New Directions
9:48 a.m. - 2008-12-30


Yesterday I was being a good mom by going to Melissa's new abode at the crack of dawn to meet the contractor and let him in. I love her new place, and she is going to go with the retro vibe and decorate in a nuevo-retro style. We have had an old chair in storage out in the shed for many years. It used to be up at the in-law's cabin at Russian River, and is a chunky, comfortable armchair made of oak. They had it reupholstered, and when they downsized, they gave it to us, but we had no room for it, so put it in storage. The spouse got it out and cleaned it up, and the cushions look great, like new. The spouse really knows how to pack things up for storage. I call that chair the 'Flippy-arm Chair' because the arms have a wide portion on hinges that pop up for use to put a drink or use as a small desk. The great thing about the chair is that Melissa likes it and it totally exactly matches the new chair she got at IKEA. There is also a side table that goes with the chair, but the MIL painted it bright blue in the late, great sixties, so the spouse had it stripped years ago. It still needs refinishing, but perhaps M can learn how to do that herself.

Another thing she wants to take with her is a wonderful, old, large, oak card file that my mom got from Berkeley, probably from a library that was renovating, when she worked at the university there. I have had that great thing out in the shed for years, and would have loved to use it for recipe cards, except that it is way too big, probably three or four feet wide and about 2 1/2 feet high with many many drawers. No one has that many recipes. Anyhow, I am glad she wants it so I don't have to feel bad about it moldering away in storage. We are already beginning to feel the benefit of her finally, after all these years, removing her stuff from the old homestead. She took a lawyer's bookcase that was cramping my style next to the laundry baskets in the garage, and now it is so roomy that I can practically spin a pirouette out there.

I was so inspired by all her decorating that I actually cleaned up the bathroom counter this morning. I have three hairbrushes that are always in the way, and I needed something to put them in. I remembered that someone gave my former boss a really heavy cut glass vase of smallish size one Christmas, and she didn't want it so passed it on to me. I even managed to find it, and it works great for the brushes. I also threw away all my makeup and got all new stuff, since Abby told me that you are supposed to throw away eyeliner and that kind of thing every 6 months. Who knew?? So it isn't even New Years yet and I am semi-spiffed up. Abby has long wanted to dye my hair so I let her do it over Christmas, and now I am a redhead again. It is really strange to look so different in the mirror. So I have new hair and new makeup and a Garmin. I think the world is trying to tell me something.