Random Thoughts from Judy

Today I had so many things planned to accomplish. Well, that's not happening. I seem to not be feeling well. I'm sitting on my couch sipping a Diet Coke, while not enjoying it very much. So, let's see if I'm thinking of anything worth clicking my keys about...

1.  I'm reading a bunch of books, and finding it amazing how such varied ideas and stories rolling around in my head and in print seem to come together to make sense of so many things. I'm reading one book that I've purchased both in print and in hard copy just so I can immerse myself in it wherever I happen to be. I'm also perusing a "reader" book on someone who's thoughts I find interesting, but are way beyond the limits of my education and ability to understand. Yet I'm ever so slowly making wee bits of progress with it. Then there is Katherine Anne Porter's book "Ship of Fools" which is teaching me many things, as it seems we are all on our very own ship of fools these days. What amazes me is that I bought this book a year or two ago at a thrift store because it was a golden yellow color and I wanted it to adorn my fall themed mantel. You know, a golden yellow book to hold up a few pumpkins and such. It helped that the author was Katherine Anne Porter, someone I had at least heard of before. Anyway, this book is long and in places rather dull. But the theme of it is incredibly timely. And if you don't have time to read it, the 1965 black and white movie "Ship of Fools" is pretty good too. I rented it at Amazon.
2.   We have finished one complete week of THGGM not working. It's been interesting. This is what he has accomplished so far:
a. ripped up carpet in the front entryway and hallway
b. painted the plywood floors (three coats of copper penny), just to see if that will work while we decide about more permanent flooring - or if it will even be necessary
c. unrolled, inspected, and cleaned a large section of carpet we moved with us 10 years ago, to find that yes, it is still in very good condition and will very soon go into our living room after he rips out that carpeting
d. brought home a section of white vinyl picket fencing to put as a visual barrier between the road and our side door
e. purchased a three piece set of white wicker furniture to put in the side yard up against the new fencing so people can sit and talk to him while he is on his porch swing.
f. restained most of our old pine furniture, dough bowls, wooden boxes, etc...
g. painted the outside roof over our bay window
h. trimmed bushes and shrubs
i. cleaned the garage
j. made plans to sell a lot of our acquisitions in a garage sale he hopes to have soon
k. just returned from grocery shopping, also put groceries away as I don't feel well
l. watched YouTube videos on how to paint floors, fix toilets, repair a clock, and replace the switch on our washing machine (which now only agitates if we place his bowling ball on the lid)
3.  There is still a  long list of things he PLANS to do, I know this because he showed it to me. I'll spare you. But it did look rather daunting to me
4. I feel like I've really accomplished something if I manage to load and unload the dishwasher each day and keep up on laundry. But, I HAVE also done a few things:
a. organized my jewelry, putting much of it in the "new" jewelry box I purchased about a year ago, sorted out all the bracelets I've been making, hung all my necklaces on an old tie wrack in the back of my closet
b. cleaned out my make-up drawer, which was oddly FULL, odd because I only ever use three of the things in that full drawer
c. cleaned half of one draw in my dresser, found many interesting things that distracted me from the task at hand
d.  cleaned out the puzzle dresser, which is now my night stand. have about six puzzles to add to THGGM's garage sale, couldn't yet part with the dozens of other puzzles, although no child has touched one in the past six months
e. realized (AGAIN!) that I have a HUGE problem with getting rid of things that have even a shadow of sentimental value to me, and decided that I'll think about it  tomorrow...  (maybe)
5. Besides this, we've had the four oldest grand kids three days a week and have taken them twice to Meijer Gardens to roam around which has turned out to be fun for all of us.
6. Oh, and that pool I didn't ever want? It gets A LOT of use. I might have to change my mind about it after all.
7.  Not much crafting has gone on here this summer. On the plus side, swimming in a pool, riding bikes, playing outside, makes considerably much less mess than crafting does.  I keep thinking there will be a rainy day, or a day too hot to be outside, but so far this summer has been incredible weather-wise.
8.  The OTHER list of accomplishments we are working on this month is getting all of our dental/medical appointments in so everything we need done can be done while we still have coverage, or, at least the coverage we are used to. Friday I went to the dentist, and on Monday I saw a specialist I've been waiting months to finally see. Nothing new on that front, just more appointments! It's good to cross things off lists though, isn't it?
9.  Recently I have had to replace nearly all of my clothes.  I'm making a point to get rid of what no longer fits (i do NOT have trouble getting rid of clothes) as I cannot allow myself to gain back any weight. No. Not going to do that. What I've learned through all of this is that there is no such thing as standards when it comes to sizes. Why IS that?  I've been shopping sales, clearance, Ebay, and thrift stores and have found that the most accurate sizes come from Ebay, where the seller measures the actual item.  There also needs to be truth in advertising. I would happily buy from a shop that sold clothes for only women who no matter how much weight they lose retain a fat matronly stomach. Give me time, and I'll think of the perfect name for such a store. Somehow "Fat-Matronly-Stomachs-R-Us doesn't have the right ring to it.
10.  A week ago I determined that we could benefit from new curtains for our bedroom. The ones we had were very heavy, green, and went with nothing in that room. Just after that I found what I was looking for at a price of $20 per panel (i need four panels) but there was also a coupon! I DO like coupons. While I was still thinking about it, we happened into our favorite thrift store (imagine that!) and while I was looking at everything else in the store, THGGM looked at curtains. Well surprise, surprise! He found four panels of room-darkening curtains in the EXACT color I was looking for, and at the low low price of $12.00 for ALL FOUR OF THEM, plus, he had a full 20% off card to use on them.  I really DO get excited about deals like that. And now the bedroom looks very nice again. Someday I might take a picture of them. It's what I do.  Just not today, unless I can take the picture from my perch on the couch.

