Intentional Decorating

Learned a new term today -- intentional decorating.  It is sort of like minimalism in that you don't keep clutter -- but it is less like minimalism that you don't get rid of everything you own.  The idea is that you keep things that have a purpose and that you enjoy and get rid of things that don't serve a purpose.  Do I need to remind you of that last visit to Pier 1 where you went berserk?  I think not.

So, I was doing some blog reading today while I really should have been doing other things (Oh well, I will live) and I ran across some blogs about intentional decorating and I decided to apply the principals to my own bedroom.

My house is what I would call "eclectic".  It is furnished with furniture from our early marriage, our middle marriage and our current marriage -- same two people, three different lifetimes!  That would mean some Early American, some traditional cherry, some arts and crafts style and some transitional painted pieces -- mostly black.  Does it all mesh?  Well, yeah, to a point.  Of course, I am used to it -- to anybody new walking in it might just be a hot mess.  To me it is home and it is comfortable.

My husband and I have some differences of opinion about decorating though.  There are things he just doesn't like -- throw pillows come to mind ("the only thing they are good for is throwing on the floor to get them out of the way"), heavy bed cover and dusty bed pillows.  My pet peeves are pillow shams on bed pillows (I hate having to put them back on the pillows in the morning) and generally having to make up the bed, period. I have instituted the rule that the last one out makes up the bed.  It. is. never. me.

So, we have been having a conversation about some articles I found regarding bed making.  Now "they" (whoever they are) say it is better to let your bed breathe -- in my mind that translates into not making the bed up which, depending on how you "don't" make it up, might be fine.  So, today I took the plunge.  I did the unthinkable.  I took the bedspread off the bed.

Now, we have been using a traditional, woven bedspread made on historical looms in New England for several years.  It is pretty, looks nice and doesn't have offending pillow shams -- the bedspread just covers the pillows and is tucked under.  It is still a hassle to me.  Now, my husband wants the pillows covered because he is more than a bit paranoid about dust.  Keep in mind, his pillow -- a small buckwheat number -- is safely housed in a drawer away from all dust -- so it is just my pillows getting dusty.  I don't care.

So, I got to thinking about the concept of intentional decorating and decided that the bedspread really served no reasonable purpose.  We don't use it for cover (too heavy for Hubs delicate little toes) so it just sits there waiting to be wrangled with the next morning.

Since today was sheet changing day I decided to  change things up a bit.  Yes, I retained the soft, wrinkly, organic sheets and topped them with the cotton blankets that we sleep under.  Then, instead of putting the bedspread back on I decided to just use one of my homemade quilts at the bottom.  I don't have a dust ruffle on it  -- yet -- another of my pet peeves.  But, if this works for us I will just pick one up and wrestle the mattress to get it on.  I am thinking that I am going to like this -- it sort of goes along with not using stuff that is unnecessary and that bedspread is unnecessary.

The caveat is that I will be having to change the pillowcases more often to rid them of the dreaded dust.  I joke but yes, dust is dreaded.  However, the articles that I have read encouraging the idea of not making your bed states that beds that are tightly made up actually make the dust issue worse as dust mites love that sort of environment.  So, I think I can handle changing the pillow cases every couple of days.  We will see how this works.

Now my bedroom coordinates well with the rest of the house -- nothing matches, nothing is formal, everything looks lived in and soft and a bit slouchy.  Yep, that would be us -- lived in, soft and slouchy.

I wonder if that is a "thing" -- I will have to google it.

The Last Word Bookstore

We are so lucky to have a new bookstore in town.  After they closed down the Borders and Barnes and Noble that were close to us, we were left with Half Price Books in close proximity.  No, don't get me wrong, Half Price Books is great -- I go there often as I can almost always find what I am looking for and the prices are great.  However, there is nothing really like an independently owned bookstore.

A few months ago the word was out that Paul Combs was looking to open a bookstore and a GoFundMe page was set up for donations to get it started.  Apparently there was enough interest because it didn't take him too long to get it started and today was opening day.

Hubs and I went this evening figuring it would be late and probably empty.  Well, we were wrong. It wasn't empty.  It was bustling.  It was good.  I found three books -- all hardback -- but I only bought one.  I will go back for the other two at another time.

