Playing House

 I went through a period of my life when I was ashamed of the child that I was.  I hate that.  I hate that I felt that way, but it is what it is. I have worked through that and now really happily remember that child.  If you did not know me back in those days, I was a big girl.  Plain and simple.  Now, having said that, I never wanted to be a woman and I do not want to be a woman.  I was simply a very effeminate child and was drawn to things that were stereotypically for girls.  That is all. 

The reason that I am bringing this up today is because there is a part of me that is revisiting some of those childhood things that I did.  It was a time when I was very free and I was completely authentic to myself.  I thank God every day that I grew up in a time before social media.  I really doubt I would be here today if it had existed back then.  But I digress. One of the things that I loved to do was to play house. This was something that I did by myself.  It was mostly pre-kindergarten days.  Mom stayed at home in those days and while we did things together, a lot of time was also spent by myself, and I would find fun ways to occupy my time. 

I would pretend that I had a big house and all of these rooms and all of these things.  I would take care of the house.  Sweep the floors, wash the dishes, vacuum the rugs, etc. And I loved it. Mom would eventually use that to her advantage to get me to help with things around the house.  To me, it was a game.  It was something fun.  And now, as an adult, I am learning to love playing house again.  If you follow me on Facebook, you will now that I love to cook and set my table.  People have asked me why I do that if it's only for myself.  And I tell them that this is what I enjoy.  This makes me happy.  As much as I love to use the heirlooms that have been passed down to me and connecting with that history, doing this also puts me in touch with my inner child.  That child that was, in his own way, very fearless.  That brings such a sense of peace and balance to my life.

Playing house as an adult makes me happy.  Even though I don't have a partner or children, I do have family and friends.  And getting in touch with my inner child through the things I do in my house is giving me the confidence to include my family and friends in my life more. That is all. 

One Moment in Time

 Last night while I was going down my YouTube music rabbit hole, this was one of the songs that played.  Whitney Houston put out so many great songs that I often forget about this one.  It's very inspirational and wanted to start my week out with it.  Enjoy!

My Christmas covered vegetable dish

 In my collecting journey, I find myself automatically drawn to certain kinds of pieces.  I love a nice cream and sugar set though no one uses them anymore really.  I also love that pieces that are on stands/pedestals like cake stands and compotes.  One of the other things that I am drawn to is covered dishes.  Like so many things I am passionate about collecting, this began with the house at Wingate.  My Great Grandmother Bivens had a covered dish that I fell in love with.  It went to my Aunt Billie and eventually was passed down to me, and I love to use it.  Anyway, I am always on the lookout for a new covered dish. 

In combination with the covered dish, I am always looking for vintage Christmas pieces for my table.  I lucked out on this one.  This one I found on eBay. I think that I just snuck under the radar with this one because no one else bid on it.  And going by all of the vintage Christmas groups that I belong to, I was totally surprised by that.  Still, luck was on my side, and I won the auction at a great price.

This is an English piece.  I forget the maker, but it is stamped on the bottom.  It's packed away right now in a box of Christmas dishes or otherwise I would find the name for you.  It's decorated with holly and dates from the turn of the 19th century.  I absolutely love it and use it every Christmas.  Like most of my items, I actually do use this on my Christmas table as a serving dish.  It still holds up well and I love how it looks.  

My collection is ever growing, and I probably have around 12 covered vegetable dishes so far. All different styles...Victorian, MCM, aluminum hammer ware, etc. and I am sure that this will keep growing as I can usually find very interesting pieces at cheap prices.  Still, this is my Christmas covered vegetable dish and I love it.  Looking forward to using it again in 9 months!

Quote of the Week

 As someone who loves being a doer and a caregiver, this speaks volumes to me

Things To Do for Fun 2026

 

Everyone has a different idea of what is fun.  That makes sense because what may be considered fun to one person may not necessarily be fun to another.  I have been making the effort this year to do more things that are fun to me.  It might be boring as hell to you, but it's fun to me.  Since I last updated you on this, I have been to the theatre, finished a book, eaten locally, tried a new recipe, visited my hometown and spent time with some wonderful people. 

