Rae Roy

Image by Kati from Pixabay. It's time for the 2024 Wrap-Up post about many of the things I managed to achieve. As I gathered this all together from my weekly blog posts, I began to realize why I was so tired at the end of the year. Overall, I wish I had gotten further on my writing projects, but I found focus and clarity by the end that I hope to carry forward into 2025. Arts & Crafts - Completed a lesbian pride scarf - Completed a fairy garden - Completed a PWHL scarf with the 6 inaugural team colours - Made a knit basket - Sticker bombed my media cabinet's doors - Improved at crochet - Improved my knitting - Crocheted a donut coaster - Knitted a thin scarf/tie for a wedding outfit - I made a new patch for my jacket - I made a holder for my car insurance and ownership documents - I made a lot of progress on Fairy Cross-Stitch - I started a summer quilt - I made progress on my goth quilt - I added a large decal on my car Concerts & Plays - Saw Teagan and Sara live - Saw...

Please congratulate yourself for completing another year. If all you did was survive, that's OK! I was away visiting loved ones for much of the last week of 2024. It was fortunate that I had traveled on Sunday instead of Monday like I had originally planned. A snowstorm began around 10 AM. Outside the windows of my father's house was a near blizzard at times.  I needed to get a few things after I had lunch with friends. Then my afternoon was to be spent watching a movie at my brother's house. The items included some soft food for my canine buddy. I had forgotten his gift in Ottawa. It ended up being OK because he hadn't been eating as well in his old age. He chowed down on the soft food and I was so happy! My brother and I postponed our hang out due to the storm. We were both exhausted after clearing the snow. Instead of a movie, I ended up watching History's Greatest Mysteries: Unlocking the Secrets of Stonehenge. The latest findings indicate that Stonehenge is far...

Arts & Crafts  I really wanted to finish my shelf. On the Wednesday before the holiday I was so tired. I realised I need to make room for the cord channel that supplies my living room lighting and my brain wasn't happy about it. It means measuring and I didn't know where my measuring tape went. I have two and I couldn't find either of them! In the end, I decided I would likely finish it after the holidays. I was too damned tired and needed the break to refill my well. I also had forgotten where my flat head drill bits were. Decluttering & Minimalism  Sometimes a declutter is more of an emotional clearing. Without getting into the deepest details, if you ever want to figure out if someone is an unhealthy presence in your life, just let them know what behaviour you won't accept anymore. In case you are dealing with this, I found this article helpful. It wasn't the first time I tried to talk to this individual about issues over several decades and I was just b...

Arts & Crafts  I continued working on my Fairy Cross-Stitch project this week. It was keeping me sane while I couldn't do much of anything else. Decluttering & Minimalism  My focus this week was on catching up on chores like laundry and dishes. I'm a bit annoyed about getting hit with the flu, but sometimes one just has to accept what's happening. It can be less stressful than trying to push when one is depleted. And it takes energy to fight. No point in wasting it on an immovable force. Sometimes, down the road, the circumstances will change all around and the patience will pay off if one is ready to seize the opportunities available then.  Monday was dishes day. Tuesday was supposed to be folding day, but I had no energy for it after scraping my car off and going to Shopper's Drug Mart. I did some laundry on Friday, but I had to pull someone else's stuff out of a machine because it had been 10-15 minutes and they still hadn't come for it. I find it so ...

Arts & Crafts  Having recovered from the hectic weeks, my goal was to get the shelf done. I completed a first coat on the top on Monday. In the evening, I worked on my Fairy Cross-Stitch project. With a need to get to the opposite end of the city right after work, it was unlikely that I would get any coats done on Tuesday. On Wednesday, over the lunch hour, I did a light sanding as a couple of spots were still rough. After work, I put on another coat of paint. I was fairly sure I just needed one more before I would be able to seal it, so it was possible that I would have the whole thing finished on the weekend and ready to install. I did coat three on Thursday afternoon and I hoped it would be the final coat. Struck with the flu, I didn't get any further work done on the shelf this week. I'm highly annoyed about it. I want to complete it and install it.  I made a lot of progress on Fairy Cross-Stitch due to having to take it easy and pretty much watch TV. Decluttering ...

Arts & Crafts  After the condo inspection was over, my plan was to get the top of the shelf painted over the weekend. I didn't know if I would get anywhere near sealing it, but I thought I could at least get the paint done. I was exhausted from everything, so I decided not to be harsh on myself if I didn't get any coats done. I hadn't been sleeping well in the days leading up to the inspection, so I figured rest might be in order. And that's how things went. Hopefully, next week will be more productive on this project. Decluttering & Minimalism This week's focus was on being ready for the condo inspection. The first thing I did was clean my tub. I was looking forward to pampering myself with a hot bath in epsom salts on the weekend. More likely, this would be early the following week given all my weekend plans. So much cleaning except for the areas displaced by the shelf project. That was mostly my living room. I hoped that wouldn't cause a problem, but ...

