One Drawer at a Time - Den Update

 I am about halfway around the den at this point in my process. This room is different than the kitchen and laundry room because there really aren't many pieces of furniture that are storage.  There's a chest of drawers, a record cabinet/shelf and a desk.  Otherwise, things are just place around the room. But I'm still going through everything. Oh, it's also where I put boxes to fill up for donation or the garage etc. Still, I have enjoyed it and it always makes me feel better. 

I have not gotten rid of many things because, as I said, there are not a whole lot of drawers in the room. But I have gotten things better organized.  The chest of drawers was fun to go through.  There's a drawer with extra candles for whatever use.  I did actually have to throw a few of those away.  There were decks of cards, lots of Mom's jewelry and jewelry from other family members and lots of vintage linens.  It was fun to go through and see what could be saved and what could not. Some of the linens were well passed being remotely usable so they had to go.

Not my closet, by the way. Just an example LOL

Next up in the room is the closet.  Not looking forward to that one but it must be done.  It will be the first closet I've done in this process.  I hope that this does not overwhelm me and make me want to give up.  But it could be fun because God only knows what is in there! It will be a challenge, but I will rise to the occasion and power through it.  However, if you don't hear from me in a few weeks, send a search party!

That is all. 

Favorite Bette Davis Films

The other week I watched Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte.  It's one of my favorite films.  I am a big fan of Bette Davis and have several of her films in my collection. Here are my favorites of hers, in no particular order. If you haven't seen any of them, check them out! Descriptions are from IMDb.com

1. Now, Voyager

A frumpy spinster blossoms under therapy and becomes an elegant, independent woman.

2. Death on the Nile

As Hercule Poirot enjoys a luxurious cruise down the Nile, a newlywed heiress is found murdered on board. Can Poirot identify the killer before the ship reaches the end of its journey?

3. Whatever Happened To Baby Jane

A former child star torments her paraplegic sister in their decaying Hollywood mansion.

4. The Little Foxes

The ruthless, moneyed Hubbard clan lives in, and poisons, their part of the Deep South at the turn of the twentieth century.

5. Pocketful of Miracles

A New York gangster and his girlfriend attempt to turn street beggar Apple Annie into a society lady when the peddler learns her daughter is marrying royalty.

6. The Whales of August

Two aged sisters reflect on life and the past during a late summer day in Maine.

7. Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte

An aging, reclusive Southern belle plagued by a horrifying family secret descends into madness after the arrival of a lost relative.

8. All About Eve

A seemingly timid but secretly ruthless ingénue insinuates herself into the lives of an aging Broadway star and her circle of theater friends.

9. Burnt Offerings

A family moves into a large old mansion in the countryside which seems to have a mysterious and sinister power over its new residents.

10. The Man Who Came To Dinner

An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in with a Midwestern family.

Moon River - Henry Mancini

 I was listening to some Henry Mancini earlier this week. I always love his music and Moon River is one of my favorites of his compositions. There's something very comforting about his music.  It's like talking to an old friend.  It brings up good memories of movies, cartoons, sitcoms that he contributed to. It's very soothing and I always feel better.  And it's just plain good music.  Enjoy!

Quote of the week

 Sometimes Erma Bombeck hits the nail on the head :)  A good philosophy to carry with me throughout the day! 

Only a few weeks of this semester left

 There are only a few weeks of the semester left and I feel like counting down the days until it is over.  This semester has been hard on me for some reason.  I think it's a combination of working full time, going to class and trying to run a household by myself.  It's just getting to me and raising my stress levels. I just need some time to destress and refocus my energies.  Energy?  What's that?  LOL

The class I'm in right now, in particular, keeps making me anxious and depressed. Not constantly, but those feelings are popping up a lot more in the last few weeks than I've had in the last year.  Not only am I frustrated that this class is based around an animated movie which makes me feel like we're being babysat (by the way, Up really is a good film. I'm just being difficult), I am so tired of all of these personal reflection questions we have to respond to and write one-page papers on.  I'm not in class right now to think about my personal life. Yes, I know that I should but I'm so tired of it.

