Another good sign...

...of my good/better mental health is that I FINALLY cleaned my work room/studio today.  In my darker days a few months ago I wasn't even interested in making art much less cleaning my work room that had been out of control for over a year. 

I've been back to creating for a few weeks but the floor has been covered except for about a 3' x 3' area where I squeezed my butt in and worked out of on the floor.  I was keeping up with my supplies fairly well since I've been concentrating on mostly one particular subject.  But I knew there were good things hiding outside this parameter that I would enjoy using and even get back to creating more of an assortment of things. 

On my "schedule" today was to create in there but I was suddenly struck with the desire to clean and see that floor and be able to walk in that room and find things that had been lost too long.  I've been waiting for this desire to strike me for, as I said, over a year. 

It had been a long time since I'd been able to enjoy the room; I just kept my head down working on the floor.  Now I can actually walk around in the room and I know where most things are.  I found so many things; some I remembered and missed and some I had completely forgotten about.

It's not Martha Stewart organized but it's so much better.

No, you won't be seeing it in one of those fabulous studio magazines...well...unless I get a call...hint, hint...then I could muster the motivation to completely organize and be oh so cute.

Until then it's just me being oh so happy that I'm back to a place where I have the energy, interest, motivation, and desire to create in a nice space again.  We'll see what comes out of it.

Little Things

I've got nothing exciting to report but feel the need to try to keep up with Miz Juney on blogging.  The biggest news this week was that I got the above antique elephant for my elephant collection in my dining room (see post before last).

Okay, something really kind of exciting is that we ordered a new sofa last week.  We've had the above sofa since right before Matt was born, so 13 1/2 years.  That's about average life for a sofa.  It was really kind of a gonner a few years ago but I had it slipcovered in drop cloth fabric which has given it a few more years.  As you can see, the slip part that covered the base has been destroyed by the cat and dog.  The slips are still on the cushions but have been patched a couple of times, but mainly the cushions are shot.  Another slipcover will not save it this time-it's done.  The test was that Paul readily agreed-no small deed.

I found this photo in a recent magazine barely showing the sofa with the material that I picked.  It's at the bottom, the green with swirls.  I was tickled to get a very small idea of what it's going to look like.   Okay, for those of y'all still  awake, I'll be so happy to show the new sofa when it arrives in 8-10 weeks.  Why is it that we can send a man to the moon but it takes 8-10 weeks to get a sofa?

And I'm doing some editing/changing around in anticipation of the new sofa.  Well, I am adding/switching out a new large piece of furniture that is a color which is in my window treatments in a small amount, but is a new color of furniture.  Already had to switch the furniture around so we can use all the furniture best and not have to argue over spots (not to mention it will help me keep the boys off the sofa as long as possible).  Tables and lamps had to edited, moved, and changed out.  Very important stuff.  I can make this "domestic engineer" job of mine seem globally changing easily.   It doesn't hurt that I'm reading The Help right now as it encourages me to think how important these small things are in our lives even though they are still in the 50's. 

Okay, a little more fun was making this ring this week.  You can get these ring things everwhere now that have a flat top on them so that things can be easily glued onto them to make decorative rings.  This one is special to me because the watch was one I got as a teen who even then appreciated art deco.  It hadn't worked in years so I cut off the band and glued it on to make it into this ring.  Fun.

I do have some interesting events coming up...a sleepover with my bff college roommate in Northern Virginia and then a trip to The Virgin Islands.  Who knows, maybe something really good and exciting will happen even before then...oh, yeah, Lucas got bitten by a black widow spider but is okay now and Justin has joined a bowling league.  Poor ol' Matt is still in school until the 23rd because of all the snow days we had.  So that's all the thrilling news for now...

NOT TO BE MISSED!!!!!!

The Pink Cabbage's annual Strawberry Days.  It's GREAT!!!!  So much good food and great stuff.  We rent out spaces outside the shop in the fields all around.  All the space rent and much of the proceeds go to The American Cancer Society.  Each year we raise several thousand dollars and people have a great time and get great deals.  See you there!!!!

Field Trip For One

In early November, on our birthday, Janine and I went to Hampden (pronounced Hamden and is in Baltimore City) for lunch and to puruse the neat shops around there 'cause it's a cool area.  While we were there I saw a piece of furniture in one of the shops that I fell in love with.  One to replace the piece above in my dining room.  It's a pretty cute cabinet, looks way better in a photo than up close.  The problem with it was the closed part took up the whole bottom half.  While good for storage there wasn't enough room for the items I wanted to display in that room and no room for Paul's grandmother's china (the main selling point).  So, after six months, I finally got the thumbs up from Paul-sight unseen.  Wow, it didn't take me long to get that truck to Baltimore.

