Sentimental value or just plain crazy?!

Whenever I see hoarders on TV I can't understand how someone could live this way.  The keeping old stuff part I do get, what I don't get is the amount of trash, etc.  Anyway, since we've sold our house in the suburbs (six years ago already) to move to a condo downtown we've had to let go of many of our things.  It always amazes me how much we can accumulate. 

Hubby often complains about how much crap we own, and how much we lack space.  He's right about the lack of space.  We do have a storage unit, offsite, that mostly serves as storage for my Christmas gear and our camping stuff .  Of course it also stores our winter tires, boxes of books we don't want to get rid of just yet (like all our Tintin, Astérix & Obélix, Calvin and Hobbes), and a bunch of other goods.  Last weekend we spent over three hours in our locker sorting through boxes and making quick decisions as to what we were keeping or re-storing.  We did manage to get rid of a few boxes and decided to sell all our camping equipment and some other things.

On Sunday I've posted on a local website a bunch of items for sale and sent an email to a bunch of friends, hoping for the best.  Well, it's been working. We've sold a few items, only had one person who negotiated ($5 less than the asking price).  Granted, we're not asking much for most of these things, even if we did pay good money for them when we bought them and even if they are in good condition, we want them to go so we priced them to go.

Some of our things are not ready to let go just yet and this despite the amount of space they take our or little we used them.  I do understand the reasoning (or lack of) behind keeping something for sentimental reasons, and it pisses me off that I show this weakness towards, let's say, my big doll, Louise, which my grand-mother had given me when I was a few years old.  When I did open the box she was in, I knew I should have taken it out to the "sell" pile, but I couldn't.  I still remember how I had cut her bangs (they're still crooked) and how she sat on my bed for years.  About ten years ago, my mother gave me my first pair of walking shoes, which I didn't know what to do with until I saw Louise and tried them on her.  They fit her and have been on her feet ever since.  How could I let go of that doll now, after all those years? 

I will say/write this though, I was very proud of me for letting go of a bunch of stuffed animals, even if each one reminded me of something or someone.  It was their time to go I guess.  If only I could apply that logic and detachment to some other things too... argh.

Mmm that smell...

Because of our lovely winter and because of all the salt our city pour onto our streets during such season, the inside of our cars tend to get a nice salt ring on the carpets and let's not even think about how it affects the outside of our poor cars.  I am grateful, despite my bitching about it, that we do get salt on our streets and sidewalks, it does save many lives and help somewhat to have a better grip while driving - let's be honest winter driving is a pain - but by the time Spring comes around our cars do need some serious washing.

In my younger days I was among those crazies who would take a nice sunny day to wash my car, inside and out, but as I got old...er and somewhat more able to afford having someone else to do it for me, I started to enjoy having my car cleaned by professionals.  I'm not talking about a quick car wash - I don't use those, they often scratch the paint - or encouraging kids who do a car wash at the mall, I'm talking about either a place specialized in car cleaning or a dealer.  The last few years, since we've moved to town, we've been going to a Honda dealer walking distance from home for a good clean up at least once a year, and it tends to be this time of year.

It is always fun to get back in our car after it's been through a day at the car-spa, because on top of being all shiny and clean it almost smells like a new car.  We all know and love (I'm assuming) that new car smell.  I don't really why that is, but there is something about it, isn't it?

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a car to go pick up!

He must love me

While driving to a client this morning they mentioned, on the radio, a study that proved that men putting back the toilet seat was a sign of true love.  According to that research, signs of compassion like that show love. 

Geez, my husband must truly love me, since he never leaves it up PLUS he never even leaves the lid up.  I, on the other hand... tend to leave the lid up.  I've been trying to be careful about it, since I do know about the germs spreading outside of the bowl with each flush.  I try not to think about that too much, especially when I really have to go and I'm at the mall - the toilets there don't have lids, which is a good thing because I wouldn't want to touch them, but then the germs fly all over with every flush (when flushing occurs that is, but that's another story altogether). 

Anyway, if little acts of kindness like putting the seat down, or not fighting about having the toilet paper roll facing back or forward, or not complaining about where the toothpaste gets squeezed out are signs of love, then I am loved!

I can't be the only one...

Ever noticed how, on TV and/or in movies, they show women shaving their legs while taking a bath?  It is a bit like for this picture, that position supposed she's in a tub or so I hope.

I haven't been a fan of baths as far back as I can remember.  There is something about sitting in dirty water that doesn't do it for me.  I do enjoy a relaxing soak once in a while, but after I will take a shower to wash it down.

To think of sitting in bath water while shaving my legs and having all those little hairs floating around is just plain gross to me... Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels this way, right?

My cat is shedding and so am I

This time of year always involves a lot of shedding. I see it falling in clumps from our old cat, I feel the skin of my face changing, as it always does in Spring.  To add to this pleasure, we decided to get some work done inside our home. Some repairs needed to be done in our shower.  Something fairly simple turned out to be a bigger job; from two or three days to seven and it is now even completely done.  That being said we love the end results.  It was worth the time and money.   It would have been better not to be in a situation where work had to be done, but since that wasn't the case, it turned out good.  Since grinding and sanding were involved in this, the house was a mess.  Yesterday, I spent the day cleaning, from washing the walls to the floor.  Dust does get in every nooks, doesn't it? 

