Half-Done Husband

Sure he's headless--but he's also somehow handsome, right? :-)

A Whole Lot of Living (Room) To Do

In Part 2 of our "what happened to their stuff?!" series, we'll have a look at the living room, which is really part of a sort of great room, since it's connected to the dining room and to my studio space. Again, click to see the labels, which reveal a bit about my relationship to the (startlingly few--even to me) things in this room.
We really do most of our hard-core relaxing here--and I do tons of handwork here, since the chair at my work table hurts my bum. (TMI?)
To be perfectly honest, I'd like to hang some curtains, and I already have them, but the rods from our old house won't fit these windows, and every time I'm at the store, I talk myself out of buying new ones. I think, "But there are already blinds in there. Why do I need curtains, too?" I just do; that's why. And yet...
This view shows you a glimpse of my "studio," which is really the front foyer. We downsized from a three-bedroom to a two-bedroom house as part of an effort to downsize Mark from a two-job to a one-job man. It worked, and hence I'm quite glad to have this smaller work space (which I will show you more of later).
In the left corner up there you can see that we do have a television, though we don't get "TV." My husband is a huge film buff, so the screen feels necessary on some level.
Annabelle's grandfather made her that lovely dollhouse, and I consider it an art object. Above it sits our collection of vintage Doctor Dolittle books.
And these guys? My inheritance from my maternal grandfather. No joke. I love them with all my heart.

Bedroom: A Room for Sleeping In

There was a wee-bit of clamor for photos of my living space; probably you folks just want to see what it looks like to live someplace where it appears the inhabitants have already packed to move. I can't blame you--it's like looking at those dioramas of ancient people in a cave. Ahem.
I thought I'd do it "anatomy of a room" style, and I'm starting with the bedroom, which is probably my most monastic space. There's also never any real light in there (which is fine unless you want to take photos), so forgive the lamps. Because my aim--as I have gone about drastically altering my material and emotional relationship to money and objects--is not so much to create beautiful, artful surroundings as to create a functional, peaceful, and cost-effective life, I've labeled some things in the room to show what they are and where they came from, and if you click to enlarge the photos, you can more easily see what's going on with that.
The above photo makes me a little nervous--that's what my inner-OCD-angel calls clutter, but in fact, we do need/use all the stuff that's on that bedside dresser, so I'm going to chill out about it. For reals.
Full disclosure: I took the clothes out of that laundry basket. Nobody needs to see my dirty skivvies, right?
What I love about this room: its spare functionality. Everything I need here is here, and very little that I don't. This room is for sleeping--you know, mainly. I also exercise here every morning, and that's all I'm going to say. ;-) Also, there are many objects that I love in this room, either because they are lovely or because they serve us well, or both--the solid wood armoire, the black iron bed, my nightgown (yep--I have one nightgown and wear it pretty much every night).

What I spent real money on: the bed and mattress and the exercise bike. Everything else was a cast-off (from friends or family--things they no longer wanted/needed), a practical gift, or a yard-sale/thrift sale purchase. Why is this important to me? Well, I aim to be frugal, not cheap (spending money on things I need--spending the right amount of money to fully achieve but not exceed my objective), with the ultimate goal of working less and living more, and I aim also to use up the fewest resources, partly by reusing as much as I can of the stuff that already exists in the world. I think I'm succeeding fairly well in this room.

Little Pink Nerd

My pink-house anniversary hoop is finished, and I'm onto a portrait of the dreamiest bride and groom I've ever seen in front of the ocean in Cyprus. It's hard work, but somebody's gotta do it.

Since my post about my relationship to "stuff" (namely, I don't want much of it), I've gotten quite a few emails and comments that suggest some of you are interested in hearing more. I was thinking I might just, now and then, post about my-life-with(out)-things, in order to clarify this lifestyle I'm striving toward and just how (and why) I'm trying to make it happen. Maybe we can exchange ideas about how to live more meaningfully in the material world--and how "making" goes along with all of it. It sounds super nerdy as I'm writing it, but, um, that's never stopped me before. ;-)

Where in the world did Carmen's skivvies go?

A's doll, tentatively named "Carmen," got coifed today--that is, her wig is glued on, but she wants a little cut and style (and, you know, garments). I'll keep you posted.
And I'm at work on a little backlog of custom orders that came in before Christmas. January is a busy month for me--preparing online courses for the spring semester takes up much of the month, but classes started yesterday, and I'm looking forward to the relative calm to come. I'm bubbling with new art and craft ideas, which is a good thing because I've been offered a little solo show at Wintergreen Arts Center in my hometown of Presque Isle. It'll be April 1, no fooling. ;-)

Neither Hair nor...Clothes

I thought I'd update those of you who were interested in the progress of Miss A.'s doll-making adventure (which is, of course, also my doll-making adventure, since that's how we roll around here). Our little lady now has arms and legs (attached using Mimi's button method from her Purl Bee tutorial); the clay parts of said limbs were sculpted and painted by the girl, and then I helped secure them with fabric glue and a few stitches.
Tomorrow she gets hair!

Not Too Much of a Good Thing

I am very careful about the objects I let into my life. I don't want to live with things I don't love or need, but truly enforcing this credo can take a heroic amount of vigilance. Things just seem to appear, don't they?
The truth about me, though, is that I don't shop for fun and don't really (anymore) experience much desire for stuff (outside of stuff I can eat, of course!). While I admire beautiful things, I don't long to own them, at least not very often. So it's mainly gifts that can create accumulation I don't want.
The people I love seem to have become, all of the sudden, beautifully sensitive to my strange ways. (A little background: often when people come to my house, they ask if I'm moving and if I've already packed. No. I'm a minimalist, I tell them. I have had the same bedspread since 1993, and I've been wearing the same black wool coat for thirteen winters--no joke. I love these things because they serve me so faithfully.) This Christmas, my loved ones gave me a few, small things, mostly handmade or thrifted, all terribly lovely and/or useful. Sigh.
Spring shoes--handmade (and vegan!) from here--await my feet with their soft pillowy insoles; a bear drinks tea (unquestionable necessary, thanks very much), patiently waiting to be framed and hung on my studio wall, and--come on--John Denver and the Muppets?
Then there's this hat. It has braids, people.
I am full of good things, but not uncomfortably so. I feel loved but not overwhelmed. Just right.

Gettin' Girly With It

No one's ever ordered a girl-baby version of my baby-gift hoop--until now! I thought I'd share the results.
It's no secret I'm pretty fond of the pink/turquoise/red combo, and throw in a little olive green and I'm doing a jig of joy. Well, not really. I don't have the energy to jig (even if I did know how) because in my cliched-January way, I've taken up cardio in the mornings. Why can't exercise feel like eating potato chips? That would solve all my problems. :-)

Whew! I Missed You!

January is all like, "Hey, everybody thinks December is jam-packed and mad busy, but don't count me out!" And I'm all like, "Hey, January--you don't have to prove anything to me. I'm convinced."
(Yup--I'm pretty busy. And perhaps slightly bonkers. But how do you like my new custom pet-portrait wedding-ring pillow? That cat with the white face and the black head is kind of rocking my world.)