Clutter Master

I am quite unable to part with things that have some personal meaning for me.  For example:  I have this little ash tray on my bookshelf (way overloaded with books).  A dear friend gave this ashtray to me after she visited NYC and got it at the Cafe Un,Deux,Trois in the Village.  Since I no longer smoke, it's now loaded with tiny bits of sea glass that I harvested in Capri a number of years ago, plus a wee scallop shell from the same place, half a lovely geode (gift from one of my kids), a tiny feather whose provenance I can no longer remember--safe to toss that!!--a button belonging to a sweater I still have (still useful, can sew it on today, in fact!), and a small red ceramic bird whistle from Brazil given to me by a lovely Brazilleira.  Multiply this kind  of acquisitiveness by many years, and you get the picture.  Clutter City.  Must do better.  Sally gave me a book two Christmases ago:  THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP by Marie Kondo.  I haven't worked through everything (anything) the author suggests, but I am getting there.  Kondo asks, regarding the inability to discard things:  is this attachment to the past?  or anxiety about the future?  Both, I'd say.  She says, "Life becomes far easier once you know that things will work out even if you are lacking something." 

No end to joy.....

I have been reading with great enjoyment a book by Alexander McCall Smith:  In the Company of Cheerful Ladies.

Here is a paragraph that struck me, now that I'm entering my 80th year, as one of the key delights of an old woman's life: 

The two women had known one another for many years, and had moved into that most comfortable of territories, that of an old friendship that could be picked up and put down at will with no damage.  Sometimes several months would go by without the two seeing one another, and this would make no difference.  A conversation left unfinished at the beginning of the hot season could be resumed after the rains; a question asked in January might be answered in June, or even later, or indeed not at all.  There was no need for formality or caution, and the faults of each were known to the other.

Want to Avoid Black Friday?

Quel Objet (lovely French stuff) is going out of business--everything half off! 

"I Worried" by Mary Oliver

Got this poem from my friend Mary Lou yesterday.....Spot on! Thanks, Mary Lou....


“I Worried”

I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers
flow in the right direction, will the earth turn
as it was taught, and if not how shall
I correct it?

Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,
can I do better?

Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows
can do it and I am, well,
hopeless.

Is my eyesight fading or an I just imagining it,
am I going to get rheumatism,
lockjaw, dementia?

Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing.
And I gave it up. And too my old body
and went out into the morning,
and sang.

Si, se puede!!

 This was posted this past spring on Democracy for Bell. Posted here with permission....thanks!! DFB!!  Now that Trump has reared his ugly head, we have forgotten this genuine American hero!!

March 31st was Cesar Chavez Day


Senator Robert F. Kennedy described Cesar Chavez as "one of the heroic figures of our time."

"A true American hero, Cesar was a civil rights, Latino and farm labor leader; a genuinely religious and spiritual figure; a community organizer and social entrepreneur; a champion of militant nonviolent social change; and a crusader for the environment and consumer rights.

The significance of Cesar's life transcends any one cause or struggle. He was a unique and humble leader, as well as a great humanitarian and communicator who influenced and inspired millions of Americans from all walks of life. Cesar forged a national and extraordinarily diverse coalition for farm worker boycotts, which included students, middle class consumers, trade unionists, religious activists and minorities.

Cesar's motto, "Si se puede!" ("Yes, it can be done!"), coined during his 1972 fast in Arizona, embodies the uncommon legacy he left for people around the world. Since his death, hundreds of communities across the nation have named schools, parks, streets, libraries, and other public facilities, as well as awards and scholarships in his honor. His birthday, March 31st, is an official holiday in 10 states. In 1994, President Clinton posthumously awarded Cesar the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, at the White House.

Cesar liked to say that his job as an organizer was helping ordinary people do extraordinary things. Cesar made everyone, especially the farm workers, feel the jobs they were doing in the movement were very important. It did not matter if they were lawyers working in the coutrooms or cooks in the kitchen feeling the people involved in the strike, he showed the farm workers that they could win against great odds. He gave people the faith to believe in themselves, even if they were poor and unable to receive the best education. Cesar succeeded where so many others failed for 100 years to organize farm workers. He was able to do the impossible by challenging and overcoming the power of one of the country's richest industries in California.

As a common man with an uncommon vision, Cesar Chavez stood for equality, justice and dignity for all Americans. His Universal principals remain as relevant and inspiring today as they were when he first began his movement."

http://chavezfoundation.org/_page.php?code=001027000000000&page_ttl=Cesar's Legacy&kind=1

Seen on Metro....

T-shirt:  "May your life be as fabulous as you claim on FaceBook"

Annie turns 21! And the tomato plant has another blossom (actually 3 more buds, too!)

Annie at age 21!!

Who knew?  More life in the tomato plant!!

Not much to write, but am trying to sneak back into everyday reality....Have a swell day, all!