Patooti's Goodies & More...

Where Do I Begin?

2011-05-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

It's been almost 2 years since I've written on this blog...can't even begin to fill in the blanks.

Long story short: My mother passed away, my husband retired, we moved 275 miles away and I've gone through a major emotional upheaval. Think I'm coming out on the other side now. It's been a twisting and oftentimes a very difficult road, these past two years. But now I'm starting to come back into my old self and feeling like I felt before - only in some ways maybe even better. (For more on that, read my other blog called Mental Pause.)

The things I have accumulated over the past several years are coming to roost here in my new home. Only now am I beginning to sort through and see what I actually have brought with me. I had anticipated getting rid of a lot of things before we moved, but then with life's curve ball thrown at me, I brought all of it here and am finally unpacking and putting away all my "treasures".

I've joined two different volunteer organizations where I can put my crafty skills to work and I can also give them a lot of my supplies. That's a very good thing. I also plan on continuing my quest to start making items and selling them - both locally and on-line. One step at a time, but I'm taking baby steps.

Keep posted for more updates on my future ramblings of my fun and finds here in my new home. Welcome back!

Fabric Galore

2009-06-24T23:03:00.000-07:00

Well now, if there were a contest for the person with the most fabric in their collection, I'm sure I'd be up there near the top. I have spent most of the day emptying large plastic tubs filled with fabric and have surprised even myself with the quantity. I'm not quite done yet either. I knew it was a lot, but come on...who needs all this? In spite of the quantity, I must admit I love looking and touching all the different pieces. There are some great vintage pieces I got from a girlfriend's mother who had passed away. When I say "vintage" I mean from the 70's and maybe some 60's. They bring back many memories to me.

During my junior and high school years I made most of my clothes. They were so simple with the shifts, empire dresses, tent dresses, etc. Remember those? I think I still have a few patterns from that time period. That shouldn't surprise anyone. Of course, the idea that I might ever use them again for myself is more than laughable! I just like to look at them and reminisce.

A friend of mine gave me a huge bag of doilies, aprons and tablecloths that used to belong to her mother and grandmother. (Everyone knows of my weakness it seems.) I just love going through those things. I have such a collection of linens - and am thinking of some way to use a lot of these in new ways. Reusing them for alternate purposes is a good idea I think. I can't possibly use all those things myself. I have some ideas but will wait to see how they turn out before I spell it out here.

Tomorrow is another day of opening more containers to see what surprise awaits me. The last shelf unit is waiting for me to fill it up and there's no doubt I'll do just that. One of these days, I'll start to sew and will put all this fabric, trims, buttons, notions, etc. to good use. Just wait and see...I'm gonna do it, I swear I will. I'll finally stop "talking" and start doing. Onward and upward - - -

Aw heck!

2009-06-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

My next door neighbor called to tell me an Egret was in my front yard. I couldn't see him so I opened the door and off he flew. Darn it! Next time I'll be more discreet. Would love to get a picture of one in my yard. We have new and exciting wildlife in our new town. Daily visitors are ducks, quail, hawks (overhead) and white tail doves. There are so many other birds that I've never seen before. Will have to get a bird book to tell me their names. There are some beautiful little yellow/green birds that are all around us. There are also some quite a bit larger birds with big bodies and red feathers on their chests. Don't think these are robins, but then again, I'm not really sure.

Been kicking myself for the numerous craft books that I have accumulated. There's going to be some happy craft person when they discover all these books at our yard sale. I know the feeling of finding some cool books...that's how I got so darn many. Trying to be very realistic now and keeping only those I think I will REALLY use - an almost ridiculous optimistic outlook.

Oh well, on we trudge through the muck and mire that makes up my office/craft room. One of these days it will be room I'm proud of - I'm sure of it!!

Still cracking open boxes...

2009-06-23T12:45:00.000-07:00

I actually unpacked 11 boxes yesterday and put away a lot of stuff! Was able to make up two pretty full boxes for a yard sale. I'm sure it's not near enough to get rid of, but it's a decent start. It's not easy to part with some of these "things", but I'm making an effort anyway.

Found I left a soda can in my craft room overnight and attracted a bunch of ants...UGH! I won't do that again. Will be leaving some ant baits to discourage those little buggers from bothering me again. I should know better. Our tenants had a bad ant problem before and I certainly don't want the same situation.

