posted on November 4, 2007 07:11:06 AM new
Helen, that 'happymeal' picture looks disgusting. So are some of the bathrooms when traveling from town to town.
After one more trip today it looks promising that I can purchase something and get moved before the snow flies. Then I plan to hibernate for most of the winter and hopefully by next fall I won't get restless feet again.
It's a hot real estate market and selling was easy but trying to find a decent replacement has been a bigger challenge than I expected.
posted on November 4, 2007 07:23:45 AM new
You are very lucky, Kiara! The real estate market here is dead in the water. Homes that used to sell in one or two weeks are now on the market for several months after several reductions in price.
posted on November 8, 2007 10:28:32 AM new
Thanks, Helen.
I didn't find what I want but the price was right so I'm confident that once we update it we'll like it.
It's smaller than this place so we have to downsize and I'm having trouble doing that even though a month ago we got rid of an unbelievable amount of stuff. We have hardly purchased anything since moving here two years ago and did downsize before moving here yet there seems to be an overwhelming amount of 'stuff' left that we won't have room for. Yikes!
posted on November 8, 2007 11:27:12 AM new
I'm so jealous, Kiara! I would like to downsize too...a very small house on the Severn River near Annapolis with a pier and a little boat...or better yet a small house on a small island in the Severn River. The only possessions that I care about are my books and a computer. All the other stuff I could easily give away or trash.
posted on November 8, 2007 01:19:41 PM new
guys have very important stuff...a man isn't really a man without a respectable junk pile...mine's a prize winner...there's junk in there that was junk when it was my grandpa's junkpile
posted on November 8, 2007 02:09:56 PM new
And it seems that junk that is not acquired from "granpa" can be purchased on the internet. Right now, my husband is buying alluminum pieces of various and sundry sizes, round and flat which he orders from all across the country. The funny thing is that if I borrow and forget to return someting like a little screwdriver from his vast array of tools and assorted junk he will notice immediately that it's missing.
I'm still working on the purchase of a new computer. The biggest hurdle is disclosing the price to him and waiting for the most opportune moment to do so.
posted on November 8, 2007 03:09:37 PM new
Yesterday, getting a haircut at the beauty shop, there was a discussion among operators and customers about what we'd do if everything we owned was wiped out (fire or flood, etc.). Would we try to replace it, or would we start over? Most said they'd start over with different dishes, furniture, etc. So. . . I guess that means that we don't love a lot of the things we use everyday, but they're there and we need them to get by.
_____________________
"Yesterday, getting a haircut at the beauty shop, there was a discussion among operators and customers about what we'd do if everything we owned was wiped out (fire or flood, etc.). Would we try to replace it, or would we start over? Most said they'd start over with different dishes, furniture, etc. So. . . I guess that means that we don't love a lot of the things we use everyday, but they're there and we need them to get by."
When you can afford to replace everything in your home, the loss of things doesn't matter so much. I don't have any emotional attachment to such things as furniture or china, sivler and crystal. But I would hate to see my books burn because they can't be easily replaced. I also have a piano that I might like to keep but it too can be replaced.
posted on November 9, 2007 08:00:43 AM new
mingo, coffee cans have their uses, but not for screws, nuts, bolts and little stuff like that. You can't see through a coffee can and have to dig around in it to see what's in the bottom. Rusty, grease covered junk is to us like vases of flowers and lace curtains are to you wimmin folks.
posted on November 9, 2007 08:21:56 AM new
Lace curtains my -ss !
None for me but thank you for solving the mystery of little glass jars with stuff that never gets used in them.
posted on November 10, 2007 08:07:01 AM new
Profe and Mingo
Profe, a big junk pile on a sprawling ranch is much different than 'guy junk' being loaded into a container for a move. All my stuff fits into neat looking boxes and is easy to load - try that with some of the stuff you guys claim is 'important'.
Mingo, no lace curtains for me either. This move brings me close to some friends I haven't seen much of in years who like that kind of style and they're already telling me about some fancy little shops that I have to go to and I'm more excited about the new building supply and paint stores. They also like 'entertaining' with fancy parties and dinners and I loathe it so I'm not feeling very good about that part of the move.
Adele and Helen, I could replace most of my dishes and kitchen stuff if I had to. I've thought of it each time I've moved because nothing matches as most of it has been picked up at yard sales over the years. Some of the old colored bowls, utensils, etc seem better quality than what's made today so I just keep using them.
Now that I'm writing this I'm thinking of all those old friends with their fancy perfect houses and matching dishes and bowls and perfect parties and I'm starting to panic!! lol
posted on November 10, 2007 08:23:36 AM new
Kiara: Much to think about, in your post. I had lunch with a friend yesterday and put the question to her--would she try to replace, or start with new ideas. She too would be relieved not to have most of the things in her kitchen but would need to replace utensils, of course. We agreed that most of what we use now is used just because it's there! (And some has memories and good associations, so we'd hate to lose them.) For example, I keep a set of 12 Christmas plates, have had them for 5 years, and have not used them! They're for someday when I give a Christmas dinner AND don't want to use my good china (which I use everyday now). Ain't gonna happen. I should get rid of them; they're just using space.
