Simplifying Life

groatie_queen

Even my posts are getting simplified! Just lost one!

Have just done another piece of simplifying - I've hung a curtain in the open plan gap between my sitting room and the dining room. It looks surprisingly good, keeps the warmth in and makes the room cosy at night.

Oh, after my recent '27 things' exercise, I think I'm cured of my book fetish. I went into a major bookstore in Glasgow yesterday, and only one book spoke to me. And what it said was, 'get me from the library'!

Wishing us all the joys of simplicity

GQ xxx

ceridwen

I do that one - re getting books from the library when I have spotted one I would like to read. I do own loads of books (one more - as at yesterday - a Kim and Aggie cleaning book!). However, I specifically go into bookshops for a noseyround and note down the names of ones that are just "readers" and borrow them from the library. Cant stop the side-effect of spotting the odd one that is a "keeper" - but I am much better than I was at reminding myself "Just how many cookery books does a gal need?", followed by reminding myself just how many recipes I can access via the Internet these days.

mary43

Good job OH cleared some space in the bookcase...............(plus I got rid of a load of mine this morning) ..had to fill it with his cookery books ! New pine dresser shelves aren't deep enough..........and anyway I wanted them to be a bit more pleasing to the eye if you know what I mean.
Had more of a de-clutter this morning once I'd sorted the bookcase out.
Cleared a blanket box of wrapping paper that was well beyond re-using and found some bits I'd bought for christmas pressies last year and didn't give them out.....................so they'll go on my pressie pile ready for gift baskets.
Other odds and ends go on the boot fair pile so I still can;t move for boxes and bags.................lol And now I can;t find where I put the drinking glasses I cleared out of the old dresser...................lol They must be around somewhere but blessed if know which cupboard/box they're in........which room even. The more I look the less I find it seems so I'm giving my little head a rest for a bit then I'll start again
Least OH has a glass for his evening plonk !

OOOOhhhhhhhhhh !!! Found the glasses............just looked at a book at the top of a box at the side of me and there they are !!!!!!!!!!!!!:T
Another little problem solved...............now.............where shall I put them ?

rosieben

groatie_queen wrote: »

... I went into a major bookstore in Glasgow yesterday, and only one book spoke to me. And what it said was, 'get me from the library'! ...

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

rosieben

mary43 wrote: »

'... .summertimeis different..................haven of bliss at the bottom of the garden where ex foster lad created wild life garden for us with a pond, weepingwillow, wild flowers............bench given by ex foster girl and its somewhere perfect to ponder

Mary this sounds beautiful, how lovely that your ex foster kids find such lovely ways of showing their appreciation.

mary43

He was a lovely lad but had problems with his anger understandly so given his circumstances. He had poor literacy skills but when we mentioned we wanted a pond for wild life he asked if he could do it. Sheepishly we agreed and off he went, hoarded up his mates and by the end of the first day they dug the size hole we wanted. Took him the rest of the week to do the liner, get rocks for round the edge (we let him choose the shape and colour) and pick out some plants for in the pond and round the edge. This was his choice too but I did tell him if he picked one I didn't like he might feel me standing on his toe................lol
We took photos of the whole project and when his soc. worker saw what he'd done they were taken to her boss and consequently ended up in an issue of a magazine by National Childrens Bureau -I had to write a small piece about why we'd let him do it etc.
By the end of the week when it was all complete he lit candles all around it and said 'I can't believe I've done this and that you let me do it..........no-one's ever given me that kind of responsibility before'..............I could have wept for him. Now he's left us but lives locally and it's still 'his pond' and he comes and tends to it for us. Gave us all a space to sit away from the house
somewhere to pause for thought.

groatie_queen

Oh mary, what a lovely story - it brought tears to my eyes. What a great thing to give that lad the chance to do something beautiful and worthwhile, and a lovely memory for you to have, each time you look at the garden.

Bless you

GQ xxx

rosieben

mary43 wrote: »

...
By the end of the week when it was all complete he lit candles all around it and said 'I can't believe I've done this and that you let me do it..........no-one's ever given me that kind of responsibility before'..............I could have wept for him. Now he's left us but lives locally and it's still 'his pond' and he comes and tends to it for us. Gave us all a space to sit away from the house
somewhere to pause for thought.

made me cry too! what a wonderful achievement for him! and that will stay with him all his life

mary, please either put 'digital camera/scanner' on your wish list or seek out one of your friends with a digital camera so you can take and post a pic for us, it sounds so nice

mary43

I've got the photos somewhere on a floppy disk..........printed them out many many times so that the lad had copies, his mates wanted some as they did a lot of work too, we wanted some, Mum wanted some and so on.........lol
The same lad had just this minute left. He came up to help OH shift our old green dresser about in our 'junk room' and lay a big rug down in the kitchen.
Two cups of tea, and old saucepan so he can make some candles with the candle making stuff I gave him, and an old coconut and he went away happy............lol

Ellidee

Mary43 what a lovely story about how you got your pond. Thank you for sharing it with us.