Missing Music Stores

 You all know that I love music.  All kinds of music.  I mostly listen to things that were recorded decades ago, shocking I know, but I do enjoy some contemporary music as well.  To me, good music is good music, and a good artist is timeless.  I almost always have music playing in the background when I'm at home whether it be a record or a cd or the radio.  I like having it a part of my daily life.

Anyway, the other night I sat in bed and put a cd in my cd walkman.  Yes, I have one of those thanks to a Christmas gift from Michael and I still use it.  I was listening to Barbra Streisand's Just For the Record Highlights cd.  It has some wonderful tracks on it and maybe one day I'll find the full album at a good price.  I just stayed in bed and listened to the cd without any distractions.  It's been a long time since I have done that.

It got me thinking about music stores and how I miss them.  I'm not even sure if there are any around anymore because everything is online these days. Now, I'm not talking about Ed McKay's where I can find plenty of used cds and records.  I mean an actual new music store.  Growing up, there was one in the Monroe Mall.  I can't remember than name of it to save my life, but I spent many hours in there looking through all of the music.  And you didn't even have to buy anything.  It really was a good way to kill time at the mall. 

It also made me think of how I miss the old cd packaging.  Yes, it was really completely useless and a waste of cardboard, but I always found it much easier to sort through the cds when they were in those long boxes.  They were a bitch to get into though LOL Sometimes the artwork on the cover box was totally different than the album covers and that was fun. I remember going to Cocoanuts in Raleigh to buy cds when we would visit the city.  I always enjoyed that.

While I am grateful for the used music stores in my area and I do frequent them as much as I can, I miss going to the new music stores. It's a piece of the past that kids today will never have the privilege of experiencing.  And that makes me sorry for them. While there is a convenience to streaming music, it's just not the same as waiting for an artist's new album to come out and scrambling to get to the store to buy it before it was sold out.  Ah, good times. 

My next class

 I only have two classes left to take for my degree.  One will be this coming fall and the other one will be next summer.  The one next summer will be my capstone project.  I just did not have it in me to get everything together that I needed to get it done this summer so it will be next year.  And I am completely ok with that.  The capstone project is really the only hands-on experience that I will get in this degree program, and I do not want to waste that opportunity.  

So, I am looking at taking my other class this fall.  The one that I am interested in is a class on Elder Law.  I actually started the class my first semester, but it was too much for me. The class itself was not too much but it was my first semester in school, and I was getting used to the online class format.  I was also taking a required course in theory.  That was a very tough class, and it was just too much for my brain to handle at the time. I made the decision to drop the elder law course in hopes that I would be able to take it again.  And now, the opportunity has presented itself and I look forward to it!

I have always been interested in estate law, which is part of elder law. But I know there is so much more to it than that and I am excited to learn. In senior living, we do keep a handful of legal documents on file for our residents in independent living.  I know what they are for, but I am hoping this class will better teach me as to how exactly they are used.  I know some things but here's a lot more out there for me to learn.  It's been a while since I have been excited about a class, so this is going to be great for me!  And then only one thing left.  Yippee!!!!  I see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Let's just hope I get into the class before it fills up LOL

Checking another item off of my antiques bucket list

 

Several years ago, I wrote a blog entry listing 10 antiques I wanted to own someday.  With the purchase of my soup tureen, I can now check one more item off of my list.  Only seven items left to go LOL I just fell in love with this piece.  I saw it the weekend before last when Travis and I went to Twin Deer Antiques Mall in High Point.  I kept coming back to it and then ultimately decided not to buy it.  I was checking the piece out and felt what I thought was a chip in the lid.  So, I left it behind. 

But all week I could not get it out of my head.  I kept thinking about it.  I looked it up on Ebay when I just searched for "vintage yellow soup tureen".  This actually popped up along with a lot of other tureens.  When I saw it was California pottery, I added that to my search as well.  The ones just like this that showed in the results were often incomplete.  Usually, it was the underplate that was missing.  I did find it in several different colors:  white, green, orange, teal.  I loved the shape of it.  Interestingly, another style of tureen that came up in the results was the one that Grandmother had that started my desire to have one.  So that was an unexpected connection for me. Several years ago, I would have bought the one that was just like hers in order to recreate that memory of hers sitting on the dining room table.  But my tastes have evolved some and I decided that having a tureen was enough of a similarity and I should go with what I loved.  Hence, this beautiful yellow soup tureen.

