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View Full Version : what little things make you feel like you are achieving "Simple Living"?



freshstart
1-7-16, 5:04am
It's 3 am and I'm wide awake but it is so peaceful. Two hounds snuffling snores. A big glass of ice water and 2 of not the best ever, but close, clementines that were on sale. I will crack open a new library book and probably fall asleep not too far in, which is fine because in the morning, I will not remember the book, nor the perfect clementines. I will remember the dogs sweetly sleeping and the peace settled over the house. I will try to remember that I was not awakened by worries and panic about money or the future and I will try my hardest not to think about stressors now.

I have a long way to go to actually have a simple life, I struggle to be anything like the hard core members on here, but sometimes I get a sliver, a glimpse of what it is like and it's so worth it. Book, dogs, clementines and I feel wealthy, I have what I need and want.

Ultralight
1-7-16, 7:27am
In the spring on the first day I take my canoe out and go fishing for crappie, I think: This is what it is all about!

Williamsmith
1-7-16, 8:08am
I went hunting with a friend yesterday afternoon. Basically, I drive to a deer haven of mixed hardwoods and bean and corn fields where I have several tree stands to choose from. I walk slowly in and climb into a stand. My friend does the same. If nothing is moving, my friend will get down and slowly walk a giant circle hoping to encourage a few deer to get up from their beds.

It is peaceful. The sun sets gracefully. Just an orange ball on the horizon. Their is no artificial sounds of cars or machines in the distance. I am surrounded by quietness. It is cold enough that My toes or beginning to get achey. But the rest of me in toasty warm. The wind is gently out of the south east and comes in over my shoulder.

A downy woodpecker seeks out a few larva under the bark of a nearby beech tree. A few black capped chickadees flit around me. One lands briefly on the barrel of my muzzleloader. I look into his eye and he/she looks back into mine.
I reach for a bag of black oil sunflower seeds I keep in my pocket for just these occasions. This scares the little bird away but I put the seeds in a fork of the tree I am in. I hope he finds the seeds later. I hope he remembers who put them there.

I keep an eye out for movement but nothing comes by. I am glad in a way. My gun would break the silence in a harsh explosion. Blue smoke would fill the air. A living thing would cease to live. I know they desperately cling to life as much as I do but it is a feeling the hunter must get over. The hunter must in the end respectfully harvest what he hunts. I still always feel a moment of sadness before thankfulness.

Today, I got down from my stand at dusk. I crunched my way back to the truck. I kept the peace and I enjoyed the peace.

Ultralight
1-7-16, 8:32am
I went hunting with a friend yesterday afternoon. Basically, I drive to a deer haven of mixed hardwoods and bean and corn fields where I have several tree stands to choose from. I walk slowly in and climb into a stand. My friend does the same. If nothing is moving, my friend will get down and slowly walk a giant circle hoping to encourage a few deer to get up from their beds.

It is peaceful. The sun sets gracefully. Just an orange ball on the horizon. Their is no artificial sounds of cars or machines in the distance. I am surrounded by quietness. It is cold enough that My toes or beginning to get achey. But the rest of me in toasty warm. The wind is gently out of the south east and comes in over my shoulder.

A downy woodpecker seeks out a few larva under the bark of a nearby beech tree. A few black capped chickadees flit around me. One lands briefly on the barrel of my muzzleloader. I look into his eye and he/she looks back into mine.
I reach for a bag of black oil sunflower seeds I keep in my pocket for just these occasions. This scares the little bird away but I put the seeds in a fork of the tree I am in. I hope he finds the seeds later. I hope he remembers who put them there.

I keep an eye out for movement but nothing comes by. I am glad in a way. My gun would break the silence in a harsh explosion. Blue smoke would fill the air. A living thing would cease to live. I know they desperately cling to life as much as I do but it is a feeling the hunter must get over. The hunter must in the end respectfully harvest what he hunts. I still always feel a moment of sadness before thankfulness.

