Count down to 50

 I am counting down the days till my milestone birthday. I have found the months leading up to this event have brought many deep thoughts on life and what means the most to me. Things I have done and wish yet to accomplish and enjoy. It is the stuff that I thought I would have had opportunity to do thus far and have not had the chance or time that seem to fill my thoughts most of all. I hope I can still do many of those things.

 I find I am a young-thinking person, I am younger in my imagination than the mirror shows me (although, many people swear I don't look my age. I thank them for the compliment... or the good talent of being a great liar!).

I was shopping the other day, with my daughter. I love to have one-on-one time with each of my 3 kids. She reminds me a lot of myself in many circumstances. And I swear it was just only yesterday I was her age at her same school...really!! I was on the hunt for new work shoes for me (boring, ugly ones- darn it!).  In one store we found a great dress for her (I love that she sometimes likes pretty clothes and pretty shoes, to balance out all the fun clothes she loves too!),

We also included a visit into a rather off-beat store that sells everything from pin-back buttons to novelty t-shirts to dresses to funky jewelry. It was at my request, I love almost every item in there and told her if I were 20 years younger I would buy nearly one of everything!!.... and she said "Wow Mom!, I would never guess you like the stuff in this store!" She did not say it in a way that she was shocked, but rather that she was happy I liked it and was wishing I felt I could still wear some of it. Very cool... although, there I go showing my age saying "cool". Geez!

She bought another dress-- a very unique, and perfect for her, dress... and I bought a dress for myself for a birthday gift (which I wore already last night for dinner out) that is a basic and pretty, age appropriate style for any woman (those kind of dresses are super wonderful). I love empire waist, hemline above the knee-styles, since I am short in stature and short-waisted too. If you know fashion basics, you know they make you seem a tiny bit more in proportion and less chopped in half, you know what I mean.

 I ended up finding some (ugly) perfect for work shoes, cuz they had to be black with black soles too, non-slip bottoms, comfortable to wear 9 hrs-on your feet moving constantly-kind of a deal. My new job of about 6 wks' time has been a learning experience and fun too. I am back to full time work after not having that since last June. What an ordeal that was to live through. Finding you are wa-a-a-y older than your co-workers, and even your bosses too, is a sobering revelation. But, what I have decided is this-- I have much more life experience which can't be well defined on any resume. It just makes you understand what is important and what really isn't, in just about any situation --job or every day life. You can't teach that in a few years of college. That degree comes only with age, and some failure, and learning day by day to be better, and learn from mistakes. Middle age has its advantages. I have discovered many.

My blog used to be a place to sort out my thoughts and review my dreams for days and years ahead. I fell away from, that for a time, many times over the years since my blog started. Maybe this week I will (try to) get back to that, as I do my count down.

I found these ads for products I've used and loved at one time. I am a scent-driven person, and I can recall in my memory, the way these items all smelled. The F. Organics was one of my all-time favorites and I used it on my long blonde hair until the product could no longer be found on store shelves. Wish it could come back like some of the retro soda pop brands that have made their returns for nostalgia. I would love that! I would buy a case, heck...maybe 2 or 3!!

time to pull the batteries

What do you do with your time? Do you fill time with a balance of work and fun, needed activities and wanted activities? Do you live by your watch on your wrist, clock on your phone, clock in the car, or on the kitchen wall? I live by all of these... and the calendar on my phone and the calendar as big as my whole freezer door in the kitchen!!
Sometimes I watch little kids play and think about how time is nowhere on their minds. That is bliss. Why is it that when we are young we can't wait to be grown up? When we are grown up we find we are missing lots of what we left behind .... things we did not realize we had so nice!
I have a list on my refrigerator that reminds me of things I want to do.
One thing is --do watercolors. Painting.
Gosh darn that wish has sat on that list in just alphabet letters for far too long... time to take the batteries out of the clocks and fill the tabletop with paper and paints and water and brushes and pull up a chair!!

What have I done?

• recycled old book illustrations into craft projects
• disposed of (donated, gave away to friends) more magazines than I cared to count...only kept a stack of torn out interesting pages equal to about an inch, instead of piles and piles of mags!
• took down some collectible plates from the front hall, washed up in prep for selling
•  continue to look around at things in the house with new eyes, deciding what can go

What do I need to do?

• tackle my closet mess
• take more deep breaths and loosen my shoulders when I find myself tensing up
• make more Sunday meals that last as left overs throughout the week
• take longer walks and be more patient about waiting to ride my bike when the windchill won't freeze off my face

What do I want to do?