My galley kitchen has very little cupboard space, and I've gradually gotten quite strong about getting rid of things I don't need or want. I saw a Househunters show last night about a woman artist who moved to Mexico; when househunting she commented on the lack of kitchen cupboards and was told that people down there just don't need to have as much put away and often display what they have.
Kiara, I understand how you feel about friends who do up meals so perfectly that it can be intimidating. My mother didn't entertain (minister's wife, no time), and I'm very reluctant to do it. Perhaps as a revolt from the "perfect" meals I've had in homes, I am very casual and almost cavalier about feeding people. And sometimes I wonder if I'm being judged for not doing it perfectly.
I read a book by the composer Richard Rodgers's wife and grown daughter--side by side discussions of all sorts of ways they run their domestic lives. Very different. But their conclusion was that people are almost pathetically grateful to be invited anywhere for a meal with friends and will eat anything put before them, gratefully. AND when people are in a room, they're not looking at the corners to see if cleaning has been done; they're looking at faces - at people's eyes. That was a revelation to me--and it's true! Unless there's a pile of dog poop in a corner, no one will care.
The grown daughter said she has one company meal--spaghetti and meatballs--and always serves that. People love it and don't keep score.
I found all of this very comforting.
_____________________
posted on November 10, 2007 09:04:28 AM new
Kiara! Don't you dare panic or feel intimidated.
Here's a lecture:
What YOU have : If it's good enough for YOU that's all that matters.
"""I've thought of it each time I've moved because nothing matches as most of it has been picked up at yard sales over the years. Some of the old colored bowls, utensils, etc seem better quality than what's made today so I just keep using them.""
I AGREE 100% ! I have stated here that I started "shabby chic" 40 years ago when I set up housekeeping...I have NOT run myself into debt by thinking I "need" the newest, latest, matching (anal) , or most expensive things.
I chose things I liked....I feed my guests what I like (and is EASY, I don't cook! Nor do I accept that women should be expected to)).
My house is never perfect.
AND
Upon being invited back, guests accept. ...so it can't be too bad
If your friends like YOU and not your stuff then you have good friends.
posted on November 10, 2007 09:29:37 AM new
Adele, when I moved here a couple of years ago I trimmed my kitchen down to mostly the basics and they are items that I use frequently - even though they are mismatched, I still like them. Sometimes when I browse the kitchen stores I'm tempted to buy new - if I lost everything I have now it would maybe be fun to replace it.
Guys, I understand what you mean about entertaining and that the people are more the focus than the actual surroundings. Most of the friends I see now are used to my casual ways so I rarely think of 'entertaining' in a formal sense. But these other ladies actually go to classes to learn new and different 'hoity-toity' ways of doing things. Months ago one of them called me and was in agony that another lady tried to upstage her with a cake at some club function and she actually got different anti-depressants to deal with the trauma!
That whole lifestyle is so far removed from mine that it seems foreign to me and all they seem to do is shop. Old friends that I still like to hear from but their lives changed in one way and mine the opposite.
I'm sitting here thinking that I won't even know what the fancy little food stuff is that they're serving me let alone how to eat it - I'm getting traumatized already so maybe by the time I get there I'll be going on meds like them.
posted on November 10, 2007 12:45:15 PM new
I rarely go to parties kiara, don't much like being off my home pasture, but when I do, I highly recommend getting ready first with a good single barrel whiskey. At home of course, don't want to share the good stuff.
posted on November 10, 2007 07:19:14 PM new
Overcoat will do in a pinch, but it's rye, not bourbon. My current best friend is Blanton's Single Barrel. You can face a room full of dipsticks with a grin on your face.
posted on November 10, 2007 07:59:22 PM new
Gotta get me some, Prof! My mom was a preacher's wife, too. She entertained a lot, she recently downsized and gave each of her 4 kids a full set of china and sterling for 8. We appreciate them because they came from our grandmothers, but even Mom switched to using fancy stainless in the last 20 years and we are keeping them mainly for our kids. The Haviland Limoge has practically no resale value. We suggested she give the silver plated serving pieces to the altar guild. She said they already have too many pieces donated from other estates. If your friends still entertain in formal settings, they are in the minority. What do I know? I still prefer my Arrowhead Brook Park melmac collection to limoge china and my Creation 1 Deluxe stainless to sterling any day.
posted on November 10, 2007 11:32:25 PM new
I have a full set of sterling that has never been comfortable to hold. I look at it and wonder what I could have been thinking, at age 21. I hardly ever use it, and I'm not about to start now, having to wash it by hand.
My sister-in-law puts her sterling in the dishwasher and claims it's unhurt. And I've heard the big thing is not to let it touch stainless or anything not sterling and that's what stains it or ruins it. Could that be true?
It's called Diamond Pattern by Reed & Barton, very modern and angular, and I can't find it on eBay so it may be rare. . . .
Maybe I'll ask our kids if they'll ever want it, and, if not, try to sell it. Replacements had it for a pretty penny.
We've been invited to weddings where the bride's china is $100 a plate. Give me a break. Wouldn't you be scared to use it?
_____________________
So are some of the bathrooms when traveling from town to town.