It is weighing me down right now.  It is causing me to lose focus and drive. I know that there are things in my life that I need to work on but I am so tired of constantly being reminded of it.  Mainly it's because there is not time for me to improve on anything right now.  Sorry, I'm either working or in class or trying to keep my home from not looking like Miss Havisham's. And it's really affecting me. That is one of the reasons I am taking the summer off.  I have no business trying to help others improve the quality of their lives when I'm being reminded constantly how poor quality my own is.  And I'm going to class to be made to feel this way?!  It's very frustrating.

I know it will get better.  It's just in the meantime that it sucks.

That is all. 

Sunday Dinners

 Growing up, we didn't have Sunday dinners. We had Sunday lunches. They were always around 1:00 or 1:30 p.m. because we did, after all, have to get home from church first and then start cooking.  The lunches were either at Grandmother's or our house. Sometimes we would have company over for Sunday lunch and sometimes it was only us.  Either way, it was a good time. The food was always good, or at least that's how I remember it. We ate Chicken Supreme (also called 3 hour chicken) more times than I can shake a stick at.  It's actually a pretty good recipe and I've made it a few times in my adult life.  By the way, you don't have to cook it 3 hours unless you like your chicken really dry LOL Bill, however, can't even stomach it anymore.  His wife found the recipe and wanted to make it and Bill put his foot down about that one. 

And if someone in the family had a birthday soon, then Sunday lunch often was when it was celebrated. Sometimes it was on Saturday night but sometimes it was at Sunday lunch. Then there are the special holidays that are celebrated on Sunday:  Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day. Those were special times around the dinner table. I had a few friends over this past Sunday for our annual Easter dinner.  Well, we ate at 3:00 so it really wasn't lunch or dinner.  More like our Easter meal!  But it was so nice to have people around the table. We had good food and good conversation.  And everyone contributed to the meal, which is good on a budget!

We all know that I love to set a table and use my dishes.  That is one of the reasons that I love to host. I take such joy in my glassware, china, silver, etc. that I love to share with everyone.  I love using it.  After all, I need justification for buying it LOL But it's truly that sense of friendship and family around the table that mean the most. And it made me decide that I want to do more of these kinds of things.  I can't afford to do it every week, but I might could swing it every other week LOL Just to have people in the home and having a good time together and sharing a meal. 

I talk a lot about how I love my antiques. It's because of where they came from.  My family pieces are important because of the family, not necessarily the piece itself. It's that feeling of warmth and comfort that comes with the memories of those good times that makes me really love using these things.  I want my house to be a place of comfort for people.  I want friends to want to come and just visit and eat together. It's important to me.  And, I do love to cook as you well know, so it's a win/win situation! But what is on the table is not as important as who's around it.

That is all.

My Christmas Album Collection

 I love Christmas music.  I always have. Growing up, one of my favorite parts of Christmas was getting to listen to our Christmas records. We were never without a record player in our house and it got used at Christmas more than any other time of the year. Later on, when cassettes and cds started to grow in popularity, one of the things Mom and I loved doing was getting Hallmark's Christmas album.  They put out some good ones over the years.  I still have some of those cassettes somewhere.

Christmas music is my happy music and I listen to it all year long. I don't subject anyone else to it because not everyone is into it like I am.  Also, it's something that I cherish and it's very personal to me.  Whenever I am not in a good mood or depressed or stressed out I will put on a Christmas record and just relax.  I also like to listen them while I'm cleaning and doing housework. I have all of the Christmas albums that Mom collected over the years and love every one of them.

Several years ago when Michael got me my first record player that I'd had in like 25 years, I started searching for Christmas records.  Our local used bookstore was always full of them. And they were cheap.  It meant that I would have to sit on the floor and go through the bins under the racks, but I didn't mind.  I found great albums and my addiction to collecting Christmas records was born.

This past holiday season, it was my goal to listen to all of my records and inventory them as I listened to them.  That was from Thanksgiving to Epiphany. I was pretty happy with myself because I managed to listen to my entire collection and get them catalogued. Or so I thought. The other day while I was doing some cleaning in my office I came across an entire container of Christmas albums that I neglected during the holidays.  Honestly, I was thrilled about it because I now had an excuse to listen to them.  Not that I needed an excuse LOL 

I am about halfway through the container of records and my collection is up to 230 Christmas records.  And there are more out there to be found!  But I've promised myself I will finish this container before I hunt for more.  I look forward to that!