"BE FEARLESS"

It's been a very fearful week for me, for one reason or another (and another), but I happened to have ordered this necklace around a week and a half ago from a friend who sells jewelry.

I spent my entire day in fear, but combatted it by devoting my time to designing a logo and website for my business, setting up Twitter and Facebook pages along with a separate email for the business, and setting up my Elance profile.  I was just about to click save on the Elance profile, with all kinds of thought attacks running through my head-- you aren't qualified, you don't have the education, you don't have the experience to put yourself out there, someone's going to hire you then you'll realize you can't do the job-- when my husband came in with a little box from the mailman. 

There it was, my little note to self, the necklace and charms I had ordered days and days ago.  I had chosen the charms "be" and "fearless" as a daily reminder, and the New Jade stone dangle because it is said to have "immense powers in mental healing".

How nice to be rewarded for all my hard work today, and at the exact moment I needed the encouragement.  I know what I can do, what I have done over the last year, and what I am doing now.  I just need to have the courage to cast my line in the direction of the circling fish and not be afraid that if I hook one, I won't be able to reel it in. 

Ghost Riders

Tonight I am thankful for Johnny Cash.  When I was growing up, my mother was often out socializing with friends.  We loved it when she was gone or having a party at our house, because it meant rides in my dad's little car, Herbie, to the corner store for ice cream sandwiches, a Three Musketeers bar, or root beer float making ingredients.  Sometimes it meant trips to play putt putt golf or to the go-kart track, but, most often, my dad would pull out his guitar to sing and play for us. 

I loved when he would sing Puff the Magic Dragon, and sang along with him about Little Jackie "Paper", thinking that was the boy's name.  I always felt like crying when Puff would "sadly slip into his cave".  On top of being my absolute favorite person in the world, my dad had a beautiful singing voice, and I loved those times.

Along with Puff, there was the story of Charlie stuck on the train.  He didn't have the required nickel, or maybe it was a dime, to get off the train, so his wife just handed him sandwiches when the train passed his stop.  My husband always asks when I tell him of  this song, why his wife didn't just hand him money to get off the train. I shush him, of course, before he can ruin one of my favorite childhood memories.  Some things just don't need fixing! 

There were other folk songs that my dad would sing, like Where Have All the Flowers Gone.  He loved Peter, Paul, & Mary and The Mamas and the Papas.  I'm sure he still does.  I wish I could remember all the songs he would sing.  He is a fabulous musician.  His father was a trumpet player, supported his family that way, in fact, and also played the piano very well, as well as the banjo, guitar, and mandolin.  As a result, Dad and his brothers and sisters became great singers and musicians.  Our family get togethers were usually centered around music.

And it's just occurred to me.  Could this be where my live music addiction began?  Why I stand mesmerized below the stage at concerts, fascinated by a guitarist's fingers rapidly plying the strings?  I still don't get it.  I've tried and tried, and though dad has always assured me by telling me that once my fingers develop calluses, guitar playing will be much easier, I never take the time to practise enough to develop them and learn to play, so have great respect for those who are disciplined enough to make incredible sounds come from a stringed instrument. 

Coyle Girreli of The Chevin.  10-24-12, The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC

But, to return to the point of this ghostly post, I was lying here watching The Bridges of Madison County and trying to fall asleep while fighting an ear infection.  I had a crushed garlic water soaked cotton ball in my ear, which burned like the Dickens and was doing a very good job of keeping sleep at bay, and before I knew it, the movie had ended and a Johnny Cash special had come on.  Joaquin Phoenix is one of my favorite actors, so when he made Walk the Line, I learned all about the late singer and have developed a soft spot for Johnny and June and the love story surrounding them.  I am still more familiar with Joaquin's versions of Johnny's songs, however, so any time I have the opportunity hear Johnny sing his songs, I am in awe of how well that Joaquin boy really did imitating his voice and mannerisms.   

In tonight's television special, Johnny did Folsom Prison Blues, Ring of Fire, then...oh wow.  I forgot that was a Johnny Cash song, Ghost Riders In the Sky.  I immediately began hearing my dad's voice rather than Johnny's, because another of my favorites that Dad would sing to us was Ghost Riders In the Sky. He had a beautiful tenor voice for the yippee ay yays, but could also really hit those low notes, spot on.  Such a nice memory!

