100 Things About Me

As stolen from Suldog. OK not stolen so much as borrowed. OK not borrowed so much as…well…whatever. As you can probably surmise from the title, this is a list of 100 random bits about me. Probably doesn’t need much explanation past that huh? Other than it is long (very long) there isn’t much more to say. Enjoy!

1. I’m a 37 year old Cancerian with one sister and two parents, plus a bunch of other awesome family members and friends, and one smashing husband.
2. The band I have seen live the most times is Godsmack, next would be Melissa Ferrick. I think. In fact I’m not at all sure they haven’t flip-flopped at this point. Both are local to Boston and used to play here a lot. Well Ferrick still does, Godsmack is pretty big now.
3. The beach at the ocean is my comfort spot.
4. Finally, I decided on what my first 2 tattoos will be. Yes two. One for each of the grandparents I had a special bond with. Now I just need to find the right person to do it. Took suggestions from friends & waiting to hear back from a few places. Also saving money first because tats are freaking expensive.
5. The smells of skunk, dog poo, wet cat and vomit are among the most vile on the planet.
6. One of my favorite feelings in the world is napping in something cozy after a shower after a day at the beach.
7. My birthday is my favorite holiday. For mass appeal holidays though it would probably be a tie between New Year’s and Halloween.
8. I hate walking over those metal grates on the street, it nerves me that I can see (and sometimes can’t see) what’s down below. When I can’t see, I just hope I didn’t wear a skirt that day.
9. My first novel is complete. I want it to be published and seeking representation now.
10. I love food. Just about any kind of food, from fast food to shooshy and everything in between.
11. Is my favorite number. It has been since I was about 7 or 8 years old. When digital clocks came out & there was all this talk about 11:11 having some kind of meaning I was like, ‘well duh!?!’ but that’s only because it always had meaning to me. I look at a clock at exactly 11:11 about 6 times a week.
12. I also seem to look at the VCR clock at 9:11 just about every night that I’m home.
13. Yes I still have a VCR & video tapes.
14. I really don’t like exercising at all but like having a somewhat slim frame. My job is a beautiful way to get fit without realizing it is even happening.
15. I miss my sister every day & wish we lived closer to each other.
16. I’ve been writing for about 22 years in some form or another. Mostly it’s been drivel that fills my brain spewing into a journal, which I only write in pen.
17. It shocks me that Matt has put up with my freak show as long as he has and I couldn’t appreciate him more for it.
18. I love to clean my house. When it is sparkling and shiny I feel accomplished and calm. I almost never clean my car though (the outside anyway, the inside is generally spotless all the time). This is why I prefer silver cars.
19. I make a killer banana bread.
20. Yes, I am still (rather, again) smoking. Oh well. That’s just me right now so if you can’t deal then I guess we don’t need to be.
21. I’ve got a soft spot for mint chocolate anything.
22. I’ve been working on this list for about 2 hours already. I’m jumping around and filling in random numbers which I think I mention in another fact somewhere. I have no idea how many are left to fill in. This is what a lazy Sunday is all about though.
23. Since I was about 14 or 15 I’ve saved every stub from the movies, concerts, shows, museums and sporting events I’ve been to. A lot of them are scrapbooked already but this is a project I want to keep up with as the years go on. It is fun to look back and say ‘oh yeah I forgot about that show!’
24. I use the word ‘wicked’ to add punctuation to adjectives because I’m from Boston and it’s ingrained at birth.
25. I used to be quite the trendy dresser, a fashionista in my own way. Now just about everything I own is made from cotton and has paint on it. All but 4 pairs of high heels were retired.
26. Rock Band 3 is coming out later this year and I can’t wait, there is an optional keyboard so you know what that means. The Doors. Oh yeah!
27. As a teenager I used to use nothing but blue, PaperMate, ball point pens. Now I can’t stand blue ink. When I look back through old journals all the ink has bled outward & the pages yellow that much faster. Only black ink for me now!
28. I just joined a bunch of friends in an online book club. Our first book for August is “Eat Pray Love” and I can’t wait to read it then chat about it with such a smart group of gals. Want to join us? C’mon over!
29. Sean Astin is still my favorite male actor of all time. But Edward Norton…oh Edward Norton…
30. I participated in the sport of gymnastics from age 7 to 18. When I watch it now I have no concept of how the new scoring system works.
31. If there is trash (especially plastic) on the beach or the street in front of my house I will pick it up and recycle it at home.
32. I really, really, REALLY can’t stand: U2, REM, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles and most rap music made after 1994. But there is at least one song from each of the aforementioned bands that I can tolerate: “Sunday, Bloody Sunday”, “It’s the End of the World…”, “Wild Horses” and “In My Life”.
