0 comment Sunday, May 18, 2014 | admin
My mission today, in addition to dealing with the clutter problem, was to give various rooms a reworking in a bid to rescale everything according to current disability needs.
I now rarely use what was the soaping room unless I'm sewing; it's too cold up there. Originally I was using it as my office/typing/art space but I found I was putting off doing both because the room was wrong; the desk height uncomfortable and the chair killed me. Hence I was staying downstairs on my daybed most the time.
Now right next to the daybed is my ex's custom made desk - his family bought it for him I believe when he was ten, and it was entirely crafted and constructed by hand; it's also heavy as hell and there's no way we could have managed to get it upstairs. It's a very beautiful thing and I really haven't been able to do it justice, of late it's just been collecting dust, herbs, and stuff I wanted to keep out of sprog's reach as well as being a place to put paperwork to promptly forget about. I have been doing a steady clearout of the shelves, nooks, crannies and drawers (all my silversmithing stuff I still had in there has gone to a friend) and it's now a more useful storage space; the upper drawer has my mending and knitting things, the lower drawer all the artwork and techy bits and pieces I don't want sprog to get into. I also managed to move most of my techy office stuff downstairs. I'm now able to get off the daybed, use my beloved ergonomic keyboard and spare my rather abused wrists (I've worn the paint off the keys with years of home typing but I know where the letters are) and I can also have a convenient nearby place to collapse when I need a break from sitting. At the moment (you can see it on the floor in the picture) there's a pillow which helps give me lumbar and tailbone support, and the box for my art supplies and portable easel is in the box beneath the workspace. I'm happy with the setup so far and it gets me out of bed, which is nice! The only thing I could do with is a fire in the hearth and I'd be sorted!
I did a reworking of the craft room as well; whilst I'm going to spend some time sorting out the old boxes, ancient printer, and soap supplies (I am not going to get completely rid of everything, I actually do make soap for myself and friends as needed), it's now a sewing room and is therefore a lot less cluttered in there, which is a good thing! The printer needs disposing off, and all of my canvasses are up there as it's easier to store them in a room I can keep kits and child out of, but it will suit for purpose when I need to do more extensive sewing than the mending downstairs.
Sprog's room also got a bit of an update: he now has my old sewing table (I'm using my old desk for that which is bigger) and my old chair, and this will become his homework/painting/etc station. His new computer is there now - looking quite small! - and a mouse is coming for the system, then a desk lamp as he'll probably need it. He can paint on it too if he likes (the desk, hopefully - and on PAPER on the desk, not the computer....yes, if you had a child with autism, you'd understand these distinctions have to be made!), and I've considered allowing him to have the extremely old CD/tape player I have downstairs here to put on his shelf - rather than go out and buy a new one, and I don't use it. If he breaks it, no harm done, it's old in any event.
The computer itself isn't very sophisticated - it has no CD/ROM drive so if he wants to watch movies or anything of the sort, it needs downloading on a small card or a USB stick, and this needs to be inserted into the machine. However, the screen is so tiny I can't imagine why you'd want to squint at it for that long. Mostly it's there as his own very controlled introduction to the internet and to having his own computer - as well as the responsibility this entails. For the time being, controlled use is the name of the game; establishing a routine for it to be used for homework and when he's earned it, for reward and playing his favourite online games. However, knowing that the internet isn't a very safe place, I am entrusting ex to put in a considerable amount of failsafes on the thing. Actually, he's going to have to set the whole system up as it's using the extra-geeky Ubuntu and I simply cannot get my head round any of it. But we'll figure out how to work this into his routine and yet not be utterly reliant on it if we can help it.
So now, armed with a giant cup of hibiscus and ginger root tea, I'm sitting here typing this and realising that, whilst I've just been incredibly productive, I'm also feeling exhausted and I want to get some writing done! However, the daybed is now all of two steps away, so I'll be able to fall into it for 20 minutes before I start my writing session. Just enough time for the co-proximol to kick in!
In the interim I managed to bin a few things, but it just seemed to unearth more stuff I wasn't sure what to do with. A cardboard box full of packing peanuts and bubblewrap seemed a good candidate for the bin, but then I realised I'm supposed to be moving soon, so it's in a corner and somewhat annoyingly in the way. Unearthing the Xmess supplies made me realise they were actually buried under several styrofoam boxes and plastic bags - I'll fill the bin with those alone, so I tried to break the styrofoam up, but easier said that done. Heigh ho; still needs doing, the Xmess tree is under there, and then I'll have to get rid of the spiders which are probably living comfortably in there before I bring it inside.
Hoovering also proved a problem as it seems my trusty old thing which I've had for longer than sprog has been alive is now finally giving up. I've been giving it wee repairs here at home, here and there, for a while now, but I think it's limping its final lap. It will do for a little while but I'm surfing about for a replacement - if I can wait till January, huzzah, but the amount of stuff on the floor which the poor thing leaves behind makes the house look dingier than it is.
In any event, working away. My manuscript is in its final stages and then, believe it or not, I will be putting it away to "forget and ferment"; I work on something else, as well as do a painting or two, then I'll eventually come back to it for some edits. I have quite a few friends with Kindles at the moment who are clamouring for me to put my stuff online, so I'll be working toward that end after Xmess, when all those happy folks upwrap their new tech and start looking for books to download. I may as well get that crowd before the novelty wears off.
