Another Vintage Camper Fan!

I know I haven’t posted in forever, but I have been swamped with moving out of the warehouse and with the grand opening of a new brick and mortar storefront with My Sweetheart. VERB. MEMO. LOVE.  Opened its doors last Friday in Canton, Texas,  part of First Monday Trade Days. Please visit our page at Facebook.com/Verbmemolove, and Like, Share & Tag us to show your support for this exciting new project that means so much to My Sweetheart and to me. We appreciate every ounce of support, sincerely.

But I didn’t start out this post to talk about the new shop, I am here to add to my previous vintage camper post. It seems that one of my high school mates has a soft spot for the nostalgia of trailer hitch travel and has curated a sample of her favorites,  quite an impressive collection, in a pinterest board she simply calls Shasta. Please check it out along with her other stunning boards. You can find them all here.

My Forever-broken Heart

Last week, on the day before the nation sat down together to share a feast of gratitude and celebrate thankfulness with friends and loved ones, my household suffered the tragic loss of a very special family member when our Diggity Dog was struck by a car near our home. Diggity had been My Sweetheart’s constant companion for four years, husband to my Akiane (“Mommie”), father of 16 beautiful pups (including my LB). Diggity was such an awesome little dog that 12 of the 16 pups he and Mommie created were adopted by our friends and family who wanted to have an awesome little dog of their own. My Sweetheart and I love that little guy as much as we could love a human child and we are heartbroken beyond words.

This is how we remember him: Diggity Dog

 

Post Impediments Revisited

Hello & long time no see! I’ve fallen into that nasty little trap of not-posting-today-because-I-wanted-to-post-yesterday-but-didn’t-post-flavored guilt again and can hardly believe that it’s been two months since my last post! Oh well, there’s only two things I can do about it at this point: post or not.

I think, today, I will post. I would like to do the same tomorrow. The day following tomorrow… I would like to post that day as well. I ought to have enough to write about, considering how long I’ve put off posting anything at all.

So much has happened in the past couple of months and there have been so many topics I have wanted to discuss with you! So much has been on my mind lately (other than blogging, specifically): news about the activity in the warehouse and that new potential project I mentioned a while back, online auctions, storage auctions, karma awareness and maintenance, my (modest) jewelry enterprise, My (awesome) Sweetheart, business development (marketing, branding, packaging, networking, etc.) the creative process and inspiration, Pinterest, bad neighbors and the problems they can cause… This short list is just the tip of the iceberg; I have also wanted to tell you about the latest additions to my “Favorite People On Earth” list (Val at JunkerVal’s and Travis at Echelon Jewelry and Gemstones).

With so many topics and so little time, I don’t know, really, what makes me put off posting, but (once again) I am going to try to resolve that in the near future. I hope you will stick around and share your thoughts on these topics.

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Pulling the Plug on What’s Not Working

Here I am, early on a Monday morning with nothing to show of in a 4Day Declutter Challenge Reveal post.

Again.

Why not? Because I didn’t post a challenge on Thursday.

Again.

I am frustrated with myself that I’ve missed posting each of the past two weeks’ challenges and (by no coincidence) each of the past two weeks’ reveals. I’m frustrated AND beginning to feel slightly over-run with guilt for not getting the challenges posted. Extra specially frustrated today because yesterday I made major progress in the front office of the warehouse. The room which has been, in my opinion, the least inviting area of my cluttered existence has been transformed into the closest thing to “homey” in only a few hours’ work.

I should have taken photos of the before.

I didn’t.

I just got a wild hair to have the unused refrigerator moved out of the corner and into the shop and started making that happen. Once that beast was out of the room, I set myself to moving the hall tree which has been sitting in the most tempting spot for clutter-collection (directly beside the entry door) into the spot vacated by the fridge. Now the black bench with over-head cubbies sits about 5 feet from the door. Close enough to be a handy launch pad for things like keys and sunglasses, purses and other travel must-haves, but not as convenient for depositing “whatever” we happen to carry in from the truck while being greeted by frantically enthusiastic chihuahuas whenever we come home. Clearing off the bench top has made a nice home (for now) for the duct-tape body form in my image that My Sweetheart helped me to create a couple of weeks ago as well as a home for the oscillating fan which normally takes up an obscene amount of floor-space and is mandatory equipment for My hot-in-every-way Sweetheart’s comfort. I hope that having those two items occupy the area most likely to encourage clutter on this particular piece of furniture we will be able to break the habit of dumping on it. Keep your fingers crossed that it works.