The one I picked up was

The ones I will go back for later are

and

That one is in your honor, Pom Pom.
I wish I had a photo. Next time I will take my camera.

Friday Finds

Friday finds is hosted by Miz B at Books and a Beat.  I participate once in a while.  This week my find is this --

And where did I find it, you might be asking?  Well, in my bedroom I have a very large window seat which seems to collect all manner of things, including dust.  So, a couple of days ago I vowed to get everything off the seat so I could deal with the dust and voila! I found this buried under a quilt I am making -- how appropriate.  So, yes, I literally did "find" it -- I had forgotten I bought it.

So, what was the next logical step?  I abandoned the window seat and set down to start reading, of course!

That, is my Friday Find! 

Have a wonderful weekend! If you need me, I shall be reading.

The Domestic Diva Book Series

As you probably already know, I love book series -- especially if they have nice covers.  I have been reading the Agatha Raisin series as well as the Aunt Dimity series -- both of which I recommend. I decided to look into some of the other cozy mystery series -- I don't understand my recent affinity for mysteries -- I used to never like them -- but, I do now it seems so I decided to see what else was out there and there is plenty, trust me.

I picked up the first in the Domestic Diva series by Krista Davis.  The title is "The Diva Runs Out of Thyme". 

It isn't a long book, about 286 pages if you don't read the recipes, but it is such a quick read.  It was a really good mystery as you didn't know the culprit until the end -- it was a busy book, a lot going on and a lot of characters.  Not hard to keep up with but all the activity certainly did obscure the whodunnit.

I recommend this book for sure -- not sure about the rest of the series but I will be trying another in the lineup.  Oh, and the cover is great!  And if you read the recipes they look divine! I might even try a couple of them toward the holiday season

To Make the Bed or To Not Make the Bed -- That is the Question

As I was raving about a couple of posts ago, I am disturbed by all the information about ordinary things in our lives being life threatening (need I mention light bulbs?).  It seems that all things in our modern lives come with a certain degree of risk.  I guess that has probably been true across the ages.

However, I did see an interesting article about bed making and whether it is a good thing or not -- healthwise of course. Now, we can all say that having your bed made makes you feel good, adds to the tidy appearance of the house and all that.  I think of having an unmade bed similar to staying in pajamas all day -- a practice that doesn't make me feel good at all and I avoid completely.  So, clearly a neatly made bed is good for our emotional health but is it good for our physical health.  The "experts" have an opinion on how this daily, mindless task should be accomplished (of course "they" do).

In the US we tend to make our beds using lots of layers -- a bottom, fitted sheet, a top sheet, blankets, and then a comforter, quilt, or bedspread.  In our house I use a traditional woven bedspread similar to this one.  We don't sleep under it -- it is folded back and just used to "complete" the bed in the morning.

My husband insists that we be able to cover the pillows to avoid dust accumulation and I find pillow shams to be maddening.  So, this sort of bedspread has been our solution for many years in our marriage.

The new trend, however, is toward ditching the top sheet and using just a bottom sheet and a duvet.  My daughter has a duvet and declares it to be really hot so she still uses a top sheet so when she has to throw off the duvet she is still covered. Also, pillows would just be fluffed and placed on the bed uncovered.

The idea behind this is that all the unsavory things that we know are in our beds will grow profusely in an environment where the sheets and such are all covered up tight and not able to breathe.  So, the idea is to expose the sheets to the air and let the bed air and dry out and dry up and that will solve a lot of allergy issues.

Now, I am all about solving allergy issues but I am not sure about the whole hot duvet and no top sheet thing so I have come up with a possible solution.  I quilt and use cotton batting.  My husband loves my quilts and we use them regularly.  So I am thinking that making the bed with the usual sheet set and then folding a quilt at the bottom for when needed at night -- if needed at night-- leaving the sheets exposed to "air".  That sounds ok, in a way.  My husband doesn't like the pillows to be uncovered but since he stows his little buckwheat pillow in a drawer maybe he should just get over it since it is my pillow he is talking about and if I don't care, he shouldn't either.

So, tell me, how do others make up their bed? I didn't realize this would be such an interesting subject with so many opinions.

