Perfectly Imperfect

This is what prompted the clutter-clearing a few weekends ago.

It's what I was making space for. 

It's scarred and flawed. 

It's definitely a survivor.

It's full of stories and secrets. It has history.

Wonderful things have been written at this desk. I know because I've read some of them.  The desk is a gift from their author.  Each time I look at it I am amazed by her generosity. 

And each time I look at the desk I discover something new. A mark, a dent, a trace of green paint. I can't walk past it without wanting to stop and write and dream and imagine. 

I'm so glad this desk has found its way to my home. I feel it's travelled far to get here. Oh, the stories we will tell!

Whatever-the-Weather Wear

Today is my birthday. Hubby and I celebrated with a wonderful weekend in Victoria. The weather was pretty typical. Sun, rain, wind, repeat. Sometimes it was all three at the same time. We even had a rainbow follow us home.

I realize now it didn't really matter what I packed. I spent most of the weekend looking like this:

The wind and rain started immediately after this shot..

Look closely. You can see the tree debris raining down on me.
And do you see that tail disappearing around the corner? Even the dogs have to dress for the weather here.

Not quite as dramatic as Sheila in the Travelling Yellow Skirt, but I couldn't resist posing at Craigdarroch Castle while we were in the neighbourhood.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I'm off to continue my celebrating over at Not Dead Yet Style for Visible Monday. Go check out the party!

Clearing and Keeping

The clutter clearing continues. 

I unearthed an old journal from my teaching days yesterday. Those were angst-filled times for me, and I couldn't imagine ever wanting to re-read those pages. I considered tossing the journal until it fell open to the following entry from 1993: 

Nadine* told me an absolutely hysterical story at lunch today. She regretted the fact that she never writes these things down, so I'm doing it for her.

Thursday Nadine filled in in the SCC. She talked about happy and sad, then had the kids guess if she was making a happy or a sad face. Eventually the kids wanted to try making faces, so they took turns with Nakyla going last. Nakyla turned to the class with an emotionless expression on her face. The kids guessed happy, sad, happy, sad until they had to give up. When Nadine asked Nakyla "What are you?" Nakyla replied "A pineapple".

I had forgotten that story. Too funny.

I decided to keep the journal after all. 

*Names have been changed to protect the innocent. And me.*

Make Way!

When we were kids we'd make-believe that one of our small group was royalty. The rest would march around shouting "Make way for the Queen! Make way for the Queen!" I don't know which was more fun, the shouting or the temporary status upgrade to queen. 

Other than the marching and shouting, or waving and nodding if you were the elected monarch, I don't remember a purpose to this game. In retrospect, it might have been an excuse to march and shout. Whatever. The ultimate goal wasn't important.

It was easy. It was fun. It didn't matter who you were in your existence before the game. Child transformed to monarch. Parents, teachers, babysitters to subjects. What mattered was that important things were happening NOW and you needed to get the hell out of the way. 

This weekend has been a weekend of clutter-clearing to make way for new, long longed-for and possibly important things. It's hard. Everything involves a decision. I crave the simplicity of that childhood game as I work. That ability to clear my space with ease. 

Make way...make way...make way...

I mull over every single thing. Things I've attached memories to. Things that were once important, expensive, supposedly useful. Things that might still be useful. Things I might need. What if...? It's hard to forget previous existences.  To let go of the past and the possibilities and make a decision based on right NOW.  

There's guilt too. Things that are destined for the dump are particularly difficult. Can someone fix it? Use it? Can I get any more use out of it? There's a set of sheer curtains in a closet downstairs that were left by the previous owners. They are beyond use as curtains, yet there they sit. Might they be drop-cloths? Is there something I can use them for, that someone could use them for, that would keep them out of the dump? Is it worth the effort to store them any longer just in case?

Make way...make way...make way...

A lot of progress has been made. It feels like there's more to do. I'm trying be satisfied with what has been accomplished instead of worrying that I should do more. Sometimes it feels like I'm on a roll and it's good to keep working. Sometimes the anxiety to "finish" is paralysing. 

Sounds like there's more to clear than just the physical space. Let go of the goals, the guilt, the shoulds and the maybes. Mental and physical cobwebs be gone!

Make way...make way...make way...

Jeans!

I've finally crawled cautiously onto the skinny-jean bandwagon. I first tried on a pair about three years ago, but didn't get them. I felt I was too old for skinny jeans. Obviously logic dictates that I buy a pair now, because I've gotten so much younger in the last three years. Whatever.

I'm glad I waited, as unlike the jeans I tried on years ago, these ones are Canadian-made. And I was able to get them locally at Be, where the sales staff is so much more helpful and friendly than the snooty woman in the big-city store last time around. Like shopping for jeans isn't traumatic enough without judgemental sales staff. Yeesh. 

These pictures were taken after a long day of driving, shopping and dining. The jeans were very comfortable, yet they didn't feel like they got baggy anywhere. Hooray!

Though they fit well everywhere else, the jeans were rather long. This usually frustrates me. I am capable of hemming pants; I just don't like to. As a result, items can linger for months, and sometimes years, waiting for me to alter them. This time I set aside the I-should-do-it-myself attitude and found a seamstress to shorten the jeans for me. Hallelujah! 

It's ridiculous how excited I am to finally let go of that mentality! I may have frightened the seamstress in my enthusiasm. Oops. 

Linking up with Patti and the fearless crew at Not Dead Yet Style for Visible Monday. Fun!