Still motivated to create change in this entry room, I took a pair of scissors to the carpet remnant My Sweetheart had positioned to run the length of the room, folded over at one end to fit the space, and I cut it down to size. The remnant’s remnant I placed in front of the front door. The comfy club chair which had been a sore thumb stuck out in the middle of the room and an obstacle to all movement within the room found a cozy little spot between the newly placed entry rug and the hall tree. My Sweetheart managed to sneak in behind me with a small tea-cart he just bought from the online auction for the whopping price of about a dollar, and he placed the cart between the club chair an the front door. It’s a really cute little cart and it’s a perfect fit in the space, but I’m worried that it may become the new drop-spot for “whatever” as we come in from where ever it is we go loaded down with random stuff. I’ll have to keep an eye on that. Cross more fingers.

The greatest assistance I encountered as I worked my way around the room, decluttering came from two other amazing online auction finds My Sweetheart has adopted in the past week: a small tower cabinet with about eight shallow drawers and a longish leather ottoman/bench/storage box. Into the cabinet went pens, pencils, sketchbooks and nail polishes, in other words, my personal clutter. Into the ottoman went beads and other crafting supplies, shoe-shine products and the like. It’s embarrassing how much clutter I create around here. I’m happy to have these two tools for hiding my mess! (Thanks, Babe.)

The greatest help I got with the cleaning aspect came from a new (to me, anyway) Kirby vacuum cleaner that My Sweetheart acquired for me on Saturday. I gotta hand it to The Kirby Company, they do make a product that sucks, but in such a great way! Every home should have a Kirby and that’s about all I’ve got to say about that.

I didn’t get the whole room completely and totally decluttered by the time I threw in the towel, but I did get the major points covered… er… uncovered… before I sat down. Even the stack of boxes I have spent every day we’ve lived here trying to convince myself aren’t there really aren’t there! The best thing, though, is that when I finally called it quits, My Sweetheart came right behind me to place a new (from an online auction) open-faced, little cabinet in the corner where those boxes had been and topped it with what looked at first to be a sparkly, new microwave. On closer inspection, I realized that it was the same appliance we’ve been using (and neglecting) for over a year. My Sweetheart had polished it to a like-new shine.

All-in-all, I’m darn pleased with the results of the effort we put into it. I’m way less self-conscious about opening the door when there’s a knock from the other side. That says something, but doesn’t quantify the weight that’s been lifted from my shoulders. Whew!

But even in spite of all the progress I’ve made over the weekend, clutter-busting “to beat the band” as my grandmother might have said, I’m still aggravated with myself over the recent non-success of the 4Day Challenge. Not only am I frustrated at the fact that I’ve not posted the challenge or the reveal in the past two weeks, I’m also annoyed with myself that the only thing I’ve really posted, despite the fact that I’ve missed the challenge has been about it or somehow related to it, rather than whatever it might have been that inspired me to post in the first place, because I feel obligated to say something about the missed post… UGH! Since I’ve been the only participant lately, I’m not getting that team-spirit feeling out of it, either. But even with all of these not-quite-loving feelings I’m experiencing over this weekly meme concept, I would still be committed to sticking with it, just to keep myself motivated to kicking clutter in the butt. My progress in the front room this weekend, without the 4Day Challenge to hold me accountable, has given me a different outlook on the future of the challenge… Which brings me to the real reason for this post…

I’m suspending the 4Day Declutter Challenge… indefinitely. When the time comes that I need an external motivation for keeping up progress, I’ll bring it back. Unfortunately, I’m sure it will be back before long. What a sad truth. But it’s a relief to feel the freedom to post about whatever’s on my heart or my head when I want to post. I feel the freedom already! In fact, I’ve got a new pet-project that My Sweetheart and I are developing and fine-tuning; we even gave the idea a test-run over the weekend and I can hardly wait to tell you all about it.

I hope you all aren’t too disappointed in me for pulling the plug on the challenge, but I hope you’ll tell me about it, either way, in the comments.

