2026 OneThing #14 - IJWAWID ("I'll Just Write About What I Did")

I never actually chose a OneThing goal for last week. Hosting on Easter Sunday and then having a pretty full week was enough. We celebrated my 60th birthday by renting an RV and going to Grand Marais. It was wonderful!

 

So I've decided to treat myself to an after-the-fact OneThing. 

 

Last week, I got rid of a grill, a children's bicycle, and the rocking horse. All of these were items I had posted on Craigslist. I had also tried to find a parent of little kids who might like the rocking horse and/or bike. But in the end, I just brought them all to Hands of Friendship. I had stopped by one day after work (Tuesday?) to ask if they were willing to take the grill. The really nice guy said sure. If they don't sell it, it will go to scrap metal recycling. 

 

At some point, I need to recognize that stuff is just stuff and it doesn't have eternal significance! That said, I hate how materialistic and wasteful our culture is. We saw so MANY items on the curb in Bloomington for their clean-up days. It's all just going to the landfill . . . furniture, toys, household items. Wasteful. 

 

Oh - I don't know how much the rocking horse cost 35 years ago. It was from a garage sale. But we got the other two items in this post for free and I had advertised them on Craigslist for free.  

 

The rocking horse was the hardest for me to let go of. Our sons enjoyed it 35 years ago, our grandsons have really enjoyed it in recent years. But it just takes up too much space and I am really striving to downsize. Time to go set a goal for the upcoming week! 

2026 OneThing #13 - Quarterly Check-in

Rather than do a monthly summary (like in 2025), I've decided to just do quarterly check-ins. I'm actually writing this on Saturday, March 28 and setting it to publish at midnight on April 5. Not because it has anything at all to do with Easter, but just because I have a lot going on in the next week and I'm trying to crank through some of my stuff. 

 

January was pretty successful, in my opinion. I got stuff done without getting stressed out. Praise God for a wonderful month!

 

My verse was Proverbs 3:5-6 and says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight." 

 

I know I've used that verse before, but it's such a great reminder to look to the Lord for direction instead of going my own way.

 

 

In February, I struggled just a bit more. We still do not have a will . . . or a home for the dog bed I made. But I did get rid of a box of recipes and the cowboy picture is ready to be hung up. 

 

My verse was Ephesians 4:32 and says, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you."

 

I love how rich God's Word is! I want to be kind and compassionate toward others. Praise God He's still working on me!

 

March was interesting . . . my goals were slightly less demanding of me, yet I still didn't achieve what I had hoped! The Costa Rica blog entry is out in the ether, but I barely included any photos. The fleece is still very plentiful and I don't even have one baby blanket finished! 

 

Ah, well. It has been a good month and I have indeed gotten some stuff done. I will continue my quest to get rid of unnecessary stuff in my house. I am blessed beyond belief!

 

My March verse was Psalm 119:105 which says, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." I just really love that verse. God is good! 

 

2026 OneThing #12 - Get Rid of Stuff

Technically, I'm writing this one day early . . . but I hope to get rid of even more stuff!

 

I donated a bag of clothing, two bags of miscellaneous stuff, a rice cooker, a sprinkler, a spreader (for disbursing seed, fertilizer, etc.), and my mother-in-law's old thank you cards.

 

They went to a Goodwill, Hands of Friendship in New Prague, a co-worker, one of my sons, a random person in the neighborhood, and the recycling bin. I have five things out by the curb with a "Free Stuff" sign right now, but it's a chilly and windy morning. I posted on Craigslist but not Facebook (yet). It feels so good to get rid of stuff!

 

Right now, I can't find photos of the things I got rid of . . . I hope I deleted them! Here's what's currently out at the curb (because I love to include photos): 

 

This is from the 1960s! Our kids enjoyed it and so have our grandchildren. It just takes up too much space. But they have had some fun with this! I had it for sale on Craigslist, but no nibbles. I hope it gets to the home of someone with little kids who will love it.

We picked this combo grill / smoker up for free off a curb two years ago and have never used it! Louie has enough grills and smokers and he is okay with it just going away.