Love having the internet, phone and TV ability now. I'm going to set aside some time this week to work on my reunion stuff. I've got lots of catching up to do on my main list and start keeping stats from the questionnaires we've received. One of my challenge questions the night of the reunion will be to guess how many total years the group who responded has been married. There must be something good about our generation...I notice most of the responses thus far have been married between 20-35+ years. That's really an accomplishment in this day and age. Unfortunately, I can't compete with those numbers, but am at a respectable 12 years [this time around :-)].

Looking forward to seeing some of my friends on my next trip home. Have a birthday next week and hope to have a nice dinner with my sweetheart. I love to celebrate birthdays...not just my own but everyone else's. I think it's a very special day to celebrate and I don't like to let them pass without some kind of mention. Once we are settled in permanently, I'll be sure to make some great cards for our wonderful neighbors. All but one of the 8 of us in our immediate area have summer birthdays. That makes it a lot easier to remember.

Better get back to my unpacking. Listening to some great oldies and that keeps me upbeat and ready to tackle almost anything. There's a great station we pick up on our way here, but we can only hear it for a few miles, then we lose the signal. Fortunately, we can pick it up on the internet. If you like real good oldies (50's and 60's) check it out....KFXM.com I think. Some of the music I hear I haven't heard in 30-40 years. Just love this great old sound. Enjoy!!!

What the heck's been going on?

2009-06-21T00:24:00.000-07:00

Where have I been all this time? We are STILL in the process of moving all our stuff to our new home. Geez, we have a lot of stuff. Happily we are doing the moving ourselves and don't have to hear any negative comments from family or friends about all the things we have. I'm sure once we get settled, unpacked and have weeded through everything we will pare it down to a more manageable mess!

It's a wonder to me the quantity of things one can acquire. I've always been so eager to pick up "just this one thing" or buy only "one more of those"...but after packing all those onsies which have become half or full dozensies (?) I can see that I've overdone it a bit. (Understatement!) You can be sure we will have a gigantic yard sale and get back just pennies on the dollar of what we paid, but it will be so nice to get rid of some of this excess baggage.

Our new home is getting pulled together ever so slowly. I managed to paint most of the rooms last summer, with only the dining room and kitchen left to paint. This involves removal of some very stubborn wallpaper before I can paint so I've been putting this off for a while. We brought a new load of boxes with us this last trip, most of which are sitting outside on the patio because there's no place in my "craft room" for them...YET. I've got to organize this room so I can bring up my work table in a couple of weeks.

We have also had several visitors since we've become more moved in. My sister, her daughter and grand daughter came and visited us in March. We had a simply wonderful visit with lots of talking and reminiscing. The visit was short but oh so worth it. In May, we had a firefighter friend and his dad stay in our Bunkhouse for a night while they went fishing locally. They took my husband with them for the day but unfortunately they didn't catch anything.

Every year our town hosts Mule Days over Memorial Day weekend. A red hat lady friend of mine came and stayed with us for 5 days prior to her venturing north to Reno to visit another friend for a few days. We had a wonderful time watching the parade and visiting the mules at the fairgrounds. We got lots of fun pictures and I had a mule make me jump a few inches when he brayed right in my face. (Guess he didn't like having his picture taken quite so much!) That same weekend another firefighter friend and his wife stayed in our backyard in their camper and used the bunkhouse for showering and getting out of the heat. We all had a great time and I look forward to many more visits from everyone.

Today I had a short visit with a friend I worked with about 30 years ago. We have stayed in touch all this time, periodically chatting on the phone. He and his wife stopped by on their way home, after a week of sightseeing and fishing. It was great to see him and talk of some of the folks we used to work with. I amazed myself when I actually remembered last names of some of those long ago workmates. It was so good to see him again and finally meet his wife!

I am truly happy when I know people are coming to visit. It's been such a long time since I've been able to feel good about having people over. I'm hopeful that many more will come our way. We have lots of room and I plan on making some wonderful meals and baked goods to share with our friends and neighbors. I'm really feeling like this is the perfect place for us. Of course, I would go anywhere with my sweetheart...but the Eastern Sierras seem to be just right. We hope to have many years of loving fun here.