The Windiest of Afternoons

Today has been an INSIDE day, with occasional jaunts  down to the deck to check on the shore.

Son-in-law built a lovely fire for us.

Oldest Son and Daughter-in-law enjoyed reading in front of the fire.

Those of us who spent the day on our "devices" did so on the porch with an AMAZING view of the lake.

Which only got wilder as the day went on.

There was game-playing,  as well as considerable coffee drinking and snacking.

THGGM left to have lunch with his now "former" co-workers.

Everyone else in his department  had their last day today.

This all still seems so weird to me.

I'm sure Monday morning when he doesn't leave for work will seem exceptionally MORE odd.

And this was sad to see.

An area of the upper beach collapsed due to the intense wave action today.

So sad.

"The wise man built his house upon the rock" and all that.

Anyway..,

Lake Michigan was good to us this week!

I've been scanning the horizon for water spouts, but so far all I've seen is some promising-looking clouds that didn't amount to one.

 But, there is still time!

And I'm still scanning for them...

Sunset Sitting

It's weird how you change ONE thing, and suddenly see a dozen other things that now need doing.

All in good time.

Grass seed has been planted, so now we wait.

Shiny New Glass

Finally!  Last week it was completed!
Three panes of shiny new glass for our front window have been installed.
The double glass in the middle window had gotten condensation between the glass.
There was no way to remove it without replacing and resealing the window.
The side two windows had several panes of glass and after over sixty years they needed some work too.
And now it is done. For now we removed the blinds so we can enjoy actually being able to see clearly out the windows! Seems like such a small thing, but it certainly has made a big difference in here.

Thrifty and Fun Finds

Over the past two weekends I found a few fun things at the thrift store and thrift store-ish places.

One was this little wooden chair that works great for the American Girl doll.
I paid $2.00 for this.
What a deal.

It doesn't take much at all to add a few punches of fall color to a table or two.
This piece...

...and this piece were .25 cents.
Works for me!

I also found this lovely piece of linen for .50 cents to recover the sewing machine bench.

And, I have always wanted a plate rack like this!
It will hang over that civil war era dresser someday soon.
I haven't yet decided what dishes to display on it.
But, I think figuring that out will be great fun!
And I do not lack for plates.

I did not need this basket.
Nor the wooden fruit that fills this basket.
But I like it.
There are occasions for which one must throw caution to the wind and purchase produce that will never rot.

Over the past few weekends I struck thrift store gold in the fat old lady clothing department.
I picked up a bunch of shirts and four pair of jeans.  The shirts are a bit on the large size, but I figure that if I have to, I could gain weight.  Okay.  That wasn't funny, but I could, as gaining weight is one of those things I am awfully good at.  So, after I got the great deals, there was an email in my box the very next day saying that ALL clothing was on sale this week for a dollar.  I went back yesterday and picked up four more shirts.  These appear to be brand new, never been warn, some with tags still on shirts.  Not fancy at all, but then neither am I.  Yay!
So, that's what I've been up to.

