My mom still speaks up

So.

If you don't believe in spirits, rather than scoffing at what I'm saying here, just move along.

Close it up.  This particular post is not for you.

IF, however, you do believe, then let me assure you my outspoken mom is still speaking out.

As I've mention about a hundred beezillion times, we're living in a wee bit of chaos here.

I know there's an end in sight, so for now, I'm going with the flow.  (Funny how as I've aged, I find that going with the flow/rolling with the punches thing easier than i once did).

During all this, Donald left for about a week to spend time with his folks in Birmingham.

And because they're preparing to move from their home to a smaller place, they sent him home with a few things including some furniture.

One of those pieces is a desk we have both loved for many years.  

It used to belong to Donald's much loved and adored Great Aunt Gladys.  

The timing for receiving things - ALL things we love and feel quite blessed in receiving - including this sweet little desk isn't ideal, but so what.

The house is going to be in disarray for awhile anyway, so what the heck.

We love it all and it all falls very firmly in the category of cherished treasures.

We knew exactly where we wanted the little desk to live, but that meant moving another Aunt Gladys treasure that we've had for a number of years.

The place where this the desk now is used to be the spot where this magical rocker was.

The space where the rocker will go . . .  well, as you can tell by this photo, is in a bit of a mess right now due to that closet redo, which was put on hold due to insulation installation, put on hold due to broken pipes and another set-back i'll tell you about another time.  Enough is enough.  Right? 

(going with the flow here . . . ).

Back to the subject at hand.

(insert my old and very dear and much missed friend, Michael Dean, saying, "Kaye Alan, can we have the abridged version of this story, please?").

So.

See this piece?

 

It's my mom's jewelry chest.

She LOVED this piece.

It's no longer filled to the brim like it once was, but suffice to say there's still a lot in there.

Well, last night while Donald and I were moving furniture around finding a place for Mom's prized jewelry chest became a challenge.

At about 2 a.m. we called it a night.

Left things in disarray (insert maniacal laughter) and went to bed.

And sometime during the night I woke up to the very distinct smell of cigarette smoke.

And not for the first time.

I knew exactly who was in our bedroom.

My mom, very nicely, but very firmly, assured me that we would find an appropriate spot for that jewelry chest.

And i agreed.

And so does Donald.

Savoring the words

There are a few authors whose books I'm going to read the minute I'm able.

Lucky for me, I was able to get advance copies of these novels written by these outstanding writers through NetGalley even though I have each of them pre-ordered.

I know some people think re-reading is silly and a waste of time.  

I don't feel that way.

Yes, i know - there are exciting new books being published every day.

"Too many books, too little time." 

I get that.

I am, however, a re-reader from way back.

When an author is able to find a way to use words to create a phrase or a thought that feels magical enough to cause me to stop reading long enough to think about, savor, and feel a connection, that's a book I know I'll come back to.

These are the most recent books delivering that magic.

Maybe you'll love them too.

 

Is it just stuff, or is it treasure more precious than gold?

 We opened our booth at Antiques on Howard three years ago today.  

We didn't plan on being open this long.  

Our only goal was to get rid of stuff that had been packed up and stored in our storage building for years and years. 

But stuff grew.  

It grew and we were challenged by deciding what things from my Mom's apartment did we want to keep.

As much as we both loved my mother, keeping every single thing she left behind made no sense.  We did, of course, choose items that had special meaning to us, and to her.  Her sisters, along with several nieces and friends received some things, and we put some things in our booth.

But stuff grows.

And continues to grow as Don Barley's mom and dad downsize to move into a smaller place.  

As happens, priorities regarding "keeping vs. not keeping" keep changing.  

Material things are just things.  

Until they aren't.    

To Donald and I, many family items, along with some personal treasures, have sentiments and memories attached that make those things meaningful.

Those things stay.

So while the great purge continues, the fact remains that we will never be a minimalist household.

And that's fine, fine, fine.

Treasures more precious than gold - - -

Not because of their existence.

But the memories that live within each piece.

❤  ❤  ❤

Sorting and Organizing

After having Bettina and Riley from Clean Mountain Escapes here to do some major deep cleaning, the house looked so nice, and felt so good that we were inspired to do some much needed sorting, purging, and organizing.

I started with my dresser.

Sweaters were sorted, and many found their way to Goodwill.

Underwear and Tees and socks and leggings and tights.

Dumped out of the drawers onto the bed for sorting.

And i ended up with a trash bag full of stuff to toss.

What stays got nicely sorted into drawer organizers I ordered from Amazon.  What took me so long to find and use these wonderful items??  I love them!

One of the things i found appealing about this little house when we bought it back in 1996 was that it had cute little built in features that initially charmed me.

It didn't take long for me to realize that charm was superficial, and their actual capacity as useful space was . . . minimal.

