Maxwell 27: Increasing the Clan

[AliceInFundyland]

Functional items can spark joy. It’s just different joy. I love beauty. But I am winnowing down what I have to try to move somewhere else. 

I like my plunger because my toilet is very tempermental. It also doesn’t fit under the sink. So, I had to buy a cheerful bucket to put it in. Joy is not the right word. I do have massive relief when the toilet does not overflow into the kitchen because the plunger has succeeded. Someday I will also own a snake. Solving one’s own toilet catastrophes is a gift that will bring me joy,

[Maggie Mae]

The lamp I have that is shaped like a bear doesn't spark joy for me, however, the SO bought it and it sparks joy for him. It also was something my "frienemy" remarked on it in a distasteful way, which of course makes me never want to get rid of it. 

[Granwych]

7 hours ago, singsingsing said:

Have you guys watched that show? I have Marie Kondo's book but I never cracked it open. I'm wondering what the show is like. I know it's a huge thing right now. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole 'spark joy' thing, though. Like my ironing board doesn't spark joy in me, but I still need it. 

I'm weird, I actually like ironing.  I have 4 irons (one's a Rowenta  that I found at a yard sale) and a variety of spray bottles for scented water.

[MamaJunebug]

I’ve enjoyed reading the comments on Marie Kondo and as a huge fan of hers, just want to make a couple comments. 

She’s pretty firm on the idea that you can only tidy up your own things, and that hopefully your housemates or SO will be inspired by your success and pursue their own. With your children, you can lead them to tidy, the earlier the better.  But tidying another adults things is a big n-o.

While Marie probably is a minimalist she does not present her method as a path to minimalism. She does not want us to “get rid of all our books,” for instance. She wants us to be sure the books we keep serve a purpose, that we’re not just hanging on to them because we have always hung on to them.

So, the person for whom books are an important decorating element is finding joy in the ambience books add to the decor.  Marie would say, “Keep ‘em!”

 

[Baxter]

One of the things I liked when I watched her show was that Marie didn't seemed to brow beat people into getting rid of stuff. On some other shows I have seen in the past, it seemed like the host was almost bullying people into getting rid of stuff that was really important to them. 

Like in one episode, after cleaning out a bunch of junk, one couple found this little doll collection that they had completely forgotten about. They had it displayed when she came back and even though it probably made things more cluttered than they should be, it clearly brought them joy and Marie seemed happy with that.  

[Black Aliss]

On 1/13/2019 at 12:22 PM, nomoxian said:

Mr. Nomoxian wants floor heating when we build a home. I'll take his word for it - and not because he's "my headship" but because I don't know anything about construction, but his family does.

If he's talking about radiant hydronic in-floor heating (water tubes encased in a concrete floor) I can vouch for the quietness of it, the fact that there isn't the dust blowing around from a forced-air system, and the deliciousness of one's bare feet hitting a warm floor first thing in the morning.

[usmcmom]

14 hours ago, Granwych said:

I'm weird, I actually like ironing.  I have 4 irons (one's a Rowenta  that I found at a yard sale) and a variety of spray bottles for scented water.

I enjoy ironing too. When we visited our friends in England a few years ago, my husband had a business meeting in London and our hosts went off to work and school. I actually said to my friend "I notice your ironing board is set up. I'll iron those clothes for you if you're  not particular about how it's done."  She kind of thought I was crazy but she is a busy working mother of three and I like doing it so *shrugs shoulders* why not?  It actually was great fun ironing those little school uniform dresses. I mean, she called me Cindereall when she got home and told me to clean the fireplace but we were both happy. 

 

[Alisamer]

I desperately need to declutter. Maybe I should read the Kondo book, but just the idea of it stresses me out. I have such a hard time letting go of things!

[freejugar]

21 hours ago, johnhugh said:

The comments are even more controlled since Terry started relying to them. I made an innocent comment in their NutriMill (not an affiliate link) post about how useful Grinder is, but she didn’t approve it.

It might be a boring post, but it does give an insight into how bizarre their lives are.

A bit odd about reversal Anna collecting children’s bikes! Are these for the the eleventy children she will never have?

chelsy has her hand on John’s tummy, is he pregnant or is it a piss take on Cathy doing that on the manboy’s birthdays?  Jess is looking quite ripped in the background.

I’m off for a dump run.....

 

 

 

Did you mean Grindr?

[SassyPants]

On 1/14/2019 at 5:51 AM, Coconutwater said:

This is what happens when you don’t let your kids move out, have a life, and be normal. It’s essentially 30+ years of six peoples things with nowhere to go. 

Can you call my 2 adult kids who haven’t lived at home for years and tell them to pick up their shite that’s in my attic? They claim they are now minimalists, but still want me to hold onto this stuff! LOL!

I tried Kon Marieing my shirts and pants but when 95% of your clothes are all the same color, even after thinning the joyless out, it made it hard to find anything in the drawers. It didn’t last long.

[daisyjane1234]

16 hours ago, MamaJunebug said:

So, the person for whom books are an important decorating element is finding joy in the ambience books add to the decor.  Marie would say, “Keep ‘em!”

Hallelujah!

