Sunday, April 15, 2018

It's the little things in life

Almost exactly two years ago, Don built me a little shelving unit to store gallon jugs of bulk staples: oatmeal, brown sugar, whole wheat flour, tea, pasta, raisins, etc.


I was making some oatmeal-raisin cookies for the neighborhood potluck last week. As I always do, I pulled the necessary jugs of ingredients from this shelving unit and placed them on the table until needed.


And it occurred to me how much I took for granted this extremely useful piece of furniture. What a blessing to have a woodworking husband who can make such needed items.

This inspired me to look around the house and realize that everything -- with the exception of a sofa and loveseat we bought new in 2004 -- is either a second-hand purchase or handmade by my talented husband. The result is eclectic and unpolished -- and yet it somehow represents us very well.

After all, we're kind of eclectic and unpolished too.

13 comments:

  1. Nice post

    Carl in the UP

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  2. You know, not long ago I had the idea that I could make a list of all the things I had purchased 2nd hand or remade or used somehow, I quickly realized that it would be too long so the list became of the things that were new and from a retail place. A very short list indeed. I love it all.

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  3. y'know, not to say we are unwashed huddled masses, but Hooray for eclectic and unpolished! It's a comfortable way of life.

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  4. We have many children. Unpolished and eclectic...? Or... I prefer simple and authentic.

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  5. It never ceases to amaze me how many things that we old folks take for granted the youngsters just can not do. This is especially true about anything that requires hands on work. Many can not even read a ruler for crying out loud!

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  6. My husband and I are relatively young - I'm 33, he's 36. I've been a follower of your blog for many years. My parents were upper middle class, and we never went to thrift stores or bought anything cheap or used. I don't recall being in a Walmart until my senior year of high school. Suffice it to say, learning to live a simple life below my means has not come naturally for me.
    My husband is a gunsmith by trade, but can build anything. He's made me more gifts than he's purchased (knife set, gliding rocking chair, wall mounted jewelry cabinet with full length mirror, shaker style dining room table - all things he's made). He does all of the upkeep and repairs to our modest home and used cars. He buys much of what he needs broken and repairs it, making it better than it was new. Our list of furniture he's made is getting longer than what we bought. I doubt my husband could have put up with the selfish, materialistic girl I once was.
    Thank you for the lessons you're teaching me - canning, gardening, striving for a simple, purposeful life, and many more.

    Anna in PA

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    1. You are in exactly -- and I mean EXACTLY -- the position I was in at your age. Don't lose hope, you're on the right track!

      - Patrice

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  7. Where do you get these nice jugs? So much nicer than narrow necked "milk jugs"

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    1. We buy mayonnaise in gallon-sized containers from either Costco or Cash 'n Carry. Whenever we have an empty, I clean it and use it for storage, either in the house or in the shop. It's astounding how useful those jugs are.

      - Patrice

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  8. There is alot to be said about unpolished. It is as God made it. It is in it's pure form. It can be improved on if wished. I'll go for unpolished!!

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  9. You are definitely right, its good to have a spouse with skills and to have handy skills yourself. It amazes me how many people are not even willing to try to learn new helpful skills that would improve their lives and give satisfaction in knowing they did it themselves.

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  10. Amen, from a “bucolic rube”. (Extra points if you know where that comes from.)

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  11. Love the shelf for staples idea. I am shocked to see a jug labeled "Splenda" on your shelf of staples: might as well cook with pesticides, that stuff is seriously toxic to health. Raw sugar would be a better, healthier choice than processed white sugar. Never Splenda. But research for yourself starting here: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/10/new-study-of-splenda-reveals-shocking-information-about-potential-harmful-effects.aspx

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