Christmas Without Guilt
So....it’s that time of the year for the silly habits of decorating, hanging stockings on the mantle with care, baking gingerbread cookies, shopping and wrapping gifts for everyone from the mailman to your mother-in-law’s former neighbor’s Aunt Sophie, and sending holiday greetings to folks you haven’t seen in awhile.
It all sounds so simple, but you must remember that the decorations from last year or two years ago are just not quite right. That will require a shopping trip to one of the many stores that started hawking Christmas “stuff” around Labor Day. Hanging the stockings is ok, but bear in mind that someone (probably you) will have to fill them. This is another case where size does matter. Keep ‘em small. I do point out to Mr. Lucky that rubies and such will fit into a small space.
Then there is that pesky baking thing. I think the thing to do is to support your local bakery. Why mess up the kitchen with all that cookie dough and pie filling? Besides half the folks you know are on the Keto Diet and the other half should be. Another thought....you can’t improve on Reese’s Peanut Butter cups or Hersheys’ Kisses. Buy them and save yourself some trouble.
Which brings to mind all the fuss over Christmas dinner. If you happen to live within a 60 mile radius of a casino, chances are they will be offering a Christmas buffet, of course, for an inflated price. An inflated price just might be a money saver for you, too. If that doesn’t work for you check out your local churches.
Then there is that gift exchange scenario. It’s like insurance. If nobody had it nobody would need it. You skip buying me a gift and I’ll pass on buying you one. Whaddya think? Will that work for you?
How about Holiday Greetings. It so complicated these days. Do I say “Merry Christmas”? Is Happy Holidays unacceptable? Or is it the other way around?
Here’s my wish for you....Have Warm and Fuzzy St. Patrick’s Day.
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
Some Things are Just Not Right
A few days ago as Mr. Lucky and I were leaving a parking lot after an exhausting shopping experience in a grocery store, I spotted a Dairy Queen sign. Mr. Lucky whipped the car into the nearest parking spot (thankfully it was empty). We leaped out of the car and rushed in. Well, guess what. This was the “other Dairy Queen”. No # 4 (bacon cheeseburger with fries and a drink) was available there. In fact no cheeseburger with or without fries. We were able to find something to satisfy our hunger. Remember we had just finished all that exhausting shopping. Anyway.... A Dairy Queen without burgers and fries is just not right. So be careful out there. You could wind up in one of the other Dairy Queens.
How about polyester bandanas? You know the colorful, frequently red or blue, bandanas like your grandpa had in his back pocket. They were a handy item if you got a cut that he needed to tend to, or a tear to wipe away, or maybe he just needed it to wipe the chewing tobacco off his chin. Nowadays you can find them in polyester. Mr. Lucky says they are like blowing your nose on a plastic bag. Anyway, they should be made with cotton. It’s just not right.
And another thing....have you tried turkey sausage? If you haven’t don’t bother. It has the flavor and texture of cardboard. Don’t get me wrong. I love turkey, especially the drumstick part, just not turkey converted to something that is supposed to be made from pork.
Who doesn’t hate robo calls? Have you noticed that if they don’t happen as you sit down to enjoy a nice meal they just when you’re getting out of the shower. You run to the phone, dripping wet, half-wrapped in a towel to find out you can get a hot deal on a no-interest credit card. Or maybe you can extend the warranty on your 15 year old car. Robo calls are just not right.
How about man buns? If you have to put your hair in a man bun maybe you should think about getting a haircut.
While I’m going on about stuff that is not right I have to add Woman’s March. I don’t get it. Women have it better than they have ever had it and not because of women marching in the streets, creating havoc in cities all over the country, while wearing costumes depicting lady parts. After all, there were children watching.
So...be careful out there that you don’t wind up in the other Dairy Queen with a polyester bandana, as you answer a robo call on your not very smart phone.
