Friday, February 21, 2014

Slow Mojo

How is it I can ignore two whole boxes of paperwork "to be filed" for years on end, and then all of a sudden decide that it needs to be addressed this very week?  
Hm, could it be that I am procrastinating on something else?  I think we can all guess the answer to that one.


This month marks my four-year blog anniversary, and that's about exactly how long it's been since I did any serious filing or otherwise dealing with paperwork.  The good thing about waiting so long is that 80 percent of it can be tossed.  Well, not tossed, exactly, as a lot of it is personal and financial type things.  I'll probably have a little party around the burn barrel soon.  Hear that, Dad?  I'm coming over to your place to set my stuff on fire. 

A friend and former coworker, who was a young lawyer at the time and now is a financial advisor, told me he threw away all his bills right after he paid them.  Like, immediately.  On hearing this, I remember being shocked for a few seconds.  This was before the days of going paperless and online access.  I was taught one needed to save such things, although I was never really sure for how long.  His response was, "What for?" and he went on to justify the rationale for his personal statute of limitations.  I've become better at adopting this attitude in the years since, but apparently I'm not quite there yet. 

I did find my mortgage paperwork in one of the boxes, along with an original car title and my sister-in-law's Health Care Power of Attorney.  You know, things one might need to put one's hands on quickly without first having to sift through a few hundred pages of financial statements, receipts, and a couple colonoscopy reports (with color photos!).

Not much has been happening in the sewing room this week except for one sample block.  I bought a Quick Curve Ruler so I could make the Mod Olives block following the tutorial at Sew Kind of Wonderful.

But I am apparently a big fumble-futz when it comes to curved rulers.  I made a mess of the first few cuts and finally gave up on the rotary cutter altogether and used a marking pen with the ruler and then scissor-cut the pieces.  I'm not sure what my problem was there.  I'll take another whack at it (probably literally) another time.

Finally, I am taking baby steps to try to sneak around my procrastination problem. So even though it's been slow, the flow (my word for 2014) hasn't stopped completely.


A few days ago, I doodled a quilting idea for the Hubcap Diamond Star Halo quilt, and today I finally got it basted.
What are you working on this weekend?

I love everything about this song, a song about flow of another kind, as in a river (and life, in general).  Darrell Scott can sure tell a story in his songwriting, and he is a master on the guitar.


9 comments:

Kevin the Quilter said...

P, this is why I read your blog.....I learn terms such as "fumble futz." I will add that one to my vocabulary! May I ask what size rotary cutter you were using with your curved project? I know you said you purchased one earlier, but, the smaller the better when cutting curves. 15mm works best. Can't wait to see Hubcap Diamond Star Halo Quilt all quilted up. I am working on quilts for my presentation this summer.....there are deadlines! YIKES!

MomWaldsPlace said...

Ahhh paperwork, it's like dirty dishes. They always come back.

Cannot wait to your quilting progress!

Lori R. said...

Last year I unearthed a box in the attic with receipts from the 80's! Babysitting checks written for $35. That was for the WEEK, folks! I worked part time and paid $1/hr.

Lately I've been working on the 2 drawer file that was full, so I wasn't using it. Emptied it so I have a place to put current things. Here's hope for us yet.

Shay said...

I’m always amazed by what activities seem palatable to me when I’m avoiding a quilting project. Totally hear you on that score Sister!

I’m pretty good at filing paperwork – I do it about once a month. (and then keep it for freaking ever-yes I’m THAT chick.)

The Mod Olives fabrics look fabulous!

Im starting a project with curves soon ...I hope I can rotary cut it – I’ll let you know how I go...Im more worried about the fiddly sewing part!

Sarah Craig said...

I don't even want to think about how many boxes of papers I have - all of which need to be gone through and sorted/shredded/burned/scanned/filed someplace safe! So we won't go there….

And Kevin beat me to the punch - you need to use as small a rotary cutter as you can find for those curves. It makes it go much easier!

Karen said...

I have gotten us to nearly paperless but it has taken some time plus I nearly burned up our shredder. It is liberating unloading that extra weight. Plus, small rotary cutter for sure! I am constantly surprised how often I use it! It comes in handy for templates.

Hazel said...

Your quilt looks beautiful!

Don't get too perfect with your paperwork or I won't read your blog!

Anonymous said...

I just bought the Quick curve ruler this past Christmas, too! I haven't tried it yet, I LOVE curves, except I am always intimidated by them. I MUST get over my own procrastination!!! I think yours looks great!

I really enjoyed Darrell's music! I love the acoustic guitar. He has a great voice,too! My brother works for Paul Reed Smith Guitars in Maryland. He also has made custom guitars for years, so I have been around music all my life.

Elizabeth said...

Yay! I'm all caught up!

I love your design for HDSH! It is amazing! You can do it!

I have stacks and stacks of papers that need going through. I kind of like the idea of throwing it all out. It would be nice not to lug stuff around any more. I have too much clutter in my brain. I've heard that if you declutter your environment you not only feel better, but you sleep better. I guess I'll start in the bedroom.

I love your Mod Olives block. You do awesome things with fabric. I wish we lived close so you could come over and go stash diving with me.

Hope you're doing well.

xo -E