We're all camping together in a couple of weeks, those of us from my dad's side of the family, and we are planning on celebrating our Cherokee roots with a little family pow wow.  I'm sure Dad will be pulling out his harmonica and guitar.  If so, I can't imagine anything better than sitting next to the fire while he sings Ghost Riders.  So, while I am very thankful for my wonderful father, tonight I am counting Johnny Cash in my 30 Days of Thanks for bringing me such a comforting memory.  And now to get this dadgum cotton ball out of my ear so I can sleep.  "It burns, burns, burns..."

Skeletons in the closet.

We keep a skeleton in our closet.  Literally.  It was either last year when we studied medieval history or the previous year when we studied pirates that we bought a glow in the dark full-sized Halloween skeleton with light up green eyes.  Our lesson room, now changed to a breakfast room, contains a closet, probably added by a previous owner trying to use the small space as an extra bedroom.  It has a clothes rod in the top that I used to hang artwork from when the boys were small, and still use to hold charts and such.  The skeleton hangs from this rod.  It hasn't occurred to me how difficult  Mr. Skeleton is to work around.  I added several shelves and bins to the closet so that it holds all of our schoolwork and computer paper, charts, etc.  We found it hilarious to hang the skeleton in our closet when the rest of the room was decorated in a theme. Now he hangs there so obviously in the way but not an actual hindrance to our daily lives.  We just push him aside to do what we have to do every day, but wouldn't dream of taking him down, except for the few days around Halloween that he gets to proudly hang from our front stoop, behaving as a glow in the dark skeleton with green light up eyes was meant to behave.  He swings ominously in the wind, his lanky limbs flopping about, while crinkled leaves and even occasional snowflakes drift by.

Tonight I walked past Mr. Skeleton where he was hanging when we were done with our away from home Halloween festivities.  It was an odd Halloween.  We didn't realize until this morning that we hadn't carved Jack O' Lanterns and that we hadn't had any Halloween candy in the house but for a package of candy corn/pumpkins a few weeks ago, which really isn't like us at all, we love Halloween candy and can't usually resist the urge to throw a package or two into the grocery cart every other food run this time of year.  It was also strange, yet wonderful, to have my husband home all day and to not have to wait until clock-out time at some corporate job for him to pull in from work before we could head out for Halloween fun.  But there hung Mr. Skeleton, free for a short time from the confines of his closet, oddly comforting in the moonlight as one of our newest holiday traditions .

I thought to myself as I walked up the porch steps, that, fortunately, he is the only skeleton in our closet.  By the time I entered the sun room, however, at least five other skeletons our families keep hidden entered my mind.  As I walked through the kitchen, snippets of conversations and old family stories and incidents flooded my thoughts, all before I reached the bedroom to put away my coat, and I had to giggle.  Then, as was inevitable, I was saddened by some of my history.  I often feel embarrassed for "baring all" in my blogs, but tonight I realized that some skeletons are meant to be left in the closet, constantly being pushed aside or to the back of our minds so we can just get through each day and do what we have to do.  We may pull them out on occasion when the subject of their existence comes up, letting them air in the wind for a bit, but we wouldn't dream of permanently pulling them out of the closet.  Their glowing eyes may even haunt us in the night, through periods of insomnia, but those skeletons have helped to make us who we are and so are allowed to stay hidden away.  At other times, we may wish to stop and study them in moments of introspection, but like Mr. Skeleton, the longer we look, the more unpleasant they may appear. 

The nice thing is that when they start to freak us out we can just shut the closet door and pretend they don't exist.  And unlike Mr. Skeleton who is purposefully exposed like clockwork, it may be years before others see the light of day.  Some skeletons I don't mind leaving hanging around to get dusty,  brittle, old and decrepit, but others have hung out in the open for so long that they needed to be shut away and left to time, and I realize never should have been on display in the first place.  But Mr. Skeleton?  He will be allowed to flutter around, giving passersby the shivers, at least until the end of the week when he will be moved back into the closet until next fall.