A few days ago as Mr. Lucky and I were leaving a parking lot after an exhausting shopping experience in a grocery store, I spotted a Dairy Queen sign. Mr. Lucky whipped the car into the nearest parking spot (thankfully it was empty). We leaped out of the car and rushed in. Well, guess what. This was the “other Dairy Queen”. No # 4 (bacon cheeseburger with fries and a drink) was available there. In fact no cheeseburger with or without fries. We were able to find something to satisfy our hunger. Remember we had just finished all that exhausting shopping. Anyway.... A Dairy Queen without burgers and fries is just not right. So be careful out there. You could wind up in one of the other Dairy Queens.
How about polyester bandanas? You know the colorful, frequently red or blue, bandanas like your grandpa had in his back pocket. They were a handy item if you got a cut that he needed to tend to, or a tear to wipe away, or maybe he just needed it to wipe the chewing tobacco off his chin. Nowadays you can find them in polyester. Mr. Lucky says they are like blowing your nose on a plastic bag. Anyway, they should be made with cotton. It’s just not right.
And another thing....have you tried turkey sausage? If you haven’t don’t bother. It has the flavor and texture of cardboard. Don’t get me wrong. I love turkey, especially the drumstick part, just not turkey converted to something that is supposed to be made from pork.
Who doesn’t hate robo calls? Have you noticed that if they don’t happen as you sit down to enjoy a nice meal they just when you’re getting out of the shower. You run to the phone, dripping wet, half-wrapped in a towel to find out you can get a hot deal on a no-interest credit card. Or maybe you can extend the warranty on your 15 year old car. Robo calls are just not right.
How about man buns? If you have to put your hair in a man bun maybe you should think about getting a haircut.
While I’m going on about stuff that is not right I have to add Woman’s March. I don’t get it. Women have it better than they have ever had it and not because of women marching in the streets, creating havoc in cities all over the country, while wearing costumes depicting lady parts. After all, there were children watching.
So...be careful out there that you don’t wind up in the other Dairy Queen with a polyester bandana, as you answer a robo call on your not very smart phone.
Sunday, November 5, 2017
What’s in a Name?
Before I was born, or perhaps even dreamed about, my mother promised her dear old Aunt Lura that she would name her second (that’s right SECOND) daughter after her. Hence the name Lura. Apparently my father was ok with that because he had a cousin named Lura. The first daughter would be Judy. A nice easy name to say and even spell.
So you may have noticed that the name is Lura. Not Laura. Not Lora. Not Lara. Not Vera. (You would be surprised at how many times people think they heard Vera, instead of Lura). Now in these times with invented names, and I mean just that–names that were created for who knows what reason–how could anyone not be able to grasp something as simple as Lura. Four letters, two syllables, for crying out loud.
Anyway, growing up, one of my friend’s mothers always called me Laura. When my friend attempted to correct her, she informed anyone within earshot that she would call me whatever she pleased. Obviously she “pleased” to call me Laura. Oh, well. What are you gonna do? She never called me late for dinner. Along those same lines, next door growing up lived my aunt and uncle. My aunt, (bless her heart) always called me Laura, much to my mother’s chagrin. Try as she might Mom couldn’t convince her that my name was Lura.
In this day and age with such names as, well, pick up your local paper and read the names listed in the birth records. It sort of amazed me that a simple 2 syllable name like Lura can’t be pronounced or spelled. In my earlier days I never corrected people, but answered the call, so to speak. Well, heck, I still do. What if I’m the prize winner. Call me anything close and I’ll come running or at least walking fast.
Some folks have established clever ways of remembering what they deem to be a hard name to recall. Are you familiar with the tune Tura-Lura, an Irish lullaby? It is quite often sung to me. It happened not long ago. A sweet lab tech was preparing to draw my gin-infused blood for some testing and sang a few bars of it. Some think of a fish lure-a. Whatever works.
It has not become a family tradition to be continued for future generations. In my family, anyway. I have, at the last count, five (that’s right), five nieces and not a Lura in the bunch. They might regret that when the will is read.
Before I was born, or perhaps even dreamed about, my mother promised her dear old Aunt Lura that she would name her second (that’s right SECOND) daughter after her. Hence the name Lura. Apparently my father was ok with that because he had a cousin named Lura. The first daughter would be Judy. A nice easy name to say and even spell.
