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"...the way the wind chime comforts me with delicate chirps of clanging
glass..."
Home Focus
I'm going to borrow a quote that soaked into my skin, deep...engraved and
powerful; "what you think you will never forget, someone else may never
know" (Julie Medeiros, Paperkuts Powerbook). Now, how true is that? Not
just with personal traits but with everything! There are bits and pieces of
us, our stories, our fiber that weaves together to make us who we are. Each
piece of thread important in itself just as it is important as part of a
whole. Some strands have stories that will never be told...unless we make an
effort.
As I sat around my home pondering that quote and my upcoming SV assignment,
I was struck with things that I take for granted every day. Fibers that
sometimes I don’t even stop to appreciate; some essential, some extra
perhaps just added in for color, and some purely personal and uniquely
special to myself or my family as a whole. Some of the fibers are
tangible--a piece of furniture or a special blanket. Others are sensory;
for example, the way my home smells of cinnamon apple when I take in that
first gush of air from entering the garage, the way the ceramic tiles feel
cool in the summertime and warm in the wintertime, the way I can smell Downy
from the yard, the way the wind chime comforts me with delicate chirps of
clanging glass. Those things and so much more are apart of who I am--bits
and pieces of fibers that keep me going and help explain me--taken for
granted daily and things that others may never know. What are the others?
What are the little nuances about my home that are so familiar to me yet so
subtle that the story may go untold? What fibers do you have that are woven
so tightly into your existence that you take for granted--maybe can’t even
see?
Let’s do a little Home Focus and uncover some of your fibers!
I think for scrappers we do a fairly good job documenting changes...moving
to or building a new home, documenting remodeling and new splashes of
paint, but I wanted to write this article to stretch our minds a bit and
think about things that we might take for granted, things that we think we
will never forget but that others may never know...things that are a part of
who we’ve become and things that tell a story, even a little one. Here is a
list of ideas to get you to Home Focus and pick out your fibers. Use the
list to spark journaling or inspire you to go out and take pictures of the
little things:
Neighborhood
-
how your home looks in different seasons
-
why you chose your
neighborhood
-
how your neighborhood has evolved over the years (new buildings, etc...)
Your Home
-
household lighting
-
fixtures
-
doors and knobs
-
collections and the
story behind them (coins, cards, or even Beanie Babies)
-
your plants
-
places you love and places you hate inside your home
-
things you would
change about your home
-
places in your home where you spend way to much
time (sometimes, I wish that were my bed!)
-
places in your home where you
should spend more time
-
books
-
music
-
toys
-
DVD and video collections
-
your decorating touches (window treatments, placemats, knick knacks,
etc..)
-
heirlooms
-
your closet (think of all the stories that could be
told here alone!)
-
what's inside the storage room?
-
favorite things
(blankets, books, candles, flowers, jewelry, shoes, you name it!)
-
china
(was it passed down or did your pick it out for your wedding?)
-
your dishes, pottery, pots and pans
-
furniture (was it passed down?
story about how it was acquired)
-
favorite places (not rooms but chairs, by
windows, etc...)
-
compare your childhood home to your adult home; how have
styles changed?
Yard
-
how your yard look in each season
-
favorite season for viewing your yard and why
-
special places
-
trouble spots
-
accommodations made for pets
-
hot tubs, spas, pools
-
a favorite tree
-
yard traditions and chores
-
swing sets and playhouses
-
views
-
gardening
-
landscape remodels
That should get you started! Before you begin "pickin’ fibers" for your
scrapbooks plan ahead. Consider taking "room-scape" views of your home as
well as the close-ups that tell specific stories or illuminate pieces of
your tastes and personality. Pick a topic from the list above and think
about what kind of photos and journaling you will need to tell your story.
Remember that taking pictures of the details will add pleasure and joy in
years to come and really are things that others may never know unless you
tell them. Imagine how home and room styles will change? What will our
children's homes look like when they are older compared to our own? Will we
have the notorious equivalent of avocado green and burnt orange? Let’s hope
not! But either way, we have the capability of documenting so much about
ourselves and our homes with each fiber we find. Good luck and have fun!
-- Kate Nelson
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