Nature Bracelets

Hmm.  Now I suppose that the packing tape isn't natural, but everything that we stuck to it is!

I forgot about making them in the spring, but since there is still nature all around us, we made them this week instead.

 Famke had a great time making hers, and helping her little cousins too.

She even found the most amazing teeny tiny blue flowers in some sort of weed in the grass.  

Is it weird that I find this SOOO fun to do?

I am sure I shall still be making these when the grand kids are all grown up.

Why should I stop?

This one even matches my shirt!

I don't know.  Doesn't it seem that by the age of 57 I would be used to being weird?

Maybe next year...

Anyway.  I think you ought to try this!

My Weekend Fun Find

The first thing I did on that day in November when I eagerly started to decorate for Christmas and then got sick was to remove a mirror from the wall and add my two skaters with some bottle brush trees.

THGGM even moved my Dutch skaters picture so it would hang over the scene.  He is a nice man like that.

I told the grand kids that they could move things around on the mirror to create little scenes, but they had to leave it all ON the mirror.  They are good kids and have enjoyed doing this.

While shopping at a thrift store on Saturday I was THRILLED to find this snowman with the two girls for $2.50.  It's made by the same company as the skaters so it works really well together.

Oh, yes.  I am having FUN.

Making up little vignettes is one of my most favorite things to do.  Of course then I am compelled to take pictures of them.

Yes.  Yes I am.

Yesterday

Such fun!  We made cookies, we decorated upside down sugar cones as Christmas trees, we made decorations, and my favorite part of the day was that Famke did not get a fever!  Today she felt well enough to go to the practice for her church Christmas program. This is wonderful news people!

My next favorite part was helping Famke decorate her suitcase dollhouse for Christmas.  Even the Santa from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer showed up.  I wanted to redo the wallpaper and floor with some great Christmas scrap paper I've been hoarding for such a time, but she was perfectly happy with the house as is.  So we just added some trees, banners, and Santa.

I do not understand minimalists.  I ADMIRE them, but I do not understand them.

Saturday the 28th

Today I went places and did things.  Sometimes I do that.  It was a snowy slippery morning but nothing could keep us from Jonge's second basketball game.  The Geckos had improved much since last week.  Jonge's position is point guard, and this week he scored!  Last week, unbeknownst to anyone he was playing with strep throat.  He never even complained about his throat.  Thankfully, he saw a doctor about something else and he 'just in case' did a strep test.  Jonge is fine now.  Apparently he has his mother's high pain tolerance.

 I LOVE basketball!  Such a lovely idea for games to be played inside in a temperature controlled setting.
Seeing the grandkids in a public setting is very interesting to me.  They are a lovely bunch of shy, quiet, unassuming children.  They resemble not at all the lively bunch that bounces joyfully around my house each week.  Feintsje even managed a nap in my arms with all the whooping and hollering going on all around him.
After our morning of basketball, THGGM and I went out for breakfast and to our favorite thrift store.  Since I am getting rid of stuff instead of hoarding stuff this did not take long or cost much.  I found two nice shirts (brown - my most recent favorite color) and two card games (15 cents), and a great old piano book.  
Since we are old and chubby, we came home and took naps. Well, THGGM took a nap.  I crocheted a bunch of sad looking flowers.  My hope was to make beautiful pink flowers to add to the thick pink doll blanket I made earlier in the week.  Oh, well.
After nap time was coffee time.

That's how we roll here on Saturdays.
Since our pantry was looking a bit empty grocery shopping was a must-do on our agenda.
I had a list ready and off we went.
But then TwonderfulHGGM  suggested that if I would like he would drop me off at Michael's Craft Store while he did the grocery shopping.  Wow.  He is SUCH a great human being.
While I was perusing the yarn bins at Michael's I remembered that last Saturday we had exchanged words about shopping together.

