December 7, 2014 by clumpaday

May I Have Fun Too?

Clump #278: Power through bunch of online orders; day six of seven-day holiday kick-in-the-pants challenge.

Here’s a secret: I really don’t like spending a bunch of money all at once, which is part of what most of us have to do at this time of year. Thank goodness for this blog and challenge. I forced myself to sit down and order some gifts I had been putting off. In two cases the items were on back-order. Drat! I have known I wanted them for quite a while. Why did I wait until peak shopping time?

Don’t be like me!

And speaking of that, I’m still simmering about this advice from Martina McBride in last week’s People magazine. You’ll notice at the bottom of the page: “Tip No. 1: Plan ahead so you can have fun too!”

So many obnoxious comments flooded my head: “Really?”… “Thank you Captain Obvious”… “Ya Think?” … Sorry to sound snarky, and I’m sure Ms. McBride is a wonderful person and country singer and holiday hostess, but … she might as well have written: “Rewire your brain!” It’s not so easy for some of us. And the idea that everyone else is having fun while you are stressing and slaving away sounds sad, but often so true. Thanks for listening.

P.S. An astute reader of this blog correctly identified the elegant white flower in the previous post as a gardenia (not jasmine). Thank you! I’m still thinking of (and posting photos from) Longwood, and won’t even guess at the name of the pretty puff flower pictured above.

December 5, 2014December 6, 2014 by clumpaday

Bag O’ Barbies

Clump #276: Deliver Barbies to food pantry holiday giveaway; day four of seven-days of holiday to-do list.

Today I got rid of … gave away … a bag full of Barbies to the local food pantry’s annual gift giveaway for people in need. Interestingly, when I went to the register at Toys R Us, the woman who was ringing up my purchase was obviously interested in why I was buying so many Barbies. I told her that I was donating them to the food pantry’s giveaway, and she said, “Oh, I use that food pantry.”

She tried to allow me to use as many coupons as the register would, well, register.

I’ve heard that Barbies are losing popularity to Monster High dolls, which sound weird, except for their body proportions, which makes Barbie the more unnatural.

Here are some “Fast Facts About Barbie” from the Barbie website:

Barbie® doll’s full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts
She is from (fictional) Willows, Wisconsin where she attended High School
Barbie® doll’s official birthday is March 9, 1959 – the exact date she was unveiled to the toy industry during New York Toy Fair
Barbie® first appeared in the now-famous black-and-white striped swimsuit
Barbie® doll’s debut look was polished off with her signature ponytail – a hair style representative of the times (1959)
Barbie® doll’s first pet was a horse named Dancer
Barbie® doll’s signature color is Barbie™ Pink (PMS 219)
Barbie® doll stands 11.5 inches tall
The best-selling Barbie® doll ever was 1992 Totally Hair™ doll, with hair from the top of her head to her toes
The Holiday Barbie™ Doll continues to be the number one selling Barbie® doll year after year. In 2013 the annual collectible line celebrated its 25th anniversary
Barbie® doll has had 150+ inspirational careers
Barbie® recently announced she will be celebrating women in business with her new role as entrepreneur
Barbie® first broke through the plastic ceiling as a business executive in 1985
Barbie® traveled into space in 1965, four years before man walked on the moon
Although she has never won an election, Barbie® has run for president 6 times since 1992
Barbie® has been a muse to many artists over the past 5+ decades – including Andy Warhol and Peter Max.

I love the fact that her middle name is Millicent. She traveled to the moon before man, but still hasn’t succeeded in winning a presidential election. Even with 150 inspirational careers!

August 31, 2014 by clumpaday

Paper Chains

Clump #225: Tackle box of swept-up papers and other clutter; day 21 of 30-day challenge.

I must confess to a Clump A Day roadblock. I was dreading clearing out this container of (mostly) paper all day today. The task was especially onerous because much of it was culled from previous clearings … a core clump, one might say, dense in its stubbornness. One might say many other less polite things, but I’ll just add that I spent most of the day doing anything else to avoid it. (“These plants need watering … immediately!”)

I finally got it pretty much sorted out, but there are a few piles I’ll need to consult with other family members about, and a “Do” pile, which will take a bit longer to make go away. More work for tomorrow. But two full bags of paper for recycling are inspiring.

This continues to be the hardest part of my Clump A Day journey: I perform a herculean paper purge, feel victorious, and then the tide comes roaring back … and I’m pulled under again. It’s been especially challenging this summer to keep up with the paper flow while away on vacation.

One such trip was to Boston, where my older sister and I spent a wonderful day at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. In a fairly new “Monk’s Garden,” pictured below, circuitous paths — almost labyrinth-like — wound through beautifully varied greenery …

evoking lessons learned over and over again in an endless (?) loop.

August 29, 2014August 29, 2014 by clumpaday

Antiques, Oddities, and Pretty Flowers

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Babies, Flowers, Life, Paper Clutter, Photos
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Clump #223: Comb through and recycle ancient file folders; day 19 of 30-day challenge.

The photo above of a blue poppy (from a botanical garden in Stavanger, Norway) is for two-year-old twins who, I was told, viewed this blog today. Crying “purple pretty flowers” over and over for five minutes while resisting a nap is the best “like” I’ve ever gotten. Babies were the theme of the day, like this shop sign my husband and I passed by, both sweet and creepy:

But then, it did go along with the general Antiques and Oddities motif of the store:

So … to the clump! An old, old, yes, antique, box of file folders, hideous in their out-of-date-ness.

They contained quaint things like preschool contact lists and actual written directions (before the day of the GPS):

I saved so many magazine and newspaper articles I know I won’t ever reread. A good lesson for the present and my continuous clipping habit. And speaking of clipping, a bit of sweet and creepy of our own: hair from our older daughter’s first hair cut (Awww):

And, finally, the box is empty and a pile of papers is ready for the recycling bag.

I vividly remember having tried the sunflower house, above. The idea was to sow sunflower seeds with morning glory seeds to make a cozy little house. I believe there’s a reason it is shown in a drawn illustration. It never looked this dense and wonderful, just leggy and ratty. Unlike the flowers that grow wild.

Purple pretty flowers!

April 27, 2014May 3, 2014 by clumpaday

A Broken Record

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Decluttering, Flowers, Life, Nostalgia, Photos, Simon and Garfunkel, SNL Shorts
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Clump #202: Deposit son’s coins; glue catch-all; keep emotions in check.

I was on the verge of tears several times today. I could blame it on the weeping cherry tree, clinging onto its last flowers today, that grows beside our Quaker Meeting.

Next, I saw an old photo featuring our son when he played a wise man many years ago in the Christmas Nativity (a poor photo of a poor photo). Ahh, with the little impish grin, he bears the gift of sharp nostalgia.

I watched a recording of SNL Shorts, short films aired on Saturday Night Live through the years. The show ended with scenes of people meeting each other at an airport, set to Simon and Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound.” Cue the waterworks. (The only place I could find it was on “BUCKNACKT’S SORDID TAWDRY BLOG. Not sordid or tawdry at all!)

Today’s clump was depositing coins in our son’s bank account … over thirteen dollars!

They were stored in a broken, molded vinyl record he had been using as a catch-all. I thought I’d have to throw it out …

but I got some krazy glue and put it together. The last little piece almost had me in tears … and my fingers have a gluey coating now, but I finally succeeded.

Not perfect, but still useable.

Two dear friends generously gifted us with lovely cut daffodils. The ones below resemble clusters of yellow butterflies. In the corner, looking on, are the remnants of the other, earlier gift.

I know I have a bit of a problem holding on to things, but you have to admit they do possess a different kind of beauty.

My broken record message is: life is fleeting! Told vividly by kids, trees, flowers, even money.

Soak it up while it’s here.

