Conversation With Clutter

It all started with the idea that I wanted to simplify my life. Don't all great de-cluttering adventures begin like that? I've learned some things about myself while on this quest to get rid of stuff.

• Stuff is sneaky. No matter how many boxes and bags are donated, more stuff magically appears that I need to go through. 
• Stuff makes you talk to yourself. "Do I really need this? Do I really need two cake stands? Do I even need one cake stand?"
• Getting rid of stuff makes you deal with emotional stuff...like guilt. Just because my dear former assistant crocheted me a toilet paper cover does not mean that its forever home is with me. My friend passed away last year and though I am not a crocheted TP  cover person I hesitated to get rid of it. I felt guilty because it seemed that I was disrespecting the sweet loving person she was. Then I realized this bit of yarn is not my friend. It has nothing to do with my fond memories of her. And someone else will enjoy it. I will enjoy the memories of my dear friend. 

Donated:

• I need to be hypnotized into never saying the words "I might need it someday". I will never need all the vases I've received flowers in. The thing is when you get more flowers they usually come with a vase. One nice vase put away in my cupboard with do.

Donated:

Stuff is just that - stuff. In my case most of it is a result of impulse buying. My days of impulse buying are over. I have moved into impulse purging of things I just don't need. I will never be a minimalist, although I do love the clean lines and simplicity of their lifestyle. My eye likes busy-ness. I like groupings of lots of artwork, a variety of textures and color. I like eclectic and I like quirky and I like feminine romantic style decor. 

My new mantra is "Is it something I really use? Is it something I really love?" If it isn't - poof. Gone. 

I feel like it's taking forever, but I do see light at the end of the tunnel. I will have "after" photos soon. My bedroom is almost done. My closet is a thing of beauty. 

Stuff happens...then it gets donated and hopefully goes to a home where someone will really use it and enjoy it. And my home gets clearer and simpler. I have labels on things like organized people do. It feels good. And I can actually find the chargers for my camera. Can the charger for my cordless drill be far behind? 

Where did the time go?

I keep thinking- I really should blog. This blog is how many of my family members keep in touch. I am a horrible letter writer! The letters I write aren't horrible. It's just one of those things that if I think about doing it enough I start to believe I've done it. In my mind I have written numerous letters to all the people in my life. In my real life I have not written a real letter since I believed 40 was really old. When I opened HM&N and saw that I hadn't posted since October I was shocked. I thought it had been about 6 weeks.

Lots has gone on since I last blogged and at some point I will get to all of it. For now I am more than thankful that my sweet kitty has survived emergency eye surgery. Her eye had ruptured due to a viral infection. One day I had a very healthy kitty, the next day she was in the hospital. She's fine now, but what an ordeal. When my girls gave me my kitty I promised to be a good animal guardian and provide a good home for her- because she needed a home. I did not intend to get attached. I am a dog person. When I thought something might happen to her I was devastated. When I tearfully told my daughter that I hadn't intended to get attached she said "that boat sailed long ago". Indeed it did.

You have to look for humor in everything.... and this "eye chart" in the veterinary ophthalmologist's office was just the best:

I had to give Juli 4 different eye meds and 1 oral med every 3 to 4 hours. She was SUCH a good girl. I wrapped her in a towel and she just let me do whatever I needed to do without one complaint. I set up a kitty care center in one of my bathrooms. 

She was very docile the 4 weeks she had to wear the collar. But once the collar came off she was mad at me for 3 or 4 days.

But now, all is well and she seems to love her momma again.

Sanctuary

I've started this post several times. I end up either deleting it or writing about something else. I've needed to process the events of this summer and usually writing helps me do that. Not so this time. My home is my sanctuary. It is not always as organized, sparkly clean or orderly as I would like, but it is my home. It is where I get to enjoy the hobbies I love. 

At the beginning of August at 10:15 PM someone broke into my home. While I sat in the front of the house watching TV this person pried the screen off the window in the room where I was knitting and watching TV. I never heard him. He didn't get in that way, but went to my back door. Apparently I'd left it unlocked while I was out watering my plants earlier in the day.