Migraines Suck… Vintage Campers Don’t

Did anyone miss week seven’s 4Day Challenge? No? Me either. I might ought to keep that tid-bit to myself, but it is what it is and that’s that. I’ve been suffering a migraine that started the day I should have posted the challenge. Even now, the day after I should have posted the reveal, I am only just beginning to experience the slightest relief. To my readers who suffer this condition, I have the utmost empathy for you. Of my readers who have never experienced the anguish of a genuine migraine headache, I envy you but I hope you’re enviable status in this case never changes. I don’t think any of us who suffer from migraines would wish this condition on any living creature. (To be honest, there is one living creature upon whom I would bestow this agonizing condition, but that’s a different post altogether, so I’ll save it…)

Whenever cluster of these headaches chooses the wee hours of the morning to release its death-grip on my grey-matter, as it has done this morning, I try to occupy my mind with happy thoughts and engage in activities which are neither mentally nor physically demanding and won’t disturb my family’s rest. Today I found those happy thoughts on a laptop screen set to the least bright setting available and on the pages of Pinterest under the search string “vintage campers.”

On of the big, big items on my bucket list is to purchase and restore or (even better) totally remodel and modernize a vintage, bumper-pull camper and I’ve decided to share my dream with you. Hopefully by sharing these happy thoughts they will multiply and help keep the headaches under control.

Just for kicks, I’ll make it a TOP TEN list…

• TEN
  Natosha Ledbetter’s pin board,shasta, is a cute board with lots of cute camper ideas she found outside the realm of campers that she would like to bring into her own, you guessed it, Shasta travel trailer. I especially like this pin:
  

  Source: potteryblog.com via Natosha on Pinterest

• NINE
  Mary Foerster is to teardrops what the previous pinner is to Shastas. Mary includes helpful camping tips in her board, little teardrop trailer and camping stuff. I like this little trick:
  

  Source: handyhausfrau.com via Mary on Pinterest

• EIGHT
  There’s a gypsy spirit that goes with vintage camper love. That spirit is not lost on Martha Kuhns Miller. Her board, Gypsy Wagon & Vintage Camper Love is proof! Look at this gypsy style:
  

  Source: google.com via Martha on Pinterest

• SEVEN
  The pin board curated by Danielle DeCarolis titled Shasta Trailer! leaves me craving watermelon. I wonder why?
  

  Source: ilovetrailers.com via Danielle on Pinterest

• SIX
  Pinner Angela Ben-Kiki ventures out of the camper and into the tent with her board, modern gypsy.
  

  Source: poramoralarte-folklorista.blogspot.com via Angela on Pinterest

• FIVE
  It’s hard to choose just one of Ann Stillson’s pins from her vintage camper board, but I love this paperback cover (Is it genuine?):
  

  Source: cotedetexas.blogspot.com via Ann on Pinterest

• FOUR
  Vintage Campers, curated by Don Jefe is an awesome collection. One of my faves:
  

  Source: homedsgn.com via Don Jefe on Pinterest

• THREE
  I couldn’t resist Stephanie Mallicote’s
  little campers. Especially the one pulled behind two wheels:
  

  Source: blog.codery.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

• TWO
  David Sarenco has a fabulous board he calls, simply, camping. I love this little blue pin:
  

  Source: apartmenttherapy.com via David on Pinterest

• ONE
  And the top spot in my Top 10 vintage camper pin boards list goes to Airstream And Retro Campers: 190 (so far) awesome pins collected by James Reed. His “man cave” is one of my very favorites vc pins of all:
  

  Source: designsponge.com via Reed on Pinterest

• bonus
  My brand-new vc pin board can be seen right here.

I hope you will post your Pin-loved favorite vintage camper boards in the comments.

Week Six: Room For The Whole Family (REVEAL!!!)

A week and a half ago, when I posted my challenge for week number five, one of my favorite people in the entire world wide web chimed in with this comment. Another of my favorite people on the whole internet agreed with her. I’m pretty sure that I actually felt each of them cringing on my behalf, one of them half way across town from me, the other all the way across the country. I could almost hear them asking themselves WHY is she doing this to herself? That’s too much in too little time. What is she thinking?! And I can’t blame them for thinking that, but it was too late to change my challenge for the week, so I just did what I could do and that was that.