• watercolor
• purge more from my file cabinets
• decide on a color for my kitchen cabinets
• find out that the interview I have coming up is for full time work

Are you blue

Blue is such a powerful color. It can be rich or royal or like the sky above, clear and sparkling like an ocean.
In home decor it has a strong impact. Have you ever seen a wall all clustered with blue plates hanging in a grouping. Great for a hall or stairway area to make a statement. I love blue plates and dishes with different patterns all mixed together as a table setting. Fun to mix and match. I have seen a lot of mix and match in the fashion world lately as well, with all sorts of crazy pairings of plaids and flowers, stripes and paisley, and so on.
Others in my top list of color loves:
  red, deep red, not orangish-red
 shades of green
 coral
 and somewhere between aqua and robin's egg blue- whatever you call that!
What color do you love?

If this vintage ceramic bowl strikes your fancy, featuring rich blue ,
 you may find it listed HERE.

Fairy cover

Do you believe in fairies? We have fun at our house pretending they visit under our tall pine trees to play in the sticks, moss, and pine cones. Sometimes we build tiny houses and fences for them to come and visit. It is a challenge to build one that will stand through many seasons of wind, rain, and snow and ice. Especially hard when we only use natural items, no wire or nails, glue, etc. Sure is fun to believe they do pay a visit and are just too shy to make their appearance while we watch.

If you like this beautiful old, well-loved, well-worn book cover you see above, you may find it and check it out.... listed HERE.

Molly, May, and Katie

Did you play with paper dolls when you were a little girl? I did, and I also had fun coloring the designs of dolls and clothes I would dream up on my own. Simple fun which requires no batteries and no electricity. Imagination was the power.
I had a set of store bought Little Women paper dolls that had great colors, rich and deeply saturated. Spreading a blanket outside in the front yard and settling in for some role play with them could make all sense of time disappear for the afternoon.

If these fun little stickers like paper dolls catch your eye, you may find them listed HERE.

Artist from your childhood

Did you love Holly Hobbie images when you were a girl? She graced the likes of many things when I was growing up. I had  some figurines on my bedroom shelf, and even a plastic light switch  cover with another image from that artist. Now that's 1970s living!
Did you know the artist was born in 1944 and her middle name is Holly? It's a bit of trivia for you. You can thank me when you end up with that info in the back of your head, faced with a question on a big money TV game show!
If this artist tugs at your heart, you may be interested in THIS,  newly listed in the shop.

book covers are great fun

Book covers to help you do crafty things!
Find them here if you wish.

on to new partying

The new year is here and the celebrating is done for the holidays... but at our house the partying continues with A.'s birthday. She will be 17. I wish I could have stayed eternally age 17.

I love this image above. It speaks to me somehow. I enjoy vintage images-- and black and white is special in photos like it was in television. I think kids now miss out a lot on using imagination. They don't need to. They don't have time to.

Watch an old movie or TV show on DVD and see how your brain turns the images into color without even trying.... that's why we were so good at using imagination. We also played outside EVERY day-- it was not an event, it was life. Playing outside meant using your imagination. The things we did and played with rarely used batteries, and never used electricity. It was all powered by imagination, an endless power supply!!

What have I finished?

• sorted more books(fiction and non-fiction) and magazines to send other places to live
• moved the TV to a new location within the family room-- it seems to be a hit with everyone
• reorganizing the pantry, and finding I am shopping even more carefully than ever before

What do I need to do?

• find the top of my desk, it is suffocating under paperwork
• freeze the rest of my batch of homemade bean soup-- I never know how to make a small pot of soup
• make some apple crisp to use up the apples before they go bad

What do I want to do?

• paint my lamps in my bedroom to be gloss black, the lampshades will be perfect
• have lunch with a friend I have not seen in 10 years or more, it may be soon if we can mesh schedules
• hang a big mirror in a spot I have been plotting out

double exposures

I have a fascination with double exposure photos. 

I have had a curious nature in the area of photography throughout my whole life, probably because my mom was an avid amateur shutterbug. I was her most frequent subject.

I have a lot to learn about cameras, photo-taking, and such. A lot I want to learn, a lot I should learn, a lot I may never learn or master, and a lot I do not care to worry about.

I just love capturing moments in everyday life and I love old photographers who did the same.

But still, I have to say that double exposure photos hold the most interest for me. I can study them for hours and revisit them over and over and still have the same thrill each time.

I need a real life, you say? Probably so.

You can find a double exposure of me in the photos in my right side margin. I am playing the child-sized piano, and it seems, rollerskating at the same time, like a clone. Pretty neat-o, since I often need to clone myself to get enough done or be in 2 places at once, as a mom.

Here is one in my collection. I don't know these people.
You may click on the photos to enlarge them for a better look.