33. I typed out all the numbers 1-100 for this before writing anything. Except this particular one. I didn’t stop at 33 for any real reason, it just seemed like a good time to take a break from counting.
34. The most important elements of a really quality movie to me, in order, are: script, editing, cast, everything else.
35. White noise drives me batty after a while. Sometimes I like to turn off the fan and just sit in the silence that exists afterwards.
36. My favorite animal as a kid was a pig. I guess if I had to pick one now I’d probably go with a bear.
37. Top five Christmas related movies of all time (in no particular order): The Ref, Love Actually, A Christmas Story, Just Friends and The Family Stone
38. I’m one of those annoyingly peppy and optimistic people most of the time but when I get moody I go very dark. I try to channel it into my writing most of the time.
39. I should be painting right now but this seemed like more fun.
40. Bugs and I are not friends. Except lady bugs and dragonflies, they’re relatively harmless and cool.
41. I spent a good year of my early twenties in clubs every Thursday, Friday & Saturday night. On special weeks we went on Sundays too. This is because I love to dance. And I prefer to dance sober. This never went over well with guys who wanted to get me drunk; when they asked what they could get me I told them a bottle of water. Probably why I never went home with club guys.
42. Some random survey generator thingie once told me that my life’s theme song is “Bittersweet Symphony” which, if true, could explain my jaded and cynical side. Of course another one of those things once told me I’d be married and have 2 kids by age 24 so who can believe survey generator thingies anyway.
43. I usually don’t share my drama. Like if Matt & I are fighting only Matt & I will usually know about it. People have enough of their own shit to deal with, I don’t feel right about burdening them with mine.
44. I’ve always wanted to drive a race car.
45. The internet, as a part of my life, is both a blessing and a curse at times.
46. Coffee is like a life-blood for me, but while I used to drink it non-stop now I only have my one cup in the morning. It started to make my stomach ache so I figured it was for the best to cut back.
47. The only genre of movie I really can’t sit through is horror/thriller with gore, with special effects being so realistic I have nightmares for weeks.
48. I left the house for a while and came back so now The Breakfast Club is on. Definitely one of those movies of my youth, know it by heart and still feel 14 every time I watch it.
49. I drink about 60 ounces of water a day.
50. My favorite sport to watch is football and it, along with hot chocolate and baked goods of course, is the only redeeming quality of winter in New England.
51. When drinking alcohol I prefer a Porter (for beer), Pino Noir or Cape Codders.
52. When I was about 16 I used to write letters (yes with a pen & paper) and made a few pen pals. I still keep in touch with one of the first pen pals I ever made. He’s a great guy, married with a child & lives in the Midwest. Matt & I even went to their wedding.
53. Bloggy friends remind me that its possible to get to know someone strictly through their writing and I have got to be honest, the blog friends I’ve made are the best on the planet! Not that I’m biased or anything.
54. Many of my blog friends I met through a Jason Mraz’s blog. I started reading the comments & people who really seemed to read then comment on his posts (they wrote a little more than the standard ‘OMG I love you!!!!!’ type stuff), I started reading too. It is a dream of mine that someday in some secret Pentavirate, at The Meadows, we will all meet so we can finally take over the world. Mwah-hahahahaha!!!
55. I’ve been to Walt Disney World four times but only once as a kid.
56. I love pedicures but only if I do it. Some stranger touching my feet wigs me out.
57. Green is a description I would use to describe myself but a green thumb, not so much.
58. I’ve moved just about once a year since I was 19. That’s about 18 different apartments. Wow, that’s a gypsy soul if there ever was one.
59. I am a visual thinker. For example, if someone tells a story about being T-boned in a car I can actually see the scene playing out inside my head as if I’m watching a movie. This can be good and bad. Good because I think it makes me a better writer, bad because while my mind is progressing with the scene I tend to miss a lot of what the person talking is saying.
60. I start every morning with a cup of coffee, cup of yogurt & cup of blended fruit juice.
61. I filled in the 100 things in completely random order so who knows where certain things will fall. I didn’t want anyone to think that I prioritize number 14 over number 87. Though I might, I don’t know what 87 is yet. OK there are a few in a row that are stream of consciousness, true. But mostly it’s typical of this blog -- random lunacy!
62. I used to be very lazy and a professional procrastinator. Anyone who has met me in the last ten years will not believe this statement but it is indeed fact.
63. Travel is one of my favorite activities. I’ve been to seven countries so far - US, Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Bahamas, Netherlands & Belgium - and I hope to add more some day. Soon.
