• Looking more like home…

    November 4, 2012 / 7 Comments

    It was Summer in Memphis in the photo above…a few years ago.  I’m guessing that my niece Sharon (left) and I were about 3 and 5 at the time.  She is my oldest sister’s only child and we grew up more like sisters.  If you’ve read my other blogs, then you’ve read about our adventures.

    Sharon is an artist and an amazing interior decorator.  I wish she were closer so she could help me decorate this apartment.  In a way, she does help for I have three of her wonderful “snow” paintings.  After the recent move, I couldn’t find the largest one.  I searched and searched – finally during the “work party” on Saturday, I found it!  I was so relieved and happy to see it.

    I hung the paintings yesterday on either side of the fireplace.  It felt a lot more like home then.

    The top painting below is an original watercolor by well-known Memphis artist, Lafayette Ragsdale that I purchased years ago.  I’m sure I couldn’t afford one of his originals now.  The other three watercolors are by my precious niece.  (I have no idea why that smudge appeared on the photo – there’s nothing on the glass!)

     I have now been here for three weeks – making progress but still boxes to unpack!  Will eventually post pics when I’m a little further along but here you see the result of the multitude of book boxes – unpacked!  I never feel at home until I can see my books!   And, yes, those are cookbooks on the lower half of the left shelf – there is also a bookcase of cookbooks in the kitchen!

     

  • Saturday morning work party…

    November 3, 2012 / 13 Comments

    The alarm went off at 7:30 this morning.  I was in a deep sleep, snuggled under the warm covers…definitely not in any hurry to get out of bed.  However, I knew my daughter would be here at 9:00 a.m. and ready to work.  The two of us were tackling my storage room on the lowest level of this condo building.  There are actually condos on that level too, although I definitely would not want to live down there.  The hallway on the lower level appears long and not very brightly lit to me.  My daughter says it reminds her of the hallway in the movie “The Shining”!   I’m glad my condo is on the second floor, but I am happy to have the storage room down there which is about 10′ x 12′ and close to full.

    I had enjoyed my previous “studio” but there certainly isn’t room for one here.  Instead, we are setting it up in my daughter’s large basement and I will spend a few days each week at her house – with the two of us sewing and creating whatever our hearts desire.

    I had warned her that I had a “boatload” of fabrics and sewing supplies.  The two of us hauled large box after box of fabrics and supplies to her vehicle (thankfully, her husband and older son will be there to carry them in at home for her).  There was a lot of laughter and comedy as we opened each box to discover the contents.  Needless to say, she is very exited about OUR new studio!  😉

    Next, comes the process of organizing it all at her house…and then the fun begins!

  • Time traveling…

    November 2, 2012 / 4 Comments

    I’m amazed at how our senses can take us back to another time and another place…

    The taste of a delicious, hot Southern biscuit reminds me of my Mama’s wonderful cooking. One bite of homemade banana pudding with the golden brown meringue, I close my eyes…forty six years pass…and I’m home again.

    If I get even a slight whiff of the perfume “Windsong” by Prince Matchabelli or of the men’s cologne, “English Leather”, it’s 1966 all over again and I’m a young newlywed.

    If I hear the song “Aldi-La”, it’s 1964 and I’m sitting in the coffee shop at Mississippi College (I think it was called “The Wigwam”) with my roommate, Linda, who had just broken up with her boyfriend and we are both in tears. If the old movie “A Man Called Peter” is playing on the classic movie channel, I think of a Saturday night in 1963 and a young man named Ross.

    Sometimes our senses can even play tricks on us. Not long after my father passed away, I was shopping at the grocery store and saw an elderly gentleman who looked so much like my father, even down to the slight parkinsons tremor and the gait. I found myself closely following him for two or three aisles in the grocery store…it was almost like looking at my Daddy all over again. I managed to pull myself together long enough to park the shopping cart and left the store in tears.

    Touch. What can I say? I’m a hugger. I come from a long line of huggers. The human spirit can only go so long without being touched…held…hugged. There have been dozens of studies on how many hugs a day a human needs. As a Registered Nurse, I spent many years taking care of patients and made sure I incorporated some form of touch besides the routine care…a pat on the back or arm…a reassuring hug. Perhaps this is also why the studies have attributed having a pet to a sense of well-being and an overall decrease in blood pressure.

    Have you ever noticed how much we learn from our sense of touch? How many times have we seen something that we’d never seen before and our first response is to want to touch it. Ever notice the sign “Do Not Touch” in a museaum or exhibit?

