It is currently a whopping 5 degrees (F) above zero here today and the sun is shining. It got me to thinking how much I've been whining about the weather being so cold (an annual event here in Wisconsin) and how we spend a LOT of time looking over the fence at the greener grass so to speak. In fact I think we probably miss about 90% of what is good right here right now because we are busy gazing and wishing for what might be. At least I find myself doing that.
You know the thoughts:
"When we have some money in savings it will be better . . ."
"Won't it be nice when the kids are grown up."
"when I get that new X-item then things will turn around for me"
"I just need more time to do the things I want"
"If I were just BLANK (smarter, richer, in a better job, thinner, stronger, wiser) THEN it will all work out for me"
ETC ETC
Now it's not bad to want to keep moving on in the journey of life but being too focused on the distant view as better than the current reality can become a real stumbling block. And most times the view, when you get to it often fails to be as idyllic as your vision from afar.
I've hiked a few small mountains - they are beautiful, wild and majestic. However there is something you don't see from the bottom looking up, the incredibly strong, icy cold, invisible wind. Oh yes, the view is amazing but it comes with a price.
The point is that a constant longing for what we don't have robs us from the joy of where we ARE . . .
Just a thought.
a few of my thoughts about photography, style and other miscellany. . .
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Decluttering Part II
Is going well this week being as I am at home without a vehicle. The cleaning out process is both freeing and revealing. The things I've found astound even me. I realized I have drawers, bins, boxes, and bags with "miscellaneous" items from things I can't remember what they go to. Here's a tip, if you assemble something and it has extra parts, if on the off chance that part breaks or falls off, you will never remember where the extra part is or you won't know what it is anyway - so probably just recycle or pitch it.
I still have a lot to go through in the room upstairs that has been the room we sort of put things in to "go through" . . . I took one of the bookcases from the room down to the newly created playroom/school room and was sort of awe struck by the amount of stuff in the room that really hasn't been used for over a year.
But being forced to stay home (the studio is open by appointment only this week) has gotten me back into the groove of things again. Albeit slowly;).
More later . . .
I still have a lot to go through in the room upstairs that has been the room we sort of put things in to "go through" . . . I took one of the bookcases from the room down to the newly created playroom/school room and was sort of awe struck by the amount of stuff in the room that really hasn't been used for over a year.
But being forced to stay home (the studio is open by appointment only this week) has gotten me back into the groove of things again. Albeit slowly;).
More later . . .
Monday, January 28, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
-15 degrees
Brrrr . . . .
It's been colder but I don't think I'm getting more used to it. The sunshine is nice however. It's sort of the double edge sword, Cold and Sunny or Cloudy/ Dreary but not so cold. I'm glad January is almost at an end.
It's been colder but I don't think I'm getting more used to it. The sunshine is nice however. It's sort of the double edge sword, Cold and Sunny or Cloudy/ Dreary but not so cold. I'm glad January is almost at an end.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Happy Birthday Baby Boy
Price and Value
As I am working through the house (and studio) and eliminating the clutter that has accumulated over the past few years, I've also been reading through Sarah Susanka's books (The Not so Big House and it's related genre). She talks a lot of new building but I know that right now (given the housing market and other factors) building is probably out of the question so I am thinking how can I apply these principles to my existing 105 year old house. Within a budget. Our house, though well maintained for a house of it's age, is well, old. It has issues and yet, it is a pretty cool house: brick foursquare, walk up attic with dormers, simple but finely crafted woodwork, hardwood flooring, a huge pantry, decent basement (for it's age). The great thing is I have gotten some good and "thinking outside the box" type of ideas from Sarah's books and a lot of things I can do on a budget.
So, back to my title. All this cleaning out has lead to a priority assessment of our goods. Family heirlooms we keep - we really don't have too many nor are they big items so I think it won't be hard to find a way to keep those things that are beautiful because they were given to us by people we loved or remind us of people we love.
Case in point: Our jadite salt and pepper shakers. About 7 - 8 years ago my husband (who is notoriously hard to shop for and even harder to hide gifts from) mentioned he liked these particular salt & pepper shakers because his grandpa had a set. Since he isn't often sentimental, I struck upon the idea that this might make a pretty decent gift for him that he wouldn't expect. So I started searching ebay and found several sets with fairly high price tags because back in the day Martha Stewart was giving jadite a little comeback in popularity. I can be a little overly frugal in the gift department and I waited for several months for prices to come down - they didn't and I finally ended up buying a set from a local antique dealer for about 1/2 the ebay price (but still a decent amount for salt & pepper shakers).