64. Last year Matt and I filed for bankruptcy. In fact, we’re coming up on our 1 year Broke-No-More-A-Versary! No I am not ashamed or too proud to share this with the world. In fact I want as many people to know as possible so they don’t make similar mistakes in their own lives. To see how it all went terribly wrong, refer to my series Labor of Love.
65. Despite what I share here or other places I’m actually a fairly private person.
66. I used to carry a pair of tweezers around with me everywhere.
67. When I was a kid I dreamed about being discovered by some random Hollywood big shot as we passed on the street.
68. Sometimes when I notice my OCD is getting out of control I force myself to do something different. A good example is inside my kitchen cabinets. Most of the time they look like the husband wanted them to be in that movie Sleeping With the Enemy so when it annoys me that I’ve got everything lined up just so, I’ll shove a few of them to be less particular.
69. Daffodils are my favorite flower.
70. I want to learn how to sew clothes so I can always make my own and never have to worry about that whole being short with a booty thing.
71. I learned to swim about the same time I learned to walk. My Grampa taught me and it was in the ocean.
72. Scrabble is my favorite board game.
73. My favorite movie of all time is The Goonies. You have no idea how badly I wanted to find a buried treasure when I was a kid.
74. So far all the graphics for my company branding have been constructed by my mom and I designed my own logo for Chucka Stone Designs.
75. Next year Matt and I are planning to move to Cape Cod. I can not wait to live at the beach again!
76. This is a lot more difficult than I thought it was going to be at first. Which is really weird because 100 things shouldn’t be that much to come up with, but maybe it’s because I’m trying not to tell the same stories I already told before.
77. I have no credit cards and will keep it that way.
78. Typing is fine to get thoughts out quickly but when I edit I prefer to do it by hand. Reading my edits might make a person’s head spin because I use circled paragraphs & long sinewy arrows to point to the place they are supposed to be inserted, or a circled letter next to a particularly long entry and the corresponding circled letter in the spot where it’s supposed to go. Sometimes it makes my head spin trying to sort it out.
79. If you’re actually still reading this list I love you even more!
80. I think the real reason why I haven’t moved to southern California yet is because I will miss Bianchi’s pizza too much.
81. There are days when I feel like a fish out of water, even doing things I know by heart. I guess that’s how life works sometimes though.
82. I miss blogging regularly, this is kind of cool and might even produce a few gems that I could expand on later. Like that, thanks Jim!
83. I am too afraid of sharks to swim in the ocean now. I won’t start doing it again until I completely stop eating ocean fish. I figure if I don’t eat their food supply then they don’t have to eat me.
84. Originally Matt and I wanted to fly off to Vegas and get married in a pink Cadillac by some Elvis impersonator but we opted to do it at the American Legion where my Gramp had been a member forever instead. It was a blast, probably in the top three days of my life. The eight years since ain’t been too shabby neither.
85. Bad faux makes me cringe. Physically.
86. Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy.
87. The fact that Katy Perry is now famous solely because she is a sort of attractive girl who sang a song about kissing another girl, makes me sad for the race of humanity. And it made me want to use something other than cherry flavored Chapstick for a while. But I decided screw that, I was using that flavor for decades before her silly song came out so why should I change when she’s the one who sucks?
88. Anyone who loves ‘Michael…Bolton?’ will immediately understand the reference in #87. One of my favorite movies of all time.
89. I am a movie & music quoter. I’m comfortable using legal jargon in everyday life.
90. My mom once told me that I should write a movie script using nothing but quotes from other movies. I think she’s onto something there.
91. I’m thinking about looking for a writer’s group around here somewhere. Maybe something small where we could just write and chat and get inspired by each other.
92. Its kind of freaking me out to think that NaNoWriMo is only 77 days away but I can’t wait to get started on the next one.
93. My favorite color is purple.
94. Yes, I inhaled. No, I’ve never done anything else.
95. I want to start exploring a lot of classic movies and Netflix has so many good ones but now I’m in this major reading phase so this will probably be a good ‘stay inside with hot chocolate this winter’ kind of activity.
96. This number left blank on purpose.
97. I didn’t have any sugar until I was about 2 years old.
98. I love being an Auntie but don’t see my nephews nearly as often as I should.
99. Channels and nothing’s on.
100. Watching (and subsequently picking on) infomercials is one of my all time favorite Sunday morning activities. (Except in the fall/winter, then it’s watching SportsCenter).

