Simplify!

By necessity, I’ve had to make a concerted effort to simplify in the past 3 months. Without the cushion of fluxing student lines of credit, balancing a stringent budget has become my monthly fixation. The idea of simplifying is a kind of romantic one, isn’t it? It’s easy to say, I can’t wait to de-clutter my life, or Being accountable for my spending will be so refreshing, but really – really! – it’s hard. I haven’t bought new clothing in almost 6 months (except for one item, which was so worth it). That’s really hard for me! I am bent to materialism! I like clothes and pretty things!

Sometimes it’s mentally exhausting as I do the math in my head, deciding whether I have the space in my budget to meet that friend for coffee, if she’ll see through my plot if I invite her over for tea at my apartment instead. I almost wonder if this more simplified way of living is making me, actually, more narcissistic?

Of course, this is an absurd thing to whine about, and I apologize for coming across in that way. I suppose this is all to say: simplifying is not simple!

I’m genuinely thankful for the space where I live, the people who have grace for me during this floundering stage of my life, and the sneaky gifts of dinners and housewares that have been sent my way (I’m looking at you, family).

One of my favourite things to do, lately, is to find new uses for old items and things I have already in my cupboard.

Like…. olive oil. Hair masks, bath oil, exfoliants, cough medicine–olive oil is amazing and I happen to have a lot of it.

And… baking soda. It unclogs drains. And can be used as deodorant (but I don’t do that). Revolutionary.

Granulated sugar is something I don’t use too often but a big bag of it has been sitting in my cupboard for a long time. If you combine it with olive oil it’s an amazing exfoliant. And there are tons of other uses too.

I’ve gotten to the point where when I think of something I might need to buy, I do a “DIY” google search instead. It’s pretty fun.

People and Things.

For the past couple of years I’ve been developing a hobby that involves refinishing, repurposing and–to use that trendy word–upcycling different treasures that I find in basements, in thrift stores, in estate sales and on curbsides. While a few new coats of paint, some pretty paper, or new hardware can revolutionize how an object is seen, my favourite projects are ones where I get to reveal something beautiful that was there all along.  Sometimes I get so caught up in my creating/rescuing that I have to remind myself that, while I love the noble idea of keeping things in use and out of junkyards, these are still just things. This week, while looking for quotes to put on some wall hooks I was making, I found this one by Audrey Hepburn:

“People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.”

Right now I’m working a couple of jobs, one of which is rather service-oriented. And people are crazy. And sometimes I want to just walk away, write them off, refuse to serve them ever again. But then some bit of wisdom comes across my path, such as this one, and reminds me that people are works in process. No one deserves to be thrown out. And if I’m putting so much effort into restoring, renewing, reviving, reclaiming and redeeming bits of wood and metal, I’d better be putting equal effort into people as well.

PS. Here are some not-very-good-quality snaps from my first craft sale.

Attention Mall Shoppers!

This weekend we all descended upon my parents’ house for a weekend of family togetherness. I was working on things for this upcoming craft sale, and my dad was in the community theatre production of The Music Man. In the midst of this, we were all in various stages of mid-autumn cold viruses, slightly sleep deprived, and well… grumpy. So it made me smile when I walked into the house on Sunday night only to happen upon a rousing game of: Mall Madness. This is not the first time that male members of my family have been seen stressing over a sale at the Jewelry Store or dismayed at the little man declaring, “Long line! Try again later!” But I realized I’d better record it while this phase of our life lasts.

a walk in the park

Since finishing my MFA I’ve been having a hard time figuring out what to do with myself. Although I went to school for photography, I’ve never had the goal of being a career photographer. There are many things I’m interested in and a few things that I’m moderately good at, but we exist in a time when everyone is trying to either chase their “passion” or discover their “passion.” I kind of hate the word passion. I think that all of us who aren’t quite sure what we love bristle a bit when we hear that word.

While I spend time deciding what I should pursue, I want to keep being creative, even in small ways. My friend Kate and I went for a photography walk a couple of weeks ago in the park. Both of us are pretty tired post-MFA so we thought we might be inspired by something light-weight and social. By the time we got out there, the light was a tad melancholy and the sun had almost set, but I like the moody quality of the images; it reflects well on my muddled state of mind.

Ah, birthdays.

My brother Ben is first among my siblings to break beyond the quarter of a century mark, and I don’t think he’s too happy about it. That’s ok, I love him even when he lies about his age.

Here’s a couple of snaps from our recent annual trip to Dorset.

Namesake

Getting around to exploring some photos taken for my parents in the summer.

I was staying at home in July when this little filly surprised my mom with an early appearance. As Rea, the mare, is a first-time mom, my parents had been closely monitoring her progress. But two weeks before Rea’s due date, there was a substantial thunderstorm and Rea chose that night, in the mud and rain, to give birth. Totally surprised my mom when she went out to do chores in the morning!

They named her Century Hill’s Hazy Kate, or just “Kate” for short.

Family Time