April 24, 2014 by clumpaday

Study Purge, Take Three

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Decluttering, Earth Day, Flowers, Life, Photos
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Clump #199: Clear out accumulation of clutter in study; throw out Christmas flowers. (Yes, that’s Christmas flowers … stay with me.)

The study … you know, the subject of several previous clearings and relapses? This week it was the receptacle for sorted piles from our son’s room. Oops … I did it again.

Three non-family members visited today, two repairmen and a friend. Wouldn’t you know both visits required time in this cluttered study, the least picked-up room in the house? Groan! I decided to rid the room — again — of all the piles.

First up: the exploded bag of shredded paper. Ugh.

The day before yesterday was Earth Day and I’d picked up this hand-decorated bag at a local grocery store. Good tips!

It heroically contained the mealworm-like paper shreds and saved both the corner of the study and my temper.

Funny how the presence of outsiders makes you see things you can’t believe you’ve let go. Case in point: a pot of paperwhite bulbs given to us at Christmastime. I guess I was so grateful for their promise of spring, fragrance, and life, even when dried out. Out they go. The pot is soaking in water with white vinegar, which will clean it right up.

Also going out, the poinsettia. I’m tired of the dropping leaves, even as beautiful and shell-like as they are. (Photo taken on the top of the stove.)

It’s daffodil and tulip time now, after all.

April 21, 2014 by clumpaday

Now You See It…

Clump #196: Sort son’s shoe collection; day 21 of the 30-day, 30-post Bedroom Blast Challenge.

Simple, straightforward and swift was this clump. Our son was able to eliminate three pairs from the remaining shoes in his room. I put up his shoe holder and placed the keepers there.

Done.

The beautiful eggs I documented in the last few posts are now just a memory. I took this photo right before clearing and cleaning the plate.

It brought to mind Buddhist sand art. While googling the images below, I found this description on Wikipedia:

“The Sand Mandala is a Tibetan Buddhist tradition involving the creation and destruction of mandalas made from colored sand. A sand mandala is ritualistically destroyed once it has been completed and its accompanying ceremonies and viewing are finished to symbolize the Buddhist doctrinal belief in the transitory nature of material life.”

This, in turn, brought to mind some flowers I’d photographed at the dentist’s a few weeks ago…

One blossom looking finished, the next in transition:

Enjoy me now!

April 13, 2014 by clumpaday

Simply Present

Clump #188: Sort through three bags. Day thirteen of my 30-day, 30-post Bedroom Blast Challenge: clear out son’s room before he returns home with more stuff.

Today I had a good Skype-chat with our son and we confronted three piles from his room, including the dreaded “Miscellaneous.” We’ll keep the pile on the right. The other two are heading out, one way or another.

In documenting my visit yesterday to the tea ceremony at Shofuso Japanese House and Garden, I failed to mention the most important aspect: the tea ceremony was a physical demonstration of the concept of being in the present moment, of being mindful.

Each movement was so very deliberate. Each item in the ceremony had its purpose and was handled with care and attentiveness. The simplicity of the surroundings made the awareness of each item more distinct.

My friends and I were enamored with the Ikebana style flower arrangements adorning the house. I looked up Ikebana International when I got home and a definition on the official website read, “In principle, Ikebana aims not at bringing a finite piece of nature into the house, but rather at suggesting the whole of nature, by creating a link between the indoors and the outdoors.”

I know I will never achieve the austere beauty of the Shofuso House, after all, it’s not a real house where people live. But paring down our possessions will limit the visual field and allow us to more fully appreciate and honor the things we do want to keep …

And possibly link us a bit more to the outdoors.

March 3, 2014 by clumpaday

Raising the White Flag

Clump #169: Another (!) paper pile is cleared.

Yesterday, while preparing to have company for dinner, we found a bunch of — PAPER (Dun-dun-dun!) — needing to be dealt with. It was almost more than I could bear. This is precisely the genesis of my paper problem: get ready for company and, in the cleaning process, sweep together excess papers hanging around, shove them into a hidden space (closet, basement, etc.), and vow to get right to the clearing and sorting as soon as my hostess duties are over. (Yeah, right.) Thus the cycle: stash and repeat, stash and repeat … I end up with a paper jam the size of which I just conquered in the month of February.

