Tackle It Tuesday

Today's tackle is a little different. It is really a list of little things that need to get done. I think this is my 26th Tackle It Tuesday....once you get that far into it, there is not much left to tackle...at least not the manageable jobs. I still have the basement, which is a couple of months of Tackle It Tuesdays, and I could work on painting...I really dislike painting. This week, I had a few things that were not big deals, but they were things that I needed to "tackle". Of course I got Kyle back down stairs and my sewing room back in order. Look at the cute sign he made me. It was a thank you for the "Motel" stay. He is such a good kid! He loves gorillas and thinks everyone else must too.

He was very formal in using my whole name and not Mom, or Bren. This tells me it was important to him. It is on my desk!

I also put my own book basket together. I am reading through the Messie Manual again and I got out my favorite John Maxwell book. Add that to my Bible and Come Away My Beloved devotional and I am set. I am afraid I have made it appear that I am a wonderful housekeeper. I have had lots of comments and e-mails saying as much. Sweet Hubby giggles at this. Believe me when I tell you, it does not come naturally. I just really LOVE the feel of an orderly home and the effect it has on my kids is priceless, therefore it is worth the effort. I am not a perfectionist, but I think lots of quilters are. You would think being a perfectionist would mean a clean and orderly home. In rare cases that is true, however, in most cases, a perfectionist has a very untidy, borderline, dirty home. Why? Because they feel they can not do it to meet their perceived level of perfection, so they do not bother...they move on to something else more manageable, like a quilt, or a knitted shawl, or a scrap booking page...something they feel in control of. (don't get offended if you are a "messie"...I am naturally one too.) I am grateful I am not a perfectionist or I would not even begin to tackle my daily chore list. Most days it does not get completed...a goal set and missed is better than no goal at all...and a perfectionist would see that as a huge failure and not even try. If you are a perfectionist with a messy house and think you just can not do it, you should read the Messie Manual by Sandra Felton. In fact, I am one post away from my 200th post. Come back tomorrow and see what I have to celebrate!

Zach decided he wants to learn all the Presidents. George Washington is his favorite. I will try and work that in. He loves to learn. Miss Charlotte is feeling something. I need to have some alone time with her today. She is bothered by something and is needing to control her environment...meaning my environment. We will do something mother/daughter today.

I want to applique the final piece on this orphan block and mark it. It just needs a circle in the middle to finish the Wagon Wheel. This block was used in the Underground Railroad quilt, but later represented the wagon trains that moved west to California. It will make a nice little wallhanging or table topper.

A trip to the grocery store, clean linens put on the beds, and a relaxing afternoon stitching on a tea towel and basting the 4 Seasons Swap piece and Wagon Wheel, and my day is complete. American Idol starts tonight and my friend comes every Tuesday for dinner and the show.

I will leave you with a quote from John C. Maxwell's book "Success, One Day At A Time"

"The highest reward for your work is not what you get for it, but what you become by it."

---John C. Maxwell