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!