To illustrate
Opposite minimal – maximal
Clutter, hoarder… there is a fine line? Or, is it obvious which group we fall in with? Taking pictures? I shoot many, that is to say more than one, redundancy is the word. …just in case, I don’t want to miss the important shot. My mantra? Digital is free.
We realize that most of our kids are minimalist and neat. It gives us shivers. We laugh. We are not. And, happily so, and happy to admit it – more shudders. Our counters and tables have nary a bare spot. In fact we see the table top about twice a year, when company is coming. No matter, I know where everything is. We have never lost a kitty amongst the stack. I am not apologetic. Do you need two mantle clocks and so many spinning wheels? The answer is obvious… umm, do we? It could go either way. We are weak. We do not play by any rule. It’s just fine. No harm, it’s just a little bit crowded. Let the kids shudder and laugh. I have one kid living out of a back pack. Yup, all his worldly goods in a back pack – the ultimate minimalist, except for the stuff stuffed in my closet that belongs to him too. … kidding. On this occasion – it’s a neat mess!
Gee
Sometimes I surprise myself. I did that?!
Vent cover. I never heard of them. I took them for granted. I never look at them. You can buy them. It’s better than the old metal one. Ah! Finish?! You gotta do it yourself. Really?! I did that?! Yup! I finished it to match. Myself. Not bad. Yes, the cats were curious at every step. There is some skill involved. Ha! Undaunted. Edges, sill, vent, nail gun, oh my! Easy! Right! I gotta say… don’t try this at home. (Wink!)
I also gotta say that I took pictures as I went along. Gee, everything deserves a picture….
Once a year
… or thereabouts. We are clean. We are not messy. We are never dirty. We are dusty. We are never uncluttered. That is to say, the counters are never clear. Shall we say, “Less worse?” Ha ha. We accumulate stuff. You gotta understand. I was never poor. I was never hungry. But, I sometimes keep a lot of food on hand. So it overflows the pantry. I have three refrigerators and a freezer. One is a small beer fridge. But, everything is full. Yeah, we just keep things on hand, just in case… Clean? Yes, we have company coming. So, time to be neat. I’m not bragging. It’s home. We like it – “less worse.”
Curious
You just don’t stop suddenly. Suddenly, I stopped – taking slides, pictures with film. I transitioned over a period of about a year after receiving a Canon G3 digital camera from Lisa. The DSLR digital cameras were thousands of $, upwards of $5 to $10K! Too expensive! I was wealthy enough, sure. But….
And then, the Nikon D70 arrived just about, right about this time of day/month/year in 2004. It came as David’s graduation commenced. And, I never shot another slide afterwards, just like that! …I eventually threw away a lot of slide film from my freezer.
These were some of the last shots from my film camera. We lived in a nice house, apartment, in Manhattan. I was with Jules at one of her last track meets; she want over to rugby soon after. I was still documenting. I was curious as to the last shots I took with slide film.
I still have my film cameras. My lenses, too, are still functionally fit for my digital cameras. Nikon finally changed the F mount to the Z, but there is an adapter. While the rest of the world shoots iPhone, I happily shoot digital (camera). The cost of a digital image pro-rated over the cost of a 256gb memory card makes digital nearly free when compared to the cost and development of film! That works just fine for me.
Details
Home is a catalog of your life. In this case we had separate lives and have a joint life. It’s quite a mish mash of stuff. In making up for lost decades we have collected a lot in a hurry – old typewriters, old sewing machines, old spinning wheels… old beer steins. Colleen weaves. That shuttle is sitting on a Revolutionary war era barn loom. Yes, we basket. And, I built/constructed the bobbin display rack to hold spun skeins. We got old art and new art. The old wheel is our TP holder in the half bath. The master bath has too many cosmetics. I hid them in a nearby backpack. Yes, it’s all jokes in self-defense – we are out of room for stuff. Ditto, my pantry sits partially on the counter. We did not start out this way. They have shows about hoarders.
Us? We? Nah!!
In plain sight
Today, is it story or picture? Things go missing in our house. Ha ha. We live with projects in progress, progress being the operative word. It’s a nice way of saying “mess.” It’s us. It can be overwhelming… sometimes. Can you lose a 3-hole punch? Sure, it’s easy. Just stick it behind something in a place you hardly look. Yeah, it would help if it were where it’s usually kept… A yoga mat? This is about 6’x8’. It ain’t small! We got another; don’t ask. Now we have two. The first? It was standing behind an open door. Oh yeah! “ Look behind the milk.”
Another story? Fake cheese? It’s milk product. It’s not cheese. Oh, but you knew that? I like cheese. Shitake mushroom? Why do they come packaged dry? I was an adult (middle aged I might add) before I ever saw a fresh shitake. Fake duck? Yup, they got that too. It’s good. Colleen won’t touch it. It is all in fashion now. Fake – plant based – meat.
