So Much to Do, So Little Time.

I made up my mind a couple of months ago that Christmas would not sneak up on me and leave before I was ready.  I started decorating the house the day after Thanksgiving.  A week later, the tree was up.  Still, here I am in the wee hours of December 19 wondering where the time went.

Spending so much time in my shop, I haven't been home much during the day.  Baking and movie watching have to be squeezed into the evenings and I haven't been doing well.  My son came home from school today and I was glad that he wanted to immediately dive into #traditions.  He asked about the gingerbread house and I directed him to the "A-Frame" kit I bought at Trader Joe's a few weeks ago.  It was so much easier to put together than the ones we've been doing for years.  It was quick and easy and not nearly as ornate as usual, but it was fun, it's done, and my 18 and 24 year olds sat at the dining room table with me and we talked while we built, just like old times.  

Business was ridiculously slow today, but I did get a sweet comment from a customer on Facebook, which totally made my day.  Baby steps...only for the most patient among us.  I guess that means me.  

So with bedtime typically around 2:30a, rising at 6:30a, maybe an hour and a half back in bed before I'm up for the day, and I'm then at it again.  I squeezed a lot into today.  Travel plans, emails and phone calls, rearranging the shop window, repairing those old tables and grocery shopping (if Walgreen's counts) and I'm dreading how tired I'm going to be again tomorrow.  It's almost 1a and I have a 9:00 appointment, an estate sale that I really want to get to, and the shop from 10-5 for a final Christmas push.  I'm feeling apprehensive, yet hopeful.  Overwhelmed, but supercharged.  Sleepy, but...sleepy.  I need this cycle be over soon.

No cookies yet, but I did make a few things this week!

This same piece of wood has been about three different signs over the past two years.  Now it says "Be Merry".

Wine Crate Manger Scene!  I never have a creche.  I'm always improvising.

My niece found these beat up tables on the side of the road.  Some nails, some wood glue, some soap and water...I'm going to use these display tables a lot.

Goodwill bags.  I knew they'd come in handy for something.  Love the color!

And the Gingerbread house.  It smells really good.  Pictures tomorrow...I'm so tired, I don't think I can hold the camera right now.  I'm going to bed y'all!

Another Late Night Post!

It's getting worse.  It's after 3:30a and I'm still up!  The internet is a really dangerous thing for a person who actually needs to sleep.  

Just when I was about to scold myself for getting absolutely nothing done in terms of holiday projects, I remembered that I did find a nice branch in the back yard and painted it silver.  Big deal.  Big Deal!  I needed it to display ornaments in the shop, so I will allow myself this small win.  While the silver spray paint was out, I painted a vintage wooden bench.  I can't wait to see it in the daylight.  It crossed my mind a few days ago, but I said absolutely not.  Not on a country style bench with heart cut-outs in each end.  Too much mixing of styles...no way this is going to work.  BUT, I couldn't stop thinking about it.  And I was in the garage.  And the paint can was in my hand.  Pictures tomorrow.  I really was painting at night in a dimly lit garage.  This should be interesting.

I also made a trip to the city at 10p to pick up a couple of glass topped end tables that my niece "rescued" for me several months ago.  Nothing special about the style, but the glass tops are hinged and boy oh boy, the things that I can put in there.  I dropped them off at the store, just so they'll be there and ready for me tomorrow.  I have my work cut out for me, as they need a little repair, a lot of cleaning, and a place to be.  I'm pretty confident that I will make good use of them.

Add to that an evening meeting/reception that I actually put on "real" pants for, filing the papers and mail that was piling up on the dining room table, picking up yet another official birth certificate (I'm sure there are about 10 of them somewhere around here), and doing laundry, which I do every day, and I'd say that it was a productive day.  Had I not overslept until 10a, I would probably be in bed by now.  That said, I'm on my way.  I'll be up in less than 3 hours...

Another really bad health habit that I need to break.  I'm trying.  

Happy, Healthy, Holidays!

How can you tell that a Christmas tree is nervous?
It's on "pines and needles" all the time!

Happy Holidays!

I've fallen completely off the wagon and can no longer consider myself a blogger...I'm just someone who likes to write sometimes and I'm okay with that!  October 29 was my last post...

