I've been in a wonderful organizing, cleaning and de-cluttering mood. A lot of it I attribute to some inspiring blogs I've found. Handy Man Crafty Woman and Organizing Made Fun are full of ideas, projects and inexpensive ideas for your home.  I've been struggling for a while over accessorizing my mantle. I love the clean, crisp look of the new contemporary homes like you see at Crate & Barrel. But I don't love it for me.

I love stuff. I love eclectic. I like layers and textures and places for my eye to travel. I found this mantel on My Home Redux and I loved it:

So, I used the concept, and though I am not 100% happy with my attempt, I do like it and feel like I am on the right track:

I think I want to layer the mirror and picture a bit more, and maybe turn the mirror up the long way. We'll see. It's a work in progress.

I have a funny hole in my drywall where some speaker wire comes out. The home theater system is long dead, and I don't have a TV in this room any longer. So, this funky wire was coming out of the wall. I really didn't want to cover it up with drywall. I may put speakers there oneday. So, I hung some pictures in a rather unconventional way, but I really like it:

I only have 8 foot ceilings, so the one picture is really low. But I am short and it is ok. It's cheaper and more temporary than drywall. Ha! I just noticed that if you zoom on this photo you can see bits of yarn hanging out of the armoire. Guess where my yarn stash is- and no, it has not benefited from my organizing bug yet. 

Next project; I'm going to make small lamp shades out of some left over wall paper for my dining room light fixture. Here's the before:

I'm smitten with my organizing and decorating with zero dollars projects. Now, if I could just figure out how to do groceries, utilities and gasoline on zero dollars. 

My Perfect Saturday

I'm having a perfect Saturday. My cousin came over and picked up the piece of furniture that my TV had been on. I wanted to downsize to a smaller antique dresser. Photos to come. My den is a MESS. It's like I packed it up in 10 minutes. It isn't going back together in 10 minutes. It will probably take 10 days. How does that work?

I'm watching Mad Men- season 1. I love having an afternoon of marathon TV. This show is so well written. The setting is pure 1960. Lots of subtle satire comparing that era to the present day. Pregnant women smoking and drinking. EVERYONE smoking. Kids in no car seats. A little girl playing ghost with a plastic bag from the cleaner over her head and her mother chastising her that her "dry cleaning better not be on the floor of the closet".  The a woman's place is in the homeyness of the scripts would be funny if it wasn't such a true depiction of the inequalities that affected women in the years before the feminist movement.

Women's roles in the family, business and the world have changed and are still evolving. I came of age during that change. It was a confusing time to grow up. There's a part of me that thinks my meals should be perfect and my silver should sparkle. (Apparently so should my kitchen and bathroom!) Then there's the part of me that cannot imagine life without a career. Just as the kitchen sparkles, so should my work life. My oldest daughter gave me one of the best pieces of wisdom I've received in my life. "Mom, your generation thinks you can have it all and do it all. My generation knows we can have whatever we want, but we cannot do it all." 

So, we can pick what we want to excel at. And be gentle on ourselves about all the rest. And be glad that our daughters generation is not nearly as confused as we are!

Chris-entine

This weekend my cousins and I celebrated a combination very belated Christmas, early Valentines Day, Birthdays and any other winter holiday you can throw in. I've kept my little Christmas tree up in anticipation of this, and now I don't have an excuse for not putting it away!

My cousin gave me this beautiful yarn bowl. She got it when we visited the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival in West Branch, MI last September. I love it. I love knitting and I love pottery.

I will enjoy using it in my cozy little knitting corner:

Speaking of cozy- is there any better feeling than walking into your home after a busy day at work? And the bed is made. (New comforter coming soon!)

And a good book is waiting on your Kindle...

And the queen of the house is ready to come in and snuggle...

But wait, what's this? Where is my Kindle?

On the treadmill, as a reminder that there will be no kitty snuggling or reclining with my book in bed until I at least make an attempt to log some minutes.

Minutes are now logged and I'm off to snuggle with a certain Favorite Kitty who desperately needs attention!

