February 24, 2014 by clumpaday

Spring Greening

Uncategorized
Green, Kermit The Frog, Life, Oprah Magazine, Paper Clutter, Photos, Spring
3 Comments

Clump #165: Shred, recycle and file assorted papers. Only four piles to go!

The daily paper clump was served with tea today. (Tea and clumpet?) It was a pile of ornery things that hadn’t fit into one category … must have been put together by our cat.

I got around to reading the latest Oprah Magazine which, fittingly, was their “annual guide to clearing some space in your head, your heart, your sock drawer.” I admit to a high degree of skepticism about such articles (as often as I buy and read them), since they usually contain little more than spiffy new things in which to store your clutter. But, I have to say, these “New Rules of De-Cluttering” made sense.

Here’s an example, Rule Number 10:

Inspired by the Oprah magazine and my green tea, above, I’m devoting another segment of pigment therapy to the color of growth: green!

Even when everything else is dying back, brilliant green moss carries on:

Where might you guess I took the photo below? If you guessed New York City, you’d be right. Lovely that the leaves of the forget-me-nots are heart shaped.

Incredible, the tiny buds that grow so large …

For maximum sun collection …

And in amazing variety:

In honor of our son in Norway, a Nordic god from a Montreal Botanical Garden display, whose fine antlers seem to join with the branches of the green, green trees:

After compiling these photos, the song of the day was suddenly obvious: “It’s Not So Easy Being Green” by Kermit The Frog. Ah, it gets me every time.

But green’s the color of Spring

And green can be cool and friendly-like

And green can be big like an ocean, or important

Like a mountain, or tall like a tree …

February 23, 2014 by clumpaday

The Green Light

Uncategorized
Already Gone, Green, Life, Paper Clutter, Photos, The Eagles
2 Comments

Clump #164: Clear away pile number 23, life insurance paperwork.

Some wives present dessert after dinner; this evening I served my husband a clump of life insurance paperwork. Lucky guy! Below, left: recycle; right: recycle and shred. A smaller pile, filed.

Even if the grass, plants, and trees are not green yet, stores are pushing the color like Christmas decorations in October. Both silly:

And sweet:

Who am I to resist? The pigment therapy color for today is great, glorious green!

A trio of photos of green growing things forming passageways …

through which a few people I love walked …

we’re moving toward the green!

I heard a familiar song on the radio yesterday, The Eagles’ “Already Gone.” These lyrics suddenly jumped out at me:

So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key

I made a connection to our self-inflicted paper jam. The reality of finally setting ourselves free has not fully sunken in. We’ve had the keys all along. But, soon..

I will sing this victory song
Woo-hoo-hoo, my, my woo-hoo-hoo

I often listen to WXPN, 88.5 FM. For any music lovers out there, the station has been offering a free download a day “To get you through the cruelest month of February … twenty stellar studio session performances.” Tomorrow, Monday, February 24 — one day only — all twenty will be available to download. They will disappear at midnight on February 28 … just like my paper piles!

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
4 Comments

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!

February 19, 2014February 23, 2014 by clumpaday

Pharrell Pink

Clump #160: Sort and file documents from parents’ lawyer.

This is why I am dedicating a week to color therapy: below, another stop sign Mother Nature blew through. Stop — now! We must remember that color in the landscape will return, must return … return … please!!

It was just as grim inside as I tackled a pile of papers from the lawyer handling details of our parents’ estate. I had to lighten up the photo with this book by Pharrell Williams.

I first became aware of Pharrell Williams when he was an adviser to Usher on The Voice. I really liked his attitude and style. Little did I know, he’s a creative genius. From an article by Mary Kaye Schilling in Fast Company magazine, I learned he’s a “musician; music producer; philanthropist; fashion designer; media mogul; author; furniture designer; jewelry designer; fine artist; textile manufacturer; tech star; gearhead; architect.” She writes, “Williams’s productivity is remarkable, but perhaps more impressive is his humility. In the two hours we are together, he takes credit for … nothing.”

Pharrell Williams might just be the coolest human on the planet. Now his fame has exploded with his involvement in the songs Blurred Lines (Robin Thicke), Get Lucky (Daft Punk), and Happy from Despicable Me 2. In honor of the pink book (a splurge for me, even with a good coupon — but worth it), I give my fellow color-starved winter warriors … pink:

This photo was taken in New York’s Finger Lakes region where my mother’s father lived (remember green greens?):

Bleeding hearts (how can you not love them), in Lancaster County, PA :

Another Strasburg, PA scene:

Pink roses set off by Pennsylvania barn gray:

A voluptuous Japanese Tree Peony cherished with my mom last spring:

Let’s all Think Pink! (From last year’s Philadelphia Flower Show):

In keeping with the song-a-day with color theme, here is Pharrell Williams’s video of his song Happy from the movie Despicable Me 2, a nominee for the Best Original Song Oscar, by the way. If you don’t feel happy while watching the video, you should see a trained medical professional.

