a mini meme and a snoop challenge!

In responding to Sheila’s comment about the fire mentioned here, I posed a question which kind of leads to this mini meme “if there was a fire in your home and you only had a few seconds to run in and save one or two things, assuming all loved ones and pets were already out safely, what would you save?” (I guess, for many of you in the States, you could replace fire with tornado.) And I tagged whoever wants to do it.

It is an uncomfortable thought, but based on what happened here last week, a real possibility. It is worth planning so you can act quickly if necessary.

I thought it was a no-brainer for me, because we always kept a file called “important papers” in the front of our filing cabinet in the study, with things like original marriage certificate, will, passport, birth certificates, car papers etc., and the photo albums nearby.

In thinking about this I realized that our life has shifted around lately, and I am not as organized as I used to be (what an understatement, wait till you see the photos for the exercise suggested by Jessie on Create a Connection last week, but more of that later!!)

For a start, we moved the filing cabinet out of the study a few months ago, and into a little storeroom we have in the back courtyard, but the important papers are still there. So guess who is hoping there will be no fires tonight, and sorting that little scenario out tomorrow?!! I will retrieve the papers and file them in an accessible place in the study.

The photos are also no longer so straight forward. The albums are all over the place, and many old favourites have been put on a huge board in our passage which we call the ‘rogues gallery’.

Also, many are now digital, so they live on various backup discs and my laptop.
So I still think if I faced losing everything, those documents and my happy photo memories are what I would save, but I will be getting my act together, with backup discs together in one place, (and even a copied set at the office) and scans of some irreplaceable favourites.

That would just leave me to grab the document file in one hand,

a lovely Royal Doulton flambé vase left to me by my mom in the other,

a painting done in 1956 by my godmother (who I adore, she is a brilliant and well known artist, now 80) tucked under one arm and my laptop under the other.
And let’s hope that, for all of us, this remains an intellectual and self revealing exercise which never needs to be put into practice!

SNOOP
So, on to the CaC exercise I mentioned, Try day Snoop. The challenge was to photograph a part of your life, then "imagine you do not know the person who lives in this house and that you are coming upon this space and these items for the first time. What do you imagine about this person? Who are they? What are their priorities, interests, passions, likes, dislikes, issues? What's their story? When you're done, create a blog post sharing your discoveries and try and describe the person revealed by what is in the photo. Then those who visit can also describe what is revealed to them by what they see. "

I have been thinking about this during the week, because the choice of what to photograph would make a huge difference to what is perceived.
I have taken a few, and battled to decide which to post, because they all reveal different versions of chaos!

This in itself is an accurate reflection of how things are with me just now. Just as my house is under transition right now, with messy renovations taking place, I am also at a crossroad, as far as my work is concerned, with many decisions to make regarding my future direction.

Anyway, this morning I was in a tearing hurry to find something and turned my handbag out on the table. I had to laugh, no wonder I need physiotherapy for my shoulder at the moment! So at risk of showing the entire planet a certain amount of eccentricity, I decided to photograph it, and that will be the one I describe. Just out of interest, I will include 2 of the others, and leave you to make head or tail of them, if you want to!

So here goes! Contents:

• 2 cheque books……personal and business, so we have a working lady here.
• Id document…always needed
• A purse that belonged to my mom…..sentimental
• A screwdriver…. You never know when you need to fix something or open a paint tin!
• Tape measure………….. indispensable for a designer and decorator
• paint colour chip, to select for the client
• cellphone, can’t run a business without it!, colourful but battered cover tells a story!
• computer flash drive, always handy
• car keys………always on the run
• furniture designs….to check on a client’s order at the upholsterer. (Apparently this is a super deluxe handbag/filing cabinet!)
• A couple of paintbrushes…. Did some techniques for a client the other day, these were still in there. So a bit disorganized, why in the handbag and not a packet or something? But obviously creative and arty!
• Pepper spray…..a sad reality of life around here, self defense is necessary. Don’t mess with this old lady!
• Broken necklace, one strand came loose so it is in the bag till I get a chance to fix it. A gift from a thoughtful friend who knows me well, the beads are irregular, chunky, my favourite bright colours. Nothing dainty here!
• Loose change….again showing careless disorder, no time to put it in the purse, it gets thrown in loose. Safe to say we are not looking at a perfectionist here!
• Lots of pens (no wonder I can never find one on my desk when I need it!)
• Lip ice…. Obviously not too worried about makeup, just what is necessary for comfort. (What is not here is as revealing as what is…. No makeup, comb or other beauty stuff…dolling up is obviously low priority.
• Business cards, from a conveyancing attorney and estate agent…a business brain lurks amongst the arty farty genes!
• A notebook… to aid the stretched old memory.
  In summary, a flamboyant, careless and disorganized person, who enjoys ‘hands-on work’, property renovation, and is colourful and arty.

BONUS SNOOP PIX, MAKE OF THEM WHAT YOU WILL!

my arty corner of the study

looking from the lounge towards the dining room

Well it is now tomorrow, no hang-on, today... well anyway it is just after midnight so here is the daily pic for 2nd Feb. the new (old) window being put into our bathroom.