So you may have noticed that the name is Lura. Not Laura. Not Lora. Not Lara. Not Vera. (You would be surprised at how many times people think they heard Vera, instead of Lura). Now in these times with invented names, and I mean just that–names that were created for who knows what reason–how could anyone not be able to grasp something as simple as Lura. Four letters, two syllables, for crying out loud.
Anyway, growing up, one of my friend’s mothers always called me Laura. When my friend attempted to correct her, she informed anyone within earshot that she would call me whatever she pleased. Obviously she “pleased” to call me Laura. Oh, well. What are you gonna do? She never called me late for dinner. Along those same lines, next door growing up lived my aunt and uncle. My aunt, (bless her heart) always called me Laura, much to my mother’s chagrin. Try as she might Mom couldn’t convince her that my name was Lura.
In this day and age with such names as, well, pick up your local paper and read the names listed in the birth records. It sort of amazed me that a simple 2 syllable name like Lura can’t be pronounced or spelled. In my earlier days I never corrected people, but answered the call, so to speak. Well, heck, I still do. What if I’m the prize winner. Call me anything close and I’ll come running or at least walking fast.
Some folks have established clever ways of remembering what they deem to be a hard name to recall. Are you familiar with the tune Tura-Lura, an Irish lullaby? It is quite often sung to me. It happened not long ago. A sweet lab tech was preparing to draw my gin-infused blood for some testing and sang a few bars of it. Some think of a fish lure-a. Whatever works.
It has not become a family tradition to be continued for future generations. In my family, anyway. I have, at the last count, five (that’s right), five nieces and not a Lura in the bunch. They might regret that when the will is read.
Sunday, April 23, 2017
If It Works Don’t Fix It
This catchy little phrase is a pearl of wisdom I sometimes forget. Here’s why. I have a slider cell phone. You all know what that is. You pick it up and slide it to open and talk or whatever. I guess you can play games with it or calculate how much of tip you want to leave....and lots of other stuff, too. I rarely need to know how many feet or inches are involved in a meter, but I can determine that on my phone also. I mostly use it to make and receive phone calls.
Anyway one day I happened to be looking at tracfone.com to renew the service on my slider phone. The words “shop for phones” just popped right up. Shop being the key word here I clicked on to, well, “shop for phones”. It was all innocent enough. Right? Not so much. The next thing I knew I was ordering a brand new smartphone which would work in the Idaho back country where I live. (We do have hot and cold running water and electricity and an occasional cell tower).
The phone arrived in super quick time. Fed Ex Express. Oh, my. It’s got all the bells and whistles. GPS, 3.4" touchscreen, 2 MP camera/Video recorder. I charged the battery and set about setting it up. The first step is to activate the phone and transfer service from the old phone to the new phone. Well 9 hours later, 3 of those hours on the phone with two different tracfone techs it is determined that my phone is not compatible with my service area (Idaho back country). Interestingly enough I checked this out when I ordered the phone. Tracfone even has a handy little map so you can even view your service area. Don’t believe everything you read.
In the great phone shuffle I discovered that my old phone still has the service and minutes but the phone number was different. Yet another call to the nice folks at tracfone to discover that my old number is no longer available. Dang it. I had just memorized it. Oh, well. At least my old slider phone works.
The bad news is I have a new phone number and have to alert all my family and friends about it in the event they might want to call me. The good news is that I have a new phone number and someone else will get all those robo calls.
If it works, don't fix it.
This catchy little phrase is a pearl of wisdom I sometimes forget. Here’s why. I have a slider cell phone. You all know what that is. You pick it up and slide it to open and talk or whatever. I guess you can play games with it or calculate how much of tip you want to leave....and lots of other stuff, too. I rarely need to know how many feet or inches are involved in a meter, but I can determine that on my phone also. I mostly use it to make and receive phone calls.
