Happy Birthday to my Momma

An FYI:  this is a very personal post with nothing to do with home decor, art, or antiques, but I needed to write it.

Mom, stylish, as always

February 25, 2018.  Today, my mother would have been 97 years old.  She would have hated that ("that's too old!" she would have exclaimed, unapologetically).  She's been gone 18 years now.  Most years, the day passes with just a perfunctory nod to the date on the calendar and a quick "Happy birthday, Mom" text to my 2 brothers.  This year though, feels different.  It hit me harder this year than in many years, for reasons known only to the universe. My only guess is that the 3 month old baby (my first child) that I know saved me from experiencing the depths of grief I might otherwise have experienced upon her passing is now 18 years old.  As he prepares to embark on the rest of his journey through this old world as an adult,  heading to college in the fall, I suppose I am beginning to feel that loss as well.

Baby Boy, 2000

Baby Boy 2017

But let's get back to my mother...

Mom and Dad, 1940-something

Lullein, or Lucy, as my dad nicknamed her when they began dating their senior year of high school, lost her own mother as a 1 year old.  She and her older sister spent their young childhood living with their mother's younger sister and her family.  My grandfather did the best he could to visit the girls regularly and he sent them gifts when he could afford it.  After 7 or 8 years, my grandfather remarried, and shortly after, the girls got to come live with their father and his new wife, Una Mae.  Mae never had any children herself, but in her own way, she embraced my mom and her sister and gave them a loving, stable home.  She was a tall, lanky school teacher with a keen mind and a quick wit.  She wasn't super touchy feely, but I know that she loved my mom and my aunt and they loved her right back.  She taught the girls many practical skills, one of which was sewing, I'm pretty sure.

My mom really took to the sewing and it was a huge part of her life.  She loved fashion and she made all of her own clothes.  Once she had kids, she sewed all of our clothes as well.  Now before you think "homemade clothes" and create a picture out of The Waltons in your mind, let me clear something up.  My mom loved Vogue patterns, even though they cost at least twice as much as the patterns from other companies.  She was a perfectionist with her sewing, matching stripes and plaids, using beautiful fabrics, tailoring garments to fit like a glove, and creating outfits that would rival anything Neiman-Marcus had to offer.  She knew which direction the hemlines were heading in any given year and could always tell me what color was going to be THE color of the next season.  She was an introvert by nature, but she had enough pride to always want to look her best, even if she did shy away from truly being the center of attention.  This pride involved being well dressed from head to toe. Now about her collection of shoes...

You see, although my mom loved to sew, I think she would have rather enjoyed buying a few things off the rack.  Problem was, at a petite 5 foot 2 inches and not many "petite" sections in the stores, even if she bought something ready made, she would either spend the money to have it altered (almost never) or bring it home and alter it herself; always another step before she could actually wear the item in question.  When my mom died, I took home a pair of rather new pajamas she had so that I could wear them for myself.  I wore them FOREVER because they reminded me of her and since she had worn them, too, it made me feel close to her. After MANY washings, a shoulder seam on the pajamas popped, and I learned that my mother had actually altered her pajamas 1/4 inch in the shoulders to make them fit perfectly.  WHO DOES THAT??? So, what's a girl to do?  As she told me once, shoes just fit and you can even wear them home from the store if you wish!  So, she really loved shoes because, in addition to being pretty, she could just buy them and then they were good to go.  I guess my love of shoes is something that I came by honestly.  Sadly, my feet bypassed hers in size rather quickly, so all of her beautiful shoes that she had when she passed away went to strangers with smaller feet.  I hope they appreciated them. 😊  So, in acknowledgement of my mother's birthday and our mutual love of shoes today, I decided to go ahead and wear the pair of pink velvet heels (pink being my mom's favorite clothing color).  I love those heels, but haven't worn them much since their purchase.  My day job in a clinical laboratory isn't exactly a high heel kind of gig.  Since I wasn't working, I rocked the heels, in my mom's honor, despite the fact that I only had the most pedestrian of errands to run.

Me, in my pink velvet heels

What else did my mom love?  Margaritas.  But usually only half a margarita, because...well, because she was a lightweight!  I could digress into a discussion of my younger self "helping" her drink her Margarita, but let's leave that for another day.  Suffice it to say, that, in addition to getting myself put together and sporting some of my favorite heels for the day, I had a Margarita for her.  Since she couldn't join me, I did have to drink her half as well as mine!  I think she would have been OK with that, even if I did take the liberty of making mine as I prefer, on the rocks, rather than her favorite frozen version. A toast to the birthday girl!