Today, I got down from my stand at dusk. I crunched my way back to the truck. I kept the peace and I enjoyed the peace.

Perfect! Amazing!

lessisbest
1-7-16, 9:04am
I get up at 3 a.m. every day and I love the hour before hubby gets up at 4 a.m. so I can reflect, and make notes of things I want to accomplish for the day. Check what happened in the world while I slept (like earthquakes last night), and check the obituaries to see who made the list. It's one of the best times of the day for me. I wait for the train to whistle in the distance, and that's one of my favorite sounds.

Another sign of "simple living" is each meal made at home because of well-planned and executed home food storage, as well as planning our meals each day. Spending less money than the average family, and eating wholesome healthy foods, is a great sign of "simple living" in my books. In other words, I don't need an app on my phone to direct me to the nearest fast food joint! :0!

JaneV2.0
1-7-16, 9:50am
I love that I can sleep and wake when I want, and that I don't have to fight my way through traffic to get to a job I actively dislike. If nothing else in my life were simple, that would be worth it.

kib
1-7-16, 11:24am
I'm pretty boring. I just find myself very pleased and 'simple' when I can have a day where everything just falls in line without extreme stress, no big surprises, no chaos, because it's been set up to flow that way. Enough time to do a bit of what I enjoy, enough time to get the work done without having it be a burden. I love it when my routine is just complex enough that I'm "on top of things" without a lot of effort.

pinkytoe
1-7-16, 11:32am
I love that I can sleep and wake when I want, and that I don't have to fight my way through traffic to get to a job I actively dislike.
I am so looking forward to a simple retired life. It makes me smile just to think about it.

JaneV2.0
1-7-16, 12:07pm
I am so looking forward to a simple retired life. It makes me smile just to think about it.

It never gets old.

SteveinMN
1-7-16, 12:35pm
It never gets old.
Amen!

I think for me it's the moments when I remember it does not have to be the way it was all my life. I can hear the weather forecast and be happy I don't have to cringe upon hearing that I'll have to drive on icy roads or during the height of the rainstorm to a job I disliked.

At other times, it's a feeling of accomplishment. At my job, the work was never done and even getting toward the end was chaotic -- and once you got there, someone almost always asked why it took so long or so much effort. >8) Now I can look at a kitchen in which everything that's supposed to be is put away. Or at a lawn that's mowed and trimmed. Sure, the kitchen will get messy again and the lawn will need cutting in several days. But for now, it's great and it's done and I don't have to excuse my lack of time or my exhaustion.

catherine
1-7-16, 12:40pm
Nice post, Williamsmith. From what I gather from some people who hunt and fish, the "catch" is the byproduct of the true joy: the opportunity for immersion in nature. You've pretty much captured that thought.

My cue to knowing I'm living the simple life is being happy right here, right now. Accepting what is. Paying attention. Practicing downward mobility (although that is definitely a "practice" I have yet to accomplish).

Float On
1-7-16, 1:12pm
Stepping up to the butcher and saying "4 scallops please". These are Atlantic "wild caught" scallops (trying to imagine scallops being wild like a mustang round-up). Sure I could of bought a bag of frozen scallops raised in China for $7 a pound, but these scallops were $19 a pound and big. Simplicity was buying enough that all 4 of us could have taste*. And it was just right.

4 scallops were .38 of a pound and under $6.00.

freshstart
1-7-16, 1:42pm
These are all so nice.

I couldn't sleep so I grabbed all those medical and financial papers since 9/14 and I sorted my brains out. Everything is in a file folder and labeled. When I was done, I called the last remaining docs to get their Dec notes so I can photocopy everything for the lawyer. I was going to go thru my past year's calendar and tally up mileage to MD apps but that would take forever and I don't know if it's worth taking a tax deduction. I don't want to spend hours on something I may never need. So it is done until the tax info starts rolling in. A huge mental burden gone

Now I can start organizing and purging stuff which will be more enjoyable

Teacher Terry
1-7-16, 2:34pm
Like others I enjoy not setting an alarm clock or worrying about the weather. I try to not make any appointments before 10 am. I find that when I do have a client scheduled I have trouble sleeping even with the alarm set thinking I will over sleep. Another thing I love is not having to worry about how long I can be gone and to get approval to take vacations. Last year we were gone for 2 trips which totaled 7 weeks. Never would have happened when we were working.