26 days of thanks?

I try to join in the 30 days of thanks thingy that everyone does this time of year because it's really good to stop and think about what you are grateful for.  But I've missed a few days.  Honestly, though, since Hubby's heart attack, I do this every day, anyway.  I have so much and I'm very grateful.  Even the little things make me smile. 

I used to say when things went wrong, after whining about them (ugh), that, "At least none of us are sick.  We don't have kids with leukemia", things along those lines.  Our babies made it through pregnancy, delivery, and infancy without a hitch and other than their asthma that freaks me out when it gets bad, they have been healthy and strong, and are oh so smart!  Whiz kids, I've got here, if I do say so myself.  I'm so grateful for every second with them and I've loved them since I saw those silly, purple lines on a pregnancy test stick.

Hubby also freaks me out when he's not well, but still, even though his troubles have been ongoing and serious at times, because they scared me I appreciate him more and have felt even more thankful for him at those times.  We always mention his toes, now.  When we do, we are referring to the first e.r. the ambulance took him to the day of the heart attack, when he was lying on the gurney and the e.r. doc. was trying to fill me in on his situation before I'd even had a chance to get to my husband.  I saw the outline of his feet beneath the blue thermal blanket they had tucked around him and all I wanted was to at least get to those toes.  I inched my way over until I could reach them while the doctor talked, and would glance at my husband every now and then, still wanting to get to his face so I could kiss it.  One of the saddest things I've ever seen was his look of apology when our eyes would meet.  Kills me to think about.  He didn't have to speak to tell me at that moment that he was just plain sorry that we were there and that he'd caused us worry.  He wasn't scared or sad for himself, just for us.  An added bonus to just being grateful every time I see his sweet smile is that I don't fear the same silly things I used to, and I'm grateful for that, too. 

It's been a good year.  Life is unbelievably good.  I always felt that if things went well, we'd have to pay somehow, but I think we've paid our dues.  It's definitely getting easier to just enjoy life without waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I'm also, in this election time, more aware of my freedoms and how thankful I am for them, especially as a woman, knowing women before me worked hard to make it so that I can vote.  And how ridiculous is it that 100 yrs. ago women weren't even allowed to vote?!  If I only had a Tardis...

And now I am thinking how grateful I am that we have running water and electricity and heat and a freezer full of frozen food, because in a few days we might not.  This storm, Sandy, is missing us but smacking into a cold front that's coming our way which may bring snow, and as I always say, a hedgehog can't fart in the woods around here without knocking the power out, so we may be in for a crazy ride.  I have a pantry full of emergency water, however, and Hubby just cracked me up when he came home from a trip to town with two packages of store-bought sliced bread, of which I am very grateful, knowing I won't have to make bread this week, and two jars of jelly and a can of peanut butter.  So, worse comes to worst, we can eat pb&j sandwiches for a while and cook frozen food on the outdoor grill.  I'm thankful that we have almost a full tank of propane if we need it.  Oh, and one more thing I'm thankful for is camping supplies already packed for our upcoming Florida trip.  It's not often I have new flashlights and tons of back-up batteries ready and waiting in the sun room.  They will come in handy if the power does go out.

Now I wonder what I will be thankful for in a few days when the blogging bug hits again.  I hope it will be that we had enough snow to play in but not so much that we were sent back to the Dark Ages.

Not the rant I'd intended...

I'd intended to food blog this week about poor customer service and instead I find myself feeling cynical about so many other things.  I'm just frustrated when I look around me right now, and am thinking that for the sake of everyone I come in contact with, other than my sweet little family members, I'd better just go hang out in the woods and farmyard and not read Facebook or blog posts or hang out in crowded places for a few days.  People are bugging me, plain and simple. 

