Here I am again. At the moment I am shredding old journals. I know, I know, someone may want to read them one day after I’m gone. That’s just TOO embarrassing to contemplate, so I’m shredding them. Every now and then I glimpse at what I wrote 20, 30 years ago, and cringe. So I’m seriously trying not to look at them.
In 1991, as I turned 40, I listed the places in the world I wanted to see ‘If money were no obstacle’. This is some of what I wrote.
- France and all the sites having to do with the French Revolution.
- English countryside, home of Yorkshire veterinary James Herriott, site of Merlin and Arthur’s legends.
- Paris France and the museums, galleries and artists.
- Trans-Canadian tour from Vancouver to Alaska, cross-country to Prince Edward Island, home of Anne of Green Gables.
- New England, and presence of American history where ever I turn.
Isn’t that sweet? The reality of Paris and the English countryside was quite different to the dream. Museums and galleries put me to sleep, and I’ve not yet been to Yorkshire. But the countryside around these parts in Oxfordshire is great!
This week I had notification that all our CDs and DVDs have been received, so that part of the Clear-out is nearly complete.
Today Dave got the foam mattresses out of the changing room (there used to be a pool there, and it used to be a changing room) where the bumblebees had a nest this summer. The bees are all gone, so we can clear it out now and make it a nice place for storing things we use to work our veg patch at the bottom of the garden.
Also today, Dave contacted a Vale sponsored charity that supports homeless people and offerred some of our furniture. One we call ‘the dog chair’ because they love it, but only Beck uses it anymore (penny can’t jump up on things anymore). I’ve kept it covered all these years, so it’s in OK shape. I bought it from Macy’s Furniture Store in Concord, California, in about 1994. And of course, a few CD racks. 🙂
I found my old DayRunner! I used to haul it everywhere with me. Phone numbers, Calendar, ToDo list, everything all in one place (hmm — antique Blackberry?). I found a 1998 letter from a friend who thought they’d lost me when I moved to England. And three different copies of my natal horoscope chart, one of which Dave did for me about 14 years ago. I saved those, and will set him down for another reading. All the rest of it I recycled or binned.
And finally, 5 years worth of Morning Pages, ala Julia Cameron and The Artist’s Way. I’ve no idea why I kept them around all these years.
This feels GOOD! Highly recommended.