Labor of Love

Race into the Nothingness!

With walls and trim up in the bedroom, it was safe to move the cat in, and safe enough for us, so we packed up the Motel 6 and headed for the house that would become a home of sorts for the next five years.

Once there, the bathroom was more than a necessity because running to Wendy’s every time we had to pee became a liability in fatty food after a while. We got some sheets of mock-tile wall board up over the studs, caulked around the tub, installed the fixtures, laid the cheapest vinyl squares we could find and called it a day.

With our Master Plumber, Matt, hard at work we finally were able to shower on day three in the house. And nothing, before or since, had ever felt so good.

While stripping plaster downstairs we happened upon a covered up doorway which led from the kitchen to the small room that we intended to designate as the dining room. Matt had opened the doorway even wider into a pass through and framed it out to match the opening on the other side, which led to what we intended to make the living room. Jerry installed our working outlet on the front wall of the house in the living room.

Since the dining room was the smallest space with the least number of surfaces to cover and would also be the least utilized, it could be finished last. So we turned it into a makeshift pantry and by running an extension cord from the living room outlet, the dining room suddenly turned into our kitchenette.

We took a piece of unfinished plywood and placed it flat across two saw horses then we loaded it up with everything we could cook without a stove and store that did not require refrigeration.

It occurred to me that perhaps the original owners were onto something with their six thousand outlets per room, they were certainly never going to run out of places to plug in the many devices required to live in the modern day. We needed a coffee maker, refrigerator, toaster and microwave just to get by. And that was only downstairs.

At one point in our early days I remarked that perhaps I should write “The Least Expensive, Quickest, but Highest Sodium Known to Man, Microwave Cookbook”. Matt said it would never sell but I knew there must be other people out there doing kitchen renovations who would drool for Matt’s Ghetto Mac, made from a box of shells and cheese and a can of chili. We drained pasta and washed our plastic plates and cutlery in the bathroom sink.

Tuna melts were a staple of our diet because the ingredients were cheap, and as long as we unplugged the coffee maker we could make them in the toaster. We ate a whole lot of Wendy’s and McDonalds salads and dollar menu items, and we became frequent shoppers at the Big Y grocery store chain.

Things were moving slow but at least they were moving.

About this time we had all but run out of money and we both decided it would be Matt who should go back to a day job as I could continue plastering, sanding and painting out the house before we listed it, sold it and made our capital to go and do it again.