I cannot even express how much i hate my closets.

For those interested and curious, Donald has his own closet.  Bigger.  Better.

AND his own bathroom.

Take those two statements as part if our testimony about what helps make a good marriage.

So.

The great sort, purge, and organizing efforts continue.

Bags and totes.  TOO MANY!

One thing for sure.  These favorite well-loved bags are going nowhere.  ❤

Charming, useless, wasted space is going to be converted to something much more efficient.

Don Barley is on it.  

In the meantime, the sunroom is going to be a wreck.  ( sigh)

Oh, well.

You do what ya gotta do to get things done.

 

And VOILÀ!  

Some semblance of a decent and efficient use of space!

Hooray!

But wait.

Maybe not.

Let's study this  little more . . .

And start over.

And while we're at it, we should add some insulation up here in the attic . . .

And since things in our bedroom are in such disarray, how 'bout i empty out this little space that is also in need of sorting, purging and organizing.

This is how things stand today.

And will stand for the near future.

A small new dresser will be moving in (along with some more of those marvie little organizers from Amazon).

Insulation and all the tools that will accompany that job will be moving in.

Things will, eventually, be back to normal and better than it was.

In the meantime, the sunroom is a room to be ignored and forgotten.

But.

You know what?

Life is good.  ❤❤❤

I would not trade places with anyone.

 

International Dog Day

 Sometimes your best friend will let you know how much they love you by peeing on your ex.

* * * 

This was a dog who graced my life for almost 15 years. 

 His name was Pax.  

He went through some of the tough times with me, and was always by my side.  

Pax and I took a lot of long car trips together and ate a lot of MacDonald's burgers together. 

 Here's a little story about him. 

 I went through a divorce when Pax was a couple years old, and "the guy," while we were separated, decided some of the record albums I had belonged to him (see the things we fight over?!)  So he came over one evening and while sitting in the floor deciding which albums were his, Pax walked over to him, cocked his little leg and peed on him.  I have never loved anyone or anything any more than I did Pax at that moment.  

Here's to Pax.  One of the greats.

1970 - 1985

Salman Rushdie

Salman Rushdie has long been a personal and literary hero of mine.


He has ALWAYS spoken his mind and his heart. ALWAYS stood up for what's right.


During times when so many are so easily silenced.


Writers for Democratic Action posted:



No, I have not met Mr. Rushdie.


But I felt as though I had been personally assaulted when I read about the cowardly assault he suffered while on stage at the Chautauqua Institution on Friday.


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/salman-rushdie-stabbing-attack-road-to-recovery-agent/


It's now being reported that while he is still in critical condition, his condition is improving.


"We are extremely relieved that yesterday he was taken off the ventilator and additional oxygen, and he was able to say a few words," Zafar Rushdie, his son, tweeted Sunday.



I will continue to send healing thoughts his way.


Mr. Rushdie has long been a hero to many.  I am only one of the many.



No, I have not met Mr. Rushdie, but I remain one proud gal whose book shared space with his at WHSmith Books in Paris.

Raising a glass to a great man.

Sometimes dreams do come true . . .

And when they do . . .




I don't know about anyone else, but when i have a dream come true, I squeal.




Loudly.




And then, when the wish involves travel, I start planning.




Even when the wish trip is over a year away.




Donald and I are taking a Christmas on the Seine river cruise.   Next year.




Plenty of time to plan.




And to be excited!




We won't be cruising during Christmas, but we will be cruising during the season, and (from Viking) will be able to  "Embrace the holiday season with a taste of Joyeux Noel. Explore Paris, France’s twinkling “City of Light.” Sail through the snow-covered landscapes of Normandy’s countryside and admire the scenes of fairy-tale villages along the way. Enjoy the scented aroma of mulled wine and roasted chestnuts amid a festive backdrop of Christmas markets. Onboard festivities include regional dining specialties, seasonal treats and more to celebrate the holidays."




Squeeee!




I know some of you hate winter, hate snow, and this cruise would not interest you in the least.  Might even sound like a circle of hell.




Donald and I, however, are tickled pink and excited. This is a dream trip for us.




So.




Anyone who has taken a winter river cruise - we're accepting all suggestions. Especially on clothes we should be prepared to take with us. Thankfully, living in the mountains means we're used to cold weather and are fairly well stocked with winter gear. Still, packing for an 8 day winter cruise with a few stops for excursions along the way will present challenges.

In the meantime . . .

Squeeeeeeeee!!!!!

And, the week comes to an end

I've been a bit of a wreck this week, truth be told.


Donald has a yearly motorcycle/camping trip he takes from these mountains to the Outer Banks, and he's gone for 3 nights.


He left early Tuesday morning.  

But he's now safely back home.  Safe and sound.


I fret and pace the entire time he's gone.

