Danger. Books.

After finishing A Short History of Nearly Everything, I needed to start today with something a little lighter.

I picked this:

 

I read the first chapter, determined not to do anything rash, but her promises of success were so seductive.

 

The dogs bedroom/my clothes room has been a part of why I hated getting up in the morning. The closet and drawers are full. The clothes I like to wear the most are scattered in baskets either in that room or in the basement next to the dryer. Four plus years and 25 gradual pounds since the last purge left me with clothes clothes everywhere and not a stitch to wear.

I did as instructed in the book, found all the clothes in the house (knitted accessories excluded), emptied the drawers and closet and dumped everything (much to her dismay) on the dogs bed. I handled each item and asked if it brought me joy. This is really a good question. Some things didn't bring me joy because they didn't fit. Other things didn't bring me joy because I just didn't like them (that was a surprise-who buys clothes they don't like?)

Two hours later I took these to planetaid bins at Walmart-

 

The irony being many of the items were Walmart justmysize spur of the moment tops.

There is a smaller pile of throw away and a smaller still pile of keepers. There are a couple of items in the throwaway pile that I feel need properly memorialized before discarding them.

The first is the "engagement bathrobe"

 

A giant purple terry cloth bathrobe that Mr. Sophanne bought for me during our courtship. It was the first bathrobe that I ever owned that cost $40 ON SALE. It blew my money crunching mind. I may just keep it on the closet floor as the refuge for the dog during thunderstorms. It's hard to part with.

The second item was my first ever sweater. It was crocheted with Lion Brand Homespun (as if you didn't recognize it already). I knew absolutely nothing about gauge or yarn size. I bought a hook to fit the yarn and went at it. A few times I wondered how the writer of the pattern knew what size it would be but was undaunted by blind trust. Fast forward to a finished sleeve. From my adventures in sewing I realized how large the sleeve actually was. Oh well, I'll just do what you do in sewing and use a larger seam allowance. The result-

 

Objects larger than they appear.

I have not done the sock/underwear drawer yet and dread doing so because that will mean getting rid of several hand knit socks that have lost their battle with usefulness. One day at a time.