Yes, we are back to downsizing. Take 3! There are no more extension dates. We will be out of the house on the 17th June.
First things first, recently Martin had an aggressive skin cancer removed from the back of his hand.
The great news is they believe they removed it all. A week later they took another one off the top of his foot and again we have good news. Supper happy.
Dr Tan and the staff at Coorparoo Skin Clinic are brilliant. Not only at diagnosing and removal of the offending tissues but at the fine art of calming down a grown man with a genuine phobia of needles and knives. Watching this was magic.
If you have not had a skin check-up recently, do so. And don’t forget – wear sunscreen.
Downsizing took a back foot for many reasons, new engine, Martin’s hand, his foot (you can stop there baby) and the COVID restrictions. It is kind of hard to sell anything if people can’t visit to collect. So, with the slight lift in restrictions we are placing ads on-line and starting to move things once again.—Downsizing is a study of the psychology of inner conflict. Psychology as defined; The study of the human mind and its wide-ranging functions and influences.
Downsizing is a journey into our past with the aim (in our case) to be free of possessions that hold us to house and land in order to roam freely and un-encumbered into a new future.
My inner voice; “Wow – did I just write that? That is deep.”
In the process of shifting and sorting we stumble across things that have stopped us and make us reflect.
My reflections fall into a number of categories:
Possessions and collections.
Habits and silly conversations with self.
Family and friends.
Our identities.
Possessions and collections
• Am I really letting that go? I saved for so long for it.
• Wow, I have spent (or wasted) a lot of money!
• I love this collection. I really need it to go to a good home.
Habits and silly conversations
Backups. This habit is becoming abundantly clear as we are down-sizing. I always have a backup. This habit has served me well e.g. Dishwashing liquid when the current bottle is finished, I easily can reach under the sink and grab the back-up bottle. In my next shop I buy the next backup bottle. No emergency dashes to the shops for anything if possible.
Silly Conversations. My inner voice in a serious tone, “Do I take this (hair) conditioner or that conditioner. How did I end up with so many?” Pause… shouted from the bathroom, “Do you want a cuppa baby?” Clearly too hard a decision. Best be decided later…
Family and Friends
The people who have shaped, guided and influenced my life. I have found notes that I have kept, cards and photos. None of which at this point in time I could write coherently about. It would take a few months bopping around at sea to have the time and space to express how grateful I am to you all. So, let’s settle on a humble thank you to everyone who has made me who I am today.
Our identity
For both of us we are exploring our next adventure. As you know we are not waiting to get any younger. And while we feel able, we are feeling the challenges our bodies are presenting. Martin perhaps a little more than me.
For me, a quandary has been drifting in and out of my consciousness for some time. I did not realise that it was associated with how I saw myself. These thoughts started to become clearer after a conversation with my friend Kevin Wilton.
One of the biggest downsizing challenges for me…
has been what to do with my jewellery bench and tools. Some of you may not know that I started my working life as a jewellery apprentice and went on to become a jeweller. I worked in the trade full-time between 1984 and 1992 and then part time for a couple of years while I studied Industrial Design. In the last 28 years my jewellery bench has been set up ready for work for about 20 of those years. I have tinkered occasionally. It was packed away when Martin and I met.
When I proposed to Martin, he insisted that I make his wedding ring.
My cries of, “Sure you don’t want a bought one?” were firmly resisted, all the while insisting I make his wedding ring.
Back to my conversation with my friend. I first meet Kevin when he was working as a professional photographer and had been engaged to take some photos of my jewellery for a funky menswear shop that made limited edition men’s shirts.
I had the opportunity to be at the photo shoot. And this was where I connected with Kevin the photographer. He included me in the discussions of photo composition, light, angles and beauty. Since then we have happily bounced in and out of each-other’s lives. He has since fallen in love with jewellery making. Impressively, driven by his passion is self-taught and making a living from his craft in a really tough environment. He has set up under the banner of Alternative Silver and makes commissions, sells at the markets and runs classes. He is truly passionate about jewellery.
I was discussing the downsizing dilemma of letting go off my tools. And he shared a parallel story. He still has his photography studio and dark room setup; he has not used it in years. But it Is still a part of his identity.
My mind has been mulling over
packing up my tools until the day that I may return. Or giving them to Kevin to use and create as they were intended to be used. And so we have reached an agreement that he can have my tools indefinitely.
There is an old tradition in the jewellery trade (that sadly has largely fallen by the wayside) that when a jeweller retires or stops making jewellery, they gift their tools to someone. This thought has also been bouncing around in my mind. I have been admiring Kevin’s passion and his making a living out of jewellery when most jewellers are ready to give up.
Somehow and I am not sure how, I have settled and become comfortable with the indefinite loan of my tools to Kevin. Having trained a number of apprentices, seeing someone with such passion reminds me of my early days in the trade. It feels right.
Now, we move forward, letting go of old identities, making way for new ones.
And with that one more story of identity springs to mind… a professional colleague (and client) Tracey Bode introduced me to her husband one evening last year as “sailor girl”. It went like this, “Hey Derek, this is Sailor Girl”. And with hearing that, my face broke out with a massive grin.
#ilovesailing #Whatareyouwaitingfor #Liveyourlife #Downsizing
