Decluttering: The Mini-Series
On October 2, 2019 by Speranza
I am aghast to see that it is now October and that I have been retired for six months!
Yes time flies when one is working (and particularly always working with dates, as I used to) but now the hours scream by and literally, it is always 4 o’clock and by then there’s not enough of the day left to really be starting a new task when you could be tucked into the last bit of weak sunshine on the stairs with a book (and wine) or sitting outside (now in a cardigan) surprising an entirely different avian crowd than there is in the morning!
(In my previous life, I would be sorting laundry, washing the floor as I talked on the phone to someone and maybe doing some prep towards the next day’s dinner).
And this was after I got home from work!
Anyway, The General and I did decide to embark upon a decluttering of the basement this week and have already done a few runs to the thrift shop which feels amazingly freeing, just as Marie Kondo promised. We have been watching her show on Netflix as a kind of warm-up inspiration before we go downstairs although I have had to explain to The General that this does not count as “working on the basement” especially as a snack break was included.
I Confess by Alison Luterman
On September 3, 2019 by Speranza I stalked her in the grocery store: her crown of snowy braids held in place by a great silver clip, her erect bearing, radiating tenderness, watching the way she placed yogurt and avocados in her basket, beaming peace like the North Star. I wanted to ask, “What aisle did you find your serenity in,Clam Shells are for Clams
On August 11, 2019 by Speranza
An artist friend of mine who never had a great deal of money always used to say that no matter what, he always made sure that his soap and tea were of the best quality that he could afford since they were among his few luxuries and would be used daily. I have never forgotten this sentiment since it struck a chord with my own measured, Capricornian (but not completely stoic) sensibilities.
A few Christmases ago, Frasier spoiled me by presenting me with loose-leaf Vanilla tea made with Assam tea leaves. The whole ritual and build-up to the tea drinking itself is an exotic event and the scent when the boiling water plummets through those leaves is ambrosial, amber, vanilla steamed heaven in a (porcelain) cup. I now find that it is the only tea that I really enjoy and will squinge in many other ways in order to purchase. (The tea is not being flown in by leer jet by the way, just a lot more expensive than my traditional Tetley’s. I am also haunted by a sneering tea sommelier who once told me in a special voice that tea bags were made from the sweepings off the floor and did I know that?)