A warm Monday morning greeting to all & linking in here: Sian
Happy Victoria Day Weekend. For us in Canada, it is a stat (bank) holiday. The first of our summer season. Many call this May 2 4 because the start of the summer season means beer & the most popular case size is 24 cans or bottles ...
A sense of newest comes in the form of empty space. I have done some serious clearing out of stuff. I tackled the bedroom blanket box along with the storage bin under the bed. I found at least 10 of Sooty's tinfoil balls under there. My goal is to have no need for under the bed storage boxes. I also went through the ensuite bathroom drawers & cupboards. So many beautification items had passed expiry dates. I made a trip on Friday to recycle, charity shops & drugstore (for the expired bathroom items - you cannot put in the garbage). I also found a place to safely dispose of large batteries.
Next on my schedule was the stuff in the dining room, but did not get too far. So many wedding gifts that have never nor will ever be used. I feel
Ordering the newly development tulip to celebrate in 2017, Canada's 150th anniversary of confederation. Photo is from the advertisement.
On Sunday we tried saving a baby chipmunk that had become trapped in our garage over night, away from the warmth of the nest. First we warmed him up as he was cold & then we fed him some water to re-hydrated him.Then we read up how to help. Our handling him was not going to be a problem as it does not bother the Moms. We placed him by his hidey hole & put some peanuts around him so Mom would come calling, which she did. The only trouble was that she recognized before we would accept, was that he was not well & would not make it. She took the peanuts to feed the other baby in the nest, which we could hear & had seen earlier. It was heart breaking to watch as our little rescue guy, CB, moved every time he heard the sibling cry. We buried him in the grass stripe between our garden & the farmer's field. We both cried at nature's resolve to be cruel & tough.
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| Chipmunk Baby |
We have spent most of the weekend & will continue on for the rest of the week as we are on vacation, tackling the garden, setting up the patio, filling pots with annuals & vegetables.
I hope everyone has a chance to enjoy the week ahead.
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| The Start Of The Potting Up |
nature can be so sad as well as cute - looks like a lot of potting up work - I feel the gift guilt too - have a good week
ReplyDeleteThanks Helena. I would never make it as a vet, too emotionally connected all the time.
DeleteNature can be hard and cruel in it's natural selection. Wedding gifts. Most of ours I do treasure and I think of the giver when I use them but we do have a china cottage that is not to our tastes. It was given to us by hubby's cousins who didn't like anything on our list. I would feel harsh throwing it out but I do sometimes wonder if people think we have rubbish taste!
ReplyDeleteAnother story. We once viewed a local farmhouse that came up for sale. On the floor in one of the bedrooms were wedding presents still in their packaging many years after the deceased couple had wed. So be warned, don't leave it all for your relatives to clear away!
Unwrapped wedding gifts still! Oh no I would never have that. I had to help clear out one of my step mom's house - hoarder in the truest sense of the word & she wanted to take most of it to her apartment!
DeleteI'm sorry to hear about the little chipmunk.
ReplyDeleteI find it nearly impossible to give away anything anyone has given me. We got a couple of doubles of kettles and toasters, so when one broke down, we used the next
Ah if some of the gifts had been that useful (well useful to me). Most are cut crystal items.
DeleteThat's sad about the baby chipmunk. I think I'd probably cry as well.
ReplyDeleteI'd donate the unwanted gifts rather that just keep them at home and never use or appreciate them - I think it is better for them to be used by someone who has a need for them.
Thanks Eileen. Yes the energy that these unloved gifts are taking up is not good - I need to release so they can bring joy to someone else.
DeleteI think that in donating your unwanted gifts, someone somewhere will make good use of them and that's better than being packed away somewhere gathering dust.
ReplyDeleteSad little chipmunk story, I'd have been upset too.
Ah you nailed it - it is the dusting that drives me to distraction.
DeleteSad story about babby chip. Well done for trying to give it a chance. Couldn't have done anything more but that doesn't make it easier.
