Tired but a little more organized

I have (finally) gone through all of the Christmas storage containers and there is a large box of items on their way to Goodwill tomorrow. It was the perfect time to sort through these items. I figured if I didn't display them for our first Christmas in this house, they were not the highest priority in my selections (which meant at least some of them were ready to find a new home).

I found about half of what I put in the Goodwill box were from my snowman collection. I have collected for so many years that I have a wonderful selection to choose from. So many were from half-price (and less) after-Christmas sales, yard sales, and especially...gifts from those I love. The items leaving my collection will find good homes with other people. That's another reason I wanted to weed them out now, they will go on the shelves at Goodwill in time for people who need inexpensive Christmas decorations to purchase them this year.

My husband is taking advantage of my "getting all organized" mood. He has asked me to go through my craft and sewing shelves, too. Fortunately, I went through everything soon after moving in here so that won't be too difficult. I brought some of those boxes inside this evening. My son is friends with a homeschool family that enjoys getting any and all my craft and paper supply "cast offs". I am putting together a sack of items to give them the next time he goes to their house. Although they have sons in college, they also have younger children who appreciate such items.

I wanted to get some baking and candy making done today. However, past experience has told me it is not (I repeat...not) a good idea for me to do anything until I finish a project such as this. Otherwise, I'm too tired to complete the project so the family is tripping over everything for one or more days...sigh...unfortunate but the truth.

I did do one Christmas "craft" today! Well, I started it yesterday and finished today. Each year for quite awhile now, I slice two or three oranges and dry them in the oven on a cookie sheet (oven set to "warm"). I use them in many different ways. One year I hung some of them by pretty ribbons so the sun came through them on the window. I have also hung them by ribbons on a tree (along with apple slices, dipped in lemon juice and then dried). I always put some of them on one of my favorite centerpieces (purchased many years ago and made new each year with freshly dried oranges, sometimes dried apples, and tiny pine cones throughout the artificial evergreens). This year I had a few left that I tucked into some inexpensive Christmas scented potpourri I had found in my storage containers.

So now I am exhausted but happy. I'll finish sorting through the craft and sewing supply shelves tomorrow. Right now, I'm off to brew a pot of tea for my husband and me (my son is teaching a fencing class) before moving a cat and taking over the living room sofa...tea and book in hand...not at the same time. :)