Last Minute

I can't seem to fully wrap my mind around the thought that we are leaving soon -- very, very soon! I think it's partly been the "not knowing where or when we're going." If you can't make plans for the future, you tend to live in the present. I'm suddenly thinking of innumerable ways to make our living situation more efficient, or thinking of little upgrades I could make, and then I remember that increased efficiency for three or four weeks is probably not worth the effort. Still, you have no idea how much stuff I've reorganized in the past month, despite that!

But it's mostly been sewing projects and home decor and friends coming over for tea. I've been blessed to share time with friends lately! I know we'll see most of them again, Lord willing, but parting is not such sweet sorrow and I am not looking forward to leaving dear friends behind. Sorry, Shakespeare.

It was good to have an excuse to (finally) try make tea bag cookies. I'd had them on my Pinterest board for quite a while, and they always call to me when I'm scrolling by in search of something else.

I used a short-bready recipe given to me by a church friend, which couldn't be simpler. The dough rolled out nicely, and a pastry wheel and ruler made short work of the shapes. I used one of those disposable bendy straws to make the little holes for the string (occasionally snipping off the end of the straw as it became clogged with dough!). Melted chocolate, a spatula, and a tray covered in wax paper took care of the decorating part. I used vintage tatting thread and scrapbook paper for the labels, though I'd love to try something fancier next time. 

Oh, and I finally tackled a new ironing board cover! Ours has long been in shambles, which, considering it was the original, uninspiring white-with-stripes-in-various-colors cover that came with the board five years ago, was pretty sad. It was simple to fashion a replacement from quilting cotton, using the original cover as a pattern. Why didn't I do that three years ago?

I did struggle a bit with "camouflage," though, as I was using some of the same
brown fabric to fashion the new baby's activity gym mat!

The baby's blanket is mostly done now. I'm still not sure if I'll knit the recommended number of rows, knit until the yarn runs out, or knit until I feel it's big enough. Perhaps all three options will coincide, thus relieving me of the need to make a decision? I'm eager to finish and block it before we move, so that it can be tucked away in readiness with all of the other little things for the baby. Considering that his arrival may follow pretty closely on the heels of our "removal," I'd rather have everything ready far ahead of time.

I've redone the Activity Gym I made for Rosa -- I wanted something new, anyway, and the pieced top was starting to disintegrate. It's not something I'll be needing right away, but I doubt I'll have the time once the baby arrives, so it's nice to have it out of the way. I just need to take some photos.

There are a few more projects that I'll probably try to tackle before it's time to pack, but other than that I occupy myself with making lists. My hospital bag list, the baby's hospital bag list, food to take on our upcoming journey, things that need to be done before we leave... Having some semblance of order and control keeps me sane when there is so much "unknown." Or something close to sane, which is all I can ask for right now!

So if you don't see much of me in this space for a bit, you know what I'm up to. I think it's time to start haunting the liquor stores (of which there are many in our town...) for good packing boxes!