I would look harder for missing things, but, then that would take away the fun from having put things away. …nary a surface is open. Some folk are just destined to have things all about. That, would be us. Oh, and my photo catalog is so crowded, it was easier to photograph the house (again) than to cull a picture from the catalog.
Making up for lost decades
We met when we were eight years old. We then orbited in proximity for five years. I knew Colleen (back then), though we remained not much more than acquaintances. We lost track of one another for nearly five decades. And now? We’re trying to make up for a lot of time. Does accumulating stuff help? … a lot of stuff? I would not know. We just go with it. One Santa, two Santa… one leads to another and another. You would think we were an old married couple. Well, old yes; together, not nearly as long as we will be from now on. If I had one wish….
Eclipse – about as rare…
Peer into the background. Like a dam, chaos is being tightly reigned in. It’s summer. Colleen’s family reunions here every year since she was a kid. Generations gather, they transition, and another generation is here. How long will they keep gathering? I’m just a middle man. We host. We have not been this neat and tidy since the pandemic hit. It’s been about two years since I saw the tops of the tables. Guilty! Colleen and I both tend to leave things where they lie. That way I have an archeological estimate of what went where when. Got it? And, then there’s no dust on the table either. No worries, there’s plenty of dust everywhere else. Neat? Not exactly. But it sure works for us. You might laugh. You are neater than we. But then again, we are living well and happy. It’s amazing that having a mess is peace. We don’t argue. Things are always hidden under something or another. It’s home! Note: the pictures of neatness, you see, will last only a few days. Like the melting snow in spring, all will return to ‘normal’ in a few days. A crowd is coming. Soon, things will lie everywhere. Chaos! … returns.
Art
You know me and art. I’m no artist. Photography ain’t art. Pressing your finger to the shutter is not a particular skill. Ha ha. Yes, it’s all tongue in cheek. For real? A recent NYT article described 3D imaging and used an artists’ loft as its model (see below left). They said the clutter was arranged carefully over years to achieve the exact art effect they (artists) desired. Ha ha! I am hysterical! Yes, laughing hysterically. We do/did it in my/our (it takes more than one) house. It takes about a day. It is ever changing. This was our seasonal look. Clutter? Art!? Oh yeah! Oh yes! Things are in their place once. Who can keep track? It’s enough to make your mother shudder. Hey! No dirty laundry. I drew the line when I saw Dave sniffing his laundry in his room to decide if it was wearable. The washer was on the wall directly behind his bedroom.
Some have art. Some have clutter. I guess there’s a fine line between art and clutter. We have family and friends shuddering (with laughter) as they read this.
Party ready
All dressed up with nowhere to go. Ha ha. We are taking a calculated risk during corona. We are safe. And our kids are safe. We have all been isolated safely for quite some time. So! The house is all neat and ready for company. This is a first in months (too many to mention) when we have actually seen the floor and table tops. Since the tables have been otherwise covered, Colleen hasn’t had an opportunity to play games. She loves to beat me. (I always let her win. NOT.) In the midst of everything our 1860’s spinning wheel found a place as treasured photo prop. Don’t laugh. It’s only clean this brief moment until everyone leaves. After – we believe a house is not a home, unless it’s lived in.
Boothbay Harbor
This home was for sale. It sits in the harbor on a bridge/walk right in the middle of everything. It’s the proverbial goldfish bowl. What comes to mind is that I may never walk around in my underwear. Colleen fell in love with it and begged… I said no. Luckily, on this occasion, I got my way. It’s not often I win. Lately, though, I don’t walk around in my underwear any more. Darn!
The last time
The last time… we ate out, we had dinner guests, our house was clean. Well, now might be the time to look back. Ha ha! I compose posts long before published. I am trying to stick to the one/day rule Jules imposed. This is/was being written in early May. Poignant! Literally the day/same evening we ate our last meal out as DE closed all restaurants.
We only clean up when we invite dinner guests. We have not seen uncluttered tables in quite some time. This was the last clean up before Jen and Mike came for St Pat’s corned beef.
And the very next day… no toilet paper to be had. It’s been a while. No, no, no, there’s a new normal. Little did I know. Our house will not be tidy again, for a long long time. It’s a good thing. I do so love my life and my wife. Eh? What did I say? … I can’t remember when I last saw TP on the shelves! … and I love my wife.
Clean
The beauty of inviting anyone to dinner is that you have to straighten and clean. Our tables were covered – with projects and stuff. Of course! The aftermath of cleaning: It’s still cluttered. And there is a screen of drying wool locks – we took it away later. I daresay we have a way to go in order to be minimalist. (I don’t think that is ever happening.) Shhh… it’s all hiding – the stuff. Tomorrow we shall begin again – to take out what we work with. And upstairs, behind me, is the office I use. There’s no path thru the room. I have things on the floor while I sort and search. Yes, the great room is full of weaving implements – too numerous to name… and ah! bundles of artificial flowers! What to say: “Home!”