So, now it's time to start searching for the next item to check off of my antiques bucket list.  I'm interested to see what presents itself to me at the right time...just like the tureen did.

That is all. 

Working Outside

 It takes a lot to run a household by oneself.  It takes a lot of energy and a lot of planning.  I will admit that I have not quite gotten there yet LOL.  And I say that because one of the areas that I realized this weekend I am lacking in is outside the house.  I'm pretty good at doing the interior chores and keeping up with domestic duties.  Even then there are areas inside I need to do better with.  But, I rarely do anything out in the yard or on the patio or on the porch.

I just don't think about it that often.  Michael comes and mows the grass every other week or so.  I know he loves to work outside, so he offered, and I am more than happy to let him do it. But I really need to get out and do some yard work.  There are areas that need to be cleaned up that are looking pretty bad.  And I don't want my house to look like that.  It's a matter of planning on my end.  My patio is not a very usable space right now and I'd like to be able to sit out here sometime and enjoy it.

When you have to do it all by yourself, it's very easy to get behind.  Hell, I'm behind without even really starting outside yet.  I have a lot of catching up to do.  Mainly, I want to do it for myself and show myself that I have the abilities to take care of things as needed.  I have proved it in other areas of my life and now it's time to get outdoors and prove it to myself.

We shall see. 

Mother's Day

 

Today is Mother's Day.  It's the official day each year that we celebrate the wonderful women who are our mothers. Not that we don't celebrate them all year long, but it is nice to have a day of worldwide recognition. It is a day to remember not only the women who gave us life, but all of the other mother figures we have had in our lives.  I have been blessed to have many in my life.  I have had many wonderful people who have taken on a maternal role with me at one time or another.  While no one will ever replace Mary B. in my heart, it's been a comfort to have the support and love of so many other women in my life.

I am part of a very special group of people.  We all had or have the best mom in the world.  The older I become the more I realize how important and unique this is.  Lots of people out there were not fortunate to have the greatest mom and those of us who experienced the unconditional love of a mother are truly blessed.  I often talk about growing up on Brookgreen Drive and what a group of Mother's we had as kids.  Mary B., Kay Goodson, Ann Arnold, Kay Parker, Judy Davis, Gail Derrick. This was an extraordinary group of women that set amazing examples for all of us.  We may not have known it at the time, but we can look back and see the wisdom in their hearts. Throughout my life there have been many other amazing mothers that I have encountered, too many to name.  And now many of my friends are mothers.  That just blows my mind.  But I watch them in their journeys of motherhood and see the love and care they exude, and I know how comforting that is to all that receive it. 

Today is the 29th Mother's Day I have spent without Mom. While that number seems large, it feels just like yesterday that she was here with us.  And I am truly thankful for the 20 Mother's Days I did get to spend with her.  While I would give anything for one more day, I would not trade the ones I had with her for anything in the world.  I have had no truer inspiration in my life, and I carry her in my heart every day. 

Happy Mother's Day to all!

One Drawer at a Time - Working on my bathroom shelves

 

Today I have been working on and off in my bathroom going through the shelves and cabinets.  It really is amazing how much stuff accumulates in there.  Things that I buy thinking I will need it or even use it and it normally ends up sitting there by itself until its expiration date.  I feel bad that not only have I wasted money on these things, but I wasted something that someone else might have actually used or needed.  So far I have filled up about half of the kitchen trash can with outdated things from my bathroom.

On the plus side, the shelves are beginning to look better, and I now have room to be better at organizing them.  They actually were not that badly organized before but now there is more room to really see what's there LOL Another thing that this streamlining of the bathroom is going to help me with is not wasting more money on products.  I know we all say that kind of thing and never really do it.  I don't know if I will really do it or not but at least I have said it LOL  But I will hopefully really consider what I need before putting it in my cart. 