I've been too busy to write.  That's a good and a bad thing.  Since this is something that I do because I enjoy it, it's absolutely awful that I don't make time for it.  On the flip side, I have been busy doing other things that I enjoy and while I really want to tell my readers about it, I can't seem to get around to it.  I'm not going to do one of my "catch up" posts because that would be about 10 pages and I accept that I'm not clever enough to keep anyone's attention for 10 pages.  Rather, I promise (to myself) that I'll write a lot during these final two weeks leading up to Christmas, and after that we'll just see.  

What have I been doing, you ask?  (Did you ask?)  I have been travelling a little, working on my music management business and opening a holiday pop-up shop.  My brother told me today that I have too many hobbies and need to try turning one of them into a business.  SIDE EYE!  A small business is still a business.  Two tiny ones qualify as well.  I think he means that I need to focus on one thing but that would be extremely difficult for me, and not nearly as much fun. 

The pop up is gorgeous!



But that's just one woman's opinion.  One very important woman...I'm loving it.  Business has been slow, but I'm enjoying it as a workspace as well.  I have a huge table in the back and I use it for everything from checking emails, packing, wrapping and mailing, crafts, fixing broken ornaments to making fresh batches of Foot Beer.  I'm going to miss this little pop up when it's gone...it's clean, the bathroom is clean, bright and highly functional (you may recall that the space I rented/shared last year had a modified furnace room with a big laundry tub and a toilet that didn't work most of the time.)  It's all mine and I don't have to deal with the workplace bullies and worse.  Worth every penny.

I've done a wee bit of travelling, including a one-night trip to Memphis.  The weather was amazingly warm for December, and I was there long enough to know that I want to go back.  

There was this limo ride:

I'm not so sure that I believe the whole "lonely at the top" bit.
I was all alone in this little slice of luxury and I wasn't lonely
at all.  

So it's 2:40a and I think it's time to start the bedtime ritual.  Happy Holidays to all and I'll be back soon, I promise.  Let's count this thing down together!

The Ant Mob!

How funny that this popped up in my Facebook feed tonight, just when I was thinking about a blog post about cleaning.  Yes, cleaning.  I don't mind cleaning...I sometimes actually like it.  More importantly, I love a clean house so cleaning is kind of necessary.  To aid in my quest for an always "company clean" house, I treated myself to a new broom, dustpan and mop today.  Weird, huh?  

Okay, backtrack a week.  After spending a lot of time in my yard during a week of warm, sunny October, I stepped onto my front stoop just to pull a few dead leaves off of some otherwise thriving flowers.  When I turned to go back inside, I was horrified at the sight of what had to be hundreds of flying ants.  I have no idea what happened there.  They weren't there earlier, and I had never seen anything like it before.  They were all over the front of the house, hanging out on the brick.  It was frightening.  I screamed and my kids came running slowly and reluctantly to see what I was freaking out about.  The college man looked out the door, but stayed inside.  The girl-child was a little more helpful.  She started swinging wildly when she saw that a few ants had gotten under the screen door and started to "invade" (a little dramatic) the foyer.  I was apparently going to have to handle this by myself so I sucked it up and got to work.  A can of raid and two teapots of boiling water later, the ant mob was ready to be swept and mopped away.  And I added my mop, broom and dustpan to the trash pile.  No way those things were coming back in the house.  And this led to my "treat" today.  New stuff to clean with.  The little things. 

I have to admit, as an avid barefooter, that my floors feel amazing.  Smooth and clean and cool.  My feet are appreciative.  I can relax, watch my cop shows, and write about the simple things that sometimes make my day special...and clean!

Birthday Week!

I had pretty much resigned myself to having a usual birthday, not doing anything special but enjoying a sunny Monday.  I love October, as I can usually count on it to bring sun and warmth, without the swelter and the sweat.  I had expected this year to be difficult because regardless of how the day was going, my sister always made sure to call me and to bug everyone else in the family to do the same.  If nothing else, I got an early morning "Happy Birthday" song whether I wanted it or not. I expected this first birthday without her to be difficult.  Boring is fine, sad is another.  I woke up thinking of her, but I quickly got rolling with this daily thing I do called "life".  I am taking care of my mom now, so there's not much time to sit around and be sad.  