Bruce

For those who have been following this blog for a while have read my posts about Bruce Lewis,  I have tried to make them brief and upbeat but the truth of the matter is that Bruce has been battling an aggressive form of brain cancer for several months.  Last week it was apparent that there were no more options for treatment and no path forward so the decision was made to remove Bruce from life support and provide palliative care.  Bruce passed away this morning.  He leaves his wife, Mundee, and his two children Hans and Echo to carry on.

Bruce was a talented artist in the Manga genre.  He  was a devout Christian, a devoted husband and loving father.  He was an all around great guy -- he was interesting, intelligent, goofy, great sense of humor -- you couldn't meet a nicer guy.

I first met Bruce when my son was getting married.  Bruce escorted me down the aisle.  He got me to giggling -- which you really don't want to do because I clearly don't have a "stop" button when it comes to giggling -- and I was so afraid I was going to laugh through the whole thing.  Others were dabbing at misty eyes but I was giggling at Bruce. Bad Mama!

We have spent many birthday celebrations and baptism celebrations with Bruce and Mundee and enjoyed their company so much.  My father was a comic book artist so Bruce was always chatting about that common connection with me.  He could always command interesting conversations and was always so upbeat and fun.

The world is going to be a lesser place with Bruce not here but Heaven is rejoicing, I am sure.  Mundee and the kids are left to carry on but there are a whole lot of people that are going to hold her up and help her through -- she is a faithful, strong woman and that will serve her well during this time.

So,  as we say our farewells to Bruce and prepare to move on, helping Mundee and his kids, we can say we were blessed to have known this guy and our world is a little better for it.

They'll Be Days Like This My Mama Said

Old song lyrics meant to describe the ups and downs of romance but those words are true regardless of subject matter.

This week has been one of a lot of downs.  No, make no mistake, I wake up each and every morning with a prayer of thanks on my lips for giving me another day whatever it holds. I face the day and its challenges with an upbeat attitude and a smile but this last week has left me weary.

Why you ask?  Well, our state of being mostly -- as a country, as a society, as a species.  "Things" are just not right.  Why is that?  Have "things" always been wrong and we just have the information highway to thank for all our knowledge of "things" now?  Have "things" always been tenuous and in my younger years I was just too busy to notice?  That could be part of it.

What are these "things" you ask?  There are concrete, tangible things and then there are nebulous things -- feelings.

Our country is in trouble.  There is something just so wrong about an elected official trying to rule how we live our lives and run our businesses and then threaten to withhold federal funds if we don't cow-tow to his demands.  We have sunk to a new low level of morality here.  It appears that common decency is a thing of the past.  It would seem that self pride is alive and well but is it?  Back in the day people were too proud to put themselves in positions of controversy.  People lived by a set of moral "rules" -- now that is a bad thing.  It seems like everything bad is good and everything good is bad.  There is an overriding feeling of doom and gloom and threat.  We don't know who to trust so we trust no one.  It seems that the days of looking ahead to a bright future have met a brick wall. 

I blame a lot of this on social media -- i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.  I frequent Facebook and I have taken notice that each time I do my mood drops a few degrees in positivity until, by the end of the day, I am so depressed and dejected that I can hardly stand it.  I hear you saying the obvious -- don't go to Facebook.  Agreed, that would be a wonderful solution but there are two things -- first off I keep up with family that way and secondly it is addictive.  I mean seriously addictive and the more I realize this I see how divisive and subversive it is to our children and our families.  I am not involved with the other media mentioned but I am sure it is the same for them.  I can see where youngsters as well as adults are bullied through these avenues and I can certainly see how so much time is wasted with a phone/tablet in hand to get the latest most important "news".

I have read a lot of posts on our latest controversy here -- the use of bathrooms by our citizens.  I have read good posts and bad posts.  I have heard such hate coming out of peoples minds and mouths from both sides of the issue -- I am ashamed to say that I have read it.  When did common decency cease to prevail?  I am baffled.

I  am perplexed by the number of posts involving sick children, hurt children, abused animals -- I understand it is social media and every person has a right to their platform but it just feeds the already growing depression that seems to be taking over this country. 

I am troubled by the amount of information discussing the dangers in every aspect of our lives -- our food is all bad, nothing should be eaten, our environment is toxic -- today I learned about how light bulbs can cause cancer and will eventually kill us all.  The air is bad, the water is bad, the food is bad, the medicine is bad --- but is it?  Back to that trust issue.  I feel like we are being lied to across the board about everything and  it puts me in a very defensive mood -- all. the. time.