The main problem is that we have been visiting festivals and crowded places a lot lately and I am simply overwhelmed by it all.  I realized I was done and needed a respite last night at a concert, usually one of my favorite ways to unwind while just wearing myself right out with the intensity that goes along with such an event.  I saw very quickly that the only person I could relate to in the building was the shy lead singer of the Lemonheads who couldn't make eye contact with anyone but his band members.  I love going to concerts by myself and just silently being for a few hours and enjoying that world outside of my usual world for a bit, but it just wasn't happening last night.  In fact, by the time the headlining band, the Psychedelic Furs, who I was there to hear and had thoroughly enjoyed seeing live last year, came on and sang two of my favorite songs from my teen years, I was ready to go home.  Too much.  I was floored by my own desire to leave and became convinced that I'm getting old, old, old.  The muffled ears and joint pain I'm experiencing today serve to emphasize this fact. 

This afternoon, however, I think I'm realizing what the underlying irritant is. It goes along with my tendency to be judgemental of the human species in general, like the Grinch who stays up on Mt. Crumpet, rarely coming down to interact with the others of his species. (Oh wait...I don't know if they are the same species, but, yup!  That's exactly how I'm feeling right now.)  It's awful and pretty hilarious, actually. I am always working on just being a nicer person but can't ever seem to get there.  I know now that these traits are textbook HSP introvert qualities (not that HSPs, introverted or extroverted, are unkind people), but I still need to work on being less judgemental.  I tend to notice and want to correct injustices when I see them, so end up getting critical.  You should see what a tizzy these election debates have had me in!  DON'T get me started.

BUT...the situations that have me rolling my eyes stand out because I have been seeing examples of how well some people handle adversity as opposed to others who create their own problems and then whine all day to everyone about them. 

"Every piece of this is man's bullshit. They call this war a cloud over the land. But they made the weather and then they stand in the rain and say 'Shit, it's raining!' " ~ Ruby Thewes, Cold Mountain

 

 

I couldn't have said it better.

I have one dear friend who became a single mom after her husband had an affair then left her and the kids when their second child was born.  Over the years that we have been friends I have watched her work hard to single-handedly grow those children in a loving home, while attending college at the same time.  She has just learned that she is well into a third pregnancy and in just a few months will have another child to parent on her own.  Is she whining?  Is she complaining?  Has she expressed one bit of fear or negativity toward her new life direction?  No.  This is BIG and I'm sure she's had moments of panic, but I am so impressed with her attitude.  It's inspiring!

A sweet lady I know had cancer for a year.  A year.  I didn't hear a word about it until it was over, or very nearly so.  Did she complain to everyone she came in contact with?  Nope. No public displays of "woe is me", or "I don't understand why I'm being punished in this way".  No, those are the things I hear from people who are having trouble picking tile colors for their kitchen back splashes, and I am ashamed to admit that I am guilty of this type of petty whining myself.

Another friend has moved her family, with only a month's notice, if I recall, to an entirely different part of the country, from a house and property they owned to an apartment complex, and I am just seeing all the positive comments she makes about her new life and exploring their new area.  No whining, no complaining, she's just adjusting and making the most of the change.  For someone who experiences insecurity when even good changes occur, I am truly impressed with her attitude.

This week I read a heartbreaking story of a couple whose baby lived for only two weeks.  Are they cursing the heavens?  No. They are expressing gratitude for those two weeks.  Another family's married daughter who suffers from sickle cell disease went into a coma and is on a ventilator.  She has awaken, and her family shows gratitude for every toe wiggle, eye focus, and reaction to their voices and presence.  No complaining.

My boys are friends with two children whose mother, a single parent, died of cancer three years ago.  Are those kids in pain?  Certainly, they are, but they hold their heads high and carry on as normal teenagers.  That is daily inspiration for me.  Every single time I look at those kids and remember their mother and remember seeing her with them before she became ill, my eyes sting and I have to bite my tongue.  I feel sorry them, and I pity them.  As a mother I can't help but feel that way, but when I see how great they are I am so proud for her sake.  They didn't just adapt, they are good kids, hilarious, and the centers of their own circles of friends, not because of what has happened to them but because of who they choose to be and how they have decided to face what life has given them. 

And now would be the perfect time to list examples of the other sort, but that wouldn't be very nice, and I'm trying SO hard to just be nice.  But, seriously, some of the things people say and do make my head spin and my bp go up and my face flush and make me want to work hard to be a glass is half full person.  I don't want to be one of those others.

