Friday, May 22, 2015

All I Want is Music Music

Our daughter's frequent visits these days also means she plays on our old upright piano for several hours. Clair de Lune or The Heart Asks Pleasures First fill out the cobweb spaces in our house.  Bob is practising the sax each day too as he prepares for his recital. I hear him humming his pieces later. It always brings a smile to my face.

I need more music in my life.

What kind of sound system do you have?

Friday, May 15, 2015

Ivy League Here I Come

My brain is going to have a serious workout this summer. It's now official. I am going to Harvard Summer School where I will take two religion classes. No weeding garden boxes this summer. No long walks in Fish Creek. No Stampede clothes.

Here's what I am going to experience:

Lenox, Massachusetts
Crossing the Charles River every day
Harvard Square
Charles River Bike Path
Fogg Museum
Oleana Restaurant
Leslie Graff art studio

And people and places I don't even know about yet.

Thanks Used to Be Mother for this gift.






Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Minimalist Wardrobe Capsules

There's a trend sparked by Un-fancy to cull your wardrobe down to 37 items, to have a "uniform" and to stop shopping. This resonated on many levels.I went through my wardrobe the other day trying to pare it down. Because I  love to shop, this is proving challenging.

Does it make me shallow and vain that I spend free time shopping?

When a friend wants to go shopping, I can't stop myself from helping her find things that would suit her body type, style and budget. When some women walk into a department store, they freeze or feel overwhelmed. I see potential. The hunter gatherer is in my DNA and I won't be denied the quarry.

Though I don't spend a lot of time watching What Not to Wear, I do agree that clothes should make you feel beautiful and happy. Whatever your price point and how you feel about your body.

Yup. Shallow and vain.


Sunday, May 10, 2015

Mom Looks Like Maxine

Doesn't she look like Hallmark's Maxine?

It's been ages since I blogged but I felt inspired today after reading the portrait posted on The Chattering Crow

My list:

She was the only one of her thirteen siblings who had flaming red hair.
She quit school and went to work in a factory to help her family with their finances.
She drank too much during my teens.
She taught me how to pray.
She was efficient with her time and worked like a Trojan.
She taught my nieces and nephew bawdy songs.
She was immaculate, punctual and efficient.
She passed a bookkeeping class at the top of her class in her 40s.
She was a great dancer.
She deserved her Lily Lysol moniker.
She hated waste and extravagance.
She loved making slippers and jigsaw puzzles.
She never felt the love she wanted.
She loved music and hummed when she was happy.
She could add long columns of numbers in her head.
She hated driving but every fall she drove a truck during harvest.
She was left handed but was forced at school to write with the other hand.
She gave us lickings with a belt.
She lived by the adage "bloom where you're planted".
She baked bread and became a delicious cook.
She peed her pants when she had to speak in public.
She wanted to fix things even when we resisted.
She had a second chance at love with her teenaged heart throb.
She was generous especially for birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas.
She never found peace in her faith though she practised it until her death.