New definitions of precious

Tomorrow the marathon begins.  Not running, not that much of a sea-change has been going on at the not-quite-so-messy house.  Just the marathon of working full time with extra work responsibility whilst simultaneously parenting and attempting to fit in sleep and books and rest home visiting and garden and sewing. 

Today I eschewed my plans to go to work and instead cleaned the lounge.  Really cleaned the lounge, including sorting out all my sewing gear.  I found three tape measures, three packets of new bobbins, countless packets of curtain hooks and more packets of sewing machine needles than I was prepared to count.  All bought because I couldn't find the pre-existing packets in the mess.

The finished result is a thing of beauty.  Of course if a camera was charged and I took a photo to share on this blog, you would wonder what all the fuss was about.  A bright yellow room with some old furniture and lots of books and hobby paraphernalia... but you would miss the fact that the sewing machine sits on its old wooden school desk and you can see all the wood around it.  You could miss the snaplock bags and the jars of carefully sorted notions and sewing tools which are stacked on the shelves.  A photograph wouldn't capture the glee of my husband and children that they can actually sit on the rocking chair.

I've put the camera on to charge.  The next step is to see whether it still looks splendiferous tomorrow.

Things I have read lately:
1. Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy Frost and Gail Steketee
2. Underground by Tobias Hill
3. The Last Days of the National Costume by Anne Kennedy
4. Dark Sparring by Selina Tusitala Marsh

Stuff got me moving on clearing clutter.  Turns out I don't qualify as an OCD hoarder in need of professional intervention by a psychologist just right now, but there were some thought processes described in the book which were a little too familiar.

Underground was good.  Not quite as gripping as Hill's What was Promised which I read not long ago, but still worth it.

The Last Days of the National Costume was wonderful.  I'm surprised it hasn't had more publicity.  I guess we were all swooning over The Luminaries when Kennedy's book was released last year.  It deserves a proper review, and the clock is against me on that.  Post-modern theory and sewing and an Irish connection and the blackout in Auckland in 1998 and the most beautiful language.  Ask your library to order it.

Dark Sparring is Marsh's second collection of poetry and I loved it.  Buying it and The Last Days of the National Costume in Auckland made both books more poignant as I read them either up there or on my return, when I was full of the love for the vibrant city, the beauty of which not enough is said.

Things I have bought lately:
1. fabric
2. more fabric
3. gumboots
4. A layby beginning of more boots.  I wanted red.  Proper red.  I'm making do with wine-coloured boots.


Comments

Deborah said…
I have a bookcase in the corner of our bedroom where I put... things. Every now and then the bookcase seems to disappear entirely under them all. So then I tidy it up and find the most interesting and useful things.

I'm about to take a deep breath and head into the next term too. I've taken to keeping a crochet project in my handbag - something crafty to take out and do in small moments, or as needed for its calming properties.

Popular posts from this blog

McCalls 7288 & altered Style Arc Barb pants

Livingstone daisies

Heartburn & Paris Etc