Category Archives: Motel

Day 11: Donate These Non-Food Items at the Canned Food Drive

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Another #31dayblogchallenge post.

There are a lot of canned food drives happening now for food banks. Awesome! Please donate what you can. Did you know that they also accept non-food items? A friend of mine recently was given light bulbs at his appointment and received deodorant at another visit. Here are the most helpful things to donate.

Socks. They’re the most needed item at homeless shelters and the people who need them also go to food banks. Socks wear out the quickest of any clothing item. They’re a moral boost and a comfort item in addition to providing heat. Ever walk around with holes in your threadbare socks all day? Imagine that’s your only pair.

socksneeded

Baby Toiletries. Diapers, wipes, diaper cream, baby shampoo, etc. Don’t forget baby when you donate food. Formula is in high demand.

diapers

Toiletries. Maxi pads, toilet paper, soap, toothpaste, razors, hand sanitizer.

maxipad

Paper plates were super helpful back when we lived in a motel. Dog food is a relief for those who choose to live in their car rather than give up their beloved companion. Chocolate bars are a fun treat.

 

 

I’m still looking for more tree blocks to finish the final border on the turtles quilt. This is a community project for Crystal Lake Camps. Will you please help? Details and a tutorial can be found here. 

 

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Big Dreams and Little Voices

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i wish

I’m fortunate that my family encouraged dreaming and goal-setting. I still have a list of wishes that I wrote on a business trip with Dad that includes going to Disney World, singing a song on stage, and dying my hair purple. My preteen cousins and I used to plan our weddings, down to the flowers and shoes. A popular new years’ day activity was to make collages from magazine clippings of things we’d like to have or do someday.

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about some adult-ish goals like owning a home. The little nay-sayers in my head keep reminding me how far off that dream looks and pointing out all of the obstacles ahead. But here’s the thing: they’re little voices.

My parents weren’t just wishers. They also had strategies for getting some of the goals accomplished. There was one time when they wanted to go to a seminar and it didn’t look like they could make it work financially. (“Huge obstacle, why even try,” Say the little voices.) Instead of giving in to doubt, they started doing what they could do: find a sitter, book a hotel, and ask for time off work. They moved forward as if it were going to work out and… it did! At the last minute the money bit happened and they were able to go.

Nice fairytale, hunh? ISometimes dreams do come true. Planning ahead and making space for what you want can be a wise thing. A brave thing. So my husband and I, despite the little voices, have started talking about flooring, wall colors, layout plans, and bedroom sets. It’s exciting and scary. Even if it doesn’t happen for a while, I’m walking in the right direction. I’ll get where I want to go.

Settle Down Now

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As my sister gets the hang of being a new mom, I’m finally starting to put down roots in my new city. Motel living isn’t homey and we’re pretty sure we won’t rent in this area, so the neighborhood isn’t even mine. But on the fourth day of my nanny job, things are starting to feel…. right. This is my job. These are the children I get to spend my time with. We have a rhythm now. That kind of a feeling is infectious. On the way home today I signed up for a library card. At MY library. Which one? The one right near work, so it’s convenient no matter where end up living.

I promised photos of my current projects, and those are coming. I’m adding the finishing touches to “On a Good Day” so it’s inside out and upside down right now, which isn’t very photogenic. Expect a good picture on that one soon. I’ll leave you with a picture of baby Mary and her mama for now.

Image

It’s Also a Bathtub

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Motel living has me really appreciating everything for its multi-functionality. Our nightstand holds the laptop computer and (clean!) underwear. The ice bucket holds our utensils. The bed, of course, makes a nice surface to assemble and sew quilts. It’s also a fun kitty fort. A spotlight is clipped onto the vacuum handle. I’ve taken to scooping kitty litter twice a day. Why? i’m usually pretty lazy about cleaning in general, but take a look at this litter box location.

Nevermind; don’t look at it. My camera’s battery isn’t taking a charge. No photographs for now. Grrr….

Anyway, the litter box is snuggled in next to our mini refrigerator. Ew. Also, we’ve seen a few bugs. It’s not too bad, just one or two tiny things each night. So as not to attract them, food is stored in airtight containers. Our food, and the cats’ food as well. The shower is where we clean our bodies and wash dishes. They dry on a towel over the dresser.

Ah well, do what you can with what’s available.

An Artist’s Motel Room

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At the beginning of March my husband and I, along with our kitties, moved into a motel in a new city. We moved out of our two-story, three-bedroom with a garage rental house into this bold new adventure.

Here are some modifications I’ve made to our little room here that help me continue to make art.

* Space. I’ve created more space in this room by asking the motel staff to remove the second bed and bringing a desk here from our storage unit. We also now have a folding table stored under the bed… which means that I can set up my sewing machine AND computer.

*Handwork. As a quilter, most of the stuff I make uses some combination of machines… sewing machine, rotary cutter, iron, etc. When I knew (mid-February) that we weren’t moving in to a lake house, or master suite, or duplex… all solid plans that fell through last-minute… I got busy preparing handwork to bring. I’m working on a hexagon crumbs quilt by hand. Photos soon.

*Food. Real food. I thought that I would be just fine eating sandwiches, cereal, and fast food. Turns out that two weeks without vegetables is quite long enough. My body has been a lot happier with me since we bought an electric steamer, swapped for a larger refrigerator, and went to the grocery store.

*Sleep. This is a new place. It feels new, sounds new, even smells new. It’s exciting but also scary. Fluffy blankets from our storage unit, good pillows, and soft pillowcases borrowed from a friend help us sleep better. So does keeping the A/C fan running all night. That way we’re not awakened by every strange new sound. And at our pet-friendly downtown motel, there are many.

*A notebook. I’ve had more ideas for art I’d like to make in these past few weeks than in a very long time. Paring down to the very essentials makes me think of new uses for… well.. everything! A shampoo bottle could be cut and decoupaged into bangle bracelets. Soda tabs could be sewn together into a pretty tray. The cuff off a stretchy sweatshirt could be the base for a baby’s headband. What if I cut plastic grocery bags into strips and knit them into bags for beach toys? A notebook is useful for writing this stuff down.