Share Your World – 2016 Week 42

I’ve skipped a few weeks now of sharing with Cee and the rest of you, but this morning just feels like a good time to jump back in. It all depends on my mood, you know.

If you wanted to de-clutter where you live, what room / space would you start with? (And why, if you’re feel like admitting to it.) I would have to start in the living room/aka office/craft room, because that’s where a good deal of the “clutter” is. Or maybe the closets. Or . . . there are multiple choices. I have done some decluttering, but there is much more that could go. Part of the reason I’d de-clutter would be as part of my simplification goal – simplifying life and my surroundings to reduce work and stress. But partly so that there would be less clean-out for my kids to deal with when I am no longer here. You start to think about things like that as you grow older. It’s not sad – it’s just reality.

If you want to remember something important, how do you do it (sticky note on the fridge, string around your finger, etc.), and does it work? Yes, notes on sticky notes, lists on yellow pads, reminders on the white board I mounted on the refrigerator or the front of my pantry, which I painted with whiteboard paint. Sometimes the notes work, sometimes I choose to ignore them. Since I frequently walk through doors, my memory cannot be trusted. You’ve read that study, right?

If you could create a one room retreat just for yourself, what would be the most important sense to emphasize: sight (bright natural light, dim light, etc.), hearing (silence, music, fountain, etc.), smell (candles, incense, etc), touch (wood, stone, soft fabrics, etc.), or taste (herbal tea, fresh fruit, etc.)? My former living room has pretty much become my one-room retreat. Although my family room is my retreat also. I guess since I live only with my furry girls, every room is my retreat. Natural light is critical for me – as for hearing, I love silence. My sense of smell is not good, so, although I like scented candles and oils, that’s not as important as natural light. For curling up in my big chair to read, the sense of touch becomes more important, and that’s where my fleecy lap blanket comes in. And my cup of tea, or, in the evening, my glass of wine.

If you could interview one of your great-great-great grandparents, who would it be (if you know their name) and what would you ask? Have no idea about any of my relatives going back that far. I think I’d really like to interview my mother, and maybe her mother and father. A few years ago I put together a couple of scrapbooks for my kids, showing their heritage and lives up to that point and realized I had many questions I’d like to ask my mother – was she happy, did her life turn out in anyway like she hoped or expected, things like that, but she has been gone for several years now.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up? I’m grateful for my home, my family, my friends, my furry girls. I’m grateful for each day I am given, despite the fact that I often don’t do much with them. I am looking forward to more days, some sunshine, the deer that sometimes visit my backyard – to life.

I have a few photos to share – the bright mornings before the cloudy, rainy, blustery days set in, and some alcohol ink coasters I recently painted – featuring dragonflies.

Thank you for visiting – I wish you all enough.