Tomorrow I will continue with my quest of getting us settled in prior to my honey's retirement in December. I am so looking forward to spending most every day with him. Being apart so much this past year is hard on both of us. It's funny, we really enjoy each other's company and like being together. We are both looking forward to being able to spend more time together after his retirement. There are many places to see and lots of territory to explore in his vintage Jeep. We hope to spend many days heading out for parts unknown and see what we can find. Just another day in Paradise!

About Face!

2009-04-23T23:55:00.000-07:00

Things have a way of turning around, don't they? My husband has not retired, and won't be doing so until December of this year. Another whole year to wait...UGH! But it's important financially that he continue and I understand it, I just don't really like it.

Been slowly moving and trying to get settled in our new house. I still have wallpaper to remove in our dining room and a kitchen to paint. We are waiting for the weather to warm up at our new house so I can continue with that. Once we get that completed, we can finalize the move and start to get our old house painted and ready to sell (hopefully). So many things are going on and I've been busy running back and forth. Trying to keep everything on an even keel and trying not to drop any of the balls I am juggling!

Most of my other activities have come to a crawl, however I'm still actively working on my high school reunion. That alone could be a full-time job. I am totally enjoying it and am looking forward to seeing how many people really attend.

Once we get moved and our house is completely organized, I plan on getting my own web site up and running. I want to sew things to sell for infants and the elderly. That's a way in the future, however it's a goal I'm setting for myself.

Postings have been few and far between because I don't have a computer when I'm at our new house. One of these days very soon, this computer comes with me and I'll be able to update more regularly. Looking forward to the future.

It's Getting Serious!

2008-10-10T10:10:00.000-07:00

Here it is the beginning of October and we are really hitting the home stretch. My honey has 24 shifts left to work and reality is setting in hard! Of course, the stock market and economic crunch is making him think twice about retiring right now, but I'm sure he is not serious about staying. That would really be a difficult decision, but I think we're safe.

Been painting the inside of our new house and am down to 3 rooms left...dining room, kitchen and guest bath. Those rooms are the most difficult for a variety of reasons so I've left them for last. My wrist has been giving me fits because I'm aggravating an old injury so I'm wearing a wrist guard. Packing and lifting and all this painting, removing wallpaper, etc. is really enforcing on me the fact that I am not 25 years old anymore. My mind and body are not in sync and the body keeps rebelling against my mind. Guess I'll have to really slow it down a bit.

Had the retirement party last month and it was a great party. My husband was such a good sport since he really didn't want anything done about his retiring, but I figured after 33 years he needed something. We had about 70 people show up and it was great. Had a vintage chuck wagon there to prepare our food and lots of libations added to the festivities. I got him a new banjo - something he says he has always wanted to learn. That was a big surprise for him and I'm glad he was so pleased.

I'm looking into a new venture in Bishop when we move - but more about that later. Also am going to work with several others on my 40th high school reunion next summer. WOW it doesn't seem possible that I've been out of school that long...but I must have. Always something to keep me busy and out of trouble.

My moving is a priority now and I've been packing boxes and stacking them around here and there. We plan on taking the majority of our furniture next month and then we'll slowly get this place here ready to sell. Of course, in today's market that might not happen as quickly as we'd like but we are hopeful things will turn around in the next 6-12 months.

My collection of stuff is still waiting to be gone through. I've done some, but will probably honestly do most of it after we move. Think I'm going to find another outlet for getting rid of my stuff since the people around here are so tough at yard sales. I just don't have the energy for it right now anyway.

All is well in my world and will be only improving in the very near future. With our move, I know things are going to be greater than they've been. More on my "stuff" at a later date. For now...over and out!

Busy, busy, busy

2008-08-25T00:23:00.000-07:00

I haven't forgotten - just been very busy. Of course, no pictures of my stuff yet...maybe never at the rate I've been moving. Getting our new house painted inside and it's taking a lot of time. Also still planning the retirement party for my sweetheart which is coming up next month. Packing, sorting through my stuff, travelling back and forth, etc. - just not enough time to sit and blog. So hang in there, more to come one day in the very near future.

The Home Stretch

2008-06-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

Here we are getting ready to finally start our move to the next phase of our lives. In getting ready, I've been sorting through years of collections of various things. I really must donate my brain to science when my time is up to see if they can figure out why one person deliberately collects so much! Wow - it's simply amazing to me.