    I walk into a fabric store and my senses are overwhelmed with row after row of bolts of fabric…all different colors…patterns…textures. I’m also overwhelmed with memories of spending time growing up in the fabric store with my Mama. She was an excellent seamstress and made most of my clothes. We’d spend time together selecting a new pattern and find the fabric for it together. I did the same thing with my children…and, now, my daughter with hers. Mama had so many offers to sew for payment, but she reserved those talents for her family. She told me:  “I only sew for love”.  Years later, after I began the tedious work of sewing for my family, I understood and said the same thing to my family. Who knew that would come full circle as now I hear my daughter repeat the exact declaration as she works hard to sew for her family…

     

    Originally published in My Southern Heart.  

    I’m headed to the fabric store this morning for a super sale on patterns and it brought back memories of this past post.  Thought I’d share…

  • Trick or treating under a full moon…

    October 31, 2012 / 8 Comments

    There’s nothing like spending a chilly evening – under an amazing full moon – “trick or treating” with your grandchildren and your daughter…especially if you are dressed like Grumpy and your daughter is Winnie-the-Pooh!  My thirteen year old granddaughter and almost four year old grandson were “Penny” and “Bolt” from the Disney movie Bolt.  My eight year old granddaughter was an adorable fairy.  My daughter created or coordinated each of the children’s costumes.  What a fun night!

    Grumpy with attitude and padding!  😉

  • Settling in…

    October 27, 2012 / 10 Comments

    Two months have now passed since I returned to the Midwest.  After much searching, and realizing that the cost of housing and living HERE actually rivals the West Coast, I finally found a very nice condo.  It is a second floor, two bedroom/two bathroom with a lot of character.  It is also a very secure, locked entry building.  The large living room has a corner fireplace and hardwood in the living room and hallway leading to the bedrooms and bathrooms.  The kitchen has a marble floor, so I will have to be careful not to drop anything or it will surely break!  There are sliding glass doors leading from the living room, kitchen and master bedroom out on to a small terra cotta tiled and covered porch.  Also, I’m six or seven minutes to the closest library (a great one) and 14 minutes to my daughter’s house!

    My daughter and her family have been so much help in getting me settled.  Tonight, my daughter brought chicken enchiladas, rotel and tostitos, and delicious chocolate/caramel brownies!  Since I don’t have a table and chairs yet (we’re looking on Monday), we had a picnic on the living room floor.  So much fun!  Afterwards, my sweet son-in-law and oldest grandson put up the white iron bed in the guest room and hauled boxes up and down the stairs to my storage room in the basement!  My granddaughters helped!  Needless to say, I couldn’t have done it without them and I appreciate their help so much.

    I’ve only been here in the condo for two weeks but I am definitely making progress.  When it is a little further along, I will post photos of the finished look.

    Last evening was the Great Pumpkin Party at church.  Will post pics of that when I find the cord for my camera!  My daughter made my grandchildren’s costumes and they are so cute.  My youngest grandson is “Bolt“, the adorable Disney dog.  Featured photo above:  here we are outside waiting for their turn for the pony ride.  Such a fun night!

    grandmomandkeegan

  • Laughter is good…

    September 27, 2012 / No Comments

     A sense of humor is a wonderful thing…especially when all of your belongings are piled high in your daughter’s garage and you have no idea where anything is.  I happened to mention to my daughter that I had a certain cookbook “somewhere” in the garage and a few other interesting things.  The next thing I knew there was a grin on her face and a gleem in her eyes.  She grabbed a pair of scissors and said “let’s go look!”

    There we were outside on the pavement by her garage going through box after box  and having a blast.  She “found” my knifeblock which she borrowed and a few other neat things.  We were laughing so hard that suddenly I wondered what her neighbors in the upscale neighborhood thought about all of this and voiced that question.  We looked at each other and laughed again.

    My soon to be fifteen year old grandson has graciously given up his bedroom and bathroom in the downstairs suite for his grandmom and is bunking in with his almost four year old brother upstairs.  Not one word of grumbling or complaint.  Pretty amazing kid!  I’m loving my time with my daughter and her family and am getting spoiled in the process.

    In the photo below:  my eight year old granddaughter and I were sorting and organizing when we came across a couple of my summer hats.  She thought trying them on was fun!

    grandmomandmakaylainhatsingarage