"Ye Olde Clock Shoppe"?

  Some of you may recall that a few years ago, I was hospitalized for a "possible" stroke.  Fortunately, nothing much came of it so things went on as normal...or, at least, as normal as possible.  For several months, I was restricted from doing much strenuous work and was confined to what I dubbed as being the "Small Gardens".  Those were the rambling gardens surrounding the house where I reigned as self-proclaimed "Queen".  (Boredom is a rough thing for someone like me.)  Both my youngest son and my daughter set a rather stiff regime of "dos" to go along with those "do nots".  I was to start with stretches and then do cardio exercises.  Darling Daughter is a speech pathologist so she sent over quite a number of worksheets for me to practice and both of them demanded that I "learn" something...anything...just learn.  So...at that point of their plan, I fired back that I was going to learn antique clock repair!  I was actually being a bit facetious.  The words came out of my mouth before I thought the matter through.  Why?  Simply because my mom's old mantel clock was sitting idle and that was the first thing I saw.  I never guessed that they would hold me to my flippant statement.  They did.  So, I am repairing clocks and now the living room greatly resembles a clock shop of old.

  Since Mom's mantel clock was the first thing I tackled (and repaired!), it only seemed appropriate that I would finally get around to fixing another of her clocks.  This tiny chain-driven timepiece never worked since she got it way back in the early 1960s.  Pop was doing handyman work to supplement the farm income and one of his clients asked him to clear out a storeroom and discard everything.  He asked if he could have the stuff and the owners readily agreed.  He was told that the clock was from the '20s and was from Germany.  So, that was the whole story behind the non-working clock. Several people tried to fix the clock for Mom but none could ever get it to running.  The clock was stowed away in the closet until it came home with me some 30 years later.  The wee clock hung on the wall here still in bad shape until this week when mouthy me decided to have a go at fixing it.  The case was broken, the pendulum was missing and the mechanism was so gummed up with some sort of blue gunk that nary a gear would turn.  It took 3 days to finally clean and then oil the clock. Borrowing a pendulum from another of my clocks, I found that it would indeed tick!  That pendulum was returned to its original clock and, instead of ordering a new pendulum just yet, I handcrafted one out of a popsicle stick and a wooden (bird) ornament.  I fully expected that to be a flub but it worked!  The clock has been ticking steadily for the past 5 hours and keeping relatively good time compared to the many other clocks nearby. I think Mom would be thrilled!

  While all this is fun and I am learning, it suddenly occurred to me that "Ye Olde Clock Shoppe" look is really taking hold of the living room.  It is quaint.  It is interesting.  It would drive most people crazy.  The rhythmic ticking, the outbursts of chimes, gongs and chirping and the cluttered walls is enough to send folks running.  Me? I find it soothing....and I am learning...something my kids keep encouraging.

Every Owl Needs a Tree and Daughters are Treasures!

  This evening, I was talking to my daughter about possible topics for tonight's writings.  I had been pondering this since with the torrential rains keeping me inside, I had no photographs.  The good thing about all of the rain is that I have been able to sort a good bit of the items given to me by Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Stanley. (They just recently completed a move to be with their daughter.)  While talking with my daughter, she mentioned that I should write about treasures.  Well, I have done that many times in the past.  Still, her words of wisdom rang clear.  "The most valued things are the ones that have the most sentimental meaning."  She is so correct.  Her statement made me proud.  I have long tried to instill in my kids the true meaning of riches. Wealth lies not in dollars but in love.  Don't get me wrong, those dollar bills come in mighty handy but there is a certain beauty in things or actions given purely out of love.  I have gifts from people that have no monetary value whatsoever but they are priceless.  I am rich far beyond comprehension.

  Last night I talked about how owls seem to be collecting at my house in all forms and from all sorts of people.  The owls make me happy.  Not that any are worth a red cent but they are some of those priceless items that fill the Little Bayou House.  It was then that I spied another of my recent treasures from Aunt Sylvia.  This is a wall plaque that features a tree..I am supposing it is a "Tree of Life".  This is crazy!  I just received a beautiful bed cloth decorated with a tree.  (My daughter and her husband bought this for my birthday!)  Add these trees to a sort of funky tree that I painted and I seem to have a fine start of homes for my owls!  You have to agree that owls and trees do, indeed, go well together!

  Trees, owls and other unique items fill the Little Bayou House.  All of these things are treasures merely because of the sentimental value but there is another treasure that fills my heart.  The fact that my daughter holds the merit of things given with love over the number on a price tag makes me one happy mom!  Elizabeth, indeed, is a treasure and she holds my heart forever!
 
 

Tired but happy

  I am exhausted.  Totally exhausted.  I cannot remember just when I have been this tired.....but I am happy.  Totally happy.  The exhausting part actually started early this morning when I started moving furniture about the house.  Things were being tossed out, moved to other rooms and even out to the shed. Why, I even put some stuff in the greenhouse!  This was all in preparation for this evening when the "big event" was to occur! Just about five o'clock this evening, a large van pulled into the driveway and two very tired young people greeted me.  My daughter and son-in-law were here!  (That, my dear friends, is the happy part.  That is the most exhilarating thing that has happened on the Bayou in a long time.)  That vehicle was a moving van bringing all of their belongings to the Little Bayou House.  They were moving back to the Coast!  Oh, HAPPY DAY!

   After they arrived, came the second wave of exhausting work.  We had to unload an entire houseful of furniture, books, kitchenware and every other item that accumulated in their home over the past few years. This was to all be stored in a addition to the shed that Mark and Michael built in just two weeks.  When Robbie opened the back of that moving van, a big "Uh oh" whirred through my head.  I was not sure that their stuff was going to fit in the storage shed we built.  Hmmm?  What to do?  I was sure glad that I had cleared a good bit of stuff from the house this morning!  

