My Spatular Moment!
Hello,
Every Thursday, Editor Stuart gives me a tinkle about what’s in the magazine and things I might like to talk to you about. This week after we’d gone through “Is it that time already… where has this week gone to…” he said the word “spatula” in reference to a popular giveaway fondly remembered that was attached to the magazine many years ago. Immediately it made me recall “My Spatula Moment” and here it is.
I hope you find it useful…
Moving home is stressful, but much more so if you are downsizing, because not only are you packing your things up but eliminating as well. The decisions, under pressure, of Do I really need it? Can I live without it? Am I making a mistake getting rid of it? can drive you up thewall–orinmycasetoa double gin and tonic! I have downsized twice under great stress, once due to my ex-husband’s bankruptcy and the second through divorce, so I know this game and there’s a couple of things I want to share with you. I thought it would rip my heart out selling the home we’d lovingly put together, creating unforgettable memories for our family and friends. On the last day of the move (it took four) when the lorries had rolled away up the long drive, I was the last to leave. I remember putting my two beautiful Golden Retrievers, Digger and Buddie, in the back of the car, picking up my bag and checking to make sure I’d left everything in order for the new owners.
I then took a last look at my home, thinking this is the moment when I might completely lose it, throw up, cr y my eyes out, and superglue myself to the gates. But no, oddly I didn’t. I realised it wasn’t home any more and it hit me that, without the people and all the trappings that made it home, I was just looking at a big pile of bricks. So from that day, I have never viewed a house as anything more. Your memories stay with you and ever ything else you will pull together under a different roof. Where do spatulas come into it? Well, I will never forget my supremely organised sister-in-law, Teresa Bovey, professional cook and home economist, helping me unpack in the kitchen, brandishing eight spatulas, and saying, “Just how many spatulas does a woman need?” After another move – and yes, Teresa was there at that one, too – I vowed (without being silly) to only have around me what I actually need. Boy, does it make life easier! Obviously the above advice does not apply to clothes, shoes or handbags…
Have a good week and whatever you do, do it in lip gloss.
Anthea X
Article originally from My Weekly!