Home improvements

Have you noticed how one little purchase can start a cascade of other… problems?  My small third bedroom is known as ‘the computer room’ and has one bookcase.  And cardboard boxes full of shit.  That bookcase, a cheap white laminate KMart special that was inherited from my ex-mil is seriously full and seriously sagging from the weight of books and magazines.  I thought I wanted built-ins until I got a couple of estimates and decided my budget wasn’t that rich.  I found some bookcases at Home Decorators that I was on the verge of buying.  Which meant I’d have to put them together, which I don’t mind, but is time consuming and requires a lot of floor space.  And well, my knees weren’t looking forward to crawling around in the floor.  But I was game.  Thank goodness, a chance trip to Costco solved my problems and I bought two Kathy Ireland bookcases fully intact.  Getting them home and getting them in the house and out of their giant boxes is another story altogether…

I didn’t want to install the bookcases in a room with tired old paint on the walls so I decided to paint.  That presents another problem of picking out a color, but eventually went with Sherwin Williams’ ‘Gracious Rose.’  I like the idea of living in a room that color…..a lot.  It’s purty and the bookcases look good against it.  Or against the one wall that I have painted.  I have three more walls and trim to go. 

About painting…  Let’s not even begin talking about the problems that painting entails.  I don’t want to  begin adding up how many trips I’ve made to the paint store and the big box home improvement store.  And the receipts for stuff that I needed…and still need to finish the job.  About not washing the paint out of the paint tray.  About a paint roller that’s frozen solid in the freezer.  About the cheap brushes that I found in the garage.  About the spackle that wasn’t adhering.  About Kilz.  About, about, about; well, you get the idea. 

But I haven’t put anything in the cases yet because there’s more to bookcase than just unpacking those babies and filling them up with books.  I have to shim them and level them and attach them to the wall so they don’t topple over.  Plus the ex says they’re too pretty to mess up with books and shit and maybe I should just set pretty little doodads on them.  Huh?  I don’t think so. 

But back to the problem.  Now the carpet is looking seriously ratty.  I’m thinking of looking at hardwood flooring.  Maybe a filing cabinet to match my bookcases.  They have a nice big matching desk too.  And a hutch!  Will it never end?  Help meeeeeeeee…

Lily hams it up for the camera

Just try taking one picture of your cat.  The camera comes and out the ham in the cat comes out!  Ham and cheesy, anyone?  

I love cats.  I love when she deigns to sleep with me and cuddle close beside me.  I have been away from her for over a month and will be seeing her soon.  She’ll not greet me at the door, but will come around in her own time and act bored and ho hum as though she’s saying, “oh there you are.”  But I know where she’ll be sleeping that night . 

What an auction…

I went to my first auction last week. It won’t be the last. The time of year might change, but I’m hooked. I found an auction notice in the Sun News which led me to www.southernsistersauction.com which led me to pictures.  And there they were. White linens. I’m a sucker for dingy, musty, dirty, old, wilted, and faded linens. And they called to me.  And I went. And I bought them. And much more. Stuff. That I don’t need, but couldn’t live without. For me to venture out on a hot Suth’un morning in long sleeves and black jeans, those who know me would have to agree that I was on a quest. Or temporarily insane. Or both; doesn’t matter. I was the only person at North Myrtle Beach Flea Market in long sleeves and I got a variety of sideways looks. I took my gardening hat and pulled it down over my previously slathered-with-SPF45-sunblock face and startled myself more than once when I happened to see my reflection in a mirror. It wasn’t a pretty sight, but then neither were the crowd. I’m sure I fit right in…except for my preppy-striped hot pink and lime green Foxcroft shirt which remained remarkably wrinkle-free and perky in the high humidity, my black jeans (what was I thinking?), and my sparkling clean, white sneakers. I know I had to be hard to pick out among the shorts, flip flops, cut-off jeans, halter tops, tee shirts, baseball caps, and cigarette butts.  Thankfully there was shade and the occasional ocean breeze; that and two bottles of water kept me a little more comfortable than I would have been in hell.

My bank account was considerably drained when I left, but I was happy with my treasures. However, I’m still kicking myself for not bidding on the yellow Wedgewood jasperware.  It went for a pittance.  Darn it.

This is what started it all.  Fine Irish linen and damask napkins; lots of napkins.  Irish linen and drawn work tea-sized table cloths.  One huge linen table cloth that I haven’t unfolded.  A few tea towels.  Some embroidery.  The fun begins when I start cleaning all of it.

What’s cooler than old buttons in old canning jars?  The old-style lids were corroded and the buttons had been in them a long time.  Lots of mother-of-pearl buttons, which I love.  My dilemma is:  do I leave them as they are or do I open the jars?

 For lack of anything better, I’m calling this a cachepot and stand.  Both pieces are marked ‘Maryleigh Pottery Handcrafted In England.’  Each piece is in excellent condition and covered with a lovely crackle and all the gold trim is bright and unworn.  It was pretty and had roses on it, so I had to have it.

 

This is a trio of American Rose Society 6.5 inch mini plates featuring the miniature roses Winsome, Centerpiece, and Jennifer.  How appropriate, huh?  Each has its original box, but there’s nothing to indicate how old they are.  Again, roses; I had to have them.  And since I also collect plates, how could I pass them up?

Not pictured is a set of six fantastically heavy white Dansk flat rimmed bowls.  Just the perfect size for pasta or chicken and dumplings, which by the way, is what I christened them with.

Pretty nifty treasures, don’t you think?