We have SO many plant and garden things and we don't really do much in the way of gardening . . . this doesn't even represent half of what is piled in our garage for if we ever do want or need some plant pots.

We got this for free when our young friends were getting new bikes for their kids. Joshua enjoyed riding it when he was four. Benjamin didn't seem that interested in it. We're ready for it to go away.

I don't remember the story behind the unicycle, but it has lived in our garage for many, many years and Louie was okay with it going.

 

 

 

 

 

As always, my focus is on progress, not perfection. If these things are still sitting around on Monday afternoon (the weather is supposed to be better tomorrow and really great on Monday), I'll just donate or toss them. Here's hoping someone wants them! But I am also cognizant of needing to celebrate success . . . and I got rid of seven things this week!

 

Oh - my mother-in-law's cards. I'm going through things she had saved, then my father-in-law had saved. Cards from people still in our family - I'm putting into file folders for those people. They can do what they want with them. Cards from others (church friends, etc.) I'm putting into a file folder for a family gathering. If anyone wants to read through them or keep them, fine! But I finally hit a point where I put a bunch into my recycling bin. I've spent waaaaaay too much time sorting through other people's stuff. So I'm calling this week a big success. It feels good to get rid of things. 

2026 OneThing #11 Be a Blessing

This probably seems like a weird goal for the week, but it made sense for me. I knew I had a lot going on (though last weekend's blizzard gave me some extra time at home that I really enjoyed!) and I didn't want to set myself up for too much of a goal. I always want to be a blessing, but setting it as my one thing made me cognizant of my choices - my words, my actions, . . . and I tried to be a blessing to others around me.

 

I was in a really good state of mind all week. Subbing, co-hosting the quilt retreat at MQ, watching my grandsons, . . . it was all good. Since I love to post pictures, I'll include this one here:

 

 

This quilter was at her very first MQ in-town retreat. She was lovely! She finished this quilt top for a four year old neighbor. (Incidentally, I finished all 88 log cabin blocks for Morgan's and Angela's wedding anniversary quilt. I got a few other small things done as well.)

 

 

 

 

I had lots of fun with the grands this weekend! Joshua's favorite picture was of him doing a silly face (it's mostly his nostrils), but I like this one better:

 

 

 

 

2026 OneThing #10 - Decrease Fleece

This one was a "progress not perfection" thing . . . I started with four boxes of fleece. I cut many 12 1/2" squares to make a couple of baby blankets, but wasn't happy with the way the layout was going. My main goal is to use up the fleece! Secondary was to have a few finished baby blankets to give as gifts when occasions arise. 

 

I consulted with my sister Louise over the phone, but she and I don't always speak the same language . . . and she is amazing at color and design. So I boxed it up to meet with her in person to help me figure out how to arrange the pieces. I had made one of these for Joshua when he was born (seven years ago!) and I made one for my daughter-in-law's nephew. But I think I started with a larger block . . . like 14" square. 

 

Once you sew an X across two pieces, then sew the pieces together and cut the fringey parts, the blocks are much smaller. I got the idea online, but apparently didn't keep track of where I found it! 

 

You sew two squares of fabric together with a big X, then sew all of these together with the seams all to one side of the blanket. Then you use a scissors to cut fringe. This step is the one that takes a really long time! You end up with one side being relatively flat and the other being fringe-y and much more dynamic! It's pretty easy to make and will use up a fair amount of fleece.

 

Once I was done with cutting the squares, my remaining fleece fit mostly in three boxes . . . with a few bigger pieces on top. So my OneThing wasn't achieved the way I envisioned. I hope to get two baby blankets done this week, but that still leaves a lot of fleece. At some point, I plan to make a bunch of mittens. And perhaps I should just toss the smallest pieces . . . 

 

Because I love photos, here's some of what I sent my sister:

 

2026 OneThing #9 - Blog about Costa Rica

We went to Costa Rica with Brad and Amy Gustafson in April 2023. It was fabulous! I kept a journal while we were there, but I also had a little pile of maps, wrappers, and miscellaneous stuff that I kept intending to deal with. So even though it certainly isn't time-sensitive, I decided to set it as my OneThing and finally do it! We had Brad and Amy over yesterday (Saturday, March 7) but it wasn't completely done then for me to share with them. Here I am, on Sunday, March 8th, 2026, ready to wrap this up and move on.

 

My only "regret" from the trip is that I didn't go on a coffee plantation tour. None of the others were interested, so it will remain on a "Someday" list for me. I did thoroughly enjoy the coffee, though! Every single day. I have finally thrown away the bag from the beans we brought home. (Since then, Brad has given us another bag of Costa Rican coffee beans!)

 

I have pictures of all four sides of this bag in my Vacation / Costa Rica file. I have hundreds of pictures in there!

 

 

Only one part of a story from my journal (I'm so glad I wrote each day!):

Monday, 4/24/2023

 

We were trying to figure out where to go to get a boat tour. Our map isn't very detailed. Thankfully, Amy knows more Spanish than the rest of us and we were on our way. As we drove, a guy on a motorcycle pulled out in front of us! Later, he pulled off (to see a horse, I thought), and we passed him. Later, he passed us and waved us to follow. There was a big building with lots of tour buses and vans, but the guy kept driving and we kept following. I was confident we could have gotten boat tour tickets there, but I wasn't in charge. (Thankfully!)

We were laughing so hard at the notion we were following a complete stranger into a National Reserve . . . but then we saw the parking area, bathrooms, and pier into the river with boats!

Oh! We were at Villas Sol Resort in Guanacaste, and we did two days of the "all inclusive" option. If you tell me I can eat and drink as much as I like . . . oh my goodness! Did I ever indulge.

 

 

From my notes:

Fly in to Liberia

Resort is Villas Sol in Guanacaste

An overnight in Monteverde (pic at left)

Jenifer stayed at Dreams Las Mareas earlier in April 2023! (further north on the west coast from us)

We flew down from MSP to Houston (IAH) on flight #UA2345, then IAH to Liberia (LIR) on #UA1737.

Our return trip was #UA1516 from LIR to IAH and #UA1491 from IAH to MSP.

Brad booked the flights for all of us!

 

Videos:

Shuttle Bus Trip Top to Bottom (7:03)

Shuttle Bus Trip to Restaurant, Beach, and Front Desk (5:48)

Shuttle Bus Trip from Front Desk to Our Villa (2:00)

Random Monkey Video (:17)

 

I'm realizing that there is so much more I could include here (stories, photos, memories, etc.) But this is enough. I have my file folder with maps, a postcard I sent to myself, a Costa Rica wildlife guide, etc. And I have my journal, filled with stories and memories. One more photo here (because I do love photos) and then I'm calling this done. 

2026 OneThing #8 - Finish Sorting Cards and Envelopes

Praise God! I was able to complete the sorting and matching last Sunday afternoon! While we were doing our taxes, I sorted. I kept the cards I wanted to use. I filled a big envelope with Christmas cards and matching envelopes, another with birthday greetings, a third with miscellaneous special occasion cards, and a fourth with cards missing matching size envelopes along with extra envelopes. Woohoo!

 

These cards were in Lou's papers. There was a mix of cards that had been sent to Betty and Lou, blank cards, and random envelopes. It was a lot of stuff to sort through and took up a good sized space on the pool table.

 

Then on Wednesday after teaching, I went to Mala Strana in New Prague and found a lovely person in the assisted living portion of the building who was happy to take the cards! She also accepted a box of random "medical" stuff from Lou's possessions. It makes me feel lighter and happier to get rid of stuff.

So on Sunday, I set a new OneThing for the past week: Sort through recipe box. This one took me longer. I had a shoebox FILLED with recipes that I hadn't touched in over a decade. I don't even try new recipes very often! Right now, my recycle bag is filled with newspaper clippings, recipe cards, magazine pages, etc. I have a file folder with some recipes I'd genuinely like to try. I have a small stack of recipe booklets to put in my donate bag. I wrote a letter to my friend Kathy on the back of a printed out recipe (for molten lemon lava cakes - sound delicious, but I'm unlikely to try making it!). 