Yesterday I sorted through just one of my compulsions - chocolate sucker molds. I got them organized and put back in a better order than they had been. After I finished that I actually counted them ... big mistake. I have 348! Now really, outside of a professional candy maker, who on earth needs so many of these little plastic molds? Oh well, that's just one of many things that I've encountered recently.

Last week after an emotional roller-coaster, my husband and I went to our favorite thrift store to unwind. Didn't bring home any junk - just a few pieces of clothes. But one item I could not leave there was a huge bag of unused zippers used for sewing. I sorted them by color and then put them in their own bags...after I counted them. For $2.95 I got 309 zippers - now that was a find and can you blame me for not getting them? I don't know if you can buy one zipper for $2.95. I'll just add them to the hundred or so other zippers I have. You know one of these days I'm going use them...and the story continues!

Ebay Blues

2008-05-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

Last week I took up the task to set up a spread sheet to see just how much money I'm really making selling stuff on Ebay. This took me all day and I really did track every little penny that is going out and coming in. It's a large spreadsheet. Reality shock! After taking into account the fees imposed by both Ebay and Paypal and the final price of the items I've sold, after 5 months my take is $478. Of course, this doesn't take into account the gas to drive to the post office or UPS store - or the cost of materials I use to pack my items. I'm very disenchanted at this point to say the least.

Then I find out that a buyer challenged his purchase on Paypal via a credit card. He did send me a money order, but then Paypal charged ME $10 for the chargeback fee. This is ridiculous, I mean why do I have to pay when he is the one who initiated the process? I find that selling things this way - at least on the small scale that I'm doing is not worth it. I think I'd be better off just having a yard sale advertising crafts and be done with it. Frustrating day here, I guess.

We are packing and getting ready for our move. At this point in time, I am so anxious to get into our new home and have some room to spread out. We are picking colors to paint some of the rooms, went to do some furniture wishful shopping and are generally putting things in high gear.

I've still got a retirement party to continue to plan so that can't fall by the wayside. I've got several things to do as far as that is concerned as well. Not the least of which is to get the tables and chairs taken care of. Seems like the days get away from me and the time I think about calling the party supply place is now - after 9:00 p.m. Better start writing these things down before I get so close that I won't be able to get them. Geez, so many things on my mind.

The process continues and I continue to march onward. Fairly soon the upward part starts and hopefully things will turn around. I want some normalcy to return to my otherwise crazy life. Time will tell!

Here we go again...

2008-05-13T19:36:00.000-07:00

Time is really moving fast now. It is so hard to believe that our move is looming in just a few months. So much is going on and I try to keep up with all that is happening. Trying to go through things, pack, list items on Ebay, take care of the dog...just a lot to keep my hours full. I have sold lots of things on Ebay lately, but seems like I've hardly made a dent. Think most of it will have to be sold after we move. I'll just mark the boxes with an big "E" and will know that it can be stashed out of the house and not come in until I'm ready for it.

My husband is getting so much closer to retirement. The months are quickly passing. He has only 72 shifts to go before he retires. Wow...this is really happening. We went to a retirement seminar and it was quite interesting. We had gone before but didn't pay that much attention to it as we weren't really there yet. Well, now we are and we have to make some serious decisions about our financial future.

We are continually discussing the changes we want to make at our new home. Mostly paint and carpet changes. Only one structural change, but that won't happen for quite some time. We are excited about the prospect of having a nice new home that is clutter free and where we can entertain and not be embarrassed by all our "stuff" all over. With our new home, we will be able to keep our stuff in our offices and close the door to the main house. That is going to be really great! Now we are constantly tripping over everything since I long ago gave up trying to keep this place neat. Our new house is over twice the size of this place so you can imagine the fun we're going to have.

Our beautiful dog Darby is doing very well since we had to put her sister to sleep a couple of months ago. It was so hard on me and if I think hard enough about it now I'll still cry. Hannah was my baby and I really miss her. But who would have ever thought that Darby would turn out to be such a wonderful and sweet dog. We had so many difficult times with the two of them and it seemed that Darby was always the troublemaker. Now that she has my undivided attention, she has really shown us how sweet she is. It's such a surprise and sometimes I'm amazed that she has become so attached to me. She follows me everywhere I go. Sometimes I almost literally trip on her because she is thisclose. Oh well, she's adjusting to being an only dog and she's indoors a lot now. We take her for small rides and get her out as often as we can. She's lovin' life.