LDAHL
1-7-16, 3:19pm
It's a million little things really. In my case, I most appreciate the absence of various burdens and irritants I might otherwise need to endure. If I can accept a somewhat less materially elaborate life, I can relieve myself of the need to find, purchase and maintain the accoutrements of it. If I stay mindful of the marginal utility of every time and money expenditure, I can optimize my experience of life. As I close in on the time where working for a living becomes unnecessary, I become more tolerant of the less enjoyable aspects of the job.

iris lilies
1-7-16, 4:47pm
I am so looking forward to a simple retired life. It makes me smile just to think about it.
Yay you!

Tenngal
1-8-16, 3:26pm
the fact that when I see things I would normally go ahead and buy, I now pause long enough to think about how I would rather keep the money......
I now enjoy buying useful, practical things I need, not junk.

Gardenarian
1-8-16, 4:20pm
I feel like I'm achieving a little bit of simple living when I use homemade, non-polluting stuff around the house. I use baking soda and vinegar a lot, Dr. Bronner's soap for laundry. I like using essential oils, too.
Taking the compost out to the pile is a good feeling; those scraps are all going back to the earth.
It feels good to take on a new DIY project; I always learn something about how things work.
Oh, and walking to the food co-op or farmer's market and carting the stuff back home.

TxZen
1-9-16, 10:01am
In this very moment, it's that I am pursuing my true self. I gave up the fantasy me a long time ago and I am enjoying getting to know me. Today, I woke up, took the dogs out to play, feed the cat and am enjoying some peanut butter granola. Later, we will go the park and shoot some basketball. It's the slowing down and being more attentive to life that is important to me right now. :)

iris lilies
1-9-16, 12:16pm
I appreciate my house when it is clean. I also like sweeping, as in with a broom.

For the first time in a decade we have no dogs who pee on rugs. It flashed into my brain "hey, now I can get a n oriental rug" but the next thought that flashed in was " then I have to drag out the vacuum sweeper to maintain it."

No, never mind, I like my simple wood floors.

Dhiana
1-9-16, 1:21pm
Saw a cute idea of using glass jars to organize bits and bobs in a lovely way.

Then I realized I have no bits and bobs to put in any glass jars, which I don't have anyway :)

rodeosweetheart
1-9-16, 2:34pm
When I cook a pumpkin I have grown and save the seeds for next year, to grow another!

Float On
1-9-16, 5:02pm
Saw a cute idea of using glass jars to organize bits and bobs in a lovely way.

Then I realized I have no bits and bobs to put in any glass jars, which I don't have anyway :)

Ah! I've thought the same thing, I don't have enough bits and bobs to organize that way plus "what the heck do all these people do collecting bits and bobs just so they can display them in glass jars via a million pinterest photos. They seem to have to buy 6 times as much as what is needed for a project so they have enough to display properly.

Float On
1-9-16, 5:04pm
Todays simple living thought: Having a great talent for making pizzas and cookies and keeping the kids home from college very happy.

TVRodriguez
1-9-16, 7:38pm
Great posts, everyone.

Whenever our kids spend a weekend day playing naked in the mud in our backyard instead of all of us rushing from activity to activity, we feel like we are achieving"simple living." Today was such a day. 79 degrees in Miami this morning and went up to 82, btw, so it's weather appropriate. :)

iris lilies
1-9-16, 8:10pm
Maybe this fits on this thread, maybe not. But today I had the thought that my role in life now is to be the tosser of crap, the organizer of That Which Is Important.

