The rough with the smooth... the smooth with the rough!

I had a bit of fun playing with juxtapositions last night - I put a rough horn tankard filled with garden cuttings, next to Ben's silver Christening bowl, on a hand-woven, goats' hair mat. Rough and smooth; dull and gleaming; European, American and Asian; 19th, 20th and 21st century: hand-crafted-all.

Don't you love the silver fish tongs (for sugar), and this cheery little Inuit tooth-topped spoon?

A happy chappy. I didn't buy him so I don't feel any guilt about the tooth's former owner.

I only meant to post about the physical juxtapositions of this display but it struck me today that our life is full of juxtapositions too: illness and operations (Son 1's knee again), sweet gestures of affection, exhaustion and concerns, beauty and blessings.I think that in the past I spent too much time 'getting through' the hard times. I didn't notice that, juxtaposed with them, were sweet and beautiful times. Now I think that looking at those beautiful times is what's meant to give us strength to deal with the tricky parts of life.

"They can sing, they can dance...

... after all, Miss, this is France!" Yes, indeedy, the silver items I was cleaning in yesterday's post were, in fact two silver(ish) candelabra, which got me singing along with Lumiere here:

The smell of eggs confused a few of you - you don't actually use eggs to clean the silver, but the reaction causes a sulferous smell - that's how you can tell it's working, actually! If you don't know how I cleaned up these candlesticks, here's a post I did when I first discovered the technique.

Last week I cleaned up our silver napkin rings, and this week it was the turn of my mother's candlesticks - I put them all together in this photo so you could see Son 1's new napkin ring, which belonged to my dad. He had it engraved with all the ships he was on (Royal Navy) up until around the time I was born. When Son 1 started taking an interest, my dad got the napkin ring updated and gave it to him - now it's back in daily use, and even kept fairly clean! (Thanks to bicarb of soda...)

Here's an unstaged shot of the table area - scary heaps of school-type plastic pockets sticking out of the bookshelf.
The 'true crown of King Dagobert' has been unrolled (it's actually some vintage shelf edging) and I threaded it with a bit of vintage ribbon to fit in with the red theme around the table. PS That England flag has been taken down now. Nuf said.

And in line with the 'thrill of what I already have' I was delighted to find the hurricane candle that Ben made years back in the UK. He used a mould which allows you to set things into a hollow candle-shape. Here he used shells we'd collected with our teeny-tiny boys on a Brittany beach.

You put a candle inside it and everything glows in a beautifully candle-lit way, without actually destroying your hard work.

The shells I put around it on the wooden stand were from our most recent beach holiday in the Basque Country. I think everyone in the family is pretty chuffed with this combination of warm light for autumn with summery shells for remembrance of holidays old and new. It's been a real talking point with the boys. Clever dad!

The thrill of what you already have, Part 2

It's been great reading your comments on my post about loving what you already own, instead of buying more. Thanks so much for making my own thoughts clearer, and confirming that this is something that's on other people's minds, too.I was delighted but not too surprised to read this very relevant passage in Simple Abundance on Saturday night:

"Don't feel you have to deny or ignore your feelings when you want something beautiful but can't afford it. The desire offers clues to satisfy this holy hunger. Explore why you behold something as beautiful; use your impressions to jump-start your imagination."
So, for the new year I'll organise some kind of no-obligations monthly 'jump-start for our imaginations'! For now, can you see what I've been doing to perk up something I already own? Clue: the kitchen now smells faintly of rotten eggs.

The thrill of what you already have

Serenata made a good point when she mentioned the other day that blogging had encouraged her to go out and shop more, for things she didn't really need. In many ways, any of you who are reading this post are probably part of the thrifty living side of blogging - there is a 'must have...' type of blogging, but surely we're not part of that?Well, mainly, we're not. The thrill of getting new suff is still there for us, though - even if it is second hand, hand made and vintage stuff. And we kind of encourage each other in this, although not in a bad way, I think.Forming a collection is lovely, and is probably some kind of ancestral memory thingy, from our nuts-and berries-gathering-ancestresses, as Emma pointed out a while ago, on Silverpebble.

But there is a time to gather and a time to gloat over what you've already gathered, to paraphrase a good book.

When I stop buying and start rearranging what I already have, I find that even more exciting than the shopping (I think...)

This little pause from shopping to gloat (the pause is of necessity, by the way) reminds me that the pleasure of what we already have can be forgotten. I wondered if I could organise a no-obligations blogging event next year, where once a month people can appreciate what they already have, on a given theme.

It would be a bit like my monthly calendar arrangements - just to give the inspiration needed to look at what you already own, and to delight in it by arranging it in a new way.

Feel free to leave a comment even if you're not interested in getting involved, but if you are interested, let me know.

