Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

My dear mother was a “Craft Queen” extraordinaire.  I grew up in a house filled with those pictures of vases done in shimmering beads or better yet painted seeds.  She frequently drove us all out of the house while heating her latest plastic flower craft creation in the oven.  She loved her creations and it showed because the house and the family cabin were filled with them.  So the other day when our long time bestest of the best friend Jan came to the house with a large paper Christmas wreath,  I did a double take and if she had not been so quick to enter I would have erected my craft free zone sign on the front door.  But alas, she was standing in the front room with lots of witnesses so I couldn’t very well have ejected her.  There was some dribble about some other friend who made it for her but when she saw that it was made of sheet music she just knew we would love it.  Jan is a minimalist of sorts, her house is clutter free and right out of “House Beautiful”.  There are empty drawers in every room! Unlike our motto of drawers are made to be filled.  I shall never have to purchase another dress shirt ever again as a steadfast rule of Jan’s is that when her husband Brian comes home with three new shirts, then three must vacate their place in his closet.  I have forty winter dress shirts and close to that amount in summer shirts.  But wait a minute here we were talking about that big hideous wreath stuffed full of sheet music that she just unloaded on us………

"Wait…..wait why are you taking down my peony painting (also given to us by Jan years ago)…..oh no you can’t really want that hung there????"

"…….hmm? Well yes that really looks quite nice there.  You know it looks as though it was made for that spot."

 

Thanks Jan, we love it…..got any more cool stuff?

Golden Leaves and Silver Trees

Besides watering in the greenhouse there is little time spent in the gardens.  The pond has been frozen for the last week which has sent the koi into hybernation mode, so nothing to do there except keeping the intakes on the pumps clear of leaves.  The last time I spent any great deal of time gardening was about three weeks ago and most of that was sweeping up the masses of leaves from the wisteria.  I was amazed by the intense color of my little dwarf ginkgo "Chi Chi" that sits at pond edge just under the wisteria arbor.  I quickly took a picture of it, the first since I planted it in 2008, as it usually drops its leaves when I think to get the camera.

I would fill my tub with leaves and carry them out to the compost barrel and on one of my trips I noticed a very unusual sight......

.......Raspberries in the last week of November?  I was told by MeMa that they were quite delicious as she sucked them down quicker than a hoover on a dust ball.  This week all that is gone, there are no more raspberies or golden ginkgo leaves.  Everything has a layer of ice on it, when I walk the ground gives a frozen crunch under my weight.  I don't last long outdoors, there is no joy in this frozen land.  Inside, MeMa has turned Menagerie Manor into a Christmas wonderland.  Furniture moved about to accommodate such things as the aluminum tree which needed to go in front of the windows because I was able to find the color wheel at an antique shop in perfect running order and in the original box.  When viewed from outdoors the silver tree slowly changes from green, yellow, blue and red -  a real treat from the 1950's.

 MeMa has a real skill for decorating this old house, me not so much but I follow direction if you get what I mean.  She asked if I would like to arrange the large collection of Santa's on the mantle, I looked at her with disbelief as I know MeMa has a penchant for order.

So while she set up the manger on the top of the old player piano I slowly started unpacking the many Santa's, keeping in mind height and material of each figure.  Last Santa figure placed, I stood back and gazed at my handy work........and so......after MeMa redecorated I poured us both a glass of wine and we sat and listened to Christmas piano rolls.

 Do you know what goes good with a glass of wine while listening to piano music????  

Fresh picked raspberries....or so I've heard!

Psychology Of A Dream

The psychology of dreams is something that I never usually think about for one reason only, I don't have dreams, at least any that I can remember by the time I rise from a sleep.  When I awake I am thinking of what will be going on in my day.  I generally sleep very soundly and fortunately straight through the night without having to get up in the middle of the night like most men have to at my age. However the other morning I woke with quite a start, I don't like calling it a nightmare as it involved my late mother.  I was sitting at their dining room table and my mother approached me, sitting a jar in front of me and saying "Here, I'm giving this to you, I know you would want it."  At that point I gasped and sat bolt upright in bed.
Many years ago when I was a small child I remember visiting my grandparents, the big old house were my mother was born and raised had a very large old kitchen and on the back side was a sun porch were my grandmother would do the laundry and there was a large chest freezer.  On the wall behind the freezer was a wide shelf that was filled with miniature trinkets from Cracker Jacks, odds and ends of glass trinkets. 

