Ahead of my time?

Thrifting, upcycling and repurposing....I was doing those things before they had au courant names and before every blogger and his dog was doing it. 

In the eighties, when I lived in a small city in western Canada, I deplored the waste of clothing and household items set out as 'garbage'. Usually I left such items where they sat as someone's trash was sacrosanct and who would risk the humiliation of being caught garbage-picking. 

Recycling my own clothing was a safer way to reuse, but the intent was to make the refashioned garment appear new.   I certainly didn't make known the source of my textiles. 

Move ahead three decades and I live in Toronto, where curb shopping is a major source for home-furnishings in many neighbourhoods. Enter any Value Village or Goodwill and you will see men and women from many economic classes strolling the aisles, scooping up finds. 

So, change can be good, but is this trend reactive, a collective effort to be unique in a brand-conscious era?  Or is it a new attitude toward using our resources that will last?

Learning Curve

Well, here is the first photo I've posted to my blog. Not too inspirational. Socks. That I knit and gave to my sister. Best part, I took the picture while at their family cottage. 

Going again in August. Now that's something to look forward to. 

Changes I never wanted to make

Hello again, my friend. I've been listening to Neil Diamond lately.  

I don't really want this post to be all about the space of time since I last posted, so I won't. 

However...the last few months have helped me crystallize more clearly what I want to talk about--CHANGES.  Not my mind, my address or my underwear (although they all have their place) but about the changes that get made for you by living until a certain age. 

There are other changes people face unwillingly in their lives, such as relationships gone wrong, disasters or serious illness. My issues don't begin to compare with what so many other people have endured. 

But my changes have affected Me, my marriage and friendships on a fundamental level--how I view myself and my aspirations. Or another way would be to say, Have I been blind to what I am really like, but others have always known about me?

I don't like that question. I'm sure I won't like the answer.