Seller's remorse

Predictably, I am having seller's remorse about letting go of a few things in my estate sale.  Two that come to mind are my bird cage and my yellow kitchen cart.  A month ago, I didn't want them, but now that they're gone, I can think of at least one place I could use both of them!  In fact, now I am nearly obsessed with finding replacements.  Crazy, huh?

 

I can't decide what's worse:  selling something and then wanting it back, or not buying something and wishing that you did!

I think I have a ghost!

Do you believe in ghosts?  Spirits?  Things that go "bump" in the night?  I confess that I do believe in them.  I know a number of people--all well-educated and completely trustworthy--who have had brushes with "otherworldly" experiences.  In fact, my best friend is one of them!  But that's her story to tell.

 

I have my own to tell! 

 

Several months ago, an old flower arrangement in my bathroom was inexplicably thrown to the floor when no one was in the room.  I had gotten up to go to the bathroom at about 3am and when I came back in at 7am, the arrangement looked as though it had been lifted and forcefully thrown to the floor.  Flowers and leaves were everywhere!  I was sleeping in the den at the time and the doors to the back of the house were shut--so the dogs weren't to blame either.  I jokingly blamed it on my mother's spirit, trying to tell me to get rid of the old arrangement and put something better-looking in its place.

 

Then just last week (right in time for Halloween, I suppose), something else weird happened.  I was digging through the desk drawer and found an old picture of my father as a little boy.  It was such a cute picture of him, wearing overalls.  Mom carried it with her in her purse.  I also found a note that my father had written to my mom from 1960 or so that she carried, and a photostatic copy of their marriage license.  All these were so neat, I pulled them out and put them on the desk to take to Hobby Lobby and have framed.

 

Just before I got ready to leave the house, I moved the little pile of documents and the picture to the coffee table so I wouldn't forget them.  I got ready to go, picked up the little pile, and left the house.  When I got into my car, I checked to make sure I still had everything.  The little picture of daddy was gone.  I retraced the few steps I had taken (just from the house to the car)--nothing!  I looked everywhere--in the drawer where I'd found the picture, the coffee table, under the coffee table.  It was totally gone! 

 

Call me crazy, but I think mom took it because she likes it so much!  Just to be on the safe side, I told her it was okay, that she could have the picture if she wanted it.  It's totally the kind of thing I could see mom doing! 

 

How about you?  Any ghost stories you'd like to share?

A better day

After having such a sad day yesterday, I consoled myself by buying some new patio furniture, since my patio is barren.  I also took some pictures of my babies.  As usual, Sitka wasn't having it, and Poquito was making funny faces, but Juneau--well, he's my photogenic child:

 

His hair is slowly growing back where he had surgery on top of his head.

It's all gone...

Today is one of those days where I've walked around sighing a lot.  And crying.  Sighing and crying.

 

It was the last day of my estate sale, and while I am happy to be rid of all that extraneous stuff, it also made me sad.  Sad to see things go that have been in my family for my whole life, or even longer.  Yes, I know I couldn't keep everything.  Yes, there was a lot of stuff that was just "stuff"--no sentimental value.  But there were a lot of things that I loved too.

 

In fact most of the stuff didn't sell.  Things I would have expected people to snatch up were left over.  I wanted to snatch it back--but I didn't.  A reseller came in and took the lot.  I watched the ornate white wrought iron bird cage that safely held my canaries go.  And the vintage yellow kitchen cart that came from a friend's mother. And my blue willow china from when I got married. 

 

I picked out a couple of things to keep:  the kitchen stool we had way back when we lived in Dallas, and I took with me to Baylor for my first apartment; a typing table from Wade College back in the day.  I used to type catalog cards on it almost everyday.  A duck decoy from my dad's study. 

 

I thought I'd feel relieved when the house was cleared out.  I probably will...next week.  Right now I just feel sad and alone.  So alone.

 

 

Happy birthday, Mom!

 

 

Today would have been my mom's 85th birthday!  Just like I did for daddy back on his birthday in March, I'll share a few things about her, things that made me love her!

 

1.  She was the most organized person I've ever met!  Yet, despite this, she once managed to lose a bunch of jewelry that she had hidden when we went on vacation.  She didn't find it until a couple of years later, stuffed in a hatbox!

 

2.  I never saw her inebriated or even tipsy, but she did love a cocktail--and it was rumored that in her younger days she could drink my dad's fraternity brothers under the table.

 

3.  She smoked from her college days until 1989, and hid it from her father.  She finally quit cold turkey after I got married, after several previous failed attempts to quit.

 

4.  Mom loved to talk, but even her friends said that she was hard to get to know.  When told that, she was completely mystified. 

 

5.  Raised a Catholic, she left the church when she got married because of she didn't believe in their stand on birth control. 

 

6.  She collected thimbles and amassed a collection of nearly 4000 of them!

 

7.  She had a soft spot for children and dogs--and both loved her.

 

8.  While she often read, I wouldn't have called her a "reader" like I am.  She only read when she had nothing else to do.

 

9.  Until I was in college, she was 6' tall and weighed 110 pounds.  She finally started to gain some weight when she quit smoking.

 

10.  She loved watching football!  One year I took her to a Cowboys game for her birthday (actually, at the time, the owners of the college where I work had a box, and they invited us to go to a game with them.  So, not only did she get to experience her first live professional football game, she also got the pleasure of sitting in a luxury box!)

 

11.  Mom was really good with numbers.  She always helped me with math and would have made a wonderful accountant.

 

12.  When she was in high school, she was in the Rainbow Girls, a masonic organization.  Despite the organization fighting her membership because she was Catholic, she rose to the position of Worthy Advisor (like the president).

 

13.  She didn't start quilting until after my dad passed away.  From 1989 until 2011, she made and quilted over 100 quilts, and won several state fair and quilting exhibition ribbons for her work!

 

14.  After my dad passed away, she began tutoring at my old elementary school.  She tutored there twice a week for 21 years.

 

15.  After I was born with so many physical problems, she refused to let me see any of them as a hindrance or even anything to be considered.  I grew up happily unaware that I was different than anyone else. 

 

Mom was such a big part of my life, especially after my divorce.  I miss her every day and will love her even after I'm gone.  Happy birthday, mom! 

Somebody got his stitches out today

Juneau had surgery on top of his head while I was in Seattle in order to remove some little growths that he kept scratching and making bleed.  He got his stitches out today and is a happy boy!  His hair is slowly growing back, but you can still see the "reverse Mohawk" on top of his head.

Seattle

 

Departure gate at DFW airport (yes, I take pictures of everything, because I'm a nerd like that)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

My friends' outdoor space

 

 

Pike Place public market

 

 

Flowers

 

Vegetables

Seafood



 

The original Starbucks

 

 

The stall at Pike Place where they toss the fish

 

Barney, the Leopard Seal at the Seattle Aquarium

 

Starfish (you can pet them!)

 

Moon Jellies at the Seattle Aquarium

 

 Chocolate-dipped Belgian waffle

 

Outside Ivar's Seafood--we fed the seagulls

 

They are definitely not afraid of humans!

 

 

Otter being fed by staff at the Seattle Aquarium

 

Dinner at Din Tai Fung, Chinese dumpling restaurant

 

Snoqualmie Falls

 

Mount Rainier--as clear as it got!

 

 

We went on a short hike

 

View from the trail

 

Paradise Falls

 

Yep, Mount Rainier National Park has already had snow

 

What's left of Mount Saint Helens, the top of which is obscured by clouds

 

The flora and fauna around Mount Saint Helens has only barely returned in 33 years

 

Display at the Chihuly Museum

 

Seaforms at the Chihuly Museum

 

Glass floats at the Chihuly

 

Zelda, the German Shepherd dog

 



Saturday evening treats

Guess who got Saturday evening treats?  Everybody!  Even Poquito, who is hiding under the coffee table in order to protect his little bone.  Ignore my knees and my shoes, please!

Someone's been sitting in my chair

Someone named Sitka!  So cute--she never does this when I'm at home (even when I'm not in the chair). 

An Attentive Audience

It's no secret that I don't cook at home a lot...or ever.  Being married for nearly a decade to the pickiest eater on the planet sort of soured me on the thought of having to cook every night, and so I've gotten out of the habit.

 

Lately, however, I've tired of restaurant food.  So, for the second time in a week, I've cooked at home.  And not only did I cook, I grilled!  Hamburgers were the order of the day.

 

Yes, I cooked enough to share with the dogs! 

They were a very attentive audience while waiting for me to share.  Sitka was there too, of course, but refused to hold still for a photo.

Sibling Rivalry

After Juneau and Sitka had a little spat this afternoon--during which Sitka was nominally the top dog--Juneau decided to get a little revenge on her:

 

She was peacefully lying in front of the fan, and Juneau came along and shoved himself in between her and the fan!

 

Just like having two year olds.

Sleepy Saturday

On this long holiday weekend, it's too hot to go outside, so everyone's napping inside!  Someone doesn't realize that since it's 105F outside, no blanket is necessary.

Beep beep!

Here at Camp Run-Amok, we like to keep things exciting!  Guess what today's excitement was?  No, Sitka didn't get out of the yard again (although that might be as likely as anything else).

 

We had another wildlife spotting--something I've never seen outside of a Looney Tunes cartoon:  an honest-to-goodness roadrunner!  For those of you unfamiliar with what a real roadrunner looks like:

 

And, yes, they do run across roads! 

 

Let's see that brings the wildlife spottings up to:  raccoons, snakes (including a scary cottonmouth), possums, rabbits, coyotes, armadillos, rats, mice, Mexican geckos, green anole lizards, hummingbirds, roadrunners, hawks, mallards, and herons.

 

Never a "tame" moment!

 

The view from my chair

Someone may be a "bit" too attached to her food bowl!

Camp Run-Amok

After chasing my darling "daughter" yet again this morning...and after saving a possum from Juneau's hungry jaws the other night, I've decided that my house should be named Camp Run-Amok!

 

Ch...ch...ch...ch...changes (thanks, David Bowie, for getting that tune stuck in my head)

It's been a little over a year and a half since my mom passed away, leaving me and the dogs to our own devices.  Since then, I have tried my best to combine both houses of stuff, edit what I don't want, and make my childhood home into the current "50 year old me" home.  It hasn't been easy, surprisingly.  There are so many memories and emotions tied up in the things that inhabit my home(s); it's hard to let go when I can remember when, where, and even why something was purchased. 

 

Mom--and daddy, too--worked hard to make our home a lovely, comfortable, and interesting place.  We collected souvenirs and momentos from our travels.  The things that we brought home were never cheap, tacky, tourist-y junk.  I don't remember even buying a souvenir t-shirt until I was in college! 

 

Because my parent's home was lovely when I moved in, I was at first reluctant to make any changes.  I planned on bringing in the few antique pieces I owned and calling it a day.  But the longer I lived in the house, the more I realized that it just wasn't me.  My mom was raised in the 30s and 40s, a time when everyone's home was much more formal than those of today.  Each room's furniture matched religiously.  And it was expensive furniture, too.  Mom didn't buy anything until she could afford exactly what she wanted.  It seemed a sin to replace things just because they didn't suit me.

 

I felt guilty about replacing and redecorating too.  If it was good enough for my parents, it should be good enough for me too.  I've had several dreams in which my mother suddenly reappeared from wherever she's been for the last 18 months, and scolded me for changing "her" house!  In one dream, she just started moving things back to where they "belonged."  Now that's some powerful guilt!

 

Despite my feelings of guilt, I resolved to make some changes.  As I've mentioned before, the room I feel worst about changing is what used to be my mom and dad's vintage soda fountain.  I am selling almost everything soda fountain-related in my estate sale, to make room for my studio.  Ugh, even writing about it makes me feel a twinge of guilt.  They worked so hard at collecting the stuff, and in making the room so authentic.  I know in my head that it's okay; that they would want me to be happy, but I still feel bad.  I'm pushing on, nevertheless.

 

Stay tuned for a lengthy house tour in August.  And, then you won't ever have to hear about my house-guilt again!  I promise!

 

 

Big doings at the Parker house

Old bathroom light fixture

 

New and improved bathroom light fixture



The cheesy 1960s scrollwork from the lights

 

Completely new bathroom fixture, installed after I decided that "mid-century modern" just wasn't my thing, even though the light fixtures did look better without that tacky scrollwork

 

New light fixture in the guest bedroom.  It's a vintage-looking mini-chandelier. All the furniture in this room is antique, so I thought something vintage-looking would be pretty.  Real vintage is too expensive!

 

New drapes for the living room--to replace the "lovely" pink sheers in the background

More decorating "stuff"--new fabric for the living room chairs, a new pillow for the rocker in the office, and some other goodies

A vintage, purely decorative medicine cabinet for the bathroom

This poor broken thing is being replaced on Wednesday!

 

Yes, there are big doings at the Parker house!  I'm doing some renovations and replacing fixtures.  Look for a post on the completed projects--and a house tour--in August!