Shards

And the milk glass saga continues.... I shipped 10 boxes, 144 pieces, to my friend 2 weeks ago. She was out of town when it arrived, but got back home that evening. And look what she found:


THREE boxes with every piece shattered, and there was at least 1 broken item in each box. 10 boxes. 35 broken items. The boxes look like they were run over by the truck, not transported in it.

We are both so upset. My mother began collecting milk glass for me when I was 15 years old. Some pieces were older than that, because I found them at antique stores, and they are at least as old as I am. Fortunately, she had not yet mailed the check, as she had been out of town, so we are waiting for UPS to process the claim. I'm pushing for full insurance payment on each box, but will settle for full insurance on the three boxes that were full of shards, and my shipping fee. Some of the items that broke were the least common--the 14" platter, the 5 thumbprint goblets, the scalloped bowl with the "trumpets" that held flowers. And there is no way to measure the sentimental value.

Last winter we ordered Jack a rolling tray and cup holder with storage underneath. He is a high fall risk, especially when not using his cane, and was on blood thinners at the time, so his hematologist insisted he have something to use when he wasn't using his cane, such as when he's carrying food to the den to eat. UPS delivered the box crunched in on the side, and when I removed it, the entire right wheel was bent inward. How do they get by with this? Fortunately, I had bought it from Amazon, so we were able to exchange it for another one, but it took UPS 3 weeks to come get it from my house. They gave me all kinds of hassle about it, until I finally called and told Amazon the difficulty I was having. Then they came out TWICE to pick it up. How does UPS get by with this behavior?  I will not be shipping with them ever again.

Moving on to my happy place. Halloween decor has begun! My theme this year is not a scary one. It's a fun theme -- Halloween Party!  All my skeletons will be dressed in costumes this year. I already have one of my tiny ones in a Supergirl costume Hazel has worn for dress-up. Beginning around the first of October I start pulling out my skeletons one by one and posing them, starting with the porch, and moving out to the yard after a next-to-last lawn mowing. I love playing with them, and I've had some of my neighbors tell me how they look forward to seeing what the skeletons are doing on a daily basis. Little by little, my fall decorations become spookier, and then they all revert to simply fall again in November.

See the skeleton hand on the lantern? My two oldest skeletons, the ones you see here, are falling apart. Some body parts were being held together with zip ties, but even those aren't working any more. Slowly, as they fall apart, they are being gathered together for the bone pit. Sometimes they appear in a wheelbarrow full of dirt, sometimes in front of tombstones, and sometimes in a fire pit. Always useful!

Yesterday and today, the temps finally dropped below 80. Last week we had several 90+ days! So glad fall is truly here!

Sold!

I sold the milk glass!  A fellow nurse I worked with 10 years ago bought all of it. She's been in Arizona, but has moved back to NC to help care for her aging parents. She loved the pictures and asked if I'd ship it to her. That seemed rather daunting. But ship I did! Ten boxes, that cost over $150 to ship, so I dropped the price on my dishes by $50 to help offset the total, because I never planned on having to ship them anywhere. I packed them just as I did when moving from one state to another, so I'm hoping UPS will be extra careful.  In fact, when these were stored in my garage, they were in 9 boxes--and I sold about 10 pieces to my next door neighbor. I kept a few of  my favorite pieces in the picture below, as well as a cracked plate, and a pair of cracked candle holders. Still, after inventorying and repacking--they went into 10 boxes! I think I cushioned those babies well.



It is such a relief to see them go. I was beginning to dislike the sight of them, just because they have been partially boxed in my living room since April, and I didn't want that to be my memory of them. But it feels much better to have those boxes gone. I mean, I already have about 15 bins of fabric and a 6 ft table in there. Obviously, we don't use the living room! I try to keep it as neat as possible, since it's just right there when anyone walks in, but hey, I need the space.

