The Honey-Do List

I found the moon last night. I’m on the wrong side of the building to see the morning sun and I thought I’d never see the moon again either. But I can sit at my desk after midnight and the moon looks at me from above the tree line in the distance. Now I know where to go when I’m having a hard time falling asleep and I want to know which phase the moon is in. Funny how little things can make you feel like your life is coming back together again after a major disruption in its flow. So many changes all at once can drive you batty from “where did I decide to put the measuring cups” to getting overwhelmed by so many new people to meet and remember. We finally got name tags we can wear (or not) which has helped. So far, only one person is on my Avoid-at-All-Costs list and another is on my Maybe-You’ll-End-up-There list. As for finding others with a similar sense of humor as mine: one of the Skinny Minnie Twins, a woman in my paining class and one of the other Jean’s on campus all do. Did I mention there are at least five Jeans living here? The weird thing about having other Jeans on campus is we all seem to be attracted to the same kinds of activities.

The maintenance man is a peach. He finally got here to hang a couple of shelves and my Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy signed and numbered print. (It was done for a fund raiser he and western artist James Bama did for the Hole in the Wall Camp that Paul started for kids with serious illnesses, to give them the experience of camping.) I’m nicknaming the maintenance guy M&M because he is so sweet that you want to see more of him like mindlessly popping candy into your mouth and he's the first person to notice my art as something more than furniture store decor`. We worked so well together, me handing him stuff he needed without him needing to ask. It felt like I was working side-by-side with my dad although M&M is young---mid thirties. We bonded over the fact that neither one of us can stand to see a picture on the wall that is hanging crooked. Even if it’s in a public place or a friend’s house we can’t control the urge to nudge it back in place. 

M&M apologized for it taking so long to respond to the work order---a week---and I told him it was quicker than my husband responded to my Honey-Do lists and being a man he felt the need to give my husband an excuse. “He probably didn’t have the right tools to do the job. That’s why most men put things off.” That made me laugh. There wasn’t a tool made that Don didn’t have from those big enough to work on antiquated street cars and those tiny enough to repair pocket watches---modern power tools to antiques. Oh, yes, M&M and my husband were cut from the same clothe---the clothe that says, “I can do ANYTHING if only I had the right tool!” He is going to be one popular man here in Lady Land. (I shouldn’t call this campus Lady Land. Probably 10% of the popular here has outdoor plumbing.) Aside from being someone to give our Honey-Do lists to, he had me at, “Hello---oh you’re an artist!” Said when he walked in the door and got his first view of my space. It was like he read my master plan for the vibe I wanted my place to have: Beach cottage artist’s den.

Aside from finding the moon I still haven’t fallen into enough of a routine yet to feel completely at home and mostly that’s due to not feeling ready to explore the shopping areas off campus yet. That will come after I finally get new a eyeglass prescription in December, weather permitting. I know my way to two grocery stores, both my banks, a hair salon and “doctor row’ where all my doctor’s have offices. It's just seven short minutes away. Before I had to allow 45 minutes to an hour to get to them because I had to go on a highway known for traffic delays at certain times of the day. As my youngest niece recently said, I’m at the right place, at the right time in my life.

By the way, keeping the Newman print was literally a last minute decision. I ran out of time to sell it and the-son-I-wish-I-had had it in the back seat of his truck for him to sell for me. “Are you sure you don’t want it?” he asked before leaving my apartment and just like that I have Paul back again and he looks great over my desk. Its a nice, unplanned nod to my husband's and my past decorating theme. My whole den is.

The photos below are from of my honey-do shelf project in my half bath. The little bookcase full of seashells my dad made for me when I got my first big girl bedroom make over at thirteen.  ©

 I really love the floating shelves you can layer stuff on, an idea I got from The Awkward Widow's blog.

 

The silhouettes are of my mom, done back when I was around 6 or 7 and I have one of me as well that will rotate to this shelf from time to time.

 

I used to have a lot of jewelry made of seashells. I wish I had better photos of those on these shelves. My hands shakes too much to do photography anymore.

