So....I had all these great ideas, only to find out that I am only going to be able to fit so much in the box....with some creative packing I am hoping to get quite a bit of it in there, but we'll see....still making stuff. Here's what I have done so far: Painted wood tray, 2 bracelets, 4 pairs of earrings, 3 pairs of crochet embellished socks, 3 small doilies.... And part way through construction are: 2 mini shadow boxes, 4 tassel pairs, 3 wall plaquettes.... And still have all the supplies for some other things that I was hoping to make, but I will have too see how much room I have left in the box! I would upgrade the box to a bigger size, but the postage would be exhorbitant due to how much it weighs already! Netta

Lynn we are in a very similar place about our house - it's too big for us at this stage of our lives. We use most of the square footage in some way - because it's there - but could easily manage with half ! Our youngest will be graduating from college next May and HOPEFULLY will be employed and able to support himself but who knows? Our older son works for the forest service but those gov't jobs are shakey, to say the least, so we always want to have a place where they can land if needed. So.... we keep the big old house - for now. Stuff? I reached a saturation point many years ago and continually work to pare down. But it's back to that big house thing again - I'm not going to live in empty rooms so there's still far more STUFF than I actually need. When my mom died and I helped my dad move into an apartment, tons of family stuff came my way. Eleven years later when my dad died, the rest of it came to me. We've all talked about this before - the pull of family items and how hard it is to get rid of some things. But it has to be done so over the years I've pared down to the things that have the most meaning and passed the rest on in one way or another. I have dreams (nightmares?) about moving into a small home and having boxes and furniture stacked everywhere because I didn't sort and get rid of enough before moving!! Gifts? I could write a book. Christmas at my in-laws used to make me physically ill with the insane buying and giving of cr@p. It doesn't matter to me a bit how much time is put into the shopping and wrapping, or what the item is. When someone (namely my MIL) is purchasing *stuff* because of a date on a calendar and is obsessed with getting the same # of packages for each person, because that's "just what you do for Xmas" I want no part of it. We'd been married only a short time when I told my DH that I was opting out. He was totally on board. It was a sore spot with everyone in his family for many years but we held firm. We just stopped buying. Our kids would get everything they needed and some of what they wanted all through the year at a time when it made sense to get the item, not an enormous pile o' stuff, all on one day, much of it to be returned, exchanged or donated. And that returning/exchanging all fell to me, of course. A few years of that and we started just donating everything, in the boxes, tags still on. Give me a quiet day, with my family cooking together, laughing and going for a long walk...... THAT'S the gift I want.

I gotta tell you, this weekend was hell! We didnt say much to each other. He informed me that he was leaving on Wednesday for Ottawa for the entire week. Im ok with that. I have a very important appointment coming on the 13th of this month.. Ive been waiting 6 months to see this doctor for a serious matter pertaining to my health. Im scared to death to go alone. So me. my "dumb, wacked out self" thought that he would have offered to take me. (what the hell is wrong with me turkeytrott?) I dont believe him silversword!!! I tried to talk to him this weekend with regards to the house. He didnt respond, so I asked "are you going to leave it all up to me?" Yes he said!!! Then he reminded me that "I was the one that wanted this marriage over with" "If only I would stop with my "suspicions"" we would never have a problem! He told me that it had been "years" since hed been unfaithful to me! YEARS!!! (yet I have his phone bill proving that he called several escorts services, I also have him on TAPE calling a hooker to his room, I hear her when she comes in all the "small talk" then the rest of what that bas***d did with her) I was advised by my lawyer not to reveal any of this to him. Even though there is a thing called "no fault" divorce. It could be an ace in the hole sort-to-speak when it comes to explaining that he was playing Russian roulette with my life every time he was intimate with me. I dont know people Ive been crying my freaking eyes out all freaking morning! This is so tough!

Wow I knew I could count on this team :). Thank you all so much for your fantastic suggestions and feedback. I definitely wouldn't ever have thought of the tote/bin for samples or of taking pictures, both of which make so much sense. And that discussion thread on small things is gold! I am very glad that for this renovation I'm retired and living literally downstairs. because I've definitely been disappointed at things not done as I wished when I wasn't there to intervene. When we renovated our master bath in Miami, since the bathroom was tiny I put in a pedestal sink. I was so disappointed to come home one day and see that the plumber had used PVC pipe for the connection instead of chrome. Forever and always it bothered me to see that ugly bit of plumbing visible to me every day and it would have been so easy for him to have used what I preferred. And then with our engineered wood flooring, I came home to see that the installer had laid a piece with a really noticeable dark knot that looked like a flaw right in the middle of the main traffic flow of our living room-quite literally the MOST noticeable spot of the entire house. Again, something which would have taken literally 2 seconds to avoid by simply having him pick another piece for that spot. Thanks again!