When my husband had to get something out of the attic a few days ago, he took the opportunity to get rid of the clutter too. It wasn’t that bad, but he found two random things we had totally forgotten were up there—an old green hose and a folded-up air mattress.
 

Old green hose and folded-up deflated air mattress. 

The mattress might have been left over from a Cub Scout camping trip; but it was so long ago, we really can’t remember. All I can say for sure is that we haven’t done any camping in at least the past 15 years. And we wouldn’t have any use for the hose either because we just bought three new hoses of different lengths this spring. So—hasta la vista, clutter.

About Clutter Comedy: Every Sunday (which I envision as a day of rest after a productive week of de-cluttering) I post a Clutter Comedy article describing my most memorable clutter discovery of the week. Other bloggers who wish to join in are welcome—just post a link in the comments! There’s no need to publish any “before” photos of your clutter, if they are too embarrassing. The idea is simply to get motivated to clean it up, while having a bit of fun too!

Last September, I bought three lavender mums from a Junior Rowers fundraiser and planted them in my front garden.  When we had such a bitterly cold winter, I thought there was no chance any of them would come up this year. But much to my surprise, I discovered that there was one survivor.
 

Small lavender mum with buds starting to open. 

It’s tiny—about the size of my hand, and I have small hands. But it’s thriving anyway, with plenty of buds getting ready to open. I see it as a reminder of how life goes on. Even when we feel that we’re too stressed and overwhelmed to do anything, we may still find ourselves blossoming in unexpected and beautiful ways.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

In the moment between sleep and waking, Woods flew on powerful wings through the luminous seascape of Europa, with an endless seaweed forest superimposed on the ocean of his recurring dream. Then reality took shape around him… [This is Part 14. Continue reading this installment, or read the story from the beginning.]