I should tell you, if you haven't come to the conclusion already, that my mother was my best buddy.  I was a late life baby who brought her joy and kept her young, according to my dad, but she was equally important to me and I followed her everywhere, including the bathroom!  I was with her when she hung the clothes on the line to dry, when she cooked and cleaned, and I sat on the floor of her bedroom and played by her feet while she sewed.  She couldn't have shaken me off if she'd wanted to, but, lucky for me, she didn't want to.  She seemed to enjoy our togetherness as much as I did.  When I got older, we traveled in the summer for weeks at a time in our R.V.  We played a lot of games of Yahtzee, in addition to making craft projects, reading, and sight seeing all over North America with my dad.

Mom and her constant shadow, circa 1967

The family helping me celebrate my 8th birthday.  My eldest brother was taking the photo, so missed getting in the shot. The next month, my very pregnant sister-in-law on the right would give my parents their first granddaughter.

Most of all though, what my mom loved was us. Her family and her home were the most important things in her life and I have no doubt she'd have given her life for ours. She seemed to love her role as a mom with every fiber of her being.  She showed me what unconditional love looked and felt like.  She'd have done anything for her husband, children, or grandchildren.  She worried like crazy about us when things weren't going well and she prayed for our souls when she thought we had strayed from our paths.  She lit up like a firefly when we came to visit once we were grown.  Nowadays, deep in my middle age,  I occasionally think I see a long haired version of her in the mirror when I cast a random glance as I walk by-it's a little disconcerting, actually.  I know I feel her  presence when I look at my own children, in awe that they are actually mine.  I can still remember looking into her eyes as she stood by my bedside when I was in labor with my 18 year old son as though it were yesterday, and it gives me great comfort.  As a child. she was my whole world.  Now, many years later, my world is much larger, but I know that without her, I wouldn't be the person that I am and I feel so blessed to be her daughter.  Mom, today, on the occasion of your 97th birthday, I just want to say, "Happy birthday, Lucy!"  I love you with all of my heart and I miss you more than you would have ever guessed.

Thanks for sticking with me this long, gentle readers.  I needed to share this today.

Until next time,
Judy

Happy Thanksgiving Tablescape 2011

Happy Thanksgiving Bloggie Friends,

So what do you do when the inspiration for a vignette or a tablescape just doesn't come?  Turn to our friend Google, of course, which then leads you to Blogland and Pinterest...duh!  So, I was trying to find some inspiration for a Thanksgiving tablescape by looking at the things I had since spending tons o money was not an option.  Nothing was really coming together.  I had these light tan tablecloths which I wanted to use, so I figured maybe a relatively neutral palette would be good.  Still, nothing was really standing out as a theme.  Then I came across Debbie's amazing table at Confessions of a Plate Addict.  When I saw that she and I had the same Wal Mart faux pumpkins that we had both painted ivory, I knew I needed to explore further.  I'd like to say she INSPIRED me, but I think it would be more accurate to say that I copy catted her for the most part.  I had been wanting to make one of the ubiquitous burlap table runners, but hadn't gotten to it, so I bought some inexpensive loose weave burlap and just cut it and fringed the ends after washing it twice to make it softer.  I actually like the way it turned out very much, and you can't beat the price (about $6 and I got enough for 2 runners since the width was too wide for the runner but not long enough to go the length of the table, so I cut it in half widthwise).

The second part of my tablescape came from a source that I'm sorry to say I can't remember, but it involved putting a photo gallery of family pictures in the center of the table.  I liked the idea, but not necessarily the execution since I didn't want it to be the only focal point of my centerpiece.  So, I took some of my favorite family, pet, friend, house, and beach photos (things we are THANKFUL for, get it?), printed them in black and white, and then put them on a decorative paper and complimentary cardstock.  I interspersed them with the large pumpkins and some small ones I had left from my Halloween decor for visual interest. 

I made some little leaf name tags and just tied them around beautiful antique linen napkins that I had and put them over my parents' china.  I also used my parents' sterling silverware, one of my favorite things that I own.

Lastly, somewhere on the internet (also unknown), I had seen rolls of jute twine used as simple candlesticks.  I thought it was brilliant, so I had to recreate it, especially since I had the jute already.  I might add that for safety's sake, I will either come up with a bobeche to catch the wax or I will not light the candles.