In the past few weeks two of our hobby organizations have melted down. The skill I lend is to haul shit in my SUV and after smiling at those who are expressing concern about the importance of the stuff or who are donating and assuring them that the stuff is valued,
We will take care of it.

Then I sort, then throw truckloads of crap that no one has been able to toss.

I am woman, see me toss.

and next week I am heading up the first meeting of our neighborhoods's historical records committee. oh vey, there will be lots of issues about record retention to take on.

Florence
1-9-16, 8:54pm
It never gets old.

+1

Kestra
1-9-16, 9:44pm
Peaceful weekends at home, not having to worry about grocery choices or most other money things, as overall my needs are minimal so there is lots of extra money, being able to move if I want, my dog's affection, outings involving mostly games with friends instead of spending a lot of money, being grateful for sunlight and walking.

Gardnr
1-9-16, 11:20pm
Staying in all weekend. Eating what is here instead of not wanting what is here;)

And a fabulous chocolate martinin in my hand to celebrate a lovely day of sewing a baby quilt for a friend.

Williamsmith
1-10-16, 3:10am
Thinking about how winning 800 million dollars on the Powerball would really screw up my simple living. And going out and buying a ticket anyway........with the power play of course.

iris lilies
1-10-16, 9:38am
Saw a cute idea of using glass jars to organize bits and bobs in a lovely way.

Then I realized I have no bits and bobs to put in any glass jars, which I don't have anyway :)
Haha,
I guess that is just as well.

kib
1-10-16, 11:43am
Thinking about how winning 800 million dollars on the Powerball would really screw up my simple living. And going out and buying a ticket anyway........with the power play of course. Simple living and simple budgeting has given me the ability to say oh, why the heck not. Lotteries are a tax on people who can't do math, but why the heck not.

sweetana3
1-10-16, 11:43am
I could have written Willamsmith's post too. Also went out and bought one ticket.

Selah
1-10-16, 2:42pm
I like it when instead of buying fresh grass for our two (indoor) cats to munch on, DH just grows and re-grows fresh grass. They only have to wait a couple of days between "harvests," and they're all very happy...and so am I!

I also enjoy going through stores and not being tempted to pick up anything that I don't actually require. Liberation!

razz
1-10-16, 5:01pm
Making my own bread using my Kitchenmaid mixer, a simple diet of homemade foods - breakfast of yogurt, my muesli mix and fruit frozen last summer and enjoying lots of homemade vegetable soups or salads with local fresh or my dried veggies.

Being able and comfortable to say "no" when I feel pressure from others making requests.

ApatheticNoMore
1-10-16, 5:35pm
I'd probably forget to check if I won the lottery. Yes, yes, it's official: I am too lazy to play the lottery... May as well keep working (which is of course the probable outcome of playing the lottery anyway, so may as well skip the middleman).

razz
1-10-16, 6:44pm
Off-topic but following the idea presented in recent posts, I don't play the lottery and figure that I am already winning the cost of the ticket so am ahead every time.

Meanwhile back to the OP theme...;)

freshstart
1-11-16, 11:40am
doing home care showed me just how big the lottery ticket culture is. Patients or family members would buy 25 or even 50 cards a week and they had no money, but those tickets were not optional.

rodeosweetheart
1-11-16, 11:44am
If I am going to gamble, I'd rather do it at the casino where there is
a. free coffee and pop
b. people watching
c. slot machines, which fascinate me with their use of triggers, periodic reinforcement, use of music and sound to hook the players

But to each his own, gambling wise

kib
1-11-16, 11:58am
I never play. But the thought of 1.3 billion dollars is staggering. Not only would you have enough to retire and buy precisely what you want, you could give that gift to about 50 other people as well. Or save an entire country from starvation.

iris lilies
1-11-16, 12:42pm
I would like to win about $50 million in a lottery, giving me $25 million after taxes to take home. That's not enough to change my life but enough to do some fun things.

