A Few of My Favorite Things ~ March 2021

Home Grown Produce

This time of year I really miss fresh veggies and the convenience of just heading out to the garden to grab them. We are blessed to have the next best thing: stored food that came straight from our own back yard! At the end of February we still had 17 butternut squash down in the basement that look as good as you can find them in the store, bouquets of garlic bulbs hanging from the floor joists over head, and quite a few onions that have not yet started to grow. When I need something I take a produce basket from the kitchen, head down and fill it up. Our basement is very cool and dark which helps preserve the produce, much like the root cellars of old. And thankfully, since we had drain work done several years ago, very dry in the winter. Additionally, my parents do a ton of canning every summer and generously share the bounty. I'm so thankful and it make a big difference on the grocery bill.

The Light of Spring

Standing in a patch of sunlight streaming through the window you can feel the increased intensity of its warmth, light gaining strength. The other afternoon I pulled a chair over specifically to sit in the sun. It was therapeutic. And wandering into the kitchen of a sunny morning to top off your cup of coffee, you most likely will spy some magical corner that the new light has just touched. 

 

Coffee

A steaming cuppa joe is an anchor in the morning, an anchor when I'm stressed, and an anchor when I'm pumped up. It gives anticipation to rolling out of bed and comfort when things are going sideways. Brewing coffee and frying bacon are two of the best smells in the world. 

In 2009 I relied on it heavily to take care of two little boys under the age of two and work nights in a gas station pizza kitchen. That year I struggled to reclaim my body and shed 66 pounds gained over the course of three pregnancies, during the second of which I lost our second baby. Lacking confidence in my own will power, I took diet supplements to speed up the weight loss, which was achieved in only four short months. I can only imagine the cocktail of chemicals in those pills, including caffeine. I started having episodes that seemed like mini-strokes. I'd lose my peripheral vision and my brain would go numb...there was so much pressure in my head, accompanied by buzzing. If I was trying to hold a conversation with someone I wouldn't be able to think of words or to speak without stuttering. I remember trying to plan a trip to Milwaukee and it kept coming out as "Wewaukee," which I knew was wrong but couldn't figure out why. I went to the doctor who put me on a complete caffeine fast (including chocolate) and the episodes stopped. It was determined I was caffeine sensitive and it had been triggering complex migraines. So, while I love my coffee, I have to limit myself to no more than 1-2 cups a day. Yes, that was a really long, detailed way to tell you that!

My Husband

We have been through so much together. We've weathered some very low lows along with the highs. I know he would agree that there were times we both thought we weren't going to make it, as much as we both didn't believe in divorce. We took turns being each other's own worst enemy, and then have gotten down on knees and begged forgiveness. We have hit the reset button many times...and I'm sure there are more to come. But he is one of my biggest supporters. He gives me the creative freedom I need in my life, and tolerates with amazing patience my collections of books and plants and vintage kitchen junk, and the quirks of my personality that I'm sure are exhausting. He centers me when I'm going crazy and heading for a panic meltdown about things I'm not getting done. He works hard for our family so I have the ability to stay home with our kids, in jobs that have often demanded horrible hours, long hours, swing shifts, working outside in nasty weather, many many weekends sacrificed, and on and on. I love the notes he leaves for me to find on the fridge in the morning, thanking me and telling me I'm doing a good job. He can always get me to laugh out loud with his ridiculous jokes and corny dance moves. If you happen to be reading this, Papa, thank you again for being my best friend.

2003

The Attic Room: Decluttered

The attic room, located at the top of the stairs, is so called because through it you access the attic. It's the fifth room upstairs, and just a bit too small for a bedroom, but the perfect size for piles and piles to accumulate in. 

Most people have a junk drawer. We've taken junk drawer to a whole new level. We've graduated from a drawer, to a chest of junk drawers, to a junk room. It's our own little slice of hoarding heaven. AKA, storage. 

