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A Beaded Bag Full of Treasures

By Lynn, on February 7th, 2012%

Happy Tuesday Morning!

Let’s get right down to business, shall we?  Because I (once again) have a ton of work to do today! I admit, if I could get away with it, I’d sit here all day and have fun, but alas somebody’s gotta pay the bills!

You may have noticed lately that the face of my blog is changing a bit.  I have changed the header, put more of my affiliate links in the sidebar and cleaned up some of the blog roll.  Over the next few days to weeks, you may see even more changes as sections of links are moved to where they make more sense.  I suppose I felt the need to tell you all this because I don’t want to seem like I suddenly feel like I am “all that” and that I don’t need to have the links of friends, blogs and resources in my sidebar!  No.  Not at all.  It is just that my life has changed, and with that the focus of this blog has changed.  In all honesty, I do not expect to live here in this apartment for the rest of my life, and who I become in the future (another Mrs?…  an adoptive mother?…  a new career?…) could change as well, so the focus of this blog could change yet again!  :)   I do hope one day to have loads of garden pictures and creature pictures here again.

In the meantime, I have fallen in love with fashion and thrifting again.  It is like a treasure to me right now.  Ahh friends, you know (I hope you do) that I know the difference between a want and a need, and a real treasure and just a fading treasure.  Fashion is a fading treasure — like youth, like looks, like lots of things.  But it is fun nonetheless!  I have gained some new blog lurkers and readers lately (Welcome!! — and I treasure your comments, while we are on the subject of treasures!) and I want the  blog to make sense to everyone who visits.  Over time, the still active links will be put in a safe place (I do have other websites, you know) and sorted to make more sense.


Can you tell which treasures are mine and which are Annie’s?

Recently I found a pretty, black, beaded bag to sling around my shoulder when I walk Annie.  It holds my apartment keys, my phone, and her treats.  I guess looking on the outside a person could never guess what is on the inside.  Pieces of dog food?  Really?  Sometimes I feel exposed over the fact that I will very soon be divorced.  It goes against every grain of my makeup when it comes to marriage.  After all, I used to write articles about the importance of a marriage staying together:  Bittersweet Magnolia Memories

From the outside it might look like I gave up.  Or changed.  But if a person jumps off of a sinking ship into a life raft, did they give up?  Actually they were getting away with whatever they could salvage and hoping to just stay alive.  I fully intend to stand by my original decision to not air it all here, but as my life changes, I want all of my dear internet friends to know that my beliefs about vows and marriage never changed, even as I moved away from the home I had lived in for 23 years.

Once Annie realizes I am holding a treat and have my walking boots and beaded bag ready to go, she’ll get her lazy self up from her warm, snuggly spot in my bed and be at the door stretching!  We do enjoy our walks.

black boots:  X-Appeal thrifted
petticoat skirt:  ginger thrifted
lacy dress:  hazel thrifted
long-sleeve lacy shirt:  Energie new from Rugged Wearhouse
black beaded bag: thrifted

I hope your day is full of JOY.  Lots of typing and errand-running in my future, as in today!

6 comments   Fashion, The Move, Thrift and Antique Store Shopping

The Thistle

By Lynn, on December 28th, 2011%

“Only an ugly thistle,”
I heard you say
Of a pretty purple blossom
Beside the way.
But that was before the pastures
Were bare and brown,
Or Frost had cut with his sickle
The flowers down.

Here now is this self-same prickly
And ugly weed,
But its tufts of purple blossom
Have gone to seed.
And forth from their dingy covers
Come lovely things –
The tiniest of creatures, flying
On silken wings.

These are the seeds, and hither
And thither they go,
Light as the downiest feather,
White as the snow.
Loitering, or blown and drifted
About the air,
They make dull days in November
Seem almost fair.

~Clara Doty Bates

I read this earlier today in a very, very old children’s book called Seashore Chats, published in 1898. 

I could not help but think of my own life — marriage over, buckets of tears left behind, and a garden of 23 years overgrowing from neglect these days. But on the winds of change (yes, they are a blowin’) I see the tiniest, most beautiful seeds.

You see, life is precious. And we only get one of them. Are we to be selfish with our lives, saving every last ounce of energy and time and thought for ourselves? No! But when a person becomes so sad and so drained as to have no peace, and when little ones are caught staring hard at their mother, wondering if she’s okay, then self-preservation must begin. That is when it should begin. That is when it does begin.