For a while he worked with my dad, doing similar work on an income property he and my step mother had purchased in Fitchburg, but when that project came to a close Matt knew it was time to settle back into a desk job.  He set out to find one in the mortgage business and came to land at a company where the rigid structure of the workday was so bad the employees had to ask to go to the bathroom. Seriously.

Matt was in the Processing department and every area of the building had a camera pointed at the cubicles so employees performance could be continuously monitored. You know, like a sweatshop in some foreign land. Guess I never realized before but apparently Connecticut was a third world country at the time.

He was only allowed a half hour lunch and two, fifteen minute breaks everyday. And they were scheduled. If he had to use the bathroom at any other time he actually had to ask a supervisor if it was alright to leave his desk.

Yeah.

That job lasted until he came back a literal 2 minutes late from lunch and was written up. At the time I was about halfway done with mudding and sanding the drywall so I told him to just get out.

So he did. In grand fashion. One day after requesting a bathroom break of the Warden, er, his boss, and denied, Matt went back to his desk, packed up the couple things on it that were his and wrote ‘I Quit’ on a post it note which he proudly displayed in the center of his monitor as he walked out the door with a smile.

Two days later when the Human Resources Manager called him I heard him say something to the effect of ‘What do you mean where am I? Didn’t my note get the point across?’

We were back to no income but with two of us to mud and sand, the pace of construction picked up some. He knew he had to find something though and landed at a Broker in CT doing Processing work.

We had decided that the ceilings should be popcorn texture as it would hide a multitude of sins but after spraying out the living and dining rooms and seeing not only how much of a mess it created but how much product it took to create, we decided to throw caution to the wind and install all manner of different treatments.

Hey, why not right? It wasn’t like we wanted to ever sell the house or anything so why not toss on a little extra work for ourselves!

The first floor bathroom and second bedroom were going to be flat, kitchen would get staple tiles, second floor bath would be a rolled sand texture, our bedroom would be a swirl treatment that Matt picked up while working with my dad, and the third bedroom was going to be pine wainscoting.

We got down to installation just as Matt’s boss was starting to show his true colors. Those being his violent streak. In the space of two days he punched a hole in one of the hallway walls and threw a file right at Matt’s head. We chalked it up to another W2 for our Accountant and he got out of there, quick.

Matt was looking for another job and had his resume out to a number of mortgage companies and head hunters so I knew it was time to find something of my own. I landed a Receptionist position through a temp agency. The job would be answering phones and greeting clients for the premiere construction company in western Massachusetts, Kent Pecoy.

It wasn’t much but the commute was only about fifteen minutes and they let me start out part time which allowed me the flexibility to continue with the house. On top of that I was studying with a correspondence school for a certificate in Interior Decorating as the entire décor side of home construction truly fascinated me.

It was then that Matt finally landed a job. It wasn’t in mortgages. But we really didn’t have a choice as our bills were not getting any smaller. He started working the night shift at Roncari, a Valet parking service located at Bradley International Airport in Connecticut. Those were some of the longest nights of my life as I knew we lived in one of the sketchiest areas of the state.  And we didn’t own a firearm.

Each night I would lock the front door, lock our bedroom door and push my bureau across it just so I would feel safe enough to sleep alone. More than twice we had seen the scooter store across the parking lot from us, robbed in the middle of the night.

I sprinkled some lavender in a ring around my home and Matt went off to work. He would come home at about seven o’clock in the morning, just as I was getting up for work. With our financial position precarious at best, we shared a car so Matt would drop me off and then go home to sleep.  He would pick me up, we'd have dinner together, and then he was off to work again.  Lather.  Rinse.  Repeat.

The two of us were running on almost nothing, both financially and physically, and every free minute of our time was spent dong work around the house. But as with the bad comes the good and so when Matt landed a well paying, excellent titled position with GMAC Mortgage, and I was hired on full time at KPC, our financial concerns were finally put to rest. At least for a while.

With most of the walls and ceilings done, and our necessary shift in priorities, the work on the house didn’t just slow down, it stopped. Completely.

