getting the hang of empty nesting

My younger daughter just got married, my older one is off to Orcas Island to live and I am here in this big house with just my husband and my cats.  So far I've kept the boogiebear away by taking on getting things done on the house.

I hired a yard guy to come in and beat the ivy and blackberry bushes along the back fence into submission.  That area is all cleaned up and nicely barked now.  There are big trees over there, so the grass is spotty at best for lack of sun, so this is a better solution I think.  He also cut back a laurel that was completely out of control.  He planted some arbor vitai to create a visual screen between our neighbor's house and ours.  Further along the fence line, I'm thinking about planting some tall grasses - maybe pampas grass.  In a way, I'd like to plant bamboo all along the fence.  But I know that bamboo can bring it's own headaches and I don't want to have to try to keep up with them.

So the upstairs rooms are all done now.  The staircase has been painted except for the trim.  The downstairs bath and hallway are done.  So what is left?  The kitchen, two downstairs bedrooms, the living room and all the trim.  I haven't decided on what I want to do in the kitchen.  It is currently red, but I want a change.

I've also started working on about a million six inch quilt blocks made from my scraps.  Eventually they will become a bedquilt.  It will have to be functional because it won't be a piece of art, that's for sure.

I've also been making an effort toward getting rid of things I don't want or need.  I've gone through my closet and my fabric stash.  I moved a book shelf next to my bed and got rid of some books I don't want to have.  I even got my husband to follow suit with his clothes closet.  I have an entire file cabinet to go through, which has lots of photographs in it and God only knows what else.  My goal is to get rid of the file cabinet.

It doesn't help that we have five guitars (only one is mine), a bass, a dulcimer (mine), a banjo and a violin.  Perhaps we can get to the point where all of his instruments will live in his studio - there's a novel idea.  I will happily take care of my own two instruments.  There is also an electric keyboard to deal with (I almost forgot that one).  I know Jim well enough to realize that we will not be shedding any of the instruments, and that's okay.  I just don't see the necessity for all of them to be living in my bedroom.