No Spoons Were Harmed in the Making of this Article

For some reason, the bending of spoons for the sake of decoration bothers me. I don't know why, and the results were beautiful, but I'm left with a quiet sense of discomfort. I feel that it's disrespectful to the spoon, that it's purpose, it's reason for being, has been stolen from it. Should I really be feeling like this? Is this not just giving an old, rejected spoon a new lease of life? A new purpose? A new respect?

Anyone who knows my home will also know that neither myself or my hubby are any good at throwing stuff out. We're not just hoarders, we're avid collectors. He moreso than I, I just couldn't compete with his ability to accumulate Stuff. Though every so often, I am able to throw out his acculumated Kinder Egg flotsam and jetsam without him noticing. This clutter isn't healthy, the Chinese were onto something with the flow of chi throughout a living space. Clutter creates stagnancy and this leads to decay.

The last time I moved house, I was forced to drastically reduce the amount of Stuff that I had. I could only take with me what I could fit into the back of a transit van - the only things I regret throwing out are some of the baking tins I'd had. I shudder to think of the amount of money I put into the back of a dustcart - but I was moving in a hurry. But I did find a home for the rarely used exercise bike.

There are some things I will never get rid of. It's a very rare occasion that I can bring myself to thin out my bookshelves, and in the loft I still have many of my childhood toys. My collection of dragons pales into insignificance compared with hubby's collection of dragons. And I never had much of a wardrobe in the first place!

We live in such a throw-away society. A friend remarked upon this recently, that we no longer repair things, when something breaks, we buy a new replacement - usually because the cost of replacing is so much less than the cost of repair. Now society is realising that we can't continue this disposable living, that the planet's resources just won't last much longer if we do. Recycling has become the Thing To Do, it's fashionable, all the best people are doing it...

Sending old yoghurt pots into the schools to be made into space rockets, cutting up old pairs of tights to make stuffing for new toys, shredding newspapers to put into compost bins along with the kitchen waste and grass cuttings. Bending spoons to make pretty ornamentations. It's all good.

So why am I still left feeling that spoon should still be stirring sugar into tea?

Love and hugs

Blaidd