"Mom, ya gotta quit Buying stuff and concentrate on Selling and getting rid of stuff!" The Son chastizes me and laments during a recent Luncheon together. He'd spent the Night in the Guest Bedroom of the Main House you see, which often houses my recent Stashes of Found Treasures... my Magpie's Nest so to speak. *Winks* Dontcha just Hate when they're Right?!? *Le Sigh* Conviction from hearing the Truth can be a tough pill to swallow and quite uncomfortable... especially as the G-Kid Force and The Man are nodding in Agreement... I was outnumbered! *LOL*
You see I'm a Hard Core Human Magpie... I freely admit it, the Urge can be almost overwhelming at times to get 'one more Pretty Thing' that catches my eye, even when I know I have more than enough. I LOVE Pretty Things... I Live for the Thrill Of The Hunt... and Junquing & Collecting is a Passion I've had for as long as I can remember.
Things don't have to be valuable to Appeal to me... but I do know the Good Stuff. I grew up around it and my Parents were similarly Afflicted with the Love for Beautiful Things, being Artistic and having great Resourcefulness at Rescuing Good Stuff that others didn't recognize the value of.
Sure, she's Selling stuff, but she's also still dragging Home some more... they all seem to say... even the Cats... just look at the Resigned look on Yul's Face as his Fav spot on the Porch was temporarily housing Inventory that was Showroom bound!
She's at it again he seemed to silently lament... he almost couldn't take it!!! *LOL*
"It's Okay Yul, Gramma will be loading it up soon... after she Paints this Bookshelf Turquoise & Gold." Princess T consoles him.
He was almost inconsolable... he wanted it gone NOW! And so he and the Bohemian Cat Boys made it a point to lay upon every single piece and look as uncomfortable and perturbed as they could every time I waltzed by during the few days it sat there... in their Fav spots! *Smiles*
Such Drama... don't I get enough of that from the Human Family Members about my Magpie Tendancies?!? I'm Teased & Tormented about it constantly... and I try to do better... I really do, even when nobody else is reminding me about my Urges, because I AM aware of them and try to keep them in check. But unless you have Magpie Tendancies too you have no Idea how difficult it is to refrain from, you really don't.
And I used to think that I was somewhat of an Anomaly... that there probably weren't a whole lotta folks like me that struggled with this?! But then I met you Guys... and many other Human Magpies and Fellow Artists during my Junquing Forrays who were just as Enamored with the Thrill Of The Hunt and their Love of Beautiful Things. And many who are also trying to cull their Hoard of Beautiful Things by Selling off, Editing and Purging the Home Stash. *Winks* Deciding to make a Biz decision about something they are so Passionate about that it just makes sense. And that was Strangely Comforting to me... Finding and Connecting to "My People"... the Flock of Human Magpies!
Folks who "Get It" and understand not only that this is the way we're apparently Hard Wired to our Core... but also get mutual Joy out of Sharing, Talking about and Encouraging each other in our Magpie Pursuits... rather than being Critical or absolutely Clueless as to why we're this way or why it seems Important and Exciting to us?! BTW, did ya notice how great that Old Bookcase looks Painted Turquoise & Gold now outside my Showroom? Of coarse you did! *Smiles*
And now that I've actually got some Income consistently rolling in from my Magpie Tendancies and knack for 'Scoring' Good Stuff at a Bargain, the Crew here are a little more Forgiving and Accepting about my Affliction. *LOL* Probably Relieved that at least now most of the Acquisitions are heading Showroom bound and I'm still diligently culling the Hoard at Home of my Beautiful Things and Letting Go.
The Selling and making Income off of it has actually been quite Theraputic to me because now it seems to have more Purpose than just when I was Acquiring what I Loved, Rescued or caught my Eye. I felt like less of a Hoarder of Beautiful Things when I realized that the Letting Go Process wasn't as difficult or painful to me as I'd Imagined it might be. *Whew!* Hey, those Reality Shows had Scared the bejesus out of me!!! *LOL*
And I've even found myself Gleefully looking around this Ole House and the Storage Buildings on our Property to see what I can Sell next! Those long neglected Projects that we never got around to or I know The Man won't be able to accomplish now that his Health has begun to fail... well, it doesn't bother me so much now that I can Sell off the Lovingly Sourced Treasures... like this Trio of Old Salvaged Talavera Sinks that were Rescued years ago and came out of a razed turn of the Century Hacienda here in Arizona.
You see, even though The Man is not a Human Magpie, he abhors Waste and lack of Preservation of our Historic Places... so we both would be loathe to allow something like this to end up Landfill bound... but we don't always have the Perfect Project for it ourselves. What do to... what to do... well, Rescue it and now we have an Outlet to Sell it and make a Buck... no downside to that!
Well... unless you count the decades long Storage of it in one of our Outbuildings as a downside? I don't... but at times The Man certainly did... you should have seen the Glee on his Face when I hauled them off to the Showroom Today! *LOL* So long as things are Orderly and Stored properly and there's no loss of Function of a Space, well, I see no haste in flipping them or Saving them for a Future Project, but that's the Human Magpie in me... Magpies Love their Nests and all the Pretties they have Decorating and Sitting About in them! *Smiles*
And I'll be just as Delighted to pass any of my Treasures along to the next person who Acquires them as I was at Discovering them in the first place. Just knowing that they will still Exist and be Appreciated and Purposed again makes me Happy.
In fact, when I came in to Work Today to drop off the Sinks I had good news, the Staff told me that my Dad's 6-Foot 1961 Vintage Aluminum Christmas Tree had Sold to a Lady that had been searching for one for years and was absolutely Thrilled to have Discovered it at such a great price!
I didn't get to meet her but I was Delighted FOR her! And do you want to know why? That Tree had been Loved and put up every Christmas for almost 50 years at my Dad's House... and to know that it was going to a Good Home this Christmas, to be Loved, Appreciated and put up once again during the Holidays made my Heart Glad. I know Dad would have been Happy too... he had always Encouraged me to Sell it once he was gone, to someone who would Love an Authentic Retro Christmas Tree and not some Modern Imitation of one.
That Sale was for you Dad!!! And Passing Along Cherished Memories and Treasures is a Rush and not at all Sad to me. One day I'll be gone too... and I'd like to think that each and every Treasure I have Lovingly Collected, Rescued, Saved, Salvaged and Curated will find a New Home where it will mean as much to someone else as it has meant to me.
Even such things as the one-eared Slag Glass Scottie Dog atop his Candy Dish! *Smiles* Because things don't have to be Valuable or Perfect you see to be Cherished, Purposed, Used and Loved. Just like us... Perfect and Unique in the Imperfections...
Even if we don't Work as Efficiently as we used to... or are as High Tech as the Newest Things...
Even if Parts have gone Missing over the Years of Use...
I like to think that us Human Magpies are the "Keepers Of The Past" and perhaps that is our Purpose and why the Urge is so very strong? That many Things still Exist BECAUSE OF us... and maybe that's not such a bad thing when you think about it.
Especially when you consider all that which has been Forever Lost or no longer Exists... because some Human Magpie didn't get to it first...
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian