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And so it goes....
Feb. 1st, 2018 04:45 pmI've been busyish the last few days. The porch has been getting on my nerves--it's less than six feet wide, one side is lined with bookcases, the other has windows. There's the front door at one end, and another bookcase at the other. There's also a credenza under one window, and little by little, the rest of the space has been consumed by
a (borrowed) shop-vac
my walker
my wire shopping trolley
four plastic tubs of stuff from Florida
multiple boxes of books
a headboard
a wall mirror
a bowling ball
and the chair I use when I'm reading or waiting for the bus or whatever
This is quite a lot of content in a relatively small space, and it was getting progressively more difficult to navigate. Over the weekend, I started shifting things around. Giant box of Louis L'Amour went on the top of one of the bookcases. That made room for the shop-vac on top of the credenza. I started going through the tubs, which has been a mixed blessing.
On the one hand, I've found things I was worried about--I've retrieved the Northwood vase that my mom treasured, I've found quite a few family heirlooms--not that there are any heirs to pass them along to. I've found my very favorite piece of milk glass--a vase S gave me when I admired it. (That surprised me, as S wasn't in the habit of handing over things like that. Knowing her taste in decor as I did, I really didn't expect her to part with it just because I said it was nice, but she did, and it's my favorite gift from her.) Not to mention all the towels and linens they were all wrapped in--much laundry awaits me!
I've also found things I totally forgot I had, and am surprised I brought. And after going through three of the tubs, and looking at the label that says 'XMAS' on the last one, I'm vexed--there's NO SIGN of my Fiestaware. None of it, and GK says that's all the tubs from the shed. Either they were stolen--because god only knows what got ripped off the first week or so that I was here--or those fuck-nuggets never but it in the shipping cube. Equally likely, as a number of things disappeared that were supposed to be sent; GK just rolls her eyes when I rant about those idiots, but they unpacked boxes I'd already packed--stuff got sold that wasn't supposed to be up for grabs--and now four place settings of Fiestaware plus several completer pieces are gone. Mind you, I'm not sure where the heck I'd put them, but they were MINE. I also don't see the cookie jar that was a gift from a friend of the family when I was seven: two children looking out of the window of a snow-covered cottage. Lift off the roof to get to the cookies....
Anyway, there's now a decent aisle to get through down the porch. I work til by back starts to complain, then I come in and sit down. I look forward to the day when the mirror is properly hanged in my bedroom, the headboard is donated, the dross of books have found new homes and I can install a comfortable seating area under the windows at the far end and simply enjoy the space. The chair that's back there now is a barstool--the height is easy for me to get up from--but I really want a comfy chair with a table and footstool beside it, so I can spend a cozy hour or three just sitting with my nose in a book.
It's a process, I keep reminding myself. My office has changed for the better, after the Great Birth Certificate Hunt of 2018. The living room needs an equally intense reorganization. I've been shuffling boxes around in my bedroom, which is frustrating--it feels like I keep opening the same boxes and finding in the same things, and I have no idea what to do with it all.
Still, I love my bedroom. It makes me happy, and that's not something I ever said about my room in Florida! I've wanted a black and white bedroom for years and years, and I've finally got it. There are a few notes of pink as an accent color...the shelf of boxes and hats over my bed lends some color, but I've been pretty strict with my accessorizing, like picture frames--under the shelf of hats is a row of pictures from side to side. In the center, framed in black, is a poster for a theater performance of "Auntie Mame" that I saw a couple of years ago, flanked by two small decorative white-framed mirrors. There are two other pics to the left of it and three to the right. They're all of women--from Marilyn Monroe on Mars to a Cuban senorita dancing, a full-bodied hedonist to a nun at prayer to Mae West. It's eclectic, cozy, feminine--and I love it.
Tomorrow, instead of working on the house, GK is taking me to see "Winchester", with Helen Mirren. I've been excited about it ever since I first heard they were making a movie of it, although the trailer looks rather luridly sensational. The Winchester House has been an enthusiasm of mine since I was nine or so and read an article about it in a kids travel magazine put out by Gulf. Going there is definitely on my bucket list, but meanwhile, I'm eagerly anticipating the movie. GK said it isn't something she's really enthused about, but she was able to get free tickets via some app she's got, so away we go!