Working my way through the house one drawer at a time has been a great experience for me.  And while other people will not be able to look and see the changes, I definitely know that they are there and it makes me feel a lot better!  

Daily Challenge Update

 Even though it has only been a few days since I established my challenge for May, I can already tell a difference in the way the house looks day to day and the way I feel about that.  Like I mentioned in my initial post, a clean looking kitchen in the morning is a beautiful thing.  Not that it's spotless by any means, but it is definitely an improvement. Now each night after dinner I make sure that the dirty dishes are either in the dishwasher or washed by hand. Sometimes I have let a few dishes soak overnight in the sink because they really need it and that's fine by me. It's just nice to get up and make my coffee without looking at all of that clutter spread across the counters!

I have also started putting away my work things when I come each day from work. I used to just fling everything on the dining room table and leave it there til the next morning.  While it was not really in the way, it made the table look pretty messy.  And you all know how much I love how my dining room table looks!  So, that has been a plus.  And it's good for me, when I get home, to make sure I put my work stuff away before doing anything else once I'm home.  It's a good routine for me. So, so far so good on the challenge front.  Let's hope I can keep it up!  That is all. 

They Don't Let You in the Opera - Kelli O'Hara

 I was listening to Kelli O'Hara's cd "Always" the other day.  It's a wonderful cd full of beautiful tracks that show off her voice.  There are many Broadway standards like "I Could Have Danced All Night" and "The Party's Over" and then there was this.  "They Don't Let You in the Opera" is a hoot and a half and it really shows off both Ms. O'Hara's vocal abilities and her comic timing.  Enjoy!

I spend too much time on the internet

 

I spend too much time on the internet.  While I do enjoy it, it is definitely something that I need to cut down on.  I do not feel badly about the amount of time I am on there, but I want to go in a different direction with my life right now.  When class was in session, going online was my social interaction.  And it filled a gap that I needed at the moment.  Now that class is over, I need to change the vehicle of my social interactions into something real. I am not saying that social interaction online is a bad thing by any means, it is simply that for a time it was my only form of social interaction and I want something more concrete in life.

It is not as if I am going to start going out every night.  I do not have the time, money or energy for that anymore.  But I would like to make some meaningful relationships appear in my life and give me something to do and look forward to.  I can use the social interactions that I have developed online and make them into something real.  I just do not want to rely solely on the internet for my socialization. Last night, as I was chatting online with people, I realized that I was not enjoying myself.  I did not get depressed about it, but I did get disillusioned over it.  I did not like how that felt. It definitely could have gotten me depressed but I did bring myself out of that before it started really.  Whew.

While I have no clear plan on how to make this kind of socializing happen, it is time for me to start working on a plan.  Today I will begin to cut back on my internet time.  Even then, I will have some more time for things that I enjoy even if it is by myself.  Who knows how this will go.  But it's a start anyhow! That is all. 

Going outside to play

 With the return of spring comes the return of memories. The other day when I got home from work, I got out of my car and the warm breeze hit me like a ton of bricks.  I do not mean hot air, but that warm spring breeze that we've been waiting for all winter.  The one that is perfumed with honeysuckle. The one that wanted to make us go inside as fast as we could and change out of our school clothes and get back outside to play.  I often wonder, with so many children wrapped up in their devices, do they even think about going outside?  Is there a difference in school clothes and play clothes anymore?  Oh, what they are missing!

I remember the fun it was to play after school.  We would come home, grab a snack and get together to do something.  Riding a bike, playing a game, roller skating. It was just important to get together and not think about the homework that we had to do.  Yes, there were times when I stayed in to watch tv.  We all did.  But it's those times of excitement of going down to explore the creek together or playing tennis in the Griffin's private tennis court that sat behind the Derrick's house. We would often take rocks and draw art in the street.  By the way, we lived on a dead-end street so that was pretty safe for us. 