And what are seeds, except self-preservation? There are so many lessons in the garden, dear friends. I am humbled and amazed at the lessons that are indeed there!

And, dear friends, it does not take disaster to bring out the delicate seeds of beautiful change.  Seeds of change can take the form of better eating habits, commiting to daily outdoor walks, or vowing to speak in a softer voice to one’s children.  Seeds of change are beautiful! 

My “flower of the day” today is not a thistle, but a white silky rose, pinned to a white Ann Taylor sweater, a recent thifty 3-dollar find.  If I see perfectly clean and delicate silk flowers at the thrift store, I buy them up if they seem to match my purposes for them. 

You can take a bloom apart and use as many or as few of the petals as you want.  Put a smaller flower (paper flowers are good)  inside and pin it all to your sweater with a safety pin coming from the inside of your sweater.  Just be careful and don’t get stuck! 

Another recent thrifty find, which I am absolutely LOVING, is this long (sweeps the floor) denim Arden B. skirt.  I should have photographed the hem (or lack of one!) because it is the type of skirt that looks as if it had been hemmed and then it was all let out.  Very cool.  A few strings.  I love it!

Perhaps I should learn not to swing all my weight onto one hip right before the flash.  Sorry!  I really mean it!  Sorry!  But I did want you to see the lovely V-shape set into the back of the skirt, so I am including this picture anyway!  It’s a very pretty and flattering skirt!  Skirt = 4 dollars.

Here is wishing you joy and wonder, and delicate seeds of change!

And now…

I accept your dare!  The Alice Tree will be!  The month of January is Alice Month at Rose Cottage!  More lights!  Alice tags, Alice tarts, Alice roses, Alice ornaments!  It will be quite the tree!  You are invited to join me!  And we will share our trees come the end of January!

Enjoy this day!

 

8 comments   Daily Thoughts, Fashion, My Crafty Self, The Move, Thrift and Antique Store Shopping

Going In Circles

By Lynn, on August 13th, 2011%

I am on a little track.  Somewhat.  Totally.  

It’s okay.  My life is a circle.  A track.  And I am just rolling along on that track, watching the scenery change ever so slightly each time around.

I work.  I work the next day.  I work the next day.  I am off.  I take Karate and find release that I cannot explain.  I work.  I work.  I worship.  The days are sprinkled with cleaning and cooking and pinching pennies.  I clean the kitchen before bed each night.

But I like my little track.  I am protective over my little track.  I am learning to laugh again.  I am learning to not be afraid of tomorrow.  I find myself singing.

I am just living.  I guess that’s what we do.

7 comments   Aging Beautifully, The Move

Home Office Solutions

By Lynn, on June 20th, 2011%

When I first moved into the apartment, everything was fast.  Well, the feel of it all was slow and solitary, as you can see in the first picture I took.

Just moved.

But actually getting here was quick.  It was unplanned, unexpected.  I would need my job more than ever.  I could not miss a beat with work and had to work, actually, the day I moved in.  I knew I wanted the sunroom for my office, but really had no time to plan a layout for where everything would go. 

I knew I loved the large window, but I really did not like the look of a sea of cords and screens from across the apartment.  While I’ve enjoyed the window, I also did not like looking directly into the sun and having the computer desks block access to easily opening and closing these lovely windows.

It was this past Saturday evening when the sun was shining right in my eyes, I was trying to work, and I was distracted by the activity going on on the computer right next to me that I stood up and said, “something’s gotta change!”

Sorry the pictures are so dark, but that’s what you get from all that light coming from the huge, wonderful window in the background!

I began moving things around, and I love that it looks more closed off and yet draws the eye to the window rather than the computer screens!

My hope is that I can get a bookshelf custom made, or find another bookshelf just like the one already there so that I can double the length of the bookshelf, making the “wall” more uniform (rather than half bookshelf/half plant stand), but this works for now. 

My office is truly a little cubicle now, and I can still see out the windows, I can easily open and close the windows and blinds/curtains, but I am not distracted by anything in any other part of the apartment, or whatever is going on on Facebook or Club Penguin or You Tube, blah blah blah, when one of my children is on there, and I am not looking directly at the sun. 

I just wanted to share my ideas for taking a small space and creating a smaller space within it for a home office.  I seriously considered getting a refrigerator box to put my desk in, and putting a little lamp inside, cutting out a door and windows, and hiding in it while I worked.

