Precious memory or Junk?

Yesterday was a big cleaning day and I tackled my closet for the first time in a year. I try to do it every year around spring cleaning time but sometimes I push it off for a few extra months, like this year.
After getting it done and put back together, I had a long sit down outside under the stars. Yeah it was a long 12 hour day, no it wasn't all on just the closet. While sitting there and reviewing what all I had gotten into and saved, I got to wondering about what will happen to all my stuff when I die.

I've always been one to know that yes I could die at anytime. I might not wake up or I might have a tree fall on me or worse I might cut myself so bad that I bleed to death before help could arrive. My point is you never ever know just how or when you will go. I guess this thinking process has come to mind cause hubby's coworker went home to find his wife had died of a stroke at 45 last week.

I have watched families fight and pick over loved ones possessions sometimes to the point of fighting. In a way I understand that, the item has precious memories attached to them or they know it was something precious to their loved one.

I look around at my "stuff" and wonder does anyone know why this or that was precious to me, why I continue to keep it and not just chunk it away. Well to tell ya the truth I really don't know why I keep somethings cause when I do die it is just going to be a house of junk that no one will understand and will probably throw it all away.

As I don't have any children of my own that shared in the memories of why I have what I have, I wonder the logic of keeping anything at all. Maybe I should wrap up my items individually with a note as to why it was important to me.

That washcloth isn't just any washcloth, it was knitted by my blind great grandmother!
That rose necklace (yes it was from AVON) used to hang around my grandmother neck.
That purple rock in the shape of an egg was given to me by the hubby's father.
That green scratchy baby blanket was mine made by my birth mother. 
That 80's skin tight dress was from me and my best friend back in our teens.
GAWD forbid if anyone EVER throws away my Bon Jovi t-shirt!!! (I think I will request to be wearing it!)
ect..ect.. So many things to the unknowing that will be just junk.

Soo, for those of you with children to pass your precious items to, let them know what they are and why they mean something.


 

Wondering....

Sometimes I start thinking and wondering why we have so much stuff. I'm not just talking about myself here, nearly everyone I know has a storage shed or even rent one. Is it because we don't have large barns. basements or attics to put in all in, like days gone by. I tend to watch hoarding shows and old movies. One thing strikes my interest when comparing the 30's and 40's to people of today. We have a bunch of stuff!

In the old era regular woman (not the social elite, they had everything) had:
A handful of clothes, maybe just enough to fill a trunk.
Two pairs of shoes, if they were that lucky.
One tube of lipstick and some face powder. They just had to powder their noses!
When the young ladies got married they didn't need a moving van to transport their stuff. Most were capable of carrying their stuff by hand. Most had all that they needed and no more than that. The essentials.

The essentials...my have they grown.

When we moved 3 years ago, it took many many loads of a jam packed flatbed trailer to get all of our essentials relocated. AND I did some major throwing away while packing!

Back to the wondering phase... I wonder if the great depression has anything to do with our desire to have more? Lots of people had to sell what little they had just to survive and as times got better they replenished. BUT I think a good portion of those folks suffered emotional scars so deep that they passed on this compulsion to "have" onto their kids and so on.

I know my grandparents had very little in the 40's, their love, a child and the basic essentials. BUT over the decades my grandmother was on a constant receiving, acquiring and hoarding binge. To the point that in the 80's the attic, basement and half of the 2 car garage was full to the brim. Not to mention the rest of the house.

I also see this same pattern in my dad. His most common phrase..I might need it someday! I must have the extra washer, cause what if the one were using quits on us. Yeah that is my dad. LOL! You just never know when your going to need something and then you'll regret not having it. Soo even with their tiny budget they pay for storage.

I am also a victim of this "Have" syndrome. We have a storage unit out back and it is full of tools (his stuff) and such. One corner is portioned out for me and yes it is already full. I have debated on getting another one for some of the things in the house that need to go out. BUT then I think...Why? Why do I have stuff that I'm going to put outside and leave there for who knows how long?

