Bags and Bins and Drawers

Today I am cleaning *that* room. The "just toss it in the pink room" abandoned bedroom that comes along when the older kids have long-past moved out. In Hogwarts they have The Room of Requirement. We have The Pink Room. This will easily take all day.

It's not just the obvious piles of carnival plush animals, doll clothes, books judged wrongly by their covers, it-was-a-birthday-present trinkets, outgrown shoes, and does-this-still-fit, have-you-grown-into-this, will-you-ever-wear-it fashions. That's the easy part. What really gets you are the dreaded drawers and boxes filled with every paper, bead, Happy Meal toy, pencil eraser and stray Fashion Polly shoe a kid ever decided needed to be stuffed safely out of range of a room cleaning.

The quick solution would be to not even look; to just dump contents into trash bag and move on. But that's not the way I roll. No. My wiring requires that I examine each object and run a complicated cost-benefit analysis. This includes things like weighing preservation of childhood memories -- because we all tell the story of what we used to have but then Mom threw it away -- against current resale value and associated effort of listing it on e-bay, and even crazy contemplation of having the time and energy to hold a yard sale. Would a thrift store even want it? Don't forget possible future grandchildren's needs -- who doesn't remember that cool bin of magical old toys in Grammy's closet? Take the square root of "how handy would this be in a post-apocalyptic world?" and divide that by how much space is left in the attic to get your decision. Sounds complex, but I can run that formula so quickly it would make your head spin. This whole process would still be reasonably efficient, but for the wildcard. My one remaining child  at home, the teenage daughter, will be helping.

I use the term "helping" very loosely. More accurate would be "in the role of court appointed guardian of the emotional attachment to items she forgot she ever laid eyes on." This is why your teachers in school assign group work -- teaching you to work with others, to influence and manipulate for the results you want, and to look at the finished job and be proud of it at the end of the day. You probably had thought it was just sadism on the part of the teachers, or a clever ploy to have less work to grade. Or maybe you thought it was for your future employment success. Nope. It was so that you could clean a room with your kids without inflicting or incurring emotional injury.

And no, we don't have to do it this way. We choose to. I bought bins for the treasures, and bags for the giveaways and trash. Let's do this thing!

A Jolly Good Find!

I found the most delightful purse at the Goodwill last weekend. Jammed into a cluttered bin with assorted brown vinyl wallets, damaged clutches and stained makeup bags waited this gorgeous hand stitched silk petit point purse. I picked it up and could not put it back down! This needlework is so fine it is almost unbelievable that somebody did this by hand. The best I can count with my failing eyesight, there are at least 32 stitches per linear inch -- that's over a thousand stitches per square inch. Remarkable! The design is on both back and front, and also all around the side panel. There is silk piping around the edges. I can't find any stains, inside or out. It is like it was never used. The feel is luxurious. The thrift store price? Four dollars.


The brand is Jolles Originals, made in Austria. I looked up the brand, and was happy to find a new website proclaiming:
 "Simple, quiet elegance. This was the message my great grandmother, Ida Jolles, communicated when she founded Jolles Original in 1923 Vienna. Her handbags reflected her life. She embodied beauty, brilliance, and strength; her products communicated refinement and sophistication. In 2014, inspired by her life and message, we are relaunching my great grandmother’s company. Jolles Original was a luxury brand in the mid twentieth century. Her purses sold in high end stores, and are collectors’ items today."  

I don't know whether to keep it or to sell it. There are avid purse collectors who would enjoy having it in their collection, I'm sure. And I don't know if I'd want to use it and put anything inside this pristine lining. The only indication I see that anybody ever had it open is that there are some pinholes in the silk lining, as if somebody had pinned a few brooches inside for safekeeping.

There is a book in the works with the story of Ida Jolles, and I'm going to keep an eye out for it. I would be interested to read how she defied convention to build this company.

In just a few years, Ida Jolles had created a needlepoint production system that extended throughout Austria, eventually employing over 20,000 craftswomen. This was an astonishingly early example of what business leaders would now call “a distributed and flexible workforce”.

By the late 1930s, Jolles Original products dominated many fashion and home furnishing categories. International distribution was key to the business’ strategy and success, and Ida Jolles was the driving force behind it all.

In the United States, the Jolles brand was carried by the most elegant department stores and boutiques, including Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Macy's, Marshall Fields, and more. 

I'd love to know what year my purse is from. Somewhere in the 1930's to 1950's range, I think. Here is an enlargement of the needlework so you can see the detail. The colors are intense, with subtle shading. To keep, or to sell. What would you do?

Oh, and keep an eye out for Jolles Originals as a newly launched brand in 2014!

Autumn, and What We Glean

I don't know about you, but I love autumn. Yesterday was the equinox, when daytime and nighttime were equals. Today, I look out my window and suddenly notice that the leaves on the pin oaks are tinged reddish brown. The pagans call the first day of fall Mabon, a balance between light and darkness in our lives; a time of reflecting on what has come to fruition, and of gratitude for our harvests.

One thing I like about being over fifty is that I have finally developed a sense of peacefulness centered in the acceptance that there are times in our lives when light rules and everything is pleasant as a summer's day. And that there are also times when things are dark and cold and even scary. The cold and dark can have a quiet beauty -- like the way I miss my mother's illness, and the special weeks we shared while she was dying. I came to appreciate more about her at that time than I had when she was hale and hearty. The cold and dark always give way to new beginnings. Things that you have planted spring up, and wildflowers bring unexpected beauty. It's the wheel of the year, the circle of life that over the years has brought a certain stability to my being. Bad times will pass, and I just don't get as wound up about things as I did when I was younger. I've come to trust myself. Whatever comes at me I will handle with the same strength and intelligence and good humor that I used to get this far. 

The bowl pictured above is one of 26 scenes from Royal Doulton's Gleaners and Gipsies Series (1909 - 1940). It's one of those finds that caught my eye and I bought even though it didn't quite fit with anything else I'd gleaned from the antique shops over the years. I love the rich colors, how the leaves on the branches along the rim are turning, and the field is ready for harvest. The people are not looking at us, they are busy, they've got lives to live. The light is giving way to darkness, summer is at an end. But they'll be fine. They have strength and beauty.

I think this series may be based on the 1857 oil painting Gleaners by Jean-Francois Millet. Three peasant women are picking the spoils of the harvest, while in the background bountiful amounts of wheat are being stacked by the landowner. This painting was not well received by the French upper classes at the time, seen as sending a socialist message. The message must have come into vogue around the turn of the century for Royal Doulton to have based a dinnerwear series on the concept. I find it an odd pattern for dishes, but I see great beauty in the strength and resourcefulness of these women. May we all glean strength from one another, and always find what we need when we need it.

Darcy Welcomes You

Meet Darcy, my 7 month old goldendoodle (golden retriever poodle mix). She's pleased to meet you. So pleased, in fact, that she is probably jumping up to put her massive paws on your shoulders whilst doing the wag-my-whole-body, I-can't-believe-you-came-to-see-me dance. Careful she doesn't knock you right over! Just give her the firm command, "Off!"

It will not do any good. She doesn't listen very well. Probably the best thing to do would be to look up at the sky and ignore her. It's hard for me though, because I'm always so pleased to see how absolutely delighted she is to see me. Anyway, come on inside. Once we sit down for a visit, she'll lie calmly at our feet. Welcome, welcome!