Postcard from the Edge

"Having a ghastly time! Wish I weren't here."

All week my husband, son Wyatt, and I have been valiantly attempting to bring order out of chaos: we're doing a thorough barn clean-out. I'm not talking about the kind of barn with horses and cows in it; I'm talking a family's history, clutter, and detritus that has been decades in the making. Years and years of offhandedly cramming sundry items into the out-of-sight, out-of-mind vortex of the big red plywood catch-all have finally caught up with us. It's an utterly depressing undertaking, but I know it will be a huge relief when we're finally done. The folks at Goodwill are practically family, we've been there so often this week, donating our burgeoning box-loads of books, clothing, and housewares. 

It's not to say we haven't ever done this in years past, but this time we're more ruthless. Goodbye to the myriad skit costumes--even the Elvis jumpsuit (yes, we had one!). Farewell to the piano lesson books, and even the stacks of vintage magazines from the 1960s and 1970s that I thought I might want someday for cutting up and making collages. What to do with my daughter's bird nest collection, her mummified cat, and her childhood artwork? Which of the boys' toys to keep for posterity? And what about those ancient, scratched LP's? My brain is utterly scrambled from all this decision-making.

You will notice I've have actually de-stashed a huge bagful of yarn. (Not to worry, I have bins more!) I decided that life is too short to use cheap yarn. I'm keeping my wool yarn and some of my wool-blend yarn, plus a few skeins of synthetic for which I actually have a specific use, but I'm bravely culling the rest. 

Weirdly, though, it seems like the more we load into the pick-up, the more we unearth. I know from experience that, when it comes to reorganizing, it always looks worse before it looks better, so I'm keeping myself plodding along with that in mind. All the while I'm praying that no one I know comes over and sees these piles of rubble stacked and strewn all over the carport. 

One aspect of the job is fascinating, if time-consuming. I found a bunch of old letters belonging to my mom, and I've been poring over those in the evenings when I'm too pounded to do anything else. I was surprised to find these old postcards; I'd never seen them before.

My uncle sent this to my mom for her 13th birthday in 1942, shortly before shipping out to Europe in WWII.

This postcard from Boulder Dam was sent by my dad's parents to my mom's parents. Must have been from about the time my folks got married. It's dated 1949. I never knew they had corresponded.

A linen photograph from about the same time. As near as I can decipher the postmark, it's from September, 1949. My mom and dad must have been on a camping trip as newlyweds. It's addressed to my grandma and grandpa.

 
Another sorting job of gargantuan proportions is waiting in the wings when I've finished my mom's stuff. I have a plastic bin full of letters and memorabilia dating from my high school years. It's going to be difficult to decide what to keep and what to jettison. I want to keep some of my personal history items, but I do need to pare it down.

Well, back to the fray... we've a lot more sorting and hauling to do, and we don't want to wait too long or it'll start raining eventually. 

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And now for today's "Give Twice" treasury:

 

www.etsy.com/treasury/MTUzNDcxMDN8MjcyNjc4NTU4MA/give-twice-gifts-with-heart-7

 

Just a Thought

https://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTUzNDcxMDN8MjcyNjc0MjcxMA/give-twice-gifts-with-heart

It occurs to me that the corporate holiday shopping season, with all its incumbent "You need to buy this now!" imperiousness, is beginning to rear its greedy head. So I thought I'd give a plug for some more wholesome gift-giving alternatives that you won't find in your local mega department store--gifts that "give back", and also that support small businesses and artisans.

This is just a sprinkling of the many wonderful items I found on Etsy this morning; all support some worthy cause with their purchase. It was a fun treasury to make; maybe I'll keep this up for a while.

Meanwhile, a quick update on my clutter-busting efforts: I loaded up a trunkload of household items and vintage collectible gems and dropped them off at Goodwill on Tuesday. Rah, rah! Still lots more to go, but it's progress. Not only that, but my sister-in-law and I spent the whole day out and didn't darken the door of a single antique or thrift shop! A first.

Yesterday I spent the day sewing. It's my younger granddaughter's first birthday in a few days, and I'm working on a little present for her. (I'll share a photo when it's done.) I even managed to put in a zipper with fair success, using a method I've never tried before. (It was a vintage zipper and I used the enclosed instructions. You can buy zippers for a song at most thrift shops--lots cheaper than new. Also hem lace, seam binding, thread...) Yes, I had to rip out a lot of erroneous seams along the way before I figured out how it was supposed to work, but now that I know--yahoo! I'll do this again.