I'm not printing a photo of the box (before or after), but this has freed up approximately one cubic feet of space in the household closet in my studio. I feel good! (And I have a file folder of recipes to try. Perhaps I'll go through my cookbooks next.)

2026 OneThing #7 - Fix and Sell or Donate Cowboy Picture

One of my father-in-law's pictures was this interesting looking cowboy on a bucking horse in a rough wooden frame. The pieces that hold the backing on to the frame had all fallen off, so it stayed at our house when I got rid of other artwork. 

 

I knew I had a busy week coming up, so I set this as one small thing I could do to get something out of our basement.

Of course, that didn't work out! I did a little research on the artist Frederic Remington. I had hoped maybe this would be worth some money, but I was pretty sure it's just a print. It's also a bit water damaged. So it's just a question of putting it together and giving it away, right?

 

(BTW, it's called A "Sun Fisher" and was painted in 1895. It's a lithograph in a private collection. This is just a print.)

When I went to clean the glass, I noticed that the frame was a little shaky. One joint seemed to be coming apart. My husband is willing to repair it . . . but needs new wood glue. (Our bottles of it have congealed.) It is not a "today" thing, so I will have to be content with it being in progress instead of DONE.

I told him that although I think it's a neat looking piece of art, I would love to give it to his sister who actually has horses. And who might appreciate the connection to their dad (and possibly Aunt Barbara?) because we think it might have come from her place in Arizona. But honestly, if he wants to keep it and display it, that's fine with me.

So this One Thing isn't finished, but it's toward the top of the queue. I had a good week, but it was pretty busy. I'll have to choose carefully for next week's OneThing and see if it's something I can actually get done! 

 

(BTW, last week's dog bed is sitting around, waiting to be donated. That's also not a today thing.)

2026 OneThing #6 Sew Dog Bed to Donate

I use a "bag" made of flannel sheet to line a basket in my sewing room. Any random small scraps, threads, batting, etc. get tossed in there. It has taken a few years, but I've filled it up. (Actually, I think it has been several years. It has definitely been since pre-Covid that I filled one.)

I sewed it shut with my serger then decided to make a sturdy outer bag with a zipper. It's not very elegant, but I hope to donate it next weekend at a pet adoption event. 

 

 

 

This is my "new" scrap collection container.

 

 

 

 

This is the full bag, ready for me to stitch closed.

 

 

 

 

This is the finished bag and the stuffed bag, ready to be put together.

Titus didn't climb onto the finished bed, which surprised me. But he "posed" with it for scale.

That gets some stuff out of my sewing space. Now I just need to donate it (along with some gently used toys Titus doesn't really care for.) Getting rid of things! That's my game.

OneThing #5 - Rough Drafts of Estate Documents

Making wills has been on my list for almost twenty years! I got a wonderful book from the library about a decade ago - Quicken's WillMaker - and made a will for myself. But I feel as though this is something Louie and I need to talk about and decide on together. We said we would do it by Thanksgiving 2025, but had attended a session on wills vs. trusts and weren't sure which route was a better choice for us. After meeting with a legal guy (free advice), and some conversations with others, we have decided to make wills rather than create a trust.

But that's where we stopped. I brought various papers and a book with me to help with the process (up at the lake) to finally draft our wills. I already have a health care directive, but Louie does not. When I tried to get him to have a conversation about this, we had some words. I finally said that this is very important to me and I can go ahead with my own will and my own health care directive (which is already done, but I can review and revise it, then make sure Alex has a copy as well as my doctor's office). 

He conceded that if we were to die together in a car accident, we would leave a terrible mess for our kids and the state of Minnesota would get to decide how to disburse our assets. Theoretically, we will select a DIY option this upcoming Thursday and proceed with creating our wills. Once we have the documents, we will get them notarized and give copies to relevant people. 

I'm going to call this OneThing done-ish. 

 

Technically, I have my rough draft will (from more than a decade ago) and my HCD. 

 

Sigh. This has been a tough one for me to make progress on . . .  

 

This book is one that I've had for a long time but have not read completely or recently. Might be time to put it on top of the reading list.