It’s All in My Head

For the past few weeks I have been working on a multitude of sample boards and small furniture pieces as a way to kick start my faux finishing business again. Some of the samples are redo’s of past examples that just fell short, while others are brand new and shiny examples of some of the work I can do. I have been devouring shows on HGTV for inspiration and spending a lot of time reading through posts on the faux message boards I belong to.

One might think this has prompted me to be armed and ready to get out there and tackle the world. My business cards are printed, company bio sheets are ready and in full color, the website and Facebook image galleries are updated and I even have some fantastic ideas of who to hit up for business so, truthfully, I should feel empowered.

But I don’t. All I seem to let myself feel lately is that someone knows I’m not as good as the other finishers and that they will quickly discover I am a fraud.

Yes I am fully aware that this fear is partially irrational but bear with me.

For a long time, longer than I can even pinpoint, I’ve been running around saying I want to be a writer. I want to write books. I want to write for a living. That is great because last November I took advantage of the downtime in the painting industry to do just that for the very first time. And it came out awesome. I mean awesome for a rough first draft. Put it this way, I love my characters to death. (And I'm not sure at this moment if that is pun intended or not.)

Now that I have actually written my first book, however, all I have managed to do with it is a first round of edits (on no more than the first half) and then shoved it into a corner somewhere to collect dust while I go and paint for a living.

You get that? Paint for a living, not write.

If it ever gets finished I know this book will be published, I know it will be purchased because I truly believe that the world I have created and the people who live inside it are just real enough to be relatable but just fantastical enough that real people will want to escape their daily life to visit their alternate realm.

But their world is barely constructed and I’m already trying to paint it.

Inside my head my characters are wandering around trapped inside this box and they keep looking for the door but I have gone and applied a faux finish to every corner of it, so it seems they will never find their way to escape. While I went off and made a paycheck, I boxed them inside the inescapable world and now even I can’t seem to find the door back in.

Is this what (hooker/waitress/) actors feel like? They want to act so badly that they promptly push away the grand opportunity that comes their way in order to go and get paid to set plates down in front of hungry directors so they don’t get thrown out of their apartment?

So now I have this fierce battle raging inside me because I know that all my irrational fears that I’m not a good finisher are total and complete crap. I know I am creative and have come up with a whole slew of interesting and funky treatments over the past few weeks that will be a no brainer to install not to mention fun. So here is the real thing I’m afraid of.

If I pursue a career as a decorative artist, strive to make Chucka Stone Designs all that it can be and start taking on clients all over greater Boston, I am afraid that I will somehow sabotage my own success by claiming it “isn’t what I really want to do” and promptly start whining that I really just want to be a writer again. That’s usually when I crawl back inside my own shell and have a pity party for myself that I never let anyone else become privy to. Instead I talk about how I’m ‘getting stuff together” and how I’m “almost ready” to get out there and work it. I lie to the world knowingly but I’m no longer convincing myself that it’s the truth.

So herein lies the real toughie for me. Why can’t I simply do both -- write and faux?

Easier to ask that question than answer it. Well for me at least. The logical answer is that there is no reason not to. Faux all day, come home at night and edit slowly but surely; maybe even work on the book on the weekends. It isn’t like I have a publishing house banging down my door for this manuscript (yet), screaming that they gave me this advance and now I’m over deadline or something. Nope, it’s just me and my red pen, so timing really isn’t at all of the essence.

So what the fuck is my problem?

The short answer? Me. I am my problem; my own worst enemy most of the time.

I’ll sit here taking days to craft this blog post perfectly, and I do love blogging don’t get me wrong but as soon as it is posted the normal person would grab the 190 pieces of white paper, a red pen and their imagination and go edit for the entire day. Not me though, I am bound to notice one tiny little thing that needs to be fixed on my website to make it perfect, the fact that I never added that other picture to some specific photo album, that I only have 20 business cards in my wallet so those should get printed, that I should really practice drums, that I never did update the proposal form, that I’m running low on something, that I really should write 3-4 GLR posts to front load the week, that I’m hungry, or a multitude of other distractions which will ensure I look at the clock at 3:00 and utter the words ‘wow, can’t believe the day is almost over and I’ve done nothing’.

