Continuing to free myself of free stuff

I spent hours yesterday going through magazines and such. This is a good time to do it with the temperatures so cold outside. My son and I took a quick trip into town to pick up his paycheck from the bookstore. Since it is not far from the library near the University, I took a few dozen magazines that I'd skimmed and put them on the free shelf. Most were cooking magazines but six or seven were Traditional Home decorating magazines. After going through a couple, I set all aside to return to the library. They were beautiful homes but none of them looked lived in. There wasn't anything I could pull from to use in my own home. Perhaps in some of the issues I didn't look through I would have found some treasure I doubt it. My style is different.

I did find some pictures and ideas worth cutting out in a few Midwest Living magazines (always has great recipes) and Better Homes & Garden. BH&G had an article about a mother and daughter's decorating styles with side-by-side pictures. I really enjoyed that as I can go to my daughter's house and "see" some of my own style but she makes it entirely different. One treasure I took away from this article, the mother had a pretty crystal pitcher displayed with a collection of teaspoons in it. Hmmm...I have a variety of teaspoons, also...collected from Goodwill from time to time to replace spoons left behind by my husband at work. I've always thought the variety was actually pretty. Hmmm...I have a little crystal pitcher that I purchased in a thrift store at one time, hiding away in the back of a kitchen cabinet. Well, out came the beautiful pitcher, now holding the uh..."collection"...of teaspoons. It sits near the glass cake pedestal in a corner of my kitchen counter, exactly where it is needed for coffee and other beverages. Now that was worth hours of sorting through magazines even if my husband rolls his eyes and can't figure out why they were taken out of the drawer where they belong (engineers...sheesh)!

Last night I stayed up late waiting for my son to return home from a friend's house. Most of the time, he calls me before heading back out to the country (unless we agree ahead of time for him not to call, usually if I need to turn in early). He arrived home close to Midnight to find me reading a stack of Creative Ideas For Living. I was so happy to find these in a sack at the library, they had been one of my favorite magazines at one time (Victoria being the other favorite). It was fun to go through them and see all the 1980s hair styles and such. I set aside a few that I will more carefully read today, those which had some articles to cut out and put in my files. The remainder are all ready to drop by the library. I have to admit great nostalgia reading those magazines, they reflected so much of my own life at that time...happy days filled with the creative projects of a young mom.

My goal for today is to go through all the remaining magazines and drop them off at the library when I pick my son up from work this evening. I'm thinking half of them can be returned completely unread! If you see me pick up another free copy of Country Woman, Taste of Home, or Quick Cooking, slap my hand gently and remind me that I have plenty of recipes now to file and use! No longer will I bring home a sack of Mary Engelbreit magazines just because they are available. However, be careful if you come between me and any Victorias on the shelf. :)