Then I think about hubby's side of the family.

When Granny Faye (his grandmother) died hubby was told to go through the garage. All of his grandfathers things were in there and he had been dead since hubby was a child. All of his stuff was left there untouched for decades. It was kinda cool going through all that old stuff and coming across some treasures of his youth.

Then their is his own mother. She has 3 storage sheds, a full house and a 2 car garage that has never had room for a car.

Soo I sit here and wonder why do we have the need to buy, get, acquire and hoard it away in every nook, cranny or storage shed? What happened to just having what we really need?

Randomness

The Christmas cards are done.
The second blanket almost finished.
Christmas is 10 days away and I'm not ready.
The sky is gloomy and the air is way too crisp.
The trees are bare and the ground is crunchy.
One truck is broke down and the money is not to be found.
Family drama continues on, season doesn't matter.
I'm feeling a little scroogie. Bah humbug.


Well now that I got that dreariness out of my system, lets move on to better things.
I finished the first blanket of the season.


To my bf's surprise (and my own) who is always on me about finishing things. The last blanket I did (for myself) took me two years to finish and the one before that three years. Yes, I am a very slow crocheter and do procrastinate ALOT.

The second blanket of the season:

Just two more stripes and then I can put it together and trim it out. Must finish before Christmas.

Currently waiting on my order of a series of books by Patricia Hickman. She writes religious novels set in historical time periods. They are so well written, I sometimes I forget they are fiction. As most of you know, I'm not big on religion but every now and then I dabble.

Just in case I don't make it back by Christmas, I hope you all have a very merry one.

What Luxury!

A little something I forgot to put in yesterdays post.

As you know I have been trying to clean out my room and get it ready for new flooring. Well I rented a storage unit and have made a few trips to unload already. At the entrance to the facility a pile of junk has been forming, you can't help but look at it. Okay I can't help from looking at it. Yes it does seem like hubby's syndrome has wearing off power.

Anyhow, I saw this two tier cat tower sitting there. I craned my neck to get a better look, surprisingly enough it was in pretty good shape. Yup, you guessed it, I brought it home. I did take the time to clean it with carpet cleaner and sprayed it down with a smell good spray.

Any one who knows cats know that they can at times be unpredictable, so I was crossing my fingers that they would like it. Within ten minutes their noses were all over it in wonder of this monstrous thing. Five minutes later Whiskers is sharpening his claws on the post. Yeah success!

They were in need of a newer tower, the one I got at the thrift store four years ago currently looks like this:


Oh Yeah! Even cats can step up in this world. Were styling now!

Whiskers now uses this spot as a sleeping area and a tactical advantage in his never ending war with Peaches.

Life is good!

Stuff Around the House (with new camera)

Pics from my new camera:
Anyone know what kind of bugs these are?

Can ya see the bite holes on my fan?

My little springtime centerpiece.

I threw this pic in just to show you the comparision from old camera to new camera. This is the old one.

New one. Stuff on top of my pantry system. Elephants, green glass and metal tray.

I love my cookie jar! I bought it on Ebay after searching for months.

More green glass and the prettiest TV tray top I have ever seen.

More green glass and Mahogany salad bowl set from Haiti.

Probably the best pic I have ever taken of Whiskers.

Stuff Around the House

Hubby had to go to work without his usual lunch bag, I slacked off and forgot to go to the store for bread. I gave him what cash I had for lunch.

Last night we was talking about finainces and he said he needed to bring home more 60 hours or plus paychecks. I told him If he brought one of those home I would buy him a steak! Deal was made!

He totally cheated and went to "Steaks to go" for lunch! It is a drive thru steak house in New Braunfels. Instead of giving him little ketchup packets, they gave him this cute little glass bottle!


It is just a little bigger than his Zippo lighter.
Isn't it just the cutest?!
Should hubby still get a steak from me?

