So sing along with me, to the tune of “It’s Crying Time Again”., It’s Purging Time Again, I’m Going to Leave You.

I guess the accumulation of gifts bestowed upon me by family and friends at this time of year has an affect on my mental state. I become conscious of all the things I have accumulated over the years in an “It’s a Wonderful Life” moment.

No, wait, maybe I just can’t fit another thing in my closet, on shelves or in drawers.

I have always taken the ‘tween’ holidays period to offload accumulations of paperwork from my real job. Discarding two year old quotations, around two-thirds of the proposals of products never purchased, old catalogs, price lists, blueprints, invoices and assorted paper correspondence. With today’s paperless society, why is it necessary for each and every e-file to have at least two paper copies, one in my file cabinet and one in the company office?
I do the same on the hard drive, but files less than four years old are still archived because I now have 500 gigs. (Any body out there who can translate that into the number of file cabinet drawers is welcome to do so!)

But in my clothes closet, three new shirts must somehow fit on hangers. So I have to select three discards. Pull this one out, but no, I could still wear it to cut grass, or maybe paint the stairwell into the basement. Three are finally selected, shirts that are still in good condition, but have dust on the shoulders from not being moved in four or five years. I decide to place them in a box for donation and get the inspiration to check for other items. Shoes are checked, but in a true manly manner, I wear them till the soles are so bad, they are no longer acceptable in shoe heaven. (When you live in snow country, old shoes are saved for snow days when I have to slug through a client’s unplowed parking lot for a meeting.)

Wifey pulls out an old, very warm winter jacket, replaced by gifts last year, I still had trouble saying good-bye. Well, into the donate box. Sweaters are off limits, old ones get used around the house, none so bad as to embarrass me if the Governor stopped by. Pants too, well maybe. I have some that are now too big, but might fit with all the meals and snacks, at the abundance of gatherings Wifey booked us into this season.

Together we decide to go through other assorted clutter. (Note! I avoid the word collections, some things are off limits even to discuss.) Old Auction Action News,papers from three years ago are discovered in a back closet, phone books of the same vintage are all placed in the recycle bin.

We have our oldest Grand Baby staying with us this week. She will soon be moving into her own apartment. Wifey has “hired” her while she’s here to help sort through the stored antiques and collectibles wifey sells on Ebay and in her antique mall booth. Some items, while looking so good when first purchased, are now deemed to be too new and placed in the donate box. Sorted also are items usable by our granddaughter in her new digs. The giving spirit lets us part with items we hope will help others.

It’s a great time of year, we have family and friends around, we share gifts, a meal, laughter, discuss the past and look forward to the future. We have welcomed the arrival of our latest Grand Baby, watched the incredible progress of our other Grand Kids, reminisced about and shed a tear for friends no longer with us.

And we wish all of our Collector’s Quest friends a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

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I am far from being a prude. In fact, if you ask my daughters, they’ll say I have embarrassed them more often than they care to mention! But I have been watching some TV lately, noting the styles of the young ‘divas’ and gadzooks, they are wearing very skimpy outfits! Not much is left to the imagination and while I appreciate that the human body is a delight, do we have to see it all at once?
One of my favorite cartoons of all times was posted in the office of a Corporate Human Resources Manager of my employer. It featured two wrinkled, very old ladies, seated on a park bench. One had a cane in hand, the other a walker nearby. A young ‘lady’ strolled past with a very tight, revealing tube-top and teeny-tiny micro-mini skirt! The one old lady said to the other “Gee, when WE had it, they would not let us flaunt it!” And boy was that true.
I went to review a few of my favorite and old magazines to determine if I am becoming an old fuddy-duddy myself. While I always feel there are special occasions that benefit from a bit of a revealing skirt, and the thrill of wearing a low-cut top, I think they should still be done with some taste.
These fashions were from the turn of the century, the last one that is. Notice the magnificent hats, the high collars and long, nicely detailed sleeves. The next one shows another pair of genteel ladies. The one that is seated has gorgeous detailing on her dress and incredible hand-work on her bodice. The one standing wears a more utilitarian gown, perhaps for working in an office.

And check out this beauty! Oh, to have these dresses today. Yes, I realize they are totally impractical. You cannot run for a subway, push a cart through the grocery store or even stroll through the mall. But they are gorgeous.
I also appreciate the way they dressed their little girls. They had bonnets, longer skirts and were even active in sports. (Are there any hoop rolling competitions out there?)

They did not allow their children to dress like vamps or some of the entertainers of today. At least not until they were old enough to handle the gawkers.
I may get a comment or two about the expense of these ‘costumes’ from years ago. But many were made at home, by the very people who were adorned by them. And because styles did not change dramatically, they could be worn for a long time.
And hats, whatever happened to them? These bonnets are really classy and just ‘make the outfit.’
So, you be the judge – which of these two fashion-conscious ladies are more appealing – the one on the left or the one on the right?