Good news on the ‘feeling poorly” front: I am feeling much better today. Still a bit puny, but much better than earlier this weekend. Clearly, I had some sort of bug. Yesterday morning, I thought I’d never stop sweating…I had to throw my pajamas in the wash for the second day in a row. But by mid-afternoon, that had finally stopped. I managed to make mashed potatoes last night, but that finished off all my remaining energy for the day. Tired this morning, still a bit wimbly (Don’s favorite word for this kind of thing) but feeling like I’m slowly crawling out of the muck.
Don’t worry. I’ll take it easy today.
I have entitled this: The Un-Pin Worthy Photo.
But it’s real life. There are photos on this blog of my fabulous Vernor’s crate and Riley’s Dish Garden that are Pin Worthy. But this, my friends, this is the way this table is ninety percent of the time.
Likewise this:
A picture of the house shot at an overly sunny moment in the day. But if we back up a bit, we get this:
The chimney wrapped in a blue tarp, which has been there for several months and will continue to be there until we can save the money to get the masonry re-done. (That’s what was causing the leak in our bedroom.)
Un-Pin Worthy. And, often, Un-Blog Worthy. But you know what? The more I read blogs (and I’ve been reading them for about 7 or 8 years) the less interested I am in always seeing pretty pictures. Don’t get me wrong, I love a pretty picture as much as the next person and I like to take pretty pictures. But what draws me to a blog for the long run is substance. Stories. Real life. Adventures. Not just beautifully dressed children looking as if they popped out of a catalog. Or beautiful photos of the blog author looking like she stepped out of a catalog. Or, most often, beautiful photos of living spaces with nothing out of place that look like a magazine spread. Every once in a while? Sure! We all like to put on our best dress or show off our living spaces. I’ve done it here. Although, to be perfectly honest, every photo like that on this blog has something out of place. Or several things out of place. (I can’t help it.)
I just prefer the real. I like to know the person behind the blog. I like to see real life. That’s what keeps me coming back for more because pretty only does it for a short while. Then my eyes glaze over. You can show me pretty, but give me some substantive text and you’ve got me.
But, of course, there are all sorts of blogs out there and some of them are meant to be full of pretty pictures, are meant to look like magazine spreads, and more power to them. I’ve been known to while away 3 or 4 hours gazing at those photos. Those blogs are a nice little escape from real life and we all need that. They are the equivalent of what a magazine used to be for all of us.
‘Pinterest Worthy’ is nice, but it isn’t always real. And it’s easy to fall into that trap and feel less than worthy yourself because your table is piled high with mail and your garden has weeds and your bed is unmade and there is laundry to be done and no one has cleaned up the kitchen yet.
Hey, I’m not about to show you all the ‘real’ in my house…you don’t need to be privy to everything that goes on here! But I will try to show you as much of it as I can. Just so you know that all the pretty flower pictures (and that’s Mother Nature’s doing, not mine) are well and good, but we have a big old tree that fell in the back forty and we have poison ivy growing up several trees and there is a dead tree in the front yard and I’m overdue on weeding again and the Japanese Beetles decimated my roses. And the shot of the Vernor’s crate that was momentarily styled and free of clutter is a rarity. And the paint on my kitchen cupboards is chipping and they need cleaning and there is dog hair everywhere and every wall in this house needs painting.
That’s my real and imperfect life here at the cottage.
(New post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page.)
Happy Monday.
Well, no wonder I feel so comfortable reading your blog and seeing your pictures — it’s just like my place (only we have cat hair instead of dog hair – lol). And your table with the mail on it? Looks like a “pretty” shot compared to mine. But, c’est la vie. Hope you are feeling much, much better. Wimbly is a great word!!
C’est la vie is right, Vera. That’s real life!
Yes, I’m rather partial to wimbly myself.
I have to laugh at your table since I JUST got mine cleared off after several weeks/months! And only then because we are listing our place for sale. Real life is what I like about your blog! Glad you are on the mend. A friend just recommended Sinol for my sinus mess. Herbal based and OTC. Might help you???
