A task 5 years in the making...

Who says I'm a procrastinator?
I do.
I, typically, loath tedious tasks, no matter how necessary. Patience and even temper are not my strong suits, though I can say they are sturdier than they once were. Because of the impending summer heat and the bizarre severe weather this week I started an unimaginably tedious and infuriating task. Cleaning up and going through my workroom in the basement.

This lead me to the most troublesome, yet freakishly rewarding, task yet.

I  began sorting through this massive jumbled mess of yarn, and latch hook pieces, and ribbon, and friendship bracelets, and a few wire flowers for good measure.

MAT mussed up this wad 'O' madness when he was 18 MONTHS old in my workroom in our other house. Yes, you read that right MAT, not RAT who is pictured with the mess and yes it is almost as big as he is. My OLDEST child who is 6 did this when he was a toddler. It has traveled from the old house, to storage, to this house and it is now time to do the deed.

Yes, I HAVE been avoiding this particular task since 2006, thanks for doing the math with me. It was going to be done sooner or later. Because of my magnetic baby this week, the weather being what it has been, and not being able to do the outdoor tasks that are calling, this was a very productive way to spend...about 9 hours.

It took a very long time untangling. But I vowed before I began to not lose my temper OR cut ANYTHING. I would become zen like my Grandma Virginia did when I once watched her untangle my mothers sewing box thread ball. If you don't know what one looks like, one, I hate you for having that much control over your sewing box, and two you must have NEVER seen a functioning in use sewing box in a home with children.
It took hours and hours and hours, but in the end Grandmother had usable thread and the sewing box was organized. My sewing box currently looks a hot mess, but I do NOT have that kind of zen skill yet...I honestly do not think I ever will. If I would just tuck in the thread ends onto the spool when switching thread, this wouldn't be an issue, but who has time for that.

Anyway, back to the yarn ball. After many hours and helpers. Watermelon was a BIG help, ok she was obnoxious, but she could have been SO much worse. I had a neat decently sized pile of yarn balls and one giant pile of ruined yarn, fuzz, wire flowers and a pile of friendship bracelets and a pile of ribbon.

 And it was very good. Now to force myself to do some knitting and crocheting to use up all my little bits...Granny Square quilt anyone?