The rest of the photos are of various other areas in my home.  I just love decorating for Thanksgiving.  Although I love Christmas, I just can't skip over Thanksgiving and go straight to my Christmas decorating.  I need to enjoy all of the seasons and holidays as they come, so I hope you are not too tired of fall because I'm sharing it one more time. 

My great aunt Ione painted this pretty pitcher.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones.

Sharing with:

White Wednesday
Farmhouse Friday 
Tabletop Tuesday
Vintage Inspiration Friday
Tablescape Thursday 
Feathered Nest Friday
2805 Potpourri Party
The Charm of Home

Until next time,

What Would You Take?

I wrote this post about 6 weeks ago and then sort of forgot about it.  Or maybe I was too superstitious to post this until my brother got a good rain at his house.  Either way, the rain came and  I decided today was the day, so although it may not be as timely as it once was, the topic is still relevant to me, so here goes...

Hello friends.  Most of you probably know that I live in Colorado, but unless you've been a reader for a while, you may not know that I am originally from the state of Texas.  Yep, that's me, born and bred, educated and wed -the first time anyway :-)  So, most of my family is still there and I've got to tell you, this crazy drought, severe heat, and now the wildfires are really disturbing.  Last week, my home county was being ravaged by wildfires and then I got an email from one of my brothers on Monday night that his subdivision in Bastrop Country was being evacuated.  His practically new retirement/dream home one shift of the wind away from ashes!  He and my SIL got both cars packed up with their irreplaceables and headed back to their old house in Houston (luckily, they were still working on getting it ready to sell, so could land there).  The latest update this evening was that they are pretty sure the danger has passed, at least for now, so I am ever so thankful.   BUT this got me thinking (you might want to go to the kitchen and get something to drink now or perhaps just close this window because when I get to thinking, I tend to go for a while)...WHAT WOULD YOU TAKE?

If you have been around this blog a while, you know that I am a collector.  I love antiques and I have MANY collections.  I have to periodically purge my own treasures for fear of the show "Hoarders" coming knocking at my door.  It's a bit of a problem, I admit.  I am emotionally connected to my STUFF.  That being said however, it was an interesting exercise for me to engage in thinking that if I had a few hours or even a couple of days to grab all that was dear to me...anything that I just couldn't bear to be without...and put it in our cars and drive to a safer place, what would I take?

Hmmmmm, says I.  Can I rent a semi?  Can friends help with their vehicles or is it just us?  Can I make two trips?  Then it came to me with exquisite clarity:  once I had established the safety of my husband, my kids, and our silly little pets, anything else we had the luxury of taking with us would be gravy.  Obviously, the important papers would get tossed in the car, the family photos, and the computers and CD backups.  Can't replace my photographic evidence of my children in all their diaper butted glory, my parents in their 20's, or my 2007 tax return (with accompanying documentation).

Clothing seems fairly obvious.  Favorite jeans, a flattering dress, THE shoes, and, yes, my Magnolia Pearl pieces would have to find their place, but most everything else could be replaced.  I'm a thrift store shopper (yes, I have Magnolia Pearl in my closet, but the rest of it is thrifty and nifty) and clothes are necessary, but obviously are replaceable.  Clothes for the wee ones would be thrown in along with their favorite toys.

Then I started thinking about "THE STUFF".  All of these antiques and wonderful items collected over 25 years.  Where to start?  Oddly, I look around and although I really LIKE my stuff (good thing I guess), I realize that most of it could be left to chance.  It is other people's dead relatives' belongings and there's always more out there.  If I had the luxury of picking what I wouldn't want to be without, it would be things like the dresser set my husband bought me for our first anniversary.  It was the best surprise anyone ever gave me.  I cried at the time and always say that if the house is burning, that would be the one thing I would grab if I could.

My parent's sterling.  It isn't used much I know, but it is one of those tangible things that was passed down to me that I hope to pass down to my children someday.

My mother's paintings.  Mom learned to paint while my dad was overseas in WWII.  She wasn't terribly prolific, but she did a few and I am lucky enough to have 2 small florals plus one that she did of my dad, I think from a picture.  She never in a million years considered herself an artist, but she was in so many ways.  Painting was one of the first demonstrations of that.  Those small paintings I possess are precious to me and I would protect them if I could.

I have 2 of my great aunt's paintings and a few of her china painting pieces.  Aunt Da was a very independent little sprite of a thing and when her husband died at an early age, she made her living doing a variety of things, one of them china painting.  She had her kilns in her home and her studio always had that faint smell of turpentine.  I love that smell to this day.  I'd definitely make room for her artwork.  Luckily, the pieces are small.

