Bits of This and That: An Aimless Weekend

Let's just get this out there up front: weeks that start off with not just one but two migraines aren't going to finish off well no matter what you do. One is bad enough, but one on Monday and another on Tuesday meant that I spent the rest of the week in that migraine hangover that sufferers know so well.

It was a bummer. We'd started out the week with lovely weather, blue skies, and daffodils. The kids and I got our hands in the dirt: 

We'd planted dozens of gladiolus bulbs, to remind us of my paternal grandmother, Verlene. They are something my sister and I both remember about her garden. Dyan bought some and shipped the rest to me. It's a good project for two sisters to share: memory gardening. 

But then I had the headaches, and other than keeping myself glued together enough to get through each work day, nothing much got done.

And then this happened:

Snow. In May. We got about four inches. I guess I shouldn't complain, since other parts of the Midwest got as much as 10 to 12 inches. Yes, you read that right.

Now, snow in May isn't unheard of where I live. In fact, the last recorded date of snow ever in my area is 12 inches on May 28, 1947. But getting snow in May is enough to send most of us around here, who've seen a pretty nasty winter as it is, into moods ranging from extreme irritation to homicidal.

After the migraines, I didn't have the energy for homicidal. So I just moped.

I had thought that after malingering all week I'd hit the ground running for the weekend. I met with some girl friends for margaritas Friday after work.

I also shopped at Target:

Target is currently featuring Vera Neumann scarves. She was a Mid-century artist who got started screen printing scarves on surplus parachute silk during WWII, and become a fashion icon of the 40s, 50s, and 60s. You can read more about the collection with Target's online magazine, and find links to purchase the scarves. There are 17 of them! I had a hard time choosing, but ended up drawn the most to this one. I love the brown branches, the fresh green and bright red. It'll look fabulous with my red cotton cardigan.

I also picked up some nail polish:

The clear periwinkle blue is such a mood lifter. The polish, scarf, and margaritas were "migraine survivor" consolation prizes for myself.

That was Friday.

I bought paint for the bathroom ceiling......but didn't paint the ceiling.

I bought a frame for a piece of artwork for Grant's room......but didn't hang it.

I wandered around the yard holding a wee little tree that Ben got at school for Arbor Day. He has his heart set on planting it and I was considering just the right place. It's just a stick, but it is a viburnum and should look like this when grown:

Image source: Missouri Botanical Garden

But I didn't plant it. It's still in its little mesh bag on the screen porch.

I also looked at this:

It's the little filthy strip of carpet that was left from removing the carpet in the living room. That's the threshold between the living room hardwood and the foyer vinyl.

I thought perhaps now was the time to not only get that yucky last bit of carpet up, but also rip up the metal threshold, and the vinyl floor too.

But once I got the carpet and metal tack strip up..... I quit. 

I ordered a few things online needed for house projects....but didn't work on any.

I wandered from one little thing to another, puttering, and sitting down a lot for coffee and cream and flipping through magazines and browsing Pinterest. I did laundry and cleaned the older boys rooms and shuffled around the kitchen.

In the midst of the weekend I was feeling discouraged about my energy levels and lack of purpose, but as Sunday grew to a close and the boys and I ate supper together, I realized that it was a weekend to regroup, take a breath, and gather oneself together. Sometimes those weekends are as much a necessary part of the recipe for progress as those hardworking, jam-packed weekends.

It's a new week, blessedly snow and migraine free. I'll be back with you soon. 

The Need for Red in February

Let's just say I hate Valentine's Day and get it over with, shall we?

I hate the subliminal message that women's good will and adoration can be bought with heart shaped diamond pendants, or pink furry stuffed animals, or boxes of mass-produced and slightly stale chocolates. I hate overseeing the handwriting of 25 valentines times two for two boys who utterly detest the chore and yet are obligated to complete it so that Valentine's Day can be another opportunity for the school to teach them handwriting. I hate the cloying artificial sentiment manufactured and marketed by card/flower/gift/candy shops. I hate the feeling of obligation it sets up in otherwise sane couples. And to be perfectly truthful and yet contradictory, I spent not just a few years of my marriage and then divorce, sitting at home in sweatpants doing nothing, feeling sour, and then feeling sour that I felt sour about being neglected on a holiday I hated anyway.

It's enough to make this usually level-headed woman eat a whole bag of potato chips at one sitting.

Now that we're clear on the that, I am still in favor of the color red in February. I think most of us who experience a true winter like we do here On the Doorstep, need a blast of warm, fiery color to counteract the gray skies, dirty snowbanks, and mucky streets we struggle through for months on end.

Red's a master of many roles: cheerful, passionate, saucy, loud, every one of them a good antidote to February blahs. I believe every room, no matter what's going on in it, needs a little red to keep things from being boring.

Here are some of my favorites, from Etsy sellers:

                      

                   

                   

                       

Vintage Purse: Happy Birthday to Me!

I can't really whoop it up about the month of October anymore. Because, well, it's November. Zap. There went another one. Another month that is. They seem to fly by quickly these days.

