Our Stuff

I love this article in the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/gar...

And also, I love the notion of returning home with new eyes. When Gordon and I sublet his place in Queens in order to be in our Brewery loft in LA for a few months, we experienced something similiar. I'd had terrible luck with my last subletter on Mott Street -- she was a nightmare who left stains on my sheets, cat fur all over my floors and the stench of the cigarettes that she supposedly didn't smoke, everywhere else. (I'm not even going to get into the mail, the unpaid phone bill or the cable TV which had yet to be taken out when I returned home.) So I was wary when we came home. But our Queens subletter was amazing. Responsible. Clean. Good-natured. And to my surprise and delight, she rearranged our furniture (ever so slightly), making the apartment look BETTER than it had when we left.

But also, I'd packed things away so that the space would be clear for her. And what a joy it was to unpack them! To see my candlesticks. Or books. Or favorite sweater.

While I don't advocate overidentifying with these objects, I do believe that the right ones help us create and feel grounded at "home."