My collection of 1920's ribbonwork....that is my favorite collection.  I am completely drawn to it and have spent more than any sane person would on examples of it.  One book box would house every piece I own though.  SO, I'd probably just toss it all in and call it good.

Strange thing is, that's where my mental list stopped.  I'm sure if I were positive the whole place was going to burn to the ground, I'd find a few more things to toss in the vehicles, but for the most part, I'd be willing to chance it.  I wasn't expecting that.  I guess it all boils down to the fact that if you have your family intact, you really do have everything.  Nothing is more precious than that and nothing other than them and perhaps your memorabilia of them (pictures) cannot be replaced.  Of course, we all hope that we are never faced with the tragedy of losing everything, but it is an interesting thing to ponder or at least, I think so.  I hope this newly discovered introspection will make it easier for me to part with some of my toppling tower of too much that I am faced with (Thanks Lana for that visual).

So, blogging friends of mine, I ask you:  what would you take?  Talk to me. I'm listening.


Until next time,

Vintage Christmas Bulbs and a Small Confession

One of my fun little collections...vintage light bulbs nestled in a bowl with evergreens from my backyard.

I've enjoyed these for years.  In fact, I think I've had them since my oldest was 2 or so.  The picture above is what you see.  The picture below is what happens when oldest son, circa age 3 is "looking" at your favorite Santa bulb and...oops!  Oh well, I glued what I could, forgot about the rest and got over it. 

Life isn't always pretty, but if you are creative, you can make it work even still.  I'm linking up with Debra's Vintage Inspiration Friday Christmas, so when you can, pop on over to her place, and check out all of the great posts put out there for your enjoyment.  And if you look really close, maybe you'll see a glimpse of their reality as well.  Smiles...

Until next time,

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful day with family and/or friends. I am getting ready to watch my favorite movie of all time, "It's a Wonderful Life". And maybe make a second pie run...YUM! Anyway, I will leave you with a few random Christmas pictures I wanted to share.  Click on the photos if you want to enlarge them.

One of my little antique bisque dolls that I dressed up for Christmas...

A glimpse into my talented friend Melanie's shop, called appropriately "Handcrafted Santas and More".  She makes the most divine large Santa vignettes, using beautifully put together antique and vintage items that she gathers up from estate sales, flea markets, garage sales, and antique shows.  I'd have one in every room if I had the space.  This little guy was so wonderful.  Look at the colors on his coat and accessories. 

This fellow is a "sewing" Santa done up in shades of pink.  How could you not love it?  All of Melanie's Santas have some sort of theme whether it is sewing, music, cooking, reading, etc.

This creamy white seashell Santa is glorious...

More randomness...

I didn't do much decorating this year, but this was one of the "use what you have" things I did up and just fell in love with.  Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.  Just wrapped up some empty boxes with old papers, added some pretty ribbons and laces, and topped them off with old jewelry.  And added a little glittered dove for an extra punch.  Voila!

Still loving the dove theme, I used another one perched on some old maple sugar molds and antique tinsel I've had forever and added the wonderful 1920's rhinestone and feather millinery piece I just got at an estate sale.  All were nestled on an old Italian pottery compote.

Finally, a present I wrapped up for my friend Denise. I made her a darling doll which was inside, but she loved the wrapped box so much, I'm not sure she has opened it yet! I admit it, I was proud of myself at how cute it turned out.  I think glitter and tulle make everything better, don't you?

Well, that's about it for now.  My last Christmas movie calleth.  Go make the rounds through the leftovers once more before bed.  Diet is just DIE with a T at the end, ya know!

Until next time,

Happy Thanksgiving from My Table to Yours

Wishing you all the best on this Thanksgiving. And for my non-U.S. readers, Happy Thursday! All of you are part of what I am thankful for this year. Now I'm going to eat some pie and count up more blessings!

Until next time,

Special Memories from Everyday Moments

I have been a little lazy with my new postings...sorry folks, but that need for January organization is hitting home. But, in looking back at my photo folders, which also need to be organized I might add, I came across one of my all time favorites of my family. It was taken a couple of years ago (or maybe 3...yikes, time flies) by a great photographer friend, Mary Lynne Ashley. It was just one of those moments that she captured and we have loved and enjoyed looking at ever since. I thought I'd share it with you today and I promise to get back to more regular postings just as soon as I can. Have a happy "humpday" and I'll talk to you soon.

Until next time,