Laundry. I need to go do laundry....
..
a (borrowed) shop-vac
my walker
my wire shopping trolley
four plastic tubs of stuff from Florida
multiple boxes of books
a headboard
a wall mirror
a bowling ball
and the chair I use when I'm reading or waiting for the bus or whatever
This is quite a lot of content in a relatively small space, and it was getting progressively more difficult to navigate. Over the weekend, I started shifting things around. Giant box of Louis L'Amour went on the top of one of the bookcases. That made room for the shop-vac on top of the credenza. I started going through the tubs, which has been a mixed blessing.
On the one hand, I've found things I was worried about--I've retrieved the Northwood vase that my mom treasured, I've found quite a few family heirlooms--not that there are any heirs to pass them along to. I've found my very favorite piece of milk glass--a vase S gave me when I admired it. (That surprised me, as S wasn't in the habit of handing over things like that. Knowing her taste in decor as I did, I really didn't expect her to part with it just because I said it was nice, but she did, and it's my favorite gift from her.) Not to mention all the towels and linens they were all wrapped in--much laundry awaits me!
I've also found things I totally forgot I had, and am surprised I brought. And after going through three of the tubs, and looking at the label that says 'XMAS' on the last one, I'm vexed--there's NO SIGN of my Fiestaware. None of it, and GK says that's all the tubs from the shed. Either they were stolen--because god only knows what got ripped off the first week or so that I was here--or those fuck-nuggets never but it in the shipping cube. Equally likely, as a number of things disappeared that were supposed to be sent; GK just rolls her eyes when I rant about those idiots, but they unpacked boxes I'd already packed--stuff got sold that wasn't supposed to be up for grabs--and now four place settings of Fiestaware plus several completer pieces are gone. Mind you, I'm not sure where the heck I'd put them, but they were MINE. I also don't see the cookie jar that was a gift from a friend of the family when I was seven: two children looking out of the window of a snow-covered cottage. Lift off the roof to get to the cookies....
Anyway, there's now a decent aisle to get through down the porch. I work til by back starts to complain, then I come in and sit down. I look forward to the day when the mirror is properly hanged in my bedroom, the headboard is donated, the dross of books have found new homes and I can install a comfortable seating area under the windows at the far end and simply enjoy the space. The chair that's back there now is a barstool--the height is easy for me to get up from--but I really want a comfy chair with a table and footstool beside it, so I can spend a cozy hour or three just sitting with my nose in a book.
It's a process, I keep reminding myself. My office has changed for the better, after the Great Birth Certificate Hunt of 2018. The living room needs an equally intense reorganization. I've been shuffling boxes around in my bedroom, which is frustrating--it feels like I keep opening the same boxes and finding in the same things, and I have no idea what to do with it all.
Still, I love my bedroom. It makes me happy, and that's not something I ever said about my room in Florida! I've wanted a black and white bedroom for years and years, and I've finally got it. There are a few notes of pink as an accent color...the shelf of boxes and hats over my bed lends some color, but I've been pretty strict with my accessorizing, like picture frames--under the shelf of hats is a row of pictures from side to side. In the center, framed in black, is a poster for a theater performance of "Auntie Mame" that I saw a couple of years ago, flanked by two small decorative white-framed mirrors. There are two other pics to the left of it and three to the right. They're all of women--from Marilyn Monroe on Mars to a Cuban senorita dancing, a full-bodied hedonist to a nun at prayer to Mae West. It's eclectic, cozy, feminine--and I love it.
Tomorrow, instead of working on the house, GK is taking me to see "Winchester", with Helen Mirren. I've been excited about it ever since I first heard they were making a movie of it, although the trailer looks rather luridly sensational. The Winchester House has been an enthusiasm of mine since I was nine or so and read an article about it in a kids travel magazine put out by Gulf. Going there is definitely on my bucket list, but meanwhile, I'm eagerly anticipating the movie. GK said it isn't something she's really enthused about, but she was able to get free tickets via some app she's got, so away we go!
Laundry. I need to go do laundry....
..