Organizing the Garage

 I have picked one of the hottest times of the year to try and get my garage organized.  This is going to be my daily challenge for July.  Now that Michael has gotten most of his stuff out of the garage, I have lots more shelf space to put boxes and containers that have been on the floor for a long time.  Jason and Marc still have a good bit of stuff out there but that will not stay forever either. I have been trying to go through the boxes out there and sort things.  That has been pretty productive, and I have been able to get rid of things and condense boxes.

I want my garage to be more of a functional space than just storage.  Not that there's anything wrong with having storage!  But I want to have my heavy bag available for workouts.  And if I need to do any kind of woodwork or whatever, I'll have a place for that.  I also have realized now that I have almost no tools LOL  I will need to invest in some of my own.  But I will build that up slowly.  

So that's my challenge for this month.  I hope I can get some things done each day despite the heat.  We shall see!!

Quote of the Week

 

This is something that I have been working on lately.  Letting go of the things that I have dreamt about my whole life is hard because I have not found any dreams to replace them.  I am working on that and will find something else to embrace and pursue. 

Wish You Were Here - Jack Cassidy

I have heard this song sung numerous times by many different artists.  I know I have it on several records.  I always have been intrigued by the song and find it on the haunting side.  I'm not sure why but in some ways it's very sad and in other ways it's very hopeful.  I had no idea that it was the title song of a musical from the 1950s.  It's a musical about a summer camp for adults in the Catskills.  Interesting concept.  I want to do some more research on it but I heard the score on the Sounds of Broadway website and found it quite charming.  Here is Jack Cassidy from the original cast singing the title number.  Enjoy!

 

Royal Rose China

I am always happy to accept a new set of dishes.  I can't help it; it's just part of who I am.  Much to the chagrin of my house, though.  Trying to find storage for it all can be daunting at times.  But I do not let that stop me.  And the important thing is that I enjoy it.  And I use it.  This particular set is called Royal Rose.  It was manufactured by the company Fine China of Japan.  

This set came to be by accident.  A friend of mine that I work with knows that I love dishes and things like that.  She told me that she had a tea set that belonged to a relative of hers and would I be interested in it?  I think it may have belonged to her brother, but I cannot recall off the top of my head. I told her that of course I would be interested.

A few weeks later, she brought me this box.  It was not a huge box but definitely bigger than what a tea set may fit into.  That didn't bother me at all, though.  I gladly loaded up the box into my car and got excited to see it when I got home.  You see, she didn't tell me what it looked like or what the pattern was.  It was a mystery at the time. Once I got home and opened the box, I thought there were an awful lot of pieces in this box.  I will admit that it was incredibly packed.  

The first piece I unwrapped was a cup and saucer set.  The pattern was pink roses on a white background with gold scrollwork around the rims.  I thought it was lovely.  I proceeded to empty out of the box of all its pieces.  My friend lied to me LOL  This was not a tea set.  This was a service for 8 of fine china.  I did not mind at all.  I did not have any pattern that looked like this so I thought it would make a nice addition to my collection.  And it has. 

I have used this set for several dinners and really enjoy having it on my table.  It had many pieces like the cream and sugar, salt and pepper sets, serving bowls, platters among all of the dinner plates, b&b plates, dessert plates, cups, saucers, etc.  There never was a tea pot which disappointed me since I initially was told it was a tea set.  Oh well.  I will enjoy it for many years to come!

Give yourself some "internetless" time each day

 I think it's important to take some time every day to do something for yourself or someone else that has nothing to do with social media, a computer and a phone.  Giving yourself a break from the constant streaming is healthy for the spirit.  At least in my opinion.  Get outside.  Read a book or a magazine.  Play a game, one that doesn't require a login LOL. Write a letter.  Go visit someone and have a real conversation.  Just do something that's different for a change.  Listen to music. The possibilities are endless.

I started thinking about this earlier this week because of something a friend said to me.  We had a huge storm roll through on Monday.  Many places in Greensboro were without power.  Luckily, my house was not among them.  But a friend I work with said she was without power for about 6 hours.  She and I are roughly the same age, so we remember what life before the internet was like.  Her daughter, however, does not know about that. My friend told me her daughter had three major meltdowns during the power outage because cell service was down and she didn't know what to do with herself.  While I did chuckle when I was told this, I also felt very sad for her.

It's not her fault.  It's a generational thing. They never had to live without it but I do think it's important that they find things to do when this happens.  Same goes for me and everyone, really.  When the power or the internet goes out, what do you do?  Some of my friends laugh at me because of my huge record collection and all of the DVDs and VHS (yes, you read that right) tapes I have.  But when the internet is down, I know I can entertain myself.  

But this incident just reminded me that I need to take some time each day and get away from having the world at my fingertips.  I think it's important. 

Mom's glass trinket box

 I love this little box.  It was always sitting out on a table or a shelf in our home for as long as I can remember.  Mom used to keep it filled with pieces of natural glass that we would find on our beach trips.  That was always a fun way to pass the time at the shore.  That and sharks' teeth.  The glass looked so beautiful inside the box and gave the box a wonderfully colorful appearance. 

I don't know where Mom got this little box from.  It may have been a wedding present or something she got from Aunt Mary Lee.  Or it could have simply been something she picked up along the way because she liked it.  Whatever the reason, I'm glad she had it because I really think it's pretty.  There is a chip in the lid now. I'm not sure when that occurred but it is not going to keep me from using it.  Most of us are cracked or chipped in one or another so those qualities in my possessions do not bother me either LOL

Now it sits on a chest in my den.  It's empty at the moment. I would love to go to the beach and search for glass again to fill the box back up.  Maybe one day!

Psalms 4:2

 

I read this Psalm the other day and it definitely struck a chord with me.  It's something I want to ask many people these days.