As is plain to see, I also never got out to visit any Interior Designers, Contractors, Architects, Real Estate Agents, Decorators or other industry pros in this scenario either. So instead of even going to make a paycheck from my decorative work as at least a lucrative distraction, I sit here, doing nothing.

Sure I know it isn’t really “nothing” per se. All those things do indeed get done, but I know deep down that my need to have Perfection in my life has taken over again and that bitch is costing me dearly.

I need to figure out how to trick Perfection to get onto the box, then while I distract it with discussing the cost of the beautiful decorative treatment on the walls (ceiling, floor, furniture pieces…) that they will be paying me for I can liberate my characters from being held hostage by Perfection (for what feels like it has been forever). Use Perfection to provide the financing for Ripple the Twine.

Does that seem like an unreachable goal? Honestly, sometimes it does to me. But others likely just see it as good common sense.

So what am I going to do today? That is of course the real question begging to be answered.

Without A Doubt

My family has definitely been afflicted with various levels of hoarding and my grandparent’s house is the pinnacle of where it began. In my last post I mentioned that my aunt, mom and I took an entire day to clean out one of the rooms in the family house. While completing this task we made two piles -- one for recycling, the other for Goodwill. Since the start (long before last week), it has been a slow and steady process.

We found countless piles of newspapers, magazines, maps from their trips across the country (a future post will give details on the journals we found from their trips that I plan to transcribe and then Matt and I intend to visit every place they traveled), chotchkies, pictures, broken things, you name it and you were likely to find it in my grandparent’s house. In addition to the vast number of items that are boxed up and ready for charity, a few things have made their way out of the house and into our own homes. I have taken a few functional furniture pieces -- the table I mentioned last time plus 2 cabinets for my painting stuff, books, knick knacks, clothing and a few very, very random items.

While in my great Aunt’s bedroom we discovered that not only was she a very religious woman (which most of us already knew) but she also had a thing for astrology, fortune telling, horoscopes and the like. When I came across this little gem it totally blew me away. I turned it upside down, over and sideways trying to figure it out and next thing I knew I was asking ‘what is this, some kind of secret fortune telling device or something?’ only to discover the glass on the bottom fill up with a triangular shaped piece of something with just one word written on it ‘Yes’. It was the original Magic 8 Ball! Cool!

The fortune teller was discovered upon one of the first visits when I also acquired some of my grandmother and grandfather’s hats. My grampa was a fedora man and there were two gorgeous ones -- a grey and dark brown. I only pull them out occasionally but every time I wear any of their hats I feel like a million bucks!

Which is exactly the reason we’ve been sorting through everything before just getting rid of it; there could be cash stashed just about anywhere. Both grandparents suffered from symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and especially with my gram, as she got older and less mentally functional she hid things. With the number of things in the house that means things could be anywhere, especially in books. It’s a nightmare.

While sorting through some of the books in the reading nook on the third floor I came across this one which my mom convinced me I should at least read before donating seeing as though I’m the Green blogger in the family. This upcoming week I have some time and fully intend to do just that. Of course I have my pick of many.

There were some books as old as the early 1800’s found in the house including some that I should have read years ago but never made the time for, even though some of which I was technically supposed to read for school. A Tale of Two Cities, The House of Seven Gables, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Three Musketeers, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, you get the picture. Well they all came home plus the complete ten volume set of the World’s 1000 Best Poems, as published in 1929.

In the den I pulled this out of a basket or a bag or randomly off the floor and just started laughing, I mean when she bought it the name was probably very futuristic sounding. Like back in the 1980’s. In fact this tube of goo might have been one of the only things we found in that house that represented that particular decade. Well that and the jelly belt that was sticky from melting. Oh yeah.


Earlier decades were thoroughly represented as we discovered by the mounds of 1960’s and 1970’s poly print fabrics. This one was in a paper bag with the thread, pattern and zipper, just waiting to be created. Not to mention the receipt for how much all of it cost; just over $10. My mom and I are going to work on this together; Mom rocks, so does the dress on the far right.