What's fun about this one is that the double exposures are each at different placements- one at vertical or portrait, the other at horizontal or landscape. This makes the images easier to study as they are not doubled on top of one another. It makes it easier to find which arm goes with which person and so on.

So, here we go... a well dressed, pleasant enough family unit, I think you'll agree.

Of note is the  interesting toy boat in the son's hand that I have outlined on the scanner to bring into focus. As some boys did, he is wearing a sailor-type shirt. Imagine his weary mother trying to keep that bright white and crisply ironed !

Flipped the other direction... and now you see a photo which includes additional family members or friends in an area of extensive brick. It begs the question: Is the floor bricked also? Take another look at the first photo and see if the floor in the 2nd photo is an optical illusion in that it is actually the wall in the first photo? What do you think?

Of note: I have outlined on the scanner, the boy in front is holding a string in his hand that is being pulled by something outside the view of this photo; a dog, maybe? Also outlined is the fact that an adult woman is sitting in a rather un-lady-like manner with her knees spread wide, like mother always said not to sit. Maybe they should have considered that Aunt Mable couldn't join in the proposed pose due to her arthritis, huh?

Have you stopped to think that double exposures are a thing of past photographic eras with the digital camera age? I don't think it is a possibility to have this accident of the photographer happen. Then there is the topic of the delete button and how many everyday snapshots are deemed not worthy of being keepers... like those that we treasure from long ago society.

 I have other great antique and retro era double exposure photos I should share later. In the meantime, check out my photo Etsy and also Studio blog, links located in right side margin.

If you care to, there is a great link HERE 

to read about cabinet cards and their era of popularity.

HERE is another story about dating antique photos of many kinds. I found them very exciting.

paper (ephemera) clearance

A little New Year cleaning and some clearance items in the shop.

 $1.00 !

Look for more clearance items to come.

Click HERE to enter the shop, 

or click the pictures below to go to that item.

Beautiful old record album sleeve with romantic graphics. Back side is wonderful too, and shows how far we have come in how our music packaging is presented.

Over 20 pieces of softly colored religious illustrations to please your crafting needs.

Flowers, insects and super colors make this piece very frame-worthy.

Awwww, how cute. Who can resist a pair of puppies? Old ads warm the heart.

Great for an altered art project this ad shows an era gone by with kitschy perfection, "Gee that's swell !"

our first real snow of the season

How wonderful the world looks around me, in the first snow to stick for this season! 

The trees look like they are carefully frosted. 

The night time is brighter in the white glow.

THINGS I AM LIKING TODAY:

• the fireplace heating up the brick kitchen wall
• watching old vhs movie favorites under a down-filled quilt
• ham leftovers for lunch and dinner
• all the lights turned off except the Christmas tree
• planning for bowling and ice skating with the kids
• my car which gets me safely around and stops well in the snow
• a warm bed to curl up in with soft blankets and cozy flowered pillow case
• a connection to a dear friend at just the right times

THINGS I WANT TO DO:

• switch to my new computer desk area set-up
• continue weeding out Christmas decor
• sort more magazines that were hand-me-downs
• hear from a long not seen friend I have reached out to
• set up some clearance sale item listings in my Etsy shop
• challenge myself to use more of the food on hand in the newly organized pantry

Christmas greeting

Merry Happy Christmas

May your new year be filled with 

health

joy

friendship

love

changes

I have been looking through my old posts about my home and collections.
I think it is a good thing to chronicle the every day things in one's life, it gives perspective.
I have changed.
A lot.
My priorities.
My tastes.
My interests.
My expectations.
Looking at past snapshots of my home tells me a lot more than what is seen in the photos.
It reveals a lot about me... to me!

But on the surface, and as far as what is in the photos, this is what I find--
I have eliminated lots of things in my life mostly by choice, but a tiny few by other circumstances.
For example:
1. Two ugly blue plaid love seats (always hated those), gone. Same for ugly red and blue plaid couch from other room, gone. Both were inherited and they provided a place to sit and no more than that as an attribute.
2. Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls and paraphernalia, also gone for the most part and what is left (about 5%) of it, packed away.

3. Dishes, dishes, and more dishes... all inherited and some dragged in the house by other means. Now given away, or donated to charity. Out of my life.

4. Teddy Bears and dolls, no more. Always hated the inherited Teddy Bears, those went bye-bye first. Sorry. The dolls, well, way too many. and besides, the girls don't want all those when they are out on their own anyway. Both Teddies and dolls have a lot of emotional guilt attached to them as far as feeling obligated to retain. No more. The guilt curse must be broken.