My big plans for the day included getting my drivers' license renewed and not much else.  I did wear an awesome thrifted skirt and boots that I didn't get a picture of, but it involved tie-dye.  I have been waiting a really long time to get a new DL picture and while I hated having to change my weight (it's been wrong for about five years!) and didn't like not being able to pass the eye test without my glasses, I liked the picture.  It's one that I can live with.  It's a happy picture and my hair was super cute and I was wearing pink and orange.  All kinds of good stuff was going on there.

I indulged myself and made a "quick" stop at Village Thrift.  I found some good stuff there, including tiki mugs, bracelets, and this amazing vintage dress, still wearing it's 1970's price tag:

I found bracelets--of course.  Tortoiseshell, another fuchsia bangle, and this one from Huppke Woods: 

I also found this vintage sweater vest.  I love vintage labels.  This one is Van Dyke Sportswear and it has low belt loops to belt it around the hips.  My daughter tried it on for me, but my niece came by on Sunday and happily took it home:

My daughter took me out to dinner and we took my mom along.  Later, we were joined by two of my friends and we had a great multi-generational meal.  The restaurant owner "flirted" with my 90 year old mom and her sarcasm was on full display.  She also appreciated the gourmet coffee after a month of drinking instant at my house.  The food was good and the laughter was even better.

On Tuesday, I received these gorgeous flowers delivered to my door, courtesy of my kids:

Thursday was my daughter's birthday so we decided to celebrate on Friday.  My "niece" decided to take us both out, so we agreed on tapas.  She made the reservation and I added Blue Man Group tickets to the evening because I had never seen the show.  I had a wonderful time with the two of them, reminded again of something that I often observe.  The age of your friends doesn't really matter as long as you can be yourself.  I tell this to my daughter often because her "peers" aren't always open to her friendship, but older people love her sincerity, intelligence and compassion.  Never let anyone shame you into not spending time with the people who make you happy.  

I got more flowers:

And bath and body goodies from Sabon:

It ended up being a really great birthday week, and it wasn't over yet.  I volunteered at a community event, setting up games and activities for the kids.  I planned to set up and leave, but of course I stayed the entire time, had fun with the kids and cleaned up.  No complaints--I love kids!

My daughter needed a "bowler" hat for a class presentation and we found one at the first store we went to.  That was a bonus.  Being close to Halloween definitely helped out there. I finished out the week by making a huge pot of chili (good thing since company dropped by) and got outside for some Sunday pics.  I couldn't get away with the dots and flowers, but Birthday Girl #2 is killin' the pattern mixing game!

It turned out to be a great week after all.  I miss my Sis but I'm letting myself be happy.  

Vintage Forever!

 The pictures say it all.  I love vintage clothing.  I love the style, the colors, and the memories.  I find very little vintage clothing in plus sizes, so I don't get to wear the styles that I find for my daughter.  I have tons of vintage accessories though, and they are pretty much my constant companions.  My sister told me today that it's not good to always buy thrift.  Ahem...where else am I going to find these?  I'm not a fan of reproductions.  

 Case in point:  This pretty yellow dress.  This is a great wear to work or church dress.  Cost:  Minimal.  Compliments:  Off the charts.

   

She wouldn't actually wear this tan and orange print, but she had fun modeling it.  The style is a little "old" for a 24 year old, but you get the idea.  Oh and...it's for sale.

I adore this Leslie Fay blue and black stripe dress, shoulder pads and all.  The waist is pretty tiny...kind of a Krystle Carrington vibe.  

I don't know why I still have this orange overcoat, but it was a welcome sight on this chilly day.  It's a great early fall/spring piece.  It's for sale too.  I don't often advertise on my blog, but somebody needs this size 12 ensemble.  Maybe you?  

I'm getting back into the swing of things, and starting to allow myself to enjoy my favorite things:  thrifting, vintage hunting, styling my daughter and maybe even doing another pop-up.  What am I getting myself into?  I already know.  Two months of lifting, moving, painting, nailing, arranging and rearranging.  I can't wait!

The 30-Day Blog Post.

I found this post that I started a month ago.  I can't believe it's been that long, but yes, I got this great idea for a stem dyeing project a month ago.  It was for two reasons:  I love baby's breath, but wish it came in colors and I found a second 4-way decanter and felt like the "twins" needed something to do.  These decanters are amazing to me, and although I use them as vases, I keep the glass stoppers on hand in case I ever actually want to "decant" anything.  

