It's That Time Again....

~Politics!


~My children recoil in fear. My friends turn their heads the other way and grimace. My husband cowers in his recliner, lowering the brim on his baseball cap so as not to meet my eyes. This is the reaction when I start talking about politics.

~It's always been this way yet it's something I don't understand. The nature of politics runs our lives. Political decisions are behind all the rules and behind most of our laws. You can get married, go to war and vote when you're eighteen but you can't have a beer at your wedding because of political decisions. You can drive when you're sixteen, but you can't have your friends in the car until your seventeen because of a political decision. In some states, you can talk on a cell phone while driving but in other states you can't because of...you guessed it...a political decision. On some roads you can drive 70mph but on others you can only go 55 because a group of politicians got together and looked at the facts and made a decision. The folks who make the rules in our towns, counties, states and federal government are all politicians. If we learn to hate politics, we have no hope of steering those decisions in our favored direction. The politicians will run roughshod over us. Kids grow up hating politics. Yet, they whine about the restrictions set upon them by politicians.

~Most of my friends and family members complain about certain laws and rules. Yet, they shrivel up when the subject comes up in a discussion. Or they groan and sigh and say, "I don't want to talk about it." Well...if you don't talk about it, you'll never figure out a way to take action on those things you are complaining about. Our young people today get their political news from the comedy network on shows like The Daley Show or The Colbert Report where it's hard to tell what's serious and what's not. I love satire, but it has to be coupled with real information. Unfortunately, there's no balance in our media.
~I think most folks hate politics because they dislike politicians. We all believe they are in it for the power trip and not for us. It's hard not to generalize when we see so many politicians disappointing us in both the personal arena as well as the public one. But our system is set up so that we elect these people to represent us and hopefully to do things for the general welfare of the public. It doesn't always work out that way. But if we don't stay tuned in and engaged, we hand over the reins. If we do that we can't complain about the outcome. If we "don't want to talk about it," then we don't want to know what's going on. We are content to let the daily talking heads on the morning shows tell us what's what. Too often, their so-called "news" is couched in their own political beliefs so we don't get the whole story.

~We all need to do a little research on our own. Information is abundant today. If you have a computer you can research anything and confirm its accuracy with a little more research. Armed with some facts, you'll eventually want to share them, discuss them, argue them. And when someone starts talking about politics, you'll jump at the chance to join in.

~In the meantime, check us out at www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com     No Politics there!!

Old House Emotions

~The author of one of my favorite blogs, http://restoringhome.wordpress.com//  recently referred to living in an old house as an experience, a privilege – and an exercise in patience.
She is absolutely right. Always difficult to explain to others, there is something about old house owners that sets them apart.

~While I often gaze longingly at the polished wood floors and perfect moldings and trims of homes I see in magazines, I know I would tire of the perfection. The quirks and challenges of living in an old house do not appeal to the masses. Most people are "normal" and like their surroundings to be as such. However, old house owners are an odd lot. We need something to save. We think we can fix anything with a coat of paint. We crave restoring the ugly and worn to its former state.

~Often, the latter is impossible to achieve. So we make it as good as we can, always trying to maintain the integrity of  its soul.
~My blogger friend ended her recent post with a quote from the Skin Horse in Margery Williams' "The Velveteen Rabbit," about what it is to be real. I think it's perfect.

~“Real…doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”

~Old house lovers know this for sure.

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Rain, Rain...Go Away!

~It's been so long since I've written a post. Surprised to find that blogger has changed!  Took me a moment to figure out how to proceed!

~Anyway...seems like it's done nothing but rain since we got home last week from our Florida winter.  After 4 months of straight sunshine, I am finding this weather to be very depressing. Good for the grass and spring flowers, but bad for my disposition.   

~Funny how people are so different.  I need fresh air...the windows open, the screen door slamming.  I need sunshine, the smell of a freshly mowed lawn, the scent of lilacs or roses blooming. Being cooped up indoors greatly affects my mood.  Although I truly love our home better than almost anything, I can only putter around in it for just so long. I can only change the furniture around just so many times.  I can only switch the pillows on the sofa and alternate the white dishes and the mustard dishes on the open kitchen shelves a limited number of times! After a while, the whole experience becomes claustrophobic.

~It's on a dreary day like today that I find myself mulling around in Home Goods or the Christmas Tree Shop, buying things we don't need that will eventually end up in our already cluttered attic.  I'll be baking something fattening for our already expanding waistlines.  I'll sit too much in front of the TV, watching nonsense.  I'm not good at being indoors.

~Hopefully, the extended forecast for a wet summer will turn out to be wrong. I want to be fussing around in our flower beds.  I want to be showering in the sunshine in the outdoor shower.  I want to be sitting on our porch in the late afternoon sun, at the end of a busy day, sipping a cold beer and watching people go to and fro on the street.  Please, dear Lord...let it be so!

New Life for a Painter's Tarp

~Fabric is expensive...especially decorator fabric. Several years have past since I made a quickie slipcover for the the small, barrel swivel chair in our living room here in our little Florida condo. When I decided it was time for a new one, I was shocked to find that the necessary five yards, even at half price would cost me $75-$100. Now, that wouldn't be too bad if I was sure I could cut and sew a slipcover that I would be happy with in the end. But if I hated it when it was done, I couldn't take it back.

~Then, I remembered the cotton painter's tarp we bought last year at Lowe's. At the time, I remarked at what nice fabric it was; sturdy, woven cotton in a natural burlap color. And quite inexpensive. If I blew the construction of the slipcover, I would only be out fifteen or twenty dollars at the most.
~So...with the help of my husband who crafted a pattern out of shipping paper, and inspiration from reading Teresa's http://www.cherrycheckers.blogspot.com/ I started cutting and sewing. End result? We like it so much we're trying to figure out how to slipcover the sofa!
~Where there's a will, there's a way.

~Be sure to check out our newest apron called Blue Indigo Border Stripe at our web site... www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com

New Year, New Table

~Some scenarios are fortuitous. Some are just pure luck. Either way, I wound up with a man who can create out of wood, just about anything I dream up. I love old, worn, humble pine furniture. No gloss...no shellac, no enamel. Just plain old painted wood. I often need a small piece of furniture to fit into one of the nooks and crannies that make up our old house.

~Such was the case just last week, when I complained for the 100th time or so, about all the wires that are visible on the floor from my laptop,the lamp, and the cell phone charger. .
"Can you make me a small table with tapered legs to fit into this space over here? Something to rest my laptop on? A place to set my coffee cup in the morning?" Next thing I know, the saw is going in the garage and I'm being asked what color paint I want!


~Here is the darling little table that hubby made for me. We did a crackle finish with Benjamin Moore Cottage Red and Olde Century Colors Lamp Black. Cute as can be and fits perfectly in the awkward space next to my easy chair.


~Happy New Year! Holy Cow!