And we played until dinner.  That was the cue. Listening for our names to be called to come home for supper.  Play time was over.  And if we didn't respond, there was always the dreaded full name call using our middle names that meant we were late and would get in trouble if we did not get home right away. That always did the trick.  And another day of play came to an end.  

I miss the excitement of coming home and going outside to play.  I miss having that little group of constant people to do things with.  It's one of the parts of childhood I miss the most.  Yes, we were kids and definitely acted like kids.  We weren't always nice to each other, but it always passed and was forgotten.  And we had each other's backs when times were tough.  It was a good place to grow up and I am thankful for it. Maybe today when I get home from work, I will change my clothes and go outside and play.  You never know!

Daily Challenge for May

 Now that the semester is over, I can go back to focusing on some things to work on around here.  As I have talked about before, I am wanting to incorporate some different things into my everyday life.  I have been moderately successful at this so far but I know that I can do better.  So, it's time to set myself another challenge for May.

This one is based on a phrase I have talked about before: don't put it down, put it away.  I am notorious, as I believe we all are, in just setting something down and thinking that I'll get to it later. Guess what?  It really doesn't work that way LOL  I end up with piles of stuff all over the house.  Then I get overwhelmed when I try to do something about it because it's just too much. Nothing gets accomplished that way. 

I need to take a moment before I just set something down on a random surface.  I need to think about where it actually needs to go. If I do it now, that will save time later.  I won't feel so stuck in piles everywhere. I've already started this in the kitchen with dirty dishes and I can tell a difference. It's so nice to wake up and go to make my coffee in a kitchen that is relatively clean because I took the time to put things away.  I want that feeling all over the house!

I can do this!  Now, time to go find something and put it away.  That is all. 

I did learn stuff after all

 In the end, I did learn something from my "Health and Aging" class.  Yes, it was very frustrating.  I will go several years now before I watch Up again any time soon.  But the actual learning materials of the class were very good.  I just hated the format.  It grew tiresome and I was honestly writing the same paper every week.  Oh well. When we did our strategic plan for Carl, our group project, you know that was frustrating as well.  Sometimes group projects can be like that, but we did work through it and got an A on it, so I will let that go. The good part about the project, even though I had never done an assessment or strategic plan before, is that I knew what I was talking about.  The material we had been covering was there in my brain and I was able to call on it and use when I needed to.  There's something to be said for that. Here's the graphic I created for our plan:

Now, it's time to relax for a while and look to the future, both my future classes and my actual future.  I can do that! 

Desserts I want to make

The other day at work while I was on my lunch break, I watched a Youtube video on vintage desserts that you rarely see anymore.  Several of them really caught my interest and I started a list.  Go figure, another list LOL But that got me to thinking about desserts that are on my cooking bucket list. Some of these are very basic desserts that are still popular today, I just have never made them.  Some are inspired by recipes in cookbooks I have.  Of course, there are many more out there but here are 10 of them:

 1. Chiffon Cake

Chiffon cake is a light cake that is made with vegetable oil instead of traditional butter or other heavy fats

2. Harvey Wallbanger Cake

A delightful yellow cake flavored with oranges and Galliano Liquer

3. Grasshopper Pie

A creamy no-bake pie mixing chocolate, mint and whipping cream

4. German Chocolate Cake

A layered chocolate cake filled and topped with coconut-pecan frosting

5. Lady Baltimore Cake

A white layer cake with fluffy frosting and fruit and nut filling

6. Apple Pie

A double crusted pie filled with apples, often served with whipped cream or ice cream

7. Pecan Pie

A pie filled with pecans, eggs, sugar and butter.  What could be better?

8. Tiramisu

A layered Italian dessert of lady fingers dipped in coffee and a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar and mascarpone and dusted with cocoa

9. Lemon Meringue Pie

A pie filled with lemon curd filling and topped with meringue

10. Black Forest Cake

A chocolate and cream cake with a rich cherry filling

We shall see how many of these I can check off of my bucket list this year.  Of course, I can only make them when I have people to share them with!  Any takers?

