It felt to me like this January would never end. But it has!
It's time to change out the table and place mats. My pink flowers were ready for the transition. I made these a few years back out of fabric scraps.
My mother-in-law made this heart many years ago. She was a talented needle arts crafter.
Not everything is lovely, hearts and flowers, though. The Washington Energy Service man is here to figure out what's wrong with our furnace. He has narrowed it down to a thermostat issue. Progress seems to be going slow now. There might be issues. I left Tom in charge and escaped up stairs.
I have been looking around my house and trying to decide what to get rid of. I did this several years ago, but now need to do more. As we age, we think about how long we can stay in our home. Hopefully we have years yet. But when the time comes, we need to have less stuff to deal with.
I have been slowly cleaning kitchen cupboards, washing down the outsides. I washed all the stuff on the cookbook shelf yesterday and put it back. We had collected treasures on the soffits. Today we took down the last of them, I have washed off the dust, and we are in the process of deciding what to do with them.
These old cans came from Tom's grandparents store in East Olympia. I have offered them up to family members before donating them.
Jill was about 18 months old when she insisted on helping herself to the cookies. "I do my by self!" she insisted as she slammed the lid back down on the pot.
That's my Jill.
I've been trying to lighten our load also - very hard, because nearly everything has some sentimental value, that most likely won't feel the same to our kids. I shudder to think about the garage - mostly Ron's realm and he can't part with anything. :(
ReplyDeleteBeautiful items! Nice to offer to family first. I was surprised who wanted what when my parents died. They'd made "bequeath" lists for lots of things, but the remainder of the items were offered during "round robin" distributions from each room. Glad the cookie jar chip didn't end up in a tummy. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDelete"i do myself!" Oh, how I remember those words!
ReplyDeleteI have more things to get rid of also. Seems like just yesterday I did that but I need to do it again. After helping my Mom last year with a garage sale and moving...yes it is on my list. Unfair to leave kids with lots of "stuff" Your placemats look great, very cheerful! Cute story about Jill, she should have the cookie jar!
ReplyDeleteIt's a lot of work when it comes to parting with our treasures. I don't have many books but some are hard to get rid of. My Aunt gave us books for birthdays and Christmas. It's hard to throw Aunty Olive's gifts away. She's still living as she is only twelve years older than I am. Anyway we can see who can get rid of stuff the fastest. the Micro Manager finds it hard to part with things.
ReplyDeleteThe flowers are lovely!
ReplyDeleteI did a clear out when I retired four years ago, and I've been looking around the house and I need to do it again.
Enjoy the process, you have some lovely items and wonderful memories.
I know you have so many beautiful things and would someday have to think about what to do with them all. But hopefully any move is long into the future!
ReplyDeleteFortunately you have Jill and grandkids that will love your family treasures so you don't have to tighten up too much. I used to be a vendor at our local collectible shows and it has gotten slower and slower. More people are into de-accessing and young people are not as interested in neat old things nowadays.
ReplyDeleteYour collection is super special and I love when you put them on display. And your placemats and centerpieces are works of joy!
We are doing the same as you do all the time and now one thing that come in one goes out to donation. But all my mother’s stuff arrived and I had to work all day yesterday to know why to keep or not. Better do this in winter time.
ReplyDelete