I can do it.  Some day I'll make it.  See?  Already, I'm thinking more positively from all the inspiration!  ;)

Steampunk this and steampunk that. Steampunk dandy clothes and hat.

I've been trying to decide what to do with all the steampunk materials I've been collecting since we attended a steampunk con last winter. 

I hand-stitched this corset and just need boning and laces for it.  I'm thinking leather or black lace for the lacing, depending upon what I decide to make for the skirt.  For an inexpensive boning, I decided upon basket weaving reeds.  It will be worn over a white or black peasant blouse.  I'm thinking white blouse, brown skirt, leather laces, brown boots?  Opinions are welcome to anyone who reads this!  I have trouble making decisions.

I've been thinking that I have plenty of time to create outfits for all four of us, but for a person who can only sew straight lines but can't actually sew a straight line to save her life, if you catch my drift, I think I may have put this off for too long.  We only have a few months until the next con.  That's three outfits per person, four people.  I don't know about this...

For the last convention, I put no time into creating my outfits, but was amazed that I could pull two together for myself from what I already owned.  That was pretty cool because I was able to spend time helping my son get his elaborate aviator contraption and outfit put together.  I did have fun with some of his extra copper pipe, an old toy pistol the boys were more than willing to part with, and whatever decorative pieces I could find in my craft stashes to decorate a leather purse and cell phone case, and to make a pistol for my "steampunk homesteader" day 2 outfit.

Today, while checking my calendar, I realized that another convention is coming up at the end of November.  I thought, no problem.  We'll catch it on our way back north from our Thanksgiving trip to Florida.  The timing is perfect.  Then I remembered that we are camping for days and days for that Thanksgiving trip.  There is no way we can camp with top hats and velvet and leather and taffeta/damasky type clothing hanging in the back of our van.  When we camp I use the back of our van as a kitchen prep area.  So now I have to decide what to do.  It's also my older son's birthday that weekend and I have neglected to tell him about the convention.  When I do, I know that is exactly what he will want to do to celebrate and I'll be committed.  Ha!  "Committed."  Trying to get us ready for a week of camping and outfits for a steampunk con in three weeks may just get me committed!  Giggle.

The other day we went to the Biltmore Estate to celebrate my husband's birthday.  It was a special one, considering all of the health issues he's had over the last few years, and especially this last one.  I decided to don some of my "steampunk every day" clothes, feeling nostalgic and old-fashioned just thinking about Biltmore house.  I came around the corner in my "normal" clothes that looked just a wee bit Helena Bonham Carter, minus the top hat, peacock feathers, pig, etc., and there stands my son in full steampunk gear, top hat and all.  He looked fabulous!  We started cracking up when we saw each other and then began exclaiming over the baubles and doo-dads each of us had added to our outfits.


He bought this hat at the steampunk con.  It was made by one of the owners of Only Ducks.

 

The boy.



I made these earrings from pins.  It only took 3 finger stabs to urge me into yanking the straight pin backs off with a pair of pliers.  It's really hard to drive when your finger is bleeding all over the place, just FYI.  Duh!  Should've done that when I added the earring hooks!
 

One of my "steampunk every day" skirts.  I made this from one of Hubby's old polo shirts.  The collar became the rose.  The sleeves became the ruffle.  A piece of scrap lace finished it.  I cut the sleeves off and stitched up the openings, but I think that next time I will just turn them inside out and stitch up the arm hole so the skirt has pockets.  I like pockets.  I was a dingbat and only realized after I cut out the v-neck with the buttons and was stitching in a zipper that I could have left the buttons in as the closure and forgotten the zipper altogether.  Live and learn...

 

That boy of mine is so much fun!  I love that he can walk around dressed differently than everyone he sees and have the confidence to hold his head high proclaiming to the world, "I'm different and I know it and I love myself for it!" with his manner.  I am so proud of him!  Especially since others, at times, have attempted to convince him that nonconformity is to be frowned upon.  An attitude that would have sent me slinking into the corner reevaluating my outlook on life, my likes, dislikes, and general weirdness, had the opposite effect on him.  It's fabulous to see.  I am so grateful!

