07.02.2003 | 8:22 pm

Today was, I think, the first day that I have felt relaxed enough to take things one at a time. I have not had a day like this for a very, very long time. My mother used to always say that if you had the dishes done, the floor swept and the beds made, you could have unexpected company without being embarrassed. I have tried to do JUST that much for the past few days, since the end of all the wedding activities, but some days that has proven to be a stretch.

I have been determined to get some of the really bad projects out of the way before the 4th of July. Yesterday it was the old pantry. As the newly married daughter told me, �You deserve points in heaven, mom, for getting that project done! �

The old pantry is really just the pantry. When we had a flood about 18 months ago, I planned another large, cupboard style pantry, with slide out shelves, closer to the kitchen area. When the new cupboards were installed, I immediately put the new pantry to rights and got it organized. It is totally wonderful, convenient, and efficient. The old pantry, however, became the collector of all that was not immediately wanted or needed. Hubby has slyly been using it to throw, stash and store oodles and oodles left-over scouting food like; packages of oatmeal, hot cocoa, ketchup, mustard and relish, unused portions of Bisquik, flour and powdered milk. I can safely tell you that any unclaimed item at any scout outing makes its way into my house and gets thrown into that pantry. Well, hubby was gone to work. The garbage was shortly to be collected. I took no less than eight (8) huge garbage bags full of old food out to be hauled off! It was amazingly cleansing and liberating. Now the old pantry can actually be used to some advantage for storing things that aren�t used on a daily basis. WHEW! Hubby is so very funny about all his precious collectables. He notices that things are missing, he asks about what I did with everything. He even goes so far as to rifle through the garbage cans at times after I have cleaned things up. This time he was too late. *he he*

Today�s project was sewing.

Last summer I got this far on sewing new kitchen curtains. I decided to design and make my own after many trips to Sears, Penny�s, and other places. I was abysmally disappointed at the quality of fabric and workmanship of everything I looked at. Through my school days; junior high, high school, college, and even early marriage, I sewed all my clothes. Sewing curtains was, and continues to be very simple. The most difficult part about sewing for me now is time (don�t have any in the winter, when school�s on) and the heat (summer time is HOT here). My sewing room faces west and gets way too hot in the afternoon�even with very good air conditioning. SO�I must sew in the mornings. Today I finally got out all the pieces I had carefully measured and cut last summer. I took a peek at the curtains I had completed last year, and set to work. The most time consuming part of this particular project is �French seaming.� Basically, that means that I sew wrong sides together first, press, and then sew right sides together on every seam. This helps the curtains hang in nicely, last longer, and they will have no open edges. Each panel takes twice as long to complete, but will last twice as long in the end.

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I am almost finished with the valance for this window. Tomorrow the very last curtain�the door panel will get a turn. YEAH ME!

catsnapples~ at being domestic

PS
The thermometer through the window, outside on my back porch is reading 115*!!!!

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