So, forgive me if I'm not ready to move on to pumpkin pie and Christmas shopping just yet. I'm going to reminisce about our recently departed October just a little bit.

One of the things I like quite selfishly about October is that it's my birthday month. It's not the first time I've done this, but I bought myself a birthday gift. I hope none of you out there think that's sad. It certainly isn't because I've been neglected. Mr. Man presented me with a lovely gold chain and turquoise bead necklace, and other family members and friends remembered my day. I felt just as special as I did the day I turned six years old, when I wore a paper crown of my own creation.

Since I can't really wear paper crowns anymore (or at least not any where local mental health care providers might take notice), sometimes I like to get myself a little something that I know no one else will get me. Something I just plain covet.

This time it was a vintage tapestry handbag. It surprised me I went for this one, since I am not usually too much of a girlie-girl, and this strikes me as VERY girlie. I could not resist the colors and textures:

There was also this quirky looking clasp:

And the interior, which is so clean it looks like its never been used:

I'm not always practical about my handbags. I could use the basic black bag, and I'm dearly in need of an everyday brown leather something. So what do I go for? Tapestry roses and pink linen linings. I'm not sorry one bit, though. I have a brown wool coat it will look great with, and green sweater too.

Do you spend birthday money on indulgences or practical items? Do you buy yourself a gift?

I have blog posts coming up about my Arkansas trip, one last Junk Jamboree item, an end-of-year garden round up, and a new blog feature, all coming soon. Thanks for hanging in during this slow spell. Starting two jobs in four months was quite the perfect storm on this household. Now, onward into November!

New Collection: The Bead Goes On

I collect things--- chickens (ceramic only......so far), lamps, things I feel sorry for, books, my children's artwork, aqua green mid-century ceramic vases, vintage ephemera, tablecloths, magazines with neat ideas, dust bunnies (under the sofa).

While none of those things are threatening to take over the household (so far) in any hoarding tendency sort of way, and none of them have cost me my financial fortune, I still sometimes worry. How many collections are too many? Even discounting the dust bunnies, when is too much too much?

Because I just realized I've got another collection. Old bead necklaces. I say "old" because in some cases "vintage" sounds a bit pretentious. Especially if you've fished it out of a box of junk at some estate or farm sale.

I'm not a super girly-girl, but I do like to feel feminine. I'm not really a fashion rebel either, but I like to assert my creativity and love of old things, my personal stamp, on the day-to-day office casual my career demands.

I found myself popping bead necklaces on with cardigans, with blouses, with jackets, to do just that. I liked the look so much I kept going. The coral pink one above is the most recent acquisition, the first one I bought because I loved the item, without necessarily having something to wear it with. This is the sure symptom of a collector. I like them much better than dust bunnies, and unlike the chickens, they are useful.

These red beads are Bohemian glass, and look fantastic with black sunglasses. I only wish I could pull off red lipstick too, but alas I am not a lipstick girl.

I especially like the contrast of the glossy beads against the chunky textures of sweaters.

This one reminds me of marbles, and I love the harvest colors. This strand is so super shiny and attractive that my inner two-year-old wants to put them in her mouth. They are that tasty looking.

The best thing about bead necklaces is that they're relatively cheap as vintage jewelry goes. While celluloid and rhinestone pieces are getting to be a pretty spendy habit, most bead necklaces can be had for dollars. They are definitely cheaper than new jewelry of the same quality.

This one came to me in a pretty grimy state, but it's cleaned up pretty well, and I enjoy the pastel glam. Classic like a sweater set!

Right now I'm thinking a strand of black beads would be nice, but I'm not out actively hunting for it in the wild. It'll come to me when I'm having good thrifting luck. Besides, I've got to keep myself under some sort of self-control, because I have to make sure there's still room for chickens, lamps, and my kid's art masterpieces. I am willing, however, to sacrifice the dust bunnies for the sake of my budding (or is that beading?) necklace collection. Priorities,  you know.

A Summer Green Scarf

Are they leaves? Or limes? Maybe lime leaves?

I've never considered myself much of a scarf person. I think it's because I was a teen in the 80's. Scarves in loud pastels and lurex threads hit the back of the dark closet of shame along with too much eyeliner (on both women AND men), lace fingerless gloves, leg warmers, and other fashion disasters of that era. 


Until now. I've recently had passed down to me a few scarves from the 50s and 60s, and I'm finding I love them for scooping up hair on bad hair days or adding a bit of color to my face when I've hit the brown or black too hard with my major wardrobe pieces (one of my most common fashion faux pas in the winter). 

This one pictured above arrived in the mail last week from Etsy seller Vintage View. I love all the different summery greens in the leafy, citrusy graphic pattern.

Another great thing? The seller popped a freebie in the mailer, an old costume brooch with a broken clasp. I don't know what I'm doing with it yet, but it might be great to re-purpose for the pocket of a home made purse or a similar project. Such a neato surprise, I think, but I'm rather raccoon-like in my tendencies--I like shiny stuff.