As we parse down on our stuff, and I’ll share more on that later this week, I figured it would be good to finish digitizing the rest of our photos. So that we can save even more room on our ‘soon to be’ RV. We did a mass digitization a few years back but apparently missed some photos. I love physical photos but I don’t need every photo to be physical. I put all digitized photos in a folder on my desktop, on an outside hard drive and on Shutterfly, that way I have them in three different locations. Then I organize them by year and tag them so that they are easily searchable. So I’ve been spending the day doing that while cooking up a stir fry, working on parsing down other stuff, reading The Year of Magical Thinking, watching Buffy and cuddling with my cats.
What are you up to today? Do you digitize your photos?
I was flipping through the local newspaper and saw that The Hunt was playing in a nearby theater. I got so giddy. I have wanted to see it ever since falling in love with the acting by Mads Mikkelsen in one of my new favorite shows, Hannibal. In my opinion, he is one of the best actors of our time. He’s incredible. The Hunt is a foreign film and, when I looked it up, was rated very highly but at the time I couldn’t find it playing anywhere until now. In addition, I am an out-of-the-closet, loud and proud obsessor of all things Joss Whedon. Joss Whedon is one of my favorite screen writers, so I got even more excited to see that Much Ado About Nothing was playing at the same theater, a nearby theater that supports indie films. So I had a bit of “me” time and went by myself. I saw the first one, came back for dinner and went back again. And it was one of the absolute best days and I’ll tell you three reasons why.
When I sat down for The Hunt, this really nice woman sat next to me and we chatted a bit about why we came to see the film and she too came alone. I thought maybe that was the end of our conversation but we ended up talking after the movie. We stayed in the theater and talked for a good hour, while everyone left, the cleanup crew came in, and the next movie was about to start. We talked about foreign films, minimalism, animal rescue and animal cruelty, RV living, following your dreams and so much more. It was like we needed one another in that moment, two total strangers, and it was so much fun to talk to a stranger so openly. Her name is Candi and we are already making plans to see another indie film, Blackfish (which I highly recommend checking out the trailer).
That was my first time seeing a foreign film in theater and may have even been my first foreign film. And boy am I hooked. I have become less impressed by big box films. Just the other day I went to see Despicable Me 2 with my husband because we loved the first one, and we were just disappointed. Over the recent years I’ve come to appreciate indie films and documentaries a lot more. Big box films, which Candi agreed and we talked about, are more about oversaturation and overstimulation. Indie films tend to be more focused on an emotional connection. They don’t go over the top to make that connection. It’s like you can see how when you insert lots of money in the equation (ie big box) you start to see less quality and less heart. There are good big box films, don’t get me wrong, but I do wish more people saw more indie, foreign and documentary films. They are worth every moment.
When I was watching The Hunt (which was an amaaaazing film!) there was a pivotal moment of incredible sadness and I briefly looked around at the people watching it. I saw one woman sobbing as though it were happening in real life right in front of her face. I saw another shaking her head and holding her hands to her face. And in that moment, it’s when I said to myself, “this is why I want to write novels,” to make people feel things. It’s such a powerful thing to be able to make a story connect with someone on a deep and emotional level and that’s why I love stories. It was just the moment I needed and when I got home for my “intersession” I just cried because I knew how important it was for me to get that message in that moment.
On to the movies. The Hunt was just brilliant and incredibly moving. I highly recommend it. Much Ado About Nothing took some adjustment for me because I’m not a lover of Shakespeare, so I just had to briefly adjust to the way they talked but I adore the lovable wit Whedon puts into his writing.
Some other movies I’ve seen lately and loved: Project Nim, Room 237, Shelter Me, and No Impact Man.
What movies have you been watching and loving? Any recommendations?
Since this is a new space, I wanted to share some of my favorite past projects. Though I am a minimalist in many ways (which is why I also write a blog on simple living), I do like to create things that are of use to me. But I especially enjoy taking old things and repurposing them. To be honest, I feel like repurposing (also known as “upcycling”) doesn’t get the best name. It is my joy to show just how beautiful repurposing can be. These are my three favorite past projects that I’ve made from old items.
// Pyrography Poe Pog – I had an old wood pog from a convention I went to. It sat tucked away, in a box, unused. So I sanded it down, removed the words that were on it, and in honor of my favorite author (Edgar Allan Poe) I wood burned an image of him on there. I also wood burned a raven on the reverse side. I taught myself wood burning and I highly recommend it. Wood burning is a slow process and so it really teaches me patience. This may sound silly, but I carry around that little pog with me everywhere I go, to be a constant reminder of my love for reading and writing.
// Industrial Tail Light Bulb Necklace – One day our car tail light went out. My husband has gotten used to my “turn trash into treasure” tick. So on his way home from work he bought a new bulb and replaced the old one but he didn’t toss the old one. He handed it to me and said, “hey, maybe you can make a necklace out of it.” That I did. I love that when the bulb burnt it left this purple hue on the glass. So I just used a bit of jewelry wire and turned it into an industrial minimalist necklace that I now wear often.
//Serving Tray From Salvaged Armoire – After coming back from a walk to get the mail I saw this huge armoire next to the garbage. So I hauled that puppy back to my apartment and up three flights of stairs. I used some screwdrivers and a hammer to break it down into pieces. Then I used my electric sander and removed the terrible paint job on it. Followed by using my handsaw to cut out pieces and ended up making and staining two serving trays. We had been wanting trays for using on the bed and got them thanks to one salvaged armoire.
I’m very selective of what I bring into my home, so doing things myself allows me to make sure the item truly fits my need and is something I really want.
We don’t get very much rain here in Austin (well, Texas in general, since we are still in a drought). So when it rained the other day and I was home alone with the cats, I took advantage of it. I grabbed my camera, took a walk and enjoyed seeing the rain pelt down through the lens of my camera and viewed the dewy day from angles I would not otherwise. It was just beautiful.
Welcome to my new space! Without being wholly redundant of the about page (where I talk all about the intent behind The Daily Simple), I’ll instead make this the shortest post on the face of the earth and say, I’m down right excited. And if I could sum up the reasoning behind The Daily Simple in one word it would be: life. In three words, life lived simply.
Feel free to check out the about page to know the “why” of this blog and if it’s something that you’d be interested in.
Hi, I'm Aubrey, a small town girl looking to travel the country in an RV, with my husband, four cats, few possessions, daily cup of tea, a heart for adventure ,while reading, writing fiction and living simply.