This billion dollar stuff is scary. I don't want that much money and all that comes with it.

But maybe I'll buy a powerball ticket, assuming that I will have to share the giant ball of money with other random winners across the country.

kib
1-11-16, 12:49pm
I imagine I'd become a different person. Not perhaps any happier, but with a very different day to day existence and focus. Not sure if that would be a good thing, but it would be very interesting, and it would also erase any stress related even incidentally to money. Hate your handyman? Give him $10,000 and tell him goodbye. Hate your house? Donate it to charity and buy a new one. See someone in need? Snap your fingers and it's taken care of. I can imagine it could get really lonely, and the constant hounding for money could become atrocious, but the possibilities are fascinating.

ETA: $25 mil you could drop in T Bonds and still have about $300,000 a year in interest to spend on anything at all with absolutely positively no work. That would definitely change my lifestyle!

rodeosweetheart
1-11-16, 12:56pm
I'd enjoy that, 300k in T bonds. Enough to make a huge difference at the school where I teach (endow some scholarships for nurses) and one of my alma maters, which really struggles to exist.

Enough to put aside money for my grandkids, so they would not have to make choices like college/no college/lots of debt. They could just follow their dreams.

Enough to buy rental property for one of my sons, who could use a hand.

But I don't buy lottery tickets, as I know I won;t win, and its's a waste, and I need to open my mind up to other ways to make money for all of the abovementioned good things I could do with the money!

iris lilies
1-11-16, 1:04pm
I imagine I'd become a different person. Not perhaps any happier, but with a very different day to day existence and focus. Not sure if that would be a good thing, but it would be very interesting, and it would also erase any stress related even incidentally to money. Hate your handyman? Give him $10,000 and tell him goodbye. Hate your house? Donate it to charity and buy a new one. See someone in need? Snap your fingers and it's taken care of. I can imagine it could get really lonely, and the constant hounding for money could become atrocious, but the possibilities are fascinating.

ETA: $25 mil you could drop in T Bonds and still have about $300,000 a year in interest to spend on anything at all with absolutely positively no work. That would definitely change my lifestyle!

oh no no no I'm not dropping $25 million in t bonds.

I'm spreading it around, getting rid for it--thoughtfully--before I die. A little bit to family and friends, a couple of big blowout vacations, and the rest of it to rebuild the fence around our park ($3 million) and then to other architectural and animal welfare and arts organizations.

kib
1-11-16, 1:23pm
:D That's lovely, but I plan to live at least another 60 years. Maybe a century. I can give away $200,000 a year while I'm living to accomplish a little of that, and then they can have it when I die. Now a billion dollars ... I can do both. Give away $25 million a year and still have more than I'd ever need. It would be almost like being some sort of demi-god. Probably make me insane, but I wouldn't mind giving it a shot.

rodeosweetheart
1-11-16, 1:34pm
If I lived another 60 years I'd be right there next to Walt Disney's head, I think.

frugal-one
1-11-16, 4:18pm
I never play. But the thought of 1.3 billion dollars is staggering. Not only would you have enough to retire and buy precisely what you want, you could give that gift to about 50 other people as well. Or save an entire country from starvation.

Imagine the number of people who would come out of the woodwork looking for money? People who now consider you a friend. With all the nuts in the world... someone would surely want to blackmail or kidnap for cash. Can you accept the money anonymously? I don't think so??? I won't go buy a ticket because I surely don't want that much money or the responsibility it entails!

Williamsmith
1-11-16, 5:54pm
Well your first move is to hire an attorney, a financial advisor, a bodyguard and a personal pilot. Then a name change is in order as well as an address change. Yeah.....I think it would suck. But who am I to stand in the way of destiny. I got me a ticket for Wednesday nights drawing. I will deal with it.