Anyway one day I happened to be looking at tracfone.com to renew the service on my slider phone. The words “shop for phones” just popped right up. Shop being the key word here I clicked on to, well, “shop for phones”. It was all innocent enough. Right? Not so much. The next thing I knew I was ordering a brand new smartphone which would work in the Idaho back country where I live. (We do have hot and cold running water and electricity and an occasional cell tower).
The phone arrived in super quick time. Fed Ex Express. Oh, my. It’s got all the bells and whistles. GPS, 3.4" touchscreen, 2 MP camera/Video recorder. I charged the battery and set about setting it up. The first step is to activate the phone and transfer service from the old phone to the new phone. Well 9 hours later, 3 of those hours on the phone with two different tracfone techs it is determined that my phone is not compatible with my service area (Idaho back country). Interestingly enough I checked this out when I ordered the phone. Tracfone even has a handy little map so you can even view your service area. Don’t believe everything you read.
In the great phone shuffle I discovered that my old phone still has the service and minutes but the phone number was different. Yet another call to the nice folks at tracfone to discover that my old number is no longer available. Dang it. I had just memorized it. Oh, well. At least my old slider phone works.
The bad news is I have a new phone number and have to alert all my family and friends about it in the event they might want to call me. The good news is that I have a new phone number and someone else will get all those robo calls.
If it works, don't fix it.
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
It’s a Hair Thing
This is just a guess, but I think there are probably less than a dozen women who don’t fret about their hair. Color, style, length, curly, not curly...the list goes on.
My own hair concerns started when I was about 7 or 8. That’s when my mom pulled out the probably dull scissors to “trim” my bangs. Well...after the first snip or two they weren’t even. Grandma joined in the fun. No improvement. Mom took another whack at them. Turns out I was sporting bangs about 1/4 inch long. I was the only girl in third grade wearing a nun’s habit. By the way it takes several weeks for bangs to grow out.
That, however, was not my last really bad hair experience. Back in the 70s I wanted to get my hair all wonderful for a trip to Mexico. Puerto Vallarta. Big event for me and my hairdo. So I scheduled a beauty shop permanent. A home permanent would just not do for this occasion. The end result was the biggest mess of frizzed hair you could imagine. Short of shaving my head the only fix was a wig. Needless to say, I didn’t spend a lot of time in the pool on this vacation.
So, who remembers the torture of brush rollers? Back in the day they replaced pin curls which were created by your mom wrapping your locks around her finger and then jabbing a bobby pin into your scalp repeatedly. My mom always said, “It’s ok. They’ll loosen.” Yeah, right. My friend, Janet, had to endure ringlets (the Shirley Temple look). Her mom wet her hair down with sugar water to create the ringlets. The ringlets lasted about 27 minutes after the bobby pins were removed. In the meantime she attracted bees and other flying insects.
Then we advanced to another form of torture. Curling irons. They were a multi-purpose tool. You could burn yourself or someone else. And if you needed to start a fire you could just plug one in.
There is the hunt for the perfect shampoo, conditioner to make your hair soft, gel to make your hair stiff, oil treatment, color, and devices to make your hair either straight or curly. It seems if you have straight hair you want it curly. If you happen to have curly hair you want it straight. I don’t know. Could that be a law of physics? For every action there is a reaction kind of thing?
Speaking of color.....hair color, that is. Only 1-2% of the world population is a natural redhead. If you happen to be of English descent make that 4%, Scottish - 6 %, Irish, you can go to the head of the class with 10%. That being the case 0% of the population has royal blue, purple or green hair, but you can buy hair color for these and a lot of other hair colors. Remember in the 60's the lavender hair ladies? Did they use food coloring? Many of them had the aroma of Evening in Paris cologne about them as well.
While I’m ranting about hair color I should point out that men can get a product called “Just for Men” to color their greying beards. Here’s a crazy thought! Shave it off, if you don’t like to reveal that you’re aging.
So I’m off to fix my hair for an evening of fun and hopefully no wind to mess it up.
This is just a guess, but I think there are probably less than a dozen women who don’t fret about their hair. Color, style, length, curly, not curly...the list goes on.
