A whole year later........

A whole year later.........and a lot of changes have happened. Just as expected, the big purge resulted in a big move, and a new beginning. I'm now happily living in the cutest little cottage with a yard, and all the wonderful things that come with a house, like a garage, washer/dryer, and gas stove. I'm still unpacking, hanging pictures, and yes, purging continues.

More on this new adventure later.

The curse of the curl......

The purge of material possessions continues.....

I knew when I cleaned out the bathroom cupboards, I would uncover a plethora of hair products and appliances. I've spent a small fortune over a span of many years, looking for the right product that would relax my natural curls...., but not too much so.

Except for a short period in the 70's when I surrendered to the curl and donned my version of the "afro", I've spent most of my life trying to find the no muss, no fuss hairdo that would work best for my hair. Why does it seems that those natural curls look good on everyone else, yet so messy on me?

My earliest memories of my naturally hair aren't actually real memories, but a story I heard from my mom many times. She told me of how she would cut my hair to about two inches long all over my head with a razor blade. I would then go door to door to show off my curls to the neighbors. This probably only happened once, but the way Mom told it, it sounded like something that happened at least every six weeks. I'm sure my neighbors looked forward to these visits, which were probably similar to watching a Shirley Temple movie. Or at least I thought so.

Beginning in Jr. High, I made several attempts to straighten my hair, using various products and home remedies. My best friend, Karen, was often solicited to help with this task. On one particularly painful afternoon, Karen ironed my hair. It seemed like a great idea, as I sat in a chair with my hair splayed out on the ironing board behind me. That was all fine and good until the steam escaped from the iron and burned my scalp. I remember the pain of the blistering and healing result of that attempt.

On several occasions, my brother, Larry and I each contributed $1.75 to purchase one set of Curl Free; one of two hair straightening products offered at that time. The other was called Straight Set. Larry and I would split the contents and go through what I recall to be a long process of combing some very smelly goup through our hair, only to find that the effects only lasted until the next shampooing. Being the resourceful preteens that we were, we would then write a scathing letter to the to company to complain about the ineffectiveness of their product, leaving out the minor detail that we had split the process between us. Of course, the company responded with not only a letter of apology, but two complete packages of Curl Free. We were quite thrilled at the response, but of course, the full process didn't work any better.

I recently made yet another attempt to "let my hair grow" (an odd expression, as pointed out my my brother, George). The rumor in the world of curly hair is that longer hair results in heavier hair, and the extra weight supposedly weighs down the curl. Not so.

Once again, I've surrendered to the curls, and I'm now sporting a short, curly "do." However, I've still not found the easy, "wash and wear" hair style that I'm supposed to have, according to those who have straight hair. The good news is I have an abundance of products and hair appliances to sort through, once again, hoping to finally achieve the results I want.

And, at the same time, I've now added another issue.....the "to color or not to color" dilemma, but that's "a whole-nother" blog for "a whole-nother" day.

Digging to China

One of my first projects in my "get rid of 10 things a day for 30 days" was my hall closet. I have always complained that living in a condo is so difficult because of the lack of storage I have. I think the truth is that I have as much storage as I need, but just too much stuff.

The last time I cleaned the hall closet, I felt such relief that I would actually stop in the hallway, open the double folded doors and just stand and look at it for a few seconds. Like most closets, that orderliness was short lived. Once again, the closet is stuffed full.

The closet contains more pillows that I can count, a number of blankets and afghans, a zillion towels in varying stages of wear, and a large assortment of other things I've not seen since the last time I cleaned the closet; my mom's scary Halloween decorations, an assortment of tools, and numerous cleaning products.

As I pulled each blanket and pillow out of the closet, peeling back the layers of sewing and needlework projects, I finally uncovered a treasure; the three boxes of china I received as wedding presents in 1973. I laughed as I realized I had dug through that closet all the way to "china."

When I was married, the china was used only on special occasions. One of my first anniversary presents was a china cabinet, where I proudly displayed the china and crystal for all of my other newlywed friends, all of us between 18 and 22 years old at the time.

After my divorce, the china was carefully packed into three boxes, each piece wrapped individually. The boxes have been moved and moved and moved again, but the china has not been used. I must have unpacked and repacked the boxes at some point, because the newspaper wrapping them is dated September 1999.

I'm not sure engaged couples "register" for china the way we did it in 1973. Of course, as was the tradition in Eureka, we made the trip to Walsh's, THE place to register for your dishes. Some people bought a cup and saucer, others a dinner plate, and those who were more "well-to-do", usually the parents of our friends, would buy a full place setting. THAT was quite an expensive gift.

I unpacked my china last night and after a short poll of friends on Facebook, I decided that it's time to use it. Every day. What a shame that it's been unused for so many years. But, maybe it wasn't time before now to use it. One thing I learned in past year is that putting things off for the future, like using my china, is not the way to live.

So, starting tomorrow morning, I will eat my toast on my 37 year old Noritake Savannah china. And I'll use the "good towels" to dry off with when I get out of the shower.

But, right now, I'm going to enjoy a glass of wine in one of the "nice" glasses that were wedding presents to my mom and dad.............many..........many..........years ago.

Goodnight.

The Spring Purge of 2010

I'm not really quite sure what started this big purge I've undertaken. Maybe it was the 10th person who told me they were moving, starting a new job, starting a new relationship, or some other big event in their life. I felt huge envy. Those envious thoughts lead to a reflection of a time in my life when a "purge" lead to one of the biggest decisions I've ever made; the move to Sonoma County.

It was 1995 and I was living in Eureka, working in a job in which I was miserable and felt completely "stuck." I recall talking to Mom about it, and of course, she was her predictable encouraging, supportive self.

Not long after that conversation, I watched a television show which focused on organization. It was one of those moments in time, not unlike the dieting window, where something just clicks. I spent a weekend, starting Friday evening through Sunday going through every drawer and closet in the house. My sister, Cathy, came over and helped me sort through every toy box, game closet, and spice rack. At the end of the weekend, I had a very organized house. And, I had eliminated a lot of "stuff."

About six weeks later, a casual conversation with a co-worker lead to my move to Sonoma County. I've never had an experience in my life that was so obviously "supposed-to-be." I've always referred to the move to Sonoma County as the best decision I have ever made, and one that I've not regretted for a nano second. I truly believe that the clean up project opened the door for that change.

So, while I'm not looking to move, I'm excited about the prospect of change in my life. Someone asked me why I had so many boxes in my office. I told him I was getting rid of the old, making way for the new. He asked what the new was, and I replied that I won't know until I get rid of the old.

I'm looking forward to the journey of simplying my life, starting with possessions. During the next month, my goal is to take you through the journey with me. I hope you enjoy it.