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Between Projects

Jun 1st 2010Claudia Dain
Claudia DainClaudia Dain & My Life As A Plebe

I’m between projects, those things that are at the top of the priority list every day for as long as it takes until the project is finished. I’ve had two projects that have been gobbling up all my brain cells, all my time, all my physical energy. One was writing a book. The other was putting in two full bathrooms, from scratch, Big D and I doing all the work ourselves.

The book is finished. The bathrooms are finished–as of four days ago. To say I have nothing but time on my hands is an understatement.

What have I done with this between project time? I’ve scrubbed out the refrigerator and freezer, throwing out old food and reorganizing the shelves. I always clean the fridge between books. How many times do I look into the fridge every day? About fifty, at a guess. That’s a lot of minutes of ick assaulting my eyes during the course of a book. Lost in the wilderness of a book, I’ll avert my eyes and mumble, “I’ll clean it when I finish.” It’s what I look forward to doing when the book is finally off my back and out of my brain.

Yes, I actually look forward to cleaning out the fridge. That’s how taxing writing a book is; it makes scrubbing the inside of a refrigerator look good. Not that I’m complaining, because writing a book is easy peasy compared to building a bathroom.

Besides cleaning out the fridge, I’ve mailed graduation cards, paid the bills (oops), put the houseplants out for the summer, cleaned off the kitchen island (AKA the dumping ground of the universe). You know, necessary stuff, those lesser jobs that must be done, but which I ignore in the midst of the big project. Big D always works on the car as his downtime small job. There’s just always something to be done on the car. According to him, anyway. Does the oil really need to be changed that often?

What little jobs do you look forward to doing when the big job is finished?

46 Comments »

46 Responses to “Between Projects”

  1. B on 01 Jun 2010 at 6:05 am #

    No jobs for me, big or little. I just want school to be over. But, you, know what?? These last few weeks, something that had never happened before happened: I wanted to *gasp* CLEAN my room. Just because. Now it’s so messy and I’m going crazy! And we have a maid.

    Like I said, I just want school to be over. And I have no problem with doing absolutely nothing all day! :)

  2. KellyProellocks on 01 Jun 2010 at 6:19 am #

    Well I am looking forward to getting my exams done so then I can sleep, read and work on the quilts and draw up plans for another two. Heck I might even get excited and dust … well … Maybe not that even though I probably should. With the first quilt that I am working on I am just waiting on the material to arrive so then I can put the border on and draw up the vines that I want to put on it and stem stitch away. It should be really peaceful. Even with the kittens running around. :)

  3. Pesky on 01 Jun 2010 at 6:22 am #

    I tend to clean my desk when the big project is done. Clean the desk. File the pertinent information away. Shelve the reference books. Then I’m ready for the next job.

  4. LoriHandeland on 01 Jun 2010 at 6:26 am #

    I have a very long list of things I have to get done when I finish a book, which is right now. It’s sad. I don’t exactly look forward to them, but they must be done.

    Getting things fixed and looked at always tops the list. Our Internet needs to be upgraded-SLOW. One of our DVD players is acting funky–GEEK SQUAD.

    Must clean the garage as I’m having 75 people here for a graduation party.

    I could go on, but I need to get out to the garage. :/

  5. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 7:49 am #

    B, I think you’re entering into the stage of adult life where cleaning something up feels good to you.

    Sorry!

    :)

  6. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 7:50 am #

    Kelly, planning a quilt must take enormous amounts of brain cells! Do you do quilts often? I’ve always been crazy for quilts.

  7. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 7:51 am #

    Pesky, I do the same thing. Clear the deck (or desk) before starting a new desk-related project. I need everything to be clean and in order to begin, like a mind wipe. ;)

  8. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 7:52 am #

    Oooh, Lori, you are so good. You are so brave. You’re going into the place where the monster lives in our house…the garage. The filthy, scary garage. Good luck!

  9. SheridanLA on 01 Jun 2010 at 8:09 am #

    I did some of my “in between” things yesterday over the weekend. I am not quite done, but enjoying it… the main one was cleaning off the patio and replanting a few things. Now, my little patio is ready for keeping cool at night when my apartment turns into a solar oven… there are even some twinkle lights.

    I think the little job that is most common is filing. I have receipts and things that pile up and then I will spend a bit of time and get it all filed away. Would it be easier to do it as I go along? Absolutely… but that is just not how I roll.

