Morning Coffee Chat

Good Morning!  Come on in and join me for coffee...I'm only just getting to my second cup.  I've been up for HOURS this morning, though it's early yet.  John had an extra shift to work and I got up to make him breakfast and then started housework.  I still have a little ways to go with that, but I've worked hard enough to break my first sweat of the day and I'm ready to sit back and relax a little.  Ignore the clothes in the basket.  They are going outdoors here in a bit to be hung on the line.  Trouble is if I take them out right now, well then I must feed the silly cat and dogs right now, too, and that means my coffee will be cold before I get a chance to drink it.  I'd rather stop and enjoy it and have a chat first.  I have priorities.

I must say sincerely that I've had the worst time sleeping this past week.  I purposely worked really hard on Wednesday and worked all day long.  Did I sleep Wednesday night?  Nooooo...No I had 'committee meeting' in my head when I lay down and though my body was weary and my eyes felt like sandpaper, my thoughts went round and round and round and round.  I finally got up and wandered about the house.  I wrote in my journal and read through a magazine.  I took a melatonin in the hopes that would push me over the edge to dozy land and it did.  I crawled into the bed, lay my head down and drifted right into sleep and that was the exact moment John got up for a few minutes which woke me and that was that.  No more dozy land, more committee meeting.  I was already forgetful and prone to frustration before Wednesday night rolled around.  I was downright irritable yesterday morning.



No matter, irritable or not, it was grocery day and a fairly big day for grocery as we had to stop at one store for sale priced dog food and another for items that were on sale and aren't sold at all at Aldi, then to Aldi.  We cleaned up the car at the car wash after all that and stopped for gas before we headed home at long last.  I brought groceries indoors (John unloads) and put them away and made coffee.  I sat down for about 30 minutes then hopped up to run back into town to work on my booth.

I normally wouldn't make a second trip to town in a day's time unless it were an emergency.  I made an exception this time because Mama and I missed our day out last week and I suggested we spend today together at least for lunch.  I thought about going by first thing yesterday morning, but as I said I was so tired and irritable and then I realized my husband was at least as tired and irritable and it seemed prudent to just get the shopping done.  I thought it about while we were shopping and determined I'd heaps rather do it yesterday afternoon, while I was already perspiring hard, and not arrive at Mama's soaking wet.  So back to town to do my work.

It was, really a rather nice time to go in.  The store had been fairly busy each time we'd gone by it but it wasn't when I went in.  I discovered the owner of the oh so cute! booth next to mine was in and happily introduced myself to her.  Then the nicest thing happened.  As I unloaded my shelves and moved them about, the neighbor and the store clerk pulled up a nearby chair and rocker, and we chatted away as I worked.  Oh it was just lovely, like a coffee chat only without coffee.  We talked about all sorts of things: husbands and wives, books, yard sales vs. Goodwill, who wants what from whose booth...It certainly did make time pass and both women lent a hand a time or two when I was struggling to get an area look just so.

After a bit they left me to work alone.  My neighbor went home, the clerk went to help a customer.  I draped some garland on the shelves and placed a few silk leaves here and there and just sort of dressed things up a little.  It looked so pretty.  John kept insisting I needed a rug in my space, which I admit I didn't want, but I found a small rug in the shed, about 2X4 and it really does cozy up the area, especially with the little borrowed table draped with a long cloth and a table topper cloth, too.  John really is very helpful with his advice and very careful to not overwhelm me with what he thinks I ought to do but to just drop a hint here and there.  I didn't have my camera with me naturally, and the photos I took last time I was in the store, before I rearranged were blurry, which is what you get when I forget my glasses!

My space is now a sort of l___l shape and where you see the two ls I hope to add two more of the shelving units like the ones I have now.  I really do have to wait on sales to start coming in routinely though before I do that.  The little shelving unit I was loaned and the table help to promote the idea that I am using my full space.  And I think I finally have ENOUGH in the stall without it being cluttered and overcrowded, though I have read many booth owner blogs who promote the idea of putting in all you can possibly cram in.

As I washed all the plates I got at the yard sale last Friday, I found a set of four plates that I just felt were versatile as could be.  They are a big dinner plate, china type, with a wide maroon border banded by black.  The center of the plate is cream.  I kept envisioning a table-scape with those plates as the basis and came up with two ideas right away.  One was to use a red and cream toile runner (black and cream would work well too) on the table.  But the idea that kept coming to mind over and over was to use a set of dessert plates I bought two years ago at TJMaxx.  They had botanical fruits on them with a pretty green/maroon border, a tiny detail that you doesn't read blatant color.  Put those dessert plates atop the maroon bordered plate and suddenly the fruit and the border on the dessert plates jumps to life.  Absolutely gorgeous.  I mean to try and develop this, find coffee cups and glassware and bowls perhaps to go with this.  It would make a nice 'extra' set of dishes.

I have dishes a plenty mind you.  I have my set of china, I have the china I gave Amie, I have gorgeous plates from the 1940's that I use occasionally and then I have the Corelle Wear plates we bought early this year.  I also have a set of ironstone dishes.  I need more dishes like a quilter needs more fabric and I use the same reasoning they do when they shop:  It's pretty, it was on sale, and I like it!  Reason enough, right?