My own hair concerns started when I was about 7 or 8. That’s when my mom pulled out the probably dull scissors to “trim” my bangs. Well...after the first snip or two they weren’t even. Grandma joined in the fun. No improvement. Mom took another whack at them. Turns out I was sporting bangs about 1/4 inch long. I was the only girl in third grade wearing a nun’s habit. By the way it takes several weeks for bangs to grow out.
That, however, was not my last really bad hair experience. Back in the 70s I wanted to get my hair all wonderful for a trip to Mexico. Puerto Vallarta. Big event for me and my hairdo. So I scheduled a beauty shop permanent. A home permanent would just not do for this occasion. The end result was the biggest mess of frizzed hair you could imagine. Short of shaving my head the only fix was a wig. Needless to say, I didn’t spend a lot of time in the pool on this vacation.
So, who remembers the torture of brush rollers? Back in the day they replaced pin curls which were created by your mom wrapping your locks around her finger and then jabbing a bobby pin into your scalp repeatedly. My mom always said, “It’s ok. They’ll loosen.” Yeah, right. My friend, Janet, had to endure ringlets (the Shirley Temple look). Her mom wet her hair down with sugar water to create the ringlets. The ringlets lasted about 27 minutes after the bobby pins were removed. In the meantime she attracted bees and other flying insects.
Then we advanced to another form of torture. Curling irons. They were a multi-purpose tool. You could burn yourself or someone else. And if you needed to start a fire you could just plug one in.
There is the hunt for the perfect shampoo, conditioner to make your hair soft, gel to make your hair stiff, oil treatment, color, and devices to make your hair either straight or curly. It seems if you have straight hair you want it curly. If you happen to have curly hair you want it straight. I don’t know. Could that be a law of physics? For every action there is a reaction kind of thing?
Speaking of color.....hair color, that is. Only 1-2% of the world population is a natural redhead. If you happen to be of English descent make that 4%, Scottish - 6 %, Irish, you can go to the head of the class with 10%. That being the case 0% of the population has royal blue, purple or green hair, but you can buy hair color for these and a lot of other hair colors. Remember in the 60's the lavender hair ladies? Did they use food coloring? Many of them had the aroma of Evening in Paris cologne about them as well.
While I’m ranting about hair color I should point out that men can get a product called “Just for Men” to color their greying beards. Here’s a crazy thought! Shave it off, if you don’t like to reveal that you’re aging.
So I’m off to fix my hair for an evening of fun and hopefully no wind to mess it up.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Christmas Hint List
I have taken it upon myself to prepare a Christmas Hint List for you young whippersnappers. (Please note...that’s Christmas HINT List, not Hit List). Anyway I have been at this Christmas stuff for many years. I have gone through the buying, making, sewing, baking, wrapping, decorating, spending, over-spending for many a year.
So, in no particular order here are a few tips for y’all.
Christmas Stockings...Think small. If you buy or make one that is 29 inches long you might have to fill it. Not so much fun. Look for something no longer than the palm of your hand. The same thing holds true for those handy gift bags. Look for the smallest one that will hold the gift item. I find an envelope works the best. Keep reading.
Perfume Buying... If she has a favorite fragrance find out what it is. If she likes White Shoulders (hint here for Mr. Lucky) don’t get her Eternity. The same rule applies when buying for your fella. It took me several years to convince Mr. Lucky that Old Spice was his favorite.
Fruit Cake... I love it. The folks who are always complaining about it obviously have never tasted my Mom’s or my Aunt Mary’s. I have entertained to idea of trying my hand at making them. That was before I discovered it might require a bank loan just to stock up on the ingredients. So if someone makes, or even buys you a fruit cake. Suck it up and say thank you. Then you can send it on to me.
Gift Certificates... They always fit. Or do they? If he is not likely to change a light bulb don’t bother getting him a gift card from a hardware store. Maybe one from a men’s clothing store would be more appropriate. If the receiver is not likely to dig in the dirt they might not be to tickled to get a gift card from Plants Are Us. Don’t be buying a gift certificate for a year’s membership to a gym unless you know this is what they want.