With the help of a friend who buys auction lots and resells items, and pieces from my deceased mother-in-law and grandparents, I have accumulated quite a lot of crocheted doilies. I  remember them being all over my grandmothers' and great-grandmothers' houses, on tables and arms of sofas, etc. and haven't seen them used that way for decades. But an acquaintance of mine mentioned she was looking for some to hang on her wall. That was an intriguing idea, so I searched Pinterest and look what I found: (click on the pics to go to the site and see the whole picture)







Aren't these amazing? I anxious to try my hand at some of these. Someone in my Buy Nothing group was gifting some small canvasses, which I was happy to receive. I'm thinking of maybe painting a couple and making wall hangings for my bedroom. I have a quart jar of old buttons, too, which would go well with this. Since I still can't sew, because of the double vision in my eye, as well as the worsening cataract, I'm thinking (once Halloween is over) this would help feed my creative needs for a while.

Next visit with my ophthalmologist is October 8, and I'm hoping we will finally be able to set a surgery date. Then roughly another month til it's all healed and we can get an accurate vision test for a new pair of glasses. The current prescription is already almost 4 years old, so I wasn't seeing my sharpest even before the eye issues! Keeping my fingers crossed!

Cooler Weather!

Yay! The past couple of days have been in the '70s with night time temps in the '40s and '50s! Yes, Virginia, there IS an autumn!  I feel more energetic already!

The Halloween workshop didn't happen. One gal had to work and the other two just said they couldn't come. No reasons offered. I admit I was a little annoyed, as I had spent hours the day before going through my shed, pulling out examples to show, and freebies to give. So, I'm just going to spend some more time in the shed sorting through my bins and deciding what to give away. Kind of a Marie Kondo does Swedish Death Cleansing.

I've decided to get rid of all my milk glass. My mother started that collection for me back in the '60s, and I bought pieces here and there over the years.

 My next door neighbor bought some pieces from me before she moved this past May, and I was communicating with a woman who has a booth at an antique mall about 25 minutes from here, thinking she was going to buy it. She hasn't bothered to respond to me, so I guess that deal is off. It kind of got put on the back burner this summer with all the health issues, but everything is inventoried, wrapped, and packed in boxes--all 144 pieces of it!

 I really love some of these pieces, and stumbled on some not-so-common pieces over the years, but it's time to let them go. My daughter isn't interested in them, and it'll be another 25  or so years before Hazel would want them--or she might not! My daughter would shoot me if I left this for her to deal with when I die!  lol

So, I've put them on Craigslist in 4 different cities, as the local auction seems to show there is  no interest in milk glass in this area. It's small, and rural, and most everyone here goes for primitive items. I don't want to try to unpack them and sell them piece by piece on Etsy or marketplace, and one of my friends who used to sell on eBay pulled everything off because their shipping regulations got too complicated to make it worth her while any more. If worse comes to worse, I'll just donate it all and take it off on my income taxes next year! 

What do you collect? (Besides fabric, of course!) Are you planning to pass it on to your children or if not, what will you do with it?

And the Summer Just Lingers On....

It's 95 degrees outside with a heat factor of 101 degrees. What is up with that?  I started putting up fall decorations inside and outside because I love fall, and I love the autumn colors, and I just got impatient. I'm sure I jinxed it. Blame me.  Tomorrow is supposed to be just as hot, then the high Friday is in the 70s. Yay! And back to the 80s for the next week or so. Sigh.

Saturday I'm having a few friends over to do a Make-and-Take Halloween-on-a-budget workshop. We're going to make groundbreakers from tomato cages, and there are a few extra items I'm giving them. We'll talk about ways to use yard sale finds, garden finds, and discards to turn yards and porches into fun scenes. But if this weather doesn't cool down a bit, no one is going to feel up to being outside, even if it IS in my garage with the side door open for a breeze. But I want them to have a few more weeks to scour yard sales for possibilities and with a new eye.




Jack came home from rehab Friday. Thank goodness. I was beginning to really enjoy having the house all to my self! I was able to turn the AC to a warmer temp and use the ceiling fans (he doesn't like air blowing on him), the TV didn't run from before sunrise to midnight (he's the early bird; I'm the night owl), and the power bill went down by $36 for the month of August. When I cleaned off the counter top, it stayed cleaned. The bathrooms stayed cleaner. (Ahem!) One unseasonably cool day, I opened all the screened windows, doors, got an oldies station synced with Alexa and the Echos throughout the house, and sang as loudly as I wanted while cleaning. I took an afternoon and went to see "The Art of Racing in the Rain" at the movie theater. I have never lived alone, so it was kind of fun.