Oh, thanks Dottie – I’ll check it out, for sure!
Good morning, glad you are feeling better. Wish I had a Vernor’s, love that taste!
Often when my friends come over they comment how much they like my yard…they only see what they like…I only see what needs to be done. Truly understand about the chimney…I need to have a roofer come out before it rains here in California…maybe I have a few more months time to same up some cash!
You and Mother Nature are a good team! Wish you were my neighbor, I adore your comment about yourself…Solitary person who is chatty.
I only see what needs to be done, too. I understand!
I am glad you are feeling better. Amen on the reality. I read your blog because you are you. I enjoy the many different topics and the many similarities we have. (I live in a cottage, love to read and always have, and I had a dog Max that just passed in January. He was 18 years old). Your posts on Scout and Riley are what drew me back to your blog. Have a wonderful week!
Thanks, Shasha. Scoutie’s having a hard time of it – very bad arthritis and just plain getting old. But she still has her feisty moments, thank goodness!
Even the undone and gettin’ ready inspires us. Keep showing us how you percolate. Jo @ Let’s Face the Music
Thanks, Jo.
Hi there, your home is just too similar to mine from the kitchen table to the leaky roof. My office is strewn throughout the house and the ceiling has a new piece of drywall up as of Saturday. the basement is missing some of its ceiling drywall as we removed it yesterday to make sure the insulation was dry. It was not so out it went too and hubby is telling me he wants to leave it open so that the woodstove can really dry it out. The water was running out from under my office door and seeping through the hardwood floor too. It was a lot of water! The floor is damaged a bit too, but I am grateful to have everything that I have!
I used the link you sent to access your blog today, which is the way I used to get it thru email and for some reason now I don’t. I’m gonna keep trying because I just love reading your work!
The emails through Feedburner are working just fine, Kelly. But they don’t go out until 11:10 am or so every morning. So I’m not sure what you’re referencing. Bloglovin is fixed as of this morning. What service did you use for the emails?
I have a table like that! Don’t worry about your chimney, my house needs painting, the driveway needs paving, but first on my list is a new furnace. I enjoy your blog because you are real, creative & inspiring. Hope you continue to feel better!
Thanks, Debbie!
I thought you had sneaked into my kitchen and had taken a picture of our kitchen table. But then I saw it wasn’t messy enough. I have to learn how to drive a front loader then get off my backside and clean out my house!
I am so happy you are feeling better. My sister was telling be about feeling sick last week and it sounded just like you! She didn’t know she was feverish until she was changing for bed and she said her legs were hot. Then the next morning when she was in the kitchen making coffee she felt so dizzy she had to lie down on the floor. Even though we live just south of Seattle and you are in New York, it sounds like the same thing. She was fine by the weekend.
And I see blue chimneys everywhere!
Sounds like your sister and I had the same thing. I still have it, a bit…it’s a strange sort of virus. Thanks, Tana.
Glad to hear you are feeling better! The main floor in my house is subfloor with area rugs on it. We took the carpet up about a year ago and someday we will get a floor down but there seems to always be something else that comes first. I just call it my pioneer look. Along with a dog we have 3 parrots, so I am always sweeping up bird seed. There is a whole list of things that need to be done so I don’t think my house will be getting a magazine spread in my life time. That’s ok though because as long as my husband and I have our health and we are happy that is all that matters.
Hugs
I like ‘Pioneer Look!’ Perfect.
The crumbs from Scout’s treats fall into the cracks between the wide plank pine floors and I have to try and suck them out with the vacuum attachment….
I can identify with this post, but it’s our kitchen counter that is a collection point in our home. When our three girls were at home it was school papers, notices, PTA news, etc. Now that it’s just my hubby and myself it’s mail, receipts, recipes and more. The paper landslide can really overwhelm. BTW, Claudia, I’m looking forward to a post on how you used the new dollhouse items you recently bought on your trip. Can’t wait!