Stuff Around the House

Yeah, I know. Another blurry pic. My camera and I are not getting along.
But that is not what this post is about.
It's about the piece of paper.
Can ya read it? Can ya believe it?
High Speed is now available in your (my) area!
Woohoo!!!

I have had this flyer hanging around on my desk (tormenting, torturing and teasing me) for about 2 weeks now and talked it over with brother and Sister J (my technical advisers). Asked questions, received questions to ask. Browsed around on the Internet looking to see what others had to say and learned a lot.

I called the company twice to get those answers and was very pleased. It was going to be a total cost of 250 just for the equipment and installation. I was very concerned, that if it didn't work or I didn't like it. I would lose out on all that money. Thankfully it has a 30 guarantee, for a full refund.

I present hubby with all the info and asked if it would be something that he would be willing to save for.

He said...



"You still have the money I asked you to save back from the income tax money, don't ya?"

Yes

"Well, happy birthday!" (my b-day isn't till may)

I love that guy!!

I called the company yesterday and set up an installation for the 23rd.
I am sooooooo excited! I hope it all goes smoothly and I will soon be able to view videos and slide shows, and maybe, just maybe, I will be able to keep up with all of yall's posts. Wouldn't that be nice!

Stuff Around The House

Tortillas, the staple of every Southern Texas household. Breakfast tacos are huge here.

I found this crock in a flea market (naturally) about 15 yrs ago. I just couldn't resist. I had never seen one like it in all my years of tortillas. Most folks that I know have the plastic version. Just in looking at that crock right now..I got up to see if it has any markings on it, to indicate who made it. All it has is a persons name scribbled into the clay..Clarence Brown. I'm guessing that would indicate that it is handmade. Interesting, I had never looked before.

Because of this little jem, I decided to try my hand at making tortillas.

I would like to say that they were easy, but at first they were very difficult. They are supposed to be round and a little chewy. Mine came out like the shape of Texas and very crispy. They made great Chalupas!

After many years of practice, they still weren't perfect, but at least they were getting better.

I don't know why I stopped making them, but I did. Life got a little busier and it was so much easier to just buy them. Lazy!

Time to get hubby off to work! Maybe he'll get some breakfast tacos to start his day!

Stuff Around The House

A Tease of Spring.



My peach tree is in full bloom. Yesterday was a fabulous 60 degrees and just standing at my front door sounded like I had walked into a bee hive. The bees were busy at work, going from blossom to blossom.

There was soo many of them, I was scared to let the dogs out, thinking they might get attacked. The dogs did go out several times and laid on the porch, like the bees were no big deal. They have guts! Me, I went out the back door!

Unfortunately, the temps dropped last night and the high for today is only 44. Tomorrow night is supposed to freeze, hopefully it will only be in the freezing temps for a short while. I would really hate to miss out on some peaches again this year. Last year the tree was full of peaches, but only two made it to maturity. Hubby and I had a peach each!

This Texas weather is crazy this year. Okay, I know it has been crazy everywhere else too. So, for all of you bogged down by the snow, here is a early taste or tease of SPRING.

Stuff Around the House

This is what I found laying around the house Saturday, while scouting out a pic for y'all to enjoy.

Click to enlarge



You would think hubby was freezing to death. We live in south Texas and he was wrapped up in long johns, sweat pants with hoodie, robe and blanket. What you can't see is that under that blanket is Taco and Chaquita. With Whiskers on top, he got so snuggly warm he fell asleep!


Over at It's Serious This Time, Kaylen is having a giveaway. This time she is giving away 3 heart shaped key chains! I have entered this giveaway and I'm sharing this link with you. Go check it out!

Stuff Around the House

Ah, so it is finally Tuesday again. I took pics in preparation for today's post, but since I told yall yesterday that I was headed to go get that dresser I had been pining for, I thought I would do that instead.

A little story...

