Nellie"s Needles

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Messes

Since getting back to Tennessee in mid-October, I've been dealing with messes.  The first and biggest was the painting of our condo complex.
That included drastic pruning of all our shrubs even before we were unpacked.
After the painting was finished then it was cleaning up the garden beds and getting the pansies planted ... then getting the many, many pieces of outside art in place. That helped clear the mess inside the condo.

This is just the entryway courtyard.  I kept thinking the painting crew was finished, but they'd show up to do, or redo a bit more.  That necessitated moving stuff out of their way.
There's also a patio and upper deck with just as much art and sculptures that went through the same thing at least once.

In the meantime, my studio kept getting more stuff piled into it that needed to be sorted through and put away.  I could hardly walk through the room.  Also, during the summer the hardware holding two shelves of books in my supply closet had given way.  That was a HUGE mess in there.  I couldn't bear to have anyone see all that, so I took no photos before it was all sorted out and put in order again.

It hasn't been quite all work and no play.  We took off on three trips ... each for about four days at a time.  Also, I was spurred to do a bit of playing by my Thursday Bee group.
Right now this piece looks to be a tangled mess, a reflection of my fall.  I hope to find time in the next few days to tame it.  In the meantime, I must figure out Christmas stuff and get packages wrapped and mailed before I fly north next Wednesday for the holidays.

7 comments:

Kay said...

I truly sympathize, especially about the collapsed shelves. How horrible that would be. Even without those reasons, I find things more and more a mess myself. Looking forward to having a chance to clean it up after holidays.

Unknown said...

Gads! I had shelves collapse on me years ago, in the hallway. couldn't get to the bedrooms until I piled the books up. You've certainly had your hands full! I hope you catch your breath soon. Hugs!

Nellie's Needles said...

I ended up getting rid of most all those books. I had put them in the small walk-in closet about 10 years ago to make room on the shelves for fabric in the studio and have hardly looked at them since. It had gotten to the point where all the stuff that had no place to go was stacked on the floor space of that closet. Now it's on the shelves. It's great to be able to stand in there and be able to see what I'm after instead of unloading the closet down to the level where it's hiding.

Heather said...

It must be the time of year for messes Nellie. We've just had our kitchen repainted and everything had to come out into a narrow hallway or the living room. That was a mess! It's worth it in the long run though and I'm delighted with the result - just getting everything back in place now. I even managed to reduce some of our stuff as well! Don't tame your 'tangled mess' too much - it is so expressive but very attractive too. Have a great holidays.

Colleen Kole said...

That's an awful way to have to clean up a closet. But just think-you are ahead for 2011. You have been very busy. Hope you have time to relax over the holidays.

Beverly said...

I'm sorry about the mess you came home to- it sounds like you have been busy, and the results worth it. I agree, it does feel good to offload stuff (including beloved books) that just isn't being used anymore.

Your courtyards look magical with all the art- I just love it! What a wonderful place to just sit and BE!!

Helena said...

How busy you were, but now I imagine you want to create!
Have a nice day!