Moving week. Feeling strangely calm about it all, even though things are so chaotic. Also, I finished a major phase of a novel, so this is a natural stopping point. At least my writing life is ship-shape.
I was sad to have to put this awesome chair (above) out on the curb, because I've always loved the blocky mid-century shape of it, (plus, it's corduroy!) but it's pretty destroyed, and actually, not that comfortable. When I have clothing I haven't worn and enjoyed in a year, it's time to give it to the thrift store. That goes the same with furniture, and Mr. Crane and I never really sit in this chair. And the cat eats the stuffing out of it.
Pictured on the chair are my orphan socks! I have been hauling around a GIANT bag of orphan socks through many moves. The bag has grown and grown, to the size of a basketball. That stops here! I have a dream of washing all socks and mating them or out they go. Will my dream come true?
Oh, how the movers will love us! Here, Mr. Crane's wall of books, packed. And, I'm slowly adding to this from my own bookcases. Sometimes I put boots and shoes in with the books because I feel sorry for the movers for the heaviness of these boxes.
I spent the last couple years with the second bedroom as my own private office, and Mr. Crane had a corner of the living room. In our new condo, Mr. Crane gets the second bedroom as his office and I get a corner of the living room. Because that's how we roll! Share and share alike.
The only problem: ART. As readers of this blog know, Mr. Crane finds Little CJ (above, the portrait of me as a child painted by a great aunt) to be super creepy. He feels my childhood eyes follow him around the room. Little CJ has hung in my office these past years. Where to put her now?
Carolyn: Let's put her in the living room!
Mr. Crane: No way are we putting little CJ in the living room.
Carolyn: How about the bedroom?
Mr. Crane: Not if you ever want to have sex again.
Above, a pictorial representation of Mr. Crane and my art tastes. The gray areas on the right represent art and photos I enjoy and Mr. Crane does not enjoy. Little CJ would fall into this area. On the left gray side, art and photos that Mr. Crane enjoys that I do not enjoy and do not want to sit around staring at. The white area is where we agree, and the subset of art and photos we may have in shared spaces.
Above, an old, hand-drawn medical chart a friend rescued from a garbage behind the University Medical school building. There were a bunch of them, all apparently drawn by long-ago students for some important project. It is one of the coolest pieces of art I own, and takes up a great deal of wall space in my office. These little drawings are strange and fantastical to me. I don't know what they are (and I don't want to, so if you know, please don't tell me.)
Detail from my Echin0dermata chart. #12 puts me in the mind of Horton Hears a Hoo. #13 feels sort of Star Trek. One of the most mysterious ones is #20, lower right corner. I just love this piece! Unfortunately, this awesome thing will be joining Little CJ in a dark storage space.
I feel okay about rotating art. We have lots of excellent stuff we both love to look at to put up on the walls. The time for these pieces will come around again. Okay, I'd better back to packing. Wish me luck!
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14 comments:
Good luck! Moving is not fun!
Ha ha, I'm with Mr. Crane, little CJ is pretty creepy. But I like the medical chart, that is interesting. Good luck moving. I'm helping my parents move this weekend, they keep trying to give me stuff but sadly they don't have any interesting art like yours.
Wait! Don't throw away those matchless socks! They make great dusters! Just stick your hand in a sock and dust away. You can even wash and reuse over and over again... or they can be one time use only for other messy projects and you can then throw them away.
That's my green tip for the day. ;)
My husband and I have the exact same Venn diagram for art preferences... which explains why we have nothing hanging on the walls! LOL!
Good luck with the move.
Qwill: Thanks!!!
Dawn: Yes, most people seem to agree with mr. Crane on CJ. Good luck with your parent's move!
Christine: Venn Diagram! Thank you. I couldn't remember the name. Also, Great sock re-use idea! Thanks!!
Little CJ should have a room all to herself. Or you could build a shrine to her in the corner of the living room.
Carolyn: I don not envy anyone when they have to move. My dad and mom moved often when I was growing up and then I went and married a man in the military--UGH--I was still moving even though my life dream was to live in the same house for 40 years. Oh well . . . best wishes as you go through the pangs, and believe me, there does come a time when the moving boxes don't produce baby boxes during the night when you are sleeping and you have more to do when you wake up. It will all be put away eventually.
Ah - I see many married couples have the same art love/hate issues as I do. At least my coworkers let me but up my banished artistic favorites in the office!
KB: a shrine! That's the answer!
Dr. J: baby boxes! The voice of experience. Thanks for your words of wisdom.
Mindy: I love that you, too, have banished art.
O noes! Where will Little CJ go?! She's iconic!
Also, now that you've gotten rid of the chair the kitty eats, what will he eat instead?
If you were really mean, you could hang Little CJ up in Mr Crane's office. She could watch and judge him while he works ;-)
Hope the move goes well!
I like the medical chart - I love scientific drawings. We have botanical drawings and life drawings of hares in our living room (prints, that is). Oh and propoganda prints from the Peoples Republic of China - Mr T's find - showing workers bringing in shoals of fish and herding ducks. The only thing we have we seriously disagree on is a 1930s Dutch poster - it's a bit bauhaus for my liking.
Your unicorns are lovely too. I have a blue glittery reindeer with a pink feather neck adornment that is almost as nice, but less brave due to it being Christmassy.
Good luck. And a suggestion to reduce sock orphanage. Buy a small package of safety pins. Pin your dirty socks together before you toss them into the laundry. That way, the pair returns together or goes missing together, but either way you don't have to worry about orphan socks.
All the best with the move!
And the cat eats the stuffing out of it.
YIKES!
Good luck with the move! Seriously, there's nothing creepy about Little CJ!
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