We waiting for word that Bruce has ended his journey here and has begun his life in glory.  It seems there is no more they can do.  As I read about our "bathroom saga" and the "threat" of light bulbs I think about this young family with so much future cut so short. It seems to me that as a society we have our priorities all wrong, our interests all wrong, our concerns all wrong. 

Where did we go so wrong?  What have we become?  What can we do?

Personally I can't change the world but I can change me and my own environment and that is what I plan today.  Later today I will be emailing my important Facebook "friends" telling them that I won't be around much anymore.  I will encourage them to email me with news of their lives.  I won't do away with my account but I will be whittling down my "friend" list to probably a half dozen.  I hope people aren't offended but since most of those people don't really know me, they probably won't even notice I have gone.  I will be getting off group lists and when posts show up that disturb me they will be deleted.  I have to be proactive here because my mental/emotional well being is most important to my physical health.

So, sorry about the rant.  I have just been overwhelmed by sadness, fear and distrust.  I am hoping that next week will be better.  I will let you know.

Have a wonderful Saturday.

Friday Finds

Friday Finds is a meme hosted by Jenn at Books and A Beat.  The idea is to post interesting book finds for that particular week.

I have three such finds for this week that I would like to share  --

All the Single Ladies by Dorothea Benton Frank
Delicious! by Ruth Reich
Black Rabbit Hall by Eve Chase

They are all very different from each other and I expect to enjoy them all -- especially intrigued by Black Rabbit Hall.

Another find this week isn't a book but rather this video --

Isn't she adorable?  Sassy -- yessssss  Attitudinal?  Oh yeah.  But I think she is great! All credit to Mirella Betsworth.

So, Happy Friday 13thwithfullmoon to everybody!! Muaaaahhhh!

Self Discovery

Well, well, well -- who knew that at my advanced age there would be anything left to discover about myself.  Who knew that I would be feeling challenged and energized in this time when most people are slowing down.  Who knew I would be --

A girl scout again.

Yes, I am now officially a Girl Scout co-leader.  I will be helping Bean's troop out until one of the mothers comes forward to take on the job.

How do I feel about this?  Great! I may be there a few weeks or the whole year but whatever my role is I feel good about it.  I like being around these youngsters -- they are all so smart and clever and eager.  I have had the pleasure of being included in some of the activities this year and it is fun.  I am proud of these girls and they have done so well and it will be a pleasure and privilege to see them mature and grow this next year.

Plus, I like crafting.  Camping -- well, we will talk about that later.

So, now I get to buy a shirt! Yay! I was looking for my old Girl Scout pins and my mothers pin (she was our Brownie leader) but all have gone missing.  I suspect they are pinned to my Brownie uniform which is buried deep in a trunk and will probably remain there because it is just too much of a hassle to get to the trunk.  So, a shirt and a pin.  I am excited.

Yeah, a Girl Scout -- I guess scouting is for life, isn't it?

Simple Living Challenge

Today is Saturday and time for my Simple Living Challenge that I participate in with Jenn of A Daily Rhythm.  I didn't post last week because I was sans computer but now Lucy is here working with me so I am back on track -- I think.

Ok, this last week was not good, not productive, not organized--just not much of anything except a tiny bit of chaos and not for any good reason.  Do you ever have days/weeks that whatever you plan it just goes awry?  Or perhaps you forget to plan at all?  Yes, that was moi this last week. 

So, let's see -- on my Scripture Study -- well, I lost several days for no reason except that I just lost my focus.  I made up for it yesterday as I sat down in the early morn with my nice cuppa and my Bible and started where I left off, not worrying about the progress that had been not been made before.  I am reading through the New Testament and using a Bible devotion book that we get at our church.  I started with the Old Testament but got done in my all the names.  I will return to it soon but had to move on with something a bit easier to read.  That's bad, isn't it?