Many of them had been found while working in the large garden and orchard behind the house.  I was fascinated with my grandmothers miniature collection but I was told that I could only "Look at them, not touch."  While we were away in Europe the old kitchen was remodeled and the old sun porch was removed.  On our return to the US, I asked my grandmother what had happened to her miniature collection.  She told me she still had them all but they were put away.  When my grandmother passed away her daughters divided the contents of the family possessions among the four sisters.  A few weeks later I was sitting at my parents dining room table as I had been in my recent dream, my mother was going through a box of things from my grandmother's house and to my delight she pulled out a jar filled with my grandmother's miniature treasure.  I was very excited and said, "Lets look through it." But my mother was tired and simply put it back in the box and said, "Perhaps another day."  As anyone knows going through the loss of a loved one's belongings and the memories that such things can conjure up is quite exhausting so I said no more about the jar and soon it was totally forgotten until the other morning when I sat bolt upright with the shock of my late mother handing me the jar in my dream.  I called my sister and told her about the dream and asked if she remembered Mom lifting the jar out of the box that night long ago?  She said yes but had no idea what had become of it since then.  I was determined to find out so I stopped by my fathers house to look.  I decided that since she came in from the garage in my dream that the cupboards there might be a place to look and to my surprise the first door I opened there was the jar sitting there at eye level.

The jar, it might as well be filled with gold coins because after that dream it is just as valuable.

I swallowed hard and thanked my mother out loud, and with a trembling hand I firmly grasped the jar and closed the door.  After living all these years with our house ghost Lucy pulling shenanigans at Menagerie Manor, I am not surprised by such things.  But when your own late mother comes to you in a dream and hands you a jar of treasures you were denied in the past, then I have to admit I was a bit unnerved by this whole episode.  Thanks Mom, I will treasure it always and promise to "look but not touch".

Maxwell Smart

There was a period in our eldest son Nathan's life when one could best describe him as nomadic.  He was following his current dream of drummer in the band.  So he would come into town with all his worldly possessions including Maxwell Smart, landing with a bit of a plop back in his old room at the top of the stairs.  As soon as his travelling box was opened, Max would flop down on the sunroom floor in an exaggerated stretch and almost immediately start that motor boat purr.  Then it would be time for Nathan to move out again and Max would fuss and growl as he was being shoved back into his travel box.  His beautiful green eyes would turn to black holes of pure anger.  After about the third exodus, we asked Nathan if Max could just forgo the move and stay here at Menagerie Manor.  When he said yes, we were thrilled, Max was thrilled and Nathan was relieved.  I think because he didn't have to manhandle Max into the box and listen to him growl on his way to his new apartment in Eugene.
In the years to follow there was a constant parade of new creatures coming and going and Max would greet them all with his patience and charm.


Ninja our youngest son Ian's chihuahua

There were many times when he would have to retreat to higher ground, but he never showed aggression even when his girth and strength was superior.

Max loved his home and it truly was his home, he would join us in every room and make himself comfortable even if it meant his person would have to hold her morning coffee while turning pages of her much loved morning newspaper.

His high level of patience and charm extended to the next generation ~ "The Little Terrorists". Never pulling away when hugged so fiercely by little arms that meant only love.

With heavy hearts we say goodbye to Maxwell Smart the Governor of Menagerie Manor.

Halloween 2013

The Little Terrorists are growing up and like other things, Halloween is taking on some new priorities.  In years past the parents would pick out costumes and the Little Terrorists would be tossed into them usually at the last minute and join in on the neighborhood festivities without a lot of hoopla about makeup or what they looked like as long as the outcome was lots of fun and of course candy.  This year plans and costumes were given a great deal of thought by the children....... and the adults.  Once they were in costume then there was the make-up that transformed them all into creatures of the night.

click on photo's to enlarge


Case in point the fair Adrianne
prior to make-up....

...with the help of Auntie Jill transformed into the "Bride Corpse"

Taeya dolled up as a Blazer Cheerleader and Brooklyn told me he was a "scary clown." I told him he was just too cute to be scary.

Ok...scary clown transformation complete!

Crazy Cat Lady hissing at Uncle Nathan as he scares at least eight of her nine lives out of her.

Auntie Jackie transformed into Medusa

  

Then from out of the blue sky floated a sweet little blue butterfly with lopsided wings......

 Lloyd the wonder dog thought the little blue butterfly was the sweetest thing on two legs.... ....ahem wings.

The fifth annual 62nd Avenue Giant Pumpkin Parade went well, minus the pumpkin this year. We had a very good neighbor turn-out

 .

Brooklyn and Bentley, our Miss Betty's little brother who lives next door with CCL



Then it was back home for the traditional meal of MeMa's clam chowder and homemade bread before turning the "Little Terrorists" loose on the neighborhood.

Little Lucy soon got the hang of the whole Trick-or-Treat scenario

And before long she was leaving everyone in  the dust including MeMa, as she raced from house to house.

But you know the best thing of all for us grandparents is after a night of sugar highs......

.....as in the case of this little blue butterfly......

....is that they get to go home.

I hope everyone had as safe and fun filled Halloween night as the "Little Terrorists".  BOO!!!