Category Archives: Musings

Purging Petronilla Part 1: 112 things in 01/2012

Purging part 1 of 2 is happening this morning! If you missed it, you can read about the goal in this post–and I’m so excited to hear from all of you who have joined the purging craze! It does good to a woman’s heart to make her little space in the world a little less cluttered and a little more organized, doesn’t it?

Aaaaaaah.

Our first round of purging happened the other weekend, and we got rid of 60 things. (This was just after the burglary, in which some items were involuntarily “purged”, heh heh. I wouldn’t exactly have chosen to get rid of my engagement ring . . . but anyway.)

Ready to see? First, this little set of espresso cups that I bought my husband in Spain (during our dating years). I have affectionate memories of buying them and surprising him with them, but after 6 years of carting them around, it’s time for me to admit to myself and to the world that we don’t use them anymore.

I mean seriously–you can see the dust on the surface of those cups, right? Yuck. They had to go.

Next up, a few items of clothing that no longer have a place on my body.

That purple shirt does nothing for my, you know, chest. Adios, muchachos.

I have enough trouble making that area look not flat-as-a-board that any shirt who refuses to sign up for the curve-enhancing program must be chucked. It’s a personal policy that I must cling to unswervingly.

Next: a fruit basket that we don’t use (we have a different fruit bowl we like much better).

Some books–duplicates, plus depressing French books that I haven’t read since college. And on top of the pile, a chunky bracelet I just can’t pull off:

A set of silverware (we counted this as 1 item). It was my grandma’s, and after asking my parents and sisters if they wanted it, nobody wants to take it off our hands.

It’s not really valuable, and being silver-plated, it requires special care. Not sure about you, but I’m not a huge fan of things that require special care. I prefer my Target stainless steel ware, so I let go of sentimentalism and purged.

Goodbye, and I hope you find a new and beautiful home.

A cookbook I never use . . .

. . . and VHS tapes! A whole heck of a lot of them.

I ordered 6 of them on DVD (and therefore didn’t count those items as part of the 60 that we purged, since we’re replacing them instead of ridding ourselves of them forever).

Goodbye, you almost-obsolete pieces of technology.

Also going obsolete: this film-based camera. I’ve been a digital girl for years, and it’s just been kicking around, causin’ trouble.

Other items that went: old make-up (into the trash), old cassette tapes (into the trash), and old umbrella (into the trash), an old pair of sneakers from . . . high school? Into the trash! Hoobeddy habbiddy!

Here’s the haul, which made its way out our door in 4 bulging bags:

This is how I felt when it was over:

Hip hip hurrah!

Part 2 and the remaining items next week. Let me know if you want to join in, and if you’ve already blogged about it, feel free to send me your links so that I can include them in my final post!

You can also read about Layla’s Purge, Heather’s purge and Sarah’s purge–thanks for joining in, ladies!

The unguarded moments

Right before Christmas, I had the chance to photograph a Christmas party that Lydia Home put on for their Urban Academy students.

The Urban Academy is described on their website as “an accredited, non-traditional high school that provides a safe, nurturing environment for students who may have experienced academic adversity in the past. With a Christ-honoring staff, we believe in empowering youth through education, advocacy, and discipleship. Each class is designed using differentiated instruction based on student interests, readiness, learning styles, and social-emotional needs.”

The party was hosted at the home of one of the teachers, and with a baketball hoop in the alley, a trampoline in the yard, ping pong and videogames in the basement, I was able to photograph the teens as they engaged in activities and with one another.

At first, a lot of them pretended to hide when I approached, with that awkward teenage embarassment that too much attention can cause. They giggled nervously, they hid their faces in their hands, they skitted away.

But as the morning unfurled, they started to ignore me.

And act like themselves–

–which is exactly what I was after.

And in between the posing and laughing and hamming, something magical happened in the faces of these teengers.

It makes me understand why some people think that pictures steal away a part of the soul.

The unguarded, soul-showing expressions were my favorite shots of the day.

No defenses–no smiling for the camera–just pure, unadulterated personhood.

It’s one of my favorite things about photography.

Whether it was a moment of concentration . . .

. . . or a stare into space . . .

. . . or a whimsical smile . . .

. . . or a playful grin.

I loved the experience . . .

. . . and I loved the results.

The staff obviously cares for these teens, and it was fun to see them relate, instruct, identify, share, and laugh.

I sent the CD with all the images to the Lydia Home staff last week, and I hope they can put these to use–but it was worth it to me no matter what just to get a glimpse into these lives, and these beautiful faces.