Friday 22 July 2011

And Tedding And The Spreading…

…of the straw for the bedding
And the fleas that tease in the High Pyrenees,
And the wine that tasted of tar?
Do you remember an Inn, Miranda?
Do you remember an Inn?

If you are old like me, you may have had to learn that Hilaire Belloc poem at school too. I haven’t been tedding or spreading – but I have been shredding – lots and lots of stuff

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In the past few days [in between meetings about Holiday Bible Club, and the Village Fun Day, and clearing a mountain of ironing and going for a run every other day] I have been tidying my office [aka The Spare Room] Things had got rather bad in there. Here are embarrassing pictures of the DSCF1974chaos at the end of term

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It was so bad in there that when I had problems with the PC, Bob could not get through to the desk to help sort things out.

I have cleared the bookshelves of extraneous books. That was rather painful – some had been my Dads – and I was keeping them just for sentimental reasons. In 13 years I’d never opened many of them. Also I tidied the school stuff, home stuff, church stuff – getting rid of so much unnecessary stuff, no longer useful to anyone

  • ancient worksheets completed by pupils I could not remember
  • random to-do lists
  • recipes ripped from magazines, for dishes I will never cook, and never eat
  • Diaries from 2009 and before
  • greetings cards from couples with names I did not recognise [“so sorry we will miss your anniversary celebrations, Andrea and Les”  who are they?]
  • post-it notes with random messages like “Pay the M&S bill before 8th March” – but which year was that?
  • elderly erasers which were so old they were just desiccated blocks of rubber, which wouldn’t rub out anything
  • Sunday School Staff Rotas dating back years

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Some paper was straight into the recycling bin, other more sensitive stuff had to be shredded. Non-recyclable into the wheelie bin. I have been unspeakably ruthless. I have listened to the Radio - yelling at the Murdochs, pere et fils, and singing along with Radio 2.

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Another box of books is filling up for the Charity Shop.

I found one very dusty teddy bearDSCF1986 lurking behind the desk.

My Mum bought him for Steph back in 1984 - I think her hairdresser was making them, and selling them to raise money for some charity or other.

His eyes are very lopsided [Gladly My Cross Eyed Bear] I have washed him thoroughly, maybe it’s time he had a sweatshirt too!

But now the room is wonderfully clear – spaces on the shelves, space on the floor, and I can find things.

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DSCF1988My main preaching resources are all on one shelf, the filing cabinet has lost out-dated papers and gained some space, and everything is geared up for much more efficient work.

 

Under the bed I found a Matryoshka doll and a strange piece of wood!These ladies are now happily displayed on the window sill.

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Bob is extremely pleased – not least because he now has access to the fiction shelves again [and he can reach his Terry Pratchett books]

And the bed is once again clear and you can stretch out on it!

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And now I have achieved all that, I am going off to stay with Steph for the weekend, so don’t know when I shall be posting again.

I hope to be with Steph at lunchtime, and will be returning home again after breakfast on Monday. Looking forward to a fun filled weekend in London – seeing her new flat and meeting her Vicar!

8 comments:

  1. That must have been very satisfying. I'm working my way through my daughter's old room and bath and little by little am bringing order to chaos. I love it!

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  2. You made me so feel so much better about the state of my studio when I saw these first pictures! I had to have a good laugh...but then I saw the end results, my goodness you have worked hard. How long did it take you? I must get on with my room. It is sunny here today, so maybe I will start on it today - carting everything out into the sunshine and starting from fresh!

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  3. Well done on such a thorough clear out.

    Have a fun weekend.

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  4. Didnt you work hard?! You deserve a nice weekend away, have a lovely time with Steph.

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  5. Wow! Way to go, Angela! You got so much done! I hope your weekend is exciting! Enjoy!

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  6. Our study needs a good 'going over'. One of the cats (the same one who knocked the wine all over the keyboard)shredded some old paperwork. Chris tidied it up, and I didn't notice!
    Time for a clear out, methinks.
    Jane x

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  7. Very inspiring before and after pictures! I need to get into my study closet and give it a good going-over, which I might just do when it stops being a hundred degrees around here.

    Hope you have a great visit with Steph!

    xofrances

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