Blog Archives

Of Shutters

2/8/2012

    Probably not many people own today’s Endangered Species, but we once did. Tom ordered shutters for his mother’s house. Usually he is very careful about measuring exactly, but this time they came out the wrong size and couldn’t be used. Since they were custom-made, non-returnable, and paid for they were ours.
   So they sat stacked neatly in our basement for years. We couldn’t get rid of them   because Payment Depreciation had kicked in. Because we paid so much for the shutters, we couldn’t just give them away until we had gotten our money’s worth. We didn’t know anything abour behavioral economics then.
   The new shutters had to sit in the basement until: a. they had “depreciated” in value to the point where they could be discarded without regret; b. another homeowner appeared needing exactly that size; c. Tom’s mother’s windows shrank.
    What finally happened was that we donated them to the nearby Habitat for Humanity store. There they could either use them for one of the houses they were building, or resell them and make some money toward other supplies.
    It wasn’t a complete loss. It made us paranoid about measuring stuff, a trait we still possess.

Monday Morning Challenge

2/6/2012

          Sometimes doing one simple thing can make life a lot easier. It may be installing a hook for your keys, or putting a clothes tree where everyone can put their jackets when they come in instead of tossing them on the furniture.

   What I discovered about a week ago, is that if I moved my laptop cord and charger from the living room to my office upstairs, I would use my office to work instead of the living room couch. Duh. But suddenly the papers, books, magazines, and other stuff I was using to work was no longer collecting on the coffee table or couch seat. The living room looked uncluttered. I found I was also spending less time on my laptop--not a bad thing, either.

   So the Monday Morning Challenge is for you to either think of something you can do to improve your life and try it out, or share something you’ve already done that's effective. Either way, it’s helpful to the rest of us to know about. You can click on the “Comment” icon at the top or email me directly at judiculbertson@gmail.com.

    Hope to hear from you!

Of Ironing Boards and Toiletries Kits

2/3/2012

          Does anyone still have an ironing board? It was something the size of a small horse that stood in the middle of the kitchen or bedroom and took an unconscionable amount of room. It often was covered up by other things when left standing, but was awkward to store.   I had one once. Then manufacturers began making clothes that didn’t need that level of care. When items did need to be touched up, it was easy to substitute a towel on the counter.

          A few years ago I found a pad at Ikea that has the same properties as an ironing board cover and folds up not much larger than an iron. It satisfies any compulsion to iron very nicely.

   I thought about adding the ironing board to the list of Endangered Species. But I know that people who sew, who make clothing, curtains, and household linens use one regularly. On the other hand, for those of us who don't, it’s an opportunity to free up some space.

WHAT I'LL NEVER GIVE AWAY

2/1/2012

Diane's Yellow Bowl

Kristen and Kathy's Teddy Violet

Scott's Rabbit

        The things people would never give away and the stories behind them are very moving. Many, though not all, have family connections. Some people even sent a photo which my blog won't let me put next to their entries. So here are some of them. The last one will take your breath away:

      * My most prized possession is a Swaroviski crystal grand piano. I collect Swarovski and being an accomplished pianist- a friend of mine surprised me with it one year. In the morning the prisms make long streaks of beautiful colors on my wall and I love it. This is the one thing that I would take when asked "If your house was on fire what is the first thing you'd take"? (Cathy J)

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   * I'll always keep a big yellow bowl that my grandmother used to mix dough for her raisin babka and melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies. She baked often, and, as a child, I loved to help her and then taste those delicious goodies hot from the oven. Although it's cracked and heavy to handle, I still use that bowl when I mix batter for a cake. When I look at that bowl, I can still taste those butter cookies and see my grandmother's smile from more than a half-century ago. (Diane G.)

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. * Mine is a vest my mother made for me in the 70's. It is a sleeveless, man-tailored green vest, with a really funky yellow and green lining. It may well yet come back into fashion, but even so the little rust stains from a dry-cleaning pin would keep me from ever wearing it, and yet... Well it was handmade with love and it's not taking up too much space in the closet... (Linda L.)

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      *My most valuable possession is my teddy bear, Teddy Violet. I've had her ever since I was a baby. She used to belong to my mother. I could never part with her! She is coming with me into the afterlife! The reason why she is so special is because everyone in my life that I have ever loved has touched that bear. So for me she represents a link to all of these important people in my life. She helps me hold on to memories and keeps those people "with me" wherever I go. It is a deep source of comfort, in a way it keeps those people alive and in my life forever. (Kristen T.)
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           *I had forgotten that it was my bear first and that is a very sweet story also. I had a temporary Xmas job in a local hardware store when I was 17 years old. They had a small collection of toys for the holidays. I fell in love with this one bear, and though I could never afford it, I kept putting it under the counter so no one would buy it. The owner's son, a bit younger than I and also helping out in the store, apparently realized what I was doing. On Xmas morning, the bear appeared under my tree - from Santa! So I guess it's represented love or goodness for a very long while. (Kathy M.)

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           *I'd keep the little child's alligator trunk that was in my grandmother's attic and sits in my bedroom today, even though I probably haven't opened it in years and don't remember what I have inside it. (Kathy W.)

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    * I was chosen as one of 50 artists in the country who applied to attend the Skowhegan School of painting and Sculpture in Maine the summer before my senior year in college. It was heaven on earth. We had our own sheep, cabins to sleep in, homemade bread every morning and a truck to take us landscape painting. We also had cows in the meadow. One day, I sat before a seated cow under a tree and talked to her while I drew her in pastels on good watercolor paper. She just sat there looking at me and I kept on drawing. It was supposed to be a study for a sculpture and parts of it were almost abstract.
  The drawing won a prize in NY but I never made the sculpture. Eventually, when I exhibited the drawing, I had so many requests to buy it, that I had a hundred lithographs made. One is in a restored Southern writer's home in the South, one in South America, one in Hong Kong, etc. I think of it as my herd that has wandered. All in all, that is why I always thought I would grab my kids and the cow if there was ever a disaster. (Donna L)

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   *It's a carved wooden bunny wearing a necktie and a smug little smile. The only wood sculpture in all of Jamaica that had anything going for it. Wonderful whimsy. (Scott C.)

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            *I can think of three. A white ceramic bowl, cherished especially by my mother. Though I own many things of hers, the fact that she was so proud of this bowl makes it very important to me. Also, a set of antique volumes of Shakespeare, a wedding gift from my college roommate and close friend. They are falling apart and too old to use for reading but I will keep them forever. And the piano which no one plays and isn't even kept in tune, that was a gift to me from my grandfather when I was nine; I've moved it countless times rather than abandon it (Adele G.)

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   *As you know, I am an almost compulsive thrower-outer. But when my mother died about 10 years ago and I was cleaning out her apartment -- one of the most difficult tasks imaginable, and as an only child the work was all mine -- I discovered an extremely dirty, torn yellow star at the back of a closet. I knew immediately what it was. My mom was a Holocaust survivor, the star was what she had to wear in the forced labor camp where she worked for almost two years. Liberated by the Russians, she was brought home on a stretcher weighing about 60 lbs, close to death.
    I always wanted to know what happened to her during the war. But she kept putting me off, and it was not a subject you could press anyone about. So then there was this horrific reminder that she saved all those years, brought it with her from Budapest (where the family comes from) all the way to New York. So of course I put it away too. I supposed I will always keep it although even looking at that small yellow thing is awful. (Name withheld by request).

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Of Shutters

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Of Ironing Boards and Toiletries Kits

WHAT I'LL NEVER GIVE AWAY

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