Those 70ish Girls

I said I was going to involve you in my minimalist decisions as I decorate our tiny home. I haven’t gotten as far as I wanted to before doing that, but I will show you some pictures and tell you the kind of challenges I’m having.

We have been pulling boxes out of the garage, one by one. On average, I have decided to find a place for about two-thirds of each box I’ve gone through. I already know what things I will be storing in the shed or barn, but I will keep them at a minimum. I do not want to have to go through the mountain of things that made the first and second cuts, a third or fourth time. I will store three categories.

1. Christmas decorations…I only kept the tiny ones. I have my nutcrackers and a few other things with sentimental value. I feel good about the culling of the Christmas decorations.
2.  I will store my beasterhops, and everything that goes with them. I want to continue writing about Beastertown and I will use all my pieces as props for the photos. I already have them organized in plastic tubs, so I feel fine about keeping the source of much of my writing joy.
3. Off season clothes…I will store our winter clothes, now. I have cut down considerably on the size of my wardrobe. For someone who still struggles with finding her “look,” this has been tough. Keep in mind, I love to go to resale shops. If I have learned anything through this experience, it’s that too much is too much, no matter what you paid for it. That has been a depressing discovery for me.

That’s about all I will store. I know when I’ve completed purging and storing, and I sit back in my comfy chair on the porch, I will feel a sense of freedom. I’m sure I will miss a few things, but I will have everything I need. (I could still shop for others, but unless it’s for a really good friend, or a family member who won’t be offended, I can’t get comfortable with doing that.)

I started my challenge with the ledge in the kitchen. All this time, I have thought I wanted to decorate it with beasterhops. For those of you who don’t know, a beasterhop is a rabbit who rides on a bicycle. I want your opinion on this. I’m a little gun-shy because one year, I wanted to leave my nutcracker collection up all year, and my girls said, “absolutely not.” I haven’t asked them about the beasterhops.

The large egg on the left is an antique basket-weave egg that was given to me by a good friend. I like the way it looks, but I don’t want it to get damaged or dirty sitting up there. She did tell me it has been in her attic for years, so at least people would enjoy it. She gave me another egg that is an antique made in Germany. It’s much smaller and I could possibly find a little glass dome to put over it and display it, instead. It’s really beautiful.

I found the large lady Beasterhop on the bicycle, when we were camping in Glen Rose with a group of friends. All the girls went shopping at these really fun places, so I associate Missy Beasterhop with an especially fun time with friends. I think she may be a bit too big to be up there. What do you think?

The ceramic boy and girl Beasterhops were given to me by another good friend. I love the way the boy bunny is looking back at the girl he must really adore. I think they look good. Maybe I should find another little bicycle to set beside or behind them. The Beasterhop on the bicycle is The Beasterhop. The day of the book signing for We Shall See what We Shall See, Kip found the bicycle and I took Mr. Beasterhop off of one of the thousands of decorations my friend, Pat had given me. He was on a ladder which is why his legs already looked like he was riding a bike. Kip took Mr. Beasterhop and the bicycle over to our friend, Scott’s, and he shaped and sanded the wooden stand that holds him up. He will be displayed all year round. See how special all of these are to me?

I promised Kip I would not load the whole house down with beasterhops riding on bicycles. After all, I must have some room for crowns and hats.

We have eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, so there is not room for everyone’s pictures on the walls, which is why two years ago, I asked for a nice looking board to tack pictures on. Heidi got me the neatest framed cork board. I love it and it’s easy to take down the old pics and replace them with more current ones. That’s it hanging on the wall in the hall. I haven’t put the pictures back on it, yet.

Heidi also gave us the map above the buffet to chronicle our trips. We put little pins everyplace we have been on our motor home vacations. It looks a little high on the wall, but I’ve since put a couple of things on the buffet so it looks better, and it needs to be at eye level so you can see all of the pins.

We now have little red stools around the island, and big stools at the counter. The bar stools are pretty big, but Kip wanted them to be comfortable for big guys like him.

 

As you can see, the place is still a cluttered mess. Remember, we are still moving in and we can only visit until we have water. The sewer is in, but of course, it doesn’t work without water….Sheesh! What an adventure this has been. Thanks for hanging in there with us. I’ll take more and better pictures of our progress, tomorrow.

We’re trying very hard to remain happy campers. Some days we succeed, and some days we struggle. Hey… at least the dogs and cat haven’t run away…yet! They’re just hoping the recliners still have their names on them.