I love STUFF! Minimalism is just not my thing. Way too much work to keep tidy! Stuff makes a house cosy, adds personality and can often bring back a memory. Sometimes rather nice, a forgotten theatre ticket used as a bookmark. Sometimes not so nice but that's life isn't it?
Of course tastes change. My little house has changed a lot since my Matey moved in. If anything it's quirkier. I rather like the fact that pictures I used to love as singleton feel out of place now and are slowly being replaced.
Equally some stuff grows old and gets replaced. I'm currently loving my shiny new ipad mini but I am also under no illusion that it will last forever or that I will love it forever.
Some STUFF though I know will be with me forever. Here are three.
My Great Grandma's carving knife. Almost certainly a wedding present it was made in Sheffield, no accident as apparently there was a family connection with the Sheffield cutlery industry. When my Matey and I got married we used it to cut the cake with. In the lead up to the wedding I looked up how best to clean it and found out that it is made of the same steel as swords were made of. I inherited it when Great Grandma had to move to a home in the final few years of her, very, long life. I also have her equally old cheese grater and a set of baking tins, all of which get used regularly and all of which give me a little moment whenever I use them.
Another Grandma! Grandma Dover, so called because she lived in Dover, always had this chicken egg holder in her kitchen. Again I inherited this with a few other bits and bobs in the final few years of her life. To me it is a thing of beauty and holds eggs very nicely!
I went to an amazing prep school when I was a puppy. Back then it positivly encouraged danger. There was an assault course which had truly dangerous swings, overhead bridges and zip wires. Not a safety net in sight. Funnily enough there no accidents until H&S insisted on safety nets. Children are not stupid and won't mess around if it's not safe. I remember climbing up to the High Ropes, which really were high, and deciding that it would better to climb back down.
Best of all was the summer term. We spent wednesday afternoons in teams building camps in the school woods. Towards the end of term there was the promise of spending the whole day playing games in the woods in hope of being the victorious team. In the 6th form this was called Q day and it started off at 10pm and involved spending the night in the woods as well. Cue Banger Operation in the camp fires, lots of dirt and knackered 12-13 year old by 6pm the next day.
Apparently Q day still exists, though banger operation no longer involves the mini fireworks. Sadly the assault course is a feeble shadow of it's former glory. When the inventor moved on it could never be sustained.
All this nostagic rambling leads to my Librarian prize mug. No it is not cool to have a Librarian prize! In teams we had to ensure that the library was immaculate on our allotted day. When I saw that this mug made by a local potter was the prize. I wanted it. I knew that I keep it forever. I worked for two terms keeping that library tidy. I should add that I was a bookish child and was in there quite a bit anyway.
I don't care how uncool it is, every time I see it a little bit of a very happy and muddy childhood comes back.