May 2019

This room became to our home what the unfinished plate of leftovers wrapped in cling wrap is to the fridge. It's where things have been shuffled when I don't know what to do with them, or have no better place for them, or don't have time to deal with them. It's where decorations are stored, where I pile the winter gear in its off season, where bags and boxes meant to be donated are piled, and home to the travelling vacuum--that is, when it fits through the door. And when we expect company, things that I clear from downstairs are hurriedly piled in the attic room to get them out of the way, and never dealt with.

Boys being boys, and mountains being exciting and exotic places to play, I've found them climbing over everything, not caring what breakables have been carefully stacked with the outgrown clothing. I found evidence of their rambunctious games of hide and seek, tunnels running behind and under the junk, which must have also served as snack den for the forbidden remnants of whatever they pilfered from the kitchen. The attic room has been a true lesson in humility for me. I could probably use it as an opening line to break the ice in so many situations... Sooo...what do you like to hoard, hmm? My preferred theme is thrift store junk.

August 2020

The starry-eyed new homeowners that we once were envisioned grand things for this room. For a while I dreamed of it as a craft room, book shelves and plants everywhere, but since our whole main level has pretty much evolved into that vision, the idea was abandoned. We now plan to make it our second bathroom in a few years. With that goal in mind, I hope to progressively reduce the amount of stuff that we store so that it will all fit into the smaller walk-in closet (which we call the game closet) by Addie's room. The excitement of the possibility of it's transformation into a bathroom was truly the igniting force behind all the progress I made.  

November 2020

As you may be able to tell from the progression of photos and videos, I've tackled the attic room so many times, only to become fatigued by the enormity of the project, and walk away. It would then quickly descend right back into total chaos. A couple weeks ago I was finally able to spend a good 10 hours, with a few breaks, working on the hoard. 

February 2021

As promised, I have to share some of the things--both gag-worthy and exciting--I uncovered. I solved the mystery of the missing bag of Christmas ornaments that were supposed to be put in stockings--two years ago. I actually designated a box for "forgotten ungiven gifts" because those weren't the only I discovered! Cards and letters from friends and family dating back 15 years overflowed from a cardboard box, along with outgrown/will-be-grown-into shoes that never made it to the shoe tote, scattered everywhere.

"Run Dad Run!" warns this card. So true, can I run too?

I teared up more than once during the sorting. So many loved ones, so missed.

I spied with my little eye the long-lost bunny spoon, missing for over a year and tucked in a buried frosting Tupperware. Three grocery bags of outgrown boy shoes were taken out of here to donate. Three moldy apple cores winked at me from hidden corners, accompanied by countless candy wrappers.

A box of vintage napkins and flour sack towels embroidered by each of our grandmas was a treasure I discovered and brought downstairs to put in the linen drawer of my buffet. Kitchen hand towels that I did not need I ended up cutting in half and hemming up because we really needed kitchen washcloths. 

This broken window will be hard to replace because, if you may notice right above the cracked corner, there is one of two BB holes. They were made the by the grandchildren of Paul and Antonia, who build our house in 1901. They stopped by the year we bought the place to tell us the story of playing with BB guns upstairs at Grandma's.

My coloring box from second grade was a blast from the past, and still hanging onto the broken lid from when Billy W. borrowed my yellow crayon and accidentally shut my desk lid without closing my crayon box. Poor Billy got an earful from me about it. It was hidden under the porcelain dolls from my childhood, which survived the basement flood of 2012 a little worse for the wear.

I found wrapping paper from my 13th birthday, when my greatest aspiration was to become a jockey and win the Triple Crown. (I prayed every night that I wouldn't grow taller than 5'4", and though I never became a jockey, my prayer was answered and I stayed the same five feet and one inch I was at 13 years old.) My first-ever diary was in the same box, started when I was 10. The first entry recounted how my little brother "Jimmy" learned to do a cartwheel. Tucked inside was a little paper hat, fashioned out of my old math scrap paper, folded decades ago by my Grandpa Mahoney to entertain us kids when he and Grandma came over for a visit.