It will be a while, Sharon, because I have to work on the whole roof garden look and I haven’t started doing that yet.
That is one reason I love your blog — you are so real! Everything is not perfect, but everything is cozy and welcoming and well loved. My kitchen table is exactly like yours. Sometimes we have to move things so we can sit and eat there. Hope you continue to feel better.
Yes, I have to move things if I’m working at the table…piles get shoved to one side of the table and I work on the other side.
Good Morning Claudia,
Your REAL and IMPERFECT life is the reason I LOVE your blog and keep coming back. Please don’t change!
Glad to hear you’re feeling better.
Thank you, Cathy!
Do you think the people w/ the constant pretty pictures ever let go for even a minute….. or do they actually live like the rest of us, and they just stage a small piece of their home, one spot at a time, and then edit out the clutter for us to see the perfection only? That makes me kind of sad, and sounds rather exhausting. I love looking through a blog and seeing those “backdrop” things in the pictures such as what real magazines a person reads, the toys their kids play with, which cups and mugs they are truly using for coffee or tea ~~ just real daily life. We all know how to stage for special *company* ~ it is when we are comfortable enough to let people see real life in our homes that we know we are friends. :-)
I don’t know…I would hope they live like the rest of us! But always making every photo of every corner and vignette perfect must be tiring. Your last statement is very wise, Chris. Thank you.
And this is why I read your blog. You keep it real and I appreciate that.
My poor husband would go crazy if our house was perfect. By the way, it’s in no way close to being perfect. Cat hair, weeds in the garden, weeks worth of mail on the dining room table and stacks of books that have been read or are in the process of being read are everywhere. This is life at our little cottage.
Enjoy your day,
Vanessa
Sounds like our place, except for the cat hair!
Good Afternoon Claudia, I smiled when I saw your kitchen table, because just like many of your friends who have commented, I also have a table like that. Mine has recipes, sewing, books, more books, embroidery thread, sewing needles, beads, strewn all over it ….. oh yes and a cup of coffee. It is life….. once a month I have a blitz and sort it all out, but then after a few days I am back to square one. My husband does not mind, he says he prefers a house that is lived in…. so as he does not worry about it, neither do I.
Best Wishes
Daphne
Same here. I’ll become very efficient and sort through everything. But soon, it will be back to piles of stuff!
We’ll you saw my UN pinworthy shot of my computer chairs! Truth be told most of my pictures are unpinworthy and that is life for me. I don’t have a magazine home- though it would be nice. Clean… It’s getting there. You were just sick a few days with a bug- I’ve apparently had diabetes for a while. I’m finally coming to my senses and the brain fog is lifting- it looks like a disaster area around here. I think I’ve only barely been functioning. Now I spend afternoons and evenings cleaning up and tossing. But it will never be immaculate, I prefer the lived in look. Your home is lived in to me. Mine looks like squatters have taken over!
Back to cleaning… Pat
Those piles didn’t occur because I was sick, Pat! There were there long before that!
You have me there Claudia! Truth told…my clutter started coming on about 5 years ago. ;)
xoxo
First off…glad you are feeling better. Wimbly…I like that! I love a pretty picture, just as much as the next person. And, I have spent a goodly amount of time…goodly?….perusing blogs with lots of pretty pictures. But…what I love, what I keep coming back to, what I feel most comfortable with is your place. Your kitchen table looks just like mine, without the pretty Vernor’s crate! ;)
Thank goodness for the Vernor’s crate – it gives my eye somewhere to rest other than the piles of paperwork!
I have just recently discovered your blog and do follow. Your post today is exactly why I keep coming back. Your writing style, your inspiration, your thought provoking content, and the variety of life you post about. I like to think about the core of simplicity. Thank you for what you do! And now with your videos you have added another dimension of yourself with your voice. I enjoy that.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Linda. I’m glad you’re here!
I find perfection quite boring Claudia..if you were a perfectionist I wouldn’t have stayed here long..I do manage to find the top of my table once in a while..lol..