I never finished that post, but I did post a picture on my Facebook page of this blue vase a couple of weeks later, with the flowers turned a light blue.  Baby's breath is a terrible candidate for stem dying for many reasons.  The stems are woody rather than porous.  They branch off in too many directions, forcing the colored water to try and reach too many places.  The flowers are tiny and tight, and don't absorb much water if it does happen to reach them.  I had envisioned a profusion of jewel-toned gems, but what I got was some blue-toned blossoms that took way too long to show themselves.  Back to carnations and daisies I guess...

While uploading some pictures today, I found some more evidence of this experiment gone not wrong, but not right.  Fairly middlin'...

The colored water was pretty...Doing this again, whether the flowers appreciate it or not.

That Chair!

I love vintage furniture...especially chairs.  I always have one or two (okay 10) in my garage, just waiting to be called into action.  I haven't painted anything at all this summer.  June and July whizzed by, and then August just kind of happened.  I froze in the hottest month of the year.  

I've started to "thaw" out and what better to get me back on track than a design challenge!  I'm planning the set for a concert, three dressing rooms and an artists' lounge.  I'm making waaay too much of it, I know, but it feels amazing to be coming out of the fog that follows the death of a loved adored one.  My sister shared my love of thrifting and she would be right beside me, treasure hunting.  I've had to forge ahead without her, but she would probably be shaking her head at me buying another chair.  I have the excuse of a big project to finish within the next two weeks, but after it's over, I will have a couch and 13 chairs that I bought rather than rented because buying  thrifting is cheaper than renting.  I'll have to figure out what to do with them once it's all over, but I'm going to enjoy it in the meantime.  

Being no longer a minivan driver, the hauling is a challenge in itself, but where there's a will...

 It took a bit of maneuvering, but yes, there is room!  My car isn't as small as I thought.  Just lay the seats down and remove a few things.  I'm not saying what those things are.  Sooo not important, because I found space for this beauty:

I know, right?

Just $25---and not the best buy of the day.  Nope that distinction goes to the $6.99 sofa.  Yes, I am that good.  Yes, it needs some cleaning.  Yes, there are stains that I just don't want to know about.  But it's going to be awesome. As for this amazing chair, it needs nothing but a tired bottom to land on it. 

After Midnight.

Heck, I'm up anyway, I may as well write!

I've been staying up into the wee hours of the morning pretty consistently of late.  Sometimes it's just that I can't get to sleep, missing my sister.  Most times, I just keep finding things to do.  In the middle of tending to family business, cleaning out my sister's things, and tying up loose ends, I have also undertaken a huge project.  I'm designing the set and decorating the dressing rooms for an upcoming show.  The dressing rooms can be no-frills, but I'll have none of that.  Frills are necessary.  Frills give me thrills.  I'm a frill-seeker.  I'm going to knock these rooms out of the proverbial ballpark.

This means that I HAVE to go to all of the local thrift stores, hotel furniture stores, Ikea, and Target, as well as online shopping at Amazon and the event rental places.  I HAVE TO.  (Numerous trips to each, of course.)  I have always wanted to shop for a living.  I have most of the "big" stuff handled, now it's floor plans, accessorizing, and one more chair.  Always one more chair.  I love chairs!

So I stay up 'til four, wake up at 10, work until noon, shop until 2, work until 5, break, work until 10p, then plan from 10 to midnite.  Basically. And while I'm up, I may as well clean, shred some papers, put in a load of laundry, check my email accounts a few more times, have a snack, online shop some more and at 4a, I may as well write.  I know this schedule is unhealthy, especially at my age, but I have so much to do.  I could have turned this project down, but it is soooo much fun!  It's at least two blog posts worth of fun.

 I'm going to cut myself some slack and put off the rest of my to-do list until tomorrow.  I've made a lot of headway this week but with no help, I honestly can't see the end of the tunnel.  I'll probably end up with a Craigslist ad that says "come and take what you want" in order to get my sister's house cleaned out.  21 years of stuff...Man do I miss that hoarder!

Love you, Deenie!

It's been about a month now since I've posted anything.  Written anything.  Created anything.  I have to get back into it, but it's been hard.  So much of what I enjoy has been tied into the fact that I shared it with my sister.  She admired my work and has always been my biggest cheerleader.  Single, married, divorced--she has always been totally interested in my success and happiness.  Every time I planted a flower, sewed an apron or tried a new recipe she didn't just feign interest, she LOVED it!  Losing her a little over three weeks ago was a shock and a tragedy.  I know without a doubt that she would be very upset that I'm mourning her so deeply because that means that I'm not focusing on my goals of success and happiness.  I try sometimes.  Other times, I just allow myself to miss her terribly.  