And so, to work!
I now rarely use what was the soaping room unless I'm sewing; it's too cold up there. Originally I was using it as my office/typing/art space but I found I was putting off doing both because the room was wrong; the desk height uncomfortable and the chair killed me. Hence I was staying downstairs on my daybed most the time.
Now right next to the daybed is my ex's custom made desk - his family bought it for him I believe when he was ten, and it was entirely crafted and constructed by hand; it's also heavy as hell and there's no way we could have managed to get it upstairs. It's a very beautiful thing and I really haven't been able to do it justice, of late it's just been collecting dust, herbs, and stuff I wanted to keep out of sprog's reach as well as being a place to put paperwork to promptly forget about. I have been doing a steady clearout of the shelves, nooks, crannies and drawers (all my silversmithing stuff I still had in there has gone to a friend) and it's now a more useful storage space; the upper drawer has my mending and knitting things, the lower drawer all the artwork and techy bits and pieces I don't want sprog to get into. I also managed to move most of my techy office stuff downstairs. I'm now able to get off the daybed, use my beloved ergonomic keyboard and spare my rather abused wrists (I've worn the paint off the keys with years of home typing but I know where the letters are) and I can also have a convenient nearby place to collapse when I need a break from sitting. At the moment (you can see it on the floor in the picture) there's a pillow which helps give me lumbar and tailbone support, and the box for my art supplies and portable easel is in the box beneath the workspace. I'm happy with the setup so far and it gets me out of bed, which is nice! The only thing I could do with is a fire in the hearth and I'd be sorted!
I did a reworking of the craft room as well; whilst I'm going to spend some time sorting out the old boxes, ancient printer, and soap supplies (I am not going to get completely rid of everything, I actually do make soap for myself and friends as needed), it's now a sewing room and is therefore a lot less cluttered in there, which is a good thing! The printer needs disposing off, and all of my canvasses are up there as it's easier to store them in a room I can keep kits and child out of, but it will suit for purpose when I need to do more extensive sewing than the mending downstairs.
Sprog's room also got a bit of an update: he now has my old sewing table (I'm using my old desk for that which is bigger) and my old chair, and this will become his homework/painting/etc station. His new computer is there now - looking quite small! - and a mouse is coming for the system, then a desk lamp as he'll probably need it. He can paint on it too if he likes (the desk, hopefully - and on PAPER on the desk, not the computer....yes, if you had a child with autism, you'd understand these distinctions have to be made!), and I've considered allowing him to have the extremely old CD/tape player I have downstairs here to put on his shelf - rather than go out and buy a new one, and I don't use it. If he breaks it, no harm done, it's old in any event.
The computer itself isn't very sophisticated - it has no CD/ROM drive so if he wants to watch movies or anything of the sort, it needs downloading on a small card or a USB stick, and this needs to be inserted into the machine. However, the screen is so tiny I can't imagine why you'd want to squint at it for that long. Mostly it's there as his own very controlled introduction to the internet and to having his own computer - as well as the responsibility this entails. For the time being, controlled use is the name of the game; establishing a routine for it to be used for homework and when he's earned it, for reward and playing his favourite online games. However, knowing that the internet isn't a very safe place, I am entrusting ex to put in a considerable amount of failsafes on the thing. Actually, he's going to have to set the whole system up as it's using the extra-geeky Ubuntu and I simply cannot get my head round any of it. But we'll figure out how to work this into his routine and yet not be utterly reliant on it if we can help it.
So now, armed with a giant cup of hibiscus and ginger root tea, I'm sitting here typing this and realising that, whilst I've just been incredibly productive, I'm also feeling exhausted and I want to get some writing done! However, the daybed is now all of two steps away, so I'll be able to fall into it for 20 minutes before I start my writing session. Just enough time for the co-proximol to kick in!
In the interim I managed to bin a few things, but it just seemed to unearth more stuff I wasn't sure what to do with. A cardboard box full of packing peanuts and bubblewrap seemed a good candidate for the bin, but then I realised I'm supposed to be moving soon, so it's in a corner and somewhat annoyingly in the way. Unearthing the Xmess supplies made me realise they were actually buried under several styrofoam boxes and plastic bags - I'll fill the bin with those alone, so I tried to break the styrofoam up, but easier said that done. Heigh ho; still needs doing, the Xmess tree is under there, and then I'll have to get rid of the spiders which are probably living comfortably in there before I bring it inside.
Hoovering also proved a problem as it seems my trusty old thing which I've had for longer than sprog has been alive is now finally giving up. I've been giving it wee repairs here at home, here and there, for a while now, but I think it's limping its final lap. It will do for a little while but I'm surfing about for a replacement - if I can wait till January, huzzah, but the amount of stuff on the floor which the poor thing leaves behind makes the house look dingier than it is.
In any event, working away. My manuscript is in its final stages and then, believe it or not, I will be putting it away to "forget and ferment"; I work on something else, as well as do a painting or two, then I'll eventually come back to it for some edits. I have quite a few friends with Kindles at the moment who are clamouring for me to put my stuff online, so I'll be working toward that end after Xmess, when all those happy folks upwrap their new tech and start looking for books to download. I may as well get that crowd before the novelty wears off.
And so, to work!