Finding My Past at Goodwill

Remember in the 80's and early 90's, when country crafts were king?  Shades of Wedgwood blue, mauve, seafoam green, and rusty red reigned in the design world.  Stenciling or wallpaper, flowery chintz upholstery, with ruffly curtains at the windows, completed the look.  

During this time, my husband was starting his own business.  Money was tight.  We were fine day-to-day, but the reality of finding the money necessary for Christmas presents for three daughters required some ingenuity.  We had power tools, I knew how to use them, wood and paint was cheap ... and a small business was born.  Very small.

For a few years, in summer I would cut and sand and paint little figures and country-style decor.  In fall, I rented space at craft fairs, setting up a booth and selling my wares.  One of my best sellers was this:

It was a custom item.  I had the large hearts like this at the booth, pre-made in mauve, blue, rust, or cream, and customers ordered small hearts to hang from the hooks underneath.  Husband, wife, children.  I sold a ton of them.  (I remember one special one: a family's four grown children chipped in together and ordered one for their parents, with themselves, their spouses, and all of the grandkids hanging from it.  It was huge.)

I was startled to see this one earlier today.  Somehow it ended up at Goodwill in Culpeper, minus its little name hearts.  It looks as good today as it did when I made it almost 30 years ago.  Goodwill's price:  $1.99. 

My label.  Hometown Designs was what I called my little enterprise.

I still have ours, the prototype, with our family on it ...  it's in a box somewhere.  

I hope this one goes to a good home.

Tag, You're It

I have been tagged by Sharon, the lovely Goth Gardener, to play a game of Darkling Tag.  I'm not Goth, but I can totally can dig the lifestyle and the wardrobe.  Plus, I love making lists and answering questionnaires.  (Warning:  the photos in this post have nothing to do with the content.)

My fig trees have started producing!  It's going to be a great year.

What is your favorite candle scent?  I love Yankee Candle's 'Clean Cotton'.

Do you have a favorite book?  "The Wizard of Oz".

Are you a tea or coffee person?  Coffee!!

What is your favorite perfume/cologne?  Chanel No. 5

Do you have a celebrity crush?  Nicholas Cage.

If you could change your name to a stereotypical 90s/2000s gothy name, what would it be?  I had to look this one up to see what my choices are.  There is an interesting list on THIS web site.  I chose Luna Wren.  Now that I think of it, this would be a good cat name.

What are your top three tips for surviving hot weather while wearing black?  By hiding in the air conditioning as much as possible.  As a general rule, I do my best to stay out of hot weather.  When it's unavoidable, I try to stay in the shade.

What song makes you happy?  I thought about this one for a while, and I realize that there's not one particular song that I can think of.  I love hard rock and metal mostly, but Motown and 70's Disco is also on my list of favorites.  Pretty much anything that gets me dancing in the car makes me happy.

Are you active in the arts?  I make a LOT of stuff, does that count? 

What is your number one hobby?  Gardening, knitting, and crocheting.  (That's three.  Whatever)

There were enough figs to make a quick batch of jam!

Thought Provokers:

If you could be a supernatural creature, what would it be and why?  A fairy, because they can fly.

What horror monster-based super power would you have?  Time travel.  

Do you feel confident or uncomfortable interacting with other Goths or gothy people (online or in real life)?  People are people, no matter what group they belong to.  I get along with just about everyone.  

Is there something you wish there was more of in your subculture?  I'm not sure that I have a subculture.  I'm a history geek, rose lover, carpenter/remodeler ... so many interests and tendencies.  I follow my own instincts.  

Care to share an embarrassing story related to your "darkliness"?  I don't really get embarrassed.  I usually hear  "You don't look anything like I thought you would" when I meet people for the first time.  I like that.

How are you at DIY?  I can DIY just about anything.  Small crafty projects, or a whole-house renovation ... if I can see it, I can probably do it.  (You already knew this, tho.)

Finished!  (Recipe is HERE.)

Confessional (aka, True or False):

I love watching cheesy romance films.  False.  I don't watch many movies.  My favorite TV time is spent watching programs that teach me something.  "Modern Marvels", "Antiques Roadshow", "Barnwood Builders", etc.  I loved "This Old House" in the early years.

I ALWAYS remember to wash off my makeup at night.  False.  There are many mornings when I wake up looking like a raccoon, with mascara and eye liner smeared all over the place.

I sleep with plushies.  Nope. 

I wear non-black pajamas most nights.  True.  Colorful nightshirts.  The one I'm wearing now is pink. 

I think Andrew Eldrich is overrated.  I don't know who this is.

I don't like vampires.  False.  I love the romantic idea of vampires.  

I don't like clubs.  True.  I had a brief period in my late teens when I went to clubs.  I'd rather spend evenings with friends, with food and beer/wine and conversation.  

I don't enjoy graveyards.  FALSE!!!  A trip to a new city isn't complete for me until I have searched out and explored the cemetery.

Blood makes me queasy.  False.  I'm not squeamish.  This trait comes in really handy in emergencies, or when watching "Bones" on TV.  (My favorite show, BTW.)