But, I was not good about cooking for myself, especially when tired, so I ate a lot of peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I spent a lot of time going back and forth between home and rehab, because I was still doing his laundry. When he was feeling down or wanted to tell me something before he forgot, he called me on the phone. Several times a day. I had to drive myself everywhere, both in the bright sunshine and at night, and had to travel to Charlottesville for my final eye appointment at UVA. As bad a driver as I believe him to be, it was scary to be back to navigating the interstate with only one eye and no one to help me watch for other cars. I stayed in the right hand lane. And I heard noises at night. I hear them at night when he's home and asleep, too, but there's something about hearing noises when you're alone that's disconcerting.

So, it's good to have him home again.  After all, we've been married almost 48 years. I've grown accustomed to his face, as the song says.

“Old age ain't no place for sissies.”-- Bette Davis

Good morning! I know it's still hot outside, but can you feel autumn coming? There's something about the light that lets me know fall is on its way. I was out weed-eating this morning, and, hot and humid as it is, it just feels different out there.

Yes, I was weed-eating!  I'm sure the neighbors will be grateful; some of those weeds were up to my waist! I was very careful, but it felt so good to diminish the abandoned look the house was beginning to take on. I probably should have left it til after Halloween, but I just couldn't stand it much longer. My eye is improving. I'm only on prednisone eye drops three time a day now, and there is a 4-week gap between doctor visits. I can drive in the daytime, as long as I tape that eye shut, which I also do with night driving, and anytime I need to read. The vision in that eye is still blurry, which interferes with my overall sight.  Still not able to see well enough to sew, so I think I may carry my Bernina in to be serviced. That hasn't been done in 4 1/2 years, though I've only really sewn maybe a total of a year, what with work, selling a house, buying a house, moving, etc.  Once I get the remaining cataract removed, and new glasses, I will be in hog heaven!  Unfortunately, life has thrown us a curve ball again. Isn't that always the way it is?



Jack was due to have a colonoscopy last week, but it had to be cancelled--again. If I haven't said, my husband is a stroke survivor, which occurred when he was 32. He (and I) have lived with this for almost 40 years now, and he gets along really well, considering his entire left side is paralyzed. He can walk with a cane, a splint, and a trunk/hip swing movement, but he can't walk and talk at the same time. He needs to concentrate on each step, or he'll fall.

Last Wed, in the wee hours of the morning, trying to quickly respond to the nature's call of the colonoscopy prep (need I say more?), he slipped and fell in the bathroom. I had to call our volunteer rescue squad because I couldn't get him up alone, and once they helped him to his feet, it was obvious he couldn't stand. X-rays showed a fractured left ankle. So they put a fiberglass splint on his leg, and admitted him to the hospital, because he obviously cannot function here. Friday afternoon they transferred him to a rehab facility, and we're looking at a 2-6 week stay. He has a walking boot now, so he can bear weight as tolerated, which isn't much, but better than a week ago. He's a very determined person who values his independence, so he will work hard to get home as quickly as possible. Just don't know how long until he can get around, and since for a week after cataract surgery I am not allowed to bend over, or lift more than 10 lbs, we will be postponing the procedure. We are such a pair--the half-lame and the half-blind!

I am SO looking forward to being able to see clearly again. I had so many projects planned for this summer, indoors and out, and had sorted out some of my UFOs to work on. Right now, I can't even thread a needle. You should see my try to put toothpaste on my toothbrush.  Good thing I'm standing over a sink!

A new friend decided to start a book club, so 4 of us got together last week for our first meeting. For this month, at least, we decided to all read the same book, although we might alternate months where we read our own choices and then report back to the group with recommendations. Our first book is an older one, so that we can all get copies in our small town. Fortunately, it's on Audible, so I can listen to it: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. Darlene (our host) had read the book before, and suggested we start with that one, as she is happy to read it again. I listened to a sample and it sounds perfectly charming! I may start it this week, while Jack is being cared for at rehab. Soon enough, he'll be home and I'll have my hands full!