As you know from a previous Post my Big Spring Clean has begun... this is me trying to minimalize... well... I'm making progress... but minimalism isn't my strength, excess is! *LOL*
And though a host of things have gone out the door while I'm attempting to edit and purge... well, as usual I couldn't resist bringing something new to me in when I spied this lovely tall etched glass Cloche at GOODWILL for $12! I've been eyeballing Cloches everywhere but this was less than a third of the price so I couldn't resist. *winks*
I'll be showing you my Spring Cleaning progress as I go so that you can keep me accountable and offer me encouragement... I need a lot of that when I tackle a huge project... because I know that though I'm Gung-Ho now at the start... over time the enthusiasm can wane without anyone noticing the effort.
Add to that the reality of doing this Homestead Overhaul in the midst of doing the Single Grand-Parenting thing while The Man is away for months at a time. Raising a very active Family that has a tendency to "undo" all of my hard won progress at the drop of a hat. They're like the Ocean... don't dare turn your back on them or you'll be running collateral damage control endlessly! *le sigh*
Yes, even the 25 year old Son is a typical Single Bachelor and his version of tidy and Mom's version don't quite line up... he cooks in the Main House since my Studio Cottage no longer has a full service Kitchen... since nobody is SUPPOSED to be LIVING there any length of time! *hint hint - LOL* And since he comes and goes at all hours between his two jobs and busy social life... well suffice to say... I can go to bed with a tidy Home and wake up and know he was there.
And the G-Kids... forget about it... they are the two man wrecking crew I swear!!! *le sigh* Not to say they don't try to 'Help' when the mood strikes them... they were enthusiastically armed with Fabreze Pledge and Dusters in hand when they saw Gramma had begun her Big Spring Clean... but they tend to fade at the gate when it loses its appeal. *winks* Well... I do too... which is why I will need your help from time to time to keep me in the Game and moving forward with determination.
Now, when I told you it was a BIG Job I wasn't exaggerating... I refuse to take "Before" photos because it would be too humiliating and depressing... but the dust bunnies were mutant sized and every single item had to be washed or cleaned before it was put back. I confess, I'm no Suzy Homemaker and The Man obviously didn't marry me for my domestic skills... *winks* He had to learn to live in the capacity of a mess and organized chaos... not easy for a disciplined orderly Marine...
So, my "Beginning" entailed starting in our Bedroom with the 'cleaning and re-organizing' part... and my editing and purging is random throughout the rest of the House as I decide what will stay and what must go.
We have four windows in our Bedroom and each has a very deep windowsill, which I just love... our Home is 90 years old and built of hand hewn Railroad Ties, local Rock and Adobe, so the walls are 14-16 inches thick. That's a bonus in the fierce heat and cold of a Desert Region where daytime temps often far exceed 100 degrees and night-time temps can plummet to near freezing.
And such lovely deep sills give me ample room to display my junk sentimental collectibles in lovely vignettes... *winks*
So far I've finished three of the windowsill areas... and the top of a Dresser.
It doesn't sound like much, but it was two days worth of work... dusting, washing all the Lace curtains, hand cleaning every piece you see and oiling all the old Wood.
As well as purging items... which for me at least is always the most difficult part because I love all of my stuff... I just am past saturation point and every so often, as things come in, I have a rule that things must also go out. Otherwise my concern would be that you very well could see me on one of the future episodes of Hoarders. *Smiles*
Doing a complete Re-do also means I can rotate some of my Lovelies...
Taking some out of Storage to have their time of display... and putting others away for a time.
My Vintage Tapestry of Dancing Gypsies came out of the Tapestry Stash Pile to make a Bedroom Debut. And some of my Vintage Jewelry Box Collection moved in as well.
In case you were wondering why the Lamp has no Shade... no, I didn't forget to put it back on... I'm waiting on discovering the perfect Victorian Style Bohemian Shade for this Lamp... and I'm just quirky enough that until I procure one, I'd rather leave an exposed lightbulb than have some hideous Shade I am not feeling at all. *winks*
Though I have many of these Vintage Filigree Metal and beveled Glass Jewelry Boxes, this Triangular one with the little Bird is my favorite.