[Black Aliss]

Ellie is definitely not showing a baby bump in this most recent photo.

[PennySycamore]

1 hour ago, Black Aliss said:

Ellie is definitely not showing a baby bump in this most recent photo.

And I'm glad she's not!  Ellie needs to stay a life-long virgin and get spayed to boot.

[catlady]

it's probably in Ellie's bet interest to get spayed.  one of my sister's three dogs is a purebred with papers, and they kept her unspayed for about three years even though they had no plans to breed her (she's five now).  around age 3, the dog was diagnosed with a false pregnancy. the vet said that once she had one, she'd be likely to have more.  further, false pregnancies could result in tumors, and the best prevention is to be spayed.  they had her done within  a  couple of months, and she's been healthy ever since.

[onekidanddone]

Not sure which topic in the Maxwell for this to go, but I must post this.

My husband just made himself a pepper jack bagel sandwich, and said after his first bite: "Oh I forgot this one piece of paper". Should I tell him about Teri? I think not.

 

[johnhugh]

12 hours ago, freejugar said:

Did you mean Grindr?

Oh shit!

Stevie is quite knowledgable about gay things, like the time Tom of Finland posted a comment about how he would like a basement like the Maxwells to use as a ‘play’ room.... it took a day before it was deleted.

[usedbicycle]

Steve is a such a passive aggressive sourpuss in his latest post! Erica has a very valid question about hating entertainment to the point of becoming a workaholic, and Steve dismisses her completely. He could say that there is obviously a balance to be found between work and relaxation. That they find joy in other things than watching TV, such as playing games with their grandkids or taking long morning walks.

But Steve won't admit to that. He gaslights Erica by making her question seem dumb and saying that they are just following the Lord's purpose in everything they do (implying that she doesn't). He lies by omission because the Maxwells do get a lot of fellowship/down time. Steve barely works anymore himself. They shop for and use expensive gadgets all the time. Ugh, this man is so pedantic.

 

[LilMissMetaphor]

Quote

 It seems like there might be a subtle inference of that in your question

It's an implication, Steve, not an inference.

[Coconutwater]

A bit off topic, but in that group photo before John’s wedding his face looks so thin to the point that he looks ill. Was Steve that angry/upset about Chelsy that he made him fast that much? 

Why has no posted anything for his birthday either? I thought at least the Bontrangers would have...

[deborahlynn1979]

Why can't they say "holic" in their post? Everything is "work-a" which makes me think they are saying "work-ass."

[PlentyOfJesusFishInTheSea]

55 minutes ago, Coconutwater said:

 his face looks so thin to the point that he looks ill. Was Steve that angry/upset about Chelsy that he made him fast that much? 

Which picture do you mean? The pic in Steve's post about "there's no such thing as a workaholic" shows a pretty skinny guy in beige on the ladder (second pic) but I that's Chris, not John (who's in blue)? Either way, I can't image John would be "allowed" to marry Chelsy and also be "forced" to fast about it. If he lost weight, it was probably due to wedding stress/wanting to look good for the show.

[Granwych]

12 hours ago, onekidanddone said:

Not sure which topic in the Maxwell for this to go, but I must post this.

My husband just made himself a pepper jack bagel sandwich, and said after his first bite: "Oh I forgot this one piece of paper". Should I tell him about Teri? I think not.

 

Your husband obviously likes good-tasting good while Teri needs to leave the paper on her cheese to spice up her sandwich.  You can be very proud of your fellow!

[Coconutwater]

1 hour ago, PlentyOfJesusFishInTheSea said:

Which picture do you mean? The pic in Steve's post about "there's no such thing as a workaholic" shows a pretty skinny guy in beige on the ladder (second pic) but I that's Chris, not John (who's in blue)? Either way, I can't image John would be "allowed" to marry Chelsy and also be "forced" to fast about it. If he lost weight, it was probably due to wedding stress/wanting to look good for the show.

23 hours ago, SassyPants said:

Can you call my 2 adult kids who haven’t lived at home for years and tell them to pick up their shite that’s in my attic? They claim they are now minimalists, but still want me to hold onto this stuff! LOL!

I tried Kon Marieing my shirts and pants but when 95% of your clothes are all the same color, even after thinning the joyless out, it made it hard to find anything in the drawers. It didn’t last long.

I’m one of those adult kids who left stuff at my parents to hold onto lol. They then moved it to my grandparents garage to get it out of their house, my room has been made into the dogs room since I left haha. 

[SPHASH]

1 hour ago, PlentyOfJesusFishInTheSea said:

Which picture do you mean? The pic in Steve's post about "there's no such thing as a workaholic" shows a pretty skinny guy in beige on the ladder (second pic) but I that's Chris, not John (who's in blue)? Either way, I can't image John would be "allowed" to marry Chelsy and also be "forced" to fast about it. If he lost weight, it was probably due to wedding stress/wanting to look good for the show.

Stud John did look gaunt up until the wedding but he looks healthier now.  Newlywed sex and good cooking will do that to you.

[PlentyOfJesusFishInTheSea]

I guess John does look a little thinner in that pic. I had to compare to other pics to see it, though!