(re-post from May 28 2011)
Mirrors have been popping up in my life lately, because I have been thinking on them. I posted about this one here; I wanted a mirror for that space and had my 'antenna' out and within a week or so …. voila.
It isn't that I went looking for mirrors at a mirror store; no, it was more that - well, the "antenna were out". And …. shortly thereafter (the buffer zone is intriguing) ….. mirrors.
This is a recurring theme among the 'garage sale community" (oh, I wish a serious study was being done). Perhaps it is the quantity of items; perhaps it is the "never know what you are going to find" factor; perhaps it is the optimistic expectation of finding what you want that develops, well – when you do.
These mirrors (stack of three) showed up at a garage sale today.
Another factor here: they had been stored in the basement, were covered in dust, had been taped together with masking tape that had become brittle and needed soap and almost a razor to erase.
The seller and I got into a lovely chat (another factor!), when he said he was "reining in the chaos", pointing to the items spread across his front lawn, about 'stuff' and how it builds up and why; then how and why one tries to get rid of it.
I wish I had thought to ask him how long the mirrors had been stored in the basement because a few minutes before this sale I had stopped at a free pile by the road and took an interesting old lamp (Sixties, I would say) which also had a layer of thick dust. I am curious as to how long something remains in a basement before it becomes "chaos" motivating "reining." Will think to ask from now on about dusty objects and see if there is a common denominator of time. And learn more (this will require tact!) about why somes things are put out with no attempt to 'dust' them.
Getting to the title of this blog: I dislike, to the point of disapproval, how kitchen counters face a blank wall, usually with- closed – cupboards above. It is … stifling …. to what ought to be a joyful endeavour: the daily preparation of food, the creativity of baking, making a cup of tea.
In previous houses I have rescued the situation with major changes. This one requires a make-do solution. Mirrors! So my 'antenna were out' even after I got mirrors for the other space.
Other garage sales and the weekly church thrift shops had mirror tiles, a long wardrobe mirror that could have been set sideways, and the annual church fair this morning had two long mirrors that were wavy. They looked interesting, but not right.
This trio were perfect! Another factor: waiting on the right one(s) and knowing they will come.
As soon as I put them in place my heart lifted.
Now the outdoors has come in: the light and the sight, even when the back is toward the windows.
Such a difference. Such a great difference.
There is worth in awareness, in adaptation, thusly; an indoor/outdoor house where there is the least barrier, the least resistance, between nature, human and otherwise.