View Full Version : I love small
herbgeek
11-23-11, 11:07am
Although its contrary to the American "Bigger is Better"philosophy, I like small. I like miniature desserts, I like afternoon tea and tapas (both small plates of food). I love RV's, I love small tools/gadgets (like my miniature Leatherman multi tool). I love small flower arrangements and small gardens. I love small bags, I like putting together small kits of things for emergencies or convenience. (I like the idea of being Mary Poppins, with having everything I might need, only don't want the big carpet bag.) If there's a choice between 2 items, I will almost always buy the smaller one.
Apparently other people must love small too, because I'm noticing more small things. Yesterday I purchased a small handleless tea/coffee cup at REI. I love the feel of holding a small vessel in my hands, enjoying my beverage but all I can find in most stores are these ginormous cups intended for the car cup holder that hold a quart. If I drank a quart of anything while in traffic, I'd be in trouble. :laff:
I just found a credit card sized magnifier. I have to use reading glasses now for pretty much everything, but I don't always want to carry around a pair- this is small enough for the smallest pocket. I also have a swiss army knife in a small credit card form.
Any other small enthusiasts out there? What are your favorite small things?
you know, herbgeek, I never really thought about it, but yes, I do too! And I love small boxes to keep the small things in. I like small homes, too.
I do, however, find myself wanting to departmentalize everything. (gotta fit those things neatly in something whether mental or physical.)
loosechickens
11-23-11, 3:35pm
I'm a definite fan of small........which is quite helpful since we've lived in RVs for years.....the habit of minimizing for the sake of space has really created a love of "small" in most everything for us. I'm also very much into "few", in the sense of having one neutral purse, only a couple pairs of shoes, just the right number of pairs of underwear to make it through a weekly laundry cycle, multipurpose pots, pans and dishes, and minimal personal care items.
It's made me where I can leave for a trip of three months somewhere with only one carry-on bag, and have everything I need.....that carry-on bag used to be stuffed with books together with clothes, but now there's lots of extra space when I travel, and the carry-on isn't even full, because of my beloved Kindle.....
yep, small is beautiful, useful, saving of resources and desirable to me, and "few" is a winner with me, too.
I love this little Nessmuk-style hatchet a fellow made for me by hand in the old style a few years ago. I profile each edge differently, one side for rougher work, one for delicate. (Pictured alongside a Spyerco Delica pocket knife, also a wonderful value):
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-FgLFBbHGLbU/S_sTFILU1-I/AAAAAAAAD8U/MXYXZTUBGzU/s576/gse_multipart4752726920084599552.tmp.jpg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-tAtnuN_8D60/S_sTdv_AKoI/AAAAAAAAD8U/DA1i8mXSShE/s576/gse_multipart6747681721649344424.tmp.jpg
I also get a great deal of use out of this small neck knife, made for me by the smith who also made my Bowie. This is a hand-made Damascus blade, with fossil mammoth grips, and a very practical Kydex sheath (also shown next to the Spyderco for scale):
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-VSwnmiy0H0c/S98UubJx32I/AAAAAAAAAqo/-d1p1eJP8Q8/s576/100_1025.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-E5QFnKhTsuQ/S98U7WLQ5hI/AAAAAAAAArk/A-uQ3qigP7g/s576/100_1020.jpg
This is my favorite Very Small Gun, it is a Walther TPH, in .22LR, stainless. I bought it from an old Marine who used to carry it "just in case" in very bad places. It works flawlessly, is superbly accurate, and as you can see, about the size of a watch, and you can carry it in a shirt pocket without anyone noticing:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ma0QvioqJfs/TCE40Mw7wQI/AAAAAAAACCk/gRJIIj9eMv8/s576/gse_multipart5802239220641477562.tmp.jpg
I wish they still made these, it is basically a Walther PPK that got left in the clothes dryer too long.
My favorite small livestock.