Here's a gloat over what I already have, as displayed above:

Vibrant George VI pincushion - from my mother's collection

Faded plastic birds pincushion - bought by Son 2 on a 2€ Challenge

Felt strawberry pincushion - possibly made by my sister? in the 1980s

French and British vintage fabric boxes - bought by me over the last 3 years. I probably need to slow down now... Priced between 50c and 10 pounds - average price 2€

Red basket of 'stuff to go downstairs' - Vide Grenier

Red embroideries - Vide Grenier

Leather fire fan (Afghan?) - from a Charity Shop in the 1980s

Four vintage tins on the theme of French regional dances - Vide Grenier

Framed picture of a waterfall - from my mother's collection

Well, Liz, I don't really like orange either..!

Lululiz said yesterday: "I am not really an orange person at all, I would love to have white pumpkins in the house though." Well, I don't feel too different, except, it seems, in October! The orange is indoors and out:So I'm rather enjoying going with the flow...You've got to admit, it's pretty cosy.

Viva the 1970s, when it comes to finding orange accessories from around the house!

I also found some orange candles in a charity shop a few years ago, which are fun in October.

Here's the first glimpse of our mirror collection, which is helping to bounce the light around our house exactly as planned (please allow a self-satisfied smirk):

And below it, on the piano, a link to another commenter yesterday. Magsmcc wrote, in reply to my own comment on her book post: "And I do love the Terry Pratchett that I have read! His satire on our world is so effective, but you're right- it comes with a heart-warming feel! I saw a suitably orange covered Autumnal one in Tesco just last night- must go back and check it out!"

Well, was it one of these, my strawberry friend? I plonked them on the piano for a touch of orange, just a few hours before you left your comment! Personally, I'd say that if you want to buy any more, don't bother with any of the earliest ones - anything after 'Mort' finds him really in his stride...

And again you can see my new cheat's method of adding colour when you don't have many coloured accessories - piles of books!

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Obviously, Penguins are coming in beautifully handy this month:

That's Son 1 up there, ages ago, for a school performance... Such a little sweety. And the wonderfully tactile thumb pot to the left of the Penguins is a Navajo one. My aunt worked in a Navajo health clinic years ago and gave me the pot. I have always adored it. So you can see why having a splurge on orange every few years is worthwhile for me! When else will I show these great things?
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Finally, here's something I learned from Dottie Angel. I have a great candelabrum (Vide Grenier find) behind the TV, and was short of colour-themed candles as I decorated yesterday. Previously, colourful candles were a bit of an indulgence - I wouldn't have thought much of jumping on my bike and going to see what was available in the supermarket. But this time I had a go with these alternating black and red ones, and even though I hated the result, I decided to live with it and see...

I noticed, after a few hours, that they matched the oil-cloth-covered DVD boxes quite nicely. So that was something in their favour. I realised that what made them so hideous was the blue rug below the TV shelves. So I decided to retire the summer rug, bring out the winter one, and see if that made the candles acceptable. And I think it did! What do you think?

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My point is that the must-go-out-and-buy-the-'right'-thing attitude has become fairly alien to me. I would have gone and bought new candles (they're hardly expensive) if it turned out to be necessary, but I have learned to live with things, to think about my need for them, and to have fun with what I have instead of buying more. You'll still have to Watch This Space to find out what my first 'new' purchase is going to be, following the end of the Challenge...

And back to the first photo - here is a sweet little vintage cushion which I used as a cushion pad in the 1980s for one of my first hand-made cushions. When I pulled the ikat-fabric off a few years ago, I found this underneath. I think it must have been my grandma's!

The Challenge of the Utmost Kind - 1 Year On!

A year ago, on starting the Challenge of the Utmost Kind, I wrote:
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"This is not meant to be a depressing year. The aim is for a certain shedding of non-essentials, but for a lot of fun and challenge and celebration of all things long-lived and handmade! I think it could be a great year..."Lots of you have been asking how it's gone, and I've just collected up a montage of thrifty, long-lived and handmade items from the past year, to accompany my answer to you.Was it hard? Not particularly!

Did it make changes in your life? Yes, mostly very positive. I've found myself realising that the 'quick fix' of buying something when I feel low is quite ineffectual. I only ended up still low and with less money! Having to sit and wait for something, to decide if I really want it, and to search for it second hand, is fun and painless.

Have you felt deprived? No, although without the Magazine Swap, which we've held twice now, and without my wonderful birthday subscription for Country Living, I would have found it hard to live without magazines.

Has it worked for the boys, as well as for you? Yes and no. I never deprived them of something (although I used the Challenge as an excuse to get them to spend their own pocket money, instead of mine, once or twice!) You see above a whole set of Son 2's favourite books, collected by me and the wonderful Serenata, my fellow Challengee, in charity shops. Son 2's clothes are almost all second hand or hand-me-down, and he's happy, but Son 1 has shot up this year and I've had to buy him new clothes as teenaged clothes are very rare second hand.