ReplyDeleteI'm not good at throwing stuff away, and am ridiculously sentimental about presents I've received ... but I have been working on not hoarding too much clutter, and it feels good! To answer your question (at last!), small knick-knacks which are very special because of the giver or circumstances are kept even if I don't ilke them, but I'm learning to be brutal with bigger things that I know I'll never use. If I feel guilty I tell myself to think of the energy and resources that have gone into them, and how they'll be worthwhile in an appreciative home. [Helpful deciding question: Do I dislike this more than I like the giver?(!)] TBH we live in such a consumer society that half the time people don't remember what they've given anyway.
Sorry for the long comment - at least you have a week off to finish reading it! Enjoy your hols!
Never too long a comment. Most of the givers of these wedding gifts were unknown to me or Mr Man. Distance relatives or friends of the in laws.
DeleteSo sad that the little chipmunk didn't make it. Funny that both our posts mention weddings. I know that gift guilt well! I believe that the meal at a wedding (in the UK) is always referred to as the Wedding Breakfast, regardless of the time it is eaten. However, I think it is quite unusual to eat that late. I'm assuming there won't be more people arriving just for an evening do as is often the case.
ReplyDeleteThanks for explaining Wedding Breakfast. Here we have receptions which often include a full sit down dinner & sometimes an 11pm buffet. So much talk in blog land about weddings this week - it is the season.
DeleteSo sorry about the little chipmunk. I also had a bad run-in with nature over the weekend. Wedding gifts? The givers never meant them to be a source of discomfort and angst for you. Cherish the thought that went into the gift giving and then get rid of the "stuff" itself knowing that it will end up in a place where it will be loved and appreciated! It isn't the thing itself, but the good intention that is the gift you keep.
ReplyDeleteOh Cheri I hope your run in with nature was not involving injury to you or family. I think in my case the giver of these gifts did not know us, but their generation was to give gifts of crystal, I believe the intend was only in kindness which makes it harder to decide.
DeleteHope you have enjoyed your long weekend! Ours is coming up next! That poor little chipmunk! Is there a place that might benefit from your unused gifts?? We have a Mercy Home for battered women and their kids and and a Children's home that can always use donations.
ReplyDeleteThanks Leslee. Yes our long weekend was fantastic, weather wise & activity wise. Crystal is not something shelters could use, but I do often take sheets, personal grooming things to the local shelters.
DeleteSorry the little guy didn't make it - makes you wonder how much on instinct versus emotion the mom has to act.
ReplyDeleteGood for you on the clearing out. Deciding what to do on wedding gifts is tough, I eventually donated some of ours after they'd been stored unused for 20 years. Another 10 years down the road, there are only a couple I wish I hadn't parted with as our lifestyle has changed and I could make use of them now. Cleaning out cosmetics has crossed my mind this week too - I seem to have accumulated too much barely used lipstick and nail polish - trying to figure out shades that I really like.
Thanks Susanne. I think the CB was too long away from his Mom when we found him & she knew he was beyond help by the time we had him located to her. I am thinking long & hard about these wedding gifts & the possibility of being re-homed. In the makeup department, I change my mascara on a very regular basis, lipstick I should do more often.
DeleteWhat a weekend of contrasts! So sorry about the chipmunk; you tried your best! We'll celebrate our 43rd anniversary this summer, and although I've definitely felt your guilt, I've gotten over it. I'm struggling now with an inheritance of beautiful French china that we'll never use---and which our kids do not want! If it were worth a lot of money, it might be easier to sell it, but it no longer commands a great price.
ReplyDeleteWOW Karen that is quite something to celebrate, 43 years of marriage!(& all to the same person (lol)). The French china sounds beautiful & it is sad that it cannot be used or dare I say it, not to be cherished the way it was by the original owner. I often wonder who if anyone will want my treasures when I am gone. Hence my dilemma now of those gifts.
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