Here come bad news, talking this and that
Yeah, give me all you got, don’t hold back
Yeah, well I should probably warn you I’ll be just fine
Yeah, no offense to you, don’t waste your time
Here’s why

Because I’m happy…

February 17, 2014February 23, 2014 by clumpaday

Orange You Glad You Let It Go?

Clump #158: Clear pile of sentimental mementos.

Whoa! This was a tough one. Trying to thin down today’s pile of papers was heart-wrenching. Photos, programs from important events, special cards:

Of course, there were also little slips of inspiration and life advice I had cut out. This one, from a long-forgotten magazine, seemed especially appropriate for the task at hand:

In ten years, will I still want this photo of myself at a taping of Let’s Make A Deal? Will my children’s children be interested in seeing how goofy I looked in a referee’s uniform, blowing a whistle? Possibly.

(Like much of the show, which is controlled by the producers, looks are deceiving. The photo was taken in front of a green screen. It was a blast, even still!)

Below are the keepables. One pile of photos and one of other special papers. On top, a photo of our daughter and son when they went out for Halloween as Brother and Sister Bear from the Berenstain Bears book series. There are no words for how much I love this picture. Our son might be an illustration for “The Berenstain Bears and Too Much Halloween.” I also couldn’t part with our younger daughter’s old YMCA ID card on which she looks like a porcelain doll.

And now for the daily dose of color … orange. From Longwood Gardens this fall:

And from the conservatory this winter, inside:

As much as I love the exotic flowers at Longwood, any grocery store contains an infusion of radiant flowers:

And other gorgeous plants, like these leeks dripping over carrots:

And beautiful peppers:

Great song heard today on the radio (WXPN, 88.5): Valentine’s Day Is Over by Billy Bragg. Couldn’t get enough of the Cockney (?) accent, the raw emotion, the horn section, and these lyrics:

Thank you for the things you bought me thank you for the card
Thank you for the things you taught me when you hit me hard
That love between two people must be based on understanding
Until that’s true you’ll find your things
All stacked out on the landing, surprise, surprise

Love is really the thing to cherish, not the things.

February 17, 2014February 23, 2014 by clumpaday

Unworthy Worries

Clump #157: Clear pile of medical expense paperwork; cook rice for 35.

Okay, another victory against the white blight in our house today. Clearly, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt up to tackling a stack of health expense statements:

I shredded anything from before 2012, then filed, in chronological order, anything after. I don’t think a single 2013 statement had reached the folder until today:

I was in the midst of this boring, but strangely satisfying job, when I heard Unworthy, by Cheryl Wheeler. The comic song consists of a litany of guilty “shoulds,” and the conclusion that “I’m unworthy.” Priceless.

The song certainly captured my mental state for much of the day. I had signed on to provide rice for 30-35 people as a part of a Salvation Army dinner coordinated by a member of our Quaker Meeting. And then the reality hit me. You can easily ruin rice … so often either too crunchy or a gluey mess. And that’s in normal quantities. I spent way too much time Googling “rice for a crowd” and other similar prompts.

I ended up with this recipe for fool-proof oven-baked brown rice from a blog called One Good Thing by Jillee. I made myself crazy worrying about whether it would work as well with aluminum foil pans. And would cooking three pans at one time throw it off? I had neither the time nor the nine cups of rice to start over again. In short, I was feeling unworthy to the task. But it turned out perfectly! I would highly recommend the method. One good thing, indeed!

I promised yesterday to post color-infused pictures to combat winter and paper white-fatigue.

At another three hour watercolor class at Longwood Gardens today, I was immersed in the mixing of colors … and felt like a blooming idiot (unworthiness strikes again). I will not post photos of those colors, but of flowers from a recent visit to Longwood’s conservatory:

A selection of purpley-pink and green. How’s this for color?

Hibiscus, the ultimate “come-hither” siren of the plant world:

Less crass, the lovely lily:

I couldn’t get over the leaves on/near this anthurium, looking like shadows, or imitations, of other leaves:

Longwood Gardens holds an “Orchid Extravaganza” every year at this time, but we were a little early for the extravaganza. These were from their every day collection:

Ordinary orchids? I think not.

Extravagantly worthy.

February 15, 2014February 23, 2014 by clumpaday

Thrills, Chills, and Utility Bills

Clump #156: Clear pile number 15 of 28 for each day in February.

This was a pile my husband and I needed to look through together: documents from utility companies. Like going to the dentist, but less fun.

My husband looked through water, electric, and gas paperwork to see if there were any big usage spikes. Three piles remained: shred, recycle, and a few: “investigate this issue.”

So much paper, like the many flakes of so much snow outside (sorry to be a broken record), which is still falling as I write.

I was photographing the tree below with cotton-ball-like clumps of snow on its branches recently and felt a sense of deja vu …

I looked through pictures taken last spring and found a photo of the same tree: a diva dogwood who will only appear in white.

Revisiting spring photos inspired me — I will dedicate the next week to colorful photos. I am sick of this steady diet of white papers and white landscapes. Pigment therapy stat!