My eating plan -- ok, here is where I discovered something completely astonishing and unexpected.  I am using the intuitive eating method and it works quite well if you allow yourself to slow down, stop eating long enough to note how you feel and discipline yourself to quit when you are full.  I am not having a problem with this process as I feel that eating slower is a good thing for digestion to begin with.  However, I slid back into my old mindset and decided just to make sure that I was following the rules I would just write down what I eat -- not measure, not count calories, just write it down.  WELL! The minute I started doing that I started craving stuff all the time and I would eat it and then write it down and before you know it, I was totally off my plan.  My plan is three meals a day, nothing before bed and maybe a snack in the middle of the afternoon as we eat lunch pretty early.  When I went back into "diet" mindset, i.e. food journaling, I was hungry.  If I don't do that I do ok.  Talk about mind over matter! I was shocked.  So, for me, this just showed that dieting doesn't work, even sort of dieting.  New plan -- trust my body, not my mind!

Housework has gone a bit off this week as we had to care for a sick and ailing g-daughter and then we were sort or sick and ailing ourselves thanks to our mucky air.  I did do my floors and have now caught up with the laundry that went wild over a couple of days but all is good now.  Yesterday was productive even though I didn't really realize it.

Exercise --  Ok, I was doing really well until Tuesday.  Previously I had been working some exercise in over the course of the day -- not trying to do it in one go.  Until Tuesday.  Tuesday I decided to just do it all at once.  Well, I got on the floor to do my sit-ups and those sorts of things and when I got up my head was just suddenly killing me.  All the way down my neck.  My thought was -- oh great -- trying to get rid of the flabby knees and now I am having a stroke.  So, I got up, took some aspirin, set still and went to bed.  The next morning I was fine but I decided that maybe I was just a wee bit long in the tooth to do a long exercise session so I gave it a day or so -- a few pilates along the way -- and just rested.  I will start up again today -- slowly for sure.  I don't mind telling you that it sort of scared me and I was reminded that I am no spring chicken and I have not been on an exercise program for quite a while and perhaps using some common sense would be in order.  If I had done that, I wouldn't have lost three days to no exercise at all -- lesson learned.

Cooking -- I shopped last week and cooked  for several days.  It was ok and Hubs even ate what I cooked -- novel idea, there Hubs!  Since we are both down with allergies, complete with coughs and chest congestion, I will be cooking tonight as well.  Tomorrow it is Mother's Day lunch with MIL at her place.

So, that is how my challenge went this week.  It was off -- I was off -- but I did learn something.  Clearly the dieting issues was enlightening and so was the fact that I just don't have the personality to adhere to a strict moment to moment schedule.  I didn't get the Bible study first thing most mornings but I did get it done.  I didn't get the laundry done first thing in the morning but I did get it done.  I had to regroup due to not being at home for a couple of days but that was ok.  I have learned that flexibility is key -- set your goals and go about meeting them but if you have to shift things around that is ok, too.  So, this was truly a week of learning a lot about myself and that is always a good thing. 

Sorry this was so long, I am certain not many people want to hear about my struggle with laundry to listening to my tummy talk to me but this is a way of keeping me on track.  Aren't you glad it is only once a week?

Friday Finds

Jenn over at Books and a Beat hosts Friday Finds -- a meme of books you might have found over the course of the week and would like to share.  It doesn't matter where you found these books --the library, big box book store, indie bookstore, the back of your closet and it doesn't matter what form -- physical book, e-book, audio book -- just a book.

So, here are my finds for this week.  I have been reading lots of M. C. Beaton and Nancy Atherton and have fallen in love with cozy mysteries.  I decided this week to seek out some of the other offerings so I headed to my neighborhood Half Price Books. 

With the upcoming Hallmark movie starring Alison Sweeney based on the  Hannah Swensen cookie jar mysteries by Joanne Fluke, I chose the first in the series Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder.  I haven't started it yet but want to read it before I see the movie. My two reservations about this book are the font size -- I have been reading on my e-reader and my eyes are spoiled.  I thought about buying e-books but these used books are so much cheaper and I will donate them to my granddaughter's Girl Scout book project which is ongoing throughout the year.  The second reservation is hunger -- I am afraid these are going to make me hungry for things I shouldn't be eating.

As I was looking at the Joanne Fluke books I found one that isn't a cozy at all but it looks to be more of a ghost story.  It is called The Other Child.  The cover reminds me of The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and we all know I am a sucker for book covers.

Then, the last discovery is The Diva Runs Out of Thyme by Krista Davis.  This is the first her domestic diva series.  I am not all that dometic so I don't know how it will go but again with the cover "issue".