I was knee deep in this Project while the G-Kids were in School today, trying to finish up this section before Princess T came Home from Head Start at 11:00 am because she'll be off for the rest of this week due to School Conferences... so I was working feverishly.
So wouldn't you know I also get a call again from the School Nurse to pick Prince R up at Noon instead of 3:00 pm because he started to not feel well. He's only been back to School a day and a half from the Strep Throat episode of last week... so, this relapse means Round 2 of strong antibiotics... and him resisting being still enough to rest and heal. *le sigh... shoot me now!*
See... I told you that part of the obstacle of keeping this Ole' House clean and in order... plus getting the numerous Projects and Art completed is that Family must come first... and they have a tendency to be high maintenance... and I'm slowing down in my ole' age... so it seems I'm always playing catch-up!!! *HUGE sigh*
This is why I keep an image of Dear Ole' Dad in our Bedroom... which is my Private Sanctuary. *Well, sometimes it is if I can keep 'em all out... Smiles* Dad was my 'Rock', the Go-To Guy when you needed a sage Word of Wisdom and to lean on someone with a position of Strength and complete Calm even in a crisis. He was a stoic Man of few words, but what he said was always profound and absolutely nothing flustered him. He was very Old School Native American with Traditional Cultural Tribal Wisdom and was the strongest and yet most caring and loving Man I ever met. I know, I'm biased... *winks* but I sure do miss being able to give him a call when Mi Vida Loca is pressing me above measure and beyond strength... but just seeing his handsome Bronze face always strengthens me in weak moments. Yeah, even us strong older Women have our weak moments! *winks*
So after I picked up a sick G-Kid and The Princess I set about attempting to complete the Mission at hand...
And after making Lunch and then Dinner for the Crew... picking up new prescriptions from the Pharmacy for Prince R... and giving everyone their Baths... I did it... Mission Impossible complete... at least this portion of it... *standing ovation and me taking a bow*
Can you only hear the Angels singing and see the Heaven's parting too ... or was it just me??? *LOL*
Yes, even though it is only a very small portion of a room, it felt absolutely Heavenly...
Yes Cherubim and Seraphim Heavenly it was...
To have completed Task #1 of the Big Spring Clean...
And to have purged several large boxes of loveliness and sent some of it off to GOODWILL... some of it priced and boxed for the next Yard Sale... and another few boxes that will be offered to Shops that specialize in Found Treasures of the Shabby Chic-ness genre.
No, no, no... I shall not be purging ALL of my Shabby, Chippy Chic inspired decor, I still "Heart" it... but my greater Love is in that decor of the Bohemian genre and I'm gravitating back to it strongly the older I get... coming full Circle so to speak... which is the way of Life...
And speaking of Life... Hey... who IS that good looking young Couple in the Photo??? Could it be... yes, the Wedding Pix of a certain Mr. & Mrs. Bohemian taken long, long ago... in what sometimes seems like a Land far, far away *winks*... when I lived quite like a Gypsy and all I owned could be packed in an hour and taken on down the road *smiles*... and I actually lived in a Trailer so I didn't really have to pack, the House had Wheels! *LMAO* Now I cannot say that Life wasn't crazy back then either *winks... it was... 'cause that's how we roll... LOL* ... but we were younger... and so full of Promise... and we didn't have all these physical limitations that Father Time inflicts upon us in the Winter Seasons of Life.
So I could tackle those Big Projects I have always had grandoise vision for and have the physical stamina to see them through without all the rest-breaks *winks* and without slathering on Ben-Gay afterwards *LOL* But now my Friends... now I need YOU... yes, I do... to cheer me on when I decide to do something Big. And to keep me from feeling so discouraged when in the midst of a grandoise Project some wee person spills her cereal all over the Livingroom floor... and the Cat throws up in the middle of my Vintage Persian Carpet... and a sick G-Kid is so hyper, in the midst of allegedly being near death, that I have to scrape him off the ceiling... and a glass of Wine seems far more enticing than a mop and a bucket... AND...well, you get the picture *WINKS*... Thanks for having my back... Dawn... The Bohemian