Happy Mother's Day!

Well, I didn't have time yesterday to get out the Bakelite flatware. So collectible Friday will have to become collectible some other time during the week when I can get my ass in gear. Stay tuned.

I seem to have less and less time during the day. I'm pretty sure it is being stolen by someone and I would really like it back. Along with the flat stomach I had in my youth. Just give them back and no questions will be asked.

So today I am milking this Mother's Day holiday for all that it is worth. Personally, I find this to be a slightly ridiculous holiday, but that doesn't mean I won't use it to my advantage. I have used it to go out to lunch. I have used it to have the kid babysit BOTH of the dogs (he only ever takes the well-behaved one). I have used it to eat licorice. And I have used it to go to the rubber stamp store with the kid. Sweet!

Tomorrow I am going to milk it again. I figure two days out of the year devoted to me is fair. I really feel it is much to low for all I do but after about two days, the kid starts to revolt. Being at my beck and call for two WHOLE days just about kills him. Oh, nothing around our house is really all that different, I still do the dishes, cook the food, walk the dogs, feed all the other animals, drive everywhere, clean the house, and listen to yet another college story, only this weekend it is official. You know because last weekend I had no idea why I did all this stuff but this weekend I do. Hallmark told me. I would seriously be lost with Hallmark.

I love being a mom. It is a great job. I would like more days off and a higher wage but wouldn't everyone? So if Hallmark wants to give me a day who am I to argue. But really for me everyday is Mother's Day.

I'm no princess

Herbie has decided the puppy can stay.

Being the resident older dog and ruling the roost, or at least the leather chair he sleeps on all day, he has deemed Olive can reside here. Though he treats her like the annoying second cousin you only see once a year at a family picnic and never really liked. Sometimes if we aren't looking he will play with her. Of course, once eye contact is made with him, all play stops and he flings himself on the ground with a huge sigh as if to say "My God, she has killed me folks, seriously I am dead over here!"

Olive takes none of this to heart. She continues on her merry, albeit stupid, way and continues to try and attach herself like a goiter to his face. Occasionally he will growl at her, but this bothers her not in the slightest, she is no girly girl in the face of danger. She is no girly girl in the face of no danger either. I have tried to give her the lady like speech. Stop running into the fridge door. Stop chewing the beautiful leash. Stop sticking your head under Herbie's leg while he is answering the call of nature. Stop making me wash your head. All of this is to no avail. She barrels through her days like a miniature bulldozer.

Thank goodness she wears a pink collar, if not for that you would have absolutely no idea she is a girl. She is not dainty. We didn't get a little princess. She will inhale her food and then proceed to belch her way through half a TV show. She drinks water by sticking her entire head in the water bowl, like there is some sort of game prize at the bottom of the bowl. She sleeps on her back with all four paws out to the side. Lives for dirt, mud, slugs, and any piece of garbage she can find. Nope, this ain't no elegant mademoiselle we have residing with us.

She is a my way or highway kind of dog. Which is just what we wanted.

A broken down wreck.

I'm in charge. Of everything. I do not enjoy this. Patience is something I wasn't born with. Like math skills, measuring skills, and directions. I was in the line for useless talents like being able to pick out actors and name everything they have ever starred in, sing along to songs even if I don't know the words, and to over decorate for every holiday. I have lots of fun talents. I have no skills.

Knowing this, the universe has decided that each and every week something new shall break. Something that shall involve electricity or involve standing outside in the pouring rain. I spend a good deal of my week staring blankly at something or other and trying to decide what in the sam hell is wrong with it. I never know. I have lots of guesses and swear words but no real knowledge.

The light on the fish tank, out. Replace light bulb, still out. Dismantle light, break piece of plastic that holds the light bulb, cut finger, call fish guy. Turns out we took a power surge, must be sent out. Comes back, works, drop the lid on both of my hands installing the light, have ten swollen fingers, but the fish can see. Yes.

The pump on top of the pool cover that drains the rain water, not pumping. Rain coming down in torrential downpours. Pool cover loaded with water. Stand in the pouring rain to stare directly at the unit. No ideas come to me. Unplug and plug back in. No. Take it off of the pool cover and wipe it down. No. Look at the stupid thing to see if possible it has a hidden clue that will point out the problem. No. Soaking wet by this time. Pretty pissed. Open pool cover. Has so much water on it, it can't open. Stand outside with a bucket to fling the water off the pool. What a dork. Still won't work. Leave pool open so the pool will collect the water. Go into the house and stare down at the stupid unit and hope some sort of inspiration will come to me. No. Leave it for later and go watch tv. Yes.

