December 30, 2018 – The end of the year wrap up.

         First, I want to say thank you to all my blog followers.  You’ve been so kind to keep returning to “slim pick in’s” when it comes to new blogs these last six months.  But, if you are new to my blog site, you’ve 462 blogs to wade through and some of that wading is a bit of fun.  I love comments . . .

         Well, I’ve done it again – I bashed my two small toes on my right foot dodging the cat running between my feet as I am carrying bed sheets to the laundry room.  I wrung it good on the leg of a chair.  Of course I am bare foot! Have I moved the chair?  Not exactly – but I have pushed it in further.  What will I do differently?  I am not certain – probably just stomp on the cat instead of busting up my toes.  I limped yesterday and today it is the ghastly shade of blue and green.  I can at least walk on it today. It has slowed me down a bit – but not stopped me like that hamstring pull did.

         I have already started some of my New Year’s resolutions in the last few days.

         Drum roll please . . . .

               I plan to finish all the craft projects I have half started and tucked here and there.  Once I get those complete – it will empty up storage space so that I can “breath” when I am putting things away.

               Less is more is my new mantra – and that is not in the diet or dress size quarter.  It is in the house – less plastic containers for leftovers.  I shall cook drastically less so that I don’t make left overs.  I am sick of eating leftovers and my husband turns his nose up at them.  My dress size does not require me to be a member of the “clean plate club”. So, I am done with leftovers for several reasons.  They clutter up the refrigerator and they clutter up the cabinets with those plastic containers. I tossed out all the plastic containers except for a few I have that are ½ cup size – which I find are the only ones I really use.

         And, the “green earth people” will hate me, but if I must save something for the next meal I need to just slip it into a plastic bag and “toss the dirty bag” the next day. Simple, efficient – done.

               As I go about my daily living . . . . toss out what I haven’t worn or used. Examples just today:  I have a pair of boots that I could save and use in the garden for about 1 day – but I wouldn’t be caught dead in public – and that includes wearing them to the trash dump.  I tossed them.  I felt liberated.  I bought a pair of pajama bottoms last fall – the new fabric, that soft knitted stuff.  They are so hot I can’t stand them. I can wear them about ½ hour and I then have to peel out of them.  I almost think I am allergic to the fabric.  I was putting clothes away and there that miserable pair of PJ bottoms was cluttering up my drawer. Out I tossed them and I was thrilled to the core.

               I have a bad habit of storing things in empty suitcases.  Whenever I need a suitcase for travel, I have to empty a suitcase in order to get out of town.  This morning I emptied one that held my dress making ham among other items.  Now, I am not tossing the ham . . . but the rest of the stuff – a ½ yard of this, a scrap of that, a bit of this, mostly useless stuff.  Out it went.  Suitcase is now flat and put up.  I will tackle one suitcase a day until I can nest all my empty suitcases inside each other.

               Old Christmas ornaments that have no sentimental value.  I had a collection of ornaments – nice ones – that I used on my office Christmas tree when I was out at the big title office.  Clients would drop in and I needed to “deck the halls”. I no longer have that office so I don’t need them anymore.  I have only been shuffling them around from closet to closet for the last decade.  I will box them up and donate them to next Church rummage sale. 

               As I come to a cluttered cabinet or closet – I will take the time to fix it then and there – being retired I’ve no pressing appointments. Yesterday I cleaned out and alphabetized the spice cabinet.  That felt nice.  Later in the afternoon, I was putting away a cookie sheet and I noticed that the darling husband had jammed my jellyroll pan in sideways.  I emptied the cabinet, wiped it out and jettisoned a few rarely used items.  I’m already on my second box for the church rummage and it is only day two.

               This year I will take more time to read down my library of books and then donate them to a resale bookstore.

               And the biggest New Year’s Resolution is that I am sick of not finding anything to wear in the stores. It no longer matters whether I am thin or fat – there is simply nothing I want to buy out there.  I don’t like skinny ankle pants – it makes my fat butt look the size of an armored truck.

         I hate the colors. I don’t like the clinging fabric.  You can have all this “stretch that you want” but having to constantly pull up your pants because the pants stretch too much is irritating. I hate the unflattering neck lines. I find everything is the wrong color or wrong cut or wrong type fabric – forget finding anything that fits.  The prices are ridiculous.

         But – you already see TV commercials for customized shirts for men and now customized t-shirts for men.  So, it is not just me that can’t find anything that fits – it is a universal problem and I know how to solve it.

         I have gone back to sewing clothes – haute courtier sewing.  I have already purchased the McCall’s M7279 Fitted Sheath Dress pattern.  I’ve marked every single line on white muslin and I have cut it out and hand sewed the bodice and skirt.  A friend fitted it for me and now I need to adjust the pattern in one or two places.  Now adjusted, I will create my base pattern template and then I will start to custom sew my own clothes to my sleeve length, to my hem length, to my color and, to my fabric selection.  Then, I can create an entire new wardrobe for myself as I use up the fabric I have in my fabric trunk - my colors, my styles, my necklines.

         I’ve already made a charcoal grey soft knit dolman sleeve top with front bodice top-stitching, three quarter sleeves and it skims my body right where it should and it is “oh-so-perfect” showing off my nice square shoulders.  And, the neckline – right where I want it - up around my neck so that my necklaces look right. It feels perfect on – I don’t have to tug at it or adjust it in any way when I am wearing it.  Trust me, nothing feels better than “custom fitted” clothes.

         The plan for 2019  is to make ten custom outfits that are perfect and then I might toss out everything in my closets – we shall see.  That is a real New Year’s resolution goal!