I am serious.

I am.

But I figured that a bookshelf to define the space would be better

Keep your eyes peeled!  Stay tuned!  I am scouring the thrift stores for just the right shelf to make a more uniform “office wall!”

I just think this looks so much better!   Here’s to my new little office!

Enjoy this day!

13 comments   Home Tour, Housekeeping, The Move, Thrift and Antique Store Shopping

Home Art Studio

By Lynn, on May 20th, 2011%

Home Art Studio!!  Fancy title!  ;)   It’s actually a corner of my bedroom in our apartment home.  I am very fortunate to have a large enough bedroom to accommodate my art supplies.  And I have to say, I actually really like having all of this in my bedroom.  (I am gathering ideas for house-building time, maybe some day in my future.)

I can wake up in the mornings and see what I’ve been working on, although I can totally, with ease, picture a cute studio built off of a master bedroom, with large windows, plants, and every cupboard space an artist could want!  Books galore!  Think sink, work table, ahhh.

You know Michaela’s doll house had to come with us!  It sits in my room now and is all clean and decorated.  The dolls are very comfy here.  And I am inspired to make new miniatures.  If only I had more time!  But I think that is the cry from every mortal with every hobby.  No, I am not alone in that!

So, there you go.  Your tour of the art studio!

This is just a short break.  I am working on new things for work and really enjoying the work.  My problem is not wanting to stop one thing to start another, but once I make myself move into my work day, I’m fine.  :)

Enjoy this day!

BIG PS — How could I forget to tell you that:

  •  the large corner desk came from the Habitat for Humanity Restore for about $50.00, a great deal
  • the cupboard that sits on it came from an old barn in Orange County, North Carolina.  It is old, handmade, and I love to just imagine what was kept in it!
  • the old Singer sewing machine was found at Goodwill and tuned up by a local shop
  • the large storage shelf came from a furniture company that was closing down

6 comments   Home Tour, My Crafty Self, The Move, Thrift and Antique Store Shopping

A Little Update

By Lynn, on May 18th, 2011%

I find myself happy.  The apartment home is turning into a cozy little nest.  Counseling continues.  But, again, I don’t feel free to bring all the issues to this blog.  My heart is just filled with thankfulness over all of my friends and the encouragment I find in you all. 

I bet you can guess what I am doing a lot of!  Yes, transcription and QA work!  But now with the house apartment quiet during the day, I am really enjoying my work.  I’m not torn between school and work anymore, and Michaela is T-H-R-I-V-I-N-G!!  Her teachers are awesome.  They are so kind, and they have worked tirelessly to get her on track for the EOGs.  (That’s end of grade tests for those of you who are lifelong homeschoolers.)  ;)

Michaela had been in a different math program here in our homeschool.  She had been working at a different pace.  We were using a different style altogether.  And she walked into a public school about a month before EOGs.  Yikes!  I am so proud of her!

I was in The Wild Little Garden yesterday.  Yes I was.  I had planted some vegetables in March and then left without even a goodbye.  My patch of onions is gorgeous!  I looked at them yesterday and pulled one.  Imagine them in a few more weeks!  I am sure you can see my new made-in-Italy (thank you Goodwill) pitcher for holding utensils.   Love it!

Our rabbits, all except one, have been adopted out.  Two went to neighborhood children.  One went to a homeschooling family with four gorgeous, smart daughters.  One went to a little homeschooleded girl who is a brilliant artist with a brilliant musician mother.  Three went to a sweet homeschooling family who drove about 1-1/2 hours to come get them.  Actually it was the dad and his sons who drove to get them.  He was getting them for his wife.   Ahhhh.  Love.   Only Toby Keith remains at the old house. 

Be assured that this move has not dampened my adventurous spirit one bit!  I just gave Annie a bite of a tostada.  With pinto beans on it.  (This may lead to a separate post.)

There are new gift tags in the shop.  And over the next few weeks there will be more and more gift tags going into the shop!  I love making these!  I must get pictures of my little art nook on here so you can see it!  It has been a lot of fun setting that up.  Art has truly been an outlet for me, even before the move.   I am working on framing all of the canvases I painted before I moved and putting them around my bedroom/art studio. 

Well, this is just a little break.  Lots to do today!  So I gotta run. 

Enjoy this day.

