Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Togetherness

For the last 2 weeks my house has been full - 5 extra people, 1 extra dog and lots of stuff. Three generations together! My oldest son and his family have had a 3 week gap between moving out of their old house and moving into their new house. So they are camping out with me.

As a social experiment this intergenerational living isn't bad. I've gotten to enjoy the unscripted moments with the grandchildren over the breakfast table; the whoops of delight when a video game goes well; the boundless energetic sword fights; a quiet conversation on the porch over popsicles.

There have been moments of frustration, consternation and anger, on all sides; but isn't that part of life? Messy at its best.

My son and daughter-in-law have made it their mission to make my life easy. They have climbed up to high cabinets to empty and clean, cooked some awesome meals, and arranged for a cleaning lady to keep the dust and dirt at an acceptable level. I feel loved and appreciated.

We have 4 more days before the big move out. They are ready for their own space, but they have been good housemates, and I will miss them even if it is only a 7 mile drive.

I plan to enjoy our last few days of extreme togetherness. Hooray for family!!!!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

I Meant to Do My Work Today

Poet - John LeGallienne

I MEANT to do my work to-day -
But a brown bird sang in the apple-tree
And a butterfly flitted across  the field,
And all the leaves were calling me.

And the wind went sighing over the land,
Tossing the grasses to and fro,
And a rainbow held out its shining hand -
So what could I do but laugh and go?

Here's hoping everyone has a day when they can enjoy the pleasures of nature! Thanks for the inspiration of the pics, Allyson and Tyson.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Another Sleepless Night

Okay, enough is enough. I need my sleep.

Does anyone have any ideas about how to get rid of stuff? If it were you, what steps would you take? Your thoughts will be listened to and appreciated.

J is helping me with pictures of furniture this week.


 
 
This is the master bed, or should I say BED! I found this in a barn in Pennsyvania in 1970's. Love it. But we have no idea of age. Looks like it is handmade. Much of it is pegged. Through the many family moves it has some splits in the frame, but it is still sturdy.

I'm finding that craig's list is a limited tool. Most responses are spam! "Send us your private email because we like your 'posted' so much." That is one example of the responses to my listings. A little aside, I have met 2 amazing crocheters who between me have given great homes to my yarn stash!) Now we (J and I) are thinking about trying Etsy. We'll see if that is a better audience.

AND, what am I going to do with Annarella Girl? Any ideas? I've never been wildly successful but steady orders and a few shows have been good to me. I've kept busy while exercising my creative muscles. At the end of a year I usually break even or a smidge on the plus side. I can't see quitting - I need a reason to get up in the morning. But what form will my business take? One idea that niggles at my dreams is to do 3-4 shows a year. Keep participating in Red Poppy Festival, Georgetown, and Wilmington Flower Market, Delaware. I'd love to find a late summer and fall show - maybe near Chattanooga or Jacksonville.  Now all I need to do is sucker, oops mean entice, someone into helping me. I'll be toying around with this dream for a while, so you have plenty of time to give me input. (If you think the time has come for me to stop making dresses, I'd like to hear from you, just be gentle!)

Oh, my, I see more sleepless nights heading my way.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Anxiety Reigns

Or maybe that is anxiety rains. I've just been cruising along. Sorting out closets, cleaning drawers, searching into the darkest reaches of cabinets. I'm not breaking any speed records but just trying to keep moving forward in the great "GET RID OF IT ALL" project.

Screech!!! That's the sound of brakes locking up. Wide awake at night wondering - who's gonna buy or take all this stuff?, how can I get all this sorted?, what do I do about Annarella Girl?, why did I think changing my life so drastically was a good idea?. (Even as I write this I can feel my heart pounding.) In short, what were we thinking??????

So welcome to my anxiety week. You might want to tune out at this point unless you enjoy a good whine!

I'm frightened by the sheer volume of the stuff we own. Furniture - antiques, vintage, and modern; art - oils, prints, pastels, contemporary and varied; china - fine, everyday and in-between; pottery - vases, plates, cups; silver - serving pieces, bud vases, sterling, silverplate, cutlery; linens - tablecloths, runners, towels good for rags; kitchen wares - small appliances, utensils, baking tools, casseroles, bowls, knives; tools - lawn and garden stuff, hand tools, screwdrivers, assorted nails and screws; glasses - some crystal, water, wine and cordial; and more craft supplies, books, cds, lamps, miscellaneous office tools. And all this is just a sampling of what we have. How am I going to find homes for all? 

There is some good stuff which should not be thrown out. My dream is that someone will enjoy and treasure the art as we have. Some of the furniture is worthy of a good home where it will be treated with care. Some of the furniture will be good for a student apartment or house. I live in a small community which probably doesn't have enough homes for everything. That is the reality. So some things will probably wind up at a Goodwill or even a dump.

Today I concentrate on putting one foot in front of another in hopes that baby steps forward will eventually leave anxiety far behind and the end goal in clear sight. My heart says that change is good even when scary. On pinterest I'm collecting pictures of beaches and oceans to remind me of what I can anticipate.

 
Heart racing, palms sweating, hot flashing, teeth grinding I leave you and go tackle another cabinet.