About a month ago (Dec 27th) on my way back from grocery shopping, I stopped at this little tiny town's Flea Market. (The building was an 18 wheeler garage, they gutted it last summer and converted it to our own little multiple family continuous yard sale. Ever since it opened, I have been a frequent customer.) I went halfway down looking over things carefully (don't want to miss anything), when my eyes fell on a dresser and the rest of the place just melted out of view.

I looked it over, it had some slight flaws, but all in all a very nice piece. I guess you could say it was Love at first sight, you know that feeling in your gut that says "I am perfect for you and you are perfect for me."

It was as if this dresser was talking to me...
Please take me home, wash me, polish me and use me! I need a warm home, this cold dark place is ruining my wood! Do you know how awful it is to have rats think you are perfect to nest in. They chewed a hole in my un-see-ables!

I asked the man "How much?" He say 60, but I'll take 50. My heart sank. I was currently the owner of only 32. I looked at it once more and left. Determined (in my mind) to save up the money and hope it would still be there.

I went back once a week, to make sure it was still there. Thankfully it was, each time.

Finally, (through a bit of financial luck) I was headed to get my diamond in the ruff. I walk in and instantly sent my glance to where it had been all this time. I started to panic! The whole area was empty. I rush down to the area, my heart sinking at each step. I was audibly muttering "Oh, No!" I felt like I was an the verge of a full blown tantrum. I swung around to look back towards the entrance to send the cruel lady who sold it a growling look.

Suddenly,
Out of the corner of my eye (as if beaming it's dull smile at me) there it was on the opposite wall.

I breathed.

Then I saw this other woman walking towards it (I not knowing at the time, she was a worker there), I rushed over there and planted my big butt on it, not putting any weight on it, but getting my point across! It's Mine, back off!

I can't remember the last time I was eager to whip out money and give it to someone else! Relief washes over me and at last we are together.

After spending the last two days doing some heavy duty cleaning and fixing some of it's minor flaws (like the hole the rats chewed) and with fresh liners, I proudly present my new dresser.

Stuff Around the House

My collection of pale green glass jars with cork tops, on my bathroom counter.

Total ensemble $10, most all was found at flea markets and thrift stores.

Two jars filled with sea shells and one with a stalk of fake grass.

Shell tea candle holder is one of a pair and was found at the Dollar Tree.

The coral with turtles is one of the presents from MIL.

Everybody have a great day!

Stuff Around the House

I have decided to show you some stuff around the house. I don't know if I will keep this on a Tuesday or not. I wish I could be as predictable as our other blogging buddies, but I don't know if my memory can be relied on to that extent. I guess it all depends on whether yall like the idea.

Here is a pic of the coffee cups I have sitting on my kitchen window sill...

Now that I look at the pic myself, I notice I really need to wash the window inside and out. What is that large drop on the outside? Paint!

Those coffee cups, I picked up in a flea market in Shreveport, Louisiana. They intrigued me from the first look. They are handmade, they are all different in sizes, shape, handles and color but they are all made by the same person. Someone with the initials WS or SW. Hard to say which was carved first..

Don't know whats up with that 2!

I like the earthiness of them. I also like the fact that someone went through the loving effort to make them. Sometimes I wonder..Was it a class project or someones hobby? Was they done on purpose to be different or was each one done separately as someone fine tuned their craft? Those cups have a story, I just haven't figured it out yet and probably never will.

The other object in that first pic, is a bottle that my brother did for me. He did that about 13 years ago when he was about 15. I'm racking my brain for those numbers, just so you know they might be off a little.

It is masking tape made to look old and glue brushed on with a cute pic of an Elephant playing in a tub. I was really into Elephants for a very long time and so that was very thoughtful and crafty of him. I love that piece so much it has been on display ever since I got it and even had to have him repair it last year.

So there you have it, a peek at my window display. Those coffee cups are usually spread out along the sill, but I scrunched them up yesterday for fear Whiskers the cat would knock one down. He kept jumping up on the sill to look out at the birds, made me real nervous!