Decorating... Remember this one important thing. If you, or someone you live with, put it up someone has to take it down. Hopefully before St. Patrick’s Day. Clark Griswall doesn’t live here anymore.
The Big Dinner... The average Christmas Dinner will contain about 4000 calories per plate. I am not making this up. It might not be necessary to cook and bake for three days ahead of Christmas. It’s ok to cut back on some of the goodies.
So... Now have yourself a Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year!
I have taken it upon myself to prepare a Christmas Hint List for you young whippersnappers. (Please note...that’s Christmas HINT List, not Hit List). Anyway I have been at this Christmas stuff for many years. I have gone through the buying, making, sewing, baking, wrapping, decorating, spending, over-spending for many a year.
So, in no particular order here are a few tips for y’all.
Christmas Stockings...Think small. If you buy or make one that is 29 inches long you might have to fill it. Not so much fun. Look for something no longer than the palm of your hand. The same thing holds true for those handy gift bags. Look for the smallest one that will hold the gift item. I find an envelope works the best. Keep reading.
Perfume Buying... If she has a favorite fragrance find out what it is. If she likes White Shoulders (hint here for Mr. Lucky) don’t get her Eternity. The same rule applies when buying for your fella. It took me several years to convince Mr. Lucky that Old Spice was his favorite.
Fruit Cake... I love it. The folks who are always complaining about it obviously have never tasted my Mom’s or my Aunt Mary’s. I have entertained to idea of trying my hand at making them. That was before I discovered it might require a bank loan just to stock up on the ingredients. So if someone makes, or even buys you a fruit cake. Suck it up and say thank you. Then you can send it on to me.
Gift Certificates... They always fit. Or do they? If he is not likely to change a light bulb don’t bother getting him a gift card from a hardware store. Maybe one from a men’s clothing store would be more appropriate. If the receiver is not likely to dig in the dirt they might not be to tickled to get a gift card from Plants Are Us. Don’t be buying a gift certificate for a year’s membership to a gym unless you know this is what they want.
Decorating... Remember this one important thing. If you, or someone you live with, put it up someone has to take it down. Hopefully before St. Patrick’s Day. Clark Griswall doesn’t live here anymore.
The Big Dinner... The average Christmas Dinner will contain about 4000 calories per plate. I am not making this up. It might not be necessary to cook and bake for three days ahead of Christmas. It’s ok to cut back on some of the goodies.
So... Now have yourself a Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year!
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Coping With Excess
Somehow I reached excess without ever noticing that I was passing through satisfaction. Before you credit me with this pearl of wisdom I want you to know this brilliant phrase was coined by Ashleigh Brilliant, right out of one of his books. No...I am not making that up. He created and was smart (brilliant) enough to copyright some of his sayings. Many have appeared on t-shirts. And that is his real name. I researched it.
Anyway, back to the point I hope to make....excess. I mentioned Mr. Brilliant’s book. Of course, I have a copy of one of them and hundreds more on a variety of subjects. I have books on sewing, quilting, woodworking, cooking, gardening, history, genealogy, graphology...to name a few topics. I am the proud owner of several books by Celia Rivenbark, Dave Barry, Erma Bombeck, Jack Olsen, and even Mark Twain. I am the not so proud owner of a couple penned by Bill Cosby. Oh, well. I can even scare up a dictionary (you know...the paper version of Google), a thesaurus or two and several real hold-in-your-hand atlases.
Having made my point about books it’s probably time to start weeding them out. Not only the books, but I can’t close my sock drawer and my t-shirt supply is way out of hand. As noted I have a supply of books on sewing, quilting, woodworking, etc. In addition, I have the raw materials for sewing, quilting, woodworking, gardening and cooking. I have enough pots and pans to create 5 or 6 meals without needing to run the dishwasher. Need a shovel? I have 4 or 5 of them in a variety of different sizes. Wood and wood scraps? Got it covered. Fabric? Let’s not go there. After donating a pickup load to charity I still have several tubs. The subject of shoes is off-limits. We really don’t want to go there.