Time marches on and I must get more photos taken of stuff to list tomorrow. We are just trying to keep it all together until we can really get serious about this move. TTFN

Countdown to Retirement Move

2008-04-15T00:28:00.000-07:00

Time is passing so quickly and we're getting closer to our retirement move. I've actually started to sell quite a number of patterns on Ebay. I will probably have to set up my own web site to sell some of the things that are not selling. The number of patterns is dwindling, but not quite as fast as I'd like.

Been going through boxes under the patio and have been saddened by the number of things that have been ruined by rain. Had a major leak but forgot about some of the cardboard boxes under there. Had to toss a lot of things that I wish I had taken better care of. I did manage to fill a large trash can today, so that was a good thing. Came across a number of things from my early 20's and really took me back to a different time. Poems from an old flame when I was about 21. Ticket stubs from a trip to Hawaii I took with my sister in 1975 - now why on earth would I save those? Don't know but I've had them so long I can't possibly get rid of them now! Funny how seeing some of those old things can take the mind back to an earlier age and the things that happened. So many memories that were stored away that haven't surfaced for quite some time. Some things are better left tucked away because it can cause a bit of melancholy, if you know what I mean.

We will start our big move in a couple of months and I can hardly believe the time is finally here. Something that I've been almost obsessed with for months now and it's about to become a reality. Planning the colors for the rooms is getting to be fun because we can get started on buying the paint. Have to get carpet and decide what kind of flooring for the bathrooms. There is currently carpeting and neither of us are crazy about that. I'm so full of ideas on how to make some minor changes and make the house really ours! We have lots of wallpaper to remove as the previous owners were really into "country" decorating. Not our style so the majority of it has to go. We were fortunate that a friend was tearing up an old hardwood floor and she asked if we knew of anyone who wanted it. Well, we decided we did so we can turn a current "wasted space" area into a bar and the hardwood flooring will go nicely there. It fits well in our western themed decorating idea.

Well, tomorrow got to get more boxes gone through so I'd better get some shut-eye. It's late and I'm getting a bit bleary eyed. More news and updates as the mood hits me. Later!

More thoughts!

2008-02-28T19:07:00.000-08:00

It has been a couple of weeks and I need to update this blog. Sadly, last week we had to put one of our beautiful yellow labs to sleep. Her name was Hannah and she is the sister of our other dog, Darby. They turned 7 on February 19th and the next day we had to say goodbye to Hannah. I am very saddened by this and have not been nearly as active as I should be around here. Hopefully in the next few days, I'll get it together and start anew with the packing and going through my stuff.

Pictures are still in the forefront of my mind and I will be getting to that! Our move is getting closer and closer. The excitement I feel is such a good thing. I somehow view our move as a new beginning of sorts. We have outgrown our small house with our varied interests and knowing we have more room and land is certainly enticing.

I've been toying with the idea of opening my own web site and selling a lot of my stuff there. So keep posted for updates on that. Of course, that can't happen until after we are somewhat settled in our new home so that's several months away. But the idea of it is appealing to me. I've decided that I'm not really a leader - but I'm definitely not a follower any more. I must be on my own so I don't have to answer to anyone. Just reached that age in my life. So perhaps a venture out on my own is the answer! Time will tell.

Until I'm back into the thick of things here, not too much else to write about today. Stay tuned!

Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T08:57:00.000-08:00

Well here we are at Valentine's Day already. I have been making some progress with my quest to go through boxes and boxes of stuff. Unfortunately, some things have been damaged with moisture from rain and sitting out under the patio. It hurt to have to throw some old photos away that used to belong to my late sister. But, they were ruined beyond repair and were really just personal photos of her vacations, etc.

I have been selling some things on ebay and will continue to list more today. I have "spoken" with someone who has a website to sell her patterns. She is encouraging me to do the same with my treasures. I may just investigate this when we get settled in Bishop. Of course, this means I'll have to take stuff with me to sell on there, but it might be worth a shot. I'll have to discuss this with my honey so he won't think I'm taking this stuff just for personal use. If I can sell it online that might be a way to go rather than just giving it away or selling it for next to nothing at a yard sale.