I had diligently kept my blinders on the twenty-eight piles I’d vowed to get rid of, but other paper had weaseled its way into our house. I was so discouraged after all that paper-work to find myself in the same darn place.

I came home this evening to find my dear husband starting to sort yet another pile:

Do you remember the song “This is the song that never ends”? It came on at the end of the television show Lamb Chop’s Play-Along, with Shari Lewis and her puppets. This is how I feel right now. (Good Lord, when I googled the song, I saw a youtube video that boasted ten hours of it! Oy!)

I have also been feeling as though there’s a psychic connection to my paper purging and the endless winter we’ve been experiencing this year. Right now we, and possibly you, are bracing for another big snow. When will it end? I thought that instead of a bright color for pigment therapy today, I’d wave the white flag. Snow on our street looking like threatening waves of ice:

I’m fighting back the tide with my own whites, magnolia:

Iris with just enough color:

Same with a ruffly orchid:

A flower that reminded me of exploding fireworks:

And ballet slipper-colored roses:

My new motto: don’t fight the endless snow (or paper) … grin and bear it.

February 22, 2014February 23, 2014 by clumpaday

Seeing Light and Color

The February Paper Challenge
cats, Color, Flowers, Life, Motherhood, Paper Clutter, Photos, Whole Foods
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Clump #162: Elevate remaining paper piles; clear and file financial statements.

A quick recap: this was — just part — of the massive paper problem I’ve been chipping away at after our younger daughter threw me a lifeline and sorted everything into specific sub-categories back in January. I was still drowning in paper, but holding on for dear life.

We needed to clear out the above bedroom for guests, so I transported the piles to the infamous study floor, too often the site of clutter relocation. Thus began my 28-day-28-pile challenge on February 1st.

Since then, our cat Pumpkin has been entertaining herself by batting around papers and mixing up the piles when she’s not napping.

Today I took a big step. No more papers on the floor. I have eight days left in the challenge, so I re-sorted eight piles and put them on the kitchen table. How civilized … they’re ready for tea!

Then my husband and I cleared one pile, which consisted of financial statements. Filed most, shredded and recycled the rest.

For the daily dose of color, I draw again on photos I took in Chicago while visiting my older daughter. We were in a huge Whole Foods Market my daughter described as “like a cruise ship.” I know other people visiting a great city might take photos of the tourist sites (not a supermarket) and further, wouldn’t choose a destination much, much colder and windier than home for a winter vacation. I guess I am not like most people!

I took these photos of funny napkins. This is especially appropriate for today, since I feel like I am finally seeing the light. We are actually about to be freed from our impacted paper problem. I can see it now … it’s a dream come true!

This set also spoke to me. My life.

We took way more taxis than I ever have in my life (see punishing weather, above). In one, I happened to focus on the rate chart in front of me and noticed that the “Vomit Clean-up Fee” is fifty dollars. I remember thinking, well, fair enough. And then I wondered how much I would have if I had been paid fifty dollars for every time I performed vomit clean-up. Maybe enough to take a vacation on an actual cruise ship. Give birth, change diapers, clean vomit … quite a job description.

Okay, enough nauseating talk! Let us cleanse the palate with the daily color palette.

Here is the supermarket, with a multitude of hues:

Roses and eucalyptus, love that grey and pink:

A striking arrangement at a coffee shop in the area:

Tulip heaven:

Back home, this was the white, foggy world of — melting — snow this morning …

And the same general scene this evening. It’s working! Thinking color is bringing it to our white world!

Finally, today’s “song” of the day is “Rapper’s Delight” with Brian Williams and Lester Holt on Jimmy Fallon’s The Tonight Show. I can’t imagine how many intern-hours were spent to accomplish this … enjoy!

Clump A Day

postcards from the clogosphere

Tag / Flowers