Honestly, I didn't exactly just "run across" these books -- I went looking for them.  Again, not sure if I will wish I had bought e-books (Nooks are so easy to read while riding in a car!) but I am looking forward to reading them anyway.

So, those are my Friday Finds! I will review when I am done.

Tiny Cardmaker

Caroline is a Girl Scout Daisy.  The troop is losing it's leader to a move to Colorado.  There is an end of year party scheduled and my daughter, the assistant leader, asked each girl to make a card for Ms. Stephanie and her daughter, Kaitlynn who is also one of the Daisies.  So, I was charged with the job of helping Caroline create the cards.  This is best told in photos so here we go --

Love scrapbook squares

Half way there

Gotta have some bling

sparkley things are always good and using the heart punch was more fun than a barrel of monkeys!

bubble stickers are a nice touch on Kaitlynns's card

Dragonflies, flowers and jewels -- oh my

glitter dots are always nice

All finished up with a properly addressed envelope

So, that was an afternoon of fun after school.  I was all on board to help since I am keen to try my hand at card making myself (check out my Pintrest board on the subject) so it was good fun!  Mary, you would have been proud!

Lucy Has Arrived

As I promised, Lucy has arrived. Her proper name is Lucy Lemur.  She is sleek, smooth, sort of shiny and is mine, all mine.  I know the suspense is overwhelming so I won't keep you waiting any longer --

TA-DA!

No, Pom Pom, I am sorry -- not a kitten but I am so happy to have Lucy here as my other computer has a broken power cord slot and it just needed to be replaced as I am sure it would cost more to fix it than the computer cost to begin with. So, that is why I have been absent for several days because in order for the little computer to work I had to hold the power cord just the right way and I could only hold on to it for so long before my hand cramped and that was the end of my efforts.

So, from now on my compelling posts will be composed with Lucy's help here in my little corner of the world.

My little corner of the world is a home office armoire.  It is made to house a desktop computer with a CPU and such but it is working just fine for me.  My  husband decided to go back to a desk he used previously so I fell heir to this cabinet.  We were trying to move it out of the house altogether but it turned out to be such a bear to move that we just adjusted the furniture to accommodate it in the entry way.  So, it is now mine.

To the right you can see my planner with a bright colored paisley design on it.  It is proving to be very useful -- who know in my old age I would actually use a planner? Hmmm.

Behind it you will see a little terracotta pot with pencils in it.  When my father was undergoing radiation treatment there was another man doing the same and his wife would come with him.  She was a ceramicist and, knowing my dad was an artist, she made him this little little pot to hold paint brushes.  When my dad passed away and we were clearing out his apartment this was the one thing I was desperate to hold on to.  To be such a little thing, it means so much.

On the left you can see my purple prayer journal with my life plan in it.  I need to be a little more proactive with that.

In the back left there is a little lamp with a little story.  Once, in our very first house, we had an old chest of drawers that my husband got from his grandmother.  We painted it white and put it in our hallway. The hallway was dark so I wanted a lamp on it but since that was the pathway for my small children, I didn't want anything large or particularly breakable and I thought something whimsical would be fun.  So, I sent Hubs out of find "something" and he came back with one of those little blue, speckled enamel ware coffee pots and a lamp was born.  In order to make it a little heavier he filled it with gravel from one area of our yard.  The lamp has moved with us to two other houses and has been through several paint jobs.  This last look is black with an antiqued rusty finish peeking through -- my handiwork I might add.  It is still filled with Schmeltzer Lane, San Antonio, Texas gravel.  I will keep this little lamp forever.  The little white chest of drawers, however, was remade into a green bookcase discussed in a previous post from awhile ago.

On the back bulletin board you can see a letter from Caroline, a list of neighborhood residents, doctor appointment list, a couple of meaningful cartoons.  One of them is the last King Aroo newspaper panel which was published on April 17, 1987.  The artist is Jack Kent, a friend of my father.  Here is King Aroo --

I loved King Aroo.  The other is a panel of For Better or Worse and the subject matter is traveling for hours to see your daughter dance for two minutes -- something I can identify with completely.  There are also some special cards that make me smile when I see them.

So, that is Lucy, my new companion and a little tour of my little corner of the world.