I've had to pack a lot of living into the past three weeks, while dealing with death.  Looking after my 90 year old mom  (she lived with my sister), understanding that her loss is more profound than mine, trying to stay "up" so that my children don't get too far down, planning for what's next (I still don't know) and getting my son off to college at the worst possible time in our lives has made it necessary for me to push through.  With a few moments of collapse mixed in, I've managed to hold it together, make some small decisions and take care of the business that just couldn't wait.  In most cases however, I have a lot of catching up to do.  

I think about my sister constantly, and sleeping has been minimal.  Still, I've had some great moments of living that would only be better if she could enjoy it too.  She deserved to be giddily happy, but found simple joy in taking care of everyone else.  I truly believe that she isn't just at peace, but is finally giddy.  For that, I'm grateful.

My yard is bursting with color.  A few weeks ago it finally took off, and we were sure that August was going to be gorgeous.  We were right!  She would be so proud...of MY yard.  I've never met anyone who could be so unselfishly happy for another's accomplishments.  Looking back, I could see that she was getting tired, but she  never complained.  She wasn't as quick to pull weeds and cut branches, but she was still apt to take a drive past my house just to see how the flowers were coming along:

We took up gardening together, learned what works and what doesn't, and shared more than a flat or two of impatiens.  Over the past 20 years, we got our hands, feet and knees dirty a lot, and when it got really hard for me to kneel, she did it for me.  She didn't do a lot of planting this year (another sign of her failing health that I didn't really pay attention to) but she thoroughly enjoyed what I planted.  I didn't finish until a couple of weeks after she died, just in time for my son's going away party.  I'm still getting used to doing things without her, as my first thought before starting any project is to call my sister and get her advice, tell her what my plans are, or to see if she wants to ride with me to the nursery.  I'm surrounded by people, but I'm still lonely. Who can I call just to say that WalMart has geraniums on sale or that I saw some nice terra cotta pots on the curb a few blocks away?  

I'm slowly trying to reenter my life.  The thrift store trips, the fashion challenges, the decorating, cooking, and reading.  The constant hunt for vintage barware, the singing, the sewing and the estate sales.  So far all I've done however, is get back to gardening.  For my sister, it's the least that I can do. 

My sister, Mardine, with my children.  I could not
have successfully raised them without her!  
Love you Deenie, and thanks for everything!

The Midnight Sun.

This was me all day.  My son's girlfriend saw me and exclaimed "You look really nice!  Where did you go?"  It just goes to show you how often I DON'T wear real clothes or leave my FitFlops at home.  Even in the summer, the yoga pants are never far away.  You know the drill:  Super Sunday, Maybe Saturday, the occasional meeting, and whatever is easy and comfortable the rest of the week which usually means yoga pants and my beloved yet beat up "Floppers".  I made an effort to pair comfort with cuteness today. I succeeded. I was so comfortable in fact, that I just emerged from a four hour nap, still wearing everything but the shoes. 

 My sister finds reasons to wake me.  During said nap, she sat on my bed for about 20 minutes (maybe longer, I was in a melatonin stupor, but I didn't take any) and commented on every random thing she could think of.  I think she thought I was sick, but I was really just sleepy.  She called after she left, waking me up once again, to comment on the clouds.  "Oh yeah.  Cool."  After I said that, she hung up.  I'm pretty sure she heard my lack of interest, but for some reason, I fell asleep again, only to wake suddenly.  I looked out of the window and saw the most amazing clouds!  Sleepy as I was, I got my camera (not my phone) and went outside.  

 Now this is obviously the sun shining through the clouds.  (The bright orange light is a streetlight, btw)  Except that I'm facing EAST and it's 8:30 at night. What the heck?  I eventually decided that it must be the moon.  I looked down the street and saw what was obviously a storm coming:

After five minutes, I went back to the "midnight sun", except it wasn't there.  I am so glad that I have the pictures to prove this oddity:

Just five minutes later the mysterious light was gone, and the storm never came.  

I was actually looking forward to it.  Lord, please don't let me regret that I said that!