Teacher Terry
1-11-16, 5:58pm
It would definitely change relationships with people and probably not for the better. It would be fun to have all that $ though>8)

freshstart
1-11-16, 8:38pm
I'm trying to look at this from a simple POV- I went to deposit $200 I got for Christmas and I always carry $100 for an emergency. At bank, cash section of wallet is empty. It should not have been stolen while I was carrying my bag as it is in the bottom of a deep, zipped tote, I would feel someone trying to get it. Which leaves me with scenarios I do not like as in someone taking it from my purse inside my house since I can't get out all that much. I decided, ok, it's a lot of money to me now, but really I just lost my Christmas presents, which were a bonus, and my emergency stash. No one died, it's just $300. I am going to try very hard to remain sanguine about this. But I am totally hiding any money I have here in the house. This puts me in a mood of not trusting and I do not want to linger there so I am letting it go.

Float On
1-12-16, 9:29am
freshstart, so sorry for the loss of your money...and the loss of trust. I'm hoping it shows up somewhere in your bag or house. I've got one kid who is bad about leaving their money in the envelope it came in and he has tossed quite a few birthday dollars that way.

razz
1-12-16, 11:07am
Fresh start, really sorry that you experienced the loss of $$$ and trust.

May I suggest that you find a way to discuss it as it may be happening with others in the household as well? That is a lot of money to lose for anyone and a lot for another to have extra, IMHO anyway. Once one's trust is tampered with, it changes the dynamics in a household and creates tensions until it is addressed. Difficult to do though.

Williamsmith
1-12-16, 11:39am
One thing is for sure, if I brought it up as a discussion in my family, if there were a guilty party present they would feel very uncomfortable and I would probably identify them by their non verbal response. If I truly thought it was a family member, this sounds really bad but I would set them up with some bait money and an undercover camera and get to the bottom of it.

freshstart
1-12-16, 2:30pm
it hasn't happened to my parents, of course my dad's wallet is always in his pocket. I didn't think about this before, but the pool of people who could've done it include my mom's Palliative Care team members. They have been sending different home health aides every week so any of them could've told her they were using the BR and easily grabbed money from my wallet. Often when I am at an appt, I just carry my cell that has a slot for a credit card so my purse is home. This is much more palatable than suspecting OMG, did one of my kids do this when that really seems just impossible of either of them? My kids would not be stupid enough to take the whole stash.

Who knows. But I am telling my mom that the staff that visit have to use the guest BR right outside her bedroom and not mine on the other side of the house. The toilet seat isn't steady so she sends them through a loud to open and shut doggie gate and down to my end of the house. Leaving all of my stuff vulnerable if I'm not home. Buy a $10 toilet seat and then there is no reason to access the rest of the house. If she hears the gate open, she knows they are in the wrong part of the house.

We should've thought of this from the beginning. I didn't because in my 19 years of home care, none of our employees ever got caught stealing except one aide 18 yrs ago, I'm super used to being the stranger in someone's home and being trusted. Sadly, I will not trust again. I can't even narrow down the staff to one person and make a complaint because it could've happened on several different days, meaning multiple people. Live and learn.

nswef
1-12-16, 5:54pm
When my dad was sick there were floating home health care and some jewelry disappeared...from upstairs. Upsetting.

freshstart
1-12-16, 6:29pm
I was going to make myself give up things, like a treat from the grocery, or not buying something that catches my eye and then keep track of how much I saved by not spending until I got to $300. Then I could take that money out of the bank and put $200 in my "slush" fund and replace the $100 I carry for emergencies. Then I thought about this and it is not simple, not something I want to do, I already live close to the bone so I am choosing to just let it go and not even think about it. That is my simple way of dealing with what is gone. And buy a safe, lol

Teacher Terry
1-12-16, 8:31pm
FS: so sorry that happened to you. When I was a new social worker someone was stilling our $ and my boss said it was probably the welfare clients we were working with. Oh no-they did a sting and it was her. We were making very little $ but she got a big salary and the other worker she was stealing from was a young widow with a small child.

