I'll tip my hat to the royal couple

Do you think I could gain access to the royal festivities if I wore this hat?

Years ago (back in my single days) my now sister-in-law, Elda, good friend, Donna, and I went on a whirlwind 5 country, 3 week European vacation.

Diana Spencer was to wed Prince Charles the next year. I hoped to bump into Charles while in London and attempt to dissuade him from his choice of bride. Surely, once he met me, a mere commoner, he would recognize my charms and choose me as his bride instead. His only appeal? His royal status meant I would be QUEEN!

The pomp & circumstance of this great event made me want to look at the pictures of our trip.

This one of the famous guards. Like most tourists, we tried our hardest to make him alter his non-expression. We failed.

Instead, we found a friend, a smiling 'Bobbie' who was happy to pose with us in front of Windsor Castle.


I have other boring pictures; the changing of the guard, Big Ben, Parliament, the Tower of London. I was only 20 then and hitting the major tourist attractions somehow equated success in my travels. Today, were I to make the same trip, my photos would be of cobblestone streets, narrow winding alleyways leading to quaint shops, expression on the faces of the locals, ethnic cuisine, etc.

I absolutely LOVED my time in England so today's royal wedding makes me want all things British.

I just might wear my hat all day.

A 1950's housewife (with weekly gratitude snuck in)

Recently I was given a reprint of an article dated 5/13/1955 published in Housekeeping Monthly. The article is titled, 'The good wife's guide' and outlines a series of tips intended to please one's husband.

It is obvious that these tips were written during a time when women worked in the home as a housewife and mother. Many of the tips are practical such as:

"Have dinner ready. Plan ahead.... to have a delicious meal ready, on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs."


Or, "Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking." (I've always contended that no husband wants to arrive home from work & find his wife in a grungy pair of sweatpants with stained tee shirt to match. But I draw the line at the ribbon...)

Or, "Be happy to see him."


Some of the tips, however, are way off-kilter for this modern day woman.

"Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours." (say what?)

Or, "Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home late or goes out to dinner or other places of entertainment without you," (like titty bars?) or, "don't complain if he's late home for dinner of even if he stays out all night," or, "don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him."

Feeling a slow burn yet?

And, the best for last: "A good wife always knows her place."

My mom began her career as a housewife in 1954. Although cultural expectations were in place which she likely did not recognize nor question at the time, I do not sense that her memories of those early years of wifedom & motherhood contain bitterness about the lack of opportunity women had in pursuing their dreams. In recent years, however, she has mentioned often how lucky I am to have the opportunities and freedom to chart my own course in life.

I feel blessed to have been a stay-at-home wife and mother when my children were young. Although I did not resemble the housewife of the 50's (who cooks a turkey in 3" heels?), I shared and continue to share the same desire to make my home a peaceful haven for my husband and children.

We women have come a long way in 60 years... along with many of our menfolk who willingly claim joint custody of household chores and cooking duties.

Although I love the crisp looking dresses, perky boobs & coiffed hairdos of the 50's housewife, I'm grateful to be living in the 21st century!

Knock-off adventure

A recent conversation at the beauty parlor found me telling my story of 'Susan buys a knock-off Coach bag in China Town'.

Here is a recap:

Wonderful husband, Glynn, myself and my dad took a trip to New York City 3 years ago.

"P L E A S E buy me a Coach bag, mom!" begged our daughter. "You can buy knock-offs in China Town and no one will know it's a fake!" Having priced genuine Coach bags $300 a pop at the Manhattan Macy's, the only way Stephanie would get a Coach purse from me would be by theft or forgery... so we hopped on the bus to China town.

A myriad of people, smells, motion, color and sound assault the senses when one steps into China town. As luck would have it, we quickly found a street full of three sided shops selling nothing but bags. While Glynn rested against a light pole, I began to explore.

A tiny, grandma aged, Asian woman tapped my arm and asked (with heavy accent), 'Missy! You looking for purse?' She led me into a shop lined top to bottom with nothing but purses. A quick perusal of the inventory revealed no Coach bags so I turned to leave.

'Missy! You can't find purse?'
'No. I'm looking for a Coach bag.'
'Ohhhhh. Missy, you come with me.'

Little Asian grandma grabs my arm & leads me back into the bowels of the shop. She steers me around the back counter, past the cash register to the back wall where I see a door cut into the plywood. My heart begins to pound. Glynn is waiting for me out on the street. He has no idea that I'm soon to be entering into the bowels of New York City! Fleetingly, I wonder if I'll awaken in bathtub of ice minus one kidney already implanted in a patient waiting for organ donation. Or, will I be robbed, my throat slit, and body flung into a manhole, only to be found days later as flotsam and jetsam in the sewer....

I enter a room approximately 10'x10' with purses covering its walls. They are all designer bags! On one wall I see Louis Vuitton bags. One another Juicy Couture, Gucci and other names which likely didn't register with this 'I-buy-my-purses-at-Target' shopper. The room is staffed by a young, Asian American woman who helps me find a Coach bag that I hope my daughter will like. The price? $39.99.



So ends my China Town adventure. I'm alive and retained all my organs. And Stephanie can fool the world with her knock-off designer bag.

Weekly gratitude

A phone conversation I had at work today:

She: 'I need a storage unit. Do you have any available?'
Me: 'Yes, we do. Do you know what size you need?'
She: .....Long sigh.... 'I really don't. I'm flying to WA tomorrow because my mother has died. My brother and I need to clear out her home. We simply cannot face going through her possessions when our emotions are so raw so we'll just store her stuff for now.' (By now she's crying while apol0gizing.)

