Stuff

Man, oh man, can a family of 6 ever collect a lot of junk over 20 + years! My children are grown and gone and there is just me now except for a ton of junk, the detritus of 6 people's existence.

Starting last summer, my daughter and I began cleaning out closets, cabinets and the attic. One of my close friends helped me also ( thanks, you know who you are! ) I am hopelessly inept when it comes to getting rid of stuff. If it wasn't for their help, I still surely would be helplessly overwhelmed by it all. I get so sidetracked by the memories intrinsic in each item. I deliberate over the necessity of keeping each thing....will I need it again one day? Will I use it again? Will I miss it? ARRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!

The job is almost finished. On Saturday we will have a giant yard sale. I feel such a great weight of relief knowing that so many things have been purged. And I am looking forward to replacing old raggedy blankets, rusty muffin tins, the sticky high chair, and that ugly shower curtain with some newer models thanks to the proceeds from the sale.

Here is a partial list of stuff we will be offering at the sale: 2 rocking chairs, bookcase, an Ironrite, pictures and artwork, old craft stuff, birdhouses, wooden shelves, partial set of daisy dishes, rusty muffin tin, sticky high chair, raggedy blankets, tins, baseball bat, fish net, oar, wooden sled, small trunk, Barbies, Barbie's camper, car, furniture, baby dolls, lamps, linens, towels, shower curtains, wreath, old piano stool, lots o'luggage (ex-husband had a luggage fetish apparently), magazines, tole painting books, kids stools and chairs, child's rocking chair, drawing table and chair, army plastic explosive crate, fake flowers, beach chairs, bogie board, my old collection of elves....the list just goes on and on.

Pray for nice weather and lots of customers. I really want those new blankets and muffin tins.

Random Thoughts on a Sunday Evening

1. My favorite painter is Modigliani.
   
2. I am very picky about the way I stack my Fiestaware dishes in the cabinet. The arrangement must be aesthetically pleasing....this means no similar colors should touch. I am even anal about the way I stack them in the dishwasher. (Please don't tell)
3. Red is my favorite color.
   
4. Whenever I type my name I always misspell it.
5. When I was young I wanted to write Nancy Drew books

This is one of my favorite poems. I love the imagery.

The Eagle

He clasps the crag with crooked hands:
Close to the sun in lonely land,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain wall,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Just some random photos.

Before Rock Band there was Rock Star Barbie.


My cabinet of dishes.

Found these today while cleaning out for the upcoming yard sale. I have to save these for the granddaughters to play with though. (thinking of MK and her love of tiny toys)


Here is a painting I did for a friend that was inspired by the style of Modigliani.

Here are some pictures drawn by my granddaughters.

This Zebra was not drawn, but rather created from zebra printed scotch tape.


This portrait of me is a startling likeness.


These are Japanese kokeshi dolls.

The Final Proof That Spring Has Arrived

Wandering around my yard checking on plants coming up is always fun to me. I do this every spring, beginning in late February. By mid summer my yard is usually not so nice. I have clay soil with lots of rocks. So I have to enjoy it now while there is plenty of rain. Once it gets hot and stops raining very much everything drys up.

Anyway, I had fun taking these pictures:

Weeds.


Trilliums.


Violets.


Snowdrops.

Azaleas.


Forsythia.
Periwinkle.

Widowswort.

Irises.
And lastly more weeds.

But the final proof that makes spring official is this.

The pollen on my car!

Jokes and Duets

My friends got free tickets to this and invited me along last night.

He was funny and the act was really clean. His bits about parenthood and children were hilarious.

The ride home in my friend's new car (with the moon roof open) and this playing on the CD player was great too. In fact, we parked in her driveway, reclined the seats, looked up at the sky and listened to the whole CD.



Funny but this was the best Friday night "date" I've had in a long time.

Thanks guys!

Car Art

Work was stressful today.

I de-stressed by spending my lunch hour sketching again. More pen and ink drawings with colored pencils on old calendar pieces.
Hope you like them.

I Collect, Therefore I Am

All of my life I have fallen in and out of collect with stuff. Recently, I have been going through 20 years of collected things in order to de-clutter my closets, attic and pantry. I have packed away some past collections for sale, but some are here to stay.

I started collecting alarm clocks from the 30s and 40s and earlier a few years ago.


I love the patterns the refracted light creates when sunlight passes through my cobalt glass collection.