I decided to turn it into a little field trip for me.  A must in Hampden is Cafe' Hon.  For you foreigners, there is an accent for real Baltimorians called Balimorese.  Part of that language is that everyone from Baltimore (pronounced Balimore) calls each other Hon, short for Honey.  So Cafe' Hon is the quintessential place to go for all things related to this Balimore experience.

This is a painting I took at Cafe' Hon of your typical Hon.  Beehive hairdo and cat eyed glasses, tight spandex pants, and lots of...ummm...retro-fashionable, cheap bling.

Here's an a-typical booth as most of them are covered in leapord skin fabric but still cute-check out the pictures and the fun chandelier.

Another fun vignette-Jesus, Mary, and Joseph along with a bike and more hon pictures.  I went specifically for the bread pudding-OMG-yum.  I'd had it before so I knew to expect just what I got-a giant piece of heaven with Bourbon sauce. 

Every year they have the Hon Fest and it's later this month.  Many, many folks, men and women, dress like Hons.  It's hilarious.  Some events during the fest include the above by Art Mafia.  HUGE TIP:  rent or even buy the movie Pecker.  It's a great movie and tells a sweet tale of a young man growing up in Hampden; it's hilarious.  It's by John Waters who is an idol here and famous for many movies such as Hairspray and Cereal Mom. 

Here is the item of my affection.  You know what I heard about it..."It looks just like the other one."..."We paid HOW much for a new piece of furniture that looks old?"  Once I purdied it up it was accepted into the family more warmly.

I have room for my "green" pieces seen here.  Including my daddy in the green lidded jar.  Sorry if you think that's creepy but I find it comforting.

Then there includes a shelf area for my pink luster ware...

...and my elephant/circus things...

...and other of my favorite things, most are heirlooms or have some special sentimental meaning.  Paul's mother's Victorian figurines, some pieces from Aunt Helen and Uncle Robbie.

And then there's Paul's grandmother's china, really beautiful and should be on display instead of in the cabinet like it always had been before.

That meant that the other cabinet in the room got a good redo...my mom's dog collection from childhood and more of Paul's mother's figurines.

Another thing I love about this room is that I have a collection of religious items ranging from pretty to tacky to just wrong like the piece above...Dubner's Restaurant Beer-Wine-Liquores with the thermometer at the bottom-the just wrong catagory.

This is a piece we got out of Uncle Robbie's apartment.  It's a hand embroidered cross, heart, and anchor on black velvet...umm...tacky.

The requisite (for a Texas girl anyway) antique hand painted Alamo. Very tasteful.

I got this from my friend, Patrice, a couple of years ago and love it.  Beautiful colors, not a photo that does it justice, it's really pretty.

This piece I got from the Baltimore Big Flea.  Jody talked me into buying it because she loved it so much but is Jewish and didn't want to put it up in her home.  So glad she talked me into it, it's sooo tacky that it's pretty.

So here's my overall new look.  Yes, I'm very happy in my most shallow way.  I even love my "upside down" chandelier-the big lamp I put on the table but wired it into the ceiling outlet.  Voila!

I think it's safe to say...

...that the cloud has pretty much lifted.  This is the first day that I have dared to say that since December.  And here's one process which gave me reason to believe that I'm better.  Last summer I painted the outside of the french doors leading to our deck.  As you can see, or rather not see (it's not a great color translation), is that it was a deep terra cotta and dark sage.  I don't know.  What was supposed to be so great about these doors is that the grids unscrew and you just pop them off, paint them and wash the windows, then pop them back on.  I did it a few years ago but with the original almond color.  This time things didn't go as well.  The grids, being thin plastic, had gotten much older and very brittle and mostly broke apart.  Paul and I put them back together as you see here but one little push and the 1/4" thick glass would have fallen out.  To keep myself from worrying so much I finally duct taped the grids on and it helped a little but was definitely not burglar proof.  I pestered Paul about getting it replaced for, obviously, months.  Today was finally the day we got our new door put in!!!

Here's the work in progress WIDE open to the world-the dog thought it was perfect.

I had moved some things out of the way so the guy could work easily and so things would not get broken.  When I was cleaning and put things back together when he was finished and I started to notice the little things that I hadn't appreciated in a while.  I've had these things for a long time but haven't had any interest in enjoying them.  I really started enjoying the beauty of the cup and saucer, the shells, and the crude shelf they are on.

Below the shelf on the radiator (non-working, just decorative) is a cloche with the above photo wired onto the top, love the photo.

Inside the cloche are the dishes from my tea party play set as a child-very precious to me.  That's when it occurred to me that the cloud may have really lifted as I was able to fully enjoy them for the reason they are there for-to make me smile and feel happy.  Wow, it felt so good to feel that way again.   There were weeks I worried that I'd never feel that again.  Whew.

After.  The new sliding glass door.  Not as pretty, in my opinion, as the french doors but they do have the little blinds inside them that the guys love because I can't fiddle around with them.  Nope, not a second thought about dinner.