And pray that we have a successful conversation on Thursday!

OneThing #4 - Make Binding for QFO quilt

I'm so glad I set this as the goal! I want to spend more time in my beautiful studio and this was manageable. I picked up a quilt and the binding fabric when I was at the MQ quilting retreat a few weeks ago. 

I pieced together enough pieces to make 324"+ and pressed it in half. I used quilting clips to attach it to the quilt to make sure I had enough. Done. 

 

I thought about stitching it on, but decided to go with a "OneThing" done. Boom.

 

The fabric in the middle is what is left of what I got from MQ.

2026 OneThing #3 - Downsize Boxes of Books 2 to 1

I actually started with "Read & Pack Away 2025 Christmas Cards," but I just did it on Sunday afternoon last week, so I picked this one.

Louie had gotten two boxes of books out of the garage attic and I thought it would be easy to downsize them. It wasn't. I love books and I love to read! But I made this my goal and I don't read as many hours a week as I used to (and I get things from the library often). To read every book in my house would take a really, really long time.

So I took books out and put them in piles: ones I really want to read, ones I want to read but may watch the movie instead, ones I want to read but if they're still sitting around in two years I can donate, and a few that I definitely wanted to keep so I removed books from my bookshelf to donate instead.

Here's what I had to bring to Half Price Books:

Some of these books are ones I had on my bookshelf when I taught English in the 1990s. Others were ones I had rescued from library weedings. Some I don't even know where they came from but I just don't need to keep every book I've ever encountered!

After I was done with that, Louie brought a third box down from the attic rafters. I may need to get really vicious about what I keep and what goes. Last night, I offered my son and grandsons first pick on Captain Underpants and similar type books and Great Illustrated Classics. There are still plenty left. I plan to finish box #3 and perhaps remove some more from my bookshelves. I have a lot of books!

Louie retrieved three or four books from my box of rejects. Bird books and SciFi / fantasy still call to him. I also have three stacks of books for other people in my life to consider.

I helped a friend last week and got two bags of books from her to donate to Half Price Books. Between those and my box, I got about $32 and quite a few books they wouldn't take! 

 

I'll probably drop the rest off at a Better World Books dropbox. I had thought about putting them in Little Free Libraries, but there are too many to get rid of.

2026 OneThing #2 - Prepare for and Enjoy the January Quilt Retreat / Be a Blessing!

It made sense to focus on this since I only planned to be home for Sunday through Wednesday morning. I had a great time at the quilt retreat and I hope I was a blessing to others. It was my first time hosting and Ann was my co-host. We had a good time and I think we did a fairly good job. There were only 18 quilters including us, so perhaps fewer people made it go easier. (Typically, there is room for 24 plus two co-hosts. And typically there is at least one person who is a bit of an irritant.)

I got a lot done on Morgan's and Angela's wedding quilt (I hope to finish it for their tenth anniversary this October), I made a pair of pants (that don't fit me but at least I learned how to follow the pattern), and I made a few gift bags. (I had already serged the bags at home, but added corners to a few and finished the handles / tops on all.)

 

KSTP's Joe Mason and his camera guy Jason were there to interview Merle about Quilting for Others. It was unexpected to me! The "So Minnesota" episode will air in about a month.

 Below are some pictures of other people's projects. 

 

2026 OneThing #1 - Finish Sorting Lou's Papers

I am going to say that this goal is both Achieved! and also In Progress . . . But let me explain.

When my father-in-law lived with us from March 2013 - September 2017, he eventually moved to an apartment in Northfield. He left behind twelve boxes of papers, which I spent a lot of time sorting through. Some papers were shredded, some recycled, some saved for family history / posterity. Records from Asbury United Methodist Church (now Living Spirit), including employees' full data with social security numbers - I brought to the church office. 

Then my sister-in-law emptied her Maple Grove home to move up north and I agreed to take the seven boxes of items she had from her parent's home - mostly photos, yearbooks, cards, etc. I sorted through enough of it to get it down to four boxes which are still sitting in my basement.