I'd sooner faint than pet a spider.  False.  I like spiders.  Jumping Spiders are especially cute and interesting.

I don't like haunted houses.  False.  I live in one ... according to other people   I have never heard or experienced anything here, but others have.

I've never read Dracula.  False.  I love "Dracula".

I think "Bela Lugosi's Dead" is a long and boring song.  I don't know this song.  I'm going to have to look it up and give it a listen.
______________________________

I'm supposed to tag three people to continue the game, but I'm gonna skip that part.  If you feel inclined, copy the questions and do your own list.  Let me know if you do, because I would love to see your answers.

Kindness and Respect

The negative events in the news reinforce my resolve to keep a positive attitude.  We are what we think and say ... therefore, I will think encouraging thoughts and do my best to spread as much kindness as I can.  I encourage all of you to do the same.

We can condemn violence and hate, without participating in it.  

Love to you all!

Finding Myself ... As a Doll

I never know exactly what I'll find when doing an Internet search.  Earlier this summer, I was looking for a sweater pattern to knit ... and, in the search results, I found this image:

Blythe doll

It was like coming face-to-face with myself in doll form.  Long dark hair, big brown eyes ... she's even wearing an over-sized bulky sweater.  She looks an awful lot like Wednesday Addams, who was my second favorite character on The Addams Family.  (It will be no surprise to you that I adored her mother Morticia above all other characters.)

See what I mean?  Look at that resemblance.  (Forgive the grainy photo-of-a-photo.  I stole it from my mom's FB page.)

1964

(After I found the photo of the doll, I went hunting for more info on Blythe dolls.  One article that I read said that Blythe dolls were originally thought to be too scary-looking for children.  That would not have been the case with this girl when she was a child, I assure you.)  

Even though I got distracted during my search for a sweater pattern, I eventually did find one that I could work with ... a bulky, basic, knit-in-the-round-from-the-top-down turtleneck.  I improvised the seed stitch and cables to make it more interesting.  The yarn came from a yummy soft wool sweater that I bought at Goodwill.  (Original pattern is HERE.)

Here are instructions for unraveling a sweater to harvest the yarn.

Anyway ..... this post went completely off track ..... kind of like my original search for the elusive sweater pattern.  I will leave it this way, though, because it totally represents who I am.

So, let me ask ... Do you stay on track when you hunt for something, or do you veer off course, too?

Driving Past Our House, and Going Back in Time

As I was hunting for the satellite image on Google Maps that I used in yesterday's post, I got distracted by the street view of our property.  I can tell exactly when the photos were taken, based on the scene that they show ... late October, 2012.

Our neighbor's property was for sale.  Wonderful new neighbors have been here for three years now.

I don't recognize this car.

That pile of stuff underneath the tarp is the freshly-cut slabs of our fallen oak tree.  THIS post shows how it was done by the sawmill crew.

Their equipment tore the yard up a bit, but not too badly.

This was right before I closed my retail nursery.  The sign was still up.

Next stop, Hartwood Winery next door.  That's their driveway on the right.

I'm such a junkie when it comes to reference and archived material.  I have to handle Google Maps carefully, otherwise I could get lost for days searching addresses and wandering far-off streets.

Have you played on Google Maps and checked out your house?

Women's March on Washington

I was there, with my sister and two friends.  Sit back while I share some photos that show what I saw, accompanied by a few thoughts that describe how I felt.

Pink isn't my favorite color, but I knitted a hat and wore it proudly ... to put myself and my head in the sea of pink for the March.

We took a photo in the Metro station as we arrived in DC.

That's my sister in the pink hat and black jacket right in front of me.

Both sides of the escalator exiting the station were set in the outbound direction, to move more people.

This was our first view of part of the crowd.

So many satellite trucks along Independence Avenue.

A sign propped in a rose bush ... you knew that I had to get a photo of it.

Video screens allowed those of us in the thick of the crowd to hear the people who were speaking from the stage.

Gloria Steinem

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser

There were so many people!

Other times, we had a bit more room.

Yarn bomb, quietly left behind by a marcher.

This was my favorite sign of the day.  When I told that to the man who was holding it, he put his hand on his chest and told me that it comes from his heart.

These two police officers with a PA system on top of this ambulance, were directing marchers at an intersection.

Madonna did not reflect the view of anyone that I spoke to during the day.

The 'After' photo, as we waited for the train to take us home.  

Exiting the station, on our way home.

This panoramic photo that gives a good look at the crowd where we were.

To see how much space 500,000+ people occupy in downtown DC, watch this video (which, coincidentally, appears to have been taken from the top of a building near where we were standing when I took the panorama.)

It was a l-o-n-g day ... I left home at 5:30am to be at my sister's house at 6:30am, and I got home after 9:00pm ... but it was profound.  I can't adequately express the feeling of being in a crowd like this, a peaceful, respectful crowd, who gathered to show what we hope is not a minority view of our country.  My United States respects all of its citizens, and is a melting pot for foreigners who come here to make a better life for themselves and their families.  We met so many people, visited with out-of-towners, local residents, young women, old folks like me ... I am very, very proud to have participated.

Been there, done that, ordered the T-shirt.  It was surreal.