A Feeling Of Accomplishment

"Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end.

It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing;

it's a day you've had everything to do and you've done it."

-- Margaret Thatcher

Mushroom salt and pepper shakers 12-27-14

"I had arrived. I'd done it.

It seemed like such a small thing 

and such a tremendous thing at once ..."

-- Cheryl Strayed, 

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

For months ... OK maybe years ... I've been telling myself that I should really clean out my kitchen cupboards and get rid of some shit.

And then I look inside at the cluttered mess and the task seems so big, so overwhelming, that I just shut the doors and forget about the problem until the next time the Tupperware cupboard vomits its contents all over the floor. 

And instead of handling the mess, I shove it all back inside and I go take pictures of Barbies instead.

Well, yesterday things got real.

I did the work.

Because I had help. I had someone to kick me in the pants and get the job done.

Sam, my extremely efficient, streamlined son, is home for Winter break. So with his encouragement and a few cups of coffee, the two of us tackled the problem and cleaned out the messiest problem cupboards and drawers.

In the process, a couple of good things happened.

A. I found these funny little mushroom salt and pepper shakers that were my Grandma's.

B. My cupboards are blissfully organized and spacious and clean.

C. We filled the back end of my car with all the stuff I don't want or need anymore, and made a big donation at our local Goodwill collection center.

D. My previous feelings of frustration and anxiety over the messy, disorganized state of my cupboards was replaced by an enormous sense of accomplishment -- the satisfaction of a long-overdue job well done. 

I felt inspired, empowered, tired, yet ready to tackle the next mess and take another load of unnecessaries out of my house.

It was a very good feeling.

And tackling the problem with someone who kept me motivated made the task easier, more enjoyable, and a helluva lot more fun.

That felt good too.

Maybe Sam will help me clean out the closets next.

I hope so. He's a fun-gi.

Tapping My Inner Domestic Diva

"My second favorite household chore is ironing.

My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint."

-- Erma Bombeck

Self portrait 5-1-14

"The only time I ever enjoyed ironing was the day

I accidentally got gin in the steam iron."

-- Phyllis Diller

As wife-ing and domestic duty-ing go, I've never really seen myself as much of a housekeeper, let alone a "domestic diva" or even "the little woman."

It's no secret.

I pretty much suck at housework.

But every once in a while I get a bee in my domestic bonnet. It happened yesterday when I finally tackled the mountain of my husband's un-ironed dress shirts.

"The Laundress," Edgar Degas, c. 1869

"The Laundress," Toulouse-Lautrec, c. 189

He wears a dress shirt and tie to work every day. He has 75 dress shirts. I know, I counted. With that many shirts, I can go quite a while without ironing them before he runs out. But there eventually comes a time when I have to roll up my sleeves and just do the job.

Some of my favorite paintings have always been Edgar Degas' and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec's studies of laundresses. I think I like them because these girls look like they feel about as bored and uninterested in the drudgery of their mundane chore as I do. They all look as if they'd rather be anyplace else but stuck behind the ironing bored --er --board.

"The Laundress," Edgar Degas, c.1873

I was inspired by these women for today's self portrait. So if you pressed me for the truth, I'd have to admit that ironing the shirts wasn't just about ironing the shirts.

I had art in mind and a new camera lens to try out. And the light coming in the window was pretty great.

So while it may look as though I was fulfilling one of my domestic duties, in actuality I was hard at work making an homage to some of my favorite painters.

I mean, the ironing still got done. I did it. I still get the wife points, right? I just had to have an ulterior motive to give me the push to finally get around to actually doing it.

Whatever it takes, boys and girls.

Whatever it takes.

.