This is Otis:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Fa32gLvxtwc/Tl2W_uAB2MI/AAAAAAAADyw/9oMMSBFo5w0/s576/IMG_2701.JPG
And his buddy Duncan Idaho:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-kaGg780_toY/TAfrb1rnnMI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/c0gH632xYwI/s576/img_0112.jpg
Duncan is not planning on going quietly into that good night:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-EDnWTxCoR8E/TAfrTmhYQmI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/Y89jlke6fIA/s576/img_0109.jpg
Oh, and that's an Uzi there with Duncan. That's his favorite small submachine gun. Duncan says it keeps the raccoons away.
Small boats are the best. Small kids in small boats having a big race is the best yet:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-pcThyEevj1w/TayoXcXngOI/AAAAAAAACn8/qlduxT8pqYo/s576/img_0040.jpg
Small kids on small green islands:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3AI-UcbTuBo/TC_rFCRRIiI/AAAAAAAABIA/bQytFt7P2cE/s576/105-0511_IMG.JPG
Well, I must say that your small critters should be safe :)
I love all your small things Bae! That hatchet and knife are particularly sweet!
Small car. This has become our new runabout since this summer. It was one of the few almost-completely-devoid-of-options inexpensive base models I could find on the West Coast. I'm getting about 35mpg around here. With the twisty small roads here, and a maximum speed limit of 35mph, this is more fun to drive than any of the much faster and "better" sports cars I have, and Mini takes care of all the maintenance for "free" for years. It's a fun little go-cart.
Holds two adults, one teenager, a viola, a backpack of schoolbooks, and a grocery store run.
Win.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Ad0fazWE6Zg/Td2LT33snnI/AAAAAAAACyA/R5M82JBpFso/s576/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Dpe4kugCYko/Td2LsPwjHXI/AAAAAAAACyI/GPjUbFeVf7Y/s576/%25255BUNSET%25255D.jpg
leslieann
11-23-11, 6:44pm
Nice thread, and great pics, bae. I particularly liked Otis.
I like my small house. Okay, I just added on to it to make it bigger but not much bigger. Small is manageable for me and big is overwhelming.
Sad Eyed Lady
11-23-11, 8:21pm
Although I never thought about it before, I guess I am a small fan too. I have a friend who is a potter and when she has her annual sale I love buying the very small bowls - just right for oatmeal. I also buy her small salad size plates and prefer to eat on that size. My car, a 2000 Toyota Echo, of course is small and compact. Come to think of it, I am too! At less than 5 feet in height, I guess I qualify for the small category!
Love all the pictures! I love small, too. Small cozy cottages, small scale landscaping that consists of fine, carefully selected varieties of dwarf conifers (impeccably maintained), with an added measure of attention to detail, and small as in, tailored minimalism, both interior and exterior related. "Small", to me, equates to control, in relation to comfortably manageable upkeep. Best part is, the older I get, the more "small" appeals to me!
dado potato
11-25-11, 1:30am
On my keyring I keep a very similar pocket knife. I have used it probably a thousand times over the past 10 years.
Love my small horse. At 14.2 hands, he's technically a pony, but he's just right for fitting in tight spots, resting on him while standing next to him, and saving money by wearing/eating smaller things.
At my Reflexology class, I bought a credit card sized foot/hand chart to put in my wallet. Unfortunately, now that I'm 45, my eyesight is going so I can't read the bloody thing--too tiny!!
In a week or two my spa is downsizing and I'll be moving to a much smaller massage room, and I'm looking forward to it. Less room to keep things I don't need, but no window, so no fresh air (but less light and traffic noise).
Ever notice that sometimes smaller packages turn out to be cheaper than larger ones? When I last bought cotton balls, the smaller size was less money per cotton ball. Only a few cents, but I'm thrifty through and through. I bought the Jumbo ones and rip them in half.
catherine
11-25-11, 7:26pm
I love my small wine glass. I only have 3 left from the set that I got for my wedding back in 1977, but these glasses are a reminder of the "bigger and bigger" phenomenon. Unlike today's wine glasses, it holds a mere 4 oz of wine, so I can pour myself a glass in the evening and know I'm not going to get too far ahead of myself! It also makes me more mindful of each sip--it's almost like drinking port.