This year for Christmas Matt got me a laptop tray. Mine has a lifting, tilting top, a lip to stop the computer from sliding forward and legs that fold underneath for easy storage. Looks familiar… Of course this one is a little beat up and wood not plastic. No one needs it and I immediately thought of my Mother in law. I know she reads so this could be a perfect little giftie for her. I’m going to clean it up, paint and faux it then send it on down just because. But shhh, it’s a surprise so don’t tell!

Overall it may seem like a lot of stuff has come into my home and I’m just perpetuating the cycle of collecting and perhaps that is partially true but for the most part I am only taking what I know will be created, gifted, read, worn or used as a functional item…

In fact I asked the Syco Slate if I should throw away the Stain Master 2000 after taking the picture for this post and it responded not surprisingly:

Week(s) In Review: A Pictorial Adventure

So where have I been, yes that would be the question considering that, unless we’re connected on Facebook, no one has heard from me in weeks. I don’t call, don’t write. Yeah, ‘dropped off the face of the virtual Earth’ (yet again) is pretty accurate. But I have done some amazing and fun stuff in my electronic absence.

And the train continues to roll so rather than sit here for ages typing out all the details of my recent misadventures in construction, paint, music, old friends and pastry, it occurred to me that a nice array of photos is surely a much lazier way to share the information.

And retain it for that matter. See? Really I’m just thinking of your time. Yeah, that's it.

So without further random babble from me, here is essentially a month in review…

A whole bunch of these got painted, glazed, varnished, etc. over the past couple weeks for Chucka Stone Designs, and more will be done this week (plus I might actually finish the furniture pieces this weekend, amazing!)

I hosted a week long giveaway over here that I enjoyed promoting.

This holiday came and went & Matt and I thankfully didn’t feel pressured to celebrate (because it is a silly tradition started just to make people feel bad who are single and obligated who are together so the card, chocolate, flower and jewelry industries can live on for one more day. OK. Jumping off my soapbox now…) But my mom sent us this card and it was very sweet of her!

The FINAL season (sob) of Tuesday night crack began. (Yeah I know he’s not on the show anymore but he was my favorite character and he did make an appearance in the first episode this season. Plus he’s hot, so there.)

We had a chance to catch this guy’s act live, and solo for the first time, which was so much fun! We were right at the edge of the stage in the Red Room at Café 939.

Then I started doing a whole bunch of this. (Thanks for the video still shots This Old House)

Of course that job is in central Mass so that meant I was in this a lot. Don’t worry, my car wasn’t recalled. Baby drives great.

Even though painting and plaster is a great workout it was good to do a little of this in addition to keep loose. Climbing ladders requires a certain level of already in shape-ness so as not to fall asleep on the sofa every night at 10:00. Oh wait…

I have been helping to clean out the family house which desperately needs to be finished and sold. My Aunt, mom and I spent six hours in this room getting it to look this empty. I wish I were kidding. But it is done now and so we celebrated with subs (hoagies, wraps, whatever you call it in your neck of the woods -- sandwich filling in a long roll). I took this round table home and it is now gracing my back hall under the window; it looks perfect with the bench on the other side, since they are a matching set.

Of course Thursdays have still been all about this. Wouldn’t miss that for anything!

Had a chance to catch one of my mom’s favorite performers, Seth Glier (on piano), this past Friday night. I can see why, wow this kid has talent!! At only 21, he has a long career ahead of him. (He plays SXSW every year so if you’re near Austin, TX go check him out!). Plus he remembered my mom on sight by name, asked her later what she wanted to hear and made a point to come over and apologize that he didn’t have time to play it after the show was over. Now that’s class.

And now this morning I’m finishing coffee and writing. Not to mention eating one of these; purchased after dinner with friends in Davis Square last night. Yum!

The month in review has now commenced. Holy crap, can’t believe it’s just about March already! Bring on the warm weather, yippie!