Loads of vintage craft supplies, my neon label maker, and hundreds of beads from the 1990s were forgotten in a box. I found Eli's BDU's from when he was in the Army, and the dress I wore as a three year old to my youngest brother's baptism. Photos I thought were lost forever were placed with others in one of the cedar chests. 

There are still things in there I'm not sure what to do with, like the unfinished cross stitch projects from my youth and a tote of worn out jeans. Things I should part with but feel like I would regret doing so. I'm giving those a bit of time. 

The next day I dropped this pile off at the local thrift store, and carried two full 30 gallon trash bags out to the dumpster. Such a good feeling.

Before ..... and now.

And THE VISION:

Life Lately ~ February 2021

As winter wears on I cling to every little joy this time of year offers and thrill at each reminder of the spring that is coming. A lone birdsong outside the icy window reanimates springtime's cacophony of avian trills in my mind, almost deafening in their exuberance. February and April are big birthday months here and the celebrations help buoy spirits as we make our way through the dead months. Just as the darkest hour comes right before dawn, so too the heaviness of winter is felt most the closer to spring we are. Lent's coming during this time is excitedly anticipated by me. It's the perfect pruning my soul needs for new growth, and goes hand-in-hand with the physical decluttering and simplifying I'm inspired to do in our home again.

I tackled Addie's room recently and was able to purge a large bag of things from her toy box and basket--and under her bed. All of her toys and dolls now fit in one toy box. I've kept a large cardboard box in a corner of the kitchen that has collected donation items all month. If I have a place to put unwanted things I'm much more likely to remove them from wherever they've been living, collecting dust. I kept giving myself pep talks to get started on the attic room, which was beginning to feel like it would remain, forever and always, a dump. It was such a large project that I'd make a little headway only to get discouraged by the amount of time it was taking and never finish it. Well, I finally succeeded! It is cleaned and organized! I'm writing a separate post about it because of the monumental occasion and I'll be able to share some of the "treasures" I found with you here. 

We celebrated Fat Tuesday in our usual tradition: pancakes and bacon for breakfast, fritters for lunch, pasta for supper. I notice the days we uphold our family traditions each year have become the boys' favorite days, highly anticipated, and counted down to...especially those that involve special food preparation. You know what they say about the apple and the tree.

I've finally given up on electric coffee makers for good. I'm not exaggerating when I say I've replaced my coffee maker more often than I've changed light bulbs in our home. Faced with yet another junk machine I decided to forego buying a new one and now solely use my French press. I love the flavor the coffee has, I love that it doesn't use electricity, I love that it takes up so much less space, and I love that I'm not spending another $20 that will just be thrown away within the year.

This month's creative projects include getting back to working on Addie's dollhouse. I love the way her face lights up when she wakes in the morning to discover she has a completely redone room for her Critters. (I know there have been TV shows based on the concept, but can you imagine that happening in real life to our life-sized homes! Eek!) While cleaning out the attic room I found some neat craft supplies, beads and mini flowers and things that I hope to incorporate into her house. I've also been commissioned to do a couple watercolor paintings that I've been working on. I'll have to wait to share those.

Speaking of home improvements, we got a reasonable quote to get our new floors installed and are tentatively scheduled to have them done in April! We've decided to go with luxury vinyl plank, because as much as my heart wants hardwood floors, realistically our floors are super used and abused with lots of spills, toy cartwheels, furniture sliding, and life in general with five kids and two dogs. I can't wait! I will not miss having to paint this old wood floor every couple months.  And then our garage door broke, so I guess we're getting a new one of those too.

I'm reading another Kate Morton book, The Shifting Fog. I love finding a new favorite author! The search can be painful. I also started the second Theology of Home book by Carrie Gress. So far so good! As an addition to my Lenten reading I've started the Revelations of St. Bridget on the Life and Passion of Our Lord.