We did agree that we don't want to have another yard sale. The last one was a bad experience where I actually lost my temper with a woman and refused to sell something to her. It was a tough day already and she just sent me over the edge. I eventually got my price and sold her the vintage sugar & creamer. She was insulting me with an offer and then started to push me - so I pushed back. I'm sure she wouldn't come back here again anyway!

It is amazing to me the things I have almost forgotten about that I have. Man, why did I ever collect so much stuff? It is hard to come to the realization that that's what it really is...just stuff! Some people have an easier time of unloading, but it's not so easy for me. I am throwing away some and donating some...but honestly, I've a long way to go.

With our move looming in less than 6 months, I really have to get more serious here. I keep trying to envision my office/craft room and try to analyze just how much I can really put in there. My area is a converted garage that has been set up as two office spaces for a prior in-home business. So I've got quite a bit of room to work with and can take quite a lot with me, but honestly, all that I have won't fit. Miles and miles to go, as they say!

I haven't forgotten that I am to post photos of my favorite things. I will do this very soon...at least that's my plan.

It's time to get to the listing and cleaning out a few more boxes today. Hope Cupid finds you and tags you with some love.

Talk About A LOOOONG Time Away...

2008-01-27T12:53:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe that it has almost 3 months since I've written anything. Lots of stuff happened since then. My dog, Hannah, is doing much better. She still has a bad case of hip dysplasia, but she had very bad bacterial infection which seems to have been the thing getting and keeping her down. Think we were close to losing her. But our wonderful new and somewhat expensive vet did just the right things and now she is back to her old self. Still on medication for the time being. That makes me very happy to have Hannah like her old self again. It removes that sense of dread I was having.

Shortly after my last entry I got very sick and was in bed for 11 days. Unfortunately, my honey was gone for a week and then was forced to work several days in a row when he returned due to the fires here in So. Cal. (My husband is a fire fighter by the way.) So about 8 days into this I developed a bad sinus infection and had to get myself to the doctor. Not a good time for me, to say the least.

Had my mother down here for about 2 weeks over Christmas. My niece, her husband and baby boy all came down from San Francisco for a couple of days. It was a great visit and so much fun to hug and kiss my great-nephew. My nephew who temporarily lives in Amsterdam came home for the holidays also. I love being together with family and most particularly at Christmas. The holidays just zoomed by.

Now we are in my honey's retirement year and in addition to the move to our retirement home, I'm in the midst of planning a party for him. So lots to do this year!

I've started listing lots of my patterns on Ebay and so far am selling quite a few of them. Seems like a small dent compared to what I have but at least it's a start. I'm not any nearer to having a craft sale, but that is on the agenda for sometime this spring. It will get done, I swear it.

Noticed I haven't posted any pictures on here yet. That's something that I will definitely have to get done also. Suppose I should re-write my "to-do" list (or write one anyway)! LOL I have so much to do I'd better stop this writing today and get some more listed on Ebay. Nice to have a few $$ coming in and it only does that when I hustle to get it posted.

I have been adding to my everyday dishes and my "good" china. Decided to check to see what was out there and have been amazed at the serving pieces available. I'm about ready to stop buying as I've about exhausted the bank account. It's been fun though, to find a nice platter or something that I wasn't aware of. My "good" china is something I have loved for about 40 years. One day in high school, looking through a Bride's magazine, I tore out a picture of this beautiful china pattern (that I have since found out was originated in 1965). When I turned 25 my family got together and bought me place settings and I got some serving pieces so that I now have service for 10. They discontinued making this pattern in 1997 and now it's not as readily available...but thank goodness for Ebay. There are still pieces out there for me to buy and I'm going to get just a couple more pieces. I plan on using that "good" china more often once we are in our new home. We have purchased a new refrigerator and a new double-oven stove for our new house. I plan on using the heck out of those ovens. I want to entertain a lot and am getting truly ready for that!

All right, now I really must end this yacking. It's raining now and supposed to do so for the next couple of days. We are not used to raining days on end here in So. Cal. so it's a bit of a drag, but a necessity. Off to the picture taking realm and posting on Ebay mode...TTFN

Long Time Away

2007-11-03T23:33:00.000-07:00

I've been neglectful of my blog. Hadn't realized it's been about 6 weeks. Lots going on and not necessarily of a productive nature. Will be working in the garage this next week and taking my containers of fabric and laces out to go through them. Plan on having a "craft" sale sometime after the first of the year. Will have lots of other goodies to add to this and hope to make a few $$ while I'm at it.