Then in August of 2025, we moved Lou into assisted living and his wife into a different apartment. Because his wife will throw out anything she doesn't personally see a need for, I tried to grab all Lou's stuff on his behalf. Then he died on October 3, and all his worldly goods came to us.

Here's what my basement looked like shortly after his death:

There were several boxes on the far side of the pool table. There was a lot of clothing; that and his furniture were the first things I tackled for donation.

I had put some things out in the living room on the day of the funeral for people to choose what they wanted. It was sweet to see how almost everyone selected a shirt of his to keep for themselves.

Now I've made a lot of progress and here's what the pool table looks like:

A lot of the stuff on (and under) the pool table is mine, but the white bins have files of papers for the Mohrs and LaMoores. I have done an initial sort through all Lou's papers (and there were a lot of them!). I am fascinated by some of the historical and personal items. It will take longer to completely finish this, but I feel good about the progress made. I didn't take a picture of the white table because more than 40% of the stuff currently on it will go to family members at Leech Lake this weekend. (I'm setting this to publish shortly after midnight on 1/11/2026.)

I also have a card table full of various office supplies. I anticipate that it will be empty within less than two weeks. I have a quilt retreat next week, so my basement will probably not change much for a while.

2025 OneThing #58 - Rearrange Studio / December Summary / 2025 Wrap-up!

I haven't completely finished my main goal for the week, but I've made tremendous progress. (Technically, the goal was to have a studio rearrange plan, which is done . . .) I remembered to take a "before" picture!

Louie and I had picked up a "new" piece of furniture from a K-Bid auction I won a few weeks ago. I knew I needed to make room for it (and get rid of stuff) before we could put it in here, so it remains in the garage. Here's a pic of it from my auction:

 

The front door panels include two large and this small one, except one of the big ones is missing and the other is broken. It will be easier access if I just use fabric, though, so I'm not fussed about that. I love the drawers! So much storage space!

 

So I hauled much of the loose stuff out of my sewing room and piled it in the guest room and hallway. I donated the old cabinet on Craigslist . . . 

 

I then took a photo, loving the wide open space. I shared it with my siblings with the caption "It's amazing how nice a room can look when you remove most of the crap!"

 

I love my siblings and our group chat . . . 

Then I decided to start sorting my scraps for a scrap quilt and use two of the drawers to hold the loose pieces and the stitched together pieces. It's still in progress and I know I won't keep them this neat and organized, but it's also helping me get rid of fabrics that are not nice for quilts. I'm also putting too small pieces into the ragbag / dog bed container and larger pieces back into my fabric bins. This process helped me get rid of the three-drawer plastic rolling cart.

It was nice to listen to my audiobook and press scraps. As I said, I'm not done but it's coming along! 

 

 Toward the back is the loose pile of scraps with the sewn-together blocks closer. The drawer nearest is the "done" strips with light at left, medium in the middle, and darkest to right. Again, this won't last, but it's a good reset to this scrap issue.

The four brown rubber squares on the floor are the furniture "feet" we bought for my new cabinet. I think I'd rather have it perpendicular to the door (parallel to closet) but then I have to find a new home for my project bins. This angle works well for "traffic flow," but I think it's too much wasted space by the door / closet area and that doesn't make sense.

Anyhow, here's my December calendar and Scripture:

From Matthew 25:35 

"I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in."

When I read these words, I think of Jesus' followers saying, "Lord, when did we . . . ?" and Jesus answering, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

2025 has been an interesting year, full of challenges and joys. I've really enjoyed blogging about One Thing each week, but I think the monthly summaries were superfluous. I think in 2026, I won't change much. Just one thing per week and a reflection at the end of the year. I like not setting my "one thing" too far in advance. Sometimes things come up and priorities change. 

I briefly thought about keeping these, but in my desire to declutter, that just seems crazy!

It's one piece of tagboard with both sides used (now in the recycle bin). It was just my physical / visual reminder of this project. I believe I will start with a fresh piece of tagboard for 2026 and set a new weekly goal. I think my first "official" blog entry will be Sunday, January 10. Or perhaps if I finish up the studio rearrange, I'll post that earlier.

Happy New Year, everyone!