The sand toys (except for the pail) on this bottom shelf were mine and my brothers growing up.

Party Talk and my Not-so-Secret Obsession

My new book club had their Christmas party at one of the nicest restaurants in the area, a beautiful marble, glass and stainless steel place on a golf course in the high rollers part of town. I was the only person wearing a Christmas sweater. Not true at the other two parties I attended this year where holiday wear was the norm including elf and Santa hats. These ladies “cleaned up nicely” as they say. Professional looking, quality clothing etc., etc., and three of them walked up to me with their hands stuck out to shake as they introduced themselves. I don’t like to shake hands especially during flu season but I did it with grace (I hope) and I was glad a woman across the table from me wasn’t one of the hand shakers. She shared the fact that she’s had “the flu” since visiting her family in Texas over Thanksgiving. She can’t get rid of it even after spending a few days in the hospital and taking a ton of medication. Thanks for sharing.

After writing “these ladies cleaned up nicely” I decided to google the phrase to pinpoint where it came from. The earliest reference I could find was a 1989 Seinfeld clip of Kramer saying it to Jerry when they were both wearing tuxedos, but my search was brief and I could have missed something. I did learn that the phrase appears on a list of eight things you should never say to anyone. Apparently, many people take it as an insult. People used to say it to my husband and we never took offense. He got grubby at work and play and did clean up well going from chimney sweeper dirty to GQ Cool. Language changes over time and thank goodness for that. Otherwise we’d all still be talking like Shakespeare: “What art thou that usurp’st this time of night…” but on the con side of changing language is we have to keep current. Last year a snowflake was just a beautiful ice crystal, this year it's anyone who is easily offended or can't deal with opposing opinions.

I already knew and like half the women in this book club from various activities around the senior hall and this party was an opportunity to get to know the other half. One lady, I learned, I will be avoid commenting on anything she says about current events. When the topic of what people watch or don’t watch on TV came up she announced, “I never watch politics because it’s always changing. ALWAYS!” Say what? What can you watch on TV that isn’t changing, a color pattern late at night in 1955? And when the waitress left the room for the last time the young girl said, “Happy holidays, ladies!” to which the woman who claims she doesn’t watch politics screamed out in a loud booming voice, “It’s Merry Christmas! Christmas is back!” Okay, that was my queue to buy a Starbucks coffee on the way home since they’re so-called foot soldiers in the so-called war on Christmas. I got so buzzed up on coffee last year over the red cup controversy that the car thought it was programmed to go to Starbucks drive-thou on every trip out of the garage. 

Another lady said she never watches TV because it makes her mad when a certain person comes on which I assumed was Mr. Trump but it could have been Captain Kangaroo for all I know. The vast major of those around the table of twelve said they hardly ever watch TV or they just watch PBS or classic movies. I kept quiet about the fact that turning on the television is the first thing I do in the morning and turning it off is the last thing I do at night. One woman said she thought people who watch cable news are always angry and the ‘color pattern’ lady agreed. Am I always angry? I must be a good actress if that’s true because I’ve never been accused of being perpetually angry…nor am I a Snowflake. I would never, for example, scream out, “It’s Merry [frigging] Christmas! Christmas is back!” which was an angry, joy-sucking political statement if I ever heard one. 

Party talk aside---the political kind, not the be merry kind that dominated most of the luncheon---one of the ladies at the party makes salves and potions out of essential oils and she brought a basket full of products to give away, so I went home with a gift that I love for the tin it came in. I love tiny seed-saver style tins even though I have no garden or seeds to save. I do have some seed savers with glass tops that I use to display special stones or sea shells. Want to hear another confession? When I empty out a pickle or other glass jar that has no printing on the lid, I wash it out and fill it with stones or shells. I know that sounds hoarder-lady like and the photos above and below probably bear witness to the fact that I could be headed in the direction. If you ever see me at the recycling center picking through glass jars please do an intervention. ©

 

yes, that wicker planter is filled with rocks

my sun porch is running out of empty windowsills

seed savers