    Have fun with the quilt, Kelly.. I used to quilt a lot, but that seems to have been put on the back burner the last few years for my other hobbies. :)

  10. Lisa H on 01 Jun 2010 at 8:17 am #

    Claudia, Congrats on finishing the book! Just another I can’t wait to read!

    My favorite jobs are cleaning out my closet and my dresser drawers. Not only do I enjoy throwing out the old, it gives me a reason to shop, so I may replentish what I have discarded! ;)

    I also enjoy cleaning the living room. Since it is not overly cluttered, I get instant gratification from dusting, vacuuming and windexing the windows. In about 10 min. I can usually have it looking nice.

  11. Sabrina Jeffries on 01 Jun 2010 at 8:38 am #

    My end of project projects are usually things that involve business–getting my office set to rights, answering fan mail, stuff like that. But right now I’m writing a book AND trying to buy stuff for the house, and it’s driving me crazy! Yesterday we shopped for rugs. Today, who knows what it will be. But I’m going to get the decor done on my house if it KILLS me! We’ve been in this house for six years, and there’s still no art on the bedroom walls. It’s maddening!

  12. Karen Rose on 01 Jun 2010 at 8:55 am #

    Claudia, cleaning up never feels good to me. Does this mean I’m still not an adult?

    I like things clean, but hate to clean them. I’d rather move to a new office (which I’m doing) than clean up the old one. But Mr. R is making me throw out crap. He’s mean that way, LOL.

  13. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 8:58 am #

    Ugh! I got just home from the grocery store, ready to load up my pretty, clean fridge, and there was a chocolate spill covering one shelf!!

    The fridge doesn’t stay clean long, does it?

  14. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 9:00 am #

    Sheridan, that sounds so pretty! I’ve always wanted to use twinkle lights somewhere in my yard, but never get around to it. Your patio sounds as pretty as a movie set.

  15. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 9:01 am #

    LisaH, I’m the same way. If I can make a space look 100% better with 10 minutes of effort, pure gold.

  16. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 9:04 am #

    Sabrina, yay, you!! I can’t function in a space that’s not “done” so you have my full support. Shop! Shop! Shop!

    Oh, yeah, and I guess you should write, since that is your job and everything.

    Now, back to shopping!!! :)

  17. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 9:05 am #

    Karen, yup, that’s right. You are still young, young, young. Don’t you feel wonderful, knowing that? :)

  18. KellyProellocks on 01 Jun 2010 at 9:31 am #

    Claudia, my quilts can take me anywhere from 8 months to 3 years to do. It all depends on how much detailing that I want to put into it which believe me can be a heck of a lot. The last quilt that I completed had a bald eagle embroidered into the middle square and a poem that I came up with just for that quilt and way too much appliqué. This one that I am embroidering also has appliqué on it but I am including some Celtic astrological things that are appropriate to them. Which reminds me I need to talk to a screenprinter about making up some labels for the quilts that I do. If you are after a quilt Claudia just let me know and once I have got the five that I am already booked for done and we’ll take it from there. :D

  19. Julia London on 01 Jun 2010 at 9:34 am #

    Splitting up the house to move my husband to Phoenix. I think about it every day. I have yet to do anything.

  20. Nicole Jordan on 01 Jun 2010 at 10:36 am #

    I always cringe at the huge pile of little stuff that gathers when I have to focus on something big. I call it “shovelling off my desk” and it’s no fun!

    Julia, is your dh’s move to Phoenix bc he’s going back to school?

    Claudia and Lori, I’m the same way about letting things pile up when I’m finishing a book! It’s almost a feeling of getting out of jail.

    LisaH, I have lots of closets you can clean out, lol.

    We finally finished the big landscape project 2 weeks ago… had so much rain and snow that it took 6 weeks instead of the projected 6 days. So this weekend dh and I finally did all the spring yard maintenance that we should have done over a month ago. It was harder bc all the vegetation had grown up!

  21. Suzanne Enoch on 01 Jun 2010 at 10:43 am #

    It’s amazing the things that call to me while I’m writing. Yes, the fridge — that’s a big one. Mowing the lawn. Weeding. Cleaning off the patio furniture. Organizing receipts. Organizing the garage.

    And none of these things appeal when I actually have time to do them. *g*

  22. Julia London on 01 Jun 2010 at 2:25 pm #

    Yes, Nicole, thank you! That sounded like we were splitting up. Only because he is going to law school in Phoenix and I am going to stay here in Austin with the CPE and his dog. We’ll be racking up some frequent flier miles over the next three years.