 He's good about calling and checking in, but still. Simply said, i hate it.


And Annabelle hates it more. All told, she is a Daddy's girl, and she has shown me her ass these few days.


And what have i been up to while he's been gone?

Well.

I've watched entirely too many episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress."

and

I have dumped every item out of my dresser drawers onto the bed,  made a "to be donated" pile of sweaters I no longer wear, tossed a bunch of raggedy ass underwear, found some missing jewelry (Hooray!!!), and put the rest back in the drawers using some organizers i bought from Amazon.

I am so proud.

Drawers never looked so good and i am wondering what took me so long to use these handy things!

From this:

To This!:

And more organizers are on the way.  I am on a roll.

Happy to have my guy back home, Annabelle is happy, and dresser drawers are on the road to being organized.

Life is good.

I think my mom came by for a little visit today

Yep.  I think she did.

A few days ago I started boxing up breakables.  Nope, these are not things that will be going to our little booth at Antiques on Howard.  These are treasures that we will keep forever.

We're getting ready to do a deep, deep, deep clean.  We found someone who has agreed to do the heavy stuff that my 73 year old self isn't as able to do as i once was. (And have just gotten too lazy to do, truth be told).

She's been out to talk to me and look the place over and we were able to come up with a plan that suits us both.  

She's a young, smart, savy small business owner, local to the area who I took to right away.

Once she and her assistant have completed the serious business of getting this little nest nurtured and shining again she'll be coming every couple of weeks to help me keep it the way it deserves to be kept.

It is, after all, our nest.

It holds our dreams, and it holds a lot of memories.

Many of the memories belong to my mom.   

Even though we gave away, and then sold, some of her things, there is a lot still here.   And the stories that come with some of the pieces are sweet.  

Some are funny, and some right down hilarious.

Just like her.

I've taken the long way around to share the story I started out to share.  (This is where my old friend Michael Dean would have rolled his eyes, thrown his hands in the air and said, "can't you EVER tell the Reader's Digest version, Kaye Alan?!").

. . . no.

Anyhoo . . . I'm packing up breakables for a couple reasons.  To get a lot of the clutter out of the way for when Bettina comes, and because I want to move things around.  

The same things have been sitting in the same place for too long.  When that happens they tend to become, I think, invisible.

So, the white ironstone pitchers and Mother's Nippon and Imari are gonna mix it up a little with books, local made pottery, art glass, old teddy bears, wooden butter molds, and miscellaneous "stuff."

While picking up an old porcelain box of my mom's I very distinctly heard her say, "look inside."

I don't care who believes me.  I heard her.

It's not the first time, and it doesn't spook me.  

If you knew Hazel Wilkinson it wouldn't surprise you either.  She was a force.  And apparently, still is.

So, i looked inside.

I'm sure I looked inside this piece before.   Well.  Pretty sure.

When we moved her things here when we moved her out of her apartment into Cranberry House things were tough.  

Boxes of stuff were just left to sit.

And then, in just a few weeks time, she was gone.

Boxes continued to sit.

When a mood moved me, I would open a box. 

  

Some still have not been opened.

Over time, some things found themselves a new home.

Some things found a spot on a shelf here.

My mom and I had very different decorating styles.  That's not to say I didn't admire and appreciate her home, because I did.  Very much.  It was just a little more formal than mine.

And over time, I have really begun to enjoy spotting an odd little Asian man with a cheerful wizened face that was once my mom's peeking out at me from behind an old pottery pitcher.

The porcelaine box I picked up to box up was, i thought, just stuffed with tissue paper.  

If you gave my mom a gift, she would tuck the tissue it was wrapped in into whatever might be close at hand.  Finding tissue wrap in flower pots, ginger jars, coffee mugs, etc was a family joke my entire life.

So this porcelaine box with tissue wrap in it was nothing to make me think twice.  It just was what it was.

Until I heard that very distinct voice telling me to open it.

No rattles.

No movement whatsoever.

But a very tightly wrapped treasure.

I remember this beach theme bracelet and matching clip-on earrings like I just saw them yesterday when actually, I don't recall when I last saw them

She called it her Ocean City jewelry.

She admired it in a souvenir shop on the Boardwalk in Ocean City, MD when we were there for our annual two weeks at the beach vacation.  I was probably around 10 years old.  My dad went back later in the day and bought it for her.  

I don't think she ever went back to Ocean City without wearing that jewelry.  

She wore the bracelet all day while we were there, but the earrings were saved for dinners out.  

I think it might be time for a trip back to Ocean City.  My mom and dad loved it there.

And so did I. 

 http://www.meanderingsandmuses.com/2010/10/little-run-down-boardwalk-of-memory.html

meanderingsandmuses.com/2016/06/ocean-city-md-another-walk-down-memory.html