10 comments   Bunnies, My Crafty Self, Pets, The Move

Victoria-Inspired

By Lynn, on May 13th, 2011%

I was leafing through an old Victoria the other day.  I love my Victoria magazines, and every time I think to get rid of them, I think again.  Anyway, this hair style caught my eye:  the neatness of it and the flower at the side.

And it’s not even a long hair thing.  Her hair looks like it might be short.  It’s the “romantic” of it.  It is the neatness and the coolness and the sophistication of it.

So I set off for the craft table (way across on the other side of the apartment) and started pulling out flowers.

Not quite the same.  Not as elegant.  But I think that a ribbon with a couple or three flowers hot-glued in place turned out okay!  I was happy.  I felt quite Victorian.  And that, folks, will come in very handy for when I go to England to become a nanny. 

Anyway, enough about that.

Now, are you ready for what was in the Goodwill when it screamed out my name?   Are you sure?  Are you sitting down?

Well, are you? 

Are you sure?

There was nothing with flowers, really, but there was something bigger and better!

Lately I had almost given up on finding a sofa for the long half wall in the apartment.  I wanted one long enough and firm enough that either of my two oldest boys could sleep on when they came to spend the night.  But everything was too expensive.  I knew I’d have to wait.  And then I kept thinking that if I did find something it would be too big to get in the van. 

You won’t be believing this, but the one and only Goodwill I went into yesterday (a different one from the one with the farm table) had this sitting in the back of the store.

Almost as soon as I saw it, I could tell it was a sectional.  It was clean.  Oh, very clean.  It was firm.  It was nice.  It was $26.99. 

WHAT?

I think the reason it was donated and the reason it was so low in price was because of a large tear along the seam of one of the cushions.  But it’s along a seam.  Anyone who sews knows that that might be repaired!  I can probably stitch it up.  But since I am covering everything with flowers anyway, why could I not cover it with a large quilt?  A yellow, creamy white, and lavender quilt fit over it perfectly.  The quilt is king size if that gives you an idea of the size of this sofa.  The magic of it was that I could carry it home in pieces.  The other magic was that this is the Goodwill closest to my home.  Five minutes?  Maybe?

I am so grateful.  What would life be without little (and sometimes big) surprises to look forward to?

Enjoy this day.

12 comments   Aging Beautifully, Home Tour, Housekeeping, Long Hair, The Move, Thrift and Antique Store Shopping

Pieces

By Lynn, on May 5th, 2011%

Sometimes life feels like a puzzle.

And actually somtimes you just need a puzzle. 

I’ve been trying to keep the apartment quiet, clean and relaxing. I want us to do quiet, healing things.

Who can resist a puzzle?  I set one up on the card table, now that the card table is free (thanks to the new farm table from Goodwill).  We don’t work on the puzzle all the time, obviously, but sometimes the puzzle just calls out and it’s fun to sit down and find where a piece or two goes.

I wanted a sideboard for the wall that seemed so bare.  I still want a sideboard, and when I spot the one for me, I’ll know! It’ll have those celestial beams dancing all around it!  ;)   In the meantime, I was tired of that wall being bare and stuff sitting on the floor in front of it. But I cannot afford to buy furniture unless it’s the right price on the right day. Then I remembered a dresser sitting unused at “the old house.”  I hauled it to the apartment. I cleaned it up and put it in my bedroom.  Then the white dresser that had been in my bedroom was moved into our little dining area to be my sideboard.   A large scarf dresses it up.  It’s filled right now with all the makings of school scrapbooks for all the children.  I am nearly done with all scrapbooks for all children for all years. Just think! Only a few more to do.  By then maybe I’ll have found my sideboard and I can purge more books from the bookshelf and put the completed school scrapbooks in the big bookshelf. Then the sideboard can hold sideboard stuff (whatever that might be).

I went to The Little Wild Garden today.  One word.  Roses.  I could not resist picking some flowers.  The garden is full of them this year.  My beloved little garden. I know roses need water, but I tried not to cry on them. I’ll leave the watering to the rain. I picked with joy. I know that Edna St. Vincent Millay was glad under the sun and touched a hundred flowers and did not pick one, but I had no such restraint. 

I rather like my flowers in the oatmeal container. I feel like I went down from the highlands to visit an English garden and all I had was my Irish oatmeal container to put them in. Cool.

I must run. My girl needs the computer for a school project.

Enjoy each day!

