Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Ruby Tuesday - Complete Chaos - September 20, 2011

I got a new India book yesterday and all I want to do is sit and look at it
but, alas, time is running out and there is so much yet left to do.  My
friend, Joanne Olivieri, aka Poetic Shutterbug, gave up her whole day
yesterday to come and help me get started on organizing for my "estate
sale" this weekend which will be from 10A to 4P at 67 Canterbury
Avenue in Daly City, CA, right near Hickey Boulevard and
Skyline ( just in case any of you are in the area! )!  I have so much
packing left and things to move to storage, not to mention that all
the furniture still has to go - and I have a friend coming from
Switzerland tomorrow.  He'll spend a few days here with me when
he isn't at his conference in San Francisco.

Jo and I did manage to get out to lunch with my friend, Silvia ( I
had liver and onions which I love - I know that most folks don't -
I even wrote a poem, "Liver and Onions"! ) and, on the way to take
Jo home, we saw a chance for some nice photos so, of course, we
had to stop!




This book is filled with so many marvels, I could easily never get packed
or moved out of my house!!!




Many years ago, my dear friend, Santos, my very first Indian friend, gave
me this beautiful cookbook.  It is filled with incredible marvels and the
most glorious pictures.  Santos, Lorna, his mother, May, and so many of
their relatives and friends made my one week stay in Mumbai so warm and
welcoming when I went back in 1997.  It is there I will begin this visit to
India.

These are my two Ruby Tuesday posts for today.  Check out the site and
add you own and join in the fun!

I'm also adding some photos of my home so you can see what my life
is like these days!!!


Sadly, almost every room is like this - boxes in every stage of being
packed, upstairs and downstairs.  I've given hundreds of things to Good
Will, before Jo talked me into an estate sale.  Over fifty pairs of my
shoes are out there somewhere in the world and, at least, two hundred
books!  I could never bear to part with a book.
 
 



I'm keeping my ancient Marantz receiver and the speakers though my
turntable died years ago.  I'd like to get another because I love all my
33-1/3 records...but, if someone wants to buy them, I'll woefully say
farewell.  I have over a hundred VHS movies I hope someone will
want.  Some nursing homes and other facilities still have videorecorders
and players.






This was my mother's owl collection - I brought it home with me from
Georgia but none of my boys, of course, wanted it and I'm not an owl
collector.  I decided it should go to someone who loves owls.  I'm having
a hard enough time parting with things I've loved all my life - like that
ferm coffee set!



Every book in here goes - they're all cookbooks ( you should see the
number I'm keeping.  About thirty years ago, I used to do some
catering but I never charged enough to make it worthwhile.  Cookbooks
were also the souverneirs I brought back from my travels.


Everything in here goes as well.  I'm not sure why but I used to collect
teapots, some of them with a hundred dollar price tag...and they were
never used for tea!  Okay, I'm crazy but I know it. 




Years ago, when a son didn't occupy my guest bedroom, it was all done up
in unicorns!  I have dozen of unicorn pictures and knick knacks.  They're
not important to me anymore.




I used to do a lot of needlework, decoupage and various arts and crafts.
I love Christmas, too, and tried to make each one different and special. 
All those books are for sale now and so is the legal book case that I
ruined by painting a cheerful yellow.




I won't say that this whole experience of  going through my life and
marking things I've treasured for sale hasn't been a really painful
experience.  Every thing I touch spawns so many memories and I've
shed more than a few tears.  I've left off the eye makeup and mascara
or I'd really look a fright.  I know my boys don't realize how traumatic
this is for me.  "Junk," they call it - a lifetime of joy it's been for me.
It's a good thing my years are numbered.


I just want to say a very big thank you to Joanne Olivieri, aka Poetic
Shutterbug who is the best of friends and always the greatest help to
me whenever I need her ( which is constantly! ).

9 comments:

  1. you have so many treasures Carmen, I understand the challenge of letting go especially having them for years, wishing you a joyful trip in India.

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  2. Welcome to India!

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  3. You have many beautiful treasures, and it's sad to let them go. I'm glad Jo is such a big help to you, and wish you a great turn out for your estate sale.

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  4. betchai -
    I am getting a bit nervous as the trip draws ever closer. The last big thing is to get my visa and it will really seem like a reality!


    Indrani -
    I will arrive Mumbai at 2AM on the 25th of October - what a terrible time for folks to have to come to the airport to get me. Fortunately, my friends, with whom I will stay initially, live right there, almost at a runway!


    Icy BC -
    I don't know what I would have done without Jo. She is so special to me....helping me start my blog, then working all day on getting out my poetry book. She is the ultimate in friends!

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  5. Carmen, you are too kind to me. You are a very special friend and I would do anything for you. I am going to miss our outings so much while you're gone. I may just have to save some $$$ and come out there :D

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  6. Oh how I feel for you! I can't bear to part with treasured possessions. I do wish I lived somewhere nearby and could visit your sale and I could promise some of your things a good home. :) I know I wouldn't be able to resist your books.

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  7. I don't know how you can do it... to sort through so much and get rid of a lot of it. I've managed to divest of some of my mom's stuff, but it's so overwhelming. You are doing great!

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  8. If you ever get done with the India book, please send it my way--I'd like to go!

    SOME CALL IT RED

    “I don’t have time,” my grandfather said,
    “to dither around and stand on my head,
    pretending that crimson is blue, not red—
    just tell me the truth, if you please.

    “I’m much too old for being lied to,
    so tell me the truth about the rose hue
    that colors the sky when the day is through
    and adds a bright blush to the trees.

    “Some call it red and some call it pink,
    some call it strawberry wine-colored ink;
    I call it rubicund, that’s what I think—
    now leave me alone, if you please.”


    © 2011 by Magical Mystical Teacher


    Featherless Pomegranate

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  9. Hi Carmen, i'm going through this with my mom right now. So much to sort out and hard decisions about what to keep/sell/donate. It's a long process. Keep up the good work. I'm cheering you on. xo jj

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