As she fought to regain control of herself, I expressed my condolences and started asking her basic questions to help us zero in on a unit size. I gave her a recommendation for a couple of movers and shared some tips to help in packing and storing household items.

Ten minutes later, I could hear a smile in her voice and she thanked me profusely for my understanding and help. (She also said she had no need to call other facilities because my kindness made her decide to rent storage space from me.)

I'm not sharing this for a pat on the back or recognition of some stellar act. ... I have a heart for helping others. And when I am able to do that, I feel like I'm living the life I'm suppose to live, doing what I can to make this world a better place.

I'm grateful to recognize my own talents and passions and even more grateful for those times when I can put them to good use.

old box addiction

Along with loving old paper, I love old boxes.

A few years ago, I decided my house was too cluttered. I put my old box collection away in storage where I promptly forgot about it until today. While searching for some elusive paperwork in my storage unit, imagine my delight when I came across my box of boxes! I'm obviously OK with clutter because the old boxes are once again on display - this time in my studio.

Our final 'she art' project is to create a scene with a modern day image of ourselves. Although I don't wear butterflies in my hair, this depicts me.



Waiting until circumstances are just right to pursue my perfect life is no longer an option. These words appropriately express my heart.....


I learned tons from Christy Tomlinson's on-line She Art course. She is offering an on-line art journal class next month. I've already signed up!

Sisters weekend

This is the second year that my sister Kim (and her girls) headed to Redmond, OR to say with my other sister, Debbie. Debbie's daughter, Jenny, surprised us on Friday night by crashing the party. Good thing Mel was gone - it was a testosterone free zone!

We lounge, laugh, eat, and shop. Here we are at a coffee shop having tried lavender lattes - a delectable treat!

Sophie, catching up on current events.

I made a gift bag out of waxed paper, ribbon & misc ephemera for Deb's birthday present. I think she liked the bag better than the contents!

Women (and sisters) need each other. We'll repeat our trip next year....

Gratitude

Hmmmm.... Perhaps I need to increase my gratitude factor as I seem to be forgetting my weekly gratitude post.

Around this time of year, most of us in the PNW develop an arch nemesis: the rain. Much like the neighbor in the cul-de-sac who lives like a pig & lets his young children run amok (yet smiles widely and waves furiously as he drives by and is the best 'neighborhood watch' a person could ever want) the rain moves in around late October. We expect it and drop phrases like, 'without the rain we wouldn't live in this virtual green paradise'.

By March, we are afraid to walk across our lawns out of fear of sinking into a quagmire of soggy topsoil. We keep our fingers crossed that March 'will come in like a lion and out like a lamb'...

.... so we can enjoy the bright spring days of April, vibrant with color from early blooming azaleas, camellias, daffodils, tulips, and the like.

So, rather than grouse about the continual rain and colder than normal temperatures, I do declare to be grateful for the wet stuff. My niece living in Midland, TX says they have not received rain there in over 7 months. My daughter in Colorado Springs claims they are in a drought and desperately need rain to dampen the earth ahead of fire season.

It's really all about perception and attitude. I am re-posting the following as a reminder that attitude adjustments really do help make life easier to navigate.

'There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. "Well", she said. "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she did and had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.
"H-M-M-M", she said. "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today." So she did and had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed she had only one hair on her head. "Well", she said. "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.
"Yeah!", she exclaimed. "I don't have to fix my hair today!"'

Publish Post

No purse for my dog

Otis' sentiments exactly.

One day soon we'll see proof that our earth is indeed happy!

Look at this cute ring I bought from Etsy. I also bought some loose cabochons to somehow incorporate into my art.

All in a day's work

From this

to this
in 5 hours flat! (Don't ask about my achey-breaky arms....)

It might have reached 50 degrees yesterday but the cool air didn't deter me. I was determined to work in the yard because we were promised no rain until early evening.

I resolved many of the world's woes, my own included, while weeding.

It's all good.....

Pie all gone

I love pie.
The lemon cream pie made yesterday was divine.


I like these.

My dream cottage.


'nuf said.

May I blame the rain for an overriding feeling of blah today?

My chiropractor was feeling the same. Like me, he's off coffee and pointed out that drinking a cup of coffee equals the equivalent of 'happiness in a cup'. (Could this be why Seattle is the java capitol of the world? Rain/gray = a daily need for a quick shot of happiness?)

Rather than sit home nursing a case of the blues, I went to Joann Fabrics. (Allow me to insert an aside here. Shouldn't the store be called "Joann's Fabrics"? It isn't and it annoys me...) I've been looking for new throw pillows to spruce up my living room and refuse to pay $35 each for ones I found at Pier I. Instead I bought enough of this fabric to make 2 pillows for $15.


Part of caring for my beloved Otis involves occasionally taking him to doggie day care. My canine happens to be very intelligent and begins whimpering & whining with excitement as he recognizes en route that we are on our way to the K-9 Clubhouse! (I need a bumper sticker that says, 'my dog is smarter than your dog.')

Here are some of his buddies. Apparently Otis was a 'love magnet' today as Ernie, the lone pooch in the upper left hand side of the picture, was using Otis as his pound puppy. The attendant eventually had to put Ernie in 'time out' as his behavior was not to be tolerated.


Baking (not cooking) helps treat the blahs. We are having guests for lunch tomorrow so I had an excuse to bake a lemon cheese pie. That's something to look forward to!