« Sensible dress | Main | update »
February 14, 2006
happy valentines! 
Okay! The Olympic shrug is now 17" long. Just 9 more inches and I can start the arms!
I'm still in a funk, not sure about what, not sure what to do. I know it's ridiculous, but there it is. Exercise, like pilates tonight, will certainly help.
I started reading a new blog yesterday. As usual, I got there through a circtious path. I'm on a mailing list for xtracycle enthusiasts, and one of the participants is a self-defined woman of faith. At some point, she pointed to her blog, Leading or Led. Part of the allure is my fascination with the Quaker faith, part is the fact that one of the ways she expresses her faith is through her clothing choices, and part is "giving up the siren call of Beauty for the Simplicity of Plain". I've been thinking about what Paula has written ever since.
Giving up consumerism. Making do with what you have. Making choices based on community. Getting there under your own power. This is stuff that is super-exciting to me, and I love to think about it. In practice, of course, it's harder. My past 14 or so days of financial austerity have been successful, but not without me reminding myself repeatedly that I have what I need—I just need to find it.
I want to keep paring down. I haven't been doing my decluttering because of my herculian olympic knitting attempts (!), but each time I pass through the second floor landing, I realize—it's gotta go, it's all gotta go. Each time I think about maybe getting a sewing machine, I remind myself that I need to make room for it, that it will need to have a home.
Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to receive an elliptical trainer. It was super cool. But I already have exercise equipment that I don't use that's taking up part of the dining room, and that was super cool too. When I use it, I really enjoy it. It's too bad I just don't use it that often. So I don't need another something to hang purses from.
Posted at February 14, 2006
Comments
Here's a challenge I read about yesterday that I've been mulling: get rid of 100 things. It's a nice round number. If I do it, I'll take a picture and post it, most certainly.
I've been flipping through a photo book you might appreciate. It's called "Material World" and it's a pictures of families around the world surrounded by their material possessions. It's fascinating to see what people own, and how little some people get by with. There's a follow-up to that book that I'm also reading/browsing called "Hungry Planet" which is families around the world photographed with a week's worth of food. Interesting stuff.
Posted by: Megan at February 14, 2006 7:27 PM
Very thoughtful post VJ. Its very easy to define ourselves by our work and our possessions - once you look beyond those things, the picture gets a little blurry. But its worth exploring!
Posted by: neca at February 15, 2006 5:49 AM