I've been daring this week.  I was desperately past due a haircut.  I knew my stylist had said she might go on vacation around the time of the last appointment I made and I suspected it was her that called from her cell phone.  I didn't recognize the number so I didn't return the call.  And so when I showed up for the appointment and no one was there I figured I'd catch her when she got back and reschedule.  That was about the time we discovered it was more than necessary to toe hard the budget line and not back off it.  No haircut for me.

That was all fine and well for the next several weeks.  Wendy is a terrific stylist, much too good for the little town we live in and that's the truth, but she's a rural born and bred girl like myself and here she is happy.  Blessing for me and her other clients to be sure.  Well several weeks with a really good cut means that it as it grows out it remains a nice cut all the same.  Until about two weeks ago when I suddenly could do nothing with it in any shape or form.  I made an appointment for this week, since I knew we would have the extra in this last paycheck.

I walked in and knew I was ripe and ready for 'something different'.  I told Wendy I had no idea what but I wanted her to do just whatever she thought would look well.  We each looked over a few cuts and with each one she showed me I felt more and more sure that she could do something different without any trouble at all.  I told her: "I trust you and know you'll give me a good cut, so pretend you're styling for a show and give it your best!"  She laughed and said, "But..." and I said, "Wendy you've never given me a bad hair cut in all this time.  I've had horrible ones and you know what?  They all grew out.  I really do trust you.  Just do whatever you think will look nice."  Well she went to work and cut and styled for about 45 minutes.  I really liked what she did to my hair.  It's still short, but a longer cut than I'd had.  I wish I could style it the way she did but I can't.  I'm still playing with it on my own and eventually I'll work out  a way to make it look as nice if not the same.  And no, honey, no pictures because I came home and lit into housework and that was the end of the hairstyle.

It's been a long work week this week to be sure.  Lots to do and lots got done and yet, I can look around the house and see that this area or that really does need a bit of work.  Not going to happen this morning.  I'll do some of it when I get in this afternoon from Mama's. But I want to work on a couple of more posts.  One to share a recipe I tried this past weekend from Pinterest pages and a couple I found in the October Woman's Day issue...Not sure what year, but vintage for sure.

I thought I'd share a couple of photos of my lovely volunteer morning glories.  I love the morning glory flowers with a passion.  I know they are invasive and I know they are a pest for farmers.  Never mind that I love them anyway.  I haven't planted seed in years upon years, but every year these bloom from the seed planted 15 years ago.  They are Blue Heaven or Heavenly Blue.  The birds scattered them, too so there are some in the brush though most of that has died out now the trees are getting so big in the former fields.  I've jokingly said before that the Morning glory is what makes my home 'country'.  Just look at how pretty they are:

See how they twine themselves around that porch railing?  Every morning I feel as though they are waiting to greet me before closing their blooms and sleeping until the next morning.  The top photo is another volunteer at the back deck that decided to climb over the railing, the old chair and up the flagpole.



   
I got in a gardening mood this week and went out to plant spinach, carrots, peas, beets, cilantro and lettuces in various pots and tubs and pans.  I ran out of my favorite potting soil so had to quit my plantings, but fingers crossed that these plants will survive and do well.  I so love the taste of good fresh foods!  The tomatoes have leaves once more and are blooming.  I am keeping a close eye on them for anymore caterpillars.  I'd really like to get a good crop of tomatoes before frost, and there's plenty of time for it in my region.


  

This is the only bit of fall decorating I've really done here at the house thus far.  Those are the picks from that wreath I bought at Goodwill and made over with sunflowers for the booth...Oh by the way, I finally decided on a name "Little Bird" for my booth.  No birds in it yet, and I can't tell you just why it's the right name but I knew in a moment that it was.  I even worked up a design to make tags with:

The image is from Graphics Fairy...I've been trying to come up with a name that felt right for weeks now.  I was working here in the house the other day and I passed my dresser where I have a 1940's set of bird prints that Granny gave me.  And then I was cleaning my bath, where I have a small curio above the toilet in which I have a dozen or so figurines of birds.  I'd just been in the shed that morning and noted my Christmas wreath with the bird box was still looking rather nice...I thought about how I've always loved the little bird varieties best: finch, titmouse, sparrow, shrike and as I said it over again, "Little bird"  I KNEW it was the name of the booth.  Eventually I suppose I'll have to try and add in some birds to the mix at the booth.  Something to keep my eye out for.

Here's a little scene from the front porch.  I haven't done much out there this year.  The porch is looking pretty awful.  It needs to be deeply cleaned and repainted.  I played about last month meaning to get a good start and we went through another rainy spell.  This month is the first dry weather we've had all summer long!  I suppose I'd better get hopping and get that porch cleaned and painted before the chilly weather gets here.  Anyway, I painted the picture frame last month and then moved the little crate from the back deck and propped it on the ironing board.  I kind of liked it and played about with it a bit.  I think it looks good, but know that I can make it look better, especially now there are fall plants in the garden centers.

I actually have a set of curtains to hang on the front porch (hence the wire you see running from the post across to the other one) but was waiting until I painted to hang them.  My ivy isn't doing so well this year.  I'm glad I took some cuttings and rooted them to re-pot.  I might take some more...That ivy is about six years old now and looks like it's on it's last legs.

Well dears, if I'm going to send this out in the morning, I'd best send it and get busy with housework once more.  Have a wonderful weekend.  See you next week!