So it’s time for WWJD. Let me be clear–I’m not looking for a divine intervention. I mean What Would Julie Do? My friend, I’ll call her Julie (because that’s her name), is a master of non-clutter. On her dining room table you’ll not find the usual assortment of stuff–yesterday’s mail, glasses, both reading and sun, keys, coffee mug, a stray napkin, and a newspaper clipping of an obituary from last February. Instead you’ll see a seasonally appropriate floral arrangement carefully placed on a freshly pressed doily. She doesn’t even stack up her excess junk and wait for a yard sale. However, rumor has it that her husband’s new ladder turned up missing after a yard sale. She dejunks regularly. People are skeptical about buying gifts for her because they’ll find them later for sale at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop.
So, my only hope about this excess thing is to start a declutter movement. As Mr. Lucky has pointed out, the way to start a declutter operation is to stop buying, well, cluttery stuff. So if you see me at a yard sale do not sell me a thing. (Wink).
By the way, you can probably find a copy of Ashleigh Brilliants book, I Have Abandoned My Search for Truth, and Am Now Looking for A Good Fantasy, and several others on Amazon. I am not ready to give up my copy of it, no matter what Julie says.
Somehow I reached excess without ever noticing that I was passing through satisfaction. Before you credit me with this pearl of wisdom I want you to know this brilliant phrase was coined by Ashleigh Brilliant, right out of one of his books. No...I am not making that up. He created and was smart (brilliant) enough to copyright some of his sayings. Many have appeared on t-shirts. And that is his real name. I researched it.
Anyway, back to the point I hope to make....excess. I mentioned Mr. Brilliant’s book. Of course, I have a copy of one of them and hundreds more on a variety of subjects. I have books on sewing, quilting, woodworking, cooking, gardening, history, genealogy, graphology...to name a few topics. I am the proud owner of several books by Celia Rivenbark, Dave Barry, Erma Bombeck, Jack Olsen, and even Mark Twain. I am the not so proud owner of a couple penned by Bill Cosby. Oh, well. I can even scare up a dictionary (you know...the paper version of Google), a thesaurus or two and several real hold-in-your-hand atlases.
Having made my point about books it’s probably time to start weeding them out. Not only the books, but I can’t close my sock drawer and my t-shirt supply is way out of hand. As noted I have a supply of books on sewing, quilting, woodworking, etc. In addition, I have the raw materials for sewing, quilting, woodworking, gardening and cooking. I have enough pots and pans to create 5 or 6 meals without needing to run the dishwasher. Need a shovel? I have 4 or 5 of them in a variety of different sizes. Wood and wood scraps? Got it covered. Fabric? Let’s not go there. After donating a pickup load to charity I still have several tubs. The subject of shoes is off-limits. We really don’t want to go there.
So it’s time for WWJD. Let me be clear–I’m not looking for a divine intervention. I mean What Would Julie Do? My friend, I’ll call her Julie (because that’s her name), is a master of non-clutter. On her dining room table you’ll not find the usual assortment of stuff–yesterday’s mail, glasses, both reading and sun, keys, coffee mug, a stray napkin, and a newspaper clipping of an obituary from last February. Instead you’ll see a seasonally appropriate floral arrangement carefully placed on a freshly pressed doily. She doesn’t even stack up her excess junk and wait for a yard sale. However, rumor has it that her husband’s new ladder turned up missing after a yard sale. She dejunks regularly. People are skeptical about buying gifts for her because they’ll find them later for sale at the Salvation Army Thrift Shop.
So, my only hope about this excess thing is to start a declutter movement. As Mr. Lucky has pointed out, the way to start a declutter operation is to stop buying, well, cluttery stuff. So if you see me at a yard sale do not sell me a thing. (Wink).
By the way, you can probably find a copy of Ashleigh Brilliants book, I Have Abandoned My Search for Truth, and Am Now Looking for A Good Fantasy, and several others on Amazon. I am not ready to give up my copy of it, no matter what Julie says.
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