Perfection IS boring. Something or someone with imperfections is far more interesting and compelling.
Glad you are feeling better – take care. Agree on your unpin-worthy thoughts….. : )
Thank you, Liz!
Glad you are feeling somewhat better. No fun in being sick! One of the reasons I enjoy your blog so much is because you are REAL!! It’s not all about perfectly placed furniture, or nothing out of place ever. Who really lives like that? Nobody! Your home looks lovely yet lived in….everything has meaning to you, not just high priced items plucked off a store shelf and placed in a HOUSE, nope it’s items with meaning welcome into a HOME!!
Ah, thank you so very much, Marsha! One thing I can say: our house is lived in. For sure!
When I read your blog Claudia I feel like I’m enjoying a visit with a dear friend who is a real person who lives a real life. Yours is the only blog I read everyday and the only one I comment on. I am glad you are feeling better. I think I may have a stomach bug. Haven’t felt much like doing anything the past few days.
Oh no! I hope that stomach bug doesn’t last long, Janie. Take care of yourself, my friend!
Claudia, the “real” is what draws me to your blog every day. Yes, you have a lot of pretty pictures and fun stories. You also have challenges just like the rest of us, and you share them which can help me (& others) see ways to deal with our challenges. Or just know that we are not alone. So thank you for sharing both sides of your life, and please continue to do so.
I will, Teresa. That’s a promise.
Amen, Claudia! Hey, if “real life” didn’t exist as it does, there wouldn’t be much point or interest to all those perfectly-coiffed magazine [and now internet/Pinterest] photos. Or as my mother said, “If things didn’t get dirty in the first place, cleaning wouldn’t be any fun at all…”
Your mother was very wise, Janet.
Oh Claudia,
I Love it!!! One of the many reasons I am so drawn to your blog! You are so “real”! Just a person like me and everyone else… I can relate.
Now I can stop worrying about kitty fur and cat nip mice everywhere!!! Every wall in my Home needs painting, the kitchen cabinets need scrubbing and Painted!!! my carpet needs replacing and I have mail on my table!! I am just sitting here laughing to myself. Everything in life is a Balance, and is not always easy to achieve…
I guess at 62 I am finally liberated. It is OK not to be PERFECT! And I love and enjoy my “Stuff”. But will be paring down because after 33 years my tastes have changed and so I will start passing on my “treasures” to others that will treasure and enjoy them..
That being said I do NOT limit myself by that number…I don’t feel it, I don’t act it and my most accounts don’t look it…. so I am not paring down in preparation for ” Sunny Acres Home for old folks”! Just changing out decorating styles… I am now “Beach/Coastal/Garden/Cottage…would love to have 3 hens and am a inadvertent Bee Keeper… they took up residence in the concrete block outer wall of my garage! they have resided here with me for about 5 years. They are so endangered I am just giving them a home.
So Thank you for this wonderfully refreshing post and just being you and graciously sharing your life with me and others…
Debbi Saunders
You are welcome.
We had honey bees in our Catalpa for a long time – several years – and we were so glad they were there. But then the colony collapsed. That made us very sad.
And that my dear friend is why I love your blog so much. Real Life! Real People! You share just enough to let us know and love you but not toooo much! :) After reading ‘perfect’ blogs for awhile I decided it was all smoke and mirrors since on life is that perfect. I prefer real and a few flaws here and there, because that’s my life also!
hugs,
Linda
Thanks, Linda. xo
I love the for real blogs but you know that already. Papers and mail really build up here too. Since the house has been listed and the clutter gone. I can’t find a thing.
We had someone that repaired our roof around the chimney for a really reasonable price compared a new roof. After that we had to repair the ceilings. Just recently someone was able to repair the chimney without starting from scratch. Saying all of this just to let you know it pays to shop around.
Hope you are feeling better. I have a tummy bug…..So tired of feeling under the weather. Still not back to normal after my surgery. Oh well…….it will happen.