  Needless to say, the Little Bayou House looks a good bit like a flea market at the moment.  My house has always been a bit cluttered with odd furniture and weird and wonderful "collectibles" but now things are even more, ummm, eclectic?  It is all good, though, as long as my kids are closer!  Happy, wonderfully, ecstatically happy!  All is good!

Family Heirlooms

Last Christmas, I had asked only for ornaments as gifts. I figured that I had way too much stuff already crammed into the little Bayou House, there was no need to fill it to overflowing with more things. My daughter and (future) son-in-law complied with this and did indeed give me ornaments. I was and still am elated over this fact. When asking for them, I had made the comment that the ornament should relate to the person giving it and not be some random bauble that is simply plucked from the shelf of the nearest department store. Well, being the most crafty people that they are, they made my gifts. Only they took it a bit further..instead of just making two ornaments that represented themselves, they crafted ornaments for each member of the family.

The first ornament represented my daughter. She loves coffee! (Almost as much as me!) So she covered a styrofoam ball with coffee themed fabric. After completing this she cut out names of places from around the world as she also loves travel. (Much more than me!) These were pinned in place on the ornament. A ribbon was added for hanging and there you have it! An ornament representing my daughter..only I think I would have added a tiara in there somewhere..I think she should be a princess!

Then came her sweetheart's ornament. He loves to dance and actually teaches ballroom dancing. I must admit that I am in awe of his ability in this especially since I cannot. Anyway, for his ornament..a disco ball! Silver sequined fabric with black felt cutouts of "DANCE" and of a disco dancer. How appropriate! A ribbon hanger and the disco ball glitters on the tree!

My oldest son is in the Army and has gone through Airborne training. For the ornament representing him, they draped a stryofoam ball with fabric and added ribbons to simulate a parachute. A tiny Army man toy was then attached to the ribbons. This was so perfect! I have to say I think it was quite ingenious to use the plastic Army man and to make the parachute.

My daughter-in-law was represented with bright flowers and many colors. She is such a lovely young lady and always brings so many smiles to each of us that I fully understand why they chose to do hers in this way. Like this ornament she always brightens our day so much. I have no other ornament on my tree quite like this one and I think that is perfect since I truly believe there could be no match to my sweet daughter-in-law! (I think this one needed a tiara, too! Another princess!)

Then came time to do something to represent my youngest son. My daughter said she had a tough time coming up with something as her younger brother. After much thought, she covered a ball in black fabric and tied it with red ribbons. Now some will wonder what this is all about..but I say it is positively perfect. His favorite colors are black and red but the simplicity of the ornament says more about him than the colors. He is quite the minimalist and this is evident in my daughter's choice of design. Again perfection!

To describe her father, they chose to use a different medium. Instead of the styrofoam ball, a fishing bobber came into play. A cord was creatively wrapped on the float and then tiny weights or sinkers were added to the ends. This is so ideal since her dad loves to fish! (This could have also been the one to represent me!) I love this one..the ingenuity behind this one is awesome! I am so tempted now to do an entire tree in fishing gear and shells.

Lastly, mine. Here they pondered what to do and I am sure it was no easy task. They chose to go "home-spun" to represent me. A Christmas tree was sewn together out of scraps of fabric and then wooden buttons were sewn in place of baubles. I absolutely love this one! It makes me smile. When I think about it, I suppose I really am "home-spun" and the wooden buttons are representative of my sort of "earthiness" (which is defined as "unadorned and simple in style"). Yep..pretty much says it all! (No tiara needed!)

I love these ornaments and the fact that my daughter and son-in-law took the time to make them. I hope that they will continue this trend for they both are very creative.

One of a kind!

One of a kind gifts..those astonishing presents that knock your socks off..the lovingly, handmade gifts that make you think "Wow!". In the past two days, I have received two of those "one of a kind" gifts. Two incredibly awesome gifts that were each handmade..one by my daughter and son-in-law and the other by my niece. I am so impressed with the talent and love that was involved in creating these gifts!

First, I received a cookbook! The masterminds behind this lovely gift are none other than my daughter and son-in-law. These two seem to have the best time working together on things! My daughter created the cover for the book and my son-in-law took time from his job to do the inside. The recipes are dishes that they have cooked in the few months that they have been married. I have already had the honor of eating some of these dishes and can vouch for the tastiness of them! The cover of the book is so darling! My daughter chose denim and plaids to cover the book. She knows that I am a denim sort of person and would much rather be clad in jeans and a plaid, flannel shirt than any other clothing. On the front over the denim and plaid, she stitched a heart. On the inside of the back cover, there is a pocket that holds two pencils so I can add recipes. (She informed me that the pocket came off of a favorite pair of jeans.) They even added extra blank pages! I am thrilled to have this new addition to my cookbook collection..it is delightful!

The other gem of a gift came from my very, talented niece! She created a gorgeous Christmas ornament! The ornament is quite large and heavily jeweled. In making this, she recycled some old Mardi Gras beads, carefully cutting and gluing each in place. It is such a beautiful piece that come time to take down the tree, I am going to have a difficult time storing it! It might just find a place to reside for the entire year and not be stowed away! This sweet niece also made a wonderful initial wall plaque for my soon-to-be craft room/green house/herb house. This, she painted and decorated to be the happiest "B" in the world! I love it!

The time, effort and love that are put into gifts of this sort is what makes each so unique. Again, I am impressed with the immense talent involved in the making of each of these. I believe that I will be hard-pressed to find any gift that can compare with either. They are amazing and I truly love them! I am so blessed!