Wednesday, October 25, 2017

A Few of My Favorite Things -- A (Mostly) Virtual Collection


From a Facebook group called The Golden Age of Illustration

As I've mentioned before, I am trying very hard to cut down on the amount of stuff in my life -- books, clothes, craft supplies, trinkets -- all those things I will never read, wear, use, or care about again. Progress is slow and our book shelves are still full -- though there are no longer books under the bed or on the stairs to my workroom. But my closet actually has some gaps here and there and things are less crowded in my workroom. 

It seems to me that I have spent much of my life acquiring -- more fabric, more books, another Crabtree and Evelyn mug, more blue and white porcelain,  another piece of stuff.  I found a list I'd made at one point in our early married life when evidently I felt we needed a sherry decanter. Never mind that we neither one have ever drunk sherry with any regularity -- I use it in cooking but that's all. And somehow  we have staggered through fifty some years without a decanter. Amazing.

Now I'm reversing the acquisition process and finding fewer and fewer things I really want, thank goodness. 

Still, every now and then I see something on the Internet ( I know better than to go into thrift stores or galleries or flea markets anymore) that really appeals to me and I save the picture to my photos folder. (I know Pinterest exists for this very purpose but this is my personal version. And I don't need one more black hole to get sucked into.)


I save things that pique my imagination like the amazing image above -- the rivers and river basins of the US. Or the image below -- an autumn scene by artist Egon Schiel . . . 



Every once in a while though, I succumb . . . I ordered this charming print below from UK artist Danielle Barlow. (You can find her on Facebook or on Etsy.) I may manage to give it as a Christmas present. Or I may not.

The Gypsy Van though, that will have to remain an unfulfilled dream . . . 





6 comments:

Miss_Yves said...

All the pictures shown here "pique my imagination"'

KarenB said...

I spent ages with those maps of the rivers of the world. I especially liked the row of short rivers in Australia that come from nowhere and go nowhere. It's a fascinating look at geography.

NCmountainwoman said...

I love them all. Have the rabbit print framed and put it in Josie's room so you can still enjoy it without adding anything to your own collection.

Sandra Parshall said...

Like you, I'm trying to shed a lot of stuff, but it's going slowly because of my inability to cart things around and sort. I have nonetheless given away a ton of books, clothing, and pristine sewing fabric that I know I will never use to make anything. Just getting rid of the fabric freed up an entire linen closet! Which was quickly filled with other stuff that was in the way elsewhere... It's a marathon, not a sprint. :-) I agree that the rabbit print would be a lovely gift to sweet Josie!

Darla said...

Marvelous variety of images! I do something similar with images...and I don't use Pinterest either. ;) That gorgeous image of the United States river basins is one of my favorites ... I have saved variations of it, especially in these past 2 years as I imagine the routes my ancestors took ... from PA down to TN, NC, KY and then across to MO. Fascinating stuff.

Thérèse said...

So full of charm especially the snail house.