Someone recently posted of how her father had the knack of knowing where everything was in his pile of tools and amidst whatever flotsam and jetsam might lay strewn on his workbench.
This reminded me of Sue's dad, Lou. A long time ago we happened to mention that we would like to install a little mail slot in our front door. We weren't asking for help, just thinking out loud. He went into a little room at the back of his garage and soon asked whether we wanted a silver one or a gold one.
He not only had one maildrop on hand but actually had two: talk about knowing where everything was. His garage and, indeed, the whole basement was full of stuff, but he knew where to find what he wanted when he wanted it.
My brain* doesn't work like that, assuming that it can be said to work at all. I even tend to forget what clothes I own from one season to the next — some clothes, not all, you understand.
I can even misplace the day.
You might recall that I recently was quite chuffed about how well my french toast turned out. This caused me to think that it perhaps should become a new Sunday tradition: you know, something different to start the week.
So I did.
It wasn't until much later in the day that I said to myself, "Wait a minute, this is Saturday!" Hmm.
* This is a thing. Almost invariably when I mean to type Brian, I will type Brain. On the other hand, it has recently occurred, and more than once, that I have intended to type brain, but when I look at the monitor, I see that I have typed brian. In point of fact, it occurred in the body of this post. Go figure.
Lou sounds like my father-in-law. It took a while to clear out his garage after her died. I dread ever having to clear out my husband’s stash of things if he dies first. He can find a screw from our first home in 1976. Nothing leaves this house without being broken down for parts, many of which are kept.
ReplyDeleteI've seen garages & basements like you FiL's ... my own FiL has everything organized & labeled & there's nothing in his workshop that doesn't have an intended purpose; it's a little scary.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the F/B photo group link - my friend found, so we are going to give it a trial period of March to see if it doesn't motivate us. I'm comparing lightboxes at Michaels to those on Amazon. With the weekly 30% off coupon at Michaels (get it online) I think Michaels have a better deal, provided I CAN use the coupon.
My parents saved everything. I think it was a matter of growing up during the Depression.
ReplyDeleteFunny your FIL had two, though!
I often switch letters typing. My former boyfriend called it Jennlexia.
Well, Brian must be hiding somewhere in your brain...an alter ego that just slips out with that word. He's pretty good at hiding, isn't he! I often get a left hand typo because of a somewhat dyslexic brain...the left wants to lead, so many a letter pops up wrong. Sure slows me down these days.
ReplyDeleteMy dad was very handy in that respect, but tended to keep things organized in an understandable way.
ReplyDeleteWe are all different and I suspect some of it has to do with creativity or the lack thereof. Those that are creative tend to not be so good at remembering locations of things or spatial recognition in general. Others are like me, I have great spatial recognition and can remember where everything is at in my shop but my projects tend to be unimaginative. I can be inspired to create things that people might say are creative but I wasn't the one who came up with the idea. I would trade some of my spatial recognition for creativity.
ReplyDelete@Ed. I am spatial as well. I once found a restaurant that I had passed a very long time ago in a somewhat unfamiliar town.
ReplyDeletehahaha, I SO GET IT! I have a friend named Lou, but I always always type Leo when we correspond. I think he's gotten used to it.
ReplyDeleteOnce we retire the days take on a new perspective anyway, don't they? Once our world shut down it had NO PERSPECTIVE beyond how light it was outdoors.
Lou sounds like John whose garage is full but he can still find stuff. If I need something, he usually has it. How?? I'm not at all spatial but am extremely visual, thus generally a good speller. I do have to think about desert versus dessert sometimes. I enjoy French toast any day of the week! With peanut butter and syrup.
ReplyDeleteI have done the contralateral exchange to get Brian instead of Brain too! It has sometimes gone unnoticed by me in some PowerPoint slides in my neurobiology class, so I jokingly refer to the mistype as “Brian’s Brain Syndrome”.
ReplyDeletePipeTobacco
We all have different strengths and weaknesses. That is why it is important to marry your opposite!
ReplyDeleteI'm a pile organizer but I have difficulty finding things.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to have all that stuff, especially when you don't have to take care of keeping track of it all. I'll bet you went with the gold one.
ReplyDeleteThere is a word I often type backwards. I just don't remember it until it happens.
ReplyDeleteI used to be like that. Knew where everything was in my home and garage. Even things I hadn't touched for ten years. But then I got fibro...with good old fibro fog. Not the same brain at all since then...mind like a steel sieve. LOL!
ReplyDeleteOnce a friend posted that he was looking for a piece of wood to make a fireplace mantle. We have an Amish friend who runs a saw mill, and I wondered out loud to Tim whether we should introduce Dick to Levi. Tim said, "I don't have a piece of wood, but I have a fireplace mantle." We had pulled it out of a house we were renovating. He had tucked it away. He has 4 garages, but he knew exactly which garage it was in and where he had put it.
ReplyDeleteAnd then there is me. I lost a shower curtain not too long ago.
Well, if it helps, you're not alone. I missed a Zoom with a good friend because I was a day off!
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