The only problem for me that day was, that even though my outfit was "steampunky" it wasn't over the top.  I can't do over the top, but I love my style of frills and crochet and lace.  It's me.  But when we walked together around Biltmore property, people stopped us, thinking we were part of a special group.  It was great for my son, he loves it, but I was happy to have a tall boy with a top hat to "hide" behind when he drew attention and comments  He looked great.  I took lots of photos of him and he just fits so well with that beautiful, old building.  And apparently, there is a group that meets in full steampunk attire to frequently tour the Biltmore.  Now that I can do.  A nonconformist in the midst of other nonconformists all dressed alike. lol  Yes, I can do that.  We look forward to steampunk Biltmore days with the group.  What fun!

And...because he is so comfortable in his own skin within his favorite clothing style, my boy won first prize at a costume contest at a fall festival this weekend when he chose to dress in the steampunk aviator costume he made himself, complete with jet pack and spinning propeller.  I NEVER could have stood on that stage.  He's an awesome kid!  The blade rotated at the steampunk convention with the help of a motor he installed.  He had it taken apart for improvements at the time of the contest, and had shortened the propeller on a smaller copper shaft, but the wind happened to blow right when the judges were deciding on a winner, and that propeller just spun away when he bent his head forward to let it go.  It was awesome!!  I knew he had it when the judges got excited and pointed to the spinning blades, so had my camera ready when the winners were being announced.

I rarely post my kids' pictures on my blogs but I'd guess that 100 people have already taken his photo in this outfit the two times he's worn it, so what can I do?  We had the hardest time at the convention just getting through the hotel lobby because so many people stopped him to take his picture and to ask to see the propeller rotate, and he even ended up on the convention's website.  The same thing happened at the festival. So here's my own photo of Aviator Boy.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go get stitchin'! 

These are a few of my NEW favorite things...

So here's a silly, silly little blog post related to my intention to be aware of the things that I enjoy and am grateful for. 

I have a few new obsessions that I find I need in my daily life.  These are things that were foreign to me a couple of years ago or yet undiscovered or splurged upon.  I have decided to gab about them here, (A) so that I don't get so busy that I forget about them or forget to use them or how much I adore them, (B) so that maybe anyone who stumbles across this blog will find them useful and enjoyable, as well. 

1.  Fels-Naptha ~ the first time I smelled it I was so taken back in time by the fragrance that I began asking family members if my grandma had used it, as far as they knew.  Nope.  Apparently she always used Tide, but the scent is still so pleasant and comforting to me that if the aroma in my laundry room is fading I go shake up my jug of homemade detergent so it can act as an air freshener.  And I'm not even going to go into how well this stuff cleans, deodorizes, and stain removes!

2.  Soft towels ~ I have never, ever splurged on expensive towels.  My grandmother and godmother gave me an enormous, high-quality set when I was a teenager to put away in my hope chest for the time when I would leave home.  Those towels must have lasted a decade.  But ever since they finally bit the dust I have bought the cheapest, rough, junk towels from discount stores, not realizing what a difference a slightly higher quality towel would make.  All of us in this family are sensitive to textures.  You'd think I would have figured this one out, but no.  It only took 20 yrs. before I stepped up my towel purchase and bought some really, fluffy extra big cotton ones.  YUM!  And #3 on this list, the new love of my life, makes drying off after a hot shower or bath extra luxuriant.

3.  Method Fabric Softener ~ So we went from years of the cheap, earth unfriendly detergent and el cheapo fabric sheets to just Borax and baking soda, or just Borax or just baking soda and no fabric softener, on to the popular Fels-Naptha or Ivory or castile soap/Borax/Arm & Hammer Washing Soda recipe for homemade laundry detergent you see everywhere with no fabric softener.  Then I discovered Method.  Oh my!  I can have soft, smelly clothes again without hurting the planet.  AND those soft, fluffy towels are like giant marshmallow puffs with the addition of fabric softener.  Heavenly.