  23. Kathy on 01 Jun 2010 at 2:27 pm #

    I don’t really have big jobs to do around my place. just lots of little need-to-get-done jobs. like re-organizing and tossing out unneeded crap from the kitchen drawers.
    vacuuming and cleaning. hate hate hate to do it. so much so that I have dust bunnies on my cobwebs.
    this weekend though my city is have a curbside giveaway. anything that is still in working order but you don’t want goes to the curb and people can take it all away. the hardest part will be abstaining from checking out everyone else’s piles.
    I have a steamer trunk, various old vcrs, a toy steel drum, among possible more things to “toss”.
    Just last week I scored a set of lawn chairs that a household had put on their curb for garbage pick up. pretty great condition. pic on my fb page.

  24. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 2:30 pm #

    Kelly, my gosh!! You really need a mental break between one quilt and the next, don’t you? Brain fry, otherwise.

    And I wouldn’t DREAM of adding to your workload with a request for a quilt. Particularly since I’d probably be dead before it was finished, being sixth on the list and all. ;)

  25. Nicole Jordan on 01 Jun 2010 at 2:35 pm #

    I just finished a bunch of desk shovelling…. but besides bill-paying, I signed 3 grad cards and gifts for the graduating highschoolers at our barn. That part is fun!

  26. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 2:39 pm #

    Julia, I feel for you! Moving is the roughest job on earth. When does Jack leave town? And how will you live without him? Will he come home weekends?

  27. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 2:40 pm #

    Nicole, congrats on the big landscaping job! Why does everything take longer than projected? It’s so demoralizing. But, hey, now you can enjoy it all summer!

  28. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 2:42 pm #

    Suzanne, it’s so true, especially at the beginning of a book. Sorting socks calls to me when the book is demanding attention. It’s at the end, when I can almost taste the ending, that I run into the tunnel that is the book, nothing else in my head. That phase can last for weeks. It’s why I usually forget (ahem) to pay the light bill.

  29. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 2:44 pm #

    Kathy, Big D once picked up a table saw lying next to our neighbor’s trash. I was so embarrassed when he picked it up and carried it home. But we do now have a nice little table saw. :)

  30. Karen Hawkins on 01 Jun 2010 at 3:26 pm #

    I’m with you, Claudia. The second one of my projects hit the mail, I start cleaning and organizing — all of the things that I’ve put off while trying to hit the deadline. If it’s messy, it gets straightened. If it’s clutter, it gets organized. If it’s dirty, it gets scrubbed until it shines.

    Then, after all of that, I veg out and watch MASSIVE amounts of mindless teevee and read HUGE quantities of great books. I adore those between days, and wish there were more of them. Please? :)

    Btw, my new fridge comes tomorrow. Pics to follow!

  31. KellyProellocks on 01 Jun 2010 at 3:40 pm #

    Actually Claudia the quilt making is my relaxation from the evilness that is my Research Methods assignments and other Math based parts that I must do for my psychology degree. Also what’s with the being dead before you get the quilt thing? You’re still young and vital. It tol me three years to do a quilt once because I was sewing by hand the squares. I have since then seen the error of my ways and have embraced my Janome sewing machine (even though I am looking to upgrade because my machine weighs a ton!) I honestly don’t mind doing one for you. I like the challenge.

  32. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 4:17 pm #

    Karen, can’t wait to see your new fridge!! Mine was leaking water for a few days, thought I might need a new one. But Big D fixed the leak. Sigh.

    I also dive into big piles of books between projects. It’s when I get all my reading done!

  33. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 4:18 pm #

    Kelly, I get the feeling I should jump on your offer before you come to your senses and change your mind. :) Let’s talk.

  34. KellyProellocks on 01 Jun 2010 at 5:01 pm #

    I won’t be changing my mind Claudia so you’re safe. Lol! :)

  35. Kathleen O on 01 Jun 2010 at 5:18 pm #

    I have one big project that I keep putting off, because I know I may have no clothes left after I am finished. I really, really need to clean out my bedroom closet.. I have clothes in there that I have not wore in ages and some person in need may be able to use them.. So it is the number one thing on my list to do this summer on a day when there is inclement weather….

  36. Louisa Cornell on 01 Jun 2010 at 7:04 pm #

    Cleaning out the fridge. SHUDDER !! I need to do it, but I keep saying I won’t until I get as many pages into my latest manuscript as I can.