I am also attracted to prisms and crystal glassware and crystal decanter tops and paperweights.


I collect miniatures of famous landmarks. Those of you not familiar with our fair city might wonder who that half clothed man is. His name is Vulcan and he is the blacksmith god of fire who stands atop a local mountain. Lucky for you he is facing forward in these pictures since his backside is a full moon.

I also am attracted to pottery from the 30s and 40s (and later too) : flowerpots, mixing bowls, Fiestaware, pitchers and teapots.


I have a collection of Woodys from Toy Story.


BUT MOST OF ALL, I love Little Golden Books! I have a huge collection. They are stashed on bookshelves, in dresser drawers and in closets.



Because these pictures only represent a small amount of this stuff, my biggest problem is how to use all of this stuff so that it doesn't just look like clutter and not the treasure that it is to me. I want my home to be artful, not junky. Most of the time I think I have achieved that.

If you find stuff calling your name, if you have closets, shelves and drawers devoted to stuff, if your motto is I collect, therefore I am, please send me a link to see your addictions. Help me out, kindred spirits make yourselves known!

And new collectors beware! There are challenges ahead for you!

Sublime - A Good Book and Pen and Ink

Today I spent my lunch hour in my car again. This time I finished listening to Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I have been listening to it as I go to and from work for the past week. A good book makes the trip go by so quickly and I don't feel like it is 1 and 1/2 wasted hours of my day.

Oh, how I love these characters: Elizabeth and Darcy. Mr Wickham, a very bad boy indeed! Jane and Mr. Bingley. Mr Bennet for his dry sense of humor.


While I listened I also sketched some.



Both of these are drawn on top of a former calendar that I cut into 2.5 by 3.5 inch cards. The flowers and leaves that you can make out were part of the decoration on the calendars. I'm doing my part to recycle! Really, I am just trying to see what sort of effect I can get by combining the two images.

Which movie or television version of Pride and Prejudice do you prefer? The 1995 BBC adaptation starring Colin Firth or the 2005 movie with Keira Knightley? I choose both for different reasons...the BBC because of Colin Firth ( of course! ) but the 2005 movie because the photography was superb and you don't have to give up 6 or more hours of your life to watch it.

Did you know that the theme of Bridget Jones' Diary is taken straight from Miss Austen's book? Have you seen Bollywood's version, Bride and Prejudice? If you haven't, seriously see it. For those of you who have never seen a Bollywood movie, be prepared for music and dancing.

He's Alive!

He's alive! He's alive, He's alive and I'm forgiven!
Heaven's gates are open wide:
He's alive, He's alive, oh He's alive and I'm forgiven
Heaven's gates are open wide
He's alive, He's alive, hallelujah He's alive

 Ray Boltz

Touched by God

I just found this post on one of my favorite blogs. It is so appropriate for this season. Please take a moment to read it and all the comments that were left for her.

Easter Eggs

Last year I was able to spend Easter with my Texas family. The girls and I did this on Saturday before Easter Sunday:

So pretty. Such fun.


Miss you.

Good Friday

Mark 8:31 Then Jesus began to tell them that He, the Son of Man, would suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the leaders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, and three days later He would rise again.

72 Years Ago

My maternal grandfather owned and operated a local weekly newspaper for most of his adult life. Each year all of those weekly issues were compiled into books. Upon my uncle's death a few years ago, I became the keeper of all 36 year's worth of books.

I thought you might like to see some of the ads from 1936. Please excuse the poor quality of these photos. The pages are fragile. They don't lie flat. The color is uneven. But the content is so interesting. Click on each picture if you would like to see a larger image.

My Granddaddy:


The header on the paper:


Need some new shoes for Easter?



How about new clothes for the family?


Time to buy groceries?


Or maybe a new washer?

Federal Minimum Wage Rates, 1938-1997*

1938 $0.25 1975 $2.10
1939 $0.30 1976 $2.30
1945 $0.40 1978 $2.65
1950 $0.75 1979 $2.90
1956 $1.00 1980 $3.10
1961 $1.15 1981 $3.10
1963 $1.25 1990 $3.80
1967 $1.40 1991 $4.25
1968 $1.60 1996 $4.75
1974 $2.00 1997 $5.15

Postage stamps cost $.03, gas $.12 per gallon; average annual income is $1,327.00,