The steering wheel in the car catches on fire. The buttons on the garage door opener will not open anything in our home. The tv has a picture but no sound. Qwest keeps leaving messages that they are coming to fix something, yet I have never called and they never do show up. The automated prescription service at Rite-Aid hung up on me.

The list goes on and on. I make strides in some areas and by nightfall have a whole new list. It is tiring. Good thing that some of my useless talents is humor and sarcastic wit. If not for those and the knowledge that no one gets out of this race alive, I may very well be crying in a corner by now.

We will always have Paris!

I needed a coat. Silly, silly me, needing a coat in MAY. Dug around the tank tops, shorts and flip flops before finally asking where the coats might be.

This whole seasons thing that the stores have going on really cracks me up. Here in Seattle it is cold. Cold and Rainy. Cold and Rainy and Windy. I don't see anyone in shorts, except for joggers and they don't count. I don't see anyone in flip flops or tank tops. I see sweatshirts, snow boots, mittens, hats, basically every cold weather item is still being worn here. Not according to the mall. It is summer people! Get on your shorts and stop being such cry babies about the weather.

Me needing a coat was met with blank stares and disbelief. What a stupid planner I was to actual want to buy a coat in May. The salesperson pulled out the few they had in stock and handed them to me. I obediently trotted off to the dressing room. Good Lord, it was like I had put on a pup tent. Could these coats have been any bigger? The neck was nice and fitted but other than that I could have 4 other people in here with me. Hell, break out the hibachi and call it a party! We are all nicely covered from the weather.

I asked for something a little more fitted. More of the single family home as opposed to the condo building. Lovely sales girl helper brought in a few more choices. Something I was pretty sure was a rug with a rip in it for your head. Something with fringe. Some plaid items, just to round out the living hell shopping experience I was on. And a black coat.

Plain and black. With one button. Simple. I never in a million years would have picked this up to try on. It was my last option before buying the condo coat, so I put it on. It was gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous! I felt like Audrey Hepburn. I twirled around and it was just as awesome from the back as from the front. The one button was perfect. It was fitted in the right areas and flowed beautifully. It had 3/4 sleeves and two lovely pockets. I felt like immediately taking off for Paris and meeting some debonair french man. I wouldn't know what he was saying, he wouldn't know what I was saying but we would both be so in love with the pretty coat that we would fall instantly in love, for two days and then have a sad scene in the airport. I would pantomime that I couldn't stay, he would pantomime his heart breaking and I would dash up the runway to make my flight, the lovely black coat flowing behind me, I would turn and say "We shall always have Paris and a little black coat."

The scenario would all come true with the little black, perfect, wonderful coat. I took it off and flipped over the price tag.

$1200.00! The scenario burst, the beautiful french man turned out to be a gnome, my flight was delayed, and I was hung up in the security checkpoint. Poof! Gone.

I looked at the condo coat. I looked at the GiGi coat (I had named it that in honor of Paris). I stared at the price tag. Could I get my kidney out and sell it right from the dressing room? Than I thought, what if I do something truly evil, diabolical even. Buy it, wear it, return it. I see this done on movies and TV shows. Is it wrong? I bought the coat. I'm going to take a chance on having bad karma. I'm going to wear it and return it.

If the Paris dream comes true though, all bets are off about returning it.

This time last year. . . .

I would have done Book 'em Sunday yesterday, but I have not read anything in its entirety all week. Thank you Olive! So I will make a huge effort to actually concentrate in the reading department this week.

Olive is doing fine. We have made no strides in housebreaking, biting everything in sight, annoying Herbie and chewing every chair we own. But she has learned to bring dirt clods in the house, chew on every squeaky toy we own at the same time, and smash head first into the front door every single day, so we consider her a success.

I enjoy playing the game of "At this time last year, I was _______" and then I fill in the blank. I'm always glad when the first of something has passed. So far I have done my first Christmas, the kid's birthday, Valentine's Day, Easter, etc. That way I don't feel the sadness of this time last year we were still a family, or this time last year we had the best Christmas ever.

This month will finally make a full year. May was the month everything started and ended. Oh sure, the words were spoken in July but it all started in May. Funnily enough it started the week before Mother's Day. This week. I guess I thought I would feel sad or angry or something, but I feel relieved. Free. Peaceful.