My honey will be gone for a few days so that will give me a chance to really dig in and see how much I can really get accomplished. Been dragging my butt of late. Took a week and painted the tirm of my mom's mobile - but didn't finish due to really cold weather for two days. Also having an issue with my sweet dog, Hannah. She has dysplasia which is causing her some great discomfort. Thought we were going to put her down yesterday, but the vet says it's a bit premature. So I'm babying her a bit and helping her stand up. She is really hobbling around and it's breaking my heart.

Therefore, with these things and a few more, I haven't been on here to update my ramblings about my favorite things. Should have lots more to talk about in a few days. More to come!

Continuing

2007-09-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

Spent the past two days going through plastic containers and cardboard boxes "organizing" my things. Boy, I've got way too much stuff! I'm finding it difficult to part with these things I've had so much fun in collecting. Guess I need to just determine what I really want to focus on when we move. I really can't do it all - but I keep thinking I can.

Today I found some things that I had forgotten about. How about a bag full of metal clips for making bow-ties, must be 100 in there. Now everyone needs a bag of those. How about two dozen vintage wooden spools? Maybe a hundred or so hair combs - who can't use all of those? Came across a container full of yarn that I was going to make into dusters - sewing them on gloves at the end of the fingers. Saw one of those one time and decided it was such a good idea. I bought canvas gardening gloves, cut the yarn and tied it together to stitch on the fingers. Never made it that far, but there they are ready to go.

Also found a box with about 10 items I was going to sew. There are the patterns still attached to the fabric with the straight pins, wrapped around the actual pattern envelope. Some are blouses I was going to make maybe 50-60 pounds ago! That was a day or two back. There are also two items I was going to sew for some man - probably from the late 70's or early 80's. I have no idea. Perhaps someone wants to sew all these things up and use them? I doubt it, but of course I've saved them all in one box. Geez....this is getting ridiculous.

There are also several boxes of scrapbooking, rubber stamping and paper goods. There must be enough there to stock a small store. Hey that's an idea! I could open a small store and just sell my stuff. Probably cheaper than selling it all on ebay and certainly more fun than giving it away at a yard sale.

I did manage to put together a fairly large box of fabric and scraps to give to a senior center or a quilting place. One small step for woman, one giant leap for me! Going through the many, many containers of fabric will be a real chore for me to be sure. The same can be said for the many boxes of laces and trims I've accumulated. Once I hit that item on my "to do" list that will mean I'm down to the last of it. I'm saving the absolute hardest thing for the last.

I did find a box of aprons that I thought had been ruined. Some of them have the markings of being a little wet, but I think they can be laundered and salvaged. I will probably put them on ebay...will really try not to put them with my collection. These are the ones that didn't quite make the grade with me. I have a special selection of aprons that I will always keep and each is special in its own way. There is one in particular that seems to have started the collecting thing for me. It's the one to blame...ha-ha!

Tired ramblings - HA

2007-09-06T23:05:00.000-07:00

I love cookbooks - old ones, new ones - you name it. I have so many that you would think I cook every minute of every day. Hardly! I like to cook a lot, but our kitchen is not the largest and most suitable place to do much in the way of cooking. Go figure. My most favorite thing is to bake. The local thrift stores and yard sales are good places to acquire the more unusual cookbooks. I recently got one just for Jello recipes. Some good looking desserts in that one. Once we move to our new home, I will have a very large kitchen. We're thinking we might even get a new stove with a double oven. That's when I will put those many cookbooks to good use. You can bet on that. I plan on baking some creative things and entering them in the local County Fair. Might win a ribbon or two.

Some of the really older cookbooks have some great recipes in them. The challenge is to find the ingredients listed. Some of the things mentioned don't seem to be around anymore. I guess that's when the creativity will come in - or maybe a recipe won't be attempted. We'll see.

I love to decorate cakes and make chocolate suckers. I have a large selection of cake pans and sucker molds that I have acquired over the years. My sister started me in this hobby. She took classes and then I did the same. I could prepare a cake or sucker for just about any occasion, I swear. Once you start looking at what's available, you see just how varied the supplies are. I just look forward to the day I have the room to really utilize all my pans and molds again. I've really put that all on the back burner for a long time. No reason really, guess it's that darn small kitchen.

