I love looking at Etsy Treasuries and other Bloggers' Wish Lists, highlighting items they would like to have one day. And Pinterest...I like to get lost there sometimes too. I guess it is built into us to Want. Want something more than what we have. I know I am that way. Lately, when I go to the store to get something I want, rather than need, I usually come home empty handed. Either I realize, after I am face to face with it, that it really will not fulfill me. Or I remember I have it in a darker shade. Or I just decide I cannot cram another item into my itty bitty house. But lately I just seem to have everything I need. I really hope this feeling continues. Because really, how much do I NEED? Very little...with a couple items in the desert island pleasure bag to make me feel like ME (those items? beads and music, baby!). I will always window shop, on line or in person. That won't ever stop. It fans the flame and gets me inspired to make new jewelry.
So for a while (not sure how long), I would like to show some of the items around my house that really mean something to me. It will serve as a reminder that I probably do have everything I want. Maybe it will keep that desire to go buy something at bay.
The First Thursday's Thing is my Monkey. Admittedly, it would NEVER cross my mind to ever buy this thing. But it was my Grandpa's. It was always on his bar and he would turn it on and hit the head and make it screech and let it clap its cymbals together. He would get so excited every time he played the monkey for me. I remember him acting more like a child than I did in those monkey moments :-) When the time came to empty out the house, my family presented me with the monkey. They said I was the only one who would love it properly. It sits in my kitchen now and makes some people smile and makes others run in fear. I still have a love/hate with the monkey itself. But I have so many memories tied up in it. I couldn't part with it even if I tried. And it is growing on the Birdman, Bug and Sunshine Girl. I was away all day Sunday. I came home to a thoroughly cleaned (relative term when you live in the country) and de-cluttered kitchen. A lot of things did not make the final cut to stay out on the counters and shelves. When it came time to decide about the monkey, they really wanted to tuck it away but decided I needed it out on the shelf. Those Sweethearts :-)
I wonder what next Thursday will bring.....in the meantime, leave a comment and let me know what thing is special to you.
10 comments:
I agree with your philosophy on not always getting "things". I just packed up my home this spring after living there 23 years and had to get rid of lots of things that I didn't know I had so my desire now is to live clutter free as much as possible. What I love is my pictures of grandchildren and the scrapbooks I am slowly making of them. Lovely memory books.
Great post, Christine! I find that the older I get, the less "stuff" I really want or need. When we moved from Colorado back to my home state, we downsized to a home less than half the size of our prior home. It was so freeing to get rid of stuff that I really didn't need anymore & to donate it to charity was icing on the cake. I have been able to hand down family heirlooms to nieces & nephews now, but not without taking a photo of each to keep as a momento for myself. I have a folder on my computer with pics of things that I have cherished but no longer need that I can always visit & that satisfies me. Looking forward to your next posts!
How clever! It's true, sometimes we just accumulate "stuff", and really, what's it all about? Sometimes we lose all sense of perspective when get caught up in that craving for the next new thing. That monkey is a keeper though :) p.s. Have you seen the monkey in Toy Story 3?
What a great reflection on our possessions and their hold over us, Christine. It seems to be a theme here that the grip lessens as we age (I hope so or I may end up on one of those Hoarder shows LOL). As both Katherine ans Janet alluded to, moving a residence is a great time to do some judicious "re-gifting", and the scrapbook/digital folder is one way to honour the memories without being burdened by a lifetime of stuff.
Christine, you monkey reminds me of the one on Toy Story 3 who squawks if anyone tries to escape! I have my grandfathers pocket what, that was given to me after he passed away. It sits under a glass dome on my nightstand. He was a great papa and I am so glad that I have something to remember him by. I am glad that you have your grandfathers dear monkey and so many great memories! Those are the things to cherish!!
We had one of those monkeys, too - wish I knew where it was now, along with a lot of other things I remember fondly. My mother was big on throwing out stuff, so not much remains from my childhood.
Awww! I love the monkey and it is now a family heirloom. It is a great idea to go through all your things and keep only those with sentimental value. Then you have less to dust around at chore time. :)
The Monkey!!!! I saw it in my blogs list and thought, "What is this doing there & what's Chrissy gonna write about today?" It's still a scary thing. But grandpa did enjoy it--probably bc grandma loathed it! rofl... It does remind me of the good times in the basement bar.
My special thing continues to be gram & grandpa's dining room set, china & crystal. Lately, I've especially enjoyed sipping cocktails out of the crystal. Servings are too big today and the "old fashioned" sizes remind me of simpler times when folks didn't need a lot of stuff to be happy. Just family, friends, and a pitcher of Manhattans with elegant stemware to drink them from.
I feel them with me every time I use them. All the grandparents, great aunts & uncles smiling down and toasting from Above :-)
Christine - it always surprises me when I see us on the same wave length! Literally this past weekend we cleaned out what is the laundry room, that turned into the craft room, that got so crowded you could barely get through. My youngest pulled out the Ikea catalog thinking we really needed more storage.
What we did was clean out the play room ... one more time. Deciding what stayed - and what goes. Funny how we found plenty of room for every bit of the craft supplies AND had left over storage/ containers.
My daughter realized that we really didn't need anything. We found all kinds of supplies we forgot we had (hiding in plain sight!). I said to her "we do not need more stuff, what we need to to organize what we have and actually use it!" And I got the rare "you're right mom."
thanks for sharing these sweet monkey moments! I bet your Grandpa is happy that it is still hanging out in your kitchen!
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