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It seems like lots has been going on around here.

I still have a quilt waiting to be done. The recipient is in college now, so maybe by the next birthday it'll be done?  Or maybe by the time he has his own grandkids?  Somewhere between now and then I'll finish that quilt.

I've been preparing a whole boat load of stuff for consignment. I made a questionable choice a while back to purchase a large lot of clothes (which were in the size range of my two girls) with the intent to resell that which we don't need. I've been doing pretty well on it so far, but I have a BUNCH of clothes that I need to sell off to make sure that I didn't blow way too much money on kids clothes. So, I stain-treat, I wash, I consign. Note to self: Don't do this again (once I get through all the stuff I have). Even if I recover all the money I spent (making the clothes I kept free!) it's more work than probably worth. Although I did score a bunch of cute clothes at a great price....

I've been "preparing" for our homeschool year. Yesterday was our first "official" day of kindergarten for E, and preschool for N. Since my soon-to-be homeschool classroom/studio is not yet prepared, it felt mostly like a normal day.  We spent maybe an hour reading, playing some math games, working on fine motor skills, and other stuff that sounds "educational." Most of it is stuff we do anyway, just with a little more purpose now. As the year progresses, we will be adding in a few things to round out the day and week. By "preparing" I also mean that in spite of my best intents, I have yet to plan out what I'm doing any day this week, beyond homeschool group activities.  So, week one, we're just easing in to a routine.

That homeschool room/studio I referred to... Our front room will no longer be the catch-all of kids toys and unpacked boxes. We've decided it would be better to keep our school materials there, organized, rather than spread through the dining room, living room and the upstairs office and guestroom. I'm on a quest to find whatever it is I have in my minds eye, and I'm not really seeing it for the price I'm willing to pay. The search continues.

This is the space I have to work with (The orange room. Red room is full of dining table, a large painting and shelves).  This is also the view upon stepping through the front door (and looking to the left). The wall is about 18 feet long. We're imagining a wall full of shelves about 30 - 48 inches tall - the right height for kids to access pretty much everything, plus one tall unit on the end for things that aren't for kid access. I'm also imagining a reading nook on the left end of the shelves. We have a 5x7 map rug that would go on the left. I have a coffee table that makes a good kids' table for now, plus another low table.

I'm looking forward to developing this into a well-arranged space!