I went into the kitchen to get some water and found my door wide open and someone running away. I screamed "Oh my God!" and closed and locked the door. The funny thing is, I still didn't get it. All I could think of was my kitty, Juli. Juli was a gift from my daughter after she rescued her from the city streets of Baltimore. I was so afraid she'd gotten out. Losing Juli is something I cannot even stand to think about. She came to me at the same time I lost my sweet dog, Samantha. She is not a replacement for Samantha- she has her own place in my heart and in my life. She's my constant companion and the sweetest kitty in the world. 

Samantha

Juli

The thief took my wallet out of my purse, jars of loose change and my sense of serenity. I am still processing the fact that someone was going through my closet in my bedroom while I sat in the front of the house. I've installed a ridiculously expensive alarm system and I wear the remote panic button around my neck like a prison warden. I still obsessively check my doors to make sure they are locked.

As totally creepy as it was, good has come from it. I've always wanted to learn to meditate and what better time than now? The stress relief from my quiet time is amazing. I'm re-reading one of my all time favorite books- Simple Abundance. I'm writing in my journal and I'm working through it. In the end, my sense of sanctuary does not come from my house. It comes from the people and animals I love. It comes from books and hobbies and learning and exploring. And it is not something that anybody- even a burglar - can take from me. 

Going Green

I've been a total slacker as a blogger lately. Stressful summer. Burglary at my house. Earthquake. Hurricane. But I'll write about all that later- first a few words about my latest obsession.

It all started with cans of cat food. I didn't used to recycle. I mean as in even last year. Yeah, I know that is reprehensible, but I'm just being honest. It seemed like recycling was the equivalent of a part time job. I was lazy clueless. I wasn't sure how to separate, tie up and prepare my recyclables for their journey to their new lives as journals, shopping bags and whatever it is that cat food cans become when they grow up. Then came Juli- a very spoiled kitty who only likes canned food. And I was embarrassed by the amount of tin cans I was throwing in the regular trash every week. (ssssshhhhh, don't tell on me)

So I Googled it and discovered that all I need to do is rinse the cans, and put them and all their recyclable siblings like cardboard, wine bottles and the like into the same blue container.

Easy peasy. (Keeping with the green theme- I do love a theme!)

And after that somewhat corny segue to vegetables and being green.....

I now spend my mornings drinking Green Smoothies made in my new Vitamix. This is a blender with a motor that can pull a boat, that costs more than my entire dinner at my wedding cost (it was 1971). I'm making Dr. Oz's version. I love them. They are filling. They kill severely injure my cravings for sweets and help me stick with my newly declared vegetarianism. More on that in another post.

Dr. Oz's Green Smoothie:

1 cup spinach

1 large apple

parsley

1/2 inch ginger

4 stalks celery

1 cucumber

juice of 1 lemon and 1 lime

I add some ice to make it real cold,  a small amount of pure fruit juice (oj, pomagranite etc.). I also add a bit of real cold water to make it thinner. I don't like my smoothies thick like chocolate malts. I like chocolate malts thick like chocolate malts!

Oprah says this tastes like a glass of freshness- and I have to say, I actually agree. The lemon and lime are key!

I got a mani - pedi the other day. I may be carrying this GREEN thing a little too far! 

Teddy Bear Picnic

The 4th Of July means a road trip to Michigan. Every year my cousin and I pack up the car with everything we own plus her dog Boo. Boo is the best little traveler! Twelve hours in the car and never a word of complaint from The Boo Girl. 

Michigan was beautiful and peaceful and restful as always.

 My Florida cousin, Sue, arrived with her 4 amazing teenagers and the good times began. 

There were fireworks and the small town America 4th of July parade:

My Uncle on the VFW "float". He was the Veteran Of The Year 2 years ago:

And of course the Outhouse Float. It was done very tastefully in that the woman pretending to be using the outhouse with her pants around her ankles carefully disguised the fact that she had other clothes on. As I said, tasteful. (Of course there's a photo! Nobody would believe it was real if there wasn't a photo!)

The first part of the week we hovered around the TV watching the Casey Anthony trial. We were at an art store in Houghton Lake when the verdict came in. Luckily Arnie’s Art Supplies has a coffee shop with a TV. I think the jurors watched a different trial than I did. I respect the verdict, but I don't like the verdict. 

Next we played with our art supplies. We made mixed media pieces. We made collages. All day and into the wee hours of the morning we played at our artistic endeavors. 

No trip to Michigan is complete without a night camping in the woods. Well, actually, that is not true. My trip is quite complete without a night in a tent. However, the 4 kids camped by a lake with their mom and their Uncle John. They had a campfire. They made S’mores. They slept under the stars. And in the morning they awoke to find Mama Bear and Baby Bear tracks right by their tent. 

It’s rumored that bears love S’mores. And somewhere in the woods of Northern Michigan there are two bears with marshmallow whiskers.

The visit is never long enough. It is very rare that we all get together. In honor of the occasion I lifted the ban on photos of myself and we posed for a family photo. It’s amazing to look at the lives that have been created because an L.A. girl married a Michigan boy 50+ years ago. My aunt and uncle have every reason to be proud of their children, grandchildren and maybe even their niece! 

And no, I am not in this version of the photo. I was focusing the camera. I have not lifted the ban on photos of myself on the internet. 

Meanwhile, back in Maryland- somebody was not happy about being left behind while that DOG got to go to Michigan:

Achieving Balance

I am horrible at balance. I get all wrapped up in my passion d' jour. Sometimes it's painting. Sometimes it's knitting. Sometimes it's photography. Last week I got Photoshop Elements and I am having such fun.  Here's a photo of my girl Gladys that originally included her mom and a leash:

Speaking of Gladys, I will be babysitting her next week. I can't wait because I so miss having a dog.

Back to my balance issue- sometimes it seems that life has so many moving parts. I want to exercise, eat healthy, do yoga, write in my journal, keep my house nice. And the list goes on. And I seem to be able to do one thing at a time to the exclusion of all others. But isn't life always a balancing act? Isn't that just part of the human condition? I'm not sure what the answer is. When I figure it out I'll post the secret before I forget it! 

And finally- last weekend in the mountains by the Appalachian Trail:

Mother Nature has this whole balance thing figured out. All of her parts are in perfect alignment. Mother N knows the secret of balance, but she's not talkin'. 

Mixed Up Media

I can jump from hobby to hobby like other people change their socks. I love my hobbies. They keep me sane, keep me calm (most of the time) and keep me feeling alive and joyful.

I love playing with watercolor pencils. I love photographs and most of all I love art supplies. I've done art journal pages in the past, and I have enjoyed it. I jumped into the deep end of the mixed media pool this week and started doing some pieces on canvas.

So much fun. I get to play with all of my art toys. Paint, chalk, tissue, printed images, stamping, ink, were flying. I even got to use a little of my knitted lace on the first collage.

Here's the first -

"When Storm Clouds Gather Look For An Angel"

 And the 2nd-

Wine And Fruit

This distraction came at the perfect time. A friend who I've worked with for 15 years was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Her life has been filled with tragedy starting with the death of her daughter in law followed by the death of her son a few years later. 2 months ago a 2nd son died. Devastated, she took solace in her 9 year old granddaughter whom she'd been raising since infancy. Less than 2 weeks ago she went to the hospital because she was having some breathing problems. They discovered the lung cancer that had metastasized to her liver and bones. She wanted to fight with any means possible, but sadly, that was not to be. Within days of diagnosis her condition deteriorated. She passed away on Monday. She was sick for less than 2 weeks. 

I cannot believe how life can change on a dime. It freaks me out to think one's life can be thrust into total upheaval in the span of a few days. Bobbi was one of the most vivacious, loving people I've ever known. We had great talks. It all happened so fast. It's hard to envision a world without her bubbly ways and spontaneous hugs. I will miss her. Rest In Peace, friend.