Slow day
We’re home. Not much doing, so what to do? Cook. Oh, we got TP! Gotta have the essentials. Biscuits, from a Red Lobster gluten free mix, imagine that. We got that stuff in Walmart. It was an unlikely place (to find it). The real surprise was that the biscuits were really good, as in, I would buy a mix again (if I come across it). Asparagus, it’s a little early for the big thick ones. So, I peeled the tough skin with a potato peeler. Add vinaigrette and it’s pretty near to perfect without too much effort. Bacon anyone? Yeah, unhealthy. This was two pounds (fresh cut) on sale – ½ price. Wow! I just hit it, lucky. Yup, it cooks down to practically nothing. But good! And, crab cakes, fresh made and delicious. No picture. Colleen ate it before I could … yes! A good time was had by all. If they had told me, “Make a post about bacon…”
The mess
Oh! I am reminded that we are not neat. Well, about once a year… for company coming to visit. Ordinary! It’s a state of chaos. Our life. We live it. What you see are ongoing projects. We fiber. At least I do and Colleen does and has for quite some time. I spin now. It’s by default. The only way we could ever convert fleece to yarn is with my help. We simply are overwhelmed with too much raw material. Meanwhile we got company. Things were clean for a moment. If you host five little kids, it’s sure to be a mess, just a different sort. Neat for a day: that’s the motto.
What a mess!
I’m not neat! Nope. Nada. We were in the throes of a gut renovation on the apartment. (circa 2000) We decided to live in the other half. So everything on the 6th floor moved to the 5th or it was tossed. You can see we saved a lot of stuff. We tossed a lot – sinks, appliances, and so much wood and more. We hung our artworks willy-nilly. There are lots of clothes strewn about. No, I don’t think those are panties… I’m set up on an ironing board to mount slides into cardboard mounts. Remember, I did it all myself – developing and mounting. There’s a Mac laptop, an iron, the slide scanner – old old LS 1000, another TV with VHS player, printer, and multiple boxes containing mounted slides. That large batik on the wall was an original artwork from an artist we chased down in Hawaii decades ago. Yeah! It was an utter disaster. I don’t know how the family put up with my clutter. It was temporary. Sure! But I apologize looking back at the chaos I photographed. It’s like food. You can’t appreciate the utter mess in a single picture. Sorry, guys.
DIY
Projects have a way of getting out of hand. I had a leaky faucet. Plumbing is like shunting. It’s always a problem. Leaking is what started and it is leaking that ends. One way or another the leak stops. I was afraid I would have a very nice looking still life (without running water) where my sink started. I could not get the faucet free. It was stuck. So… remove the sink. Right! And the next thing you know I am replacing the sink. No! I did not intend to make this harder. The hard part is really the cutout for the sink. The hole is precisely set for a specific size sink. This is not universal! So good damn luck finding the right sized sink. I did! We will not use Home Depot any longer. They supported Trump. I did not know. I will vote with my wallet too. But sink and faucet came together in the box and it was an overnight project. I cut the PVC pipe and it all fit! I guess a background in neurosurgery can be of some help. And then it leaked! Just a little, and after one adjustment, it was dry! Yes! Damn! That was worth a dance for joy. And I now have a brand new sink and faucet. Yay!
Dinner Out
I attended a welcome dinner. Two physicians joined our department. I live modestly in hospital housing. This was an opportunity to see how the other half lives. It’s a separation of sexes. No females were in attendance. Someone brought their son. Otherwise it was a banquet of males. Lamb is roasted on a skewer. Standard fare. The sides included lots of rice, salad, and fruit, followed by dessert. Afterward our host played traditional music accompanied by his son. From the outside, the walls are high and drab. Inside, the accommodations are quite the opposite. Elaborate and ornate, it reflected a long life of collecting the trappings of wealth and success. Me? I’m living in two suitcases, ready to go if it’s imperative. The bulk of it will be my dive gear. I’m of the opinion that you can’t take it with you…but…. you can sure store it somewhere else. To be fair, I’ve got a lot of junk sitting around somewhere else… Please don’t laugh too hard.
Gracious Home
If I had my choice of home styles this home would be right up there. it’s in Harrison Maine nearby to the Camp Pinecliffe that J attended. We passed the house on a backroad and then I never saw it again until I passed by in my random wandering one day. It was unexpected that I would find it again. But then again there aren’t too many ways in and out of the area. I like the roofline. At this point I think that there aren’t enough windows and sunlight. The stone wall is a great touch. Overall it’s a memorable home architecturally.
As time has gone by there have been many homes I have admired. I suppose there are the memories of the car ride to Maine and the bittersweet goodbye to your kid for the summer. Lisa explained sending the kids to camp would make it easier when it was time for them to leave home for college. It worked too well. They left and lived in Africa and South America for a while. I missed them then and did when they were a continent away.
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