I hear the frustration in your ‘voice’ Debby. I hope you feel better soon. You deserve a break from all of that, my friend.
I, too, love the pretty and “perfect” – and have spent many hours on blogs and pinterest drooling over things I love. But when someone “frees us” from that impossible perfection, as you’ve done here, it’s like a breath of reality fresh air! As I sit here this evening I have dishes to do (LOTS of dishes to do!), laundry to sort and wash, 2 garbage bags waiting to be taken out, piles of dollhouse “this and that” on my dining table, and my bed is unmade! But that’s real life, and life is much more enjoyable if you are free to actually LIVE in your house. Thanks once again, Claudia, for a wonderful, and REAL, post.
You’re welcome. We definitely live in our house!
Where’s the printer on your kitchen table. I thought that’s where that belonged. :) Oh that’s just our kitchen table. I think we all have something like that when we “live” in our house.
Glad you’re feeling better, just don’t do too much too soon,
Carol Ann
Ah, maybe we should add a printer?
I agree Claudia. I don’t like staged photos. I like real life. The nitty gritty. The good, the bad, and the occasional ugly.
I am glad you are coming back to us. Sickness is not a fun thing ever!
P.S. I was scheduled to return home on Wednesday. However, the transmission in my car has other plans for me.
Real life, right?
Oh, darn it! Transmission problems are not fun and certainly shouldn’t be part of a fun trip!
Didn’t know you haven’t been feeling well; had a really busy weekend and didn’t read blogs. Glad you’re on the upswing though. I know I’ve told you before – I prefer the “real” blogs, too. There’s some big-name bloggers out there whose blogs are nothing but one perfect picture after another, but I wonder how they really live their lives? I can’t imagine having to worry about everything in your house being perfect because it might be in a photo. A lot of these bloggers have kids, but you sure can’t tell from the photos that kids live there. Are those kids always being yelled at when their toys are all over or God forbid, they do a messy art project? Do these people have pets? Anyway, I’m a neatnik and can be a bit perfectionistic about certain things (have to admit, the piles of paper on the table would send me over the edge…I have to hide mine in drawers!), but I have dust on my furniture, cat hair on my couch and chairs, lots of weeds in my yard, duct tape on a window screen, and a refrigerator that desperately needs cleaning out. :-)
Oh gosh, Melanie, if I had extra drawers, I’d be shoving that stuff in there so fast it would make your head spin!
Happy to hear you are feeling better & hope you soon feel 100%! I enjoy genuine folks that share themselves & don’t show up only for the party wearing designer outfits, and showing their homes reflecting trendy stages. Your blog is my absolute favorite because you are genuine and honest. Thank you for sharing the reality of life, ups and downs and all around #1
at “keeping it REAL.”
You are most welcome, Marcy Ray! Thanks for being a loyal reader!
Thank you, Claudia, thank you! Because if a girl follows blogs like I do, a girl could soon start to feel very inadequate. My house is far from being perfect – I am not certain that I would want it to be perfect anyway – but it is real and it is sometimes maddening (?) but it is my home and I am working at making more to my liking. I don’t believe in ” can whip this in a weekend”, may be I am a slow worker. Things need to evolve in my head and then the body tries very hard to produce the desired effect. In other words, my home will probably never Pin worthy!!!!!
Mine is only pin-worthy for a moment in time….then it’s back to a tiny cottage that is full of fun things and is a cozy home besides. With two tall people and a dog living there.
What? You actually live in your house? :)
Thanks for keeping it real! Your friends are here with you, it is what they expect.
I do! I actually live in my house. So does Don.
And Dame Scout.
Glad to hear you’re feeling better – a summer bug is the worst!
Mary
You’re not kidding! I’m still not feeling tip-top and I have to rest all the time. But the fever is gone.
So glad you’re feeling better!! And, whew …I’m not the only one with chipping cabinet paint and dog hair everywhere?! ? Thank goodness! :)