Williamsmith
1-12-16, 11:06pm
I arrested a nurse in a nursing home facility that was stealing pain medication from Alzheimer's and terminal patients. Instead of giving the patient their pill, she took it. Since the drugs in question were schedule II it was a felony and if convicted she would have lost her license. I was generally known to advocate for second chances for first time offenders but this time I told the District Attorney I objected to any plea bargains. Over my objections, she pled to a misdemeanor theft and the felony was dropped. Of course the nursing home fired her but she was working at another nursing home in the community within the week.

freshstart
1-12-16, 11:31pm
Teacher Terry, that is so awful!

Williamsmith, when I did inpatient oncology we had two nurses I'd never have guessed that were taking patients pain meds, one woman it was pills, the other was taking IV morphine, injecting herself and giving the patients saline. The first left and was at the Red Cross within a week. The second got sent to rehab and they freaking held her job for her. She was found stumbling out of an empty room, IV hanging out and delirious. IMHO, if a nurse is taking IV drugs, leaving patients to suffer, fine, send her to rehab but then she should have a job where no narcs are given. How tempting would it be to relapse if you go back to the same place, doing the same thing? The police were never called, they should've been. My boss actually whined when asked why on Earth was this nurse coming back, "but then we have to recruit and orient a new nurse, at least Nurse B knows what she is doing, she's a GOOD NURSE (seriously, WTF? denying patients IV pain meds and you are a good nurse???) and we just lost Nurse A (the one taking pills)." It was time for me, hopefully a good nurse but then the bar was so low you could trip on it, to go, those two were the last straw.

I don't know why I remember this but we should have had a clue about substance abuse issues with Nurse B, when she had a baby, she named him Tom Collins, lol.

Williamsmith
1-19-16, 5:43am
Simple things endure.

My models for simplicity were my Aunt Kitty and Uncle Harvey. Their names were even raw and simple. They lived in a tiny house when it was a sign of poverty before it became a fad. Grew a vegetable garden.

Harvey was disabled, Kitty a stay at home mom. They had nothing much but they had room in their hearts for adopting a little girl with cystic fibrosis. Her name was Bonnie. She was mostly home bound. They never went on vacations. She died at age fourteen.

Kitty sat on the worn out couch and knitted. She knitted blankets for other poor people. Or baby clothes for newborns. They owned one worn out car that they used only to get to church and the grocery. There was always a puzzle being worked on at night. And they watched Lawerence Welk on television. They collected used stamps off envelopes by cutting them off and soaking them in water. I still have some of those stamps.

I have old Mason jars that had home made soup in. I have knitted blankets they gave me. Those blankets still keep me warm, like the thoughts of their love. We still make Christmas cookies just like she did in her honor. She's been gone a while now.

These are all simple memories of simple living. Simple songs remind me of them. Like this one:

http://youtu.be/sWfKfM10g6g

catherine
1-19-16, 7:54am
Your Uncle Harvey and Aunt Kitty sound wonderful, Williamsmith.

Yes, I'm inspired by songs, too--here's my contribution for today


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZtJWJe_K_w

Williamsmith
1-19-16, 9:35am
:+1:

freshstart
1-19-16, 12:44pm
good story, good songs

Williamsmith
1-24-16, 4:58am
My wife and I enjoy just bumming around together and browsing antique stores. We don't drag a lot home with us. It's got to really be special to be brought into our home because it is normally goin to have to replace something. I have recently been looking for a silly collection of jelly jars from my childhood. They were the Hanna Barbara flintstone grape jelly jars that we converted to morning juice jars as a kid. A day of bouncing from shop to shop and a meal out. That's feels like simple living to me.

sweetana3
1-24-16, 6:34am
We enjoyed antique malls on our travels and considered them something of a historical museum. Dont think we ever asked for a case to be opened.

We love to play a game called "Find it First". Every mall seemed to have at least one set of penguin salt and pepper shakers and one penguin decorated ice holder. Whoever found the first one won the game. No prizes but a lot of laughs.