freckles & ash

So, remember this post? Yeah, when I said I should take on Maggie's challenge and do three things on my life list in a month? Here's an update:

No. 67: Make a Camilla Engman crochet character. This is the first item that I thought of when I decided to take on the challenge. I mean really, how hard could crochet be? Turns out, pretty hard. Especially when the book doesn't really give you great directions on the project you are attempting. Don't get me wrong, Stitch & Bitch Crochet gives good directions for general crochet instructions. However, this pattern required you to do a spiral stitch, and to do the stitches in an atypical way. So, I tried to persevere. I attempted to start maybe 8 or 9 times. I could do the first three chain stitches. I could combine them to start the circle, but from there everything fell apart. And it just got increasingly frustrating. So I think I was a bit ambitious to think I could figure it out on my own, and that maybe a trip to a stitch and bitch night my be in order.

No. 79: Refinish a Piece of Furniture. I have a pair of midcentury teak chairs that I picked up at a flea market a few years ago. And Margot was a puppy at the time, so she proceeded to treat them as a bit of a chew toy. They weren't in fantastic condition to start with, but they definitely need some attention now. So the plan is to strip them down, stain them dark, and add some new upholstery to the cushions. The trouble is, March isn't a great time to decide on a project like this. I can't exactly sit on the balcony sanding these things off in early spring. The weather is just too inconsistent. And this is a multi-day project, which I am notoriously bad at getting done in a reasonable timeframe.

Am I making excuses? All to say that I didn't do anything on my life list this past month, and essentially failed miserably at the challenge.

However, I have been preoccupied. With another life list item really. No. 44: Buy my own house and then spend time making it into exactly what we want. We have been checking the MLS and driving by potential properties all month. We haven't consulted the bank about preauthorization, or a realtor about getting out current condo into saleable shape. But we keep having mini love affairs with properties from afar. So hopefully that item will be getting underway shortly. Fingers crossed.