Serendipity Strikes Again & Some Family Photos

Every so often life hands us moments that are so serendipitous, they are beyond description. 

I’ve been gifted with two such moments this week. 

I’ve played around on ancestry.com for a few years. Last year I found a 2nd cousin who had lost touch with the family. It was wonderful and is a story I will tell here one day. 

This week I found another long lost cousin plus a cousin related by marriage. 

The long lost cousin is a few years younger than I. She’s the granddaughter of my great uncle.  I remember hearing about her as a child. I so wished I could meet her and we could be like sisters. She was an only child and so was I. I wondered why she never visited the family. What I didn’t know was that her father and grandfather (my great uncle) were estranged. Things like this were not discussed in front of a child in my family. In fact, Irish families seem to really excel at secret keeping. I could write many blog posts about family secrets!

I found my long lost cousin on Ancestry. I wasn’t 100% sure it was her so I sent her a message. When she responded that she was indeed who I thought she was I felt like an important piece of a jigsaw puzzled just dropped into its place. 

The heartwarming  thing is I’ve been able to tell her how much her grandfather loved her. How photos of her were always front and center on his dresser. How he always carried a photo of her. How he talked about her all the time.  She knew nothing of this. 

The cause of the rift in the family doesn’t matter anymore. I hope that she and I will erase the chasm. I know that all parties who were involved in the rift will look down from heaven and be pleased. I am certain the estrangement has been healed in the heavenly realm. I am so looking forward to being part of the healing here on earth. 

The other cousin related by marriage contacted me because she saw her great aunt Irene on my family tree. Irene was my great aunt by marriage. She passed away last year at age 96. She was probably the kindest, most gentle person I’ve ever known. When her niece contacted me looking for information on this branch of her family I was able to tell her that she has another great aunt who is still alive. She’s 101, lives in a nursing home and is sharp as a tack. I’m sure she’ll be a wealth of information. 

I love putting the puzzle pieces of my ancestors together. I wish I had more facts. I wish I had a sharp as a tack 101 year old aunt. I know there were lots of stories that I only vaguely remember. 

Our ancestors shape who we are. Superficial things like eye color, complexion and height can be found in those who came before us. 

But they have gifted us with much more than physical attributes. Their talents, their interests, their personalities all affect us just as much as the gene we inherited that determines eye color. I have ancestors who were seamstresses, tailors,  quilters, knitters, artists, cooks, writers,upholsterers, doctors and homemakers. I come by my love of textiles and crafts and all things homey honestly. 

 We all possess sacred gifts from relatives we’ve never met. Inside each of us are talents we let lie dormant. We don’t delve into the unknown world of painting, pottery or poetry because we doubt our abilities, think we don’t have time or don’t know where to start. 


Below, my grandparents Erv and Loretta Roller. 

We all have inherited aptitude for a world full of wondrous things . All that is required of us is to look inward and decide how we want to express our inherent talent. How can we honor those who came before by taking a risk and delving into a hobby or activity that they once enjoyed? 

My grandmother (below) owned a "letter mailing business" at a time when women did not own businesses. She, of course, gave it up when she got married. It was the lady like thing to do in those days! 

Follow your heart and see where it takes you. 

Some Observations: 
Just Do It! Write a story, write a poem, write a book. Paint a watercolor. Draw a vase of flowers. Take some photos just for the pleasure of it. Visit a museum or a library. Write a journal. Sew a quilt. Sew a pillow. Knit. Needlepoint. Do counted cross stitch. Build a bird feeder. Cook something special. Bake bread. Decorate a room. Sing. Play music. Tell family stories. Bead a bracelet. Keep an art journal.  Work on your family tree. Read a book. Go to a play. Exercise or do some yoga. Make a greeting card. Play baseball. Arrange flowers. Plant a garden. Write a letter. Explore things you want to know about online. Decorate a cake. Play cards. Take a walk. Meditate. 

