We are organizing!

Well, sort of organizing. We had a warm day for February in Iowa, in the fifties yesterday. Todd was home, no doctor/dentist/hair you name it appointments, so we worked in our garage. One of the pitfalls of moving every year is that you tend to pack up things you are in a hurry to pack up and never getting around to unpacking them, because by the time you get to them, you are packing again. Since we moved in our house the end of October, we didn't get much done in the garage before the cold and snow hit. We could park one car in the garage, but the other half was all kinds of random stuff. Todd thinks we need to have everything where it is going to go before we start any more projects, and he is probably right. I tend to be a little bit of a scatter-brain, well maybe a big scatter-brain. I jump into stuff when the mood strikes, making more of a mess as I go along! So, with Grandma and Grandpa coming next week to help with projects, it was time to get stuff where it needed to be. We are blessed in this house to have a basement and an attic, we've never had both in one house before. We are determined to not have them become black holes of junk. Todd has big plans for the basement, most of which involve the colors crimson and cream. (Oklahoma University colors, for our northern friends=)) I have big plans for a garage sale the first Saturday of May. One whole corner of the attic is dedicated to garage sale stuff. It is growing by leaps and bounds, and I am ecstatic. It has been hard to get rid of things when we move so much because you think you may need that in the next house. Never mind that you probably won't be able to find it, or that the cost to just get a new one is not enough to justify keeping it. I read in one of my many organizing books that the space you have is the space you have. Don't try to cram stuff in it or keep stuff for later that you just don't have the room to keep. Now that we have finally bought a house, I guess it is easier to get rid of all this stuff.

My Grandma, mom and aunt had a garage sale every fall for as long as I can remember. They only quit a few years ago, I guess they finally got rid of all of their junk! It was so fun. I loved going over to Grandma's the night before and setting up. I loved going after school on Friday to see what was gone and eat a Daylight Donut leftover from breakfast. I loved that if we made enough we would get to order pizza or get takeout food for dinner. (Yes, I am old enough to remember the days when this was an exception instead of the rule!) This was no ordinary garage sale either. Grandma knows how to do it. This was like the Von Maur (fancy, for our Southern friends) of garage sales. She had departments. I am surprised my mom did not craft some sort of signs, a map of the store, etc. to make it easier for the customers. I think about the people that came every year, they knew where to look for clothes, housewares, etc. She had hangers, sacks, you name it, she was prepared. She had the perfect desk for the money, and muffin tins to make change in that just fit in the drawers. She always let me help do the money, even though I'm sure I tried her patience. I was real into money and calculators when I was young. I am so fast on the ten-key that a few years ago I even had someone ask me if I would like a job doing ten-key something at their office, I don't even know what it was now, but they were impressed. Anyway, it's nice to have a talent! I don't know if our garage sale will be that fancy. I don't have any metal poles and chain to construct a hanging rack for clothes (like Grandma always did), but I do have the layout already done in my head. Todd, of course, thinks this is crazy. His favorite saying when we clean and organize is "Throw it away!" I can't do it. I think at the very least we should take stuff to Goodwill, which we do quite often. But, I don't see why we wouldn't want to make a little extra money with all this junk and maybe help people in the process. Plus, it's fun. The boys love it. And, we could use the money to redo our bathrooms, asap. They are forever stuck in the seventies and I can't take it anymore!

It is supposed to rain today. I love rainy days, always have, especially with a little thunder mixed in. I really love them now, it reminds me of home. Oklahoma gets it's share of thunderstorms to put it mildly. Hopefully it won't turn into snow or ice.

Please pray for Todd's Grandma, Edith. She fell Monday and broke her hip, broke a rib, and punctured her lung. She had surgery yesterday and is doing well, all things considered. She has a long road with rehab and such, and I don't think she is going to be too happy about it:). Pray as well for Todd's parents, Roy and Charlene, as they rearrange their lives to take care of her. She lives them already but there are of course will be a lot of doctor visits, therapy, etc. that comes with this kind of thing.

Nanny Edith and Callie in March 2008.

Grandma Lanier, me, Callie, and Grandma, four generations! (March 2008)

One 1975 bathroom, yes red counter, and what used to be a white floor, I think.

Another 1975 bathroom, black tile and this lovely gold and black floor. And, you can't see it, but someone got crafty and painted the grout in the shower black. Don't know what they painted it with but everytime I clean, more black runs down. This is a lot of fun!