A weekend with no expectations

 It feels so different having a weekend with no expectations.  It definitely feels good, just different.  This is the first time in a long time that I don't have homework.  Specifically, that I don't have a paper to write. Maybe I should just pick a topic and write a paper for old time's sake?  LOL  NO, that's not going to happen. I am going to thoroughly enjoy this respite and freedom from the old college try!

While I do have things I need to get done, I am in no rush to get them done.  It's not that I am unmotivated, it's simply that I do not have a required time frame in which to get them done this weekend for the first time. That is so glorious.  And, knowing myself, I will probably get more done than I expected simply because of that. When there's no pressure, there's more productivity.  At least in my world.

I will make some time for fun things this weekend.  Of course, fun to me may not be what others consider fun but that is fine because this isn't about other people.  It's about me.  And that's not selfish, that's self-care. Hopefully I will see a few people.  Might even venture out of the house for a non-errand excursion. Who knows.  The possibilities are endless.  It's a nice place to be in for the first time in months.  I'm very proud of the hard work I put into class and my efforts with school.  But now it is time to get back to me for a while and I am totally fine with that.  

Now I am going to finish up my coffee and get started on my weekend list.  Not because I have to but because I want to.  There's a major difference and I am relishing that!  See you on the other side!

That is all. 

It's time to mop the kitchen!

 I really need to mop my kitchen floor this weekend. And the odd thing is that I am looking forward to it.  It's been way too long.  And by way too long I mean long enough that I'm not going to tell you.  While I do keep it swept as best as I can, I just have not had the motivation to get the old mop bucket out and clean the floor.  Between work and school, the last thing I wanted to do was move everything out of the kitchen, wait a few hours for the floor to dry then move everything back.  I know, it's an excuse.  Not a good one but there you go.

I bought a new mop set last year.  I really do like it.  You know when you're an adult when buying a new mop is a highlight in life. When Michael lived here we had a Swiffer but we felt that would serve him better in his new space.  So, I went for the more traditional, old fashioned kind of mop.  I guess it's that vintage guy in me that likes that style.  It may be a little more work than the new steam kinds you see today, but I have much more of a sense of accomplishment once I'm done.

So, my plan is sometime this weekend to block a few hours off and mop my kitchen.  Maybe I can relax with a movie in between dismantling and resetting the kitchen. Or maybe find something to do in the front of the house or even outside.  Who knows.  Welcome to the fun of adulthood!

Time to start Christmas shopping

 Now that Christmas is less than 8 months away, not that I'm counting down the days, it's time for me to start looking at my Christmas list.  And not the list for me but for other people.  As you know I love giving gifts. I love to find the perfect gift for someone else.  And by the perfect gift, I simply mean one that has had some thought put into it.  I am always filing little details away when people mention things that they like, or they share memories of things that meant something to them.  It gives me a good idea of where to start. That often leads to other ideas and so forth. 

Starting this early gives me plenty of time to find fun gifts.  I didn't buy many gifts last year because my life had changed so much.  My friends that get together each Christmas decided to forego it last year and just get together and have a good time, which we did.  And other than family, I didn't really buy much for anyone.  And that is ok.  It is where I was last year.  But this year I'm ready for more.  I am going to edit my list and see who needs to be added. The thing about gifts, at least for me, is that they don't have to be extravagant or ridiculously expensive. It truly is the thought.  Whenever I'm given a gift or a card, it makes me feel good because someone was thinking of me.  Someone took the time to make sure I was remembered and that's important.  That is the true gift.

Sometime over the next week I will organize my list and start my shopping.  By the way, spreading out your shopping is much easier on the budget!  And I will rediscover the joy of gift giving at Christmas.  It's as much about the joy it brings me as it is about the joy it hopefully brings others.

That is all. 

The Lusty Month of May

 I thought I would start the month with a song about May.  I turned to one of my favorite theater scores of all time, Camelot, and the amazing original cast performance by the legendary Julie Andrews.  I know that the show suffered from book problems, but what a cast.  Sadly, I have never seen it live on stage.  I've seen the movie, which is beautifully filmed but I find it boring LOL  If I could go back in time and see any original cast, this would be right up there on the list.  Enjoy!