    Attacking the infamous “Storage” room. I have one bedroom in my house where all of the boxes of STUFF I’ve acquired over the years and have YET to unpack in spite of the fact I’ve lived here five years are stored. I need to get in that room, go through those boxes and turn that room into something useful. Every time I open the door and look I quietly CLOSE the door and say “I’ll get to that later.” I need to paint my livingroom aka my writing studio so I can get the bookshelves I bought when our local bookstore closed OUT of my friend’s garage and into my house.

    Okay, I’m going to lie down and take a nap now. You wore me out.

    And Kelly I hear you on the quilt. I have limited myself to ONE quilt per year and it is always for a family member. They chose the pattern and fabrics and I make the quilt.

  37. KellyProellocks on 01 Jun 2010 at 7:47 pm #

    Louisa, quilting is my escape from the insanity that is my uni work. I have exams coming up later this month and probably should study this week but I have decided that I would rather take the week off from it and recover from my last assignment and just quilt, sleep and read for pleasure. The four that I have got an idea on what I am doing with are all going over to the US for my friends. I was going to do one with lots and lots of little squares but when I have to cut out almost 2000 squares? Um no so I’m changing the pattern and going with a pattern of my own design and taking it from there. Heck my parents quilt which was supposed to be an antique wedding ring quilt is being switched for this pattern and I hope to have it done by the time their 40th wedding anniversary rolls around and since that is in 9 years I think that I have a bit of time to make it perfect.

  38. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 8:04 pm #

    Kathleen, at least once you clean out your closet you’ll know that every single item in it looks wonderful on you!

  39. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 8:06 pm #

    Louisa, if you haven’t touched the stuff in that room in five years, the experts say you clearly don’t need it and should just toss it, unopened. Me? I’d have to look. No way could I toss without looking.

  40. Claudia Dain on 01 Jun 2010 at 8:07 pm #

    Kelly, making quilts for people to mark special events is just such a lovely thing to do!

  41. KellyProellocks on 01 Jun 2010 at 8:42 pm #

    I know that my parents will appreciate it when they get it, I just hope and pray that mum is still alive when I finish it and give it to them or there will be much grr and shaking of the fist or crying which will lead to much grr and shaking of the fist as I hate to cry. All I really need to know is the colours that you want to have on it and if there is anything special like a favorite bible verse, poem or something sentimental that is symbolic to you and Big D. You know just stuff that will make it unique to you both. Which reminds me I need to call a screen printing company to talk about making up quilt labels.

  42. Louisa Cornell on 01 Jun 2010 at 10:00 pm #

    Yes, Claudia, I know all about those experts which is why I would never let them into that room. There are some things one keeps, not because you NEED them, but because they are a part of you. Much of what is packed in those boxes is the evidence of my opera career and my music degrees – musical scores, programs, photos, my entire vinyl collection amassed during my years of studying voice, opera history and music in general. Then there is my collection of teddy bears waiting for me to organize the room so that they can be displayed again. Most of them were gifts from my late DH. My music box collection, etc. So I will definitely open each and every one and in all likelihood keep most of it once I have it organized once again. The experts have very neat spartan homes that look like photos in a magazine. Fortunately the rest of us don’t have to live in a magazine! We romance writers are a terribly sentimental lot!

  43. E.R. on 02 Jun 2010 at 12:01 am #

    The little “jobs” that I have would be finishing reading a borrowed book before it is due…and cleaning up my closet/drawers. I had heard that if you buy one thing, you must get rid of two things. So I’m TRYING to accomplish that. TRYING, I say.

    I don’t like cleaning my room, but as time passed me by, I’ve noticed that I feel the urge to CLEAN my bathroom. Which makes me notice that I have to clean my bedroom. I see these two rooms as linked for cleaning.

    Congrats on finishing your big project, Claudia Dain!

  44. Claudia Dain on 02 Jun 2010 at 7:33 am #

    Louisa, I don’t for a minute believe that those “experts” live the way they tell us to live. I’ve seen one on TV go through clothes closets, leaving the owner with three sweaters, four skirts, three slacks, and six blouses and call it a complete wardrobe!! This, when I’ve watched the show and seen the host wearing far more clothing choices than she left her clients.

    Unfair!!

    This is also the woman who makes people throw away books. Books! Why should we listen to the experts when they think throwing out book is a good idea?

  45. Claudia Dain on 02 Jun 2010 at 7:34 am #

    Thanks, ER! It does feel good to be free for a few days. Good luck on cleaning up!

  46. Claudia Dain on 02 Jun 2010 at 7:34 am #

    Kelly, thank you. But I really don’t want you to go to any trouble for me. I really appreciate the offer though.

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