What did you cheat on? Well, as warned, the computer broke and we bought a new one. We broke so many glasses over the year that I bought 9 new ones!!! I also bought two kitchen knives when I was ill, as we just didn't seem to have enough and I hadn't the strength to wait and go charity shopping. I also did buy a fair number of presents new, although plenty of others were within the bounds of the Challenge.

What practical goods did you manage to buy second hand or get fixed? The food processor, above, was a great find in a second hand shop. Of course, they're not cheap when second hand, but perhaps one third of the new price, which is pretty good. We also got the second hand dishwasher repaired rather than buying a new one, and Ben picked up a second hand washing machine from a colleague who was emigrating.

Did you make much? Well, yes, before Christmas - I made plenty of Christmas presents. Once I was ill, in January, February and onwards, I really lost the will to sew, and although I baked an awful lot, I made relatively little. That's perhaps not what I expected when I took on the Challenge, but it's not caused a real problem. I'm better now and hoping that the return of the cooler weather will re-motivate me with crafting!

Have you been really looking forward to September 20th (the end of the Challenge year)? Not dramatically! I do want to buy some new undies and a matching pair of earrings, though. I've been wearing odd earrings for months now, as I lose them for a pastime. That can look fun at times, but not very professional...Will you continue? Yes but less fixedly. I have learnt a lot, gained time and saved money, had fun and made or deepened friendships. So I will certainly continue, but I won't panic if I really do need to buy something new.

Well, there are the answers to actual or implied questions from my blogging friends! It only remains to thank Tif Fussell/Dottie Angel for this great idea, and to carry on, along with blogging friends around the world, in our different interpretations of the Challenge. I AM going to buy a pair of Cath Kidston cloth shoes next springtime, though... or maybe two pairs..?

New Life for Old Shoes

It seems fitting that this is my post to celebrate Tif Fussel's birthday - Happy Birthday, Tif! Firstly, the reason I didn't buy new shoes, was that I was spending a year along with Tif and many other bloggers, without buying new stuff. The Challenge of the Utmost Kind. But the shoes have finally been retired, and, like so many other bits of footwear round our house, have been turned into planters. I think they look fun and I enjoy still being able to see them. However, they have another second life (or I suppose, a third life...) on the internet now, thanks again to Tif. When she saw my post about the poor, dead old shoes going for a final walk with me through our town, she suggested the photos would go down well on the Flickr page for Shoegazing, which is run by Uppercase Magazine.

Thanks to Tif, several of the more interesting photos from that walk are now in the Shoegazing pool, and this one, above, has been shortlisted for further attention. I don't think it'll get past the shortlist, but it's fun to be a part of something in the world of publishing!

The Challenge of the Utmost Kind - 9 months in...

This is a boring little corner of our patio, isn't it? The thing is, the dreadful plastic treasure chest which holds spare wellies etc needed replacing... But on the Challenge of the Utmost Kind, I'm not buying new stuff for myself or the house (and, by extension, the patio) for a year. I didn't mind waiting... There's been a hole in the top of the treasure chest for a long while now... But I've been on the lookout!

I'll admit to a few lapses from the Challenge: I sensed mutiny from Ben when I was ill and we were running out of tumblers and also kitchen knives, and I just picked some up at the supermarket next time I was there... Seems fair enough to me. But I held out on the replacement patio box, and also waited on POATS for a replacement basket for the washing and a food processor.

And lo and behold - a trip to the tip turned up this beauty! Ben had already hauled two teenager's mountain bikes out of the skip (to do up for Son 1) when I spotted this battered, stencilled crate, and begged first Ben to wrench it out for me, and then the tip supervisor to let me have it. 'Don't make this a habit!' warned the tip supervisor (but it might as well have been Ben)...

I've moved it round the corner now, and I think it looks even better than when I took this photo.

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So, did I mention I needed a food processor? The old one died in November, I think.

They're easy to find in the Troc shops, but I was waiting for the Right One, and last week I found it! A Kenwood Multi Pro, with blender jug as well as the FP one. Some of the attachments are missing, but for 25€? I am really happy... That's Son 1, BTW, making breadcrumbs for his treacle tart.

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The basket arrived on the same fortuitous day, in the Troc shop next door to the FP one! It's replaced a broken plastic one - a real upgrade, I feel!

And barely looked-for, I found the rag rug I've always wanted for 1€ at a Vide Grenier this weekend (with my sister).

It's made from vintage woolen blankets! 1€!!

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1€!!!
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The Challenge has certainly taught me to hold on for the good things that will come if I wait.