Rae Roy

Image by Kati from Pixabay. It's time for the 2024 Wrap-Up post about many of the things I managed to achieve. As I gathered this all together from my weekly blog posts, I began to realize why I was so tired at the end of the year. Overall, I wish I had gotten further on my writing projects, but I found focus and clarity by the end that I hope to carry forward into 2025. Arts & Crafts - Completed a lesbian pride scarf - Completed a fairy garden - Completed a PWHL scarf with the 6 inaugural team colours - Made a knit basket - Sticker bombed my media cabinet's doors - Improved at crochet - Improved my knitting - Crocheted a donut coaster - Knitted a thin scarf/tie for a wedding outfit - I made a new patch for my jacket - I made a holder for my car insurance and ownership documents - I made a lot of progress on Fairy Cross-Stitch - I started a summer quilt - I made progress on my goth quilt - I added a large decal on my car Concerts & Plays - Saw Teagan and Sara live - Saw...

Please congratulate yourself for completing another year. If all you did was survive, that's OK! I was away visiting loved ones for much of the last week of 2024. It was fortunate that I had traveled on Sunday instead of Monday like I had originally planned. A snowstorm began around 10 AM. Outside the windows of my father's house was a near blizzard at times.  I needed to get a few things after I had lunch with friends. Then my afternoon was to be spent watching a movie at my brother's house. The items included some soft food for my canine buddy. I had forgotten his gift in Ottawa. It ended up being OK because he hadn't been eating as well in his old age. He chowed down on the soft food and I was so happy! My brother and I postponed our hang out due to the storm. We were both exhausted after clearing the snow. Instead of a movie, I ended up watching History's Greatest Mysteries: Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge. The latest findings indicate that Stonehenge is far...

Arts & Crafts  I really wanted to finish my shelf. On the Wednesday before the holiday I was so tired. I realised I need to make room for the cord channel that supplies my living room lighting and my brain wasn't happy about it. It means measuring and I didn't know where my measuring tape went. I have two and I couldn't find either of them! In the end, I decided I would likely finish it after the holidays. I was too damned tired and needed the break to refill my well. I also had forgotten where my flat head drill bits were. Decluttering & Minimalism  Sometimes a declutter is more of an emotional clearing. Without getting into the deepest details, if you ever want to figure out if someone is an unhealthy presence in your life, just let them know what behaviour you won't accept anymore. In case you are dealing with this, I found this article helpful. It wasn't the first time I tried to talk to this individual about issues over several decades and I was just b...

Arts & Crafts  I continued working on my Fairy Cross-Stitch project this week. It was keeping me sane while I couldn't do much of anything else. Decluttering & Minimalism  My focus this week was on catching up on chores like laundry and dishes. I'm a bit annoyed about getting hit with the flu, but sometimes one just has to accept what's happening. It can be less stressful than trying to push when one is depleted. And it takes energy to fight. No point in wasting it on an immovable force. Sometimes, down the road, the circumstances will change all around and the patience will pay off if one is ready to seize the opportunities available then.  Monday was dishes day. Tuesday was supposed to be folding day, but I had no energy for it after scraping my car off and going to Shopper's Drug Mart. I did some laundry on Friday, but I had to pull someone else's stuff out of a machine because it had been 10-15 minutes and they still hadn't come for it. I find it so ...

Arts & Crafts  Having recovered from the hectic weeks, my goal was to get the shelf done. I completed a first coat on the top on Monday. In the evening, I worked on my Fairy Cross-Stitch project. With a need to get to the opposite end of the city right after work, it was unlikely that I would get any coats done on Tuesday. On Wednesday, over the lunch hour, I did a light sanding as a couple of spots were still rough. After work, I put on another coat of paint. I was fairly sure I just needed one more before I would be able to seal it, so it was possible that I would have the whole thing finished on the weekend and ready to install. I did coat three on Thursday afternoon and I hoped it would be the final coat. Struck with the flu, I didn't get any further work done on the shelf this week. I'm highly annoyed about it. I want to complete it and install it.  I made a lot of progress on Fairy Cross-Stitch due to having to take it easy and pretty much watch TV. Decluttering ...

Arts & Crafts  After the condo inspection was over, my plan was to get the top of the shelf painted over the weekend. I didn't know if I would get anywhere near sealing it, but I thought I could at least get the paint done. I was exhausted from everything, so I decided not to be harsh on myself if I didn't get any coats done. I hadn't been sleeping well in the days leading up to the inspection, so I figured rest might be in order. And that's how things went. Hopefully, next week will be more productive on this project. Decluttering & Minimalism This week's focus was on being ready for the condo inspection. The first thing I did was clean my tub. I was looking forward to pampering myself with a hot bath in epsom salts on the weekend. More likely, this would be early the following week given all my weekend plans. So much cleaning except for the areas displaced by the shelf project. That was mostly my living room. I hoped that wouldn't cause a problem, but ...