4.  Lavender oil ~  I am always singing the praises of lavender oil so why would I stop now?  I use it all the time, everywhere.  Nothing calms and relaxes me like this scent.

5.  Gavin Rossdale ~ Okay, this is silly, but this voice does for me what lavender oil does and I'm truly addicted.

6.  Bon Ami ~ I have always loved Comet.  My FAVORITE cleaner ever!  Toxic.  No way around it.  Bon Ami is missing the chlorine bleach smell I love (I know that's weird, but it just smells so clean!) but works so great at scrubbing tile grout and baked on pan messes and bathtubs and sinks and even cooking stains and odors from my hands such as beet juice or shellfish and onions.  And it's made in my area of the country, so every time I buy a can I'm buying local.

7.  Pillowcases ~ I change my pillowcase almost every day because I have rosacea.  And fresh, fresh ones, preferably sprinkled with lavender oil (a handy tip from a friend), are just so comfy. 

8.  Boots ~ I have four pairs of boots and that's all I wear when the whether turns cold.  Two pairs of hiking boots, one brown, one black, two pairs of knee highs, one brown, one black.  I love them and I don't like cold toes.  And, oh yay, it's boot season again!  You can keep flip-flop season. 

9.  Crookshanks ~ Our new kitten.  So I used to be a cat person and then decided I was a dog person.  Then we adopted a kitten last summer.  He and I don't really like each other much.  He's an ornery, grumpy, old-beyond-his-years kind of kitty cat, named Puss 'N Boots.  I didn't realize how much I loved him until I accidentally left a window open and he was gone all night.  That was awful and he and I have been buddies ever since.  But still, we pretty much steer clear of each other but for a daily rub down.  A few weeks ago, however, we adopted a second kitten.  We had looked all summer for a 6-toed Hemingway cat after seeing Ernest's home in Key West and all of the adorable polydactyl descendants that live on the property and passed on many cats in our search "the one".  When we saw a car in a parking lot with a free kitten sign and saw one lone, tiny little mouse of a kitten sitting in the open hatch back, we had to stop.  We all decided within seconds that he was "the one" and took him right home.  I LOVE THIS CAT!  I can't believe how much I love this cat.  He's halfway grown now and only gets cuter.  He is the sweetest, most loving cat I've ever seen.  He just plops in my arms and goes to sleep, whether I'm standing, sitting, or trying to fold clothes.  He's just the best and I am so grateful for this silly, little kitty. 

Just look at that cute, little guy!  He's just like a little toasted marshmallow!
 

10.  Power naps ~  I have always been envious of people who can take naps.  I couldn't.  I barely sleep at night, my brain works so hard at things, so naps have been out of the question.  But lately...not only am I sleeping through the night most nights but I am exhausted around 3 in the afternoon and can lie down, crash, and wake up 8 to 10 minutes later and go on with my day.  I don't know what's gotten into me (Old age, maybe?), but I am loving being able to sleep.

11. Calgon ~  I have a friend who always jokes, "Calgon take me away" when she's stressed.  I remember that line from the old commercials and that blue powder that would turn your bathwater the color of the Caribbean, but I didn't know the stuff was still around.  For Mother's Day my boys gave me a big plastic container of floral scented Calgon.  I only use natural shampoos, conditioners, soaps, eco-friendly detergents and even toilet paper, but since May I have been soaking in whatever possibly toxic ingredients make up Calgon.  So it's become my guilty pleasure.  I'll kick it one of these days, but in the meantime I'm not content unless the arms I fold under my head at night smell like English Garden.

12.  Waking up next to Hubby ~ there is nothing like spending all day, every day with the love of my life.  He's been working from home for about two months now and it's been like a dream.  Some days we don't get much work done and spend the day out gallivanting and other days we work so hard sitting side by side that at the end of the day we realize we actually missed each other's company and hadn't shared a single conversation, but it's okay, because we are together. 

13.  Chai/yoga ~ as close to simultaneous as possible.  Sigh...

14.  Mead ~ It takes us two weeks to get through a bottle, but I have found that it pairs wonderfully with fall.

15.  Horace Kephart ~  He is one of my favorite historical figures and I love learning about his life and explorations.  He loved the Smoky Mountains, and by seeing them through his eyes my love for their misty peaks grows.

