the same stuff. Keep on trying to balance time for all the things. Grow things on my pergola. Live alone again after Coralie gets married. Buy some bigger couches maybe. Can't be bothered aiming for real progress! No new year reflecting, goal setting or self improving. But only spending time in God's word and with people and nature and fiction of all mediums. 

November: keep calm and buy indoor plants.

I was helping plan a womens night for church women and girls. We had it and it was really good. Heard personal stories from 4 women at different stages of life.  Later in the month I went to youth group on a Friday night and represented homeschooled experience and shared about that as they had a panel and discussion groups about being Christian in a public or Christian school or at home. So I've got out of my comfort zone at church!

Rearranged the living room to get better TV angles for when Rachel comes over to watch Bachy. We've enjoyed that a lot.

I did my own plumbing! I had a tap start dribbling at 6am when I got out of bed. But I kept calm and found all my tools and parts and replaced the washer.

Occasionally I use this app to pick outfits but mostly I record what I wear, which is nuicance because I don't need more data obsession in my life. But I noticed I wore a lot of monochrome and navy, so I decided to set myself a colour challenge for a week.

I don't want to hoard all the paintings I've done, so it's time to keep giving them away. I gave this one to Sally. I painted it for her after Nathan died but I wanted to wait a while, partly so that I could enjoy it in my house but also because I feel like its loving to remember people down the road when everyone else has moved on. It really meant a lot to her and her kids I think.

Maybe because Bachy finished, I needed some formulaic romantic TV to watch, I have started working through all the mild Christmas rom coms on Netflix. The comforting similarity and niceness is what appeals, even though they are quite boring. There are about 2 that I would watch again next Christmas.

The childrens book finally came back from the printer! I sent it off with much anxiety in October before I went on leave. That's one of my major accomplishments. My only regret is the size, rather wide.

I haven't done much gardening in Spring but then it started to need attention. I filled my green bin and uncovered some tomatoes one Saturday morning.

After that I went to JKs place and helped with her lawns. Then we had a delightful evening at the Hunt Gather markets, where I bought a shirt, and JK bought me a plant for Christmas. I have been circling around indoor plants for a couple of months, and this was the beginning...

And where there are plants there are pots. A complementary obsession.

And I had been thinking about macrame and kept seeing it everywhere, perfect for hanging plants.

A perfect storm of obsessions was created. So here is my little pilea plant with one of my 3 orchids and some basil seedlings in the bathroom. 

I was intending to stay relaxed after the holiday in Mudgee, but 2 weeks later I was all task focused and anxious again. I got that feeling that the end of the year was looming and I needed to finish things by then. Things that weren't urgent all year as well as things that were. Example 1, dealing with mail.

Example 2, replacing broken food processor.

New tyres and getting car serviced.

Out of control garden requiring exhausting pruning. More to come later.

Anyway, I became aware that I was anxious and pushing myself to get all these things done as if there is some kind of deadline on 31 December. So I've been trying to slow down mentally again.

Mum organised lunch with family for brothers birthday, and we played some board games I enjoyed, they were very simple.

Parent's garage is a treasure cave.

I scored this plant shelf from the garage!

The plant collection at work growing.

I gave this painting away to the retired work friend who built my gardens.

I had a day off and spent most of it sewing. 2 jobs (curtain hem and a dust cover for amp) turned into a pile of Christmas gifts.

I treated myself to Thai lunch after some shopping though.

And then I did a job that has been on my mental list for years, moving my childhood photos to an acid free album.

I ordered some macrame rope from Ebay, and after work one day I made this. What I lack however is anywhere to hang them.

Another board game session! This time at a friend's house to celebrate her new kitchen.

A much anticipated succulent and cactus market happened near my house. I had held off buying any plants at bunnings until this. I bought as many as I could carry home (which is why I walked instead of driving).

And now I have a plant collection. I've since been collecting pots to fit them. Kmart has a few nice ones as well as the nursery. Most of the ones I've collected previously don't fit the plants. They are too short or square. In future when I repot plants as they grow I will make them fit but currently too tall.

Roger preached a fire sermon about Psalm 6 and enduring suffering. I was able to share it with friends afterwards.

The last night of Rachel coming from Tocal to watch TV. On the last night we watched the Princess Swap.

I was unsure what was happening with our strata AGM, but at the last minute I confirmed it was at 12pm on Friday so Eddie and I went in for it. Thankfully the unpleasant drama of getting the by-law in seems to be over, or at least it passed in the meeting (after months of hassle I hope I haven't gone into very much but it made me angry). Eddie suggested we go to the fish markets nearby which I was most happy about. So I celebrated by having lunch of prawns on the floor in front of the TV.

At some point during the month I did another oil painting, but this one was troublesome and isn't working. I will try and fix it and finish it by the end of the year. But my desire to oil paint is fading as I am more interested in macrame now.

This is now December but I'll finish of the post with another weekend.

A friend asked me to do a paid job, some chickens she can give for a Christmas gift. It was nice to do watercolours instead, much less mess! Although you only get one shot with watercolour. Luckily it turned out good first time.

I have a week or so each month that my tummy is upset and crampy, and that's now, and Saturday (yesterday) was terrible in the morning. But not bad enough to stay in bed, just take herbal supplements and drink herbal tea and sometimes ibuprofen. Anyway I didn't use it as an excuse to not going to a baby birthday. I appreciate being invited and enjoy spending time with people even though sometimes other people's joy about their babies makes me a bit sad. 

It was nice to see the play mat I made being used!

I saw on facebook Heritage Gardens got new lot of indoor plants. I looked carefully and bought one plant only, and 2 pots which fit well. Very satisfied with my plant collection now. I've got some at work, some at home.

Now that the by-law is approved, I can start thinking about finally getting my pergola built! So my attention will turn to my outside plants again. December focus is Christmas things though, having my carols in the garage and so on.