At the holidays, decorating gingerbread houses is another fun thing we do. This was started as a family tradition. However with some of us moving away, and losing others, the tradition is not quite the same. A few of us still get together and keep the festivities going. It's just so darn much fun to decorate those cute little brown buildings! Once the stores put out the holiday candy, I try to buy about anything that is colorful or red & green. I generally use this candy year after year and it really adds up. It's fun to have such a large variety to decorate with, lots more options.

Another day, more ramblings...

2007-09-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

It is amazing to me the things that people like and the things people like to collect. When I think of all the items I've seen in the past few years and the way people react to finding a particular treasure, it makes me chuckle. However, I'm sure that when I've found something I just HAVE to have I've maybe overreacted a time or two myself. Ha-ha-ha

We have a display cabinet in our garage that holds several unique items we have found over these past 10 years. Can't wait to move it into our new home next year so we can look at it more frequently. One of the items is from an old Frigidaire refrigerator. It's a plastic ice scraper that used to be used before they had self-defrosting or defrost-free freezers. It was amazing to me that this item actually survived the test of time. I'm sure more of these were broken than not. Don't know why that one stands out as a great find, but I don't think I've seen another one in all this time. Just had to have it! I will take another look in that cabinet and fill you in on some of the other things we are holding onto.

One thing that grabbed at my heartstrings is a World War II mobile desk. It is Army green and it was used on the back of trucks or jeeps. Inside are the most beautiful oak shelves and drawers. Something about this thing just grabbed me. I watched it at a few swap meets and it didn't sell for about a month. Even though it was an odd item to like, I bought it for $150 - a big splurge for me. The vendor who sold it to me said he would buy it back recently, but I said no sale. He has a military guy who would really like to have it. I suppose if I were really strapped for cash, I might consider...but no. We've had it for probably 6-7 years now.

I also have a fondness for vintage ladies hats. I've tried to pare down to only about a dozen now. Used to have many, many more. I have a classic Stetson that has a huge feather through it. Don't know if I'll ever wear it or not, but it sure is cool to look at. I had a hat made a few years ago at an event were people dress up in old-time western gear. Since purple is MY color, of course I had to get a purple western hat. The outfit that made it has an item called a conformiture. It's a contraption that fits over your head and the wooden spikes (dull of course) are fitted to the exact form of your head. These conformitures are very old and hard to find, but this gal had one. So she made me the most beautiful purple hat that fits perfectly. I've worn it a couple of times and it looks fabulous! I'm sure no woman in the 1860's had a purple hat, but that doesn't stop me. I don't like the mainstream usually anyway.

A time for sharing....

2007-09-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

For several years now I have been a collector of many things. My husband and I started selling things in an antique mall and I found that I wanted to keep more than I wanted to sell. It has taken me some time to determine that I just can't keep it all. Imagine that....

I have so many interests in old things, crafty things, new hobbies - you name it. Since we are going to be moving in a little over a year, the time has come to really unload and not drag some of my "stuff" with me. My husband has accepted my promise to keep my collectables at a minimum and not overload our new home with them. So the time has come. As I start to unload my least-loved treasures, thought I would share some of my most-loved treasures. I like to take my things out and show them off but have found a lot of people don't seem to share my varied interests. So I will photograph them and show them off here. The least-loved ones will be sold on ebay or donated to a local thrift shop. Some things I just can't seem to part with.

One of my most favorite things are vintage aprons. I have collection of aprons and vintage apron patterns. My hope is that when we retire I will actually start making and selling some aprons. Oh yeah, another passion is vintage sewing patterns and I am also a fabriholic (collector of more fabric than any one person could ever use - trust me). I like old sewing notions, trims, ribbons, rick-rack, buttons, elastic, you name it I probably have tons or at least one of some old sewing item. I even have an old Singer sewing machine in its original cabinet from the early 20's and an old Domestic sewing machine in its original cabinet from the 40's. They both work, but I don't use them. I have another machine that I actually use that I got in the early 70's...yes it still works and works well. I bought a Serger at an estate sale but haven't learned how to use it yet. That will be a retirement project (or at least one of them). This is the tip of the iceburg, but I won't get into more than this right now.