5. Why is it that people ( some direct person in my family tree) felt that spending money on certain things was to be considered an investment for when the stuff came to be mine? I say it was foolish wasteful use of funds. There, I said it. The economy may have been different once upon a time, but I have 2 sayings to conclude this point.
First-- What things are supposedly worth and what people are willing to pay for them are two VERY different points of reality.
Secondly-- Having a lot of useless "valuable" things means you just have to leave more behind when you are homeless.
Don't get me wrong, I am not planning on being homeless. Just sayin'. Think about it, and I think you will agree. In the height of the foreclosure era do you ever drive through an unfamiliar neighborhood and see empty houses and lots of stuff out at the curb? Did they choose to move out of a rental situation and simply did not want all that to follow them to their new destination? Or was it that a well settled family (who went through unforeseen unfortunate times)  had to leave stuff they had (like the 4 kids' favorite games and trophies or family heirlooms from 4 generations ago) because they had just so long to pack what they could fit into their cousins' basement who was kindly enough to take in the family under their crowded roof until something better comes along? I think of this stuff. A lot of my kids' friends have faced this. It's sad.

6. In general, as I look at the past photos of my home, I see that I have lightened the load of thinking that everything that comes into my life, by means other than my choice, does NOT have to stay in my life...or home. I have begun to look at purchasing ANYTHING with a different mindset. I continue to struggle with lightening the load even more. Time is the main factor in this. Sorting is the process. Things need different categories, you know the drill... sell, donate, give away, keep. Sometimes I think it is easier to just bring in a dumpster like the ones they use when you get a new roof and grab a snow shovel and open a window, start scooping and chuck it all out. YES I AM EXAGGERATING... yet, you get my point.

7. There are many more specifics regarding changes about which items have been used, displayed, or stored within my environment, but the conclusion is... at this stage of my life, less is more. I am utterly and completely comfortable in other people's homes that have lots of furniture and knick-knacks (chatchkies), or paper build up (I will never be free from that myself!), or an untidy cluttered (yet clean) atmosphere. I am absolutely and completely 100% comfortable with that at other people's homes....just not mine...because to me it represents my own expectations with myself and what I want to accomplish for my life. My family and friends all live somewhere in the middle between an episode of hoarders vs. a sterile stainless steel surfaced, temperature controlled, air filtered bubble. I don't know anyone personally at either extreme end of that scale.  I understand that I could never be comfortable anywhere that is a minimalist-type home, be it my own home or someone else's. I could never live that way nor could I feel comfortable and cozy to sit for 5 minutes at a home that does live that way. You know the kind... where there are no pictures anywhere, no mail or bills sitting about, nothing on the front of the refrigerator, or blanket tossed over the end of the couch, or dishes waiting to be washed, or laundry waiting to be done, or dust to write your name along side a smiley face in, or..... you get the idea, right?

Holiday Cheer

What Have I Been Up To?

• Trying to secure a job that fits. (failing miserably)
• Trying to clean and decorate the house. (failing miserably)
• Trying to maintain a smile so everyone can see the me they want to see. (failing?)
• Trying to put myself first on the list for a change. (or anywhere on the list, number 1,001 would be even acceptable)

What Do I Need To Do?

• Prepare, serve and hostess a dinner for family and friends.
• Be a wonderful wife, mother, and all the rest.
• Make it through another holiday season.

What do I Want To Do?

• Bask in the joy of observing anyone other than me clean a toilet (or anything else) around here.
• Disappear for 24 hrs and see if anyone notices.
• Relax for any amount of time, do nothing for more than 30 seconds, not look at a calendar for a day, have no appointments for 24 hours...... in other words, BE SELFISH.

Random, Unnecessary, Facts about me

(a re-post, just for fun)


1. both my girls have bigger feet than I

2. I like to slice a banana in my Rice Krispies cereal

3. the movie Uncle Buck with John Candy always makes me laugh, no matter how many times I watch it

4. I am only cold when it is lower than 20 degrees outside- I often don't wear a coat until then

5. I love playing Chinese checkers, but I dislike playing regular checkers




6. my Mom couldn't swim, my husband can't swim, I was on the swim team and earned a varsity letter in school

7. I once wrote reports on President Lincoln and President Polk, and a play about a Vietnam vet reunited with his lost adult child

8. I love casseroles and the way they are usually lots of weird things thrown together

9. nightmares fill my sleep every night--been that way as long as I can remember


10. climbing into a blanket fort under a table is just as fun for me as an adult as when I was a kid


11. before we were married, my Sweetie and I would sometimes just stroll around the grocery store hand in hand and call it a date



12. While I listen to someone talk to me I always focus on just 
one of their eyes