simplify, simplify

I made a stop at Hobby Lobby today. Have you ever been? The name would imply that it's a place to buy hobby stuff. Art and craft stuff. But when I asked a clerk about some flower pots, she answered, "they're in the back of the store, in the craft section."

Humpf. I assumed Hobby Lobby is ALL "craft section." So I zigged and I zagged and wandered (I've a terrible tendency to wander) in search of my item. And this is when I discovered what Hobby Lobby is mostly about: bric-a-brac (my step-mother's term) or dust-catchers (my mother's term). Mom had very little use for decorative items that needed dusting.

Oh my land. Aisle upon aisle of fake flowers and greenery. Wreaths and all their embellishments. Vases big and small, fat and tall. Thousands of candles and holders to hold them. Mirrored bowls and frames. Wedding doo-dads by the thousands. Sample centerpieces too tacky to stomach. Plastic grapes and apples and pears. And finally, in the back of the store, crafts. Hobby stuff, if you will.

Positively dizzying. One woman passed me in an aisle and said, "my first time here and I love it!" You're kidding, right?

No blog post appeared on Saturday because I spent half the day in the basement with my daughter-in-love Jill. She is organizer extraordinaire and offered to help me get a handle on the basement monster. Oh what joy, what tidiness, what peace! One week ago I wrote this post.  On Saturday, we pared down a lot. Jill is learning it's ok to tell me what she thinks and offers lots of good suggestions. Just before she married my son Mark, she helped him clean out his room. It took all of two hours ... the girl is a genie!

All this to say, the bric-a-brac at Hobby Lobby doesn't tempt me in the least. I'm happy there's a source for people who love that stuff. As for me ...

Less is more. 

~ Robert Browning

and

Simplify, simplify.

~ Henry David Thoreau