When the next Thursday rolled around, with the comments from the previous week still fresh on my mind, what did I do? You guessed it! I did exactly what I always do… I posted a big challenge! Admittedly, this week’s challenge wasn’t as big as some that have come before, but it wasn’t exactly a piece of cake, either. There is one thing about this week’s de-clutter zone that stands out from one or two that I’ve posted in the past: I DID IT!

That’s right! Under the strict supervision of Peanut and Oogie-boogie, I completed the 4-Day DeClutter Challenge for week number six! And I didn’t even get any assistance with it.

Wanna see it?  No problem!

Where did that case of sodas come from?

I know just one photo isn’t very impressive, but it’s a little room. I think the single shot just about says it all. I would like to add that what it doesn’t say is that my sweetheart managed to scoot in to restock the little beverage refrigerator that sits just across the doorway from Oogie. I don’t know how I managed to not see that when I snapped the photo. As for the spray bottles… I had almost taken this shot to post as a progress pic, but with the words of my blog-buddies on my mind and new jewelry designs on my workstation, I decided to just finish up by putting away the cleaning supplies and officially declaring this week’s challenge a decluttering success!

Hooray!

Special thanks to my blog-buddies for their realistic support week in and week out. Special thanks to another of my favorite people in cyber-space for reminding me to never back down. Without a support system like mine I wouldn’t be out here posting this silly (and apparently solo) meme week after week. Thank you, buddies!

What about you? Yes, you! What are you decluttering in your world? I would love to show it off for you! Find out how the 4-Day DeClutter Challenge works and stop in on Thursday to share your own challenge!

Week Six: Room For The Whole Family (A work in progress…)

A couple of weeks ago I offered you a peek into one of the “office” rooms in the warehouse, the room where this little family spends the most “together” time, when I introduced Week Four’s De-Clutter Fail. A few days later, I introduced you to my baby boy, LB, when I confessed my shortcoming on the weekly challenge. This week I’m back in the closest thing to a family room that the warehouse offers, to tackle a different clutter zone and give two more members of my family a chance to say hello to the blogosphere. If these two loved-ones could talk, I’m sure they would have been nagging me to get this room in shape a long time ago. Even though neither of them ever so much as set foot outside of this room, they contribute to the clutter the least of all the family members, and for that they deserve a little showing-off-time on the blog… Nevermind the fact that one of them doesn’t have a foot to set anywhere anyway… Without any further ado, please say hello to my family:

Oogie-Boogie and Peanut…

Both of these guys were gifts who now reside in the “living” or “family” room here at the warehouse. To me, they are something like a cross between Wal-Mart greeter and a Foo Dog. They greet all everyone who stops by and seem to make a pretty strong impression when people come through the door for the first time. Oogie seems to have the more attention-getting personality of the two, for sure, but I have a special affection for Peanut (who is the latest addition to our family, btw).

The real reason I am posting photos of  these two is to find out a little more about Oogie-Boogie. Like I said before, he was a gift and the person who gifted him to me discovered him at a private sale and didn’t bother to ask any questions about him, she just saw him, knew he was meant for someplace other than the place he was in and brought him to my place… Fate, I guess… I’ve never seen anything like him. No one who has seen him here has seen anything like him. I can’t find anything like him on the internet at all… (not even close!) And there are no markings of any kind to indicate that his creator would like to be connected to him… No signature. No date. No inscription. No symbols. Nada!

So, I’m curious… have you ever seen anything like him? Know an artist who produces anything like my Oogie-Boogie? If you have any clues that might help me find out more about this awesome… guy… who puts up with my clutter and greets all of my visitors, I would love to know what you know about him… Anything at all, even long-shots.

While you are wracking your brain over the orgin of my Oogie, I’m going to tidy his room… Er… I mean I’m going to De-Clutter the Family Room… At least a fair piece of one corner of our favorite gathering place.

This is what I’m starting with (about 10 minutes into the effort I came to my senses and realized I needed to snap some photos of this project!):

You’re invited to come see the results of my efforts on Monday when I re-visit this post and show off my freshly clutter-busted corner of the world. If your idea of a fun weekend includes parading your inner hoarder for the world to see (or if you’ve got some tidying up to do and don’t mind the rest of us watching and waiting for you to post photos of your success so we can ooh! and ahh! over them between remarks proclaiming your amazing level of genius and complimenting your spiffy workmanship), then check out the instructions for the 4-Day De-Clutter Challenge.