16. Himalayan Salt lamps and amber light ~  I've blogged a couple of times about how much I love the glow from these lamps and how warm a room full of them feels.  We are up to four lamps and three votives, now, thanks to a half price sale.  Woo hoo!  We have also added an amber shaded floor lamp and amber crackled glass candelabrum, which goes very well with a burgundy shaded table lamp that is also set up in the living room and gives off that subtle hue when lit.  All I can say is, ahhhh...  

17.  Bookshelves ~ Books in the closet, books in the attic, books in the basement, books on shelves, end tables, they're everywhere but never seem to have a home.  I am not a fan of particle board, but since Hubby started working from home we have bought three small, black, particle board bookcases, the ones you put together in 7 minutes, and they have been a godsend.  Finally, our books can be on display for easy access.  And it's amazing what a case of books can do to cozy up a room.  Should have done this a LONG time ago.

18.  Frasier ~ This show makes me laugh and laugh and laugh!  I turn it on while I'm cooking because the t.v. is a half wall away from the kitchen and, even though I can't always see what's going on, I laugh and laugh.  Last year I watched the entire series this way on Netflix and I don't even usually watch television, other than educational shows. 

19.  Lost ~  Now this was a surprise addiction.  I still don't know how it happened.  I missed the whole Lost hype on prime time when I was cooking in restaurants in the evenings and never even watched any television series much, probably since Seinfeld and Frasier ended, and even then I missed the last few seasons of them because I was busy with newborns and then toddlers and small children.  But my boys had seen Lost on Netflix and begged until we agreed to watch the first episode.  That was all it took.   We watched the entire season as a family within a few months, minus a few inappropriate episodes in the midst of season 4, and are now suffering major Hurley, Sawyer, Kate, and Jack withdrawal.  I get aggravated with myself for being so shallow that I let a stupid t.v. show affect me.  But it was FUN and I'm tempted to do it all over again.  But all the surprises would be ruined.

20.  Adobe Illustrator and 2D graphics tile sets ~ At the beginning of the year I learned to create and manipulate graphics using Paint.net for my husband's mobile app development.  I loved it, but for an uneducated someone who likes to sketch with pencils and dabble in watercolors, it was difficult to learn and downright nerve wracking to learn in a hurry, as I needed to do.  The end result was passable, but with the program we were using, not the quality we were looking for.  He ended up using my work for rough drafts to show his customers and hiring someone to do the final versions which were amazing.  We knew we were missing something.  Now we have Adobe and it's like a dream to use, but I have also found tile sets that you can purchase, ready-made, to create scenes and high quality graphics.  Copy and paste!  I am still drawing away with that old cursor and prefer to do my own work, but for things like city scenes, vehicles, etc. the tile sets are going really help in the near future.  

21.  Chocolate ~ Oh wait.  That's not new.  The obsession continues.

22.  Ernest Hemingway ~ He makes me sad and he makes me happy.  I love how he was who he was and you could take it or leave it, all gruff and rough on the outside but inside, obsessively creative and passionate about life.  He loved life.  So ironic. 

23.  Think Geek ~  I've been a fan of this site for a long time so this is also a long-running obsession for a dork like me, but definitely worth mentioning.

24.  Old buildings ~ Another ongoing obsession that just seems to grow.

 

 

 

 

25.  Wine labels ~ Why are they so beautiful?  I've been taking pictures of them and then coming home and sketching them, feverishly.  My handwriting is hideous but I love caligraphy and sketching and painting lettering, go figure.

26.  Steampunk anything~  That is all.

 

 

 

 

Oh wait.  One more.  Long Hair.  I cut all of mine off in July and have been obsessed ever since with getting it back.  B Vitamins and Mill Creek Biotene H-24 shampoo, conditioner, and Silk Protein Styling Gel and good ol' Tate's Miracle Conditioner, which I use for everything.  It's working.  Phew!  What was I thinking??!  I could hardly get it into a pony tail.  Grr...