I’ll stop the list now, but I could go on for pages. The world is rich with things to do and explore. We are just as rich with ability we’ve yet to tap into. 

Some things that are noticeably missing from my Just Do It list:

Get your taxes ready to file. 

Pay speed camera tickets.

File all your paperwork. 

Balance your checkbook. 

Some things do not deserve to be on a Just Do It List!

I know when I am 96 and sitting in a rocking chair I will not say “I wish I’d watched more I Love Lucy reruns.”  Life is what we make it and we can make it really amazing. Or we can play solitaire on the computer. Just Do It. 

I Heart Veggies

We have another storm coming- this one will be mostly ice. I had to make the obligatory stop at the grocery store on the way home to prepare. (I actually did need toilet paper.) I was out of fruits and veggies too and my newly adopted oh so healthy lifestyle needs fresh fruits and veggies. Plus I got a really cute new grocery bag. No, I did not need it. I've never met a bag I didn't have to have. It's a sickness I tell you. But look at how cute it is:

Look at my bounty from Whole Foods- amazing fruits and veggies:

I read a healthy eating tip that said if you put healthy snacks at eye level in your fridge you will be more likely to stick to the healthy eating program. I put a lazy susan in my fridge and I love the results:

Now that I've taken the photo I can put the heavy cream back! :) I do have a small carton of heavy cream. It's left over from something I made at Christmas. I'm not using it, but it hasn't expired. I can't throw it out until it expires. That will make sense only to some of you. 

So, I am prepared with rutabagas, sweet potatoes, cauliflower and lots of other veggies. I have honeycrisp apples and navel oranges that cost more than a prime rib used to cost. I have green bananas that will be ready to eat some time next week. I have chicken, hanger steak and salmon. And I pray that we don't lose power. If we do, I will have nothing but a mess. 

There's something intrinsically satisfying about stocking up on "whatever" in preparation for a storm. It fulfills some sort of nesting instinct I've always had. I love the idea of my home being my sanctuary. It's a safe place to rest, relax, create and learn. It's the most comfortable place on earth. How many times have you been on a fabulous vacation, but nothing feels better than when you get home and sleep in your own bed?  And now I am going to go crawl under the covers of my own bed, read a book and watch the weather. Tomorrow is another day for more organizing and putting more sanctuary-ness in place. 

Observation: I do feel like my home is my sanctuary, until I open some of my closet doors. Yikes. 

Evil Red Dot

Two years ago this coming Mother's Day my girls gave me my kitty, Juli. One of my daughters found her starving, freezing, wet, dirty and lost. Juli makes sure none of those conditions ever describe her now.

Under the glass coffee table looking at things that aren't there. 

She got a toy for Christmas that is the equivalent of a baby swing for cats. It's a lazer light that makes an evil red dot dart around the room all by itself.

She loves it. She wants to get that red dot! And she cries to have me turn the toy on. All. Day. Long.
I officially have a two year old again.

That's all for now. I have to go turn on Juli's toy. 

Washington DC Will Be Closed Until Further Notice

We got smacked with a snow storm today. Freezing rain followed by 8" of heavy, wet snow that fell really fast has paralyzed the area. People are stranded everywhere. Many people have been trying to get home for 6 or more hours.

The trees are weighed down with the heavy snow. Lots of people have lost power. Luckily, we haven't.

Yes, this amount of snow can cripple the DC area. Actually, we had Thunder Snow. In all my years in lots of snow storms in Michigan I've never heard of Thunder Snow. 

 I'm soooo grateful to be home. It's after 11 at night and people are still stuck in their cars. There are women with babies, elderly people and pregnant women. The snow has stopped and hopefully the plows will be able to get through the gridlock and take care of the roads. 

It's time to get to bed and say a little prayer for those still stuck in this mess. And a little prayer that we don't lose power. And a little prayer that we don't get more snow on Friday.

Observation: When I learned to drive in Michigan I was taught how to rock myself slowly and easily out of snow. People in Maryland, for the most part, don't do that. They spin tires. And spin. And make nice icy spots under their tires.