Bae, that is one purty little hatchet! I love it. Nice little pictures!
My favorite small livestock.
This is Otis:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Fa32gLvxtwc/Tl2W_uAB2MI/AAAAAAAADyw/9oMMSBFo5w0/s576/IMG_2701.JPG
And his buddy Duncan Idaho:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-kaGg780_toY/TAfrb1rnnMI/AAAAAAAAA1Y/c0gH632xYwI/s576/img_0112.jpg
Duncan is not planning on going quietly into that good night:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-EDnWTxCoR8E/TAfrTmhYQmI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/Y89jlke6fIA/s576/img_0109.jpg
Oh, and that's an Uzi there with Duncan. That's his favorite small submachine gun. Duncan says it keeps the raccoons away.
Duncan just quietly passed away on my lap tonight while we were watching Dr. Who. He had a heart attack a few weeks ago, we'd been treating him with meds and food, but it was just too much, even with the Uzi. He did go quietly, while doing his favorite thing though.
Small houses and small furniture. Hate the oversized stuff that has been the trend for so many years. Compare a current dining set and sofa to ones made in the 1960s or earlier - even the size of plain wood dining chairs is huge now compared to then. And small houses are cozy, something that no McMansion can ever be.
Peace to Duncan, and to his family. Those little guys are great family members. I am sure he'll be missed and also remembered often and fondly.
Duncan was sweet looking. I liked his oreo profile look. I still miss my Timothy piggy, I planted a garden over him. His crape myrtle is blooming beautifully this fall.
Bae, I'm sorry to hear about Duncan. He did look like an Oreo!
Nice .22, too!
As most of you know we are in the midst of reworking a small house to fit our lifestyle. I have to admit that the intimate spaces, the chance to use space in a clever way, thinking in terms of how versitile can any item be, etc. is the most fun I've had with a project in years. The play of light in a small space is different. Acoustics are different. Air movement, volumes, wall space, everything space(!)...it's all different in smaller spaces. There really isn't much challenge designing when space is no object, you just add on whatever you need to fit something in. This is so much more stimulating. Now I can't wait to try actually LIVING in it!
Sorry about Duncan, bae. Sounds like he had a great run, though. We lost Chico about a year ago. Cass held on for 7 or 8 months after that, but then slipped away one night. We played with her all the time, but I think it was still from a lonely broken heart.
So sorry to hear about Duncan. Our furry children can capture our hearts and the hearts of others in the most unexpected ways. But it seems Duncan and his spirit will live on in this thread and all that come here to post about their love of smallness will also meet Duncan.
I have a great fondness for small things (or should I say Duncan sized things)? I have a small 196 sq ft wood frame house that I am outfitting with smaller versions of everyday things. I have bought the cutest set of mini pots and pans, colander and even a set of nesting bowl which fit in each other and another nesting set consisting of bowls, colander, strainer, measuring bowls and such. I also have a mini set of cast iron post and pans. They are all functional and meant to be used, just in a petite form.
This is my set of mini pots, with a coke cane to show how small they are in comparison.http://www.simplelivingforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=947&d=1349141247
OMG, BayouGirl! What cute pans, and I love the colours!
I love this Lodge cast iron skillet. Sometimes it is Just The Right Thing:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/--fmN_80dWXA/UGs4gZVMn-I/AAAAAAAAGag/wDkoiYq4HGY/s640/Awesomized.jpg
OMG! I love it, too! I would have never known such a thing existed. (For the perfect fried/poached egg).
Blackdog Lin
10-2-12, 6:42pm
I have that same Lodge skillet! Fries the perfect size eggs for an egg sandwich.....and also perfect for toasting sesame seeds or coconut.
We've had it so long I no longer remember how or where we got it.
I love small too! Small houses, small foodie bites (i.e. tastings - as long as there is ALOT to try), tiny RVs and cars, really small anything (well... er...um...not EVERYTHING :devil: - I'm talking about diamonds - get your minds out of the gutter ;-)!) and very minimalist anything.
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