Since it was the shower work which was the most involved we haven't used it yet, to be absolutely certain that everything was dry.  We've been taking shower/tubs for the last week.  We're both tall and to try to take a micro shower in a tub isn't really fun.  We're happy we do have the tun though and happy about the mini shower which allows us to rinse off in a more efficient way than simply sitting in dirty water.  Just the thought of it, yuk!

Maybe it is Spring related, maybe it's just because we've been living in dirt all of last week, but I've been feeling like I should be cleaning.  So, I've listen to the "Blancheville" call and started clearing the mounts of paper that have been accumulating on my desk.  I've recycled a bunch of documents - the pertinent ones will be shredded - and re-organized my work space.  I want it to be airy.  I guess the dark months of winter made me accumulate crap on my desk, but now that the sun has been showing it's glowing face around here a little more often the past few days, I've been feeling its benefit.

It feels good to shed some of that crap... wonder if my cat feels it to?

Interesting flashback and realization

I'm married to a geek, a computer geek, a real one, who swears by Linus and who often refers to himself as an old Unix guy.  He hates Winblows (as he refers to it) and everything related.  Because of me he has to touch Winblows - I'm a user of such evil. Lately, when sending or trying to fetch my emails I get this error message - according to my in-house geek - it's due not only to Winblows sucking big time but in reality to the fact that one of my Outlook file is too old and out of space.  So, in order to go around that pain, I have to clean up my mails.  I've been deleting a bunch of stuff  and this despite me being from the school of "Let's keep it in case I need to refer to it some day".  I started with little emails, not that important, etc.  Today I encounter that damn error again and needed to send some mails out (for clients) so I went in my Blog related emails.

I've been blogging since April 2006 - wow! time does fly when you're having fun! - this is my 1,160th post in seven years, not to shabby, if I do say so myself.  Through those years I've met some pretty interesting people, and seeing all those names while deleting a file containing all comments I've received since I started blogging was an interesting flashback.  Seeing names of  "old' readers and thinking about them, some of which are now dead (sadly enough), others just disappeared or stopped blogging it reminded me of how interesting the last seven years have been.

As I was going through them I reread the titles of many posts and realized that I have a tendency towards the dark side.  Could that be a vestige from my father?  I think so, mixed with my own...  I have what I call my "Happy Light" to help my S.A.D. especially in winter months, plus I take my daily dose of "Happy Pills" and yet there are still lots of clouds in that brain of mine.  I'm trying to remain positive and to see the bright side, and I guess looking at what I've been posting (especially lately) I'm not really succeeding, am I?

I've always thought of this blog as a place where I could express myself, tell it as I saw it.  Whatever I'm feeling is/was being reflected in my posts.  It might be depressing for some who are looking for "light and fluffy".  I'm plenty fluffy, but light I am not. If you know me in real life, you only know how true that statement is.   

I've often seen those "feel good" saying like happiness is a choice, or our powerful our thoughts are, they are I get that.  Do I apply it? Not always.  I do try though.  That being said/written, I will apply myself harder but will I not be pretending to be or feel something I'm not.  There is plenty of fake in this world without me adding to it.  Let's just hope the sun comes out from behind those clouds...

Of all the things to forget...

We all know, as we get older, we tend to forget things.  I still have a pretty good memory and remember certain things with vivid details.  Sometimes it surprises people.  I don't try to retain information or memories, it just happens.

Often though, I will wonder if I really do remember something or it is because we've talked about it or because I've seen pictures that I do remember.  Then, there are times where I wish I could forget some things.  Doesn't seem to work like that...

Tomorrow will be fourteen years already that my father passed away.  When I close my eyes and think of him I still see his face the last time I saw him alive, when I held his face in my hands, told him I loved him and that he didn't have to do it.  The look in his eyes, the pain and sadness emanating from them was so great, he was a mess and it showed.  My next flash of his face was at the morgue, he looked so, but oh, so sad.  My poor father.  I often force myself to remember a picture of him taken a few years before his death, where he smiled and looked happy.  That is how I want to remember my dad.

Last week, while chatting with Hubby I realized that despite my best effort I was losing touch with my father's voice... I can't really remember what he sounded like.  I recall what and how he would say certain things, but the sound of his voice is fading away.  I'm not from a generation when people did video much, we didn't even do home movies.  My folks took pictures, lots of them.  I have the albums to prove it.  I have no recording of his voice.  I miss hearing him calling me "ma grande".  That is one thing that today's kids should cherish, having videos recorder/recordings readily available to them.  You have a (recent) cell phone you can create memories to last you a lifetime.  Makes me think of those messages we've heard after 9-11 that had been left by the victims before their deaths... as much as it is sad it is also a source of comfort for those you did get them.  I've often wished my dad would have called me before he walked to the shed.  He didn't.  I guess he needed all his strength to do what he was about to...  He didn't leave a note either - he didn't know how to.  He left quietly.

Despite the years, it still hurts.  The pain isn't as sharp as it was once, but it is still there...