Fast forward to this morning as I'm picking up the kitchen I notice how banged up the tops are (despite their heirloom-like status, we thought we best would honor his grandfather by actually using the shakers) and I thought, hey, I'll go out on ebay and see if they have any new tops for these. So I type in the search and a huge list comes up with these jadite shakers all selling for around $20. Now to be fair, most of these are reproductions, since it is often inevitable that when something gets popular again, they will reproduce it on a mass scale, however it looked as if even the originals had fallen to less than 1/2 the price I paid for my little set 7 years ago.
So was it a bad investment?
I am sure if my intention was to make a quick buck, I certainly should be frustrated at the fickleness of the supply and demand system BUT I don't feel in the least cheated out of anything BECAUSE of the VALUE we've received from these shakers. So call me crazy but I realize this purchase was one, (unlike many others we've made) that despite market factors, was a wise investment for us. You see, I bought them because they reminded my husband of his grandfather and his memory is priceless. Every time we use them (and they sit always on our dining room table) it is an opportunity to remember his grandpa. Occasionally they will bring to my husband's memory a story of his grandfather to tell our boys and an opportunity to pass on a bit of history even though none of us got to meet Grandpa Boyce.
Now I know we all love our gadgets but I've spent a lot of money (and by association, time) on items that never will give me the same value as a silly pair of shakers has given us. In fact, if we aren't careful some things can really rob us of value even if the price is seemingly low.
So one of my new purchasing criteria is going to have to include the concept of inherent personal value to my already short list of beautiful and useful.
P.S. (I didn't find any new tops for sale so I guess we'll just have to look at the dented ones a little longer).
So, back to my title. All this cleaning out has lead to a priority assessment of our goods. Family heirlooms we keep - we really don't have too many nor are they big items so I think it won't be hard to find a way to keep those things that are beautiful because they were given to us by people we loved or remind us of people we love.
Case in point: Our jadite salt and pepper shakers. About 7 - 8 years ago my husband (who is notoriously hard to shop for and even harder to hide gifts from) mentioned he liked these particular salt & pepper shakers because his grandpa had a set. Since he isn't often sentimental, I struck upon the idea that this might make a pretty decent gift for him that he wouldn't expect. So I started searching ebay and found several sets with fairly high price tags because back in the day Martha Stewart was giving jadite a little comeback in popularity. I can be a little overly frugal in the gift department and I waited for several months for prices to come down - they didn't and I finally ended up buying a set from a local antique dealer for about 1/2 the ebay price (but still a decent amount for salt & pepper shakers).
Fast forward to this morning as I'm picking up the kitchen I notice how banged up the tops are (despite their heirloom-like status, we thought we best would honor his grandfather by actually using the shakers) and I thought, hey, I'll go out on ebay and see if they have any new tops for these. So I type in the search and a huge list comes up with these jadite shakers all selling for around $20. Now to be fair, most of these are reproductions, since it is often inevitable that when something gets popular again, they will reproduce it on a mass scale, however it looked as if even the originals had fallen to less than 1/2 the price I paid for my little set 7 years ago.
So was it a bad investment?
I am sure if my intention was to make a quick buck, I certainly should be frustrated at the fickleness of the supply and demand system BUT I don't feel in the least cheated out of anything BECAUSE of the VALUE we've received from these shakers. So call me crazy but I realize this purchase was one, (unlike many others we've made) that despite market factors, was a wise investment for us. You see, I bought them because they reminded my husband of his grandfather and his memory is priceless. Every time we use them (and they sit always on our dining room table) it is an opportunity to remember his grandpa. Occasionally they will bring to my husband's memory a story of his grandfather to tell our boys and an opportunity to pass on a bit of history even though none of us got to meet Grandpa Boyce.
Now I know we all love our gadgets but I've spent a lot of money (and by association, time) on items that never will give me the same value as a silly pair of shakers has given us. In fact, if we aren't careful some things can really rob us of value even if the price is seemingly low.