7 comments   Gardening, The Move

Goodbye, Hello

By Lynn, on May 2nd, 2011%

Let’s just say that my life lately has been a steady stream of old doors closing and new doors opening.  It’s something I totally did not expect.  Two months ago, if anyone had asked me…

Well, let’s leave it at that.

Sunday afternoon I met with some of the moms from the homeschool group that Michaela and I have been involved with for the past going on three years. 

I could not bear to call it a goodbye.  Not really.  As Tigger would say, TTFN.  It’s only a Ta Ta For Now.  But in truth, even though Michaela and I have an open invitation to join the group for outings. life for us has changed and has gotten busy in ways that will make it unlikely that we’ll be able to drop in, even though we want to.  Still, the door’s open.  The door’s open.  So some doors haven’t closed all the way.

Can we talk farm tables now?  I always wanted one.  I remember (was it the late 80s?) when they suddenly became popular.  In white and wood?  In dark green and wood?  I wanted one SOOOOOO badly.  I never did get one.  Oh, there are several reasons.  Anyway, for the apartment I needed a table.  I’ve been looking, but you know tables are expensive.  Uh huh.

Today, though, a seldom-seen-but-still-beloved-and-in-my-heart Goodwill in Raleigh whispered screamed out my name as I drove by.  I wheeled in.  There, with celestial light beams dancing around it, was a farm table.  Okay, so I made up the part about the celestial light beams, but it was a farm table!  A real live, honest to goodness farm table.  It had three chairs with it.  Only three chairs.  But that’s okay!  In fact, that’s perfect, because I like to mix up chairs and I already had four chairs at the apartment.

Gasp!  The table did not have a price tag on it.  Thoughts raced through my mind.  Someone has already pulled the tag off and plans to buy it.  My eyes scanned the store, looking for my nemesis.  Everyone looked relatively innocent, though it could have been the older lady in the blue hat.  I eyed her suspiciously.  

Maybe the tag had simply fallen off.  I calmly strolled power-walked up to the counter to ask.

“Oh, I just have not had time to price that table,” the cashier said.  “It’s 29.99.” 

“I’ll take it!”  Right then and there, I knew I had to somehow get that table and chairs in my van even if I had to take the seats out and leave them in the Goodwill parking lot.  But I did not have to do that.  The table fit in easily and I brought it safely home.

She has a few dings, but boy is she sturdy!  I was amazed at how sturdy!  I like the green color.  I imagine myself in the 80s with my new farm table (and fewer wrinkles) and I am happy. 

Enjoy this day.

14 comments   Homeschooling, Relationships, The Move, Thrift and Antique Store Shopping

It’s Becoming More Like Home

By Lynn, on April 30th, 2011%

My Dear Friends,

Can it really be four days since I posted?  And I was going to post every day!  Life is busy, though, and I find myself needing naps.  I suppose that’s normal.  I have also continued to weed out STUFF, taking almost daily trips to the dumpster, Goodwill or the consignment shop.  So therapeutic this is.  I cannot even tell you how good it feels. 

It’s feeling like home here, and I find myself adapting, which brings about inner change.  Life is just that way.  Our minds and our bodies respond to our surroundings.  We encounter new things.  Maybe we like them, maybe we do not, but there’s suddenly a new normal.

Annie is loving it here.

She sprawls out on the floor with her deer antler and chews.  And chews.  And chews. 

It’s a sight to behold.  Did I say already that Annie is my baby and that she is the spoiled rotten fatso beagle of the universe?

Finally, after a prolonged photo shoot, she wonders what I am doing and she stands up to look at me.  Go back to your antler, Annie.

I have continued to put new little touches around the apartment.  Pictures of family members sit atop a round table that came from the old house (it’s a garden table) and makes a perfect end table for the loveseat.

Some things make me sad, like glimpsing something Michaela and I were in the middle of for homeschool and will likely never finish.  Do you remember our Prairie Tuesdays?  We started our nature plates back then and still pull them out sometimes to reminisce.   I am so thankful for the years we had together homeschooling.

It has been a beautiful day here.  Fresh baked cookies, which I cannot partake of, but John and Michaela enjoyed them.  Sunshine so bright it was hard to see the computer screen!  All of our clothes washed, dried, folded and put away.  A new collection of farm charms for the shop. 

Enjoy this day.

6 comments   Home Tour, Housekeeping, Pets, The Move
 
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