February 14, 2014February 23, 2014 by clumpaday

Pile of Paper, Piles of Snow

Clump # 155: Clear away small pile number 14 of 28; activate Lumosity gift.

Four pieces of paper does not quite fit the definition of a pile. I admit, I consciously chose an extra-small clump for today. Here I am at the half-way mark of February, and I’m hitting a wall: tired and uninspired.

The “pile” was a few papers related to gifts we received. The only one needing action was a gift subscription to Lumosity, the brain training and game site, given to me by my older sister. It was from 2011. Yikes. One of countless things I’ve meant to do … someday.

I was sorely tempted to put it aside again in something like an “action” folder … for another sometime in the future. I know all too well that “action” folders are paper graves. The act of filing makes you feel virtuous, as though you’ve done something. So (drum roll) I forced myself to actually activate the gift. It reminded me that I tried to do so in 2011 and couldn’t figure it out. Too dumb for the brain exercises!

One cause of brain freeze: this was the arctic world I drove through this morning:

Beautiful, but dangerous. Even the street signs obliterated.

Remember this jaunty goose, kitted out in smart outfits?

This is what she looked like today:

Remember the hopeful “Think Spring” Snow-maiden?

Today’s slap-in-the-face to such thoughts:

This is more like it:

Thanks very much, but you can stop now.

February 13, 2014February 23, 2014 by clumpaday

Warm Hearts

Clump # 154: Clear paper pile number 13 of 28; make paper valentines.

Lesson of the day: so easy to tackle paper when it has been pre-sorted. Today’s pile was medical forms pertaining to either our younger daughter (the diligent paper-sorter) or to our cat Pumpkin; both easily filed. Below, one from 2009 with a photo, and the new “Pumpkin” folder.

Confession time. I previously posted about the clearing of our pantry, in all its scintillating detail. One item I removed from the pantry floor was a box of valentine craft supplies, which had been stuffed in there for about a year. Here we are on Valentine’s Eve, and I cannot for the life of me find that box. Very disheartening. Pun intended. I have to remind myself that I’m in transition, and home organization (or lack thereof) might get worse before getting better. Sigh.

Not to be discouraged, I purchased a pad of construction paper and made simple valentines with one sheet, each, of white and and red paper. Cut each in half, then folded the red halves and cut out hearts.

Glue the hearts to the white background, like so …

And write a very simple poem. Our family always exchanges hand-made valentines. Our mom created the tradition that we continue. Simply start out the Roses are Red rhyme, think of something about that person, especially notable in the current year, then come up with a word that Violets are … to rhyme with the word you want at the end. Easier done than said.

For instance, if your valentine, Mary, has really gotten into yoga this year, you might write, “Roses are Red/ Violets are Ecru/ Our Mary has become/A Yoga Guru.” The sillier the better. When I see clusters of people crowding around the valentine card section of stores at this time of year, I always wish I could tell them how easy and personal this method is. I’m a big purchaser of cards, but somehow a holiday celebrating heart-feelings deserves something from the hand of the sender. My parents would write a poem to each other that could be a bit clumsy, not great literature, but very touching. We have so many years of paper hearts that document the big events of our kids’ lives, and it’s a sweet record.

I hope everyone reading is safe, warm, and I guess, if you are reading this, you have power! Here is my hard-working husband snow-blowing for the second time in a few hours this morning.

Some friends in snow suits kindly shuffled their way to the front door of a neighbor who hadn’t been shoveled out yet, so that I had a path to get to her door and visit for tea.

She made it worth my while.

This planter in her kitchen window seemed to be saying: Spring will return and melt the snow!

I do not know many sights more welcome on a cold winter day than the one below. Note the bubbles forming a heart:

A very warm and happy Valentine’s Day to you and yours!

February 13, 2014February 23, 2014 by clumpaday

Holiday Hold-overs

Clump #153: Change holiday wreaths; shovel out pile number 12 of the twenty-eight pile challenge for February.

Today, while bracing for another big nor’easter, I took our Christmas wreath down …

And put up the trusty Valentine-ish one I bought for $14.99 at Target ages ago. I have a distinct memory of my younger, now college aged, daughter welcoming a friend from kindergarten for a play date, and her little friend telling me, “It’s time to take down your Valentine’s Day wreath.” The rest of the play date didn’t go much better, but I’m happy to report that the friend turned into a very nice young woman. I, however, remain slow to transition holiday wreaths.

Today’s pile from the study was an accumulation of junk I had not dealt with after Christmas.

Most of it consisted of bags and boxes. Out to the curb you go with the paper documented yesterday. Health starts here … yes!

The only items left were Christmas gifts I had bought that needed to be exchanged or returned. Wow, out of sight, out of mind. I had completely forgotten about them.

I have been doing a fair amount of whining over our incessant winter storms this season. In the spirit of “Love what you’re doing,” I present the photo below. The car is one I often pass when traveling to Lancaster County. I adore this car. The snow on it right now just adds to its allure. Tomorrow it might be buried in the predicted snow-ice storm. By springtime it might be all rust, or much more disintegrated …

So I’m loving this moment, this day, this winter.

Clump A Day

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