Arts & Crafts This week was all about the shelf. I wanted to get my home back. On Monday, I cleaned the sawdust up that was on the board, filled holes, sanded, and filled a bit more. I also fell on my arm and was super pissed off about it. Just bruised, thankfully. Sanding was a p.i.t.a. I hate the filler options that exist in today's world. I think the one I have is polymer instead of something more wood-like. The second sanding, for the patches that had to have a second pass, was completed on Tuesday. I was able to paint the first coat on Wednesday evening. I wasn't sure how many coats would be needed to cover the hole patches: The painting part didn't take long. The cleanup of the paint did and it was messy. It made my sink and cupboard area look like a crime scene. Thankfully it was temporary. But I really want that bath mat someday that reacts with the water and leaves bloody footprints... I got *wonderful* news on Thursday that next Thursday there would be a condo...

Arts & Crafts I painted a heart decoration: On the one hand, it seems silly to bother doing this while my home is a disaster, but now it's not in the way and it's almost done. It just needs to be sealed. My shelf has been sanded. It needs filler in places then light sanding after that. I'm hoping to get all the painting done next week and install it. Decluttering & Minimalism  This week, I realised that the key to everything was a furniture reorganization. My desk was moved to the non-window wall between my bookshelves and my balcony door. My craft table was moved to where my desk used to be. This allowed me to put my DIY display shelf project where it could actually be worked on for sanding, painting, and sealing. The unit with my vinyl has to live temporarily anywhere I can put it. Once my shelf is ready for installation, my vinyl unit will be able to be in the dining room that is really my future reading and piano space. Actually, first I'll fix my bathroom d...

Arts & Crafts I did do a little cross-stiching, but not enough to make a lot of progress. It's been hard to do anything this week. Decluttering & Minimalism I wish I could say I was surprised at the results of the US election. To get through the aftermath, I finally did my bookshelf reorganization. Well, I got through all but the handful of illustrated books I own. I decided I would move them with my drawing and art history books since I don't have room for either on my main bookshelves. My body was tired and couldn't quite get it all done. Gaming & Streaming Saturday's Starfinder  session was a lot of fun. We didn't get a lot done, but it was a good time. We added a 4th player and did maintenance from the previous session. Then we cleared a lady's restaurant basement, disarmed a junk tornado, and killed a ferrous ooze. All in a day's work. The Pathfinder  session went well, but it was a fake boss that we fought. We also had to kill a previous al...

Arts & Crafts My main crafty goal this week was about getting more decals onto my car before the weather was too cold to apply them successfully. I thought about leaving some until spring, but the likelihood that I'd misplace them was high. Besides, they were taking up space in Tiny Condo. I still have two I want to acquire, but they'll have to wait due to budget. In the end, I decided to just do the driver's side as it was a lot more complicated than the smaller ones. This decal has helped me find my car many times already. There are too many black cars in Ottawa. Decluttering & Minimalism  There were no serious goals here this week with everything else I needed to put energy towards like work and getting ready for Can-Con on the weekend. Gaming & Streaming  No specific goals here for this week, though I have lights and a background mostly set up now for eventual crafting streams. Goal Setting & Tracking  Arts & Crafts: Car decals (100%) Decluttering ...

Arts & Crafts  I started a summer quilt. I got the fabric a long time ago and it was a straightforward quilt as I just had to join the 20 fat quarters together. I'll need a backing fabric and a border to complete it, but I figured it's worth doing while the weather continues to be summery. I'm thinking a white backing and pink for the border. I've made progress on my Fairy Cross-Stitch, but there is a lot to go yet.  Decluttering & Minimalism I started the week by working on the space to sand my shelf. I didn't get through it all on Monday with work and everything else that day, but it was closer than it was before. Tuesday was curling, so I couldn't the shelf done then. I was really tired on Wednesday because I'm not used to curling being so late yet. Thursday was the last day of softball. It was Friday before I could really work on the shelf, though I kept working on the workspace. The packed weekend left me no time to do this, but I realistically ...

Arts & Crafts I made a lot of progress on Fairy Cross-Stitch this week. Someday, I'll finish it and start the next one. I also did some more cutting and planning for my goth quilt. I need some more solids to go with it. I may need more patterns. I don't know. Planning a quilt is hard. I have some pastel goth parts and I'm thinking of various ways. It could be random, but it could also be a gradient. I like that idea, but that's impossible to plan without having all the squares ready.  Decluttering & Minimalism I began clearing space to be able to work on the big shelf I will be installing to connect my two narrow bookcases together. This will give me a display space above them for all the fairy related things I want to make. It's 96 inches long, so it's a bit difficult to work on in Tiny Condo, but I'll make it happen. I'll be painting it red after it has been sanded. Gaming & Streaming We made it to the Kobold king, but he ran before we coul...

Arts & Crafts I made a little holder for my insurance documents out of scrap denim. The plastic one I had was ripped and I was ready for something more environmentally friendly. It's not my best work, but I think it'll do the trick over plastic junk. I did some work on the table runner. I took a few rows back because I made a mistake that was causing major tension issues. Later, there was still a mistake, but there's supposed to be a flaw somewhere in every fibre craft project, so I'm not worrying about it. Car stuff made it impossible to focus on the Fairy Cross-Stitch this week. Decluttering & Minimalism  Instead of house decluttering, I had to completely empty my car. It has reached the end of its life with me. On the weekend, I went through everything I took out of it, and decided what will go into the new car.  Gaming & Streaming  On Saturday, I playtested the 2nd edition of Starfinder for a friend's birthday. This is a space-themed tabletop RPG tha...