Month: January 2019

Being single forever is kind of like being a superhero. You develop all kinds of talents and abilities and over the years I have put my back and my hand to many non-gender, non-traditional, and male-oriented tasks. But this is my first door hang. Take an old door, sand, repaint, new hardware, and voila, Twice-loved.

Spoiler.

Ok……  I was tempted to do the Facebook Fib: take a moment in time and turn a fib into fact.

Truth is, the door didn’t fit quite right; someone else came along and fixed it for me. Took it down, planed the edges and rehung it.

#buticouldhavedoneitmyself#andyesiampokingfunatyouwithmyexcessiveuseofhashtags#twiceloved

I’ve had these old doilies in the linen closet for quite some time. Doilies are definitely a thing of the past and these three – well, they were old fashioned when doilies were cool! But how delighted I was when I found this ‘recipe’ in an old book of mother’s. Decluttering is bringing me untold treasures!

Mary A. Anstey is my grandmother and she is long gone from this world.

But her recipe for sugar starch and crinoline stiffening is yours today!

Sugar Starch

Boil 3 cups sugar and 1 cup of water for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and put items in the pan. Saturate item in solution. A wooden spoon may be needed to press the starch into the fabric. Remove and mould to shape as the item dries. Crumbled tissue paper is useful in doing this.

To Stiffen a Crinoline

To stiffen crinolines of nylon net or net, soften 2 or 3 envelopes of plain gelatin in 1/2 cup cold water. Dissolve in 1 quart boiling water. Dip garment into this thoroughly working solution into fabric. Do not iron, just drip dry.

Now… if I can find my  crinoline!    (and we thought Spanx were rough…)

There is much written about the validity – or non-validity – of Marie Antoinette’s phrase, “Let them eat cake.” Suffice to say that the cake the peasants wolfed down was a far cry from the fancy dainties nibbled by the bourgeoisie.

But I’m sure the peasants enjoyed their pan scrapings as much or more than the upper crust enjoyed their eclairs, croissants, and mille feuille.

Ralph’s birthday cake for Max is less than Facebook worthy but the kids loved it – except Sam, who doesn’t like ice cream anyway – go figure. Not sure who he belongs to.

Chocolate brownie cookie dough – vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, caramel, and not entirely sure about the pink poop-like stuff on the top – but it was definitely delish! Even Hope, who doesn’t like ice cream cakes, weighed in with a rave review. Little Bear …. well, needless to say, he had to be told, “No, no more!”

It was a good birthday. Supper at a local restaurant with his best buds followed by video games at home, birthday cake with Dad and the gang, and a sleepover with Mom.

Dad’s birthday present? What do you get for a car crazy twelve year old? Dad upcycled his bedroom wall with twice-loved plates.

Twice loved? These kids are loved ten times over.

Happy birthday kiddo! How did one Grammy get to be so lucky?

My first download for 2019 was The Joy of Less, a Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life by Francine Jay. I’m like a gal on a mission and already I can see a difference. Truly!

I am – as you can tell if you’ve read any previous posts – a stuff person! It is incredibly difficult for me to part with anything – and it matters not a whit if it’s mine or if it’s someone else’s. I just cannot throw it out. And then on top of that, I also feel the need to ‘rescue’ stuff.

I’m not totally sure why I hate throwing things away but I think it has to do with story telling. Every thing we own, everything we touch, carries a story. Some big, some not so big, some quite lovely, and some absolutely horrid. But a story nonetheless.  These things, they tell who we are, who we were, and who we yet might be. I know, the stuff is not the story … but it is a tangible reminder of those stories. And it’s not easy to toss them aside.

But I’ve begun … to declutter, to toss aside –  to commit the stories to heart and head if not to my closets.

And in spite of my somewhat romanticized view of ‘stuff’, I look forward to having a home that brings me peace and comfort without the clutter that is forever screaming at me to tidy, tidy, tidy!

Here’s to 2019.

Not sure if I’m putting patches on pants or pants on patches; however, #1 son said they’re too good to throw out and his favourite work pants.

Two broken needles, 6 iron-on patches, one old pair of jeans for reinforcement, three spools of thread and 3-1/2 hours later ….

Talk about twice-loved!