Eli and I were able to get away for a weekend this month. We had planned to head out of state with friends and try an Escape Room, but plans fell through. We decided to get a hotel room a little closer to home since we already had sitters. We did a little shopping, ate at Applebees (I crave their wonton tacos!), and Eli did a little gambling. Since it gives me serious anxiety, I went back to our hotel room and had a quiet evening watching Food Network. It doubled (tripled?) as our Valentine's and Birthday celebrations.

I joke that I gave my birthday away seven years ago with the birth of Ian. I turned 32 the day he was born and began the last year of my 30's this month. For his birthday meal, Ian requested pizza, so we picked some up after Mass on the very last day of February. He also wanted a triple-layer chocolate cake with cupcake marshmallows. Since I refuse to make character cakes for the kids anymore, they get to pick the flavors. Ian got a wooden wobble board (I was a little excited to try it out too, and paid with burning calf muscles all next day) and another Gears set so he'll be a busy boy for a while. I have the very best friends and family. I received some amazing gifts including the new Fiat coffee mug (pictured above), specialty coffee, fairy lights that I'm using in Addie's dollhouse, a couple garden chimes, an essential oil car diffuser, a pretty rope basket (with a note that made me laugh-cry!), and a big Tupperware of muffins that made breakfast the next day a breeze. It was a very special birthday. 

I found this birthday note from "R Gosling" in the Suburban after Mass. I laughed until I cried! In case you're unfamiliar with the Ryan Gosling "Hey Girl" memes from the perfect romantic, here is one of my favorites:

Sharing jokes with friends is one of the greatest joys of life.

A Few of My Favorite Things ~ A Comedy of Errors Version

Covid Everything.

I love how it's so easy to just blame everything on Covid. Literally, everything. 

For example, this is our "Covid light." It was installed the week all the schools shut down here for the very first time. Back before anyone was wearing a mask. 

And this is our "Covid paint job." It's only been like this since March.

When you appear to gain 20 lbs. overnight...it's because: Covid, of course. 

When you can't remember the last time you vacuumed under the couch, but who ever visits anyway? Thank you, Covid. I have so much more free time.

When you realize you forgot to brush your teeth when you ran out for groceries, but are liberated by the thought that, "Meh, I'll have a mask on anyway," and you wonder if dentists will have a boom in business from all the "mehs" in all this Covid masking.

And if you answer the door sporting Flock of Seagulls hair and thrift store chic wardrobe that's oh-so comfy but could also be rented out at the local tent and awning company...hey Covid.

The Rush of Adrenaline When Something Bad Almost Happens. It makes you feel so alive. Like when you come down the stairs wearing socks and your foot slips over the edge of the step but you've got a good grip on the handrail. Or when you almost drop great grandma's crystal relish tray but you catch it by a millimeter of finger just before it hits the floor and shatters into a zillion irreplaceable shards. Or when you slip on the ice but you catch yourself, and you giggle a little out of relief and a smidge of embarrassment, and you think the stunt probably calls for a visit to the chiro, and then you're not really sure what to do with yourself, so you sit down where you are and cry a little before powering through like the beautiful, talented, brilliant, powerful musk ox that you are. Thank you, ox, for keeping this ship afloat.

Regaining Your Sense of Smell 

so that you can again tell when parts of the house need scrubbed and children need bathed. And you realize finally how much deodorant, collectively, your family has saved during Covid. Wait, maybe this belongs under the Covid heading?

Laundry

because nothing makes you feel quite so needed as people running around asking where in the world are their clothes, all day long, and their total reliance that you know exactly in which of the hundreds of loads, or hampers, or piles crumpled up in the corner of bedroom floors the particular item of clothing is reposing.

Neverending Opportunities (Challenges?) To Recraft Formerly Intact Objects

Over

And Over

And Over

Again

Ad Nauseum

Who needs jigsaw puzzles anyway?