Deal or No Deal?

Some of you reading this blog may already know that I have been looking for a new home for MudWorks. It seems as though I've outgrown the basement here at home, and everyone is tired of lugging finished work from the kiln room to the studio then up to the shipping area and ultimately out to the driveway for FedEx to pick up.

So with all that in mind, I've been in search of commercial space with living quarters included,  as close to my present home as possible.  I thought I had found the perfect spot, allowed myself to get excited and then the deal fell through.  Needless to say, I was crushed.  In my mind, I had already moved out.  I tried to resign myself to staying here in the Reeders studio/home, but felt constrained, cramped and crowded. The search continued.

Now I've found another place, a little further away, a lot larger for the studio and a great deal smaller for the living space.  The building is actually better for the business than the first situation, but I didn't allow myself to get emotionally attached to this "deal", and I remained aloof even up til today when my real estate agent called to get a certified check for a deposit.  There's still a building inspection to get through and a contract to sign....anything could happen.

In the meantime, I looked around at my modest studio here at home trying to eek out a bit more space in an already maxed out environment....Leigh Ann came up with a great idea for moving things around, but, of course it involved (you guessed it!) getting rid of some more stuff!  Out went two paintings, another recipe book, a broken crock from my pottery teacher :(  , an old teapot, two bookcovers, some purple ribbon, two fish plates, a blown glass kiss, 7 ceramic frogs, six audio cassettes, an ornament, a curtain rod, a stack of recipes and an old wood ladder!  Twenty eight more things out the door!  I even managed to give the cookbook away right then and there!  Now the shelving is up, the boxes are organized (thanks to Leigh Ann, the organization Queen!), the junk is out, the studio is less cluttered...

So either way...deal or no deal...MudWorks is moving forward!  I'll keep you posted if there's a new address in our future.

You Want Salt With That?

After taking a brief hiatus from tossing things so that I could go throw some things (namely, shamrock mugs) I am back on track.  And serious!  I have been looking for a new home for MudWorks Pottery and came across a building in Effort, PA that has some possibilities, lots of room for expansion, and a hefty monthly nut to crack if it goes through.  It comes with a smallish apartment, so I may be putting my big old house up on the market and every time I think about downsizing, packing and starting again I get a nervous tickle in the pit of my stomach.  I look around at all the stuff I have and with each glance find myself asking "Can you live without that?" or "Where are you going to put it!"

Tonight I decided I'd move the bakers rack from the kitchen to the dining room so that Leigh Ann could bring up some shelving to the kitchen.  On the baker's rack are fourteen pairs of salt and pepper shakers!  Now these are not your average salt and pepper shakers....these are collectables.  None of them have ever held a grain of salt or pepper and I have faithfully packed and taken them with me from house to apartment to house....And, worse, I don't even like pepper!  And rarely salt my food after it is cooked.....so why so many?  Well, for one, they are cute.  Some are old, a few of the newer ones go back to when I collected black and white cows, some were gifts....but folks, their time has come.  I am giving myself ONE salt and pepper shaker set to keep and the rest are out of here....I am sure I will always remember the people that bought me some of these collectables without having to keep them forever, sitting empty on a shelf.  I may put them on eBay....maybe there's someone out there that just has to have more shaker sets!  If you know anyone that needs a S & P set, you know where to find them....but hurry, they are going fast!

And while I was at it, I figured I'd get rid of three more paperbacks (donated to library), three ocarinas from Mexico, and five pottery magazines (passed on to students).  


24 down, 123 to go!

Twilight Zone

Somewhere out there in the Twilight Zone is an alternate universe, and in that universe is every missing sock, earring, container lid or glove that each one of us has "lost"!  I used to think there was a black hole in my washing machine or dryer, because I swear I'd put in socks in pairs, but when it came time to fold and put away the laundry there was always at least one sock without a partner.  I know I buy containers in color coordinated equal pairs of bottoms and lids, I match them up, put them in the sink, dishwasher, cupboard or refrigerator and a week or two later I can't find a lid to fit whatever container I just filled with leftovers!  Does ET come in the middle of the night and take a lid or two?

So today's mission was to throw out all the odd pairs that never did seem to find their partners!  Out went containers without lids, lids that somehow lost their container, (6 pieces); earrings that I kept in a separate container just waiting for their other half that must be somewhere in the house (not!)....(9 oddball earrings)...one grey glove, now that winter is over, I've given up hope on the left one....A book on CD that was missing Disc 1....on and on....all used-to-be pairs now without partners.

And in the process of tossing those things I found 12 NJ Parkway tokens that I gave to a friend that actually goes on the Parkway, two care & use manuals for things I no longer have to use or care for, 12 McDonald Beanie Babies from 1998 when they were all the rage, old batteries that probably don't work but I don't know what that size was for anyhow, and an assortment of other such odds and ends....out, out, OUT!


So today's total of things gone is 96;  a mere 147 to go....another closet or drawer should do it.

But I think maybe I'll go for 2,000 things to toss.....this is much too fun to stop in another day or so!

To Bead or Not To Bead?

And today, that was the question!  Am I ever going to get back to doing the tiny seed bead projects that I had intended, or am I just kidding myself, cluttering up my jewelry room with things I know I can't or won't get to----ever!

So with my good friend Ursula -- who, by the way, actually USES seed beads in her jewelry making -- we went through the drawer of delicas, number 10's, 11's and 15's....the array of colors was a tiny rainbow on my table...Okay, so "tiny" is pushing it a bit!  We came up with 49 vials of beads that Ursula can actually use, and a roll of solder that I had forgotten about!  I think that was from stained glass days, way, way, way back in time.  And so I am 50 items lighter and closer to the goal of 1,000 (not to mention $73 richer) and Ursual got a bargain, too, and some much needed beads.  One woman's trash, and another woman's treasure!

As an added bonus, another friend came and exchanged $100 for some of those rubber stamps and inks that Leigh Ann and I needed to be rid of.  It does feel good to get things to their proper owners, sort of like a craft adoption center!  If anyone else out there needs rubber stamps, inks, beads or things of that nature, check in with me first!  You never know!

The final count?  Now only 243!

Time to Get Serious

I have been slacking in the "shedding" department over the past couple of days, knowing that alot of the superficial stuff was cleared out and now I had to get to some of the harder things to let go.....I made a mental list of my crafts and hobbies and rubber stamping came out at the bottom, so I started with the rubber stamp drawers. Yes, folks, that's plural....drawers!  Three in one room, a box in the other and many more down in the pottery studio.  And I never really made cards or did journaling.

I decided that the three drawers in the jewelry making room would be the first ones to go through.  I started with sweaty palms and trepidation, thinking I would not be able to let any of them go, but after the first twenty it became much easier....I ultimately got rid of 115, keeping a mere twenty for journal covers.

Feeling slightly in control of the situation, I ventured into a couple of other nooks and crannies, and today's total is 139....left to go:  293.  Quilting books, magazines, supplies and kits may be next, and then there's always the box full of embroidery hoops, a box or two of fabric paints....I'm exhausted just thinking about it, but saved those for another day.  And if any of you readers need something, please just ask....I'm sure I have it---in triplicate!

(Leigh Ann thinks I may have to go for 2,000 things, but I am keeping my sights on the first thousand.  One goal at a time!)