Last month, Stephanie and I went to see UNCG's production of Frankenstein.  That was just a fun evening.  We started with dinner at Don Japanese on Tate Street with Steph's ex-husband, their son and several others.  If you live in Greensboro and haven't been to Don Japanese yet, I highly recommend it.  Stephanie and I had been there before when we went to see Side Show and it did not disappoint.  The company and conversation at dinner was delightful.  Then we met up with a few more people and almost filled up a row of seats at the show.  The show itself was interesting.  Jim Wren directed the show.  Jim was one of my acting teachers way back when and I was in his productions of The Coconuts and As You Like It. This show definitely had Jim's stamp on it.  It was edgy but in a very intellectual way and not just for the sake of being edgy.  However, the script was very imbalanced.  Obviously, the Creature was the main focus but almost every other character was left undeveloped, and I don't feel like some of the actors were up to that challenge. But it's educational theatre so that is to be expected.  The young man that played the Creature was phenomenal.  I have never in my life seen a performance like that. He was completely mesmerizing and will definitely make a name for himself one day. 

I finished reading Tim Curry's autobiography, Vagabond.  If you are a fan of his work, then this is a great book to read.  It focuses mainly on his career, and he gives great insight into his process.  I have tried several new recipes this year and one that I particularly enjoyed was a tater tot casserole.  It's basically like your average hashbrown casserole only with tater tots.  Still, very filling.  Not the healthiest thing I've ever eaten but delicious none the less. 

On Valentine's Day, I took a day trip back home to Monroe.  It was the anniversary of Mom's passing, the 30th anniversary, and I just felt like visiting the cemetery.  I met up with Larry and Brenda Robinson for breakfast at a place called The Village Grille.  The food was absolutely wonderful and if you're in that area and are looking for a good breakfast, go there.  The staff was super nice and did not pressure us to leave even though they were super crowded.  We'd finished our breakfast but spent a long time visiting and catching up. It was great to see them and I hope to see them again soon.  When Mom died, we had visitation at our house.  Mom's philosophy was that she didn't live in the funeral home and she didn't want people to come see us there.  We listened to her wishes.  Anyway, Larry was one of the first people I remember seeing that day at the house and so it was very appropriate to spend quality time with he and Brenda while I was in town to see Mom.  It was a good day.

These are the kinds of things I do for fun and I am happy to be getting more of that in these days.  I'm not getting any younger so grab the brass ring while I can!

Thought of the day

 I have mentioned on here before about taking time away from social media from time to time. Every few days, I simply do not go there.  I avoid it on the computer at home, the computer at work and my phone.  I find it very refreshing to not get myself mired down in staring at the screen for hours on end.  And the older I get, which is happening every day, I am discovering that I do not need to explain my actions or defend them simply because I choose to do this.  It is my life and I can do what I want without question.  Part of this is because I am old fashioned and I am getting better at finding other ways to occupy my time. 

However, even though I do not feel the need to explain myself, it does get frustrating because many people just do not understand how I can or why I would want to walk away from that world from time to time.  The people that actually know me have a much better grasp on it but people who only know me through social media don't always understand. Taking a break every few days has also lessened my time on social media on days when I do get on those websites.  I spend my entire day at work sitting in front of a computer answering a phone.  The last thing I want to do when I get home is spend hours sitting in front of my computer and looking at my phone.  That is not to say I do not do that, but I definitely do it less than I used to.  I think I am finally waking up from the pandemic quarentine in that sense.

I rarely answer messages on Facebook.  People often get frustrated about that, but I do not apologize for that. I actually get frustrated with it because it shows me that whoever is continually messaging me and getting more passive/aggressive about my lack of response have clearly not even looked at my profile where it states my lack of desire to get right back to you.  Ah, well.  In the end I find it comical.  I also refuse to answer messages that ask questions that are clearly answered on my profile page.  When someone's first question is "Where do you live?" or "Are you single?", those questions go unanswered.  You're either a bot or lazy.  Or both. 

Even though I have done a little explaining here, it's a good feeling to not feel that need to do that anymore.  Take me or leave me, that's your choice.  But if you take me, just know what all comes with the package.  That is all. 

Cristofori's Dream - David Lanz

 Wanted to start out my morning with a beautiful piano piece by David Lanz.  This was always one of my favorite pieces to play.  Maybe one day I'll pick it back up!