It went something like this:  "Why do you think it is that we get SO frustrated with each other when we grocery shop together?"  I replied, rather dully I might add, "I don't get frustrated with you when we shop."
So it's me.  I'm rather a load it would appear.
While shopping for yarn at Michael's I smiled sweetly to myself and hummed a happy little tune in my head.
Oh, and speaking of happy little tunes, that piano book I found at the thrift store today?  It is great.  An 'easy to play' collection of songs.  The first two pages were missing, but I flipped through it enough to know that I would in fact be able to play most of the songs, and that I recognized all of the ones I saw.  The really happy little thing about all this is that it has the song "Linus and Lucy" from the Charlie Brown Christmas special.  We watched that a few times around the holidays and I decided  I would put some effort into finding the music for that.  When I bought the book I didn't even know it was in there.  But when I sat down at the piano tonight (old habits are hard to break) and started playing through the book, there it was!
Things like that make me so unbelievable excited.  Just the way that I find what I'm looking for without even knowing that I've found what I was looking for.
Well now.  That's about it.  Unless you want to know how excited we also were with our dinner of tomato soup and grilled smoked turkey and cheese.  You might not know this about me, but I make a VERY good grilled smoked turkey and cheese.
Have I mentioned lately that I am quite boring and am okay with that?
And the pictures?  Feintsje is SEVEN months old today.  Oh, my.  So many changes.
Soon I hope to tell you of the arrival of our fifth grandchild.  But she isn't here yet.  Soon though.  She'll be here soon!  We are sooo excited!

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

Day 20. I guess it isn't 20 days UNTIL Christmas, it's 19 days until Christmas. Oh well. I cannot begin to tell you just how much something like that disturbs me. But I'll try to get over it (so far, it isn't working). St Nicholas did not disappoint! He brought me Steenstra's Almond St. Claus Cookies - the VERY best cookie in the entire universe, and probably all of the unknown universes also. Because I said so. Yum. Just had two of the cookies and an orange with my afternoon coffee. I'm celebrating by catching up on laundry. It was either that or dig out the summer clothes...

Friday Morning Fun

THGGM had today off. We headed out early for breakfast. Even after breakfast it was still early and nothing had opened yet. So we drove to Holland. Still nothing had opened. Driving around Holland was fun.

Finally it was 10:00 and stores were open!

At our first stop I found four ironstone butter pats for 25 cents each. At our second stop I found the little doll. She wasn't much, but I can't recall her price. At our third stop I found the two china tea cups for 50 cents each.

THGGM found this. I believe by smacking his head on it.


More Lenox. Tassels for my salt shaker. An aluminum pot.

We had great fun. But next time I think we shall sleep in.

So true. So very very true.

Pitchers

Surprisingly enough, I collect pitchers.

Mostly the tiny ones, so everyone can have their own hot syrup with the pancakes that I never make. But in my head, I know I could.

Anyway, tonight I just happened to stop into my favorite thrift store.

And I just happened to find this lovely Bailey-Walker vitrified china pitcher. It looks to be about 2 1/2 quarts. It was made in December of 1930, according to the stamp.

As far as I can tell, it is in perfect condition.

I really really like it. Really really.

I've fallen behind in my postings on my Simply Thrift blog (http://www.simplythrift.blogspot.com/) mostly due to poor lighting in this winter month. But, for this I set things up with a lot of overhead lighting and managed to get a pretty good shot. So, you can see even another picture of it over there!

Seriously. I'd sleep with it if it wasn't so cold.

Gone with the Wind

Tuesday when the first of the strong winds blew through, my internet and phone went with them.

So I could not tell you that on Wednesday morning we left for Wisconsin for a few days.

We are back now.

Had a delightful time. More about that later.

Zeke went on a 10 day vacation back to where we got him from. I cannot begin to tell you what a boost it was to my self-esteem that he was happy to see me, and has been adoring me all night.

It bothers me not a wit if people do not like me, but when an animal doesn't - I just cannot handle that. So.., he LIKES me, he REALLY LIKES me!

Ants

Last Sunday was my birthday party.

Remember I told you how we shot at each other with marshmallow shooters?

One son, whose identity shall remain a secret, shot marshmallows all over the outside of my bathroom window.

THIS is the scene before me when I opened the blind in there this morning.

And then again, this afternoon.

And later, after the sun came out.

Of course I've been hoping that they would form a perfect tesari, or maybe dance like the June Taylor Dancers, but as my luck would have it, they are starting to march across my bathroom window with their sticky little feet.

Some days I wish I had an aardvark.