The Jewelry Box Project

Okay...so, a couple of weeks ago, I dragged my big jewelry box and some little auxiliary boxes to the kitchen table to clean and organize--something I haven't done in years. Guess what? It's all still spread out on the kitchen table because I can't decide what to do with stuff! I have a collection of Siam Silver jewelry that was my mother's. The bracelet is broken. I probably could have it fixed in order to wear it, but I don't know if getting it fixed would cost more than the piece is worth. Likewise, my grandmother's cameo broach with a missing stone. I have the mother-of-pearl beads from a broken strand that was also my mother's. I probably wouldn't wear it if I had it strung professionally, but the beads are too good to throw away. You get the picture. This is the problem with all of my efforts to clean and organize. I get too wrapped up in each item and then don't know what to do with it. I have a box in my closet filled with knick-knacks that don't have a place in the house anymore, but I hate to give them up. Arrggghhh! I have promised myself that I will reclaim the kitchen table before the weekend is over. We'll see!

I have the same problem with other things. For instance, I got the brainstorm today that I should crochet a vest for my granddaughter for Christmas. I used to have a pattern...hmmm...where is it? Oh yes...it's in the BIG stack of knit/crochet pattern books that I bought when Megan was a little girl...the stack that takes up space in my bedroom. I went through all of those books, so outdated. (Made myself sneeze from the dust!) I found the vest pattern, but a big corner is torn from it that would make following the pattern impossible. I just need to donate all of those books--and pitch the patterns that I used to tear out of magazines. That would free up a portion of one shelf in my bedroom. So many more to go!

I got to working on cobwebs in my bedroom today, starting with the dust on the ceiling fan blades. It's no wonder I cough all night! There must be a bazillion dust mites in my room, from dust and the skin cells that flake off my legs when I sleep. Oh...and I organized my recipe drawer yesterday. There were unused recipes in there from my first marriage in 1969! Pitch, pitch, pitch... I guess I am trying to make myself sound productive, when (in actuality) I haven't been. The price of depression is high...

My daughter's computer is down. She and Denis have spent the better part of two weeks trying to fix it. She was able to get the hard drive into another machine in order to back up her files, but she isn't happy...and I don't blame her. She has some pricey software on there that she got through IUPUI that can only be replaced with thousands of dollars...not to mention all the work she has put into genealogy sites, etc. I hope they can get it fixed. (Denis works for Microsoft in Silicon Valley. He has resources.)

I'm still hoping to hear SOMETHING from my grandchildren's family about little Ryan's birthday next weekend. They drove home to the north Chicago area yesterday from a funeral in Cleveland, through a snowstorm in South Bend yesterday. Since I haven't heard any bad news, I assume they got home safely, but it probably wasn't fun...

The month is moving along fast. Soon it will be Thanksgiving. I will be trekking to Illinois to be with my sister and her family, since I can't be there at Christmas. Going back to Eastern Standard Time tonight. Turn your clocks back! At least I won't be late to church. (I'm up half the night anyway, so no problem!)