Sunday, July 16, 2017

Sunday Snapshot: His and Hers

I am sitting in our Family Room on this lovely Sunday morning, trying to get used to my new laptop.  (My former one is eight years old, the battery won't charge, I can't buy a new battery for it, and it ran out of disk space.)  

Anyway .... this morning, I was struck by how differently my husband and I keep our individual spaces.  He sits on the left end of the sofa, I'm either on the right end or in the far leather chair, where Ruby is in this photo.  (None of the photos in this post are staged.  They represent real life on display, and fortunately, the place is fairly tidy right now.)



This is how my husband's end table always looks.  It contains only what belongs there, no extraneous junk, no piles.



Mine, on the other hand, looks like a photo from an "I Spy" book ... with a heaping assortment of whatever I'm working on at the time.  



We see three pairs of reading glasses, knitting supplies (a cable needle, a counter, two pairs of scissors, and needle caps, because I'm making a sweater, which Instagram followers have seen, and I'm actively using these things most evenings), hair stuff (a clip, bobby pins, and an elastic hair tie), a pile of bracelets, a mechanical pencil, a pile of magazines and books topped by my iPad, an external hard drive, and a few other random things.  What you don't see is a pile of books on the floor beside the leather chair.

I try really hard to not pile things, but it feels like I'm fighting a losing battle.  From time to time, I go through the stuff and put away the things that I know I'm not using.  The table gets a bit tidier as a result, but it's only temporary.

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Sunday Snapshots are posts devoted to moments in time that represent glimpses into everyday life in Hartwood, or wherever else I happen to be at the time. 

15 comments:

  1. I love the realness of this! My table is a piled up mess also. Aw, Life!

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    1. Glad to hear that this puts me in such good company. There are times here when my table is so full of stuff that it's hard for me to have enough space to sit my coffee cup. That usually when I get fed up and tidy up. Then the process starts all over.

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  2. I try and make my husband move around a little in our sitting space, since if he sits on only one end of the sofa all the time it sags in that one place! Yours does not have that problem, I see. I'm in a constant battle to keep cushions rotated.

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    1. The busy quilt on our sofa fools the eye, and you can't see the sag/wear on his end of the sofa. This sofa only has two cushions, and they're the kind with the extension that goes out past and around the arms, so there's only one way to rotate them ... flip and switch. Can't flip the cushions in place to spread the wear. It's not bad enough for me to give in and get a new one. Furniture shopping is on the top of my least favorite things to do, I assure you. This one will do fine, as long as I can eek a bit of life out of it.

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  3. I don't think that looks too bad. I like having my project tools around me as well. Hubby says horizontal surfaces are my downfall. Hehe. I do have a few piles. All will get cleaned up today as we're having our family birthday celebration (my birthday, my sister's, and my niece's are every other day this week) at our house today. As you said, "From time to time, I go through the stuff and put away the things that I know I'm not using. The table gets a bit tidier as a result, but it's only temporary." I love glimpses into others' lives--especially which projects are in progress. :-)

    Shirley

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    1. Shirley, dear, you got an in-person glimpse into my life of piles, and it's not really all THAT bad most of the time. Your husband's observation fits me, too. Horizontal surfaces. I'm gonna blame the surface, and get on with my life. :)

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    2. Why hadn't I thought of blaming the surfaces? Hehe. Your house was in great shape when I visited, Connie, and in this photo. As I write, I would not want to show you my end table, space beside me on the sofa, or my coffee table. The stuff disappears after cleanup, but it quickly comes back. ;-) That makes perfect sense because we are living in our homes; they're not museums. I always love visiting friends in homes that look lived in. In contrast, when I visit folks that have picture perfect homes, I feel uncomfortable. You just know they're waiting to scold you if you put your glass or mug in the wrong place. LOL, but true.

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  4. I loved seeing this 'real' life living. Your table looks like my different spaces. :-) I do need to straighten/clean some of them up, especially when things start to slide.

    Thanks for sharing real bits of your lovely home. FlowerLady

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    1. Let's not even think about when the stuff starts to slide. Here, it can be caused by gravity or one of the cats. This is why, when asked if I have ever heard or seen ghosts in our house, I reply that I can't remember a strange sound that wasn't caused by a cat.

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  5. I saw an article recently that stated a cluttered work area is the sign of high intelligence. I would say you fit into that category.

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    1. If that's the criteria, Don, dear, then I'm rapidly approaching genius status. :)

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  6. Connie,
    Go find a nice basket that you can drop all these things into. Maybe a shallow one for the knitting accessories and a deep narrow one for books and magazines. Please yourself, enjoy your space however you chose to leave it. I have a pillow that says "Sorry about the mess but we live here". That sums up my fellings. My house will never be a "show place" until I put it on the market to sell it.
    Susan

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    1. I have to be careful about baskets and bins, because they allow the pile to have lateral support and get taller and deeper if I don't keep the items edited. I do use a few containers, but very few. There's a basket between the two leather chairs that holds magazines and yarn. I go through it every few months and purge the magazines. The little wooden box on the table holds knitting and crocheting supplies that I'm not actively using. This has been one of my most successful containers, holding only things that belong in there and nothing more.

      This place is home, comfortable, and lived in. It's what I hear most often when I have people here for the first time (like when we hosted a tour for the historical society last year). I can put it on show when I need to, but I don't intend to live that way. I am messy, we have pets, and I try not to apologize for it. My friends are welcome here any time, no matter what the place looks like.

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  7. I just call it horizontal filing. I'm working on things. They need to be where I can access them. I think yours in pretty tidy actually. :D

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  8. Ha ha ha ha.... we both have our own piles of stuff on the table between our TV viewing chairs. iPhones, iPads, napkin or coaster to set a glass on, three remotes, newspaper or magazines. I try to tidy it up, but each evening we sit and watch TV and the piles just start all over again. *sigh* It just is what it is and really, who cares, right?? LOL

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