Progress and errands

 De-cluttering progress: 

 

Saturday morning, I hauled all the long-sleeved shirts out of the closet and sorted through them.  Ended up with a stack of 40 to donate.  Then I felt energetic, so I hauled the short-sleeved shirts out too.  They ended up getting sorted into groups - music, geek, library, travel, and other.  Didn't find much to donate yet, but I will be able to cull the herd easier.  Duplicate library shirts will be the first to go. And I have more Firefly-theme shirts than I realize, so I can get rid of the ones I don't like as much - aka, the heather-gray ones that have pilled, because Woot's shirts are usually 100% cotton EXCEPT for the heathered colors.  Sigh. 

 And today, I left the house early enough to take 3 boxes of donations, including 10 of those shirts, to The Wardrobe - who has quirky donation hours.  Then I went to the hardware store for paint, and Great Clips for a haircut - where I realized the $10 coupon wasn't in my purse anymore.  Argh!!  And then to HyVee for grenadine and ginger ale, since the Offspring says Shirley Temples are good.  While I was there, I walked past the pharmacy and realized, I needed to get my flu & Covid shots.  They didn't need an appointment, so I filled out the form, waited 5 minutes, and got poked in each arm by a pharmacist who's very quick with the vaccines.  

 

Crafting progress

 I worked an hour or two on the Fleurs project.  My French knots are a work in progress, and I've decided to backstitch everything that's supposed to be stem stitch.  Also, the how-to instructions for backstitch work great on long distances, but for short bits of stitching, it's harder to do, so I'm probably doing my own version of the backstitch.  But hey, it's not going to be judged. 

 

 

Crafting attempt

 I bought this kit at Goodwill last month.  Only $3, which is a big discount from the new price (for a change - this Goodwill tends to price optimistically).  

 

I'm going to do it in purple floss, since I'm doing it for someone who absolutely loves purple.  It only uses three stitches, I think - backstitch, stem, and satin.   Well, and French knots too.  I haven't embroidered in decades, so we'll see how it goes.  

September First Reads

This month: 

 

1. Trust No One (suspense)
2. Death by Misadventure (historical fiction)
3. watch Her Run (thriller)
4. The Daughters of Rosebud (family drama)
5. Always be My Pumpkin (seasonal romance)
6. The Ferry Man's Daughter (mystery)
7. Book Club Confidential (book club fiction)
8. Thurkey's Fall Fumble (kid's book)

I went with Death by Misadventure, although Book Club Confidential looks vaguely interesting.  

August First Reads

 Leaving it til the last minute this month.  

1.  The Black Orchid (suspense)
2. Philippa Flynn's Year of Panic and Piracy (book club fiction also romance)
3. Dreams of Earth and Sky (historical fiction)
4. In the Killer's Sight (suspense)
5. The Last Harbinger (historical fantasy)
6. The Summer Between Us (romance)
7. I've Got a new Complaint (memoir/humor)
8. The Getaway (mystery)

Ended up with I've Got a New Complaint.  

 

July First Reads

 This month: 

1. John Grebble is Gone (thriller - bonus short read)
2. How to Ruin a Wedding (rom com)
3. No Light but the Stars (hist fict)
4. Ransom (legal thriller)
5. When She Was Ours (book club fiction (really, what is this category)
6. Oxford Detective Society (cosy fiction - their spelling)
7. Fields of Asphodel (hist fantasy)
8.  Dead Girls Tell No Tales (psych thriller)
9. A Heartbeat at my Feet (women's fiction - how is this different from book club fiction?)
10. Where Her SEcrets Lie (thriller) 

Cutting out all the thrillers is easy.  None of the rest have been ordered by the library yet, so I can't cut them down that way.  Picked Fields of Asphodel, but might recommend Oxford Detective Society and How to Ruin a Wedding to the library. 

 

 

A Vinted update

 Well, Vinted is going pretty well.  Made $47 in June, and about that in July.  I've been selling mostly clothes, but one Nintendo 3DS game and a Kpop album (which I underpriced), and a pair of figurines.  Unlisted a few things that hadn't sold in 6 weeks, and need to round up more stuff to list.  And have a dedicated spot for the listed stuff, so I don't have to go hunting for it.