So one of my new purchasing criteria is going to have to include the concept of inherent personal value to my already short list of beautiful and useful.
P.S. (I didn't find any new tops for sale so I guess we'll just have to look at the dented ones a little longer).
Friday, January 11, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Studio CLOSED January 10th
We had a last minute assignment and will NOT be in the Studio today (January 10th) - Thanks for understanding!
--A
--A
Monday, January 07, 2008
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Clutter?
One of the reasons I am hitting my resolution so hard (I know, on day 2) is that for a long, looonngg time I have felt somewhat drowned by my clutter. And I'm not talking about heirloom items or anything nostalgic.
Did you know I found a bag, a large bag, of cut up pieces of fabric strips that theoretically COULD be used to make about 1/3 of a wool rug? I'm thinking this bag found its way into my possession maybe before we lived in Plainview, MN - meaning we are talking maybe 8 - 9 YEARS ago. Not only does this mean I'm getting old, but my hobbies are getting pretty dusty. Now, wouldn't it be better to either donate or recycle these to someone who might actually use them?
The more I think about the job at hand the more I am convinced most of our possessions we accumulate rob us - of time, resources and joy. Or they at least have that potential.
New RULE:
Any item purchased or acquired should meet the following requirements:
a. Useful
b. Beautiful (according to its fashion)
And when it has outlived these for us it can then be:
Recycled or
Donated or
Composted (or combusted appropriately)
Did you know I found a bag, a large bag, of cut up pieces of fabric strips that theoretically COULD be used to make about 1/3 of a wool rug? I'm thinking this bag found its way into my possession maybe before we lived in Plainview, MN - meaning we are talking maybe 8 - 9 YEARS ago. Not only does this mean I'm getting old, but my hobbies are getting pretty dusty. Now, wouldn't it be better to either donate or recycle these to someone who might actually use them?
The more I think about the job at hand the more I am convinced most of our possessions we accumulate rob us - of time, resources and joy. Or they at least have that potential.
New RULE:
Any item purchased or acquired should meet the following requirements:
a. Useful
b. Beautiful (according to its fashion)
And when it has outlived these for us it can then be:
Recycled or
Donated or
Composted (or combusted appropriately)
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
It is only January 2nd
And the Less is More campaign has begun. I've been saying for a long time I was going to go through all our photos the computer, organize them, burn backups (for our personal ones - we always have backups for clients) and clean up. Wow, this is quite a project. We've taken somewhere between 25,000 and 35,000 photos in the past 2 years. That's a lot of organizing. But I'll do a little each day - wish me luck!
--Until later . . .
--Until later . . .
Less is More
Ok, so to all of you who didn't receive our 2007 Christmas Card yet, it is coming. I know it is now 2008 but for a whole month I will continue to mess up writing the date and write 2007 so until I get "into" 2008 I figure I have a grace period for our Christmas card. :) Sorry.
But my blog today isn't about last year - it's about the new year and my one and only "resolution". Less is more.
Way back bc (before children), and when I lived in a very cramped apartment, I had this philosophy of material goods: If we get something new, something needs to be sold, given away or recycled. It was partly a way of keeping our apartment clean and partly just a good way to remove clutter generally from our lives. But somewhere between house ownership and having children the philosophy became more a "hope not realized" than a practical application.
However, after assessing our home clutter, we will be instituting a house wide (and yard, shed and outbuilding) declutter arrangement. I have two whole rooms that are filled with "stuff" - stuff that hasn't been used or opened for several years. It's time to do a little inventory and clean out.
More after the jump . . .
But my blog today isn't about last year - it's about the new year and my one and only "resolution". Less is more.
Way back bc (before children), and when I lived in a very cramped apartment, I had this philosophy of material goods: If we get something new, something needs to be sold, given away or recycled. It was partly a way of keeping our apartment clean and partly just a good way to remove clutter generally from our lives. But somewhere between house ownership and having children the philosophy became more a "hope not realized" than a practical application.
However, after assessing our home clutter, we will be instituting a house wide (and yard, shed and outbuilding) declutter arrangement. I have two whole rooms that are filled with "stuff" - stuff that hasn't been used or opened for several years. It's time to do a little inventory and clean out.
More after the jump . . .
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
LinkWithin
