I have too many projects on the needles, too many things going on in my life, and too much on my to-do list. So when I want to sit down at the end of an utterly exhausting day and relax and maybe knit a few stitches or spin an ounce or two, I'm at a loss as to where to start. So I sit and do nothing, finish nothing, and look at everything I have to do.
Having moved a few weeks ago, contracting a blistering case of poison ivy getting out of the rental I was in (no, I didn't take pictures), school starting, my contract expiring at the end of this month (I love government contracting...I love government contracting...), cleaning mold off of every item I own (I'll never live on a slab foundation again!!), and generally having Too Much To Do, I'm overly busy and very tired. I've changed my work hours, with the blessing of the Powers That Be, to Mommy Hours 4 days a week and 12.5 hours on Tuesdays. One of my cats, my baby, the kitty I rescued when I lived alone in Bloomington, Indiana, years and years ago, isn't taking the move very well and I fear for her health. My health is weird, possibly from the mold. I've been referred to an Environmental Physician for detoxification.
And now I'm a Cub Scout Leader.
So I NEED to knit-spin-relax. I'm utilizing the whirlpool bathtub in my new house on a regular basis. (Wouldn't you??) I fall into bed and sleep by 9 or 9:30 each night.
But when I want to sit and knit, I either can't choose because I have too many projects on the needles, or I feel guilty about knitting when I'm surrounded by boxes full of things that need to be cleansed of their mold spores and put away.
It's the cleaning that takes so long. Putting away is fairly quick. But wiping down each and every item, washing every bit of fabric... think about it: every item, knick-knack, CD, book, knitting needle, Matchbox car, Lego...every tiny thing you own. Washing it. With bleach solution. It sure helps with the purge-mentality! If I don't feel like washing it, it's gone!! I've managed to get rid of all kinds of things I'd been hanging on to for various "reasons"! Paring down shoes, purses, clothes, books, toys, papers...it's a lot easier when you think about having to wash and/or HEPA vacuum everything you wish to keep! Even my Little Boy seems to understand what's going on, and knows not to touch anything not on the "clean shelves". Don't disturb the boxes. I found the mold AFTER almost everything was brought into the new house.
It's NOT the dread black mold you hear about in the news all the time, just plain old wetness-caused mold. Wouldn't cause much trouble, except I'm allergic to mold. I Love Claritin right now. Just thought I better mention that it's not a tear-down-the-house emergency. Just an annoyance. And it's not that mold is growing on everything, it was growing up the backsides of some furniture, but that's been properly killed and disinfected. It's just that the box contents are making me sneezy, so I assume spores are in there, and so I treat it as though it's contaminated. It's the hazardous materials training in me, I guess. No, I didn't go so far as to create isolation/decontamination zones. But I thought about it.
So, on the needles? Currently I have:
- socks in Schaffer Anne (Christmas gift)
- socks in Opal Petticoat (might get ripped)
- sweater in vintage Scottish wool (for Little Boy)
- Florence Scarf in Knitpicks Shadow
- Faroese shawl in Jaeggerspun woolsilk
That doesn't count the fibers I have sitting next to the spinning wheel, waiting for my attention: alpaca, flax, and a couple of Lorna's Laces painted rovings. And the 80+ pounds of yarn waiting to be played with on the new weaving loom. That appears to have some problems. I'm slowly working on them. (Parts worn out, missing, rigged, etc.)
Add to that the piles and Piles and PILES of laundry I wade through every day in the basement (YEAH!! I have laundry at home!!!) trying to wash everything (bedding, clothes, sweaters, pillows, fabric, etc.) and still have clean clothes to wear. I washed 7 loads on Saturday alone. And the boxes all over the living and dining rooms...let's not go there.
I think I should just take everything not-clean and tote it to the basement. Then what's upstairs is clean, and I can look at clean-ness. I can clean things downstairs whenever I can, and bring it up and put it away when it's dry. I should probably note, though, that I have been very busy with this, and have both our bedrooms and the spare just about put together and clean, and the bathroom and kitchen are clean completely (and kept that way).
I think I' ve probably ranted enough for today. I need to find a project to work on and finish something. It would be so nice to have something DONE and COMPLETE soon.
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