I always thought that marriages ended with a bigger bang. But in reality they don't. They end quietly and without the fanfare that they start with. One day here, the next day gone. You think you won't survive, that the pain will never end, but you do and it does. It is no longer the first, second, or even tenth thing you think about in the course of your day. You become stronger and confident. You are happier for longer periods of time. Your heart heals.

Who knows where I will be in another year from now. What I do know for sure, is that whatever comes my way, I am capable of handling it. This last year has taught me that I am better than I thought I was, smarter than I gave myself credit for and worthy of a life that treats me with the respect I am due. I deserve no less.

Goodwill Hunting

So being that today is a rainy day in Seattle, I decided to run over to the Goodwill.

When I was growing up we spent a lot of time at thrift stores. I was always surprised that my mom never named one of her kids "Good" "Will" or "Salvation Army" since she spent the majority of her life in a thrift stores. Most of our clothes were either thrifted or home made, and it was hard to tell which was worse. The home made ones were bad because the pattern sizes were all of the kids sizes in one pattern. So take 4 girls, one pattern and we looked like the flippin' Von Trapp family in their drape outfits. This went on for years and I have the school photos to prove it, there I am in my little jumper dress in some horrible brown color with giant flowers on it. Year after year, same jumper, different fabric but all equally horrible in color.

And barrettes. Stupid crooked barrettes and jumpers. I shudder in remembrance.

The thrift stores at least offered one great thing, it was not handmade. Sure it was used but at least you had a fighting chance of not looking like your siblings. You could have some personal style and the ability to not wear a jumper. When I got older, I got a job and that ended the clothing fiasco. Though I do have to say my mom made my Senior Prom dress and it was (and still is) one of the most beautiful dresses ever.

Now I wish for handmade things and I shop at thrift stores, everything comes full circle I guess. For crafting purposes you cannot beat the thrift stores. Today I spent $75.00 dollars and carried out 4 full bags and some loose items. All items that will be re purposed and used in new ways.

Books, picture frames, sheet music, candlesticks, various paper pieces, the list goes on. With some imagination, paint, and time, new items will be made. The thrift stores have a wide variety of stuff, some weird, some good. They get big lots of plastic stuff, dog bowls, utensils, colanders, that sort of stuff. But if you hunt around you can find the good items. And everyone loves a good hunt.

Collectible Friday - Bakelite Napkin Rings

For Collectible Friday we are going to do Bakelite napkin rings.
I am showing you only a very small selection of the ones I own. We could say it is because I am too lazy to find the rest but in actuality it is because the cabinet I store them in has one of the doors stuck and I can't for the life of me, get it opened. Short of actually squeezing myself into the display cabinet and trust me no one wants to see that, I can't get them out. Maybe next week.

Napkin rings came in many shape and sizes. Some with eyes and some not. The colors were mostly red, green, yellow, black. Sometimes you can find a mottled colored one. These are from the end of the day Bakelite. The small pieces of Bakelite that was left over at the end of the day were all mixed together and a few more pieces were cut out. Most of these were taken home by the employees but some were sent for sale. Also, the end of the day Bakelite would be used for a prototype piece, something that they had designed and wanted to see in a 3-D form.

Napkin rings are very plentiful. The prices very depending on the condition of the piece. On my Mickey Mouse it would be worth more if the graphics were still on him. Unfortunately the graphics were made of paper and time is not a good friend of paper products. Plus, day to day use wore away the paper.
The next one is a souvenir from the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. This piece features the trylon and perisphere buildings, which made up the theme of the fair. Again, the wording, while not in paper, is being worn away. I don't use this one very much and I only own the one. It was a pricey little piece and I don't plan to buy anymore. I think it is cool though.
Then I have two different rabbits, a rocking horse, two different fish, and a duck. These are common pieces and are easily located. Some have the beads for eyes, which are my favorite. The rocking horse is slightly strange since it is short and fat, sometimes I think it could be a rocking dog. Next week, door willing, I will show the rest.

One interesting thing about Bakelite is if you are lucky, you may be able to find the "mistake" napkin rings. Since some many of these items were made by hand, mistakes happened. Maybe they only got one eye, or the dogs were not uniformed, etc. These were generally to be thrown away but a good portion of them were taken home